Discoveries around the Yard

I've been hearing stories about how the previous owner was so particular about the yard/grounds and was always out working around the yard. That said, I was expecting to have all kinds of surprises popping up as the ground warmed up. There are garden beds all along the perimeter of the yard. That said, except for one side where we're putting in the vegetable garden, there really hasn't been that much floral activity in the yard. Lots of hostas, but I'm not that crazy about them. Here are some pictures of what's come up:


I'm really excited about the great peony bush. There are tons of beautiful pale pink flowers. I've already cut some and had them around the house!


















There is a wonderful Clematis plant that gets bigger every day. It's starting to get a bit crowded out by the other plants but so far is holding it's own. Right now it's still green, just starting to get flower buds. Once it's in full bloom, I'll post pictures of that too! I wonder what color it will be? I'm particularly fond of the deep purple ones, but we'll have to wait and see...

Early on I had two plants come up that by their spacing were obviously flowers. As they grew, they looked more and more like something out of 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Very strange, I'd never seen these plants before. What could they be? Are these going to be something I'd like??

Turns out these are poppy plants. I realized I don't think I've ever seen poppies growing. According to one of my co-workers, poppies only bloom once and the foliage is pretty ugly before and after blooms, but can be cut down. Unfortunately this year, just as the blooms were opening, we got several days of heavy rain that washed all the petals away. Good thing I got these pictures when I did. And there is still the other plant to bloom yet. That one is a bit slower than the first.

Springtime on Lenester Drive

Well, spring has arrived and there's lots to do outside with our new home. Our first summer on Lenester Dr. First step was to get the pool opened. There were a few rips in the winter cover, so the water was quite a mess when we first took it off.

A visit from the local pool company helped to get things in order.

Here are some pics of my great pool guy...

And here is his supervisor keeping an eye to make sure everything is done right... as he lays down on the job.

Selkirk - Part 2

Well, today was a bit of a sad day, as our agent called to say that the family have decided they do not want to sell their property after all. But, now we know and can move onto something else. And now we know that we are in a position to make an offer should another suitable place become available. So... it would seem the search continues....

Selkirk, Ontario

Today was a very exciting day for us. As some of you may know, we have been looking at cottages in the Selkirk area of Ontario for about a year and a half now. We have seen a few that we liked, but recently we found one that seems to be everything we were hoping to find - a nice private lakefront property, in a specific area, with a modest cottage that we can work on fixing up. Well, after much discussion and contemplation with our agent, today we actually put in an offer of purchase. Because of the the long weekend, and a few other factors, the Sellers have until midnight on Wednesday to consider the offer and advise us of their decision.

Jessica gets ready for her big move...

The time is quickly approaching for Jess to leave home and move into her university dorm. Things are getting busy now, and before we know it she will be off..

Over the past week, several things have fallen into place:

Chancellor's House

Jessica found out that she has been assigned to Chancellor's House. CH is an apartment style dorm on the University Campus. Each student is matched up with 3 others, and they share a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment suite.

Below is a floor plan of the suite:

Each student has their own private bedroom and share a bathroom with one other student. Each suite has a full eat-in kitchen, and living room area. All rooms come furnished, and the apartments come with a full size fridge and stove for the 4 girls to share. In addition, each building has lounges, study rooms, a full laundry room, and other amenities depending on the individual building. All rooms are equipped with a private phone and Internet hookups, and cable TV is supplied in the living room area. Students are responsible to supply their personal effects such as linens, dishes and small appliances.

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In other news this week, Jess also found out that her transfer has been accepted, so not only will she be starting university, but she also has part-time employment @ the Gap in Northgate Square. That's the large, modern mall located nice and close to the campus.

Congratulations Jessica!! Looks like you're all set!!

Camping @ Samuel de Champlain

Jessica had to go up to the University to pick out her schedule for next year, so we decided to turn it into a mini vacation and do some camping. It was the first time we've been camping in about 3 years, so everyone was very excited.

We had a nice, wooded campsite right next to the water.

We rented a canoe and had fun paddling the waterways.

Jessica found the natives to be very friendly... esp. when peanuts were introduced.

And Kirk missed us, but was much happier remaining in his own native environment.

Jessica's Prom

Here are a few pics of Jessica & Steve on Prom Night