Wednesday, December 30, 2009
























As previously mentioned, real estate is REALLY quiet at the moment. I'm enjoying the down time, but I don't want to get TOO mellow or I'll get lazy. To that end, I am going in to the office pretty well every day. And, in fact, I am showing a house tomorrow afternoon - and I'm quite looking forward to it - enough sitting around.

Guess Kris is the same - he had 4 days off in a row over Christmas and by the third day, he was bored. And even though he was off, he was still going in every night around 10 o'clock to stuff the outdoor wood furnace for the shop.

We had a retirement dinner tonite for one of the agents in the office. Barry is 72 years old (and is pretty sharp AND has a better memory than I do!!) but he hurt his foot last year and has trouble getting around, so he figured it was time. I will
certainly miss having him around & I hope he drops in to the office often!

I picked up some "happy" pills for Max to keep him calmer so he won't spray. I actually had to get a prescription from the vet and fill it at the pharmacy. the label on the bottle says "Reid, Max the cat". Hahaha. hope it works!

today's pictures are not great - I took them tonite in walking back back from the restaurant. The first one is of "main street" Renfrew and the other one is the nativity scene set up at town hall.

Is it just me or does Joseph (the one on the right with the big mustache) look a LOT like Burton Cummings from The Guess Who????? (it's probably just me.....)

Sunday, December 27, 2009
























Another quiet day - not much happening in the area. We have deliberately stayed away from the post Christmas craziness in the stores. Guess we will have to venture out sooner or later. As mentioned yesterday the weather isn't great. Today wasn't so bad, but around 4 o'clock the fog really rolled in.

We are having a bad time with Max, our oldest cat - he as started spraying (although neutered) in the house. We had thought it was because we had a stray cat camping out in our garage, but the stray disappeared well over a month ago - he would often take off for several days, and one day he simply didn't come back.

Anyway, we had hoped that would de-stressify Max and (as noted in previous posts) at the vet's recomendation, we started spraying some pheronomes around the house and that was to calm him as well. And we try to NOT scold him about spraying and instead, we give him extra attention.

NOTHING has made ANY difference and in fact, he is getting worse! So, we are having serious discussions about his future. He's too old to be adopted and we can't give him away with his little "problem" so things are not looking good for poor ol' Max.

On a lighter note, Jamie gave me Scrabble for my Nintendo DS and I've been playing it - a LOT!! I always liked playing Scrabble, so this is a blast!

However, we MUST get out for a while, so as soon as I finish this, Rick and I are going out for a long walk.

Today's pictures I took today - just the snow on the trees - always pretty. And just as the sun was going down, it sort of turned the sky pink and I tried to get a shot of it.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

















Freezing rain has kept us in most of the day. It's been alternating freezing rain and snow since about midnight last night. We had to make a quick run in to town to return a couple of movies to Movie Gallery, but that was pretty well it.

Around 10 o'clock this a.m. we started watching "Band of Brothers" - a really good HBO series on WWII. we had seen it a few years ago, but when it came on this morning, we watched the first one in the series - and then the second one came on & we watched it too - & the third one - and so on - and so on - and so on.

It reminded me of the time (many years ago) we dropped in on Rick's mom and sister on a Sunday afternoon. It was about 3 o'clock and the ladies were sitting in their nighties watching the Thornbirds. They started watching the series about 9 in the morning while having their coffee (same as us) and just kept watching one after another and there went the day!!!

Not a bad thing to do on a rainy/snowy day. I think the cats quite like having us home all day - one of us is always available to let them in or out (cuz ONE of them ALWAYS seems to be on the wrong side of the door!!!

Pictures are ones I took tonite out the front door while Buddy was playing in the snow.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!!!!!












Christmas day has come and gone - when it's all over, I think what an effort we put into one little day!!! Not that I am whining - I enjoy the baking & putting on a nice dinner & even the shopping.

Jamie came up this morning - early just like he said he would! Santa was good to all of us - I have several new Nintendo DS games - thanks guys!!!!

The cats certainly notice there is someone "different" in the house - Tigger who apparently doesn't remember Jamie ever living here, pretty well disappears. Which seems to be a signal to Jamie to chaser her down. Max and Missy kept a low profile but Buddy and Nibbles didn't seem too affected - other than to enjoy the extra attention they get from Jamie

We did have a lizard "situation" this afternoon. Jamie gave Kris a waterfall for his lizard cage and the boys were upstairs cleaning the cage and setting up the waterfall when the lizards decided to make a break for it. This got Nibbles (who is totally FACINATED with the lizards) pretty excited and also got her unceramoniously ousted from the room! After some scrambling, the lizards were retrieved and returned to their cage and Nibbles allowed back in the room to stare at them (her favourite pastime) I think she is still up there.....staring.

Weather was very good today - there has been a freezing rain warning out all day - but thankfully it going to hit us until later tonite. Jamie is already back in Ottawa and Kris is up in Pembroke with friends for the night, and hopefully both will stay put until the weather clears up.

After the boys left, Rick and I went for a walk - very quiet in the neighbourhood - only 3 or 4 houses with lights on.

Pictures are the lizard cage with new waterfall (not much room for the lizards and they still mostly huddle under the light at the top of the cage) and Jamie tormenting Tigger.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

December 24th!!













Christmas Eve at last! Baking's done! Shopping's done! All set for tomorrow morning. We're hoping Jamie will make it out tonite, but if not, we should see him first thing in the a.m.

We did have to make two trips into Renfrew today. I wanted to pop into the office to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (and pick up a commission cheque!) and naturally we made a quick stop at WalMart for a couple of last minute items. The store wasn't as busy as I thought it would be and we were in and out in a few minutes. whew!

Then Kris came home from work and since it was too late for him to get to his bank to cash his paycheque, we volunteered to cash it at our bank's ATM (his bank puts a hold on his cheque for 5 days) It was around 6 p.m. and the town was pretty well shut down! WalMart and the other big stores were closed and the downtown was empty. Even Timmy's was closed - so no Timmy's tea for me!!!!

The plan for tonite is to watch a couple of movies (I'm sure White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye is on at least a dozen channels) & eat treats.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Nearly Christmas



Well just a couple of days until Christmas! Today is baking day - Rick and I made out usual assortment of tarts, double batch of shortbread, chocolate/peanut clusters and Kris's special request - gooey rice krispie squares. So, I think we're done!

It's been very quiet of late. Nothing much exciting. We have been staying out of the stores on peak hours, but have still managed to get our shopping done. We really didn't do any shopping until last weekend - but did manage to get it wrapped up in a couple of days. Jamie requested tee-shirts with the Family Guy or South Park logo on the front, but I wasn't able to locate any in time for Christmas. It was too late to buy on ebay (where I am sure they are available) but I can get him some for his birthday in June.

Rick and I purchased a Blue Ray for ourselves for Christmas - I was in the store yesterday looking to buy a couple of movies, so I asked a clerk what section the Blue Ray movies were in, she called out to another clerk - 'WHERE ARE THE BLUE MOVIES????" we got a giggle out of that!!

So, for the next few days we plan to sit by the fire, eat Christmas treats and watch "blue" movies hahahahha

Today's pictures are from our friends Bill and Andrea who have a gorgeous house near Almonte. Andrea puts food out for the deer and I snapped this of the deer feeding in their back yard. And also their cat Felix - a very LARGE cat - although much is just fur!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

cats LOVE hats!!




Its been a fairly quiet weekend. I had a deal that closed on Friday and it was one of those deals that kept having issues right up until the last minute. Some go like that - and that one kept me pretty busy for a while.

Yesterday we popped into town to get a few things - its funny how running into Wal-Mart to pick up cat food and a "couple of things" turns into a $180 bill at the check out, isn't it???

Today we had sort of planned to run up to Pembroke, but light but steady snowfall kept us at home. It's Sunday and I miss my NASCAR races, thank goodness for the Discovery Channel!!!!!

Kris went to a friend's for the night, so we had to feed and water his lizards. I just don't get them as a pet. They're not cute or receptive to handling, they don't purr or wag their tails. Their only trick is that they turn brown when stressed - they turn brown a LOT!!! hahaha

Pictures today are of Tigger (long hair cat) and Nibbles (white calico) sporting their Christmas finery! They're such good girlz!!!!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

SNOW DAY! LAZY DAY!


































The first snow storm of the year kept Rick and I at home today. We knew it was coming, so had planned to stay home anyway. In my line of work, I can do that - on the flip side, though, I have had many MANY nasty drives to get offers and waivers signed.

Staying home all day can make for a long day - I'm used to going into the office every day. I have trouble actually "working" from home - I find I'm more productive when I'm in the office. When I'm home, I tend to surf the net, watch bad daytime TV, read, drink buckets of tea and play my Nintendo DS (which I am totally adicted to)

Rick was more active - he had to snow-blow the laneway twice. For the most part, the cats seem to be enjoying the snow. Buddy likes it the most - he's been in and out all day - likes to chase the snowflakes. and Rick cleared a couple of paths around the house the he likes to run around in.

If you want a chuckle, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Ph_Cp9a50
or just go to You Tube and search for: surprise kitty CUTE it's worth the effort, believe me!

today's picture is Rick snow-blowing the laneway. BTW, the ugly grey building in the background is our new water treatment plant. We share a well with 35 other houses and the common well used to be housed in a neat (and attactive) little log building. Several years ago (after the tainted water scandal at Walkerton and 9/11) it was decided that our well needed to be more secure. So, this squat, ugly building with chain link fence was the answer - gotta love progress!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

White Christmas??






















It's snowing out tonite - which is just perfect because today was the day we decided to put up Christmas decorations and the tree. Boy, we have a LOT of stuff!!! When going through all the boxes, I realized just how many decorations we have accumulated over the years. We probably only put up a third of what we have - much was left in the boxes.

The tree was easy - several years ago we bought an artificial tree. We always had a real tree, but Rick was starting to tire of the chore of dragging a tree home and wrestling it into the tree stand - so when we spotted an artificial tree at Scott's Hardware (a really neat, old fashioned hardware store in Renfrew) that we both liked, we bought it and have been using it ever since.

Other than decorating the house, we had a fairly quiet weekend. We plan to stay out of the stores during peak (weekend) hours if possible. I don't have much on the go tomorow, so that will likely be a good time to shop!

As promised, I have Christmas cat pictures! The first one is Buddy having a cat-nap - I took this one last Christmas actually - I still like it! And Buddy (again) taken today while he was investigating the decorations on the bookshelp. And a rather out-of-focus one of Nibbles in her Christmas outfit. She was so good to wear it without any fuss - the others all freak out and runaway (what's wrong with them!!!!!!?????)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Green Again!!!

























As I suspected (hoped) our weather turned nice and once again the grass is green! Which is actually a bit un-nerving in December!

Congratulations to brother in law, John, on acquiring a Harley Davidson motorcycle - I've seen the pictures and it looks very nice! But, John, when I told you to buy yourself a bike for Christmas, I meant a bicycle!!!! hahahahaha

I have not done any Christmas shopping yet - I've decided to keep it simple this year and try to go with gift certificate and/or gift basket - so I should be able to manage to get it done in a day or so!

Real estate is fairly quiet - typical for this time of year. I have some closings in December, which is nice and a couple in January. And things should pick up again around February - I look forward to it!!!

Today's pictures were taken at night (no, duh!) of the moon (again, no duh!!!!) Didn't come out exactly right, but one night when it was very cloudy, the moon had a perfect ring around it - was really neat. Anyway we tried to take a picture of it and this was the result. I doubt if it will be making the cover of "Photography Today" anytime soon.

check back in a couple of days, though - I can promise more interesting shots - I bought a santa outfit for the cats and they are very eager to try it and have their pictures taken - so should be more exciting pictures next week - if you like pictures of pissed off cats that is!!!!!! I know, I'm sick!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Oooops!


























I guess I angered the weather gods with my "oh, the grass is soooooooo green" and "I'm still hanging up laundry in November..."

We woke up to SNOW this morning! Not much, but enough to get my attention. Guess Rick won't have to cut the grass one more time before Christmas and guess I won't be hanging out laundry until next Spring! Oh well

Today's pictures were taken this morning from my front door - SNOW!!!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

the grass is greener...






I noticed today just how GREEN the grass still is. End of November and the lawns are looking pretty good! Really strange to see that. We have had some cool days and even a bit of snow, but the last week or so has been warm (for this time of year) and everybody's lawns are nice and green. Won't last much longer, though - it's supposed to be colder next week. Still weird to see all the inflateable Santa's & snowmen on the grass - think we were in California!!!!

Speaking of Christmas - Rick made his annual batch of nuts and bolts today. It was his mom's recipe and he's made a batch at Christmas every year for about the last 20 years. We intended to made a smaller batch (with all the salt & butter, they're not exactly health food) but somehow wound up with nearly 3 dozen 1 litre jars - which is more than we usually make. In fact, we had to take a run up to Pembroke to get another box of jars!!

Still a nice day for a drive - Canadian Tire was very crowded though, we picked up our jars and couple of stocking stuffers for the boys and high-tailed it outta there! Christmas shoppers are out in full force!

Today's picture is of Kris's lizards - they really are NOT the most exciting of pets -all they seem to do is huddle under the light for warmth - but Kris likes them. Oh yeah, now he has a second cage for the live crickets he has to keep to feed the lizards - hmmm....I wonder what he has to feed the crickets to keep them alive until he feeds them to the lizards...... It's like a whole little food chain up there in his room - hahahaha

Monday, November 23, 2009

e-mail me - PLEASE!!!!!

Please, please, please - EVERYONE - send us an e-mail!!!

we had some PC issues and when we loaded a new version of Outlook it over-wrote all our old e-mails and, of course, e-mail addresses. soooooo....,if everyone who reads this blog, would send me an e-mail, it would be greatly appreciated! thanks to one and all!

Yesterday was the last NASCAR race of the season and it was as disappointing as I expected. Jimmy Johnson won the Championship for the 4th year running which is ONLY a good thing if you are a Jimmy Johnson fan - which we are not! Well, next year is another year - go Jeff go!!!

well, that's it! - not much else new. weather's good - I'm happy - I can still hang out my laundry - bonus!! Might not be warm enough for the new amole lizards - whenever I see them, they are huddled under the light - how exciting is THAT????!!!....

remember - send me an e-mail!!!!! thank you!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009










we've been having "issues" with our older cat, Max, (who was neutered when he was 6 months old) spraying around the house. The vet thought it might be because we have a stray male cat (definitely not neutered!) hanging around the place - okay, he's been hanging around for 2 years and we feed him - but he is still technically a stray

We all agree this stray is making Max anxious and stressed out and causing him to spray. Well, Max is getting a tad too "anxious" and a tad too often! So, we tried to get him some kitty Prozac - turns out it would probably be easier for ME to get some Prozac - and, of course, if I did, I would share it with Max.

So, Max had "issues" in two places last night and we woke up to Kris (who stepped in the "issues") chasing Max all over the house. Unfortunately for us, Max hid under OUR bed - fun morning!

Anyway, rather than Kitty Prozac we have purchased a bottle of Feliway - a spray of pheromones that you spray around the house in strategic locations. These "fairy-gnomes" are supposed to relax Max and make him less stressed out. At $45 a bottle, it better make him really, REALLY happy.

Well, we'll see how it goes - I thought it might be an idea to get Max one of those scrunchie, cloth collars, spray it with the fairy-gnome spray and let Max just wear it around - and be happy, damn it!!!!!

bnot sure I like the way the spray is working on the other cats, Buddy hissed at Nibbles tonite and he NEVER gets cranky. life with 5 cats gets complicated sometimes....

I'm starting to like the anole lizards Kris bought a lot more - at least they're easier to get along with.

today's picture is an old abandoned house that I thought looked neat. and one of the the anole lizards in their new home - they're not very big - look for the little green thing on the branch to the right of the word "anole" in the picture.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

got the shot!












I got my H1N1 shot today - it all went very well. After reading all the horror stores in the news about 4 and 5 hour waiting times, I was prepared for a long line up, long wait, confusion, cranky people etc. But, I guess Renfrew had the advantage of learning for the mistakes of all the other clinics. As we went in, we were catagorized as to our health issues, given a disclaimer form to complete and then sent to the waiting area. The wait was only about 15 minutes - very reasonable. Extremely well organized.

Kris has purchased a new glass terrarium and gear for his lizards - this all started with a free aquarium picked up at the dump and has somehow morphed into a $200 set up for the little green guys! They like to be warm and our house tends to be cool - so a special heating pad had to be purchased for them. Apparently they don't like their "stuff" moved either - it stresses them out. hmmmmmm.... I imagine they'll need a bit of Prozac along with their crickets and flies on cage cleaning day.

Today's picture was taken at St. Fatima Church in Renfrew where the H1N1 clinic was held - it got a chuckle from us!

Monday, November 16, 2009








Busy day - had to put a listing on the MLS - I know computers were supposed to save us time but, by the time I put the info on the MLS, then on our C21 website, send the ad to the paper etc - poof an afternoon gone!

Guess, that's like the "paperless" office that computers were supposed to give us - I use waaaaaay more paper now than I used to in my first office job. Back in the day of the typewriter we used much less paper - since we didn't want to have to type the whole thing over again, we typed it right the first time! Now, I print, proof, change, print, proof, change it again etc. Putting an offer on a house now entails a minimum of 4 different documents!

Nice day though - sunny and fairly mild. I remember a number of years ago when having a day mild enough (and no snow) to hang out laundry was a bonus, now, I expect to be able to hang my laundry out until the end of November. I can't say I actually mind the warm weather, but I suppose it's not really "right".

I have quite a bit of running around tomorrow - out to Douglas to show a farm, then back town to show a house. whew!

Kris bought me a lottery ticket the other day that you play like a Bingo card - I'm hooked!!!

today's picture isn't as dramtic as I thought it would be. The sky appeared to be darker when I shot it and I liked the look of the white farm house against the dark sky - only the sky wasn't really as dark as I thought - I like it though (no that's not the farm I have for sale - check out MLS#743239 for my listing)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Now THAT'S a turkey!!!



















I finally got a close up of those dumb wild turkey's!!! There is a field I drive past a couple of times a week and there are always a bunch (gaggle??? flock???) these wild turkeys. Today (unlike last week's picture) I was able to get a better shot. They must be thriving in the wild as they all look pretty big! hmmmm....turkey....

Nothing tooooo exciting this week - quiet as far as real estate goes - although today I listed a farm on 177 acres near Douglas. So, a drive out there today to put up a sign and get some pictures. Nice land, but the house needs some work.

It was our anniversary yesterday - 28 years! Wow!! We didn't do anything exciting - we've been avoiding busy public places while I await my H1N1 flu shot. Renfrew's first flu clinic is this Tuesday and I imagine the line will be quite long.

We are having serious cat issues lately - our older tabby cat, Max, who has NEVER played well with others, has become quite nasty with the smaller female cats. I think he ambushed Nibbles last nite - somewhere around 4 a.m. I heard Kris hollering at him and shortly afterwards I heard Max scrambling under our bed. Nibbles, who hasn't a mean bone in her body, was very nervous and jumpy today. Not sure what we can do with Max - maybe some kitty Prozac.....????

It's been a good week for Kris - on Monday he brought home (from the landfill site aka "the dump") a foozeball game minus the legs (might that be why it was in the dump??????) and yesterday he brought home an aquarium with allllll the accessories (lamp, filter, pump etc) I was expecting him to put fish in it (silly me) but I see he has two lizards in it - cute little buggers about 4 inches long. wonder if he'll name them.... wonder how long lizards live.....

never a dull moment! anyway today's pictures are the turkeys and a really nice old cookstove I saw in a house I was showing the other day. I get to see some of the neatest things in my job!!!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Way toooooooo much driving!!!



It's been long weekend - mostly spent on the road. Had a showing in Renfrew yesterday morning and then out to Killaloe in the afternoon to show a farm to a couple coming in from out of town. AND THEY NEVER SHOWED UP!!!! Really is unbelieveable why people do this. Not so bad if it is a property in town - but Killaloe is a good hike from Renfew - 190 kms to be exact - not to mention the inconvenience to the people who got their house ready for a showing!

And then today out to Griffith and then Mt. St. Patrick - another 175 kms. Same couple - they reversed the order of the showings (on their own) so that while I was at one place, they were at the other. some days in (weekends) are like that!

On the bright side, it was super driving weather all weekend - today we took the Mustang - might have been our last drive this year with it.

I've been having an absolute blast with a new game for my Nintendo DS. For those who don't know, the Nintendo DS is sort of like the old Game Boy - but WAY BETTER!!

I just got Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box for my DS. It is a bunch of brain-teasers and puzzles loosely strung together in a story. I love it! The only thing that is awkward, is when I'm at Wal-Mart looking for a new game and the clerks ask me the age of the kids I am buying a game for!!! Haha - it's for ME!!

BTW, Jamie passed his Level One Apprenticeship for Auto Mechanics. Way to go, Kiddo!

Still no H1N1 shots out in Renfrew yet - I think Renfrew's first clinic is the 17th or 18th, I imagine I should be prepared for a long lineup - oh well!

Today's pictures - Nibbles having a nap on the back of the couch - now that it is a bit colder, she has taken over that particular spot with a good view of the back yard.

The other picture we took today - you might not be able to spot them, but it's a bunch of wild turkeys. Don't know why, but years ago some governemtn organization released hundreds of these wild turkeys - they seemed to be doing well judging from the number of them I see.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

i HATE leaf blowers!!




I went out this afternoon to hang up some laundry and all I could hear (on what should have been a nice, quiet Sunday afternoon) was the sound of freaking leaf blowers! And I can't just blame neighbours - Rick has two of them himself. They are just so darn loud. Nice that those using them wear ear protection - but what about the rest of us!!!! Rakes were MUCH quieter.

Busy enough day - showed a couple of houses in Renfrew this morning, picked up a large plastic storage box to put all our Halloween stuff in, then home to catch the NASCAR race at Talledega. My driver sucked (as usual) Between him and his crew chief, one dumb mistake after another. Only 3 races left to the Championship and it looks like Jimmy Johnson has it locked up.

(hey Bill and Andrea, hope you didn't PVR the race for Monday night and I just blew it for you....LOL)

Today's pictures are our little guy Buddy (he's really not all that little anymore) and a shed/man cave that Kris is building back behind the house.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!!









Well looks like we'll be eating a LOT of chocolate for the next few days!! It is going on 8 o'clock and so far only about 20 kiddies - and I'm afraid the "rush" is over. I bought chocolate bars and chips for many, MANY more than that. In fact I have two large bowls of mini chocolate bars still left. Ahhhh, I miss the good old days when we got dozens and dozens of kids!

Funny, I see very few homemade costumes - cheaper to buy them at Wal-Mart, I guess.

Just got a two more trick or treaters - nice girls - said they always came up to our place because we have the best decorated house! We do make an effort - mind you, nothing like we used to do - Jamie & Kris used to always do a couple of stuffed dummies, fresh graves, axes and knives in pumpkins and Jamie used to line the front walk with flaming torches. The flaming torches always worried me a bit - but we never had an incident (or lawsuit - haha)

Today's picture is our flabby tabby - Missy - perched like a princess on a pillow and our "best decorated" house. It wasn't until I was downloading the pictures that I even noticed Buddy sitting beside the giant pumpkin. the perfect Halloween cat!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

where does the time go?


One day to Halloween!!! Wow - I cannot believe October is nearly over. I have enough treats for about 100 kids although it has been many MANY years since we have had that many kids. The last few years have been around 45 - 50. But, you never know - much depends the weather.

I'm trying not to get caught up in this H1N1 flu panic. I'm tend to not freak out over those things too much. Besides, I understand one doctor out here ordered 100(whoops - meant 1000 not 100) vaccines and received 120 - so I suppose no point in worrying about it - since there isn't likely to be enough to go around anyway!!!

It must be harder for those with kiddies, though. Rick has suggested we simply hibernate for a while, but where the fun in that????

Last weekend we had a fabulous visit with our friends Pam and Terry who are RV'ers. We had a great visit for a few days and then they were off to Sudbury and then onto the U.S. for the winter.

I haven't taken many pictures this week - it's just been raining and foggy and depressing, so here is one that a friend of Rick's e-mail him. A 1936 stainless stell car

where does the time go?

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Much running around











It was one of those days where I seemed to be running a bit behind all day. Out at 9:30 a.m. to Mount St. Patrick property for a home inspection. Three hours or so there then back to the office for a bit of paperwork.

I had planned to get my flu shot this afternoon at one of the clinics - but turns out it is only for the over 65 group (me in few years, I guess) Us, young'uns will have to wait until November to get our shots. Oh well.

So, after the flu shot thing didn't work out, it was back to the Mount St. Patrick area and up to the very top of Kenelly Mountain to list a super house that looks over the Ottawa Valley - incredible views! MLS#741562 if you want to check it out. Unfortunately it was a rainy day so the pictures are a bit on the dull side. I'll try to go up there on the first nice sunny day to re-take the pictures. Anyway, the place is fabulous - fingers crossed that it sells before the winter.

So, after listing that house we came back home for a quick supper and then wound up going back into the office for an hour to get an offer signed. So - we put a few kms on the carr today!

Kris is a bit sore tonite after taking a blow from a sledge hammer to his chest - he and another fellow are do some renovations on a house and the sledge hammer slipped out of his buddy's hand as he was swinging it - nasty blow. Between that and his still slightly sore teeth, he's having a rough time these last few weeks

todays picture is from the top of Kennelly Mountain (it's about 10 minutes from Calabogie ski peaks, BTW) and Rick putting up my sign.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Another fine day in the Valley








We got up this morning with the intention of driving into Ottawa for the day - do a bit of shopping (both window and real) but on the way through Renfrew I stopped at the office and discovered I was on duty this afternoon.

Duty time is when one agent is assigned to answer the real estate phone lines and sometimes you get a few "cold calls" (inquiries from people who are not currently working with an agent) and also any people coming into the office looking for information on listings. Can sometimes be a long boring stretch, but can also mean a listing or buyer - so we all do our "duty time".

I should have known I was on duty since I make up the schedule - but I forgot. So, we put off our trip to the big city for another day.

And.....I had a looooong boring afternoon! Ha!

We will try again later in the week.

Rick has managed to get a good supply of wood for the winter - all pretty well dead-fall and still more in the bush. Kris has cut and split a lot of it too. This is the perfect time of year for a fire - we are certainly enjoying our fireplace.

Today's picture - Kris and Rick's wall of wood! (and Nibbles having a cat nap)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Happy Fall!








Isn't this super weather??? I love this this time of year! I know most people like Spring, but I like this time of year when it is a comfortable temperature, no a/c's needed, no bugs - and Halloween just around the corner.

Must have been a good year for pumpkins this year - I think No Frills had hundreds of large pumpkins for sale! I can't remember EVER seeing so many for sale - I'm sure the stores will be giving them away by October 31st. I have a giant inflatable pumpkin that I will get set up on the front lawn soon.

Rick's been busy this week - finishing the venting under the eaves and painting the back of the house. Tomorrow he is putting in 3 new roof vents - these are much larger than the old ones. The idea is to increase the amount of air-flow in the attic. I think the last job will be to blow about 6 more inches of insulation in the attic. whew! He's been very busy this summer

I'm keeping busy as well - although real estate in Renfrew hasn't re-bounded quite like it has in Ottawa - it's picking up now.

Kris had 2 wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday - I think he was expecting it to be much worse than it actually was. He was back at work today and out to a friend's birthday party tonite - I'd say he was back to normal

Seeing it was such a nice day, we took the Pony for a drive towards Dacre, then on to Calabogie. Many of the trees have already lost their leaves as you can see by these two pictures I took at a bridge on Mount St. Patrick Road.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving







We had a nice thanksgiving dinner with the boys this afternoon. I had not planned on cooking a turkey, actually, but changed my mind yesterday while shopping, and I was lucky enough to snag the last fresh bird at the grocery store. At Jamie's request, I made a cheesecake and at Rick's request, I made tea bisquits.

I must admit, I don't bake like I used to, but things turned out okay, anyway.

Jamie wasn't feeling great - he's fighting a cold. Ditto for Rick and Kris - I'm fine - (so far anyway) - but the boys were reaching for the Buckleys quite a lot.

But didn't stop them from cutting some firewood in the bush before dinner. In fact, they all said the fresh air felt good. Personally, when I'm sick, I prefer a good book, cozy fire and hot tea....

Rick snapped these pictures of the boys playing lumber jack!