Peatt.net

First signs of tomato growth

Happy Canada Day!  Ryan and I headed down to Parliament Hill this morning for the noon hour show.  It was a spectacular event and we have the sun burns to prove it. 

We have also been in the house for about a month now.  The yard is still a mud pile but I have tomatoes growing in pots and we are as unpacked as we can be at this point.  We are really happy with the house and all the choices we made, but there is still lots to do.  Next up: installing blinds.  I feel a bit guilty about not having any better pictures to show you but I have put a few in Chez Nous for you to see.  Check out the Foodies tab to see how I’ve been enjoying the new kitchen and fresh summer ingredents when making lasagna!

Hi everyone,

We have moved into our new house – more to come on that soon.

We have a new address and phone number! Our new home phone number is 613 – 822 – one five three zero (spelled to avoid telephone number marketing spiders).

If you’d like our new address please send me an email by clicking “Email Ryan!” at the top of the screen to let me know.

Ryan

Tanya and I have decided to spend the May 2-4 long weekend packing (2-4 not pictured!). We are in the new house in one week and are getting very excited. The boxes have provided an excellent vantage point for the cats – something they really aren’t used to since we are currently in a basement apartment. We drove to the new house today to check it out – our garage doors were on, our granite countertops were in and our cupboards were installed! Our Pre-Delivery Inspection is on Wednesday.

Anyways, back to drinking. … er … I mean packing!

Star Trek is back with the new movie that opened this weekend.  Taking the original Star Trek characters this new film erases and re-writes their back story setting the stage for a number of Star Trek films to come over the next few  years.  The film had me crying in the first 10 minutes and cheering at the end.  Ryan declared it was probably the best action film he had ever seen.  The film student in me couldn’t help but notice the great contrasts 0f the film – the black infinite space was often broken by a blinding white light that consumed the screen.  The action scenes, jam-packed with noise and movement, were often contrasted with opera music, silence, or just breathing.  Aside from the esthetics, the film played on my favorite sci-fi theme: time-space confusion.  This theme became more prominent in the Voyager TV series and is indicative of globalization and the current technological revolution.  We saw the film on the IMAX and both agreed that that is really the only reason to go to the theatre these days. 

One month mark today; we dropped by the site and gave the multitudes of Quebecois bricklayers some beer and pop. The house exterior is close to being finished!

Lorraine also sent us a picture of our “Peatt Pile” which is being carefully guarded 24/7. We were out shopping again this weekend so Lorraine and Skip, if you are reading this, we will make a deposit shortly (please inform the guard).

BC Scene is on here in Ottawa and some colleagues and I took in a cooking demonstration at the National Arts Centre this week.  Chef Blackie from the NAC was presenting with Chef Robert Clark from Vancouver.  We ate delicious fish from the sea – oysters, prawns, scallops and it was all paired with fabalous BC wine.

Just over one month to go now and the house is looking good!  We visit weekly and are happy to report that bricks are going up, drywall seems done and the snow is long gone!  It looks like they will be doing a lot more work over the next week as well!

Every weekend for the last month or so Ryan and I have been making a weekly trip out to Riverside South to check on the progress of the house.  In a month it has gone from foundation to fully framed with a shingled roof,  with doors and windows.  The pictures show that there is still lots to be done but needless to say that we are ecstatic about there only being less than three months left until we move in.  Currently we are scheduled to take posession May 25th, a delay of only 2 weeks.  You can see the whole building process in our photo gallery.

We also seem to be visiting Manotick every week as well.  Lorraine and Skip kindly opened up their basement to us for storage.  It begun with a stove and now the pile takes up a large part of their basement as couches, built in vacuums, and home theatre equipment have gone on sale and were purchased.  The house may be constructed by Urbandale but the furnishings will make this the house that Costco built in the end. 

In other news, I have thrown myself into the art of Ukranian egg decorating known as psanki.  Also, I was recently promoted to become Minister Moore’s Director of Policy. 

Ryan and I just got back from a great week in Cuba!  Ryan surprised me with this last minute trip as a Christmas and Anniversary present a week before we left.  We had a great time in the sun and surf and had a very relaxing week overall.  The weather was great, we daily found a quiet spot on the beach, and there was a nice breeze to keep us from baking in the sun.  We are now back in the crazy Canadian weather and looking forward to a happy new year!  I hope you and your family enjoyed a great Christmas as well and I look forward to hearing all about your adventures and excitement!  This photo was taken on New Years Eve which we shared with the Elworthys.  We call it our “family photo”.