Zoe's Daddy's Blog

P's Latest

2012-01-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

P just completed a baby blanket that a friend of ours commissioned him to knit for an anonymous Christmas donation to a 'young expecting mom-to-be' in the new year. The gender is unknown so he used some gender neutral colours.

Jesse

2012-01-08T12:05:00.001-05:00

Jesse is our next door neighbour and the sweetest girl you could ever meet. Unfortunately, she has metastatic bone cancer and will leave us forever this coming Friday. As soon as I heard the news, I asked if I could take photos of Jesse for both our neighbours and for ourselves. The light was super harsh on this sunny January morning. I may try again later this evening.

A Few More Details

2011-10-22T17:25:00.000-04:00

Finishing Touches

2011-10-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

We started in February with wallpaper removal, then moved on to months of plaster repairs followed by painting and finally decorating. We finished just in the nick of time for our company over the Thanksgiving weekend. Now its time for a well deserved winter of indulgence, sloth and torpidity.

Tired Z

2011-10-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

Zoe likes company too but it tires her out. I can't believe she's 10 and a half years old . . .

"Please drop some turkey....you have no idea what its like living with two vegetarians..."

Thanksgiving Weekend Part Two

2011-10-14T13:07:00.000-04:00

This was Thanksgiving on Sunday:

The weather was warm and the colours reached their peak. These are just a couple from the park across the street.

Rose Marie made the MOST INCREDIBLE fresh rolls. MMMMMmmmmmmmm........

Marlene made yummy peanutty beans

"Seriously? I'm a carnivore and you're holding me over a carved turkey?"

Buffet style around the island then in to the dining room room for grace, a toast, then eating.

Thanksgiving Weekend Part One

2011-10-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

We had a lot of company this weekend. We love company. A great time seemed to be had by all.

This was the day before Thanksgiving.

Rose-Marie made apple pie:

We grew these eggplants in our square foot gardens and made super yummy baked eggplant parmesan

A New Project Begins

2011-10-13T17:40:00.000-04:00

She SO Would Not Sit Still For Me...

2011-10-13T17:38:00.002-04:00

A Day Off...

2011-10-13T17:17:00.001-04:00

We took off for a care-free afternoon of eating and shopping today.

The Last COuple of Days

2011-10-13T17:14:00.000-04:00

Thanksgiving photos to follow...

Playing

2011-09-18T10:25:00.000-04:00

A few from July...

Axel Visits

2011-09-14T21:53:00.000-04:00

G & J Visit

2011-09-14T21:51:00.000-04:00

A few more . . .

2011-08-28T00:24:00.000-04:00

Wedding Photos

2011-08-24T20:30:00.001-04:00

This is the second time I've agreed to take photos as a favour to friends. I have no idea why anyone would choose this as a full time career. Its huge amounts of high-stress work. At the same time though its challenging and quite rewarding...

I'm also trying out a new app: Blog Stomp. It let's me arrange photos in collages and resizes everything automatically, ready to blog. I *LOVE* it and I've only been using it for an hour. Thoughts?

Girls getting ready:

The wedding took place at a stunning rural property between Waterloo and Elora:

The beautiful, beautiful Bride:

Lunch

2011-08-21T17:43:00.000-04:00

At Last . . .

2011-08-06T19:20:00.000-04:00

I'm sure Ella was thinking about heirloom tomatoes when she wrote that song. Perhaps I'm projecting. Anyways, the first of my tomatoes have ripened. The sting of last year's total crop failure due to the wretched black walnut trees lining our property was still being felt. However a solution has been found.

These are a staple: Brandywine. Common enough now to be purchased at my local PC grocery store.

Random

2011-08-06T17:55:00.000-04:00

Square Foot Gardening

2011-08-06T17:52:00.000-04:00

I will never grow vegetable in a traditional rectangular garden again. I've seen the light. SFG's are orders of magnitude more efficient than a regular plot producing far more food, reducing watering and weeds and actually look really great and add structure to a yard. We built twelve this year and plan on doing more next year.

The tomato plants are 7 to 8 feet tall now and loaded with fruit. There are eggplants, nasturtiums, lettuces, zucchini, heirloom beets and about 80 basil plants.

Its hard to get excited about lettuce but this stuff is beautiful and delicious.

YK pt 3

2011-08-06T17:44:00.001-04:00

Our friends now have two dogs:

The divine Ms Sadie:

And their newest edition, Tobie:

So cute!

More YK

2011-08-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

Yellowknife is really beautiful. It was great to share it with P this time.

Our hosts: Dan and Lori:

What we've been up to...

2011-08-05T22:00:00.002-04:00

I've never neglected the blog this long. Its been crazy busy since March. Let's get to it:

Just before spring hit, we were inside removing acres of hideous 70's wallpaper:

Some unexpected messages:

Then spring arrived.

I had to go to Edmonton to do a talk:

And since we were so close to Yellowknife, we stopped for a week to visit with friends:

Well after midnight:

A couple walking home: Even in May the lake was still a viable way to get home for some though it was softening up quickly.

Then the Big Dig part II began: re-landscaping the backyard after the geothermal system was added.

An endless sea of weeds:

Then the sod truck arrived. This was one of many:

All flattened out:

The future pear alle

Then other friends of ours got a new puppy named Gauge:

I took some photos of other friends:

Then we had a 8 week drought: barely 5 mm's of rain in two months. We spent every waking hour watering the new lawn. Honestly, it was indescribably exhausting but it was either that or lose the lawn we had just put in. Its establishing nicely though. Thankfully, we didn't have to spend a penny on water since it all came from our well which taps in to the aqua duct that runs beneath the property. So we ran the sprinklers with abandon.

And now we're back inside the house repairing plaster walls and getting ready to paint in preparation for visitors in October which we're very much looking forward to.

More photos to come.

D

GG 1912-2011

2011-03-03T07:24:00.000-05:00

GG, as everyone in my family has been known to call her (no, she's never prorogued parliament but she does have many Great Grandchildren) passed yesterday at 11:57 PM. I've been flooded with childhood memories of eating weekday lunches at her home, cooking and gardening with her and, in most recent years, been inspired by her energy, forthrightness and unfailing kindness.

GG, you will be missed terribly.

Fortunately, she visited our new home this past Christmas:

One of the most vivid memories of my time at my Grandmother's house was of Forgotten Cookies. Basically, its a simple sweetened meringue with chocolate chips folded in, put in a preheated oven that is immediately turned off, and you walk away until the next day and take them out. I haven't had any for decades but I made some at Christmas in honour of her visit. Half had the traditional chocolate chips, the other half had Skor bits folded in. They are still as delicious as they were when I was a kid.

Another strong memory is of the dishes she always had when we were growing up and when she was raising three boys. I have those dishes now and eat with them all the time.

P's Vest

2011-01-23T14:27:00.001-05:00

P has finished his vest. There are all kinds of modifications and personal touches to this one. It was very complex but the result is spectacular, I think.

Making Pancakes

2011-01-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

Is anything better than a Sunday morning?

First step: follow a recipe from a book lovingly prepared for you by your Grandmother:

Add dry Ingredients:

All the while, keep your Jack Russell entertained:

Wet ingredients:

The finished, incredibly yummy product: (Yes, I'm crazy spoiled)

Later Afternoon Sun

2011-01-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

The Weekend So Far...

2011-01-15T17:38:00.002-05:00

We're keeping this weekend low-key after the holiday season and a LOT of work around the house.

We started off with some AMAZING banana pancakes:

I couldn't resist taking a photo of my salt and pepper shakers to show you:

Then outside. The river is completely snow covered but I'm sure there's moving water under there.

One more kid pic...

2010-12-18T16:59:00.000-05:00

My favourite kid of all!

A couple more from the wedding

2010-12-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

Little red velvet beauties:

Procession:

Me showing off my incompetence with flash:

Kid Pics

2010-12-18T16:33:00.001-05:00

This is my first attempt at using the natural light in the house for photography. Children are so challenging to photograph! I don't think I have a future in children's photography.

This little one was SO shy. She wouldn't let me come anywhere near her with the camera. We were fast friends towards the end of the visit though, so perhaps next time. She made friends with Zoe though after sharing her chicken spring rolls with her.

My first wedding

2010-12-12T14:37:00.001-05:00

Not mine personally, but the wedding of some friends. I was exceedingly nervous about taking this on, but ultimately it was a lot of fun and it was great to help out some wonderful people.

Blazing New Trails

2010-11-15T14:16:00.000-05:00

About a 5 minute drive from our house is 900 acres of untouched Carolinian forest full of trails. Its very hilly but we let Zoe off of her leash and she stayed on the paths and bounced through the trails like a puppy. Not bad for coming up on 10 years of age.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, I'm doing some catching up here . . .

Devan's new friends

Devan picks out a pumpkin for D & P

Wine & Cheese

2010-11-15T12:58:00.000-05:00

We had our first wine and cheese a couple of weeks ago. We know virtually nothing about either but we know a little about good food and fortunately we have the very best and most forgiving friends.

P made fresh breadsticks for the occasion:

Last of Galveston

2010-10-17T16:22:00.001-04:00

More Galveston

2010-10-09T16:14:00.000-04:00

Galveston Oh Galveston

2010-10-08T21:06:00.002-04:00

I had to go to Texas(s) for work this week. One hour south of Houston is Galvestion Island. The beaches are beautiful.

A couple of couples:

End of the Big Dig

2010-10-08T21:03:00.000-04:00

It actually only took 3 days. It took them one full day just to penetrate the foundation with a hole large enough for 3 two inch pipes. They don't build 'em like they used to. Let's hope they still patch 'em like they used to.

Top soil mountain:

Looking down in to the foundation:

The bottles we're unearthed by the excavators and were gentle enough to remove them without breaking them.

Experiment

2010-09-28T16:31:00.000-04:00

A Great Couple

2010-09-28T16:28:00.001-04:00

Our friends Randy and Nancy are getting married in December. They wanted some pictures taken and I was happy to oblige. When the guns came out I was momentarily frightened but they're really quite harmless.

My P

2010-09-28T09:27:00.000-04:00

I took this quick snap of my 'assistant' P at a recent photo shoot:

The Big Dig

2010-09-23T19:48:00.003-04:00

The geothermal system is a go! After many painful months of dealing with prospective contractors, the work is going ahead. The poor old house has no idea what's happening around it but in the years to come, it will be warm through winter and cool in summer after this brief disruption. We're quite proud of the fact that this big, 134 year old home will not consume any form of fossil fuel for heat while adding the mod-con of central air AND reducing heating costs by 55%. With work on the three main floor wood fireplaces completed, we hope to be quite cozy this coming winter.

Hold on to your hats....here come the pics:

New Table

2010-09-18T12:17:00.004-04:00

We went to the fantastic Christie Antique show at the Christie Conservation lands near Hamilton last weekend and found ourselves a dining room table! Our vacuous dining room has been crying out to be filled. We had set the furnishing of the dining room as a long term goal knowing that it is both hard to find nice looking furniture and very expensive. But luck was on our side last weekend when we stumbled on this unique oak table and, with alot of help from P's mom's house warming gift, we were able to make the acquisition! It suits our tastes and the room beautifully. We can't wait to have our first dinner party. Anyone willing to drive to Ayr for a lovely meal by the fire?

Acquiring the table triggered a flurry of furniture moving on the main floor. Our circular dining table from the old house is now in the niche in the kitchen so we have an eat-in kitchen now which is very exciting since guests will no longer be forced to stand for hours while conversing with the cook.

I did manage to bring in a couple of heirloom tomatoes this year. It was a dismally small crop though. My all-time, bar-none favourite meal:

We love the chunky turned legs

We also found some lightning rods in excellent condition and while we intended to put them on the room (where the lightning rods have inexplicably vanished) we think they make better tchatchki's.

Its 8 feet long so we can comfortably seat eight and somewhat more intimately seat ten. P and I had a lovely meal just last night in front of our very first fire. I worked a fair bit of overtime this week and P had beautiful eggplant parmigiano waiting for me when I got home.

Yes eagle-eyed readers, there is the minor detail of not having any chairs, but they are much easier to find than a table which is the room's focal point.

Paris (Ontario)

2010-09-07T17:37:00.003-04:00

The Paris Fair

2010-09-06T23:04:00.003-04:00

The Paris Fair was on this weekend. It was good old fashioned fun.

The Monkey

2010-09-06T23:02:00.003-04:00

I caught someone 'making a bed' on one of the chairs in the living room. Yes, that's our wallpaper. We should have all of that hideousness gone after a nice long cold winter....or two.

The Chefs

2010-09-06T22:58:00.003-04:00

Yes, that is the siren call of homemade perogies!

The Knitters

2010-09-06T22:55:00.002-04:00

Horses Pt II

2010-07-28T20:01:00.003-04:00

Country Living

2010-07-28T07:26:00.003-04:00

These two handsome devils pulled up right in front of our house yesterday. Piper street often sees horses out for exercise. These two belong to Nithridge Estates on the other side of the river.

Crocosmia lucifer

2010-07-16T07:15:00.004-04:00

I've wanted to grow this butterfly and hummingbird attracting plant for years. I made many attempts at the old house but failed due to lack of light. Luckily, there was a huge clump of it waiting for me at the new house. More pics of this interesting plant to come as it begins to bloom.

Hibiscus

2010-07-13T19:59:00.003-04:00

Our amazing friend Cath drove out to Ayr the other day and delivered a very, very old hibiscus to us that had outgrown her home. It started to bloom immediately. We're so grateful for the gift and for her as our friend!

Canada Day in Ayr

2010-07-08T18:59:00.007-04:00

Once again I have allowed to blog to lapse in to inactivity. I finally finished going through my photos from Canada Day so here they are:

We explored down the slope to the river, past the pump house with the kids:

Sparklers were lit:

Our very first campfire was built and lit too!

Marshmallows were toasted . . .

And consumed!

Zoe made some new friends:

Brothers and sisters:

We hope everyone comes back soon!

Front Door

2010-06-25T22:42:00.002-04:00

Settling In

2010-06-06T11:49:00.005-04:00

Zoe likes the new Lee Valley garden cart (Thanks so, so, so much to everyone at BCH for making it possible!)

She also likes the front porch:

And the low windows in the sunroom:

And the warm driveway on a sunny day:

Last Few From Waterloo

2010-06-06T11:33:00.002-04:00

She was always my special favorite. She was in full bloom when we moved. I'd like to think it was her saying 'Good-Bye'.

Back in the day . . .

2010-05-16T11:15:00.003-04:00

The current owners of the house in Ayr kindly loaned us some of the historical material associated with the house. The shutters are gone; they were sent out for painting and the place they were sent to burned down apparently, and the porches (sadly) have been replaced.

The boxes are filled with knitted socks and other accessories for Canadian soldiers in WWII

House Tour

2010-05-08T17:00:00.003-04:00

We had a chance to tour our soon-to-be home and meet the current owners today. One of the current owners is the great grand daughter of the original owner and she had so much history to share and so many stories to tell. They are super nice. Here's a couple of quick pics from the garden walk about. Buying a house in January is sub optimal when it comes to evaluating the quality of the gardens. Well, we can mow say they are beautiful with many established beds and lots of potential for more!

OK, just one more . . .

2010-05-01T23:33:00.002-04:00

Freshly Groomed and Ready for Ayr

2010-05-01T23:29:00.002-04:00

Zoe got her spring grooming. She looks like a puppy again after a long winter of letting it grow out. She'll be looking her best when we move to Ayr in less than 3 weeks!

On My Way Home From Work . . .

2010-05-01T12:21:00.004-04:00

2010-04-24T13:40:00.006-04:00

We took a break from packing and walked to Uptown for a slice and a coffee franchise experience . . .

When people in strange costumes started walking by . . . We still have no idea what the occasion was.

2010-04-24T13:38:00.002-04:00

Toothless

2010-04-18T21:27:00.003-04:00

A mouth full of holes:

And another on its way:

A Few More . . .

2010-04-11T11:02:00.003-04:00

My 100th Post!

2010-04-10T20:12:00.005-04:00

Who knew that one year ago when we got back from Europe, I'd have 100 posts in my photo blog! I can't wait for the next 100.

What better subjects to feature in this milestone blog than my two favorites: P and Z

A Colleague's Daughter

2010-04-10T17:32:00.007-04:00

What a natural beauty she is!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T11:58:00.001-04:00

Eaton's Center

2010-04-04T11:53:00.004-04:00

We went shopping yesterday. The deals are amazing.

No, birds, we do not share our Starbucks.

P enjoying his latte before the stores open.

Gelato

2010-03-19T20:12:00.003-04:00

Another Evening at the Park

2010-03-19T18:25:00.004-04:00

Back to the Park

2010-03-18T20:54:00.003-04:00

Around The House

2010-03-06T12:00:00.004-05:00

Oh my heavens, it seems ages since I've been taking photos and posting here. We bought a house, sold a house (in 5 hours!), I've been in and out of the hospital, I've got a new job in a new city . . . its truly been a whirl wind month or so. Here are a few photos from lazy Saturday here at 99 John. I can't believe that I can actually count down the number of weekends we have left here! I've been a magical 7 years here. The house has been very good to us: welcoming, comforting, light and warm. We couldn't have asked for more.

Getting back to it:

Genius at work:

My angel:

We're Knackered!!!

2010-02-14T19:56:00.006-05:00

Well, after one and a half weeks of intense negotiations with the owners (two VERY tough cookies; one lawyer, one crown attorney) the house is officially ours! We drove down this afternoon to take a peak at the house with the 'Sold' sign on it.

We are crazy excited. However, now the real work begins. We have to sell our house. Thank heavens for Family Day in Ontario and the long weekend. We're working to present the house at its best for potential buyers this coming week. Here's hoping they open their wallets. . .

The photos aren't ours, but the house is!

2010-02-02T07:22:00.006-05:00

Sorry the blog has been stale of late but . . .we've been a little busy. We bought a house! Its a Victorian built in 1876 and owned by the same family ever since. Its never been on the market and sits on just over 1 acre of waterfront property in the tiny village of Ayr just 2 minutes to the 401, 5 minutes west of Cambridge. The property is like a park full of trees and gardens that overlooks the Nith River and valley. We certainly didn't go looking for a home this size or this grand but the location, the lot and the home drew us in.

We have a home inspection in the coming days so I'll take some of my own photos then.

The solarium

The parlour:

The library is a converted bedroom:

The carriage house:

Yet another P Creation

2010-01-21T18:06:00.001-05:00

Experimental Stuff

2010-01-19T19:48:00.004-05:00

Vampire P?

Constant Companion

2010-01-19T19:41:00.000-05:00

Winter Light

2010-01-19T19:33:00.005-05:00

The light was very warm and pretty one recent weekend morning.

Stained glass in sunroom:

Quince still hanging on...

Arbor:

Anemone stems:

P's Latest Projects

2010-01-11T19:11:00.004-05:00

P's been busy. He made himself an incredible, beautiful, sweater. He's also working on a little something for our friend D who just had a baby:

Last Ones

2009-12-29T19:30:00.003-05:00

A couple more

2009-12-27T17:52:00.002-05:00

From our amazing Christmas dinner L and C's

Holidays

2009-12-27T14:24:00.006-05:00

Winter Sun

2009-12-12T12:41:00.003-05:00

Devan Makes (and eats) a Gingerbread House

2009-12-06T10:52:00.001-05:00

Cont'd

2009-11-29T15:47:00.007-05:00

A couple of different treatments and poses:

An Entirely New Park

2009-11-28T17:32:00.008-05:00

For a change, we chose Victoria Park in Kitchener for our Saturday afternoon stroll.

One more of P. He's so patient with me always asking him to pose.

Flora, Fauna, Family

2009-11-16T10:09:00.009-05:00

Warm November

2009-11-07T16:02:00.001-05:00

Viv

2009-11-03T16:33:00.005-05:00

This is my amazing, creative, entrepreneur friend Vivian of Green Cottage Galleries in Shakespeare. Her store features antiques, findings, art, and the finest custom framing. She needed a couple of promo shots and she graciously consented to allowing a couple of them to be posted here.

The artist at work:

One More Fall Pic

2009-10-28T19:00:00.002-04:00

Winter's Coming

2009-10-28T18:58:00.002-04:00

Cold Water

2009-10-28T18:55:00.000-04:00

A Friendly Weekend

2009-10-28T18:22:00.007-04:00

Loads of friends were over this weekend.

Our friend D is expecting. P knitted her a stunning baby blanket which we gave to her this weekend

This is our friend D's belly with P's blanket in the background.

Our Super Friend Lola:

Sangrias were made (and consumed)

Lola has known Zoe since she was a baby. Zoe goes crazy when she hears her voice.

We visited Q2C the Perimeter Institute's birthday celebrations.

Mars Rover:

I was ill just watching people do this:

Super conductivity:

We went for a nice walk on Sunday with my sister, J. It was a beautiful day in K-W though the fall colours were past their peak.

J and L

Thanksgiving part 4

2009-10-14T19:14:00.005-04:00

On the holiday Monday, P and I took P's mom to William Lyon Mackenzie House. Its a large, beautiful, cedar roof home located on a huge woodland lot here in Kitchener where the former Prime Minister grew up. The house is run exactly as it would have been run back in the day. We were very impressed by the knowledgeable staff, the smell of fresh baked pumpkin cookies coming from the kitchen, the sound of the flute from the parlour and the beautiful antiques in each room. What a gem we found in our own neighbourhood!

I love the title of this book. I wish I could have reached inside the case to read the 19th century wisdom.

P's mom in the large Butler's pantry soaking in the wisdom from this lady dressed in period costume.

A modern child playing a very old game. He lost his interest pretty quickly. It can't hold a candle to a Nintendo DSi I guess.

Thanksgiving part 3

2009-10-14T18:58:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, P and I took P's mom to Stratford for lunch at the always delicious, Italian restaurant Pazzo for thin crust, wood fired pizzas. We strolled along Ontario street, browsed the shops, and took a walk along the river.

Thanksgiving part 2

2009-10-14T18:42:00.007-04:00

I accompanied a professional photographer, Shirley Bittner of Ottawa, on a photo shoot over the weekend. I spent most of the time trying not to make a nuisance of myself and staying out of Shirley's way. I got a few shots however. The couple are P's cousin, N, and her boyfriend J.

Thanksgiving

2009-10-08T19:39:00.001-04:00

P's mom has arrived! The two knitters hard at work:

2009-10-01T17:41:00.000-04:00