A House

So Tina and I are in the midst of planning for a house. We want to build on our property which means demolishing the house and garage we have and starting over. Of course this is all contingent on me getting a teaching job. So much up in the air but we need to decide on stuff and have it planned so when we're ready we can get started. We've been looking at a lot of plans. A LOT of plans. One of the things we're going to need to change on almost any plan is the size of the bathroom and walkin closet off the master bedroom. We're not into needing that much room. At least not for that kind of stuff. We're also looking at what we want in a house compared to what kind of square footage we can afford. So many questions. An we want to have geo thermal and a grey water return system. And I would really like an open ceiling in the living room. ugh. So anyway, I'm going to try and blog throughout the process. We're going to go to an architect soon. And talk to our builder. And hope I get a job. And hope I graduate. Good Times

cheers

A lot to catch up on.

Well, I've been putting this off for a long while now. So much has changed. My hands hurt right now from drywalling. I'm so not used to this.

We had ACT fest last weekend. flatlands theatre company hosted the Association of Community Theatres in Manitoba's annual festival. I had the privilege of being the emcee. It was wonderful. I had so much fun. Theatre people are an awesome group to hang out with. People like Jeanette and Darren and Tina put a lot of work into making this festival happen. They did great. It made being an emcee that much easier.

The downside of the weekend was the death of our cat Mitzy. She was hit by a car late Saturday afternoon. We were devastated. There were a lot of tears from all of us. I'm not totally shocked it happened though. Mitzy came to us as a stray and was too used to a life of roaming wherever she wanted to. She was constantly running back and forth over the road. I loved that cat. She was perfect.

Our house is driving me nuts. We've had water seeping into our basement for over a week now. And no it's raining so it's seeping in even more. So frustrating. At least there are no flood waters running in.

I'm working in Winnipeg again. I'm home one night a week. I wish I could be at home more. Thank goodness this is only a temporary thing. I'd go into depression if this was to be the rest of my life.

anyway, happy rainy day every one.

cheers

It's not just Superstore

Our grocery shopping can be quite the adventure. We don't go to just one place to get everything. In fact, there is a lot of driving involved. The following is a list of the places we go to, what we get, and the rationale.

Meat

Spenst Bros.

It's owned by some local cattle farmers. The started up the store during the BSE crisis because they couldn't send anything to the states. So the beef is locally grown, they don't use steroids in their animals and they're pasture fed as much as possible. And the owners are really nice. And they make great frozen pizzas.

Fruits and Vegetables

Giesbrechts

This started off as a large shed where they sold watermelons whenever a trucker came back with a load from Texas. It has turned into a little fruit and vegetable store. We go there because it's locally owned and the stuff is a bit fresher. Being a trucker, he is the middle man, so we're removing one step from the field or orchard to our plate.

Bread

Valley Bakery

Again, owned locally. Their bread is way better than the stuff from Co-op or Superstore.

Cinnamon Bread and Bagels

Funk's Bakery

Owned locally (sense a them here?). The kids love the cinnamon bread for breakfast and Tina likes the bagels.

Milk

Organic Meadows/Kroekers

We pick up our milk at Kroeker's but it is from the Organic Milk co-operative of Manitoba. There is a farm close to Winkler that is a part of it. So it's not only local but organic as well.

Potatoes, Onions and Carrots

Heartland Fresh Pak

Ok we don't actually buy from here. They are a producer south of Winkler. We won a years worth of vegetables from Genesis House last year so every month we head over there for some goods.

Eggs

Tina's Cousin

How could I forget. Tina's cousin has free range chickens (in the summer at least, NO CAGES) and they are not fed the gross steroid infested feed of other chickens. Whenever we need eggs we place a call and they are delivered the next morning. YAY!!

Honey

Burwalde Woods

There is a family out by Winkler Bible Camp that produces their own honey. Their store is a sign on their yard with two shelves that has three different sizes of containers for honey and a box with a slot to put your money. No kidding. And during the winter this is the same place we go skiing.

That's about all i can think of.

cheers