Christmas

The evidenceThe fact that there is no chimney at the Tall House has been the subject of many bedtime chats between myself and our little Superhero. Little Superhero: What if HE can't make it in, Mummmyyyyy? Mummmyyyyy: Well, then he'll use the door. Little Superhero (shaking his head vehemently with panic in his voice): No, nooo cause that...

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Frozen Pipes

Well, what I saw coming a mile away sadly happened. No amount of panic on my part, seemed to imprint on Manu the importance of getting heat to the basement. -The pipes are going to freeze. - No they won't. Manu, having wisely preferred to live at home during his early adulthood rather than rough it in student apartment squalor, was sadly oblivious to the facility with which pipes in northern climes freeze. The fact that I had...

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Second Hand Dust

The dust clouds behind the plastic sheeting.The dust, not content to invade every nook and cranny of the Tall House, has branched out to the neighbour's. And they are hopping mad. I must say I can't blame them. It's bad enough for us, but we created it. Nobody wants to have to deal with our second hand dust. Like second hand smoke, second...

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You know that the renovations have taken over your life when...

Little Superhero (holding up his toy sword): Mummyyyyy, I can't find the scaffolding for my wizard sword. Mummy: ... Mummy: ... Mummy: Oh, you mean the scabbard. Little Superhero: Oh yeah, that's what I meant. Mummy: ... Little Superhero: ... Little Superhero: Mummyyyyyyyyy, I knew that. It's just that scaffolding is a word I hear more often. Mummy: ...

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Doors week

Manu attacking the back door shedA bonus from the shed: old boards that will be repurposed elsewhere in the houseRIP the shedThe brick having been sawed, the left opening is ready for the door framePF and Louis looking rather biblical while they install the first frameThe first door is in! View from the backyardSo much lightThey're in!What...

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The arrival of the doors.

The first frame makes its arrival. The boarded up openings. Good for keeping people out. Bad for letting sunlight in.Even as we begrudgingly left our bed at the ungodly hour, dictated by the Princess, of 5:30, we could feel the excitement in the air. The doors were arriving today! The oh so unsightly, ghetto fabulous,...

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A Tall House Primer (or where we are at)

Click on image to enla...

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The Tall House Tour

Okay. Its starting to get to us. Well to me mostly, Manu is still holding on strong. I find myself falling asleep at night, fantasizing about a finished house. I miss knowing where to find things. I miss cleanliness. I miss being able to have friends over. I miss having free time. And more importantly, I miss that wonderful, relaxing moment...

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Halloween in disguise

An art director, a real estate agent and an engineer disguised as drywallers.The moaning liftSo on a dark and stormy Halloween morning I took the kids to their swimming lessons, while Manu, Fabio and Casanova attacked the dry wall. Armed with an old lift that was badly in need of oiling, the guys toiled away to the not so soothing but oh...

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Emilie

Down the street, past the Poet's house, lives the incredible powerhouse known to us simply as Emilie. Emilie is the kind of woman that makes most of us wonder what we are all doing with our time. A mother of two small children, Emilie runs her own business, is active at her kids' school, has been the instigator (or in the very least the facilitator)...

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Our Second Wind

There is nothing like a few sunny days to put everything right and to make the dust clouds disappear. So although we did very little on the house this weekend, the sun has re energized us and given us our second wind. While the Little Superhero and I prepped the exterior for Halloween and the Princess slept in her chariot, Manu took advantage of the time by calculating the amount of sheets of drywall (55!) that need to be ordered...

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The Haunted House

The great advantage of living in an old house that has been all but abandoned for many years is that it comes pre-decorated for Halloween. Dilapidated victoriana? Check. Old cobwebs? Check. Boarded up, broken panes of glass? Check. For the Tall House's exterior is as much in need (if not more!) of TLC as the inside, but it being the season,...

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Uh oh! or The to do list

We have been working for over five months now on this phase of renovations and quite frankly, I at least, am starting to wonder if we will ever see the end of it. Money is quickly running out and we are finding it more and more difficult to schedule in DIY time in and around our already busy lives. Thankfully the economic downturn has turned...

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Sound proofing

Now, I would be what Jerry Seinfeld once famously qualified as a low-talker, with a voice that is practically inaudible to anybody over forty. But Manu, on the other hand, has a voice that can be heard across a packed rock venue - with the band playing. Believe me, this is no exaggeration. People have stopped Manu in the street and asked...

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Plumbing

The beauteous copper pipes. Basement view.The living room pipes. Gorgeous.Oh the pressure!Well it looks like all our scheming and  trickery has back fired. Call it karma or just plain bad luck but dear Zio Peter is off the hook. When we first started this phase of renovations we naively thought the only plumbing intervention that would...

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