Summer's Here & Garden Views

Have to admit I'm lovin this new province of mine a whole lot better now that the nice weather has arrived. And what I love most about the weather here, is while we have some pretty warm days it seems to cool off in the evenings. Ideal for sleeping & so far no need for fans or air conditioning. And definitely not missing the humidity that was oh so common in Ontario.

Spotted this sign at the Doggy Daycare on my way into town. Had to share it with you just to prove we do have summer weather here in Nova Scotia.

Oh and here's a pic of my house without all the snow. Haven't done much out front other than add a few plants here and there. Really need to paint the the front door and shutters to get rid of the Pepto Bismol blue colour. Any ideas on what colour to paint them are most welcome?

.In the early spring, hubby dug up part of the lawn to create a mini vegetable/flower garden. But by fall this little garden will have to go. Need to widen the driveway to make more room for Olaf our RV. Also found out there's too much shade here for gardening so the garden needs to find a sunnier hangout. Hubby has already removed the wood beams that created the edging and has removed some ornamental plants too.

Came home from the gym the other day and Hubby had started digging a pond. It's amazing what all happens while I'm at the gym. And I thought he said we weren't gonna have another pond. Well I guess that didn't happen. If you look to the far right in this pic, you will notice our mushroom. It was created using an old dome light from our office and a glass carafe we had kicking around. Idea came from Pinterest of course! I wanted to turn it into a bird bath but the mushroom idea won out.

Pond View from another angle. This area is still a work in progress!

We have a bunch of prickly berry bushes here and there and everywhere. This is gonna be their new home once berry season is done. Too many thorns attacking us when we try to interact in our gardens. Hubby took the beams from our mini garden to create this space. 

Never a Dull Moment in Sack Vegas!

Hello Again Hello, Hello My Friend Hello!

Stole that line from Neil Diamond. Not actually stealing cause I am giving him credit for it. Just thought it was an appropriate way to begin my post since I've been an absentee blogger.
Now that the weather is nice there is just so much to do around here. And who wants to be inside blogging when you can be outside watching fertilizer grow! Yep you read that right!
A few weeks ago we purchased some grass seed to fill in a few spots in the lawn and we've been patiently waiting for the grass seeds to sprout ever since. Hubby has been faithfully watering the areas & regular rain and warm daytime temps have been ideal for growing grass. But not a single blade of grass to be seen. We both were puzzled as to why the seed was not sprouting since we bought xyz brand of grass seed which is supposed to be one of the better brands. And we had purchased cheaper brands in the past with better results. So earlier this week, hubby finally decided to check out the grass seed bag in the garage to see if it would tell him when we could expect to see some green... and he came in grinning.
For the past few weeks we had been growing fertilizer or at least attempting to!

But seriously I have really been busy and here's why. Our RV now known as Olaf arrived just in time to celebrate Canada Day and we've been busy spiffing him up ever since. And why did we call it Olaf? Well no particular reason. We were just sitting around after dinner sipping wine & chatting and hubby thought we should give the RV a name. Hubby had volunteered  in Tunisia many moons ago and had traveled in a van called Wilma, and that lead to our discussion of naming the RV. We wanted something simple & memorable so Olaf it is. I will no longer be calling it an RV or a trailer which was stuck in my head due to being a previous camping trailer owner.

Well speaking of Olaf, let me tell you about some of the mischief he has already created. Firstly found a mouse nest in his insides, thankfully no mices. Then one of his dirty rugs decided to remove it's backing and clog up the filter in my washing machine. Oh that was fun & a lot of unexpected amount of time consumption. Can't wait for what other mischief he will bestow upon us next!

Our Olaf Mobile

On another note we bought a bike carrier so we can take Penny Lane along on bike rides with us. Finally got around to giving it a practice ride around the block. Hoping to take a much needed break from spiffing up Olaf & heading out on a longer bike ride soon.

Hubby & his new cycling buddy Penny L

Wordless Wednesday Household Befores & Afters

Bathroom Reno Revealed

I know you're probably all wondering about the Downstairs Bathroom Reno Pics that I promised you. Well here they are; was waiting for the mirror glass to arrive.

The first two pics are how the bathroom looked before. As you can see it was only a half bath with with the washer & dryer sharing the space.

 And here are the after pics. 

Let me give you a rundown about all that happened here. First we removed old washer & dryer and sold them so we could purchase a stacking washer/dryer unit for our utility room. And then removed pretty much everything else.
To cut costs we kept the original cabinet & just painted it & purchased new hardware for it.

An old picture frame we had kicking around was turned into a mirror by just purchasing a piece of mirrored glass. A few Ikea finds such as the light fixture above the vanity, the sink & the faucet were relatively inexpensive purchases.

 Toilet & tub & new window were purchased on sale. The wood looking wall & ceiling were made of an inexpensive but high grade of plywood & then stained. Shelving was created by using leftover plywood & re-using some of the laminate that was above the old washer & dryer. We kind a splurged a bit on the counter top & on the flooring but hey sometimes you just gotta splurge on something. What I love about the new counter most is that hubby moved the vanity over & extended the counter to create more surface as well as an open shelf below. And another thing he did which you can't actually see, is create a fully functional top drawer instead of a fake one.
Lovin my new space already!

One Beachy Day Adventure

OK so it wasn't exactly a great hair day thanks to the wind but it was a great day to try my first lobster roll ever. And trust me I was being adventurous cause I'm not exactly the adventurous type when it comes to food. Yep I'm thinking lobster rolls can grow on me! Enjoyed this at Musquodoboit Harbour Can you say Musquodoboit? 

Here's a few pics of beach finds minus driftwood ones found while walking on Martinique Beach. Found a bunch of broken sand dollars but then Peter found a complete one YAY and some pretty sea glass too!

Sadly we spotted not one but two dead seals on the beach. Tells me there must be live ones hanging around here. Hopefully next time we'll be spotting some live ones instead. R.I.P. & may you guys go to seal heaven! 

The Rare One That Got Away & Heat Pumps

Ever hear the story about the fish that got away? Well today was one of those days but it was a perfect pic that got away and not a fish!
While hubby and I were puttering around outside, hubby spotted a deer on our front lawn, but by the time we went to check it out, Daddy Deer had ran down the road and disappeared. But then we spotted Mama Deer & Baby Deer by the mailboxes on the roadside. Hubby ran in to get his camera but I scared them away before he could get a pic. They were so close to the road and I was afraid they were gonna run in front of a car that was ripping down the street. It was the coolest thing ever cause they were so close and baby deer was a white one and I have never seen a white deer before! Hubby did manage to get a pic in the distance shortly after, but if I had a camera I could have gotten a super close up pic! Some of the high school kids walking back to school after lunch were calling it an Albino Deer, but I what I learned from the Internet is that it was a rare genetic variation called a piebald deer. 
Have you ever seen a white deer? This one was the cutest thing ever! Hope I'll get to see it again to get a better pic!

Got our heat pump installed last Friday. Seems like these are all the rage here in Nova Scotia. Really didn't hear much about them in Ontario, perhaps cause we had access to natural gas which is a whole lot cheaper way to heat your house. We have no access to natural gas where we are & rely on electric baseboard heaters to heat our home, so hoping this will bring the hydro costs down. Apparently these heat pumps also help to keep your home cool in the summer. If you want to learn more about Heat Pumps my link will give you a bit of info about them.

This is what the Heat Pump looks like on the inside.

And this is a view of the Heat Pump from the outside.

Zumba Inspired & Whole House Reno Continues!

When I left the YMCA in Hamilton Ontario (my gym of many years) just a few short months ago, I was deeply saddened to leave all those behind who had inspired me over the years especially Geth ( my favourite) an 80 + years old calisthenics instructor. While those special folks continue to inspire me, yes even at a distance and they all will forever hold a special place in my heart, I'm thrilled to report I've found some new Inspirees  in places I never would have thought I would ever venture to.
And oddly enough it all kind of happened by circumstance.
Y' all know when I joined my new gym in February, I really didn't like it cause I so badly wanted the familiarity of my old gym back. I missed my friends, my classes, my routine and just plain old familiarity.  I had to force myself to go and I just went through my familiar motions on the elliptical machine & while doing my strength training routine.
But I knew deep down that to feel more comfortable there, I needed to meet folks and I knew this would occur more readily via attending group fitness classes verses flying solo!
So that's where the story begins. I know long story but ya gotta know all the details of how I got here. To make a long story short, tried a bunch of classes that suited my favourite time to exercise which is mornings. Some I liked, some I didn't, some just didn't feel right due to chronic lower back & elbow injuries & issues.
Just so happened that a few Zumba classes were on the morning schedule and although I had never tried Zumba before, thought I would throw caution to the wind and at least make an honest attempt at it.
I've been a front to back/one step in front of the other/ tight-assed/linear  kind of exerciser for a good part of my life so Zumba would definitely be throwing me a Curve Ball or Fireball I might add ( inside joke).
And that it did indeed. I felt awkward & clumsy moving my body in ways it had never moved before.
And ya know what I still do!  But oddly enough I don't care and I the more I go to Zumba, the more I feel I can let loose! And what is even more odd is that I'm a self-conscious perfectionist that does care how I thinks others sees me! I don't like to be in the Limelight & I definitely don't like to be watched or know that someone is watching me.
But getting back to what this story is really all about, is Inspiration found in a place I'd never thought I'd ever be; ZUMBA!   And its all thanks to a couple of  Zumba Instructors who have made it onto my list of Inspirees cause of their enthusiasm, high energy, optimism...  you name it.

ZUMBA  Really Who Would a thunk! Fireball!

On another note Whole House Reno continues! I know I promised you some pics of the half finished basement bath. Couldn't get any while the bath was being used by out of town guests for over a week. Well I decided I'm gonna keep you in suspense awhile longer and will wait to share pics until the room is actually completed. So stay tuned!

But if you wanna see some pics, here's a pic of my basement rec room retro bar before we got rid of it. I know you're gonna say why did you get rid of it. Honestly I don't need a bar to drink wine; trust me I can do that without a bar. But what I do need is a pantry/storage area  to store some grocery/household stuff that I buy a ton of, when the stuff comes on sale!

So while my Bro from Ontario was in town, he & hubby built a pantry where the old bar used to be. Still have plenty of space for the elliptical & weight bench & a sofa for guests. And now I have plenty of storage space too. YAY!

As you can see some wine has already found it's way into my pantry. Told ya I didn't need a bar to drink wine! 

Looking at this pic that hubby photo shopped together, the shelves appear crooked, kind of how it might look if one had a little too much wine that is. Honestly they are as straight as can be!  Can't wait to fill this pantry up!