Turtle breakthrough...we have logs and more...

Finally, we have logs! I never thought we could get so excited about something but we are - Matt was able to source our logs from another supplier near Sudbury, not affected by the turtles. They will be delivered to his yard in about one week. Matt is as excited as we are! We are now approaching the final design phase. This week, we received the elevation drawings, still need to be fine tuned, but they are looking very good. I will post them once they are final. We will have a very nice house.

I took possession of my new retirement wheels yesterday, bright yellow MINI Cooper S Countryman ( all wheel drive ), a few months sooner than I thought but, as they say, you have to strike while the iron is hot. It drives very nicely and it is quite spunky.

On Wednesday, we will be going to Washago to meet with Matt to talk about the next 30 days and what needs to be done in order to file the application for the construction permit. Lots to do but so far, we are on target. After our meeting with Matt, we will go to Huntsville to look at our lot, which has been staked out by Matt. We haven't been back since mid-May. It will be nice to see the view now that the trees have filled in. I will have lots to report when we return. Stay tuned!

It's all as good as it gets!

It's been one week since my last post, not much has happened since last week, except that we decided to get a second puppie. We will get Mac in January, then Max in May or so, from a different litter, same breeder. Russell and I both wish we could get the pups sooner but all good things are worth waiting for. M&M will be very happy with us!

On the log front, the turtles are in our way, preventing the logger from getting our white pine logs. Matt has secured other options. It appears that the Ministry of Natural Resources is really getting in our way and we have to question whether those turtles are in fact endangered based on what we have been told. Regardless, turtles have the right to live and if it means getting our logs elsewhere, so be it.

I now have 3 months to go before retirement. Time is just flying by, I have to start thinking about my retirement speech....lots of thoughts are brewing, just need to put them together - any ideas from anyone?

Another week is about to start, who knows what this week will bring :-) It's all good!

And they called it...Puppy love

What a great day today was! We visited with Nathan and Darlah of Talemaker Havanese and met their 7 dogs - 5 generations worth, two of which will play a big role in the planned November litter. Fiona and Treasure will do their "deed" in August, with an expected delivery date of early November. One of the puppies will be ours to bring home when it is 10 weeks old, around mid-January. Mac is the chosen name for our future dog. He will have a great life with us in Huntsville.

The Footprint !

So, yesterday we were getting anxious to get things going in a big way, today we got the first footprint of our log home, at least for the main floor. This is very exciting. This footprint is completely in line with our wish list. We can't wait to get going. Job well done Denise, Ali & Matt! Anyone care to offer a perspective?

The March of the Spotted Turtle

The Spotted Turtle is an endangered specie in Ontario, as such is protected under the Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. It is localized in Southern Ontario, specifically in the Sudbury area. The Spotted Turtles congregate in fall and spring. What does this have to do with our log home....our beautiful white pine logs come from the Sudbury region and the logger should be in the bush as we speak getting the logs, unless he is stopped by the March of the Turtles....if the Spotted Turtles get in his way, he will have to wait until they leave the area before getting our logs to Matt...so we have to let nature run its course and hope the Turtles march real fast.....

Back home

Back from Geneva, a few pictures of the Bain des Paquis, historic landmark which offers swimming in the lake, sunbathing, and most of all, great people watching. Good to be home, and most of all, no travel for the next three months, how good is that! Now, we need to continue to focus on our log home. Matt was in contact with the tradesmen this week. Nothing much for us to do at this point other than wait for the blueprints to be completed. We are getting anxious for things to start happening in a big way!