2012 has certainly started out to be a very busy year for us here in Quebec! Marie and I spent a very fun-filled New Years Eve with Christina, Patrick and his family in Casselman, Ontario, about an hour and a half west of Montreal. Marie especially enjoyed Super Dance 3 on their new XBox and huge TV! After a great breakfast prepared by Patrick the following morning we returned home to the city, an unusually warm and pleasant one for the first of the new year.
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| dancing fools |
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| Patrick & Christina |
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| me snugglin with Sara & Isabelle |
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| New Years Eve, 2012 |
We immediately resumed where we had left off a few days before - helping Phil and Fer finish renovating the duplex basement. For the next two weeks we put in long hours painting, tiling and installing the finishing touches to what has become a real labour of love for Phil, as well as the opportunity to show off what he does the best - working with his hands. It is hard to believe what that space looked like a year ago, having changed little from the dark, dirty warren of bricked off walls and dangling electrical cables and rusty water pipes of the late 1920`s. But with a sledge hammer, reciprocating saw and lots of muscle one can do wonders! Phil did all the plumbing, electrical and put up the new walls, helped along by Fernanda...and Amy. My job was the painting, trim and toilet and I think we are all happy with the results:
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| Fer cutting studs |
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| Phil & Fer running wires |
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| Fer painting doors |
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Phil putting in electrical boxes
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| ceiling insulation ready to go in |
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| driwall is up and patched! |
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| me & Phil painting - check out the old beams! |
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| Marie, always dangerous with a brush! |
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| Phil laying carpet tile |
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| baseboard's in and server cabinet in place |
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| planning tile arrangement for bathroom |
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| almost done - computer desks in place! |
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| little bathroom ready for use! |
Marie meanwhile finished the last few days of her leave from the government, transitioning into full blown retirement on the 14th! Fernanda has also kept busy, growing bigger each day as she awaits the birth of Amy at the end of the month as well as preparing for the arrival of her parents from Mexico City on the 20th. Marie, Lara and one of Fer's friends, Monica, threw a baby shower in our home on the 15th, with over 20 people and children in attendance. It was nice to see so many people only a day after the season`s first major snowfall!
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| Diana and Fernanda |
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| Lara & Fernanda |
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| Monica |
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| happy parents-to-be! |
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| little Alex |
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| Pat & Chris |
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| Rafa & Pilar |
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| ooooh look! |
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| awww! |
Naturally we are growing more excited as the big day approaches, yet our thoughts often turn to little Patrick who we all dearly wish was here with us to welcome his sister. But all is ready here and we now wait expectantly...Hopefully everyone survived New Years and are diligently adhering to those resolutions! I should have wonderful news to report in a very short time!
gws
