Illumi, Féerie de Lumiéres, Dec 2019

The first week of December, after an early snow storm at our place, Marie and I headed to Montreal to look after William and Amy for four days while Phil and Fer were partying it up in New Orleans. Fer had bought the four of us tickets to Illumi for that Friday night so we bundled up warmly, caught the Metro to Station Montmorency and then the shuttle to Laval where the event was being held. Illumi proclaimed to be a 'magical, captivating and extraordinary nocturnal outdoor journey created from thousands of monumental light sculptures'. I had not been aware of it until Fernanda told us and thought it would be a great experience for the kids. We got there just as darkness fell, picked up our VIP wrist bands and grabbed some free hot chocolate. Soon the night was aglow with more than 10 million brilliant lights and music, the largest multimedia sound and light show in the world. We spent the next three hours exploring the fantasy worlds, Feliz Navidad, the Merry-go-Round Square, Infinite Poles, Magic Lanterns, the Many Colours of the Savanah, and Dreaming on a Star. We checked out the Christmas market and the food merchants gathered around a gigantic tree of sparkling lights trying to decide what to eat. It was certainly cold but frequent trips to the VIP tent for hot beverages and pizza later kept everyone happy. The kids especially enjoyed the train ride and a warm place inside the giant tree to play video games! A visit with Santa was next before we headed home with rosy cheeks and wonderful memories!   gws

Phil, New Orleans

on the Metro

Map of Illumi

warming up at one of the fire stops

entrance to the Magic Lanterns

Marie and William, Montmorency Metro station

breakfast at Amy's favourite restaurant, Eggsfrutti

William doing his homework

Garage Part 2 : October - November 2019

September proved to be a beautiful month on the mountain and work on the garage progressed well. The insulated walls were put up in a few weeks and the trusses which had been delivered earlier were secured to the walls once the crane arrived from Sherbrooke. The slab for the carport where the camper would be placed was poured, the 6x6 treated support posts installed and the two headers were lifted in place with the help of the crane. Charles and Mathieu do wonderful work - they are meticulous and precise and obviously take great pride in what they do. They currently have three projects ongoing on the Domaine and, although we wish they were here more often, they ensure me everything will be done (except the shingling of the roof and the cedar siding installation) before winter. November looked promising at the start but after a few days of warm, rainy days it turned much colder and we had over 3 inches of snow on the 6th. Installation of the roof membrane was held up once again. And now as I write this it is near the end of November, one side only of the membrane is on, the stairs to the loft aren't built and the garage door, windows and doors are yet to be ordered. Although I managed to take off the truck camper and put it in the carport we have a garage we can't use. Stay tuned for what I'm sure will not be good news as winter is on us and the chance of warm days to do any more outside work are getting slimmer.   gws

Carport insulation in place and pad framed, ready for pour

trusses delivered

first wall section going up

hole cut in OSB (Oriented strand board) for window

Amy and William visiting at Thanksgiving

Miss 'Plywood', 2019

cement pour for carport

Canac weatherproof sheathing installed over OSB 

carport slab ready

garage door header in place

trusses going up

approaching end of September, leaves mostly off, roof mostly on

2nd floor loft plywood being put down

door to access carport

roof going on, getting colder

Garage Part 1 : May - September 2019

After finally deciding to begin construction of our much discussed and much needed garage this year we began the arduous task of establishing and preparing the chosen location - the largest, flattest spot we had where the cabin had stood for 10 years. This entailed moving the small tool shed and the cabin on that area below the solar panel array before work could begin to level the ground - breaking rock, bringing in tons of earth and gravel and cutting trees. We went with a local, upcoming company, Chalets des Appalaches, formed by the son of the owner of the Domain and his partner to do the work, with subcontractors leveling the site, supplying the gravel, pouring cement and a crane to lift the trusses and headers. We had met up with Mathieu and Charles in 2018, agreed on a tentative plan and date and early this year drew up the final blueprint. After a few misunderstandings and delays some prep work got under way in early July but it wasn't until September, after we had returned from our two week vacation in Ontario that we actually got the footing done. Work started in earnest then and, as fall approached, we began keeping our eye on the calendar, aware of how much was yet to be done before the cold weather became a factor. Now the question was would we get it completed before winter settled in? Check out part 2 to find the answer!   gws

moving shed to make room for garage in May

moving cabin to make room for garage in July

breaking rock

bringing in truckload after truckload of fill in August

placing plywood and insulation

ready for construction of slabs

laying slab insulation

Marie thinking, "finally!"

view from house, fall not far off

pouring cement for footing

sand and leveling begins

September and fall quickly approaching

PEX placed for radiant flooring

floor cement being poured

first slab done, weather getting cooler