New Woodstove

In early October we had this wood stove installed. I love it! I have been using it almost everyday, there is something just so cozy about curling up in front of the fire. I grew up in home where our only heat source was a wood stove so it also has a sort of nostalgia for me. A few years ago we put in a grain burning stove which was great until we started putting barley in silo instead of corn which went to corn silage as the stove couldn't burn the hulls of the barley so the fire just goes out. So we talked about a wood stove but didn't get one right away because once you buy it and pay for installation it gets very expensive. This summer we decided to look at them again and this wood stove was about $1000 off because they were getting rid of some of their floor models, so that was how we decided to get this one. We wanted an alternate source of heat, we have an oil furnace and the cost in the winter is just ridiculous! We don't expect this to full replace but at least supplement the oil to reduce our fossil fuel use. Wood is a good option for us because living on a farm we have access to a bush and we don't need to cut down any live trees because there is tons of dead trees or large branches around. Sadly this is mainly due to the deaths of the ash trees from the ash borer and the elm from dutch elm disease. We actually have two elms in our backyard that need to be cut down because they are nearly dead. We have also got some of our wood from trees that have broken off in the pasture or along the fence line as well since that must be cleaned up anyways at least now we can make use of it. Another nice thing is my husbands father and a family friend love wood working so if we come across any large pieces that are in good shape we can give it to them so they can get it made into boards so they can use. As you can see in the picture, us humans are not the only ones who love the wood stove, the cats love to just stretch out in front of it and bask in the heat! One thing that disappointed me was, we decided to get the tile from a local flooring place to support local business instead of those big chains and yet the tiles were still made in China! When we ordered them I guess I thought that Canada being so rich in natural resources that surely the slate tiles would be Canadian made, it didn't even occur to me they would be made in China. So when we picked up the tile and in capital letter on the box was "CHINA" it was rather disappointing. It is so hard to find anything Canadian these days! I am certainly going to have my work cut out for me for Christmas shopping this year ensuring none of the gifts I buy are from China (my last post). But I digress, at least the wood stove is Canadian made and very lovely! Eventually I need to redecorate the living room, you can see in the picture the 1970's decor of orange carpeting and wood panelling. I'm hoping there will be lovely pine floors under the carpet since that's what I found upstairs in the two bedrooms I have done thus far.

Well, I have a midterm today so I must go prepare! Happy country living!

Christmas Resolution

I have been thinking a lot lately about where the stuff in our stores comes from, I remember one moment this summer when I was in Homesense looking for something or other and I was checking where everything was from and it was all imported, quite a bit from developing countries and it made me sad. Here I was at this store having avoided going to Walmart for the same item because everything is from China and its no better. Now I know that most of the stuff I buy is from places like China but I have been trying to be more contentious about it. So I have make the resolution that this year for Christmas I will not buy anything for a gift if it was made in China/Japan/Taiwan or any other county where the workers are exploited and there is absolutely no concern for the environment. I had thought about resolving to buy all Canadian but I'm not sure if I will have the time to search out enough different types of shops because right now with working 40 hours a week and taking 3 university classes it is very hard to go wandering around poking through all the little shops, though I greatly enjoy doing so. So I though if I at least limited to things from places like here/US/UK at least I will know that it was not made by some poor worker getting paid pennies so I could buy a shiny new item cheaply. I have found a few local shops that I know I can get Ontario made things in, but for example I want to creates some photo books as gifts and there is this great US company called Blurb that I love using.

Lately people are very upset about so many jobs moving to China or Mexico but very few actually think about the fact that it is our spending habits causing it. If we were not so focused on getting everything as cheep as possible and actually thought about where the product came from and simply refused to buy if it wasn't made here than there would be no market for them to sell to. If there is no market than they wont import as much. If we bought as locally as possible more small family businesses would be able to survive. I know this is easier said than done, the big box stores are so convenient and have longer business hours but I think it is worth the effort.

Fall Gardening

This weekend on Saturday I spent some time outside getting some fall gardening done. It was gloomy and threatening to rain on me but it was actually fairly warm out.  I was supposed to be doing homework but I felt that since there had actually been a bit of, oh I hate to say it, SNOW the other morning,  I thought I should get my bulbs and mums planted. My grandma let me dig up a bunch of irises from her place where they were getting over grown back in September so they were long over due to be planted. I had also bought some tulips and crocuses for the front flowerbed we just put in this year and my Aunt gave me a few leftover pink daffodil bulbs she had. It is getting late enough that I figured I had better get them planted before there is not point to it. And besides, one needs a break from homework which is consuming most weekends. I also had some mums and pumpkins leftover from decorating at my wedding in September so I put them in the side flowerbed by the main door and they look so pretty! I just love working the garden and/or flowerbeds, maybe because I work at a computer all day and am spending extra time on the computer now that I am taking a few classes too, but there is something relaxing about just puttering around outside.



Consumerism and Weddings



Since I am recently married I thought this might be a good time to post about some trends I noticed going through the process. There is a whole industry built around weddings, they are constantly bombarding brides and grooms to be with things they absolutely "need" for their wedding to be a special day. There are commercials, radio commercials, TV shows, bridal shows and magazines all geared at making you think you need all this stuff for your day to be special. It is becoming normal for people to take out loans just to have their dream wedding, but what I would like to know is, what would your dream wedding be if you weren't surrounded with all these different medias telling what your dream wedding should be? Do you think it would be the same?
Now we did spend enough on our wedding, but the key point is we did not spend more than we could afford. To save costs I bought fake flowers on clearance at Micheals and made my bouquets, we did not rent any transportation, I made the centre pieces, we live on a farm so we used our beef so the caterer would knock some off the meal cost (it ended up costing around $11.50/person), I set myself a limit of $1000+tax for my dress and did not go over, I even made my own garter and there are many more things I did, but the point I am trying to make is that I did not read those bridal magazines and at the bridal shows I ignored all booths except those for services I had already decided I was interested in. I did this because seeing all these things truly does make one want them, I certainly felt it when passing by a booth with elaborate sparkly centrepieces or advertising some unique form of transportation and such. Or even when I was searching the web for ideas. It is so easy to loss sight of the fact that it's not all the stuff that makes the day special, it's you and your partner, the knowledge that you are pledging to spend your life together. The stuff is very nice but it is not what is special.
Also making the process difficult is everyone has their own ideas of what you should do, and sometimes you might be ready to go "bridezilla" on them. I certainly felt that temptation too, but it is important to step back and remind yourself that these people are trying to help because they care and I actually made a list of certain items that I set aside so they could choose things too, because at the end of the day are you really going to care what ribbon was used or whatever as long as it comes together. And then the people you love get to feel like they were able to help you and be a part of it.
I'm sure everyone has different experiences when planning their wedding, this is just what I myself experienced.

Hectic Few Months

Today's post will be one without a picture I'm afraid. I usually like to post photos with my posts because I think it makes them more interesting.

I haven't posted in quite a while because I got married in September, which was very exciting! It was also very time consuming, August was a flurry of activity with all of the last minute preparations, even with all the help from my wonderful family, in-laws and friends. The wedding was everything I could have asked for, the rain even held off for the outdoor ceremony and did not begin until we were just taking the final pictures outside. Though it was an amazing day for us I am glad it is done, it really does take a lot out of you, I did a great many DIY projects and just tried to give it many personal touches so that the day would feel like "us". It was well worth the effort!

After the wedding, and I mean right after,  our wedding was on a Saturday and on the Tuesday I started part time university classes while still working full time. So now my free time is down to nil. I already have a college education but with transfer credits I would only need one year of full time classes to get a university degree, doing part time it will take me two years. I thought this would be a good idea just to make sure I leave as many doors as I can open. It is alot of work but it has been 2.5 years since I finished college and I only have 5 years from graduating to get all the transfer credits so I though if I was going to do it I had better do it now before we decide to have children. Not that it can't be done with children, I know plenty who have and/or are, but I don't think that I would bother doing it if I threw a child in the mix. Right now I am into mid-terms but I decided to steel some time away from study to do a brief post since I have been very neglectful of posting lately!

Well, I am off to a late thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws, then back to studying.