The house is getting homier

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas we got into a bit of a slow down. There had been so much on the go in the last three months that we suddenly felt like some time to recuperate. We slowed down and got onto "Island Time". There is no rush to get things done in the next few days. So we got a bit lazy and relaxed, but in the meantime we were discussing where some of our wall decorations could find a new home. We also had a wonderful visit with our friends Victor and Shirley who were visiting family in the valley for Christmas. We lived just 20 minutes apart on the mainland and never got together much, but here we are on the island and we meet up. Let's hope this will be a new trend.

The view from the great room.

New Year's Eve was quiet and easy. We went into town to walk around and see the lights. Some had already been taken down. Next year we'll do a better job of showing them off as well as the show in Ladysmith, which is amazing. Back home to the comfort of a warm house to count off the last hours of the year. We weren't even sure if we would make it 'till midnight, but we managed it by pouring one more glass of wine. That'll do the trick because we can't spill wine down the sink, we'd rather see blood spilled! Once into January we got serious and started bringing art upstairs from the spare bedroom.

Down town Duncan on New Years Eve.

The master bedroom took on a Venetian look, and the hallway bath room became Parisian. And the great room is taking on a complete character of its own. The wait now is for the furniture we bought in Langford last week. A new sofa and love seat for the living room and a small couch for the den. The current leather sofa and love seat will go down stairs to the media room where it was supposed to go. Delivery is anywhere from three to five weeks from the purchase date, so that is still in the works.

Some furniture choices.

Our new kitchen is working out great. I have had a few days in there cooking up a storm and the freezer is now well stocked with many meals. The turkey carcass yielded an excellent stock that I used for a big pot of pea soup. We have also taken up making our own pizza again, delicious! The new stove does an excellent job with the pizza stone in place and the convection roast setting at 500°F. A pizza cooks in nine minutes! We also made a large batch of wontons and Char Siu pork for our Wor Wonton Soup, along with a batch of Korean spiced meatballs.

Home made pizza, wontons, Wor Wonton Soup and Spicey Korean meatballs with a stirfry on rice.

Last Friday we were in Victoria for a while. Shelagh had an appointment with a specialist so we made a day of it. Found the Dutch store and stocked up on Senseo Coffee and Indonesian spices and had a lovely lunch at Milestones on the harbour front. Delicious food and generous portions. After all that we forgot to use our Milestones gift card that we got a year ago for Christmas. So we will just have to go back sometime.

Honestly, I was smiling here.

A fun day in Victoria and a delicious lunch at Milestones.

We have had a few requests for pictures of the house, but we're not ready to share any yet, patience is a virtue, I will post pictures when the house is all done...