A New Era - Blog #1
Hello, old friends, new friends and soon to be friends.
It’s been some time since I wrote in my blog, ‘Donn to Dusk’.
However, I have too much pent-up passion, anger, and other
forms of messaging in my brain wanting to get out. Therefore, to release the
pressure, the blog needs to ride again.
Initially, I thought I would rant on all matters political,
but, upon reflection, my brain advised I may drive away some readers. So, let’s
start with the rationale for my move from a ‘Century Home’ in Calgary to a
‘Modern Farmhouse’ in the Haliburton Highlands of North Central Ontario.
Where we moved from in Calgary
It all started with an ad in the local newspaper, the
Highlander, looking for a ‘Last Responder’.
Our youngest daughter Kate after finishing a 5-year
bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Mount Royal University (MRU) and
working for 2 years in that field decided to go back to MRU to complete a course
in, wait for it, Funeral Director, yes, a ‘Last Responder’.
Having achieved a very high GPA and not being able to find
suitable employment in Alberta, Kate was encouraged, in the Summer of 2019,
while vacationing at our summer home on Lake Kashagawigamog (yes that’s the
correct name), to respond to an ad for employment in Haliburton. The response
was successful. Seems the owner of the funeral home had been looking for more
than two years and offered Kate a position.
Now came the decision, whether she move to Haliburton or
continue to look for work in Alberta. After several days of reviewing the pros
and cons, she took the position to start almost immediately.
We found her a home in the Village of Haliburton and her
move from Calgary to her new home happened quite rapidly. All said and done she
moved in late 2019 and began her new career January 2020. She not only was
excellent at the new job, but she also loved it as well.
As we know, early 2020 brought us the scourge of the Covid
epidemic changing most lives forever.
In the sleepy Village of Haliburton, hoards of folks from
Toronto, wanting to escape the big city, started buying up houses and lots
putting development pressures on the municipality.
Nora, we all know Nora, the other partner in what is now a more than 40-year relationship, decided it was time to get on the train and we bought Lot 6 on Lakeview Street in the Village.
Finding Lot 6
Lakeview Street was named for some reason completely lost on me, there is no lake and no view. Lot 6, other than power to curb and what turned out to be a false promise of high-speed internet, was an uncleared wooded lot. Let the speculation begin!
My speculation of flipping a hot property was short-lived.
In early Fall 2020 Nora was drawing lines on paper and starting the process of designing a house to be built on said Lot 6 in Haliburton. Of course, I was quietly convinced this would pass by the time Xmas and the necessary preparations distracted her. Not the case, she was hell bent on designing a house for that lot.
Posting the Permit - Ready to Go
What Nora Saw Was Narnia
I soon discovered designing and building a house had become
an obsession for Nora and no low life person such as a husband was going to get
in her way. Let the design begin!
The Bungalow Option
The 2 Story Option
The Final Sketch
Following several iterations; including building on slab,
building with a lower level, building a bungalow, building a two-story, etc.
the house took on its life, and Nora soon began to refer to the house in
revered tones as ‘our new home’.
The new home was going to be a two-story, walk-out lower
level, energy efficient, wood frame structure with the lower level
incorporating an insulated concrete foundation (ICF) in the design with a total
of 3.600 hundred square feet of living space. after all, there are two of us!
Once the design was well advanced it was time to find an
appropriate contractor to manage the construction, in concert with Nora. The
process took some time as we interviewed 6 contractors, short-listed to 3 and
ultimately chose Jeff Sharpless from Wood. Jeff checked all the boxes including
the big one, working with Nora. We chose Jeff because Nora and he saw the
building of the structure in very similar terms. This included bouncing ideas
off one another.
We put a down-payment in place and scheduled the start based on our timing and Jeff’s availability. Let the construction begin!
After Blasting
After 20 months of construction, with Nora onsite in Haliburton overseeing the project we moved into our new home November 1st, 2023.
The completed kitchen
I fell in love with the house in August of this year and am
now onboard, which turns out is a good thing as I now have my own place to
live. By the way, did I mention we moved to Haliburton in Spring 2022 and lived
with our daughter and her husband until the house was complete.
Now, I love my daughter, but living under my children’s roof
was not in my near-term or long-term plans.
We all survived with no deaths and/or serious injuries
reported. Albeit, had there been a death, we had a ‘First Responder’ at our
ready.
Joni the Granddog, now guards 2 properties, one of them was formerly Lot 6, now it's officially 200 Lakeview Street, Haliburton, Ontario.
A big shout out to Jeff Sharpless our fantastic contractor from Woodland Custom Structures in Haliburton and all of the sub contractors, no deadwood in the lot, or on the lot.
Mitch Stephen - TMS Services - Blasting
Kieran Gillooly - Northern HVAC Company
Ed Muenzel - Designed and built our stairways
Nick Coty - Coty Electrical
Greg Oitment - The plumber
Sherri Kaplow - Interior Design
Riley Sisson - Highlands Fine Finishes
Jesse Johnson - Haliburton Lakefront & Landscapes Inc.
Lacey - Haliburton Glass
