let's catch up...double gates and a day trip to Quebec

 I am very happy to share possibly my most exciting project I have ever completed....our double gate.
When I started out I really had no concrete design. I knew it would be white, I wanted a curved top and that is all I knew for sure.My goal was to build a pretty, strong but light gate. The desire to build a gate extra bulky to be strong from what I understand is the wrong way to go, lighter the better. And light is not light, trust me these gates were heavy to move.

 I am in LOVE with my gates.....they turned out better than I could have hoped...

 It took a day to build the gates.I chose to use v-groove pine.

 It was so stressful making two gates, they had to be perfectly matched, no pressure.

 On Friday my Mother and one of my brothers and I drove to Quebec to the town my parents are from for my Opa's funeral, you may remember he passed just two days after Christmas at the age of 101. Friday would have been his birthday,so it was very fitting that his remains were laid to rest with his wife on that day. We waited till spring because we all had to come from 5-6 hours away some of use from Ontario and some of us from New Hampshire. We had a great trip, it was nice to spend time together. After you have a family of your own being the originals is rare if you get what I'm saying.
When going through the town I noticed this one house and property, it was incredible....I had to take a better look and get some photos.Here it is.House Porn...

 The home was amazing, so beautifully maintained, the gardens were perfection and all the design details were on point.

 These panels influenced me to push myself when it came to the design of my gates that I was due to create the next day.I am in love with this house.

 All those copper details have me drooling.

 After house stalking we headed to my Mom's childhood home. This is an original photo of the house.From what I understand the house is 160 years old...I may have that wrong but that is what I think I heard.
The current owners have moved the house back off the country road it sits on and have been restoring it for the past 12 years and they are doing a great job.

 When I was growing up the house looked nothing like this, it was wrapped in a brick printed asphalt wrap and had lost most of the details. It is amazing to see how much work has been put into bringing it back, look above the window all those tiny pieces all cut and installed each little piece.Amazing to see.

The current owner was home and my Mom had met her before and she was very lovely and gave us a full tour of the house.
 It has changed a lot, things have been moved around but the foot print is the same for the most part. It was so neat to get to see it now. They have added rooms in the attic spaces. It makes me so happy to see the house full of life and to see children there. I remember the house being very tidy and perfect and rooms that felt untouched as for a long long time my Opa lived there alone so it's nice to see it being really lived in.
Isn't it amazing how this banister has stood the test of time, I remember it as a little girl...

Thanks for coming along with me down memory lane..I think we are all caught up.
I'm off to do some much needed gardening today, what did you do this weekend?

what a difference a few days make....are you here to see my fence?

 I'm thrilled to show you how the fence is coming along. I have been working non stop on the fence and the disastrous condition of my house will prove that!
They are calling for rain tomorrow and I hope for the sake of my family and the house that it does, I need to spend a day putting everything back in order.(don't leave your doors and windows open when you are cutting wood right outside them, big mistake)
I am so happy we went ahead with beefing up the gate posts ,they are gorgeous if I do say so myself. I re-did the tops three times until they were just right.
My husband and I worked all Saturday getting all the beams and rails in place, we worked really well together...its not always gone so smoothly the two of us working together.
My Ryobi cordless impact driver was my other best friend and nearly lasted the whole day on one charge boy I love that tool, I just need another battery, we also had some plug in drills that were too heavy and made the work harder, I'm not a fan.

 I was on my own Sunday to tackle the boards. I thought I would get a bunch done but to my surprise I got the entire front installed, I just need to rip down the odd sized boards on another day.
I found pretty fence toppers that compliment the two gate posts.

 Remember my plans?

 My grass is in a very sad state, I know!It will get some attention soon.
It's so nice to block out all the cars and driveways, I am enjoying the feeling of privacy the fence is providing already....soon I will work on the gates, that scares me a little.
The fence has to dry out for some time so the painting will wait until fall or even next spring as will the battens.

 It will take some getting used to seeing the house with a fence, but I like it very much, it feels more toward finished.

Another bonus is that we can now use more of the yard than we did before, it seems more appropriate to take advantage of this new sunny corner.
I think its time to get some more decor out and pick up a big fire pit....bring on summer.
I should really go caulk those post tops and trim work before tomorrow....someone help me.....