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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Cleanest Renovation

Check out this house tour on Apartment Therapy... so clean for an in-progress renovation! Gives me hope. Our plan is to start small, one room at a time, probably with the second floor kitchen that is scheduled to be Mike's office. (If we can find somewhere else to put all the books he's got stored in there at the moment!)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

10 + 1 Canadian women who made a difference + 2 International Women Powerhouses

Of all the newspapers, I thought that The Star had the best list and photogallery to share for International Women's Day.



I would also like to add for architects, Esther Marjorie Hill who was the first woman to graduate from an architecture program in Canada and the first woman to become a registered architect in Canada.

Esther Marjorie Hill graduating from U of T Architecture Program (from her profile in Library and Archives Canada)

There is also Blanche Van Ginkel's entry in the Canadian Encylcopedia. Blanche Van Ginkel was herself one of the earliest women in North America to be appointed director of a school of architecture when she was hired in 1977 by University of Toronto, as described on the history page of U of T's Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design written up by Prof. Larry Richards.

Internationally (because of course it's International Women's Day!) there are two provocative women who I have been following and who have made immeasurable contributions to the lives of women and men in their countries....

Monday, March 7, 2011

Why go to the National Home Show?

A couple of weekends ago I went off to the National Home Show down at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. It's a northern-North American style indoor market with stalls featuring everything from EcoLogoM spray foam insulation, like the Avenue Insulation Inc booth, to Milk Paint at the Homestead House Paint Co. booth, to pool tables and jacuzzis, sewing machines and pianos!

Pink Lomence Modern Crystal Piano at Grand Piano House Inc Booth

There were insurance companies, real estate agents, mortgage specialists, utility companies, arborists, plant nurseries, landscape architects, people selling garden furniture, kitchenware, in-floor heating systems, micro-fibre mops, sandals, solar panels and roofing made from recycled materials. I only had time to pop in for a couple of hours, which was not enough time to see everything but long enough to catch a mild case of the not-quite-spring renovation/re-decorating fever.