Monday, November 23, 2009

The House Hunt Continues

So the last time I mentionned homes, we had just gone to see our very first house. It was a very decrepid and very dangerous, mouldy old house. We considered it since Dave is able to do the needed work to it but we realized it would be a lot more work than we had wanted. The land was great but that was about it.

Since then, Dave and I have looked at another two houses.

The first one was a private sale. We were thinking that it would be a real mess inside because it hasnt been lived in for years but when we walked in we were pleasantly surprised at what we found. It would be liveable right away but could definetly use some fixing up.

We thought about it but decided we should keep looking for things closer to our price range.

The next one was initially perfect. It was the right price (we hoped get it lower than the asking price) and it was move in ready and would definetly benefit from work. We actually decided to put an offer in on the house. Unfortunately, the owner is not willing to budge much on her asking price and we think we can find soemthign we will be more excited about for the same of less. So we have a standing offer on that house but will continue to look around at other things.

So far we have been looking in the east end because we had a real estate agent. We are just waiting to hear from a real estate agent in the west and we can compare what we can get for how much. Commute is really important to Dave though so west will mean longer drives for Dave.

Anyways, I'll keep you all posted once there is any other news.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Another Book Down


Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice!

I have to say I was so fond of this book. I really thought it would be dry and a task to read through but I was so into the story and the characters that I didnt want to put it down.

I still have two more Austen's to read but I am going to take a break by reading a few others first. I dont want to over do my Jane.

If you have never read any of the classics, I would encourage you to start with Pride and Prejudice. Especially if you have already seen the movie. It helps you follow it a bit easier.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Jane Austen's Persuasion

Well, I have finished the first of the many books I have to read (here). I have decided that I will bold all the books that I read so as not to confuse the earlier numbers but to help me remember which ones I have completed.


I have to admit, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It definetly takes a few pages to get in tune with the language and I will admit that often, while reading it, I had no idea what some of the words meant. But it was a very enjoyable read.

The main character is a lady named Anne Elliot who is a very loveable character. She is unloved by her family yet loved by everyone else.

This story follows the predictable plot of Jane Austens books but maybe that is why it was still so enjoyable. I am glad I enjoyed it because there are another two Jane Austen books on the list that I have to read.

I would recommend this book. Its short, easy to get into and the characters are enjoyable to follow and learn about. Now i just have 80 more books to go!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

FIrst House

Dave and I have begun to be curious about what is out there in all areas of town for homes. We want to buy one that needs work so that we can fix it up and resell it. Make a profit and build our own.

Yesturday Dave and I got to go and see our first house.

Ya, not a beauty, thats for sure but can you see the potential? We most certainly wouldnt buy it for what they are asking. It smelled of mold and it was so bad that Dave and I actually left with a headache. The entire house would need to be gutted along with removing the back half and building a new two story addition and garage.

Its on 1.3 acres which is a nice lot so the potential is there. I can imagine a tree lined laneway
and a white picket fence alone the road and otherside

A wrap around proch on the front and black shutters on all the windows

Its fun looking and dreaming. Currently this house has a crumbling bit of foundation on the inside (part of which would be removed) and a basement with 4 inches of water in it. Not sounding so great but, with Daves amazing work (sorry to boast) it would become something beautiful. For the right price and if an inspection shows nothing more serious than what we have already seen, we just might possess this pathetic looking building. Currently, it doesnt look like it will happen since the resale in the area isnt quite as high as we would like, but who knows?

We might get to go and see another house soon. If so, I'll be sure to let you know about it.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Books and Reading

While reading another persons blog, I came across a neat list. Apparently, the BBC believes that most people will only have read 6 of 100 books on their list. So, I have decided to take a look at the list, mark those I have read and read all the others. As I finish the book I will write a post about the book. This sounds like a fun project to me.

My cousin, Tim, is doing something slightly similar and he gave me the idea to challenge myself in reading more. I love to read but usually never know what to pick up next. Ill start with this list and see where is takes me.

Corrin, the woman who originally posted this list, put out a challenge:
Instructions:

1. Copy this into your NOTES on Facebook or copy it to your blog
2. Look at the list and put an 'X' in front of those you have read
3, tag other book nerds
4. Publish
5. I've added a step five. Put in Bold those books you want to read by the end of this year.

I will simply show you which ones I have read and tally the total on the list and then begin reading all the rest of them. Feel free to join me in the challenge. The list is broken down in 10s so its easier to count them up.

(X) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
(x) The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
( ) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
(x) Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
(x) To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
(x) The Bible
( ) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
( ) Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
( ) His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
( ) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Total - 4

(x) Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
( ) Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
( ) Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
( ) Complete Works of Shakespeare
( ) Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
(x) The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
( ) Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
( ) Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
( ) The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
( ) Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Total - 2

(X) Middlemarch - George Eliot
( ) Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
( ) The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
( ) Bleak House - Charles Dickens
( ) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
( ) The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
( ) Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
( ) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
( ) Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
(X) Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Total - 0

(x) The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
( ) Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
( ) David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
(x) Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
(X) Emma - Jane Austen
(X) Persuasion - Jane Austen
(x) The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
( ) The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
( ) Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
(x) Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Total - 4

(x) Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
(X) Animal Farm - George Orwell
( ) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
( ) One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
( ) A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
( ) The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
(x) Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
( ) Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
( ) The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
(x) Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Total - 3

( ) Atonement - Ian McEwan
(X) Life of Pi - Yann Martel
(X) Dune - Frank Herbert
( ) Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
( ) Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
( ) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
( ) The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
( ) A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
(X) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
(X) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time - Mark Haddon
Total - 2

( ) Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
( ) Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
( ) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
( ) The Secret History - Donna Tartt
( ) The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
( ) Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
( ) On The Road - Jack Kerouac
( ) Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
(X) Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
( ) Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
Total -0

( ) Moby Dick - Herman Melville
( ) Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
( ) Dracula - Bram Stoker
(x) The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
( ) Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
( ) Ulysses - James Joyce
( ) The Inferno - Dante
( ) Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
( ) Germinal - Emile Zola
( ) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Total - 1

( ) Possession - AS Byatt
(X) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
( ) Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
( ) The Color Purple - Alice Walker
( ) The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
( ) Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
( ) A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
(x) Charlotte’s Web - EB White
(X) The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
(X) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Total - 2

(X ) The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
(X ) Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
(X) The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
( ) The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
( ) Watership Down - Richard Adams
( ) A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
( ) A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
( ) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
(x) Hamlet - William Shakespeare
(x) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
Total - 3

Grand total:21/100

Well, I must say I am happy that I have read more than 6 but boy do I ever have a lot of books to read. I guess I better get started. Funny that I have some on my bookshelf I just havent read them.

How many have you read on that list? Anyone near me have any of those books I can borrow??? Please let me know.