DNA cousin connections - the ones with NO dates, and so much private - but a tree!

 A common lament for those of us who engage in researching family history using DNA connections is the one with NO dates listed, no indication of country, no indication of their rough age, and name.CHALLENGE ACCEPTEDFor the past several years, a DNA cousin of mine has eluded me in terms of our...

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reno and refresh - the main is mainly done

outside of some finishing touches, the main floor is mainly done. the dust has settled - many times - as evidenced by the amount of cleaning I have done since construction ended in the second week of September. There were several mistakes made, including a cracked window, but for the most part I can...

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the doors - French doors

I managed to source gently used French doors on kijiji and also from the ReStore (habitat for humanity). We made them work. I was unwilling to wait the months required for new, but also wanted to have doors that felt more at home in the space than new would.these 4 doors managed to fit incredibly well!...

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reno and refresh - let's see it come together

 the end of August, the return to school brought an end to the major parts of the kitchen reno, and where finishing touches could begin. The next part would be about french doors, but first, the kitchen starts to shine!the lights, the beam, the 8 foot length of quartzthe quartz continues and the...

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reno and refresh the home - putting it all back together

 the rebuilding process - the original (unrealistic) date we were given was early to mid august. but things did shift - the cliche light at the end of the tunnel. Money poured out, but changes poured in.I had insisted on a shiplap wall - the view from the front door through to the kitchen would...

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reno and refresh - creating doors to open

 A month in, and I insisted that the one small entrance between the kitchen and old dining space just wasn't enough. The focus was to bring more light in, and after pushing the contractor, and my husband dealing with him because the mounting frustration I might have mentioned was getting to that...

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reno and refresh the home - changing the plans again

 When going through renovations in a home that is nearly 120 years old, you have to be willing to redraw the plans on the fly. There was an old chimney right by the small doorway between the dining room and kitchen, so that could not be widened (I did think it would be opened to the ceiling but...

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