Last night, Lorenzo and I headed down to Home Depot to look at exterior doors. They have a batch on sale for $199 each, pre-hung, etc. and they're very nice. Usually the doors in stock have that traditional raised panel look which neither of us likes, but these ones are pretty terrific...

Lorenzo wants to buy it right now but I was really hoping to find a door that will allow more light to come in. Something like this, perhaps...

Then again, our current hollow-core-piece-of-crap door has a small window in it and several times it has scared me to death. When you're alone at the cottage and someone decides to come over, you see a figure standing there, staring into the middle distance and it just about causes a heart attack. In one weekend alone, I was startled by two cousins, the neighbour, the real-estate agent, and the guy who came to install the septic tank. I remember thinking that I wanted to put in a solid door. I'll have to sleep on this one...

We bought a hood fan while we were there: $329. Then I came home and saw a comparable fan on the Sears website for $229. So I'm taking back the expensive one. Another thing we've been discussing is whether or not we should install a central vacuum cleaner. Nothing gets your home cleaner than a built-in; it is more powerful and the dust and dirt are being carried through pipes to a container outside of the house. The hose is long, and you're able to reach cob-webs and dust bunnies in hard to reach places. (but not Marcello the bunny!) Also, you can get a brand-new Kenmore built-in for less than most canister vacuums so it's a no-brainer, really. Lorenzo says that installing the pipes, fittings, and inlets is no big deal at all.

Driving home, the moon was nearly full - suspended like a brilliant glowing ball in the blue sky. How long has that moon been floating in space? Makes you think about time.

I had a thought tonight that made my stomach jump. This time next year, my oldest child will be entering grade 11.  Grade 11 !  Where did the time go? Why did elementary school seem to take so long, but high school is just zooming past? By the time this cottage is finally finished our kids won't even want to be with us. They hardly want to be with us now! And I don't get it, because we're such a blast to be around.

The older I get, the more I am aware of the dreadful certainty of impermanence. Kids grow up, people die, we age and become progressively uglier... Absolutely nothing stands still - life is in constant movement and change. I find that since we bought the cottage, the weeks and months have disappeared. It has been a total time sucker. I will never renovate again. It takes too much out of you and it robs you of time, which is all we really have. 

I don't have much to write about as far as the cottage goes, so I'll talk about my daughter's teeth. Today she had braces put on. This will cost us $7800. not a penny of which is covered by our dental plan. Oh, the joys of being self-employed. She says her mouth feels strange, but so far she is in no pain. 

It seems that every kid these days "needs" braces. Whatever happened to people having interesting teeth? Remember the kid in school who looked like Bugs Bunny? Those days are gone, folks.

I told the dentist that I want my daughter to have a very slight over-bite when this is done. My mum always said that your teeth hold up your face as you age. An over-bite is a bonus when you get into your forties; I am very glad my parents refused to put braces on my teeth.

So, in order to convince my daughter that we shouldn't flatten all the personality out of her mouth, I downloaded some pictures of beautiful women with over-bites whose looks (in my opinion) would have been marred by over-correction...

 

(Faith Hill: over-bite)

(Isabella Rossellini: crooked front tooth, over-bite)

(Jennifer Connelly: over-bite)

 

 

(Marisa Tomei: slightly skewed front tooth and over-bite)

 

 

 

(Neve Campbell: overlapping front tooth and over-bite)

(Sarah McLachlan: over-bite)

 

 (Shania Twain: over-bite)

 

I rest my case! I know my daughter needs braces but I don't want her ending up with one of those Hollywood toothpaste smiles that are about as interesting as reality tv.

The orthodontist says we can remove the braces prior to 18-months. I wrote 20 post-dated cheques, each for $280. Tomorrow, I'll pay the required down-payment of $1800.  I read that orthodontist's wages have nearly doubled in the past fifteen years - it is not uncommon for them to rake in 300-grand a year. Wow...that's more than a heart surgeon.

Having kids is so expensive...yesterday my daughter went to Playland with her friends: $34 to get in and $13 on a bite to eat. When I was a kid, we bussed to the Kootenay Loop and walked a mile and a half. Then we snuck through a hole in the chain-link fence. Somehow we managed to sneak on every single ride. It was the 70's and I guess all the guys running the rides were baked, because how else can you explain that? Imagine a kid these days going to Playland with nothing in their pocket except bus fare...  We're such nice parents - my dad would have said, "You want a ride? Jump off the porch." 

(My dad)

What a different childhood that was...we'd go to the movies on a Saturday afternoon (with a two-for-one coupon) and my mum made us bring our own popcorn. In a paper bag that became progressively soggier as the trip wore on. We'd end up eating it all on the bus. We never got driven anywhere and we never had any money. My cousin and I would spend hours looking for pop bottles to cash in at the corner store and by the time we had enough to buy a few jaw breakers, we'd probably burned a thousand calories.

Looking back, it's pretty funny... I can remember days at the beach; the stomach-churning aroma of fish and chips and cheeseburgers wafting through the air. You'd look down at your peanut butter sandwich on multi-grain bread and you just wanted to burst into tears. Pure torture:

But we sure had fun.

I hope this wasn't too boring. Ciao for now...