- I find I cannot eat roast beef anymore. The taste is too strong for me (D loves it). It tastes a lot like venison (which I don't prefer). So I lean to ground beef or stewing beef (the colour of them is deep deep red, like a burgundy wine) as cooking it with vegetables, herbs, spices, wine, makes for a more balanced taste for me.
- Love the pork roasts. The taste is so full, quite amazing and the smell while it's cooking is exceedingly yummy. Minimal spices needed for either type of roast, just sea salt and pepper. And the fluid that does come out of the roast is clear and strong.
- Each batch of meat (any kind) tastes different (texture too). Made us realize how accustomed we were to uniform food.
- Roasts come out better with the slow cooker than oven. The meat is leaner and stronger so slow cooking works well and helps prevent premature dryness. As D tends to like his beef rare, he had to get used to using lower temperatures and longer cooking times.
- The fat content of grass fed animals is higher in omega 3 & 6. When we have cooled leftover fat from cooking bacon for example, it can be rinsed off the pan because it is more soluble vs needing to scrape it off with a paper towel or needing hot water to "melt" it. Same with when you get it on your hands, less detergent needed. Neat!
- Despite it being organic, I cannot eat ham roasts whereas I can eat bacon (can go through a pound without breathing hard. D says one day he'd like to try some too...). There is something in the roast that keeps me up at night. It is as if I ate MSG which it doesn't have but there must be some other additive in it that is affecting me. Mind you I get a lot done when I cannot sleep as I'm super alert but it's the next working day that kills me.
- I can't seem to find a middle ground with respect to fish. I love sashimi and deep fried halibut. The in between pan fried fish (any kind) just doesn't do it for me, wild or not.
- There are cuts of meat and kinds of fruit and veggies I cannot get from our delivery service so I'll either go local if organic is not an option or I'll just go for it.
- Our pure food costs are in the $400 - $500/month range.
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Food Update 2
In my haste yesterday I forgot to mention some important observations with respect to our food:
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Arm Yourselves: Food Resources
Here's a small list of Authors to read as you start or continue on your own journey towards Food (World) Awareness:
Pamela Rice does an excellent job introducing the main issues. If you are new to this information, it will be shocking and embarrassing and sickening that humans are capable of such behaviour. Highly moving and motivating.
Michael Pollan is so calming to listen to. Nothing seems to phase him. And he knows his stuff. He has numerous books and DVDs under his belt. I would recommend anything of his.
Lierre Keith changed my mind about going vegan. Read "The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability" whether you eat or never want to eat meat. It's a book for everyone. She takes the highly charged issues presented by Pamela Rice and weaves it together into much larger and often surprising pictures. I would recommend you run, not walk, to get your hands on her book and make up your own mind. You can read Chapter 1 for free.
Joel Salatin is a champion farmer. He is so passionate about sustainability and runs his farm in such a logical way, you'd wonder why the heck isn't this the norm? Well spoken and grounded, he has authored a number of books about farming and his struggles against the industrial machine. I would spend my food dollars at his farm if I lived in the area. Luckily we have some pretty great ones around here who follow the same sustainable philosophy.
Pamela Rice does an excellent job introducing the main issues. If you are new to this information, it will be shocking and embarrassing and sickening that humans are capable of such behaviour. Highly moving and motivating.
Michael Pollan is so calming to listen to. Nothing seems to phase him. And he knows his stuff. He has numerous books and DVDs under his belt. I would recommend anything of his.
Lierre Keith changed my mind about going vegan. Read "The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability" whether you eat or never want to eat meat. It's a book for everyone. She takes the highly charged issues presented by Pamela Rice and weaves it together into much larger and often surprising pictures. I would recommend you run, not walk, to get your hands on her book and make up your own mind. You can read Chapter 1 for free.
Joel Salatin is a champion farmer. He is so passionate about sustainability and runs his farm in such a logical way, you'd wonder why the heck isn't this the norm? Well spoken and grounded, he has authored a number of books about farming and his struggles against the industrial machine. I would spend my food dollars at his farm if I lived in the area. Luckily we have some pretty great ones around here who follow the same sustainable philosophy.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wisdom from An Organic Farmer
We recently spent some lovely time with an area organic farmer. His farm was not flashy and upon our first hand shake, we knew we would get along.
Originally I thought we were just going there to check things out, buy some produce and would try it over the week. We ended up staying for an extended visit. He was very generous with his time.
Here are some of the things we learned:
Originally I thought we were just going there to check things out, buy some produce and would try it over the week. We ended up staying for an extended visit. He was very generous with his time.
Here are some of the things we learned:
- "The chickens are like humans. They come in all different sizes". Wow, what a simple phrase that symbolizes so much. Factory chickens are bred to uniform sizes. Having since tasted the meat, I would have to say it is much denser and flavourful. De-boning a chicken is normally relatively easy for me but I had a struggle with the organic one until I realized it was because the ligaments and tendons and muscles were so much stronger. Probably from all the roaming around they do. And the stock the carcass produced was much darker than what we are used to -- Dense bones perhaps?
- Laying hens have been modified to pump out one egg a day. While free range hens will lay once every 3 days or so. They are also about double the size of caged laying hens which are a shocking half a football size. He named the different breeds of livestock he has raised over the years and which lines were ending etc. We aren't familiar with any of them so the info went way over our heads.
- When we asked if he had any pork in stock. His answer was "I do have some pigs, but they are small right now." The number of animals he raises is completely dependent upon the amount of feed he can grow. So the timing of when products are available is cyclical...Another Wow moment. Aren't we so used to being able to buy bacon anytime?
- The beef we bought was so tender! We also found that we didn't need to eat as much to feel full for longer. Also, the omega 3:6 ratio is great when beef cattle are fed hay. When they are fed corn, the omega 3 pretty much disappears.
- His farm switched to organic in the early 70's because of the amount of chemicals that were being used and from his own physical reaction from being exposed to them. His gut told him he didn't want to do things that way anymore.
- An "aha" moment occurred at the bank while asking ("hat in hand") for a bridge loan to pay for feed because the money from a produce sale had not yet come in. The bank wouldn't approve it and instead authorized a loan based on acquiring more equity from the farm. He immediately went home and told his Wife that they were selling their pigs until all their debt (including mortgage) has been paid off and if there were any pigs left, then they'll continue. If not, they will do something else. They haven't owed a bank money since the early 80's.
- Organic farming was rare back then. There wasn't any support outside of a few other farmers. They learned as they went. It has been consumer demand that has brought the biggest shifts.
- The numbers of weekend farmers' markets have impacted his farm shop sales. There are fewer people making the drive out nowadays. He believes it is still important to meet the farmer and see the farms but can understand times are changing.
- It costs a lot of money to run a large operation as quotas have to be bought. He opted not to go that route because it would mean owing money for pretty much the rest of his life. He farms at a volume that he can sustain which means saving seeds each year. Freedom is more important. He worries about the current generation of young adults who are strapping themselves to large mortgages and having to have 2 incomes to "keep up" with everyone else.
- It has been about 30 years since he had to use a vet for a sick animal. His farm goal is to improve the soil and natural habitat, provide healthy well balance food for people while maintaining a livelihood for his family.
- He acknowledged how overwhelming it can be to want to do "everything right" as he too gets fired up over many issues but advised us to pick our battles and go from there. Every change to a better direction is a good one. We can't wait to see him again.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Start Where You Are
We thought it was easiest to tackle the area of food first (not!). The learning curve has been steep as we attempted to identify the sources of the products we consume. At first we just figured it was as simple as increasing the budget to pay for "organic", "non GMO" etc. Then he discovered the middle zones of non certified organic or natural farms and grass fed or grain fed and the pros and cons of each...Confusing!
It's easy to be overcome and overwhelmed trying to do the "right thing". So it was also necessary to take a step back to recognize and acknowledge incremental steps in the "right" direction as also valid. Not everything can be done at once with giant leaps and bounds...I've always had a tough time with that one.
Turns out that in our province (Ontario), meat raised and sold has to be growth hormone and antibiotic free. We are more in line than I thought. They will use antibiotics in cases of illness but are supposed to leave enough time for residues to leave the system before processing. We've also been told that antibiotics exist in feed, especially with turkeys. And yes, we have CAFOs in Canada.
There are a number of area farms that run an organic vegetable "produce box" pick up or delivery service. Some will give you a break on the cost if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and help out at the farm. My only concern is wastage. I know we don't eat as many vegetables as we'd like so getting a whole tub full weekly freaks me out a bit. They will provide recipes to help you out with cooking new to you veggies.
I think us driving around all over the place to various organic farm stores may not be the best answer either. I've been busy identifying both certified and non certified organic farms within a 50 km radius of where we live as an FYI. We had the pleasure of visiting one (learned so much!) over the weekend and I'll be writing a post about our experiences shortly.
In reality, purchasing medium or large orders at once or having them delivered is actually cheaper and more efficient. We've also found a service that works with area organic farms and stores (within 100 km) so you could actually do most if not all of your weekly shopping through them for a very minimal delivery charge ($5). I've set up an account and will be giving them a go.
It's easy to be overcome and overwhelmed trying to do the "right thing". So it was also necessary to take a step back to recognize and acknowledge incremental steps in the "right" direction as also valid. Not everything can be done at once with giant leaps and bounds...I've always had a tough time with that one.
Turns out that in our province (Ontario), meat raised and sold has to be growth hormone and antibiotic free. We are more in line than I thought. They will use antibiotics in cases of illness but are supposed to leave enough time for residues to leave the system before processing. We've also been told that antibiotics exist in feed, especially with turkeys. And yes, we have CAFOs in Canada.
There are a number of area farms that run an organic vegetable "produce box" pick up or delivery service. Some will give you a break on the cost if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and help out at the farm. My only concern is wastage. I know we don't eat as many vegetables as we'd like so getting a whole tub full weekly freaks me out a bit. They will provide recipes to help you out with cooking new to you veggies.
I think us driving around all over the place to various organic farm stores may not be the best answer either. I've been busy identifying both certified and non certified organic farms within a 50 km radius of where we live as an FYI. We had the pleasure of visiting one (learned so much!) over the weekend and I'll be writing a post about our experiences shortly.
In reality, purchasing medium or large orders at once or having them delivered is actually cheaper and more efficient. We've also found a service that works with area organic farms and stores (within 100 km) so you could actually do most if not all of your weekly shopping through them for a very minimal delivery charge ($5). I've set up an account and will be giving them a go.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Recommended Documentaries
D managed to throw his back out and we took the forced down time to watch some documentaries.
Normally he can't handle more than one or two but surprised me, partly due to him not being able to move all that well for a couple of days (luckily it was the weekend) and also because the subjects touched us both deeply.
Books on the matter are great and I've read my share of them but seeing and hearing the issues hits home in an entirely different way. I would highly recommend the ones below:
We are committed to doing even more to ensure we are buying products that are fair trade, ethical, organic, local and non GMO. The above programs made us feel extremely uneasy (nauseous).
Our budget will be changing to reflect our increased commitment to our environment and to improving the lives of our fellow humans. I plan to elaborate a bit more on those changes in future posts.
Normally he can't handle more than one or two but surprised me, partly due to him not being able to move all that well for a couple of days (luckily it was the weekend) and also because the subjects touched us both deeply.
Books on the matter are great and I've read my share of them but seeing and hearing the issues hits home in an entirely different way. I would highly recommend the ones below:
- Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal
- The End Of The Line
- Food, Inc.
- The End Of Poverty? (think again)
- Blue Gold
- Black Gold: Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee
We are committed to doing even more to ensure we are buying products that are fair trade, ethical, organic, local and non GMO. The above programs made us feel extremely uneasy (nauseous).
Our budget will be changing to reflect our increased commitment to our environment and to improving the lives of our fellow humans. I plan to elaborate a bit more on those changes in future posts.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Heat
My new office air conditioning can get really cold. So much so I have left a permanent emergency layer there just in case. There is nothing worst than feeling like doing jumping jacks in the middle of summer because you are freezing.
At home we hover at the 74 - 75 degree F range. Not enough to make one freeze but enough to take the humidity out of the air. It is not on overnight. The house has done really well this season in light of our high high temperatures.
They are calling for 49 C humidex today and there is talk records may be broken.
Our city has asked people not to water lawns due to lowered water levels from lack of rain the past month. Our grass is showing dry patches now. They say it is just going dormant.
We have made an extra effort to close blinds during the day to help keep heat out. Our hydro and water bill came out to $108 last month. Not bad for us especially when actual usage is barely half of it.
Being on well and septic at the cottage has advantages here. Not having to pay for usage or the fees that cost well more. Makes for reasonable monthly running expenses.
At home we hover at the 74 - 75 degree F range. Not enough to make one freeze but enough to take the humidity out of the air. It is not on overnight. The house has done really well this season in light of our high high temperatures.
They are calling for 49 C humidex today and there is talk records may be broken.
Our city has asked people not to water lawns due to lowered water levels from lack of rain the past month. Our grass is showing dry patches now. They say it is just going dormant.
We have made an extra effort to close blinds during the day to help keep heat out. Our hydro and water bill came out to $108 last month. Not bad for us especially when actual usage is barely half of it.
Being on well and septic at the cottage has advantages here. Not having to pay for usage or the fees that cost well more. Makes for reasonable monthly running expenses.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Month / Year Wrap Up
D handles all of our monthly bills. They are deducted automatically from the checking account. He has just told me that the account has more money in it than it needs. Of course I stop in my tracks and give him a long look.
We could use the money in our savings accounts. And I like to end each month and year accurately. In the end, when he crunches out our January bills, that amount left over may be well under $1000 but money is money and we have use for it.
2010 has been a crazy environmental year. From the volcano eruption to earthquakes to the current flooding and mudslides in California. I watched an interview with a lady whose house is 1/3rd buried in mud after being flooded. She mentioned that she didn't have flood insurance so she has literally lost her home.
I know some homes are not eligible for flood insurance because the insurance company are not willing to take a risk in a known flood zone. Hopefully you find that out before you buy. For our cottage, because a stream sits in front of it, we were not able to buy flood insurance.
We weighted the risk with the size of the stream, first hand accounts of flooding from long time neighbours and decided we were willing to take the risk of purchasing the property. There is a crawlspace instead of basement.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Each and Everyone of you a Wonderful Holiday Season. Thank you for being Valued Readers and Contributors!
We could use the money in our savings accounts. And I like to end each month and year accurately. In the end, when he crunches out our January bills, that amount left over may be well under $1000 but money is money and we have use for it.
2010 has been a crazy environmental year. From the volcano eruption to earthquakes to the current flooding and mudslides in California. I watched an interview with a lady whose house is 1/3rd buried in mud after being flooded. She mentioned that she didn't have flood insurance so she has literally lost her home.
I know some homes are not eligible for flood insurance because the insurance company are not willing to take a risk in a known flood zone. Hopefully you find that out before you buy. For our cottage, because a stream sits in front of it, we were not able to buy flood insurance.
We weighted the risk with the size of the stream, first hand accounts of flooding from long time neighbours and decided we were willing to take the risk of purchasing the property. There is a crawlspace instead of basement.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Each and Everyone of you a Wonderful Holiday Season. Thank you for being Valued Readers and Contributors!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Downtown vs On the Edge Shopping
D and I were making yet another trip for office supplies yesterday and I remarked on how convenient the area we were going to was as it had 3 out of 4 stores we needed.
He agreed even though he is a long time proponent of "downtown shopping" vs. "big box store in generic edge of town plaza" shopping.
I was thinking that even though we aren't supporting our "downtown" on this occasion, we were spending less gas by going to the edge of the city. In reality, what we were looking for didn't exist "downtown" but even it did, it made more sense to us not to go this time.
Another example of this phenomenon is the idea of living "downtown" and being able to walk everywhere. In our case (perhaps we live in a strange area...), it is actually more expensive to live "downtown" as well as to buy groceries. Plus there would be high level of temptation to shop and eat out.
Where we currently live, it is easy to buy direct from nearby farmers and pick our own fruit. Downtown, where the version of a "market" is a highly modernized one, you end up being charged higher prices to offset the higher cost of rent.
Speaking of eating out, we've done a lot of that this last week. Both of us have been so tired from working our regular jobs as well as prepare for the move. We intend next week to be easier.
He agreed even though he is a long time proponent of "downtown shopping" vs. "big box store in generic edge of town plaza" shopping.
I was thinking that even though we aren't supporting our "downtown" on this occasion, we were spending less gas by going to the edge of the city. In reality, what we were looking for didn't exist "downtown" but even it did, it made more sense to us not to go this time.
Another example of this phenomenon is the idea of living "downtown" and being able to walk everywhere. In our case (perhaps we live in a strange area...), it is actually more expensive to live "downtown" as well as to buy groceries. Plus there would be high level of temptation to shop and eat out.
Where we currently live, it is easy to buy direct from nearby farmers and pick our own fruit. Downtown, where the version of a "market" is a highly modernized one, you end up being charged higher prices to offset the higher cost of rent.
Speaking of eating out, we've done a lot of that this last week. Both of us have been so tired from working our regular jobs as well as prepare for the move. We intend next week to be easier.
Friday, December 11, 2009
End of Week, End of Year
It has been extra busy socially as of late. Something about the end of a year that seems to make people realize they haven't seen enough of each other during the year and now is the time to do it before Dec 31st.
I am enjoying the extra lunches and dinners. My pocket book has taken a bit of a hit because of it. In fact D has a breakfast and an after work function while I have a dinner out with a girlfriend tonight. Tomorrow night is another dinner party and Monday another lunch for me. Good stuff.
Next week is my last quarterly tax installment for the year. I am leaving the amount as is, even though I know I will owe next year but I don't want to mess up my cash flow for the rest of December. Remember I won't have access to the second half of my pay cheque until Jan.
We are about 75% packed. I'm afraid it is me that is lagging behind this year. I just haven't felt like it. It won't take me long, probably less than 1/2 hr so that is probably why I haven't bothered. I know I can get it together in no time.
I took a closer look at our last hydro and water bill of the year yesterday and found an interesting fact. Last Nov. we were in France for 1 1/2 wks. This year we didn't go but I took the time off anyways. The usage amounts were almost identical. I'm very pleased with our conservation efforts.
We also got a notice of rate changes for hydro. As our province is slowly switching to "smart meters" (our cottage already got her's), it was a reminder of what we will be paying at different times of the day.
Currently we are paying 5.8 cents per kilowatt hour any time of the day. Smart meter pricing will really help all of us understand the true fluctuation and demand on the system. The on peak price will be 9.3 cents/kwh, mid peak price will be 8 cents/kwh and off peak price will be 4.4 cents/kwh.
This will make a big impact on changing peoples' usage habits. I know we will be doing laundry and most of everything we can within reason on off peak hours. We are lucky that weekends are considered off peak and what is when we are at the cottage most often. We will have to switch gears to our new reality when we are there for week long durations.
I am enjoying the extra lunches and dinners. My pocket book has taken a bit of a hit because of it. In fact D has a breakfast and an after work function while I have a dinner out with a girlfriend tonight. Tomorrow night is another dinner party and Monday another lunch for me. Good stuff.
Next week is my last quarterly tax installment for the year. I am leaving the amount as is, even though I know I will owe next year but I don't want to mess up my cash flow for the rest of December. Remember I won't have access to the second half of my pay cheque until Jan.
We are about 75% packed. I'm afraid it is me that is lagging behind this year. I just haven't felt like it. It won't take me long, probably less than 1/2 hr so that is probably why I haven't bothered. I know I can get it together in no time.
I took a closer look at our last hydro and water bill of the year yesterday and found an interesting fact. Last Nov. we were in France for 1 1/2 wks. This year we didn't go but I took the time off anyways. The usage amounts were almost identical. I'm very pleased with our conservation efforts.
We also got a notice of rate changes for hydro. As our province is slowly switching to "smart meters" (our cottage already got her's), it was a reminder of what we will be paying at different times of the day.
Currently we are paying 5.8 cents per kilowatt hour any time of the day. Smart meter pricing will really help all of us understand the true fluctuation and demand on the system. The on peak price will be 9.3 cents/kwh, mid peak price will be 8 cents/kwh and off peak price will be 4.4 cents/kwh.
This will make a big impact on changing peoples' usage habits. I know we will be doing laundry and most of everything we can within reason on off peak hours. We are lucky that weekends are considered off peak and what is when we are at the cottage most often. We will have to switch gears to our new reality when we are there for week long durations.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Minimum Space Requirements
warning... long post!
I found out a vital piece of information from my financial advisor yesterday that has helped me make a decision about my spring tax situation.
After asking her to sell 50% of a stock to put it into my registered account, she told me that I could just transfer it laterally without having to sell and that amount would be based on the last closing rate and would be considered a rsp contribution. I did not know it was possible to do that.
In my mind, I've kept those 2 accounts as separate and not related so this move was a pleasant surprise. So yesterday, I made a $11575 rsp contribution! It's especially great as I didn't need to use any new money to do so.
The personal tax exemption is supposed to go up as well this tax year and I have a few small expenses in Dec. to input. Hopefully when the dust settles, I won't be out too much. Right now I still owe in the low 1000's. Oh yeah, I missed out on the private rim sale. Someone beat me to it.
I want to write about minimum living space today. Dave, the new co-blogger over at Canadian Dream, wrote this piece a few weeks ago and the concept of it has been rolling around in my mind since.
As you know, I have a thing for real estate and we own a 3 of them (1 outright and 57% of the other 2). When I read the comments to Dave's article, a number of people spoke of un-used space in their respective homes. It got me thinking.
D and I use every square inch of our houses (when we are there). How could that be when we are just 2 people?
In our main house (2880 sq ft), we have 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and a very small basement, not really usable outside of a workshop as it is a very old house (1854). So our square footage is pretty much all above ground.
The main floor houses the kitchen a 3 piece bathroom (that D uses after his runs as I refuse to let him drip all over the house to use the upstairs shower), laundry, kitchen, living room (doubles as D's work area) room/dining room combo, study and sun room.
We hang out in the sun room and study when not eating, working or watching movies. The 2 rooms are completely different in feel and experience as is all the other rooms.
Upstairs is our 3 bedrooms. One master with en suite (mine), and another bathroom (D's). The 2nd bedroom is our guest bedroom/office. Mostly office as we very rarely have guests. I am typing in that room right now.
The other bedroom is our theatre room. It houses our TV (we don't pay for cable) and our projector. We like movies and concerts.
D and I spend a lot of time together compared to other couples we know. Luckily we like to do that and each other. When we work, we like to be separate.
If you were to come to my house, you'd see minimal if any clutter. When we moved here (from a 1000 sq ft townhome), outside of furniture and clothing, I had 7 or 8 bankers boxes. Since then I've reduced it to 2 (will probably all end up as recycling), mainly stuff from the desk I recently donated.
Our rooms have nice furniture and antiques but no trinkets all over the place. There are paintings on the walls, built in book cases in the study and a couple of rugs, my piano and that's it. I let the architectural details of the house speak for itself.
When we are at the ski condo (just under 300 sq ft) and D has to work, I cannot seem to be able to relax as well. I think it is because he is giving off a different energy when working that doesn't mix well with my relax zone.
Plus the noise when he is on a call etc. I cannot escape it as there is no place to go other than out. It is open concept. We live very small and it is cosy and simple. It is very easy and I do not miss anything when I'm there.
So what we are opting to do this year is have D work minimally during our upcoming holidays so that it will feel like holidays. This has meant using more of his paid holiday time to ensure it.
I don't want to live the exactly same way everywhere I go. For me, it would take away from the experience. I even fought having Internet there for that reason. Eventually I relented as it is very useful for checking flights and weather etc.
At the cottage (700 sq ft), we have no TV or phone or Internet. We are as unplugged as can be and love it that way. We have 2 bedrooms, the 2nd one more as storage as there is only one closet, a main living area with 2 couches, bathroom and kitchen. That's it. Not even a book case. We don't miss a thing when we are there either.
We've talked at length about how it would feel living full time at the cottage or ski condo and what we would be giving up. There is a very obvious cost difference with each one. I guess it depends on how anxious we are to fully stop working and move.
Right now we like being able to enjoy living in 3 very different places -- ranging from what I consider to be luxury to basic. We have learned a lot about ourselves in the process and are very grateful for being able to do this right now. It hasn't escape me that maybe the reason it is so easy to not miss stuff is because we know we are coming back to stuff?
Given the choice, D would keep all 3. I would be willing to sell everything and move out west right now. I'm not scared to start again and start small. I crave time more than anything else and I would have the luxury of time if I did that.
I say I because full time in that space with 2 people would probably drive both of us crazy. We would likely need to buy another unit for it to work long term. So I guess, I did end up answering the question of Dave's post. I need at least 300 sq ft for myself to keep sane.
I found out a vital piece of information from my financial advisor yesterday that has helped me make a decision about my spring tax situation.
After asking her to sell 50% of a stock to put it into my registered account, she told me that I could just transfer it laterally without having to sell and that amount would be based on the last closing rate and would be considered a rsp contribution. I did not know it was possible to do that.
In my mind, I've kept those 2 accounts as separate and not related so this move was a pleasant surprise. So yesterday, I made a $11575 rsp contribution! It's especially great as I didn't need to use any new money to do so.
The personal tax exemption is supposed to go up as well this tax year and I have a few small expenses in Dec. to input. Hopefully when the dust settles, I won't be out too much. Right now I still owe in the low 1000's. Oh yeah, I missed out on the private rim sale. Someone beat me to it.
I want to write about minimum living space today. Dave, the new co-blogger over at Canadian Dream, wrote this piece a few weeks ago and the concept of it has been rolling around in my mind since.
As you know, I have a thing for real estate and we own a 3 of them (1 outright and 57% of the other 2). When I read the comments to Dave's article, a number of people spoke of un-used space in their respective homes. It got me thinking.
D and I use every square inch of our houses (when we are there). How could that be when we are just 2 people?
In our main house (2880 sq ft), we have 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and a very small basement, not really usable outside of a workshop as it is a very old house (1854). So our square footage is pretty much all above ground.
The main floor houses the kitchen a 3 piece bathroom (that D uses after his runs as I refuse to let him drip all over the house to use the upstairs shower), laundry, kitchen, living room (doubles as D's work area) room/dining room combo, study and sun room.
We hang out in the sun room and study when not eating, working or watching movies. The 2 rooms are completely different in feel and experience as is all the other rooms.
Upstairs is our 3 bedrooms. One master with en suite (mine), and another bathroom (D's). The 2nd bedroom is our guest bedroom/office. Mostly office as we very rarely have guests. I am typing in that room right now.
The other bedroom is our theatre room. It houses our TV (we don't pay for cable) and our projector. We like movies and concerts.
D and I spend a lot of time together compared to other couples we know. Luckily we like to do that and each other. When we work, we like to be separate.
If you were to come to my house, you'd see minimal if any clutter. When we moved here (from a 1000 sq ft townhome), outside of furniture and clothing, I had 7 or 8 bankers boxes. Since then I've reduced it to 2 (will probably all end up as recycling), mainly stuff from the desk I recently donated.
Our rooms have nice furniture and antiques but no trinkets all over the place. There are paintings on the walls, built in book cases in the study and a couple of rugs, my piano and that's it. I let the architectural details of the house speak for itself.
When we are at the ski condo (just under 300 sq ft) and D has to work, I cannot seem to be able to relax as well. I think it is because he is giving off a different energy when working that doesn't mix well with my relax zone.
Plus the noise when he is on a call etc. I cannot escape it as there is no place to go other than out. It is open concept. We live very small and it is cosy and simple. It is very easy and I do not miss anything when I'm there.
So what we are opting to do this year is have D work minimally during our upcoming holidays so that it will feel like holidays. This has meant using more of his paid holiday time to ensure it.
I don't want to live the exactly same way everywhere I go. For me, it would take away from the experience. I even fought having Internet there for that reason. Eventually I relented as it is very useful for checking flights and weather etc.
At the cottage (700 sq ft), we have no TV or phone or Internet. We are as unplugged as can be and love it that way. We have 2 bedrooms, the 2nd one more as storage as there is only one closet, a main living area with 2 couches, bathroom and kitchen. That's it. Not even a book case. We don't miss a thing when we are there either.
We've talked at length about how it would feel living full time at the cottage or ski condo and what we would be giving up. There is a very obvious cost difference with each one. I guess it depends on how anxious we are to fully stop working and move.
Right now we like being able to enjoy living in 3 very different places -- ranging from what I consider to be luxury to basic. We have learned a lot about ourselves in the process and are very grateful for being able to do this right now. It hasn't escape me that maybe the reason it is so easy to not miss stuff is because we know we are coming back to stuff?
Given the choice, D would keep all 3. I would be willing to sell everything and move out west right now. I'm not scared to start again and start small. I crave time more than anything else and I would have the luxury of time if I did that.
I say I because full time in that space with 2 people would probably drive both of us crazy. We would likely need to buy another unit for it to work long term. So I guess, I did end up answering the question of Dave's post. I need at least 300 sq ft for myself to keep sane.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wanting What You Have
I have fine tuned the end dates for the mortgages -- June & Sept 2012. Barring any quadrupling of interest rates, we ought to get there OK.
D and I discussed the concept of value in our real estate holdings this weekend at the cottage.
Our recent foray to some open houses has helped me appreciate the amount of value we have in our properties.
For example, the one house I liked in one of my "dream" places to live was asking $410000, down from $439000 as the owner had bought elsewhere and needed to sell.
For an older brick house (80 yrs old), it was very nice. Compared to ours, it doesn't compare too well. It didn't have a garage or a main floor bathroom and the bedrooms were smaller. The walls were also still in plaster, which mean fairly high heating bills to me. It didn't give the "solid" feel that ours give off as it is triple brick thick. Though the multi-level deck, porch, kitchen and garden were gorgeous.
We have gotten used to having the original wide plank floors, having the walls redone in drywall and insulated and the architectural features re-integrated afterwards. Also, we have been spoiled with an attached 1 1/2 car garage, 2 fireplaces, main floor laundry and shower.
Those aren't features you see in a house built in 1854. Add to that 2 staircases going upstairs and one from the garage to the basement, it is hard to beat. We feel it is a great mix of old and new. And it cost $125000 less.
D found a listing last week of a possible cottage closer than our current location by 2 hrs. After dropping off our stuff home yesterday, we took off to check it out the location before getting in contact with any Realtors.
For those familiar with Ontario, the body of water it is off of is Lake Huron. Our cottage is off of Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron but farther north).
The drive took no time at all and was really easy. The price of it is $100000 more than we paid for our cottage 5 years ago. So was there enough value to justify the increase expense?
No.
The beach was smaller and that part of Lake Huron required break walls along the length of the beach due to erosion issues. It takes away from the feeling of space and expanse that I like to see. Also, you are looking at horizon. There isn't anything interesting geographically.
Where we are, you are looking at hills, rock and the sand is clean without pebbles. It gives off a rougher, harsher feel of open water. It suits me more.
So we started our day yesterday at a beach and ended our day at one. Fun stuff.
The house itself was great. It was straight out of a fairy tale. An English cottage with a detached garage. It is more of a house than a cottage and as tempting as it is to want more luxurious accommodations and lifestyle options it will not work for us.
I wanted a cottage for its environment. The living standards were not going to match our main house but it wasn't supposed to. I bought it for the sand, rock and water and for Ontario, it doesn't come much better than there. Those of you who are fans of Tom Thompson (Group of Seven) will know what I mean. So for $100000 less, we have great value.
When the hunt for our ski condo came about, I was overwhelmed at first with the number of options out there.
My initial choices were something in Colorado as I had great memories of Beaver Creek and Vail or Montana because I love it there. The logistics of getting there (plane and car) made these options not as appealing. Plus, in order to afford there, we would be looking at a timeshare instead of out right ownership.
Eventually we wanted to spend the entire season skiing so that would mean a number of timeshares. That didn't appeal at all. Europe would have been awesome but again the flight and transfers would not make it easy. It isn't easy to find something much less than a 2 1/2 - 3 hr from an airport. Driving in the middle of the winter in unfamiliar mountain terrain isn't my idea of fun. So the next step was to look in my own country.
Fractional ownership is pretty popular here. I means you "own" it for say 5 weeks plus a year depending on what plan you buy. The issue I have is that the 5 weeks are spread out and changes every year. I don't like being told when I get to go. Plus you cannot really take advantage of seat sales.
The place we found is truly a diamond. It is under 1 hr from the airport with well run shuttles so we wouldn't have to drive. It is non commercial even though it is the 2nd largest in BC. And we can own outright for the price of a fractional. It is an older solid building and cost the most per square foot ($300) of anything we own so luckily we don't need a lot of space.
We are 8000 ft up and some mornings, we wake up with views above the cloud line. I love it there. It doesn't matter that we don't have in unit laundry or a full size fridge or stove. We do fine with our bar fridge (we go to the market daily), cook top, toaster oven (we are thinking of upgrading to a convection one), indoor grill, microwave and shared building laundry.
I have a nasty habit of thinking that I haven't done enough and I didn't make the best purchase decisions. As much as I hate to admit it, D dragging me off to see these places has made me see that that is not the case. We have done well for us and I can now just enjoy it without questioning myself over and over again. It has been a well needed lesson for me.
D and I discussed the concept of value in our real estate holdings this weekend at the cottage.
Our recent foray to some open houses has helped me appreciate the amount of value we have in our properties.
For example, the one house I liked in one of my "dream" places to live was asking $410000, down from $439000 as the owner had bought elsewhere and needed to sell.
For an older brick house (80 yrs old), it was very nice. Compared to ours, it doesn't compare too well. It didn't have a garage or a main floor bathroom and the bedrooms were smaller. The walls were also still in plaster, which mean fairly high heating bills to me. It didn't give the "solid" feel that ours give off as it is triple brick thick. Though the multi-level deck, porch, kitchen and garden were gorgeous.
We have gotten used to having the original wide plank floors, having the walls redone in drywall and insulated and the architectural features re-integrated afterwards. Also, we have been spoiled with an attached 1 1/2 car garage, 2 fireplaces, main floor laundry and shower.
Those aren't features you see in a house built in 1854. Add to that 2 staircases going upstairs and one from the garage to the basement, it is hard to beat. We feel it is a great mix of old and new. And it cost $125000 less.
D found a listing last week of a possible cottage closer than our current location by 2 hrs. After dropping off our stuff home yesterday, we took off to check it out the location before getting in contact with any Realtors.
For those familiar with Ontario, the body of water it is off of is Lake Huron. Our cottage is off of Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron but farther north).
The drive took no time at all and was really easy. The price of it is $100000 more than we paid for our cottage 5 years ago. So was there enough value to justify the increase expense?
No.
The beach was smaller and that part of Lake Huron required break walls along the length of the beach due to erosion issues. It takes away from the feeling of space and expanse that I like to see. Also, you are looking at horizon. There isn't anything interesting geographically.
Where we are, you are looking at hills, rock and the sand is clean without pebbles. It gives off a rougher, harsher feel of open water. It suits me more.
So we started our day yesterday at a beach and ended our day at one. Fun stuff.
The house itself was great. It was straight out of a fairy tale. An English cottage with a detached garage. It is more of a house than a cottage and as tempting as it is to want more luxurious accommodations and lifestyle options it will not work for us.
I wanted a cottage for its environment. The living standards were not going to match our main house but it wasn't supposed to. I bought it for the sand, rock and water and for Ontario, it doesn't come much better than there. Those of you who are fans of Tom Thompson (Group of Seven) will know what I mean. So for $100000 less, we have great value.
When the hunt for our ski condo came about, I was overwhelmed at first with the number of options out there.
My initial choices were something in Colorado as I had great memories of Beaver Creek and Vail or Montana because I love it there. The logistics of getting there (plane and car) made these options not as appealing. Plus, in order to afford there, we would be looking at a timeshare instead of out right ownership.
Eventually we wanted to spend the entire season skiing so that would mean a number of timeshares. That didn't appeal at all. Europe would have been awesome but again the flight and transfers would not make it easy. It isn't easy to find something much less than a 2 1/2 - 3 hr from an airport. Driving in the middle of the winter in unfamiliar mountain terrain isn't my idea of fun. So the next step was to look in my own country.
Fractional ownership is pretty popular here. I means you "own" it for say 5 weeks plus a year depending on what plan you buy. The issue I have is that the 5 weeks are spread out and changes every year. I don't like being told when I get to go. Plus you cannot really take advantage of seat sales.
The place we found is truly a diamond. It is under 1 hr from the airport with well run shuttles so we wouldn't have to drive. It is non commercial even though it is the 2nd largest in BC. And we can own outright for the price of a fractional. It is an older solid building and cost the most per square foot ($300) of anything we own so luckily we don't need a lot of space.
We are 8000 ft up and some mornings, we wake up with views above the cloud line. I love it there. It doesn't matter that we don't have in unit laundry or a full size fridge or stove. We do fine with our bar fridge (we go to the market daily), cook top, toaster oven (we are thinking of upgrading to a convection one), indoor grill, microwave and shared building laundry.
I have a nasty habit of thinking that I haven't done enough and I didn't make the best purchase decisions. As much as I hate to admit it, D dragging me off to see these places has made me see that that is not the case. We have done well for us and I can now just enjoy it without questioning myself over and over again. It has been a well needed lesson for me.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Harvest
Our harvest this year leaves something to be desired.
We tried some heirloom tomato plants (read expensive!) and they have not netted very much produce despite being relatively giant looking plants to start with.
One of them is a variety from Germany that is supposed to give tomatoes the size of melons. I'm not seeing any of the blooms turning into anything remotely looking like melon size tomatoes yet.
Meanwhile our best producers seem to be the pepper plants. We have 4 different types and they have been very tasty.
The beans did not do great this year. So we've continued to buy most of our veggies while trying to be patient with our garden!
We tried some heirloom tomato plants (read expensive!) and they have not netted very much produce despite being relatively giant looking plants to start with.
One of them is a variety from Germany that is supposed to give tomatoes the size of melons. I'm not seeing any of the blooms turning into anything remotely looking like melon size tomatoes yet.
Meanwhile our best producers seem to be the pepper plants. We have 4 different types and they have been very tasty.
The beans did not do great this year. So we've continued to buy most of our veggies while trying to be patient with our garden!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Septic System Checkup
Some extra expenses have popped up regarding the cottage. Every 6 years or so, the township employs an engineering and environmental firm to do check ups on septic systems that were installed prior to 1999. Since our cottage is 65 yrs old, we qualify.
So we got our letter in the mail notifying us that this summer is our time. The last checkup happened shorted before we found our cottage 6 yrs ago so passing the test was one of the conditions in the agreement to purchase.
The last couple to own it as well as us, use the cottage fairly "lightly", the concrete tank and weeping bed was is great shape. Our recent assessment by the septic company was very good as well. Because it was pumped out last year, we do not have to do it again this year. We are now waiting for the engineering assessment.
Total cost, around $110 for the certificate and inspection. Good for another 6 years or so. A small price to pay compared to septic replacement, which happened to one of our neighbours at a cost of $3500 - 4000.
A new one would have to conform to current building codes which no longer allows for an underground septic system if you are a certain distance away from a body of water, which we are.
So we got our letter in the mail notifying us that this summer is our time. The last checkup happened shorted before we found our cottage 6 yrs ago so passing the test was one of the conditions in the agreement to purchase.
The last couple to own it as well as us, use the cottage fairly "lightly", the concrete tank and weeping bed was is great shape. Our recent assessment by the septic company was very good as well. Because it was pumped out last year, we do not have to do it again this year. We are now waiting for the engineering assessment.
Total cost, around $110 for the certificate and inspection. Good for another 6 years or so. A small price to pay compared to septic replacement, which happened to one of our neighbours at a cost of $3500 - 4000.
A new one would have to conform to current building codes which no longer allows for an underground septic system if you are a certain distance away from a body of water, which we are.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Electricity Use Update
We got 2 electricity bills in the mail lately. One for our main house, the other for the cottage. I've been looking forward to them as I was sure we have managed to further reduce our usage this year vs. last year.
We have used 47% less electricity at home this month vs this month last year. Our actual electricity usage cost comes to $21.69 for June. (Incidentally, our water use -- same bill -- was $10.46 for June) So we are averaging less than $1 a day for water and electricity.
The explanation for the reduction comes from manually shutting off the hot water heater (ours is electric and owned), reverting to washing most dishes by hand (makes a difference even though our dishwasher is energy star), using our dehumidifier in the basement on an as needed bases and eliminating our use of an additional basement deep freezer. We also cook with gas. We have only used our central air conditioner for 1/2 hr so far this summer so August numbers may be higher.
For the cottage, we get bills quarterly. So, for the last 3 months, we have used $15.38 worth of electricity. We are slightly lower than last year but very close to the lowest we can go for that property. When we leave, the breakers are turned off.
We have used 47% less electricity at home this month vs this month last year. Our actual electricity usage cost comes to $21.69 for June. (Incidentally, our water use -- same bill -- was $10.46 for June) So we are averaging less than $1 a day for water and electricity.
The explanation for the reduction comes from manually shutting off the hot water heater (ours is electric and owned), reverting to washing most dishes by hand (makes a difference even though our dishwasher is energy star), using our dehumidifier in the basement on an as needed bases and eliminating our use of an additional basement deep freezer. We also cook with gas. We have only used our central air conditioner for 1/2 hr so far this summer so August numbers may be higher.
For the cottage, we get bills quarterly. So, for the last 3 months, we have used $15.38 worth of electricity. We are slightly lower than last year but very close to the lowest we can go for that property. When we leave, the breakers are turned off.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Hobbies Revisited
Back near Christmas, I was coming up with new goals for the year. I was questioning whether I wanted to take on yet another hobby that costs money to get into and during and after.
I am near decision time with respect to hobbies that cost money -- a lot of money (at least to me) to participate in.
So, here is what is getting the "boot" -- NO to getting my private pilot's licence. It is just too expensive and each flight afterwards will cost a bunch of money. I will stick to someone else to fly me around.
Since reading "Money Can Buy Happiness: How to Spend to Get the Life You Want" by MP Dunleavey, I have been looking at what I already have and weighing things up to the value measure inside me ie. does it really make me excited or just so so?
To do this effectively, I needed to ignore how much I spent on it and whether it was still in good condition or not. It is easy to talk oneself into keeping something just because...
Plus I am changing. There are some hobbies that use up precious resources that I simply do not feel right in consuming anymore.
The next step is evaluating hobby equipment that do not consume resources to participate in but I do not exactly wish to jump out of bed to do ie. I took it up as a challenge and it still scares me!
I am near decision time with respect to hobbies that cost money -- a lot of money (at least to me) to participate in.
So, here is what is getting the "boot" -- NO to getting my private pilot's licence. It is just too expensive and each flight afterwards will cost a bunch of money. I will stick to someone else to fly me around.
Since reading "Money Can Buy Happiness: How to Spend to Get the Life You Want" by MP Dunleavey, I have been looking at what I already have and weighing things up to the value measure inside me ie. does it really make me excited or just so so?
To do this effectively, I needed to ignore how much I spent on it and whether it was still in good condition or not. It is easy to talk oneself into keeping something just because...
Plus I am changing. There are some hobbies that use up precious resources that I simply do not feel right in consuming anymore.
The next step is evaluating hobby equipment that do not consume resources to participate in but I do not exactly wish to jump out of bed to do ie. I took it up as a challenge and it still scares me!
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