Gas bill scare

Okay, I'm new to this home ownership stuff so don't laugh after you read this. So I get my second bill from Enbridge Gas and the amount is just under $500. YES .... $500 !! That's enough gas to heat both our neighbours' homes too ! We barely have the heat on during the day when we are at work so we were amazed at how much it cost to heat a home. Both Janny and I came up with a bunch of theories and finally decided that we would call Enbridge to figure out what was going on. The guy explained to me that the first bill we received was calculated using an estimated reading based on gas usage before we moved into the home. This finally made sense since if we added the 1st and 2nd gas bill together, we get an average of $320 per month. Now that is a more reasonable figure. Still have yet to see the electricity and water bill. I think these are sent out every 2 months. Let's hope we don't get another surprise.

As for other things that are going on around our house:

1. The construction of the school next to our house looks like it is going well. They have a deadline of September for the next school season so let's hope they finish on time for the sake of all the parents in our neighbourhood.

2. Our builder is sending someone over on Friday to perform the 30 day inspection; yes, apparently, it is way past 30 days Don't ask.

3. We are getting lots of lots of paper ads left at our front door. Some people even decided to push ads into the house via the gaps between our doors. I decided to call one up in regards to garage openers. The guy did not sound professional at all and even told me they have the lowest prices. So I asked him for the brand and pricing. He told me Craftsman and $199. I then told him that's what Sears sells it for how do they have the lowest prices? He then says that all Sears sell it for that price and they are offering it for the same low price. This is when I decided to say thanks and goodbye. I have one word for this guy. Whatever.

Okay, that's enough for today.

Another nephew has arrived !!

That's right, Baby Juliano entered the world in Brazil on March 14, 2006 at approx. 3pm. Stats are that he weighed 2.996 kilos and was 48 centimetres long. I'm sure those measurements have changed since then.

Parents Silvia and Man Wai are happy as ever and grandparents are too ! Congratulations ! From Auntie Janny and Uncle Keith :)



More Pictures

Video

Snow is gone

At the request of a former manager of mine which I'll leave unnamed (you know who you are), I thought I would post an entry to this blog. No pictures though cause nothing in the house has changed.

One topic I haven't brought up in quite a while is the commute. I think I've actually gotten used to it. Took some time but overall the 35 to 40 minute commute is turning out better than I thought. I think I deserve a pat on the back. Okay, I did rant quite a bit about it so maybe a pat is too much. Then again, this week is March Break and the # of cars on the road has dropped significantly.

Anyways, the snow has melted in our area which is a miracle because at some points, I thought the snow would stay on the ground year-round. Yes, really. All we need now is some green grass. All this dirt, brick, and stone is taking away from the picturesque Oak Ridges Moraine. Yeah, whatever ... this coming from a person who just moved into a house that required the removal of many trees in an area considered to be environmentally sensitive. That's okay, I recycle so that should compensate. Wait ! I don't because I still haven't picked up my blue box yet. Okay, I recycle at work. That should count for something.

Getting back to the snow, along with the white stuff disappearing comes the noticeable sinking of the driveway. It seems that the constant driving in and out of the garage has caused the gravel and dirt to sink below the garage entrance due to the warm weather. Over the weekend, I had to move some stones over to the edge of the garage so that I could drive into my garage without having to scrape the bottom of the car bumper. The funny thing was that I don't own a garden shovel so I used a snow shovel. Yes, it looked stupid since there was no snow around and here I am holding a snow shovel. Our next door neighbour did see me with the shovel and managed to say hi but never mentioned anything about the shovel. Okay, maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Anyways, this post is getting nowhere so I'll end it here....

Picture Time

Don't think I ever took this angle of the house.



Curtains in our family room. It's from IKEA but it ain't the cheap stuff.



The only custom blinds in the house so far.



This is the stacking of the dryer. Note the removal of the overhead laundry cabinet that almost fell on my head.