Recently Lisa and I hiked around Heart Lake with Scott and Chris Gudmunsen, some friends from church.  Scott and Chris live adjacent to the trail, and instead of taking our usual walk in Washington Park, we chose to joined them.

While you don’t always have direct views of the calm water of Heart Lake, the peace and quiet of the forest surrounding you is meditative, and the large cedars and hemlocks you pass are impressive.

It has almost been a year since I left government service and I’ve never been so busy.  Lisa and I closed on the purchase of the home on Rye Court last week (what a nightmare working with financial institutions) and we have begun the demolition of kitchen and bathrooms, removal of carpet, floor coverings and interior doors.  We purchased this home as an investment.  Ian and Kaylene are planning on renting the home from us for a couple of years once the remodel is complete.

Ian came up one day last week and removed quite a few limbs off the cedar tree in the front yard.  I also pulled out a number of plants alongside the house, and in all, I took three loads of landscape debris to the recycling center.
 

Saturday morning I began the demo of the kitchen.  Dave Meaker wanted the granite tiles that were on the counters, so in trade he helped me remove the kitchen cabinets.  By days end a fully functional kitchen had disappeared. 

Lisa leaves today for Washington D.C. (a business trip) and as such she is excused from helping me demo.  Lucky girl.