Well, hello there!

I have noticed that there are some new people here - thanks for coming by, it's nice to see you!  And please, feel free to introduce yourself in the comments!!

I figured this was a good time to give a refresher course on me and this blog, so you all don't have to go back to the beginning and try to piece together the story :)

So, I was born... okay, okay, not going that far back!

The main bits of my life:  

• I was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
• I attended University of Guelph (B. Sc. with a minor in Biochemistry, emphasis in Botany), and ended up living in Guelph for almost 10 years.
• After graduating and not being able to find a job that allowed me to live above the poverty line in Ontario (no, I never had to ask if anyone wanted fries with their meal, but I got damn good at making lattes), I found a job in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (which I interviewed for in my jammies - gotta love phone interviews.  To make it better, the jammies looked like this, just less pink and without the feet).
• I worked in a lab doing research into biological control of weeds (lab motto: "We put the "fun" in "fungi").  I loved the work, loved working with fungi, got WAY too excited finding things like slime molds, and got paid to spend a lot of my summer driving around the province looking at weeds.  Published some papers, went to some conferences, and even got a patent.  Full disclosure - the patent is actually owned by the Queen of England.  No, really.  True story.  This is the closest I will probably ever come to royalty :)
• I realized after 10 years, the job wasn't worth being that far away from family, and that I REALLY hate being cold.  So I sold my house, quit my job, packed up my life, and came home.
• You know that saying, "You can't go home again"?  It's especially true when you haven't lived in a city for 20 years, and two casinos have moved in while you were gone.
• Deciding I really didn't want to live in Niagara Falls, but wanted to remain in the area, I bought this house in Fort Erie.  I closed on this house on Halloween, 2008.  I continue to hope that is not a bad omen.
• The house was built in 1928, and was a rental property for many years.  I knew it needed a complete gut and reno before I bought it, but the location, property size and price made it worthwhile.
• I thought I was prepared for the stress of renovating.
• I was completely wrong.
• I currently work for a private company, doing food safety and quality control.  While it pays the bills, it confirms, on a daily basis, why I don't want to have processed foods make up the majority of my diet.
• I have two dogs, both miniature schnauzers.  I got Kip from a breeder in April, 2007, at 9 weeks of age.  He is my first dog ever, and I cannot imagine life without him.  Katy was a stray, taken in by Toronto Animal Services, and after spending 6 weeks in the shelter there, it became clear Kip and I needed to make the drive to Toronto to get her.  She is a total sweetheart, and I wonder daily what kind of person throws away a dog like her.  
• I tend to be very scientific in my outlook.  Some may even go as far as to call me "geeky", but I try to keep my enthusiasm for Dr. Who, Firefly, etc. out of the blog :)
• I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.  Thus, I know all about delayed gratification.   

So, this blog is about the house renovations, and dogs, and food, and cooking, and sustainability, and the environment, and gardening.  And bacon.

I'm glad you could make it - I hope you stay a while!