When Daniel and I were looking for a house in the late 90s, I fell in love with solid wooden doors.  When we went to open houses, I would knock on them to check them out.  At that time, I didn’t know that Daniel was skilled enough to undertake most of the restoration projects.  And I never dreamt that he would be able to make new doors that are identical to the 97 year-old Douglas fir doors in our house.

My skill set is limited . . . I get to varnish.  This door will the door for my closet.

My mother grew up in the 1930s, so she was always turning off lights and saving things like aluminum foil.  Fast forward to the future, and my husband is the one turning off the lights.  Since Daniel has started working at Power Smart, I have him following me around turning off lights, monitors, printers, etc.

Since we joined Team Power Smart — making a commitment to reduce our electricity consumption by 10% — we have reduced it by 24% without too much effort.  Most of it is learning about CFLs and appliances that use phantom power.  The photocopier in my office remains unplugged until I need it.  It never occurred to me that it was drawing power when it wasn’t in use.

I love spending time in bookstores.  In the last few years, I’ve found some amazing treasures in discount stores.  When I found this book by the brilliant Globe and Mail foreign correspondent, Stephanie Nolen, I had to buy it.

Who knew that there were women aspiring to be astronauts in the late 50s?