GnHome Sweet GnHome

Last Monday when I went into the kitchen to make breakfast I was greeted by Henri bearing a brightly-wrapped gift. “Joyeux Anniversaire!” I had completely forgotten that today marked my 5th year of being a bona fide homeowner. How time flies when one is constantly performing home-maintenance chores! Of course, technically the bank still owns […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Chapter 15

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 15- Bathroom Reno Part Deux To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I As you may have read in Episode 2 the bathroom was a disaster from day one. I had wanted to remove the ugly vinyl on the […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Chapter 14 – Spring Surprises

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership Chapter 14 – Spring Surprises To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I The long cold Winter had finally ended. Spring brought some surprises. The bulbs I had planted in Autumn had sprouted! The crocuses (croci?) were the first to bloom. […]

The Gnome and I – Episode 13 – A New Year

The Gnome and I – Episode 13 A New Year and Valentine’s Day To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I The new year of 2015 brought even more snow and cold. Henri’s friends from Greenland had returned home to take care of their own winter chores. So that left me in […]

The Gnome and I – Episode 12 – Winter

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First-Time Home Ownership Episode 12 -Winter To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I November arrived and with it, cold and snow. So now was the perfect opportunity to unpack everything and get organised. No excuses! Henri supervised, as usual, and soon practically every box […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 11

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership Episode 11 – The Throne To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I One day Henri looked critically at the parlour and remarked, “Tu es une reine. Où est votre trône?” (“You are a Queen. Where is your throne?”) Strange how […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 10

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 10 Rearranging the furniture (again) and a Visitor To read from the beginning click here: The Gnome and I [Another phrase to watch out for when looking for a home is ‘location, location, location’. The real estate agent repeated over and over […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Homeownership – Episode 6

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 6 Progress in the Parlours Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 With Henri supervising (as I tend to procrastinate) I was making great strides with unpacking the boxes. I could now see the floor! But my elation turned […]

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 5

The Gnome and I – Adventures in First Time Home Ownership – Episode 5 The Yard Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 As this was my first dwelling with my own yard I was determined to have nice looking grass and a flower garden. I grew up in suburbia where lawns and gardens […]