Niagara-on-the-Lake and Brunswick Lake
- Maryann
- Jul 1, 2006
- 3 min read
One thing I am known for is being really into home projects. I don't mean making crafts to decorate my walls. I mean taking down walls, removing a roof and changing the height and shape of the walls and the roof. Gutting a bathroom is a fun way to spend my weekend. And since I like home improvement projects, my husband has to like them. Jamie and I are not weekend warriors, we are known as weekend gladiators. We execute our projects with skill and precision, and without fighting. Generally, it starts when I get an idea. Sometimes I start the project before Jamie gets home from work by removing paneling or tearing out part of a wall to see what's behind it. When Jamie arrives home, he usually takes a deep breath, sizes up what I have done, then calmly tells me important facts like whether the wall was "load bearing" or if there are wires or ducts behind it that really cannot be relocated. While he is talking, I just stare at him with that look which conveys, "Why can't you make my idea happen for me?" Most of the time, our ideas do come to fruition. For about nine glorious years, it was just the two of us, doing home renovation projects and taking little road trips, while we worked, and I was in college.
Why am I talking about our first home instead of our vacation? Well, I loved our first home. Our first home was my childhood home. We bought it from my parents and we were constantly changing things to make it a comfortable and stylish place. I always said I would never leave it. But, by 2005/2006, I was looking for a new project. There was this new neighborhood being planned in our city that always interested me. It was located near a little lake in the middle of the City and it was within walking distance to stores, restaurants, schools and the library. The little lake was called Brunswick Lake and it was the local swimming hole growing up. To me, it was perfect. In 2006, however, the home prices in this neighborhood were out of our reach as I had only recently finished college. We looked at the model home in that neighborhood, it faced the lake and had a nice front porch. It would be really nice to have a new home that looked at a lake and woods, even if it was a small lake and woods.
In July, we took a break from home shopping which we had been doing since autumn 2005, and headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you have not been there, you need to go. It is a beautiful and romantic town. Situated along the Niagara River, it is historical and cultural and calm. We had a glorious week of renting bikes and riding them to the wineries, seeing plays and dining at different places. Our best meal by far was that little spot on the grass near the Niagara River with wine and sandwiches we purchased from the farmer's market. Sigh. Did I say it is a wonderful and romantic town? We also took an evening ghost tour of Fort George. On this particular night, the air was so dry that as we walked through the old Fort, thunder and lightning was lighting up the sky but it did not rain. The sound of thunder and lightning added a dramatic backdrop to our tour. It was amazing.
The presence of the water is always around you in Niagara-on-the-Lake. There is this thing called the Niagara-on-the-Lake Effect which gets inside your head. You feel happy and romantic and cultured. By the time we got home, I was ready to buy a house on a lakefront lot in that neighborhood we couldn't afford. I knew we could make it happen. I drove past the second-to-last available lakefront lot on my way into work that first Monday after we got home. I made an appointment with the sales person. By the end of the month our house was listed for sale by owner. It sold in 21 days, and we moved forward without looking back. We were in our new home on March 1, 2007, and by May we were expecting our first baby. Thank you Niagara-on-the-Lake.
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