Welcome! My very first post! (Eek!)

Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Crystal and I may have just died and gone to heaven!

Since graduating from university I've been searching for something that would re-ignite my passion for life. After a failed attempt at a personal chef business and life as coffee-slinger at a major soul-sucking coffee corporation, I've happened into something that truly captures my attention and my heart.

I am returning to school at the Willowbank School for Restoration Arts in Queenston, ON (close to Niagara Falls, ON and Buffalo, NY). The school focuses on both the theoretical and practical understandings of the almost-lost arts and skills that are necessary for preserving, conserving and restoring heritage buildings. The program promises to allow me a chance to use both my hands and my head in the pursuit of something I find truly valuable: the conservation of our built heritage.

To top that off, we'ved moved into a century old farmhouse in Niagara wine country. Our new home is a rental, (hence 'The Country Tenant') and will definitely be a spoiling factor for any future homes. From the original hardwood and pine floors to the ruins (yes, ruins) of the original homestead in the backyard, this home is everything we've ever dreamed about. Over and above all that, we are also surrounded by vineyards and peach orchards. It is truly idyllic and I keep having to pinch myself to make sure I'm actually awake!

This is the best view of the house. You can see the ruins that are right behind the house and the vineyards directly behind that, with peach orchards in the distance. The best part is that this is the view from the bathroom!

It's not just me here though - you'll have noticed the repeated 'we' and 'our' above. My fiance Tim has graciously moved with me, even though he's completing his Ph.D. two hours away and he'll have to commute weekly. But I think he's also super-excited about living here, especially because I keep making fun of his very 'city' ways as we continue to adapt to country living.

We've also brought our doberman 'Ulli' along with us, as well as our cat 'The Witten' (yes, she gets her own personal pronoun! it has always been that way). Ulli is thrilled to have a huge fenced backyard, complete with baby bunnies (more on that in a later post) to run around in. The Witten is less pleased, since she is no longer allowed to go outside and has to content herself with looking out windows. She doesn't seem to appreciate our concerns about coyotes and hawks as much as we do.

Anyhow, that's us. And this is our blog that will hopefully help to chronicle our new life in Niagara. I'm not sure all that it will contain - but it will definitely be about our lovely new home, my new academic pursuits, and our new life in this beautiful countryside.

xoxo

Crystal et. al.