Dining Barn 2.0!

We did it, another great Dining Barn experience :)

When I was younger, I used to always talk about how I would own a house (got it) with land (oops) and a big pond (well, we have a small one) . . . and beside the pond would be a big barn that I used for dinner parties for our family.  We have a tight knit group which was up to 12 people when all were available to come, and it's not easy to comfortably fit that many at an indoor table really.  I figured the easiest solution, as our families grew, was to have a big barn for a big table, and it would be beside the big pond on my big piece of land.

Well, Jumanji (the house) has made dreams come true as usual - kind of!  With a little creativity, I managed to 'design' my Dining Barn in the city.  Two years ago, I had Glenn and his friend Dan help me clean out our garage which is a great 1940's structure w/ open 'beam' ceiling and walls.  They did a fantastic job painting some of it white, and leaving the wood elsewhere, and after a little bit of decor work, and a lot of cooking, we had a great Dining Barn experience, #1. 


TaDaa!  Dining Barn 1 (August 2010)

In 2011, we didn't have the energy to put it together again, unfortunately, as we were too busy doing the planning for our Wedding!  Wheee!  I almost wasn't up for it this year either, as we were so wrapped up in the renovations . . . but two years was too long to wait, so planning got underway, and away we went.

We had everyone here from Toronto, Oakville and Straffordville to enjoy bbq chicken, shrimp, ribs, corn, veggies galore, salad and buns.  We finished it all off with blueberry pie and peach pie, with a side of ice cream of course (well, frozen yogurt - had to have a little health in all that goodness!).  It was a welcomed distraction from the stress of the break-in and work, etc. 

Yum!!!  I'd say Dining Barn 2.0 was a success as well.  We finished it off with a fire and some roasted marshmallows before Glenn and I bid adieu to our guests, and fell asleep on the couch - tuckered out from all the sun, beverages, and goooood food!

Oh - I also managed to get some more of the insurance stuff done this past week, and also put the baseboards in upstairs.  Did I write about that already?  I got the caulking put on all of it, but need to put in the quarter-round bits before I paint it and call that project done.  I've taken a couple photos of the finished room, but I haven't gotten a new computer or camera cable yet to upload those pics.  Hopefully soon if I can get the insurance stuff done this week. 

I ended up with a migraine on Friday, so I was at home . . . and thankfully so, as I was here to notice that the a/c was broken.  Really?  Grrrr.  But I did some investigating and fiddling and made it come back on somehow.  Let's hope it lasts, as we're only a little bit into July, with temperatures at "feels like 42degC".  I think the rest of the summer would be miserable if the a/c died permanently. 

Alrighty, time for a few hours of tidying before Monday comes around again!