Halloween 2019: Frontyard Decor

September 17, 2020. I was feeling bored as usual so I walked to Dollarama after bringing Nathan to the school bus stop. My agenda really was to buy a couple of cheap decors kasi nae-excite na talaga ako sa Halloween. Imagine, one and a half-months to go na lang pala. Nakita ko rin kasi na may decor na yung isang neighbor namin kaya medyo nainggit ako haha.

I ended up buying "pumpkins" (or Jack-o'-lanterns) so I can stick to my Halloween "pumpkin patch" theme last year. Ayaw kasi namin ni Nathan ng scary decors, yung mga cute lang dapat.

By the way, Dollarama has tons of Halloween stuff kaso dapat medyo ingat lang kasi mapapagastos ka rin talaga. Items range from $1.25 to $4.00 and before you knew it, napasubo ka na lol.

I plan to buy ng paunti-unti kasi nakaka-guilty rin mag-splurge sa mga "nonsense" stuff ngayong panahon ng pandemic. Kaso naman, kailangan ko rin ng spice sa life ko. And Halloween really makes me happy. Saka sa dollar store nga lang ako namimili eh. Kung may budget lang ba ako talaga, magfu-fullblast ako at sa Homesense mamimili.

Oh well, sige na, let me show you our simple Halloween set-up last year. Minimalist lang ang peg ha. Last minute ko na rin kasi nilagay, October 28 na. Ulan kasi ng ulan that time at noon lang tumila (we were lucky to have a 'dry' trick-or-treating, sana this year din). Ayaw ko rin kasing masira ang decors ko kasi I plan to reuse them sa mga susunod na taon. Sayang naman kasi.

The pumpkin patch theme was inspired by our first ever pumpkin patch experience on October 12, 2019. Parang ang cute kasi ng idea ng "farm"for our frontyard.

It was our first Halloween here in Roundhouse and my first time to decorate a house for Halloween. Naaliw ako nang sobra! I had very few decors (kasi nga noon lang uli kami nagkabahay) kasi nga ang mahal din kapag namili ng isang bagsakan pero naisip ko that I'll add up na lang every year.

Here are some shots on the actual Halloween.

By the way, the three pumpkins on the left were from the Richmond Country Farms (where we went to). The small one in front was from Nathan's field trip at Taves Apple Farm. The decorated one was bought at a grocery store. Since we don't know how to carve, nilagyan na lang namin ng mga stick-ons from Dollarama.

View from the inside.

I am actually faced with a dilemma this year. You see, our house is facing the highway. Hence, it is not strategic for trick-or-treaters. Hindi rin kasi gaanong dinadaanan ang harapan namin. Our neighbors gave candies in their respective garages (para facing the inside of the complex) kaya wala ring naging silbi ang decors ko (except for a few minutes of enjoyment for us) kasi nga wala namang nakakita. 

So ang tanong, shall I decorate the frontyard this year o not? Sa garage side/driveway na lang ba ako mag-aayos on October 31? We have a narrow driveway kasi at dinadaanan siya ng car kaya hindi pwedeng ayusin in advance. 

Oh well, let's see. Kahit ano pa man yan, may pandemic man, basta I'll surely enjoy this year's Halloween. Kailangan ko yan para maaliw naman.

Property Tax 2020

Hay, another big gastos! We received na our property tax notice two days ago, kailangan ng magbayad on or before July 2, 2020.

This is one of the drawbacks of owning a house, may property tax na kailangang bayaran. Naalala ko tuloy when we were just renting in Surrey, ang dami naming extra money lol. Rent at electricity lang kasi ang binabayaran namin. Naisip ko na nga rin noon, what if hindi na kami bumili ng bahay forever? We can save a lot! Pero syempre at the end of the day, doon pa rin kami sa magkaroon ng sariling bahay. Iba ang sense of ownership eh, parang feeling mo may lugar ka talaga sa mundo. Pero syempre, you have to 'pay' to experience that feeling.

At eto na nga, it's the time of the year again. My husband opted to pay our property tax once a year na lang para isang gastusan na lang. Pwede rin kasing gawing monthly yan para hindi mabigat (katulad ng ginawa namin sa previouse house namin sa Edmonton).

Are you curious kung magkano ang 2020 tax nitong humble abode namin? Sige disclose ko na tutal wala naman gaanong nagbabasa nitong blog lol.

It's $1,841.86 or approximately Php73,000+.  If you divide it in 12, $153.49 (Php6,140) per month.

Actually dapat $2,686.86 talaga ang tax pero mayroong Home Owner Grant dito na tinatawag wherein makakadiscount ka ng malaking amount if you use the property as your primary residence. Kaya ayun, nakatipid kami ng $845.

Nagkausap kami ng friend ko from Edmonton and I was shocked that they are paying $3500+ yearly tax for their single detached home na may value ng at least $100,000 less than our townhouse. Ang alam ko kasi, based sa assessed value ng property ang tax. So ibig sabihin mas mahal property tax sa Alberta kesa British Columbia?

Ooops, by the way, every year we receive din a Property Assessment Notice. Nakalagay dyan kung magkano na ang current "value" ng property mo at dyan din bine-base ang tax amount syempre.

The value of our townhouse decreased by 5% this year. In general, bumaba talaga ang value ng lahat ng properties ngayon due to many factors -- law of supply and demand, government policies in home-buying, etc. Tapos siguro next year mas bababa pa dahil sa Covid?  Pero ayos lang yan, wag na lang pansinin tutal hindi naman ibebenta pa. Tataas uli yan later on.

Hearts in our window

Last week of March 2020. One time while walking around our residential complex, I noticed that some of our neighbors have already put hearts on their windows. Naaliw ako. I was already familiar with the concept -- wherein people are decorating their windows with hearts and messages of hope to remind others that we are all in this together -- kaya natuwa ako na may gumagawa na rin pala nito sa community namin.  Syempre kelangan naming maki-join. Unang project ko ito sa gitna ng pandemya. 

At last, nagamit ko rin ang sangkatutak na colored papers na pinagbibili ko dati pa, karamihan mga bitbit ko pa from Pinas. The hearts kasi have to be colorful, hindi puro red kasi magmumukhang pan-Valentine's hehe.

I printed hearts on these colorful papers and cut them perfectly. I am telling you, OC ako sa cutting. Talent ko yan eh.

At syempre dahil kailangan ng rainbow to symbolize optimism that this Covid-storm shall also pass, I asked my son to color a printable rainbow template. 

I can go all out (just like some of our neighbors) but I opted for simplicity. Gusto ko medyo malinis lang tingnan at may pagka-minimalist kaya ayos na ito.

March 31, 2020. Almost 9pm na nang magsimula kaming magdikit ni Nathaniel. Night owls kami eh. I was happy na very enthusiastic din siya sa project na ito.

And here it is! Honestly, we were so thrilled! Nakakasaya pala talaga ng puso ang mga ganito!

Day time look. 

Actually inisip ko pa if we'll add more hearts pero ok na yan. Tipid-tipid din sa papel lol.

We put the remaining 10 heart cut-outs sa back side ng townhouse, sa may sliding door. I let Nathan tape them kung saan nya gusto (with a little guidance, of course).

And taraaaaaaaan! Ok naman din hehe. Again, hindi na namin dinagdagan ang hearts para hindi naman masakit sa mata. =)

It's already May 26, 2020 at almost two months na silang nakadikit sa bintana at sliding door. I have a feeling na magtatagal sila dyan... at least until next year, when the pandemic is over hopefully?

I took pictures of our neighbors decorated windows and I'll post them here soon! If you haven't done this project yet, baka gusto nyong subukan? I am telling you, it's so worth it. =)

Our temporary study area

I just want to show you our temporary study area now that Nathan's not going to school (physically). We live in a 3-bedroom townhouse that's big enough for us three but we don't have an extra place in the main room para gawing study area other than this. Ayoko sa sala kasi nga nandun ang toys and TV. Ayoko rin naman sa taas (in my 'me' room/office) kasi hindi ako makakapag-multitask doon. I spend most of my time in the kitchen kaya mas ok na dito na lang kami sa dining area para nga makagawa ako dito sa baba while Nathan is doing his homeworks.

We also temporarily put the new printer here para hindi na aakyat kapag magpi-print. But we'll bring it up once the school year is over.

Buti na lang hindi ko pa nabibilhan ng "something" (a cabinet, plant, or shelf) yang side na yan ng dining area. Naghahanap na talaga ako nang ilalagay dyan bago nagka-pandemic eh.

By the way, that teal cart is from Ikea (Raskog utility cart). It's one of the first things na pinabili ko kay Ford when I immigrated here in Canada kaya matagal na sa akin yan.  Super sulit talaga.

Here's my super kulit student.  Nakow sana talaga ok na ang lahat by September para makapag-normal schooling na siya uli. Hindi ko na kaya 'to hahaha!

Our water and electricity bill

Finally,  dumating na rin ang water at electricity bill namin. Medyo ilang linggo rin kaming na-curious kung magkano aabutin ang konsumo namin dito sa bahay eh.

By the way, this townhouse was turned over to us on November 14, 2018 but we only officially moved on the night of November 20. Here in Canada, every two months sila maningil ng kuryente at tubig kaya nito nga lang namin nakuha ang first ever utility bills namin.

Electricity

From November 14, 2018 to January 16, 2018, they charged us $302.44 (or around Php12,100.00). Dividing it by 58 days (instead of 64 kasi nga November 20 kami lumipat), that's around $5.21 (Php210.00) per day or $160 (Php6,300) per month.

Not bad, actually. Kasi kasama na ang space at water heating dyan. Pati na rin ang cooking (stove) at washing at drying. Winter kasi ngayon kaya 24-7 na nakabukas ang heater. Our townhouse is medium-sized kaya medyo malaki rin ang pinaiinitan. Kung ikukumpara mo sa Pinas, sobrang mura na talaga pumapatak ang kuryente dito. Imagine mo sa Pinas kung magkano aabutin ang bill mo kung maghanapon-magdamag na nakabukas ang centralized aircon. Ginto, grabe.

We'll compare sa summer kung magkano ang bill kapag hindi na kami naka-heater (pero portable aircon naman ang gumagana).


Water.

Sa water naman, $56.27 (discounted final amount) ang binayaran namin for 65 days (November 14, 2018 to January 17, 2019). Dividing it by 59 days, pumapatak na $0.95 (or Php40.00) lang siya per day o around $30.00 (Php1,200) per month. Hindi na rin masama kasi hindi naman ako nagtitipid talaga ng tubig lalo na sa paghuhugas ng pinggan at paliligo (#guilty).

Our water bill could rise up a bit siguro during the summer kung magbababad kami sa bathtub o magi-inflate kami ng swimming pool for Nathan o maghuhugas kami ng car sa labas, pero I am sure hindi pa rin ganun kalaki ang aabutin.

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So there, our water and electricity bill for the past two months. Later on, ita-tabulate ko naman ang kabuuang monthly expenses namin para magka-idea kayo how much we're spending. =)


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NOTE: Other households have natural gas connection (meron din kami nun dati sa Edmonton) for space/water heating, gas oven, barbecue grill, etc. but we opted not to get one kasi nga all our appliances naman are electric-powered. Yung barbecue grill lang namin ang nangangailangan ng gas connection but my husband is planning to replace it na lang kasi sayang daw kung doon lang namin gagamitin. May fixed fee din yata kasi kahit hindi ka nag-konsumo in a month eh hindi naman laging nagba-barbecue lalo na kapag winter o umuulan.

Meet our future (town)house

We visited our (town)house-to-be last Saturday (July 28, 2018).

Buo na yung exterior niya. Sobrang na-excite kami nang talagang mabistahan namin ng malapitan. Dati kasi noong pumunta kami eh hindi kami nakalapit dahil may mga construction workers. Last Saturday, 7pm na kami nagpunta kaya wala ng katao-tao.

Medyo nainggit kami kasi may mga units na tapos na at naturn-over na sa may-ari. Itong phase namin ang matagal pa.

Our unit is in the middle of a 7-unit building. Second to the cheapest (yata) among the 115 townhomes in the complex. When Ford went to the sell launch kasi last March, hindi na siya actually nakapili dahil nagkaubusan na talaga (parang hot pandesal lang ang peg, dinumog ng mga tao). Second day na kasi ang appointment na nakuha niya. Buti nga meron pang natira na sakto sa budget namin. Maliit lang ang unit namin pero ayos lang kasi tatlo lang naman kami.

Pero minsan nabi-bitter pa rin ako haha. The amount that we'll be paying for this townhouse can already get us a really big brand new detached home in Edmonton (lalo na sa Winnipeg o Saskatoon).

My husband is a professional engineer and earns pretty well. It's just ironic though that people like him can no longer afford to purchase a detached house here in Metro Vancouver. Wala ng "ordinaryong" pamilya dito na nagre-rely lang sa income (at walang money manggagaling overseas) ang makakabili ng ganung bahay kasi nga milyunan na ang presyuhan ng mga yun. Hanggang townhouse o condominium na lang talaga. Yung mga low income families, maliit na lalo ang chance na makabili, forever renter na lang.

Kaya talagang nagpapasalamat pa rin ako. In 3 1/2 months time, lilipat na kami dito and we will live comfortably again. We could have chosen to buy a second (or third? fourth?) hand townhouse pero iba pa rin talaga kapag bago eh. Ang linis-linis, ang bango-bango haha!

Hay, we need more patience! Konting tiis na lang.

Two months delay

Hello! I am back! Nandito na uli kami sa Canada and I've been meaning to blog na uli kaso may jet lag pa rin ako hanggang ngayon. Ewan ko ba, matindi ang tama sa akin ng jet lag ngayon.

Anyway, almost one week na kami rito at medyo nakaka-adjust na uli. Kaso something happened yesterday afternoon that made me feel really really disappointed and sad. Kaya nga ako biglang napa-blog ngayon -- para makapag-release ng sama ng loob huhu.

As I have mentioned on this post, nakabili na kami ng bagong townhouse. It's still in the construction-phase and we were first advised na kung walang delay, matu-turn over sa amin yung unit by September 18.

Asang-asa ako, bes! Naisip ko na kung may delay man, matagal na siguro ang one month.

Pero hindi, two months pala ang aabutin!

Para talaga akong biglang nawalan ng gana sa buhay after ko mareceive ito. Seriously, inip na inip na nga akong mag-antay ng September, tapos magiging November pa?!?! Same length yan ng long vacation namin sa Pinas ahh. Five months wait.

My friend Tess told me to let it go. Wala naman daw magagawa. Eh ano pa nga ba. Kaso ang dami-daming naming plans na masasagasaan dahil sa two months delay na yan.

A late 40th birthday celebration sana ni Ford (kung kakayanin, kasi September 6 ang birthday niya talaga).

A bonggang-bonggang Thanksgiving dinner this October.

A nice Halloween set-up (super excited ako talaga dito!) and trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood.

A simple 4th birthday celebration for Nathan at home (kasi hindi pa siya nagbi-birthday sa Canada ever).

Ang dami-dami ring hassle na kakabit ang paglipat sa mid-November. Sobrang maulan na noon. Tataas na naman yata ang rent namin dito sa apartment by October (kasi yearly yata ang increase), tapos baka pati storage rental. Magre-renew din ng driver's license yata si Ford kaso he couldn't use our future address pa, so ibig sabihin pag lumipat kami magpapa-revise na naman siya ng card (dapat kasi current address) kaya additional expense pa.

Saka sa totoo lang, I want to leave this place asap. Ayaw ko na dito, masikip at luma (bratty problems, I know). Kaso what choice do we have, we're stuck here for the next five months. Susme magpa-pasko na paglipat namin! Di ko talaga ma-imagine! Kung pwede lang umuwi uli ng Pinas, gagawin ko talaga.

O siya, yun lang po. Please excuse my rant. Kelangan ko lang talaga ng outlet.

I will blog again soon! Please stay tuned.

Goodbye, Old Casa Blanco.

Now that we're moving to a new home, my husband told me: "O ayan makaka-move on ka na sa dati nating bahay." 

Admittedly, whenever I feel depressed kasi with our current living situation, palaging yung dati naming townhouse ang bukang-bibig ko. Hindi nga talaga ako maka-move on. Half of my heart wanted to go back to Edmonton, where we can afford an even bigger dwelling (yung hindi lang townhouse). Hanggang wala kaming bagong bahay sa BC, feeling ko hindi pa kami talaga taga-doon.

Ngayon I can finally say goodbye to our old house. Our first home in Canada.

Ang since it's throwback Thursday, allow me to post pictures of our Edmonton townhome. Para na rin may reference kami someday. Saka para makita ni Nathan later on (since this blog is my personal diary/journal na rin).

These were the official photos used by our Realtor in selling the house. He commissioned a professional photographer to take the shots. We decluttered the house syempre before the photoshoot kaya ganyan.

FRONT EXTERIOR. Ours was an end unit.

FRONT DOOR. Bad daw sa Feng Shui ang stairs facing the door, kaso naisip ko hindi naman kami Intsik haha. 

LIVING ROOM. We had a very spacious living room. It's good though that I wasn't able to put up yet the photo frames that I was collating for that huge blank wall.

Yes, I love white. Our new place will be white again.

DINING AREA. That bench will always be memorable to us haha. It cost us $900, would you believe?

KITCHEN. It might be 'small' but I learned to cook from there.

POWDER ROOM. I loved this room. It was so big.

MASTER BEDROOM.  Our first room as a family.

The door on the right side was for the closet. 

MASTER BATHROOM. It wasn't that big but the size was just perfect for me.

GUEST ROOM. Several visitors have stayed in this room in less than three years that we lived in that house.

MY "ME" ROOM. My favorite place in that house. I was thankful to the husband for giving this to me.

That white couch is a bed, too.

MAIN BATHROOM. This was Nathan's.

BALCONY. This big balcony compensated for our lack of backyard.

I will always remember lots of barbecue sessions that took place here.

GARAGE. It was deep and spacious.

BACK EXTERIOR. Simple but functional.

Now it's really time to move forward. Wag nga raw dapat magpaka-attached sa bahay sa North America kasi hindi naman yan forever sa iyo o sa pamilya mo. Pero sadyang senti lang talaga akong tao siguro.

In the coming months, about New Casa Blanco na ang ipo-post ko. Excited na ako.