This house that is our home surely must be considered a new building, for it is less than a quarter-century old. It was built by a building firm we had full confidence in, one that had built our previous house. Before that, we had owned two houses in gradual succession in Toronto. Specifications for the first, built around 1950, were not as stringent as they are, by law, at the present time; there was no energy-efficiency built into that semi-detached bungalow, no insulation at all other than that which my husband installed.

Our second house was a step up for us, a two-story, four bedroom to accommodate our family of five, in an excellent part of the city, adjacent to good schools and all manner of amenities. There was a new-housing boom in progress at the time. Most of the homes being built were of immensely poor quality in their construction and materials, with basements so poorly poured of such inadequate quality that a dog could (and did) dig into them down to the ground below. Damage that had been done by vandals during construction was never corrected.

Our third and fourth houses, in Ottawa, where we lived twenty years in each home, were of superior workmanship and construction. Building guidelines mandated by law were carefully followed. Despite which, both houses needed their roofs replaced well within that time frame, and both houses required window replacement, as well. That, apart from the normal upgrades necessary from time to time to counter wear and tear.

Now that my husband has finished working on the windows at the back of our house and put away the cumbersome, heavy 25-ft ladder needed for the job on the upper stories, I can breathe a true sigh of relief. This morning, it seems, things are back to normal. Yesterday we had all-day rain, a stay-at-home-day, one where he could do no exterior work. And which I used to upgrade/update the virus protection on my computer and download a few little tweaks.

This morning the rain finally ended. I did some morning baking, of chocolate cupcakes, after breakfast, and some light cleaning and vacuuming. While my husband looked around outside at the front of the house, planning his next moves with respect to painting the window frames at the front. And discovered in the process, more rot on the frames, this time the dining room windows, overlooking the front gardens.

No end to the work he has undertaken. This 'new' house had its roof replaced four years ago with better-quality shingles than those originally installed. The garage doors were replaced a month ago, with those of an improved quality over the original installations. Perhaps the windows too will require replacing eventually, but perhaps not quite yet.