Tuesday 6 August 2024

Blast from the past

  I was thinking about my massive pumpkin plants this year. 

 

Banana for size! 

🍌  for scale! It's growing like stink. July 31st vs, Aug. 3, and then Aug. 5th. 
 

Blast from the past

I remember planting pumpkins in the late 70s when we lived in Toronto. It was wild. We went to the cottage for a couple of weeks, came back and the lawn was covered in pumpkin plants. They grew right across the back yard. I began thinking about that yard. I couldn't get to my other veggies at the back of the yard. 

This was our first family house↓ in Toronto, with my first husband. We lived in the basement of a triplex for the first few years. Then bought our teeny house. Caitlin was born in 1979 while we lived in Toronto. I'm trying to remember, but I think we paid about $80,000 for it. It's a bit fuzzy in my brain! We sold it, then bought another for $130,000 in Ottawa my when my first husband was transferred there in 1981. 

I vividly recall that we shared a wall, as the neighbours were doing renovations at the time, and I could hear them talking sometimes. The property is 18' wide x 144'.

Our first home, 1978,
the left side of the semi-detached,
172 Coleman Ave., Toronto 

This was all lawn. Between our back yards was a chain link fence. Our dog used to hop the fence to visit Uncle Janet and Doug who lived next door, in the white house. He was tied up, and that didn't go well one day. Yes, Caitlin called her Uncle Janet! Caitlin didn't have an aunt, and thought everyone was an Uncle!
How cute was that?!



My parents visited and helped my first husband replace the galvanized steel plumbing with copper pipes, and redo all the old knob and tube wiring. Those were the days! 

Uncle Janet's house next door (172A) sold for $750,000 in 2019. 
  • Lot Dimensions: 18.00 x 144.00'.


Left side of the semi-detached was ours,
the other (white) is 172A

I love Toronto homes, with lane access. The lane beside our house demarcated the city of Toronto from East York.


This is from another house listing just across the street. (#113 Coleman Ave.) It sold for $1million in 2019. This is the size of the yard. If you look online you can see the fabulous renovations they did to this place. They added a third storey, and made it quite open. 
I posted it here to show you what they did, just for fun.


The lot dimensions are 18 x 144'. Standard for the street.


13 comments:

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

It is crazy how house prices have gone up over the years.

RedPat said...

Quite a change from where you live now.

Barbara Rogers said...

What a fun ride, from pumpkins to that Toronto home! And well done with the Segway! It's really fun to remember the way we were at times.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I quite enjoy 'eavesdropping' on the property market; am doing that for each of the wee towns I am passing through on this trip and there is such variety... and some renos are brilliant. Others; not so much... YAM xx

Divers and Sundry said...

It's interesting to look at what house prices have done. Some people do fabulous renovations, and the properties look nothing like what they used to. I love what they did there.

Anvilcloud said...

Housing is crazy these days. I don't know how people can afford buying homes.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Such long and narrow lots. Very different.

Nancy J said...

I also went back to see the home my Mum and Dad had in Papatoetoe, and the renovations, it was a home, now almost a mansion, another storey added, and right out to the fence line by the garage. I do enjoy research. No garage for the cars, even in a Canadian winter, that would be the first thing I would want. No fun starting the car or getting into it to go to work!!!

RedPat said...

It must have been fun for you to check out the old house on-line.

Cloudia said...

What a sweet little house, I like that very much. thanks for your backstory, Jenn

Haddock said...

Like that picture from 78. Old pics bring back a lot of memories.

Jeanie said...

House prices are soaring. I've just heard of another covid case here from a couple relatively isolated. Freaks me out. Loved the houses and your story, Jenn!

William Kendall said...

Things really change.