You’re walking by the sea, under the sun with your feet in the turquoise water. A warm wind musses your hair. You look up, and in the distance, between the trees, you see ten strange shapes that remind you of giant screens, or blowing sales, or wicker seatbacks, or roosters. They are very high, up to 30 metres. And you wonder “What is that?”

When you look at the site, through the window you see ten strange forms lining a centre aisle, empty inside, but with a sloped surface at the bottom. It looks like ten giant baseball gloves catching the sun and the wind. And you wonder “What is that?”

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It’s a cultural centre. Maybe the only one in the Pacific islands. Nothing like the one in Gatineau, Gaspé or Châteauguay. This is New Caledonia, in the heart of the Pacific, on the other side of the planet. That means a different culture, different architecture and, most of all, a different climate.[……]

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Over the last few winters, a small crack has appeared in a corner of your house’s foundation.

You tell yourself that it’s tiny and therefore harmless. And you move on to other things.

That’s a big mistake because you find yourself faced with a structural problem that will affect the stability of your house. This will affect the resale value.

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Where does this crack come from? Why is the foundation of the house cracking? Can you do anything about it?

The freeze and thaw cycle is often the primary cause. Depending on the region of Quebec you’re building is located in, the depth of the foundation walls varies. When you do work around the walls, you have to always keep in mind to protect them against freezing.

Once a crack is visible, how do you prevent it from degrading?[……]

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The bedroom is a unique room to decorate. It is the only one where parents, friends and strangers do not have access. These people go through the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom, but not the bedroom. That leaves us free to decorate it any way we like, from the outlandish to the classic.

You feel like redoing your bedroom décor? The possibilities are endless.

The classical style is always easy to defend. Simple and discreet, with an abundance of glass, moulding to modify the volumes, sometimes old-fashioned wallpaper. A few knickknacks, maybe a vase on each side of the bed. A bookshelf topped by a bouquet of flowers. White and cream are often colours that evoke intimacy. Grey as well.

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Step it up a notch and you have a sumptuous bedroom. Turquoise, violet and purple offer an ambience of royalty. Mouldings provide a rich look. Velour or quilts as bed linen complete the majestic effect conveyed by the bedroom, to which this couch or padded headboard, velour curtains and canopy bed are added.[……]

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You’re thinking of buying your perfect home? You’re prepared for the down payment as well as the loan and tax instalments and insurance. You’re sure you’ve thought of everything. But have you really anticipated everything?

Buying a home is not only a matter of making loan payments! It’s important to anticipate other expenses. And since these expenses can impact the amount you put down, you need to keep them in mind during the buying process. These expenses* can include:

  • Appraisal fee ($350)
  • Welcome tax ($2,000)
  • School taxes ($500)
  • Home inspection fee ($150)
  • Municipal taxes ($2,000)
  • Moving cost ($1,000)
  • Home insurance ($400)
  • Lawyer (notary) fees ($1,000)
  • Loan insurance ($1,600)

[……]

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It was love at first sight. The pure eyed beauty is justice. Her admirer is architect Joseph Poelaert. His love for the beauty was so great that he built an immense palace for her. In reality it’s a monster. As the expression goes, it’s the thought that counts.

We will never really know what the architect was thinking at the time. Driven by his project, he died suddenly of a stroke, four years before the inaugural ceremony.

Today, Belgians have a palace of justice that is sometimes called the behemoth. It’s the colossal size of the building that makes tourists stop and ponder, not its esthetics. The interior is so vast that it’s said that dozens of rooms are empty. The doors have been closed for a long time.

The palace of justice is still incomplete, but the behemoth is still alive. Each day, hundreds of lawyers and employees pass through its doors to preserve the pureness of justice. And that doesn’t include visitors.

[caption id="attachment_10580" align="aligncenter" width="560"]Palais de justice Bruxelles WIKIPEDIA inusite Exterior of the Brussels Palace of Justice: Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Martin Mycielski (Stansfield)[/caption]

What happened?[……]

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Having a service business, either alone or with partners, can offer many significant financial benefits. Seeing your income increase is a very real possibility. However, before undertaking this adventure, here are a few things to consider.

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Take advantage of a mentor’s advice

Entrepreneurs often mistakenly believe that mentoring is only useful when a problem arises. Asking for advice from a mentor is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, an entrepreneur who seeks the advice of a mentor from the very beginning will be better prepared to handle difficult situations and can benefit from the mentor’s experience to make more informed decisions.
[……]

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