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We tasted food cooked in a wood oven on the roof of a hotel at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt. We didn’t see what it was made of. We did notice the exquisite taste of the lavash (Egyptian bread that we call pita bread), Clepara pizza and oum mali (oriental pudding).

More and more people are building an outdoor oven in Quebec. These ovens are taking different shapes. One thing to keep in mind is that the materials have to support high temperatures for a long time. You think that brick would be the obvious choice. But wait! The quality of the brick or its finish are not always up to par.

You just can’t combine field rocks or bricks stuck together with mortar. Our cold temperatures require a good insulation system.

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With the multitude of garden furniture and accessories available, setting up your deck has become an art like interior decorating. We would like to share a few traps you should avoid so that your investment doesn’t make you grind your teeth.

The first too often neglected point: keep the barbecue away from the dining table and entrances to the house. It’s become normal to see people smoke outside of houses to avoid the toxic effects of indoor smoke, so why be subject to barbecue smoke when you’re outside? Suddenly your subtle sweet wine no longer tastes the same! And how can you pay attention to what your host is saying if you’re stuck in a cloud of smoke?

Second: avoid smooth, pale fabrics as they tend to highlight stains. Even if they’re nice or in fashion.

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You just got your hands on the coveted home. The housewarming party was a success, the champagne flowed. While you’re celebrating, a beast was sleeping quietly, coiled up in a corner, with eyes half-open. It appears harmless, but if you don’t show it who the master of the house is immediately, the beast could chew up your budget until you end up bankrupt.

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The beast is the mortgage you contracted. We all know that in too many cases, the mortgage takes control of the owner. Defeated, the owner ends up getting rid of the house with a heavy heart.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), an independent organization that protects homeowners, reminds you that if you want to keep your house for as long as possible, you have to tame your mortgage from the beginning and show it who the master is.[……]

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At first glance, it looks like a futuristic boat. Then the entry door jumps out at you. Are we in front of a building? Wow, did you see that giant spider in the foreground? Where are we!

We are in Bilbao, Spain. And we’re in front of a Guggenheim museum. Do we have to specify that it’s dedicated to contemporary art? Like the four other Solomon Guggenheim foundation museums, with the most well-known being the one in New York.

Upon seeing the photo, the more conservative ones among you will say “It’s just twisted metal.” Those who swear by innovation will exclaim “Now that’s true creation!” And they’ll add “Because it’s contemporary art, the average person turns their nose up at it.”

Don’t be fooled! A million tourists pass through the museum doors each year. The building itself attracts just as many tourists, if not more, than the works of are found inside. It’s very popular. The Guggenheim Bilbao is one of the most admired contemporary buildings in the world, by architecture critics and the average person alike.

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According to a survey conducted on behalf of CIBC Bank at the beginning of March, 50% of Canadians would opt for a fixed mortgage rate today, compared to 39% last year.

At 32%, the popularity of variable rate mortgages has not changed. However, the percentage of people who are undecided has dropped considerably, from 30% last year to 18% this year. Conclusion: most Canadians who were undecided last year opted for a fixed rate given the stability of the interest rate.

Final result: just 6% of Canadians believe that mortgage rates will decrease over the next year, while 86% believe that they won’t change. If they do change, they will go up.

This is good news in the eyes of the CIBC, because it means that many owners took into account a potential increase in interest rates in their mortgage planning, which is a sign of caution.[……]

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Us Via Capitale bloggers search the world for unusual buildings. Yet we have a building in our own backyard that causes tourists to look twice when they come across it. We see it because it’s been part of the landscape for almost half a century: Habitat 67.

Take a look at it and you will quickly include it in the category of unusual buildings, because it really is! The architecture of cubes piled haphazardly on top of each other borders on the grotesque, somewhat like the works of Gaudi in Barcelona.

If you find the word grotesque irritating, you should know that none other than Victor Hugo once declared: “As a means of contrast with the sublime, the grotesque is, in our view, the richest source that nature can offer.”

Built as part of Expo 67, of which one of the themes was housing, Habitat 67 is a product of the era’s obsession with building vertically to respond to the growing urban density. It’s kind of a futuristic solution to coming needs.

The pavilion has been visited by thousands of people from around world. After it was used by the federal government, the complex was converted into condos in the 1980s.[……]

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The first picture that comes to mind is the Moroccan pouf. Stars, colours, leather—Moroccan poufs add an exotic touch to your decor.

A bit of history.

According to the Grand Robert, the word pouf first appeared in 1458. The word is an onomatopoeia that evokes a fall. The modern definition of pouf is “A large firm cushion used as a low seat or footstool” (Canadian Oxford Dictionary). The ones with legs are generally called ottomans or footstools. The definition dating from 1829 might be more appropriate for today: “A large, low stool, generally cylindrical, and covered with thick upholstery.”[……]

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