Yvette Corbiere and Duane Bird live in a small two-bedroom house in Vegreville. While the house may be small, the garden is large. This year the couple planted peas, potatoes, carrots, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, dill, and cucumbers. Everything is thriving. Up against the fence, red raspberries droop heavily from their vines in the sun, and soon the fruit on the apple and plum trees will be ready to eat. Yvette and Duane are proud of their house and garden, and they should be. In the fall of 2002, it will be their own.

The couple has been together since 1993. Over the years, they have lived in an apartment, a trailer, and a house. But they became tired of renting. "Four years ago," Duane says, seated comfortably in his living room, "I walked into the ReMax office and asked if they had any rent-to-own houses. They had two that we could afford. We decided to buy this one."

Renting-to-own has worked well for the couple. When they combine their AISH cheques, they can easily meet their monthly payments and still have money left over to pay utilities and buy food.

The house has a welcoming feel to it. A full pot of coffee sits ready on the kitchen counter. The dog, Samantha, wags a greeting with her tail. A finch chirps in its cage in the corner of the living room. Two tiny frogs swim in their fish bowl and, in another room, dozens of fish swim happily in two large fish tanks.

Both Yvette and Duane have added personal touches to the house. The couch and loveseat are covered with colourful afghans that Yvette knitted herself. Three large jigsaw puzzles, another one of Yvette's hobbies, hang in the living room and kitchen. "That one there has 3,000 pieces and took me two months to finish," Yvette says proudly, pointing to a wall where the puzzle hangs.

"And here," Yvette says as she walks to the small room beside the kitchen. "Here's what Duane does." Two shelves beside the computer are covered with model airplanes and cars. Duane smiles as he shows them off. "This one's my favourite," he says, holding up a replica of the Starship Enterprise. "I love Star Trek."

Duane is 43 years old. He's an easy-going and gentle man who loves to tell stories and who loves to laugh. Over the years he's had many jobs. But a series of health problems has left him unable to work. Today he keeps busy with the house, and he volunteers for Citizens on Patrol (COP), a community group that helps the RCMP. When he's on call, Duane and a partner drive around the community from 11:00 pm until 3:00 am, making sure that no crime is taking place.

Yvette is 33 years old. She is not as outgoing as Duane, but she clearly enjoys his stories and jokes. She keeps busy with housework, yardwork, sewing, knitting, doing jigsaw puzzles, and taking their dog for walks.

The couple obviously has fun together. Last year, they bought a little boat. "We had an incident at Moose Lake," Duane laughs, his brown eyes twinkling. "We took the boat out on the lake and I forgot to put the plugs in! I couldn't figure out why so much water was coming in"

"Yeah," Yvette grins, joining in. "When we pulled the boat out I asked Duane how come there was so much water draining out. He said it was normal"

Duane laughs and shakes his head again. "We were lucky we made it back to shore!"

Next year, when the house is paid off, the couple plans to marry. "Our anniversary is Valentine's day," Duane says. "I got down on my knees in front of everybody when I asked her. I gave her a ring. She was so surprised."

Yvette's eyes widen as she remembers the event. "I was surprised," she says. "He gave me two rings." She holds her hand out to show them off. "He always thinks we'll marry," she teases, looking across the room at Duane, "but we'll see."

"When the house is paid off," Duane repeats, "next year. Then we can start to renovate. We want to add on to the house and knock out a wall to make the living room bigger."

Together, Yvette and Duane are able to live without the help of support workers. Home ownership gives them the security of knowing they can stay where they are for as long as they like. It allows them to have as many pets as they want, and to decorate their surroundings according to their taste. It also gives them as much privacy as they want.

"The next time you're in town drop in," they say when our visit is over. Just then, a car pulls up out front. One of their friends has come to visit. Yvette walks to the back door to let him in. Fortunately, there is still coffee left to share in the pot.

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Sadly, Yvette passed away on May 19, 2002, at the age of 33. She is sadly missed and we cherish our memories of her.