But, on the upside, you get two contests this month. The first one comes courtesy of the good folks at Chillbeds. They produce made-in-Canada laptop stands.

I didn’t realize how handy a laptop stand was until I received one–not a Chillbed, but something similar–as a gift a couple of years ago. My Macbook Air gets really hot, and after a half-hour or so it can be uncomfortable to have it in my lap. A laptop stand ameliorates this problem. Likewise, they’re super-handy if you want to watch something on your laptop in bed with a, uh, bed partner. You put the stand in-between you and nobody gets a stiff neck.

In keeping with last month’s home category, here’s the contest. Before July 31, leave a comment below naming one thing in your home that’s made in Canada. It can be a piece of clothing, an item of furniture, a beauty product–anything, really.

I’ll pick a winner in early August, and they’ll receive a Chillbed.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Nicole from Ontario–she’s the lucky commenter who we randomly selected to win the Chillbeds laptop stand.

We consulted an architect, who drew up plans. We intended to build relatively soon, but life intervened, and we moved to Malta instead.

In the next couple of years, we may get serious about building the house. So, I wanted to include a month in One Year, One Canadian about building an all-Canadian house. In short, to ask the question “how much of a house can you build using only materials manufactured and, ideally, sourced in Canada?”

As of today, I know absolutely nothing about this question. I’m the least handy person in the world. I’m 37 years old, and (while I have kissed a girl), I’ve never purchased lumber. I actually paid a man to hang pictures in our apartment. It’s really that pathetic.

I don’t even know where to start. Do you know a contractor, a carpenter or a supplier of Canadian building products? Leave a comment, and help a fellow Canadian out.