Boxed In on Boxing Day

This is as far up the driveway as the car would come this morning (that's it by the road), after having slid down it sideways. Son's girlfriend is an avid boxing day shopper and so she and I were going to drive into Perth to see what was happening, but after Andre was barely able to stop the car just at the bottom of the driveway, we have decided to stay put until the melt starts. The front steps are covered with a sheet of ice. So the coffee pot is getting a work out this morning. Happily this happened overnight after we returned from Christmas dinner at his parents in Ottawa, so we are all happily stuffed and content just to spend the time doing nothing for a change. Hope everyone who reads this has had a wonderful holiday.

Happy Post Christmas Everyone!

So What's Left To Do?

Lots, but nothing more this year. We were hoping to have counter-tops for the holidays, but seeing as that is this coming week, and the company making them is closed until after the new year, I guess we'll remain sink less over the holidays. Oh well, plywood counters are seriously under-rated. You can put hot pots directly onto them, and cut directly on them. Forget about wiping them, as all you pick up are slivers, so the vacuuming of the counter-tops has become a ritual.

And as soon as it warms up a bit, and after the holidays, I hope to finish trimming out "the other side" of all the doors and baseboards. A little electrical stuff still needs doing, such as the under cabinet lighting and hood-fan in the kitchen. I have an old chandelier for the little bathroom that needs re-wiring and there are still a couple of walls that need paint. All in good time.

The Garage is Closed In

The Soffit and fascia went on last week. The doors and windows are trimmed. We love it. Finally, no more wind-driven rain or snow blowing in. Can't wait for some warmer weather to really start getting things sorted out in there.

Stop Sniffing the Garage!

The fellows who installed the eavestoughs (Rainman Seamless Eavestroughs out of Carleton Place) are the same chaps who are installing the siding on the garage. Andre and I have run out of steam and these guys were available and willing. It means we can have the building closed in this year rather than in the spring. Besides, we like them, and the level of service is pretty amazing. We were simply mentioning that the garage was the last thing we had to finish on the exterior, and the next day they were back with siding samples and prices. And the siding they sourced is cedar from Manitoulin Island, for only a couple more hundred dollars than what we would have paid for pine, which was our original intention. So we went from pine board and batten to cedar board on board and are very happy with our decision. It smells heavenly and each time we come and go from the property, we pause, inhale, and delight in our choice, but besides smelling good, it looks great. Can't wait to see the finished product. And no painting or staining required or desired. We both love the weathered look.

A side note about the ladder they are using. It has come to be known as the "city" ladder. It is one of those that can be contorted into several positions. When I first brought it up the hill to the house while under construction, it was shunned. "Too small", "awkward", "not up to the task". I had bought it a couple of years ago to use painting the stairwell in our last house and it had only been used once, just before we moved, to do just that. Well, it appears that "city" ladder is not so bad after-all, as it assisted us here in ceiling strapping, tongue and groove ceiling work, soffit and fascia installation, interior painting, overhead trim work, siding on the front porch, electrical work, probably several more tasks that don't come to mind, and now again for the garage siding. If inanimate objects had life, it's become the ugly duckling of the ladder world.

First snowfall of the season

We got the furniture just in time as the following week we received snow which appears to be here to stay. With its arrival we got to hear for the first time what snow shedding off the steel roof sounds like. It ain't quiet!! The good news is the eavestroughs are still there! We contemplated which sort to purchase and are happy with our decision to install a very rigid leafguard on the troughs. Just adds to their rigidity and the literature shows someone hanging off them, a claim we will happily accept without having to experience it.

These are the views out the front windows. Lovely.

Move Day

It's funny. I couldn't sleep with excitement of finally getting our stuff out of storage. I could hardly wait to sleep in our own real bed, as we had been sleeping on an inflatable mattress since we vacated the trailer. Andre, on the other hand, was only thinking of the onslaught of stuff that we would have to deal with AGAIN! I don't know what his problem is!!

The other big move was the trailer. "Paradise Hotel" as it's previous owners had labled it, has left the building site. The trailer park is officially closed!

The Interior Push

We had given ourselves until Thursday of last week to have the interior all painted and trimmed, (and we are not talking about for Christmas) but door trim, baseboards, kitchen crown and valences etc. etc. Maybe a bit too ambitious, as I quit trimming at 9:00 on Thursday evening and the movers were arriving at 8:30 Friday morning. Running trim into plastered walls takes a little longer as each corner has to be scribed to fit. I am a demon with my jigsaw now! But we did manage to get all of the common areas completed, and our bedroom is complete as in paint, baseboards, closet, and lighting, so we do have a room to escape to. These are the before and after pictures.

Just because

Loki looking out for whatever might provide some amusement. That could be a jogger or a squirrel, or one of nine million sticks laying around.

The Garage is Getting Some Lovin'

Andre has spent the day in there (again) trying to better organize the remaining stuff as the movers arrive tomorrow and there is a lot of stuff that will have to reside there. But in addition to that, the strapping is up and hopefully it will be sided next week if the weather cooperates.

The Final, Final Exterior Work is Done (for this year)

The last thing we hoped to get done has been completed. We can't claim any credit for the work, as we hired it out, and I felt bad for the guys who did it. It must hurt to work at something that doesn't show. This blends so effortlessly with the soffit and fascia that if it weren't for the downspouts you'd never know they were here. And just in time as last night we had heavy rains all through the night!! In December!

We are connected

Andre got up the other morning and noted was a treat it was to shower, do laundry and check emails all from the house. All of those tasks used to require a trip into town. For our city friends I thought I would share what our internet connection looks like. Nice eh? We had hoped to have it down near the garage where it would blend in a bit better and run the wire through the same pipe as the phones will be run in, but that couldn't work due to our 100 year old tree blocking the line of site for the signal. Anyway, it is what it is and eventually, we won't even notice it anymore.