Thursday, June 15, 2017

Why I'd sooner make it, than buy it.

Back when the bathroom was more an idea than reality,  we did have a vanity on order.  I was simply willing to take the easy way out.

Of course,  when the supplier started talking about a March delivery or some such fresh air,  we cancelled the order and got our money back.

I would have had to seriously modify the thing anyway,  as there was the issue of the laundry chute to deal with.  I didn't want it to continue to be some sort of unused relic collecting dust,  as it had been for the previous fifty or so years.

And,  modifying something you just paid through the nose for?   Not really the best solution.  So I made my own.

It was something that sort of evolved,  as I'm not really big on drawing up elaborate plans and such,  mostly as I didn't really know what the heck I wanted in the first place.

There are however "moments of clarity"  from time to time .





So,   picture this.

Well,  maybe "picturing"  is not the right term.

*ahem*

You're on the throne:








 The previous user has left you very little toilet paper.  (not necessarily depicted in this photo,  of course)

What happens when you suddenly realise you've run out of shit tickets??

"The Horror!"  you say.  Well....




Ta da!





And this,  Ladies and Gentleman,  is what you can do when you "make it your own damned self".


Oh,  and I also put up the second wall sconce we brought back from Austria when we moved home.




It had been languishing in a box for the last three four years.





Just a couple more things.  Choosing a paint colour (not really my deal)  and some more cupboards to fill the space between the shower wall and the outside wall of the bathroom.

I'll get there.

That'll do for today.   Heading out to Guelph later tonight for a wee visit with T.C.'s sister and one of their old school chums.

No Slovenia pictures.   Wouldn't want to over stay the welcome,  so to speak.   Maybe tomorrow?

Thanks for stopping by,  and keep that stick on the ice.


Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Time for that elusive update.

I didn't really broadcast it all that much,  but Travelling Companion and I just got back from a trip over to Europe.  Had a wonderfl time.  Saw some new countryside.  Also saw some familiar places and faces.
It's hard to know where to begin with the photos.  I took a shit load of them.  Like,  four or five hundred?   Wait,  actually,  I just looked.  634.   I think I have to do some sorting.
And no,  I'm not about to put them all up on The Book of Face.  Some folks do that,  and it's kind of like "Battle Fatigue",  only more like "Photo Fatigue".   No bueno.


The first stop was in Vienna,  where T.C. got wind of a ballet being performed at the State Opera.  Naturally,  we had to go.   It was "Schwannsee" or, for y'all what speaks English,  "Swan Lake".

I have to admit two things:  First of all,  I had never been to a ballet,  and secondly,  I quite enjoyed it.



No photos during the performance of course,  so I did snap a couple during the curtain calls.
If you're going to see a ballet,  and you've never seen one before,  I recommend going to see possibly one of the best ballet companies and orchestras on the planet.  I mean,  why see something that's half-assed?  Plus,  we were in like,  row six?   Go big or don't go I always say.


I'm not about to do a day by day kind of thing here,  so suffice to say that,  we headed back to the airport after a couple days in Vienna,  picked up a car and headed off to Slovenia.

This,  for any of you who have hanging around long enough know,  is a somewhat recurring theme.  When we lived in Vienna,  we figure we were in Slovenia about three times a year.  Summer,  winter,  fall.  Not just tourists,   ya know?




The car was a Nissan "Quasqai",  which looked suspiciously like a Murano,  or maybe a bigger better version of the "Rogue"?   Had a rogue last fall in Nova Scotia.  Didn't like it as much as the Quasqai.
Six speed manual.  Even Travelling Companion was somewhat smitten by it.   Maybe we'll trade the Merc?

Anyway,  I'll be adding some snippets over the next while.   Meanwhile,  I'm back to working on the bathroom.  Took me a couple days or more to get my head sorted out after some serious jet lag.
Needless to say,  I wasn't very peppy.   Managed to cut the grass this morning.  Been rooting around in the garden,  that kind of thing.

Tonight will be my first time on the water again since last fall.   I haven't had a chance to look,  but I suspect that the water level hasn't really gone down that much.  There was a whole bunch of more rain when we were away.




I took this a week before we left for Austria.   That's Lake Ontario.  Think about it.  Lake Ontario is bigger than Puerto Rico.   Dat's a lotta water.   Normally you step down about 10 inches to that floating slip.

At one point I read on the net (when we were overseas)  that the Town of Oakville had closed off some of the access to the walkways and such,  as there was a very real possibility of someone ending up in the drink.  Easily done if you misjudge the edge underwater there.


That's it for today.  (Hey,  I'm really dragging it here,  OK?)

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice.