One job a day.

Sometimes it's more than one,  but I figure if I can do one "job" a day,  then well,  that'll have to do.

You'll note that I put "job" in quotes.  I haven't actually had to go to an actual job in.... *thinks* twelve years now.
(and if I were still working,  I'd bet anything that I would have been laid off by now...yikes!)

Well,  it'll be twelve coming up in May.  I vaguely recollect that I left my job on May 8th of 2008.  In hind sight,  I sort of wish it had been May the forth,  and I'll let any Star Wars fans cogitate on that one.

Sometimes I count making the bed as a "job".

A wee bit lame,  I realise.  It depends on whether I might have any thoughts of actually doing something that day....


I'm not one to jump in a vehicle and go out for a drive,  just because I can.  However,  on Friday I think it was,  T.C. asked me, "When was the last time you drove your truck?"  And I couldn't actually come up with a day.  I think it was at least a couple weeks ago,  when I ventured off to Costco. 
I'm mustering up my courage to once again go to Costco tomorrow morning,  and I can't say I'm exactly looking forward to it.
Hopefully, 1) I won't have to stand out in the cold too long and,  2) They'll have everything on our what is now a somewhat lengthy list.

Like I said.  Not looking forward to it.

So,  as the truck had been in fact sitting in one spot for over a week,  I figured I had better go for a little drive on Saturday.  Just up to the plaza and back.  Probably all of five kilometres.  Maybe.  I guess.  Who knows?

Long enough to warm up everything,  and check on the situation at Home Despot where they are bringing stuff out to your vehicle after you order it on line.  They had the parking lot blocked off part way with stacks of skids,  forcing folks to only be able to go in one way,  and it looked as though you had to have something along with you letting them know you were there to pick something up.  No loitering.  No going in to "look around".  Probably the way it should have been all along.

Now,  here's a curious thing.   A couple years ago,  I very naively was looking for something or other on the Home Despot website,  and when I got to the store,  I couldn't seem to find the thing I had seen on the line.
 When I asked what the heck was going on,  I was told in no uncertain terms that,  "What's on the website isn't necessarily in the store."  Huh??   I'm pretty sure I was looking at whatever they were supposed to have AT THAT LOCATION,  as I had to first "Choose your store".   I suspect they had to step up their game in light of recent restrictions,  or nobody would be gettin' nothin'. *

I'm not a huge fan of Home Despot.  Just because well,  they do tend to run roughshod over other small businesses.  I can give a couple examples,  but those ships have sailed long ago.

Anyhoodle,  my "big job"  for today,  was cleaning out one of our chest freezers.  I specifically bought a 7 cubic foot freezer, not long after we moved here back in the 90s,  rather than have some gargantuan thing into which you could put an entire half a cow, so that it would be much easier to manage.   That is to say,  keep clean.

It's worked out pretty good so far.  No left over wedding cake,  or dried flowers,  or anything else other than food that's hopefully going to be consumed before ye olde freezer burn takes over.

I didn't take any pictures,  but basically it involves having some place to put the contents (a freshly cleaned out tote with a lid)  along with a number of ice packs (that were very conveniently already in the freezer)  and a heat gun.  Or,  you can use a hair dryer. 
The thing is, the freezer is going to take way too long to thaw out after being unplugged,  so the whole process needs to be sped up with a little persuasion.
There had been some Lasagna  in there that had been a little too generous in the sauce department,  so that was fun.  That of course,  was my own damned fault,  as I'm the one who would have put the Lasagna in there in the first place,  so I must have been somewhat less than careful,  and the thing leaked out a bit.  Gah!

But the exciting news was,  there was just ONE MORE peach pie filling left over. 
And here we thought T.C. had used the last one a couple weeks ago.

Bonus!

Speaking of "my own damned fault",  now the stupid squirrels are waiting patiently outside the back door just about every time I go out,  as we had a bag of walnuts that "didn't taste right",  and had to go.
So over time,  I fed the lot to the squirrels.

They still do get the odd heal off a loaf of bread,  but in these tougher times,  I've been known to actually eat the heels, rather than throw them to the squirrels.

Selfish of me to actually eat the food I paid for,  I know.

He's waiting!

I'm sure he can go off and find a nut out in the yard some place.  I'm forever seeing holes in the lawn where they've been digging.

Oh,  and in the 'job' department,  T.C. made some more noodles.

I realise I normally don't mention too much anything that T.C. might have done,  but I gotta say, once you've had home made pasta,  eating "store bought"  just kind of loses it's appeal.


Thanks for stopping by.

Keep your stick on the ice,  and wash your hands.


*All grammar mistakes are intentional.

Fun with concrete.

And you'll notice I didn't say,  "cement".  This is I'm sure some sort of character flaw,  but I find it somewhat irksome when concrete is referred to as cement.   Bzzzzt.  Not the same.  There's cement IN concrete,  along with water,  and aggregate (sand and stone),  but cement by itself won't do much.

Anyhoo,  I'm not so sure it was actual "fun",  except of course,  that giddy feeling when the whole ordeal is finally over.
And really,  it's not quite "over"  yet.  I still have to hang a gate there,  and install a panel between that post and the house.

The wooden bits are there to keep things in place until the concrete cures which,  is probably just about....now.  As I was using some of that "quick crete"  kind of stuff that sets up almost instantly.

The "fun" part (and again,  it really wasn't)  was chipping away at the existing concrete that had been poured there by the previous owner.   Oy.   See,  there was this sort of greenhouse type of lean too that was there when we moved in. And right about where I wanted to put that post,  there had been a doorway. The previous owner (that would be my late father-in-law)  had this somewhat goofy idea that he'd be able to grow stuff for most of the year.  All that really happened was that he got a lot of bugs.

Oh and,  if you're hanging around,  thanks.    I have been painfully absent.   Just doing summer stuff.

Ooh look.  Here,  I'm on a boat.

I'm the idiot making with the bunny ears behind the head of one of my crew mates.  I'm sure she's seen that picture.  Surprised she hasn't said anything.  This was a Saturday regatta just last week.  Normally we don't have that many bodies on the boat,  as it's a wee bit tender,  meaning that weight distribution can be a challenge,  but we figured,  what the hell.  The more the merrier.

It's been a pretty good summer so far for sailing well,  with the exception of some of the earlier days when there was no wind.  AND,  we've had some seriously high water levels on the lake.

Here's a good example:

That area is normally ....dry.   This was back in June.   It's by now finally gone down,  but whether they've turned the power on at the slip yet or not is still the question.

This picture was taken after the town had come along and build a boardwalk on top of the existing boardwalk.  Which begs the question,  as this event happened two years ago,  and is likely to happen again,  why not just build a proper elevated board walk?  Then there would be no need to turn off the power?  Maybe?

Couldn't do that of course.  That would make too much sense.



Anyway,  I think that's all I got.   I'm off to grill up some burgers and cook some corn. 

Keep that stick on the ice.

Thanks for stopping by.

Got yesterday's forecast, today.

I usually check one of the radar sites any time we're about to head out on the water and of course,  today I didn't bother,  as I only had in mind to cut the grass.

Nope.










Um,  ya.   We're right in the line of fire,  so to speak.   Sure wish the folks out west were getting this rain.  I mean,  it saves me from watering the grass, which I'm never keen on doing anyway (it's GRASS!   It'll grow back!)    But we certainly don't need it as much as the folks suffering through wild fires.

Anyhoo,  had yet another "weekend on the water",  as the Yacht Club that we sail out of had it's annual "Bronte Rocks Regatta"  which consisted of three races around the "cans" on Saturday,  and then a point to point race on Sunday.

Saturday night,  the club puts out dinner and pitchers of margaritas.  Dinner was what I thought good value at 22 bucks,  while pitchers of margaritas were 25.   I'm not overly keen on margaritas it so happens,  although I did sip on about a half a glass,  just to do a toast.
The club does well selling pitchers of margaritas,  but for some reason they closed down the sale of pitchers by about 8:30.   We were late coming in off the water,  so I'm not sure why they thought to stick to their "schedule"  if in fact,  they had one.  Like I say,  selling pitchers of margaritas makes bags of money for the club.  No idea.
 Dinner was a combination of "cuban" food (can't for love nor money figure out how that was a thing,  but whatever)  and was very tasty.   Often times food served out of a chafing dish at these things can be bordering on horrid,  such as was the case last week at Newport.  And that was thirty bucks a plate.   Dry.  Tasteless.  And with the most useless plastic cutlery you could imagine.  Gawd.
So,  kudos to the team at Bronte for a well put on spread.  AND,  they had decent sized plastic cutlery. 
Hey, it makes a huge difference.  Gotta get it into your mouth somehow!



There were a couple minor,  let's just say,  "issues" on the race course on Saturday,  firstly as the race committee decided to delay the first race due to lack of wind.   Now,  we've experienced "lack of wind" before,  and I have to say that,  there was in fact enough wind to move the boats.   So we couldn't figure that one out.   Plus,  again for some frustrating reason that made no sense whatsoever,  they chose to change the direction of the coarse due to a slight wind shift.   We just figured,  "Know what?  It's wind!  It might shift!"   Sailors can usually figure that out.  If you can't,  well then maybe next time?


The other issue was,  we tore the sh*t out of one of our spinnakers,  and by "we", I really mean "me".   Pissed me off to no end.  The worst part being,  there was nobody to be pissed off at, other than just well...me.   Sucks when I suck.

Not sure if that one can be fixed.  I'll not bother you with details.  suffice to say,  Old Guy here must be having some cognitive issues or something.  I keep saying I'm "too old"  to work the fore-deck,  but our much younger and more agile Fore-deck Guy was unavailable for the weekend.  So that left it up to me.


Like I said, it was pretty much the latest we've ever come in from one of these around the cans type of deals,  with the time approaching 5:30.   I really wanted to get home and take a quick shower before heading back for dinner,  and dinner was supposedly schedule for six.   Just crazy.   I figured dinner would have to wait,  but it turned out that there was boatloads of food to go around.  Is that a pun?
Not sure.



And Sunday?   Much better.  The race was a "point to point",  and we only had a sprinkling of rain,  even though the weather prognosticators were calling for much worse.  Actually,  as I sit here listening to thunder all around us,  an electrical storm was what they had predicted for Sunday a few days back. 
Didn't happen.
I really sometimes wonder about the reliability of some of the weather prognosticators.  It's the only job I know of where you can be dead wrong,  and still keep your job!

Oh and,  Muggins here didn't manage to rip anything. 

I did take a few less than stellar photos,  and a couple of them are actually worth sharing.

At this point,  we had been on the water for well over an hour I would think,  and I was struck by the fact that these three boats managed to end up within the same 200 square meters of water.   I mean,  there were boats spread out over an area maybe a third the size of Rhode Island?   They're all heading for a derrick out in one end of the lake,  which was the turning point.

Lake Ontario is kinda huge,  but you knew that.

You can see that we're at least two thirds of the way to the Hamilton Lift Bridge at this point.  Just found this kind of incredible.


Here's the CCIW "spider" out in the Lake.   (Canada Centre for Inland Waters)   They use if for monitoring water temperature and stuff.  (like I have a clue.)

It's kinda hard to explain where this "mark" is,  and we typically put the coordinates into the onboard GPS,  and then know what landmark to look for when we're sort of getting within sight of the thing.

Point to point racing is heaps easier on all concerned,  so I wasn't quite so beat yesterday afternoon when I got home.   Still nice to get into the cooler air in the house though.
The thing is,  it's ALWAYS cooler on the water,  but then as you head back to the slip,  you're hit with this wall of hot humid air that's just bloody stifling.   For example,  Tuesday night we actually had to put on our jackets,  it was that cool on the water.
Yet murderously hot inland.

Today is the last day before some of my still working teacher friends have to go back to work,  although they've all be in their classrooms setting up over the last week or two.  Mostly in non air conditioned schools.   Bleah!
We have a tradition of getting together at the pub to toast those who are about to set off on a new school year in the morning.

There's really only going to be a small percentage this year,  as there are more and more retirees every year.  And sadly,  the one friend of ours who was one of the co-conspirators regarding this tradition passed away a couple years ago.   We still miss him.


That's it for today I think.

Thanks for stopping by.

Too many bugs.

And I'm not talking about being at some sort of "beetle convention" either.   It seems we've gone from ants  to wasps,  and now back to ants again.
Mind you,  I haven't completely sorted out the wasps just yet,  but I'm wearing them down.

The first ant infestation was back a few months ago,  when they were coming in the corner office here,  and that was a whole ordeal of putting out the 'sticky juice' for them to feast on,  to spraying around the perimeter of the house,  to opening up a small hole in the garage ceiling as a double whammy kind of strategy.   Plus,  I've moved all the "firewood"  away from the side of the house,  and spray the shit out of anything that moves. 
Well actually,  a little spray goes a long way.
Plus,  I'm cheap.

See?  Up against the house.  No bueno.
I've moved it all,  and I'm in the throws of cutting up the odd piece in preparation of renting a bigger log splitter than what I currently have.

The wasp situation is right along an opening at the top of the trim over our front window.  Like I say,  I'm working on it.   The trick is to get the spray into the opening,  all the while being on the look out for any stragglers that haven't quite gone to bed yet.   These critters are less active after dusk and before sun-up.   I'm too damned lazy to haul my ass outdoors before sun-up,  so it's the after dusk program I'm afraid.

Anyway,  the numbers have diminished considerably,  but I'm far from done.

Of course,  Travelling Companion wants me to "call a guy",  since she's afraid I'll get stung half to death,  but I figure I can pony up a few bucks for a can or two of "One Shot"  or whatever it's called.

Oh and then,  as we've finally had a break in the weather and the humidity is down along with the temperature,  I figured I'd open a few windows and let some air through the place.   Went downstairs to discover yet another ant infestation.    This time it's the little guys.   Out comes the vacuum,  and then a trip outside to try and figure out where they're coming in.    To quote the late Carl Sagan,  there were 'billions and billions'. 
Well,  maybe a couple hundred.   But you know what I mean.

So that battle has commenced.  Fork!

Oh,  speaking of T.C.,   I hadn't mentioned in any of my previous missives,  that she had been planning a little trip abroad,  and without further ado,  I'll just say right now that...(wait for it)  she's in Nairobi.

Yup,  you read that right.   Nairobi.

That's across the pond.   The one in Kenya.

I'll just let that sink in.


Of course,  that for me makes for an opportune time to get some paining done, which I've finally started today..

Like how I just breezed right on past that subject??

There are actually three different shades of this particular grey,   so I made sure to go around with T.C. and some post-it notes identifying which colour went on which wall. 
See,  painting again wasn't exactly *my* idea. 
Just saying.

I can't say that I exactly "hate" painting,  but it does require a certain amount of motivation.  For example,   T.C. left on Tuesday.   I just started today.

"Why not hire someone?"  sez you?   Well,  I broke down and did that once,  and the guy was so sloppy I resolved to never do that again.   Had to actually tear out and replace a bit of mill-work in the dining room that he slobbered paint on.  Seriously.


I'd tell you a bit more about the Nairobi situation,  except that I've finished my lunch and I really should get back to painting.

Gah!

Thanks for stopping by. 

And ya,  I'll come back in a day or two.   Promise.

I tell myself, "It's only a game".

Couldn't bear to watch the Canada/US hockey game last night,  but when I checked in on line at one point and saw that they were tied up,  I had a sense of dread that there would be a shoot out.

I've never been a big fan of the "shoot out".  I think I'd sooner see something happen like the sudden death situation we see in the NFL if the game is tied at the end. You know,  play an extra period.  See what happens.

Whatever.

I mean, last time,  Canada won in a shoot out,  and I didn't hear anyone complaining,  myself included.

Both Travelling Companion and I should have probably sucked it up and stayed up to watch,  since she told me this morning that she had been dreaming about it all night,  and woke up tired.  I pretty much had the same experience.

And now,  on to more *important* matters.


(insert, "tongue in cheek" font here, by the way)



I may or may not have mentioned at some point that I quite regularly meet up with a bunch of retired old farts on Wednesday mornings for breakfast.  The food is average,  the washrooms are somewhat suspect,  but our waitress is dynamite and the conversation is usually quite lively.   So I go.

Plus,  it gets my sorry ass out of the house on a regular basis.

So,  what catches my eye as I head out the driveway?

See,  there are times when I'm no longer interested in eating that one last heel from a baguette or loaf of bread,  so I open the back door and pitch it out for the squirrels.

They do tend to come up with some creative means of "storage".

It was raining,  so maybe this was to soften it up a bit?



Happened to have the camera.  What can I say?


This sort of thing (seeing where the little numbskulls store their bread)  passes for "entertainment" around here.

Oh,  and I just looked out.  It's still there.  He must have stuck it down with some spit or something.

It's stopped raining by the way,   but there have been some issues along the Grand River,  most notably a young Mom who didn't see the road closed barricade due to the fog,  ended up in the water,  managed to get herself and her toddler out of her vehicle,  only in that instance to have the child swept away by the rushing current!

The story is here.

Sorry for the downer.

And I think that's all I got.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Keep your powder dry.

Not giving up just yet.

Because,  we'd like to have some of the grapes,  and not let the raccoons eat all of them,  dammit!

This "phenomenon"  has been going on for a few days now,  with the first visit back in the earlier part of the week.
From where I'm sitting,  and if the windows are open, I can hear commotion coming from outside.  And sure enough,  when I went out to investigate,  there was one of our little "friends",  helping himself (herself?) to our grapes.

I initially started poking away with a mop handle,  at which point I was growled at,  and declared, "This means war".


You all remember Bugs Bunny of course.

But let's not get side tracked.

So on that visit,  the little bandit got a good soaking,  as the hose is handy,  and our water pressure is good.
I knew though,  that he'd be back.
Hence,  over the ensuing days,  my raccoon visit mitigation devices got more and more elaborate.  I think finally last night I might have found the ultimate solution.

Well really,  the "ultimate" solution is frowned on here abouts in the burbs,  and I think you know what I mean.  Not even remotely possible,  as I have no "ordinance"  here at The Ponderosa.




So this:

....utter silliness,  was my attempt to ward off the visitor.

There was evidence of fur ("We have DNA evidence",  according to T.C.)  but this elaborate contraption wasn't completely effective.

Deterred,  little buddy went along and shinnied up the centre divider between the garage doors.   All I had to do was look,  and I could see the little claw marks on the wood.  Bugger!

*grumble*

As they say in Jamaica,  "respect, Mon".   But really?

So that resulted in this:

I stapled old metal lath around the edges,   along with a bunch of nails.

And....AND!  this morning there were NO grapes scattered about on the ground!  So,  until there's some sort of new devious plan,  the grapes *might* be safe for a few more days.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the little bastards setting up a scaffold tonight.   Fingers crossed.

See,  we had a pretty good crop this year,  and there were enough grapes for maybe four or five tiny jars of really, really good grape jelly.

Emphasis on "were".  Not so sure anymore.


Um,  let's see.  What else?

We're having some crazy warm (actually,  hot) weather.   Totally awesome I must say.  Better than most of August,  or half the summer for that matter.  I hear some folks actually closed their pools.  Too early for that for sure.
Anyway,  this weather should continue for a few more days.

This is when I'm really thankful that I don't have to work in a hot school.  It's bad enough in the summer with shorts and a light shirt on,  but when school starts,  the Custodial Staff have to once again don the usual long trousers (blue jeans at least)  and blue shirts.

OK for the late fall,  winter and early spring,  but I run a little hot,  so I'd be sweating like a steer.


I had thoughts of renting a honkin' big log splitter to deal with some of the bigger stuff that's too big for my own splitter,  but then realised it's just a bit too hot...

I'm not sure what I'll do today,  which is why I'm sitting here more or less frittering away my time.

So whatever the heck it is,  I suppose I'd best go and get at it.

Thanks for moving your eyes back and forth.

Keep your stick on the ice.

We had a bit of a blow.

No damage here at the Ponderosa,  and I'll be a little smug here and attribute that to what I'd like to think of as due diligence.

I mean, we've spent quite a few bucks over the years making sure that trees that were too close to the house or looking poorly were summarily dispatched.   We had one that was right on the property line between the two houses at the back.  I think that was the very first one to go,  way back in 1992 not long after we moved here.


It so happened that I had to take a little road trip this morning,  and couldn't help but notice that one of our neighbours was indeed pretty damned lucky that this tree didn't fall the other way.

This was a perfectly healthy tree,  but I have a theory.

See,  I'm really reluctant to water our lawn.  I figure, it's grass,  and if it gets a little brown along sometime in August say,  it'll come back in due time.   So my theory is,  if you water your grass to the point that it'll stay green,  the grass isn't the only thing getting the water,  as any tree in the vicinity is going to siphon off as much water as it can get.   The unfortunate result is,  the roots of the tree don't need to go down any deeper than where it's going to find water.  Then the wind comes up, and your tree takes a tumble.  

Hopefully not on your house.

Trees are wonderful,  but if you have them in a suburban setting,  you'd best be keeping an eye on them,  and make sure they're well rooted.

But hey,  that's just a theory.

Just today T.C. and I were eyeing the two remaining ash trees in the side yard.   We had one taken down last summer,  and I know in my heart of hearts that the remaining two have "the bug" and will need to get removed at some point in the next several months.
Sad but true.

That'll just leave the one oak tree,  which is seems to be fine.


Oh,  and the other little thing that came to our attention as a result of the wind yesterday?   Well,  a transport driver was driving his unloaded tractor trailer across the Burlington Skyway (a bridge around these parts for anyone not familiar)  and in spite of the signs saying,  "High winds on Skyway",  he figured he'd be fine,  right up until the moment when the wind knocked over his trailer.  
He came out of it unscathed,  read about it here if you'd care to.

I'm not about to offer any opinions as to the "state of mind" of this individual.  You can come to your own conclusions.

When another transport driver was briefly interviewed,  he was of the opinion that getting blown over was pretty much what you could expect if travelling light over the bridge when there are high winds.

Anyhoodle.


That's today's missive.   Trying to be more consistent in that department.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dead squirrel on the lawn.

And no,  that's not click bait.  There actually was a dead squirrel on the lawn the other morning.
I didn't race out and take a picture because,  well,  why would I?

I did want to see what might have caused its demise,  but it was just out of range of the one camera on that side of the house.

Turns out,  I did get a screen capture a bit later on.

The poor little bugger was missing his head and the meat off his (her?) forearms.

Dead stock isn't really my cup of tea,  so you'll notice that really didn't sling the corpse over my shoulder or anything.

This has happened once before,  a few months back.   Some time last fall I think it was.  That time there was only a skeleton.  Freshly stripped,  mind you.  I'm guessing Coyote.  We do have them around here.  Not unhappy about that either,  as they keep the rabbits in check.  And apparently,  the squirrels,  although we still have an abundance of squirrels.

I don't have quite the hate on for them these days,  as they can no longer get up on the house and chew on the cedar beams.   Those are now covered with copper caps,  so even if they could get up there, nothing to chew on.

I'm still plugging away in the bathroom.  Bedroom is done. New set of picture hung up and such.

I had to tear away a wee bit more old plaster before continuing to button things up,  as I could definitely feel "cold" on one section of the old wall.

Turns out,  I could see daylight out past the beam.

 Best way I can show it is if you go back and forth between these two images.  You can see daylight.
 
This is a beam that runs out from this outside wall to the end of the "Veranda" as we call it.
Actually,  in the "screen capture",  it's the one that runs over and sits on the pillar outside the front door.

Not well insulated.

No worries.

With the addition of foil backed Styrofoam and some goop around the end of the beam,  it's all good.

And then it's back to the taping and such.  Which is ongoing.

Stay tuned.

Or not.

Thanks for stopping by.

Of course you know, this means war.

One of my favourite cartoon characters.

See,  I stepped outside ever so briefly this morning to hang a couple items out to air out,  and it would seem that we gained a visitor.

T.C.  and I were sitting here perusing something or other 'on the line',  when we heard the definite sounds of someone,  or something clanking about in the kitchen.


Here's one of his furry brethren:

Needless to say,  I didn't race off to get the camera,  so you'll have to take my word for it.

Enough of a challenge getting my shoes on.

This is when having "open concept" is not all what it's cracked up to be.  Thankfully,  we're believers in doors.  Door to the kitchen.  Door to the dining room.  Both closed in a hurry.
 
Next,  go around back and open the back door and herd the little bastard back out.

What I didn't know, after he ran downstairs to escape the old two legged creature with the stick,  was that he had already been downstairs,  up on the window sill trying to escape.  Chewing on our lovely cedar window.
Gah!

Anyway,  I'll just sand it down to make it look like it's kinda worn or something.  Thankfully he didn't damage the screen,  although it was half ways out.

The kids will think this is hilarious,  as I've had battles in the past with these little furry tailed rats,  but since they can no longer chew on the house,  I've sort of let them be.

Until now.

I'll not divulge any evil thoughts that I might have.  Best to not upset the squeamish.

Meanwhile,  the bathroom reno is progressing slowly.   I'm sort of having to do it piecemeal,  as we seem to be having some issues with a few of the items that we've ordered.   Like March for delivery??
No matter,  as there's plenty to do to keep me busy.

Ever since we moved here,  I've been annoyed by the fact that one of the light switches for the bathroom was out in the hallway. How does that make sense?
So if you happen to go in and forget to turn on the rest of the lights (there are two circuits),  you either need to suit up again,  or hope that nobody's around as you poke your head out to find the switch.

Fixed that.

The other thing was,  there was nothing even remotely like a GFCI in either bathroom when we moved in.  So we did the best we could at the time and piggy backed off another circuit.
You know what I'm talking about, right?

Later,  more or less in desperation,  I piggy backed off of THAT one to add a plug for a garage door opener.   I have to admit,  I had completely forgotten that one,  as there was this "mystery" wire that went down into the garage.  It didn't hit me right away (like,  we're talking a couple days here) but then I had that moment of clarity when I remembered what I had done.    To think I did that without cracking open nary a wall!

This time around though,  we be openin' walls,  and as I had the wall open anyway to put in the box for the heated flooring,  I figured I'd sort out everything I could.

That level is on there to remind me that I need to tweak the box a tad before putting up the drywall.
Not quite level.

So there was a certain amount of hole drilling and wire pulling,  as in total I added three new circuits. Bathroom GFIs,  garage door opener,  and the separate circuit for the heated flooring.   The deal there is,  they recommend a square box with two lengths of conduit,  trimmed out with something called a 'mud ring'.

Ends up looking like this:

Down at floor level,  the two conduits are there for the temperature sensor in one,  and the leads for the power in t'other.

While I was at it, I wanted a little cubby for recharging toothbrushes.

Don't ask.  I get these lame ideas.  And half way through the first stages of finishing off the drywall,  I start to question my sanity.

It'll look better when it's all done.

And that's about the extent of the excitement around here.

Tomorrow I'm thinking the tub wall will be coming down.

Not as easy as it sounds,  trust me.

I'll try to take photos.

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep that stick on the ice.

Got the bug.

And by that I mean,  the Emerald Ash Borer.

And we're not alone.

The chap I hired to come today and cut down one of the "three sisters" as we used to call them,  has been way too busy cutting down ash trees as fast as folks can hire him.  Not his favourite thing to do, as he'd much prefer to be trimming trees and other general arboreal upkeep.

This was the beast.

 We estimate at around 75 years old,  which would have meant maybe another lifespan of 25+ years or so?  Needless to say,  no plans to cut it down in the foreseeable future.  Not my future anyway.

There was a certain amount of studying going on even before climbing the tree.  Best to try and plan these things while on the ground I suppose.

I took a mess of pictures,  but you know the drill.   Climb tree.  Tie off.  Cut chunks off.  Lower them to the ground.

Preferably without coming into contact with that expensive roof we had installed a couple years ago.

You can see all the dead branches.

Anyway,  that last pic is early afternoon,  and they're just about done.  Gonna miss the extra shade,  but that particular tree had this one dead branch that extended out precariously over the driveway.  No bueno.

Now,  in case you don't feel like reading that wiki article,  I'll show you first hand what these little buggers do.

More or less self explanatory.  They bore into the "cambium",  and literally choke the tree to death.  Seems to me the cambium sends nutrients down the tree from above, and ultimately makes a new growth ring.

Almost as bad as putting down an ageing pet.  Well, maybe not quite.  But we're seriously running out of trees around here.   Since we moved in over twenty years ago,  we've cut down five mature trees due to disease,  as well as another two as a result of poor location.  (Between the two houses.  Not good.)

So,  that's all I'll be 'sharing' today.   Last week we were in Vancouver.  Maybe I'll go on about that in a day or two.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cold little buggers.

So, I've noticed that the Robins have come back but,  as it has been known to happen every so often,  we have snow in April.
And it doesn't matter how many times we say over and over again, “Well yes,  we have had snow in April’,  I don’t give a shit. 
I don’t like it.


It wasn't as if I had put the snow shovel up in the loft of the shed or put the ice melter in the pit or anything,  but I still had to traipse through the snow this morning to GET to the shovel.

I not so fondly remember coming home from Puerto Rico on something like the sixth of April 2003 to a driveway that we could barely get through. 
Well,  the driver of the car we had pick us up from Buffalo wasn't willing to attempt it,  as it was about six inches,  covered in about an inch of ice. 

Shovelling that the next day was brutal.


In a way,  it was a lucky thing that we had flown in to Buffalo,  as the Toronto airport had been shut down.  They were having some difficulties keeping the runways clear,  and had run out of glycol to boot.

Anyway,  I saw this poor little bugger this morning.  Not sure he knew what to do.  I later saw either him or one of his brethren perched in the tree outside our back door,  and he was lifting his one foot off the branch in what looked like an effort to keep warm. 

In the, “I’ll never finish before I die” department,  I was prompted yesterday to tidy up the caulking around our ancient bathtub.

So it wasn't exactly “Sunday Fun-day”.   And then this afternoon I went about replacing the caulk with something a little more neat and tidy.
Putting it back on was a cinch. 
Getting that stuff off?  Oy.

Of course,  since I suck at this,  I've learned to simply get out the painters tape and tape it all off.

It’s a rare occasion that I won’t use tape.  And it’s been a long hard lesson to learn,  but I’ve had to accept the fact that caulking just ain’t one of my strengths.

And this is on a tub that I'm thinking we’ll rip out within the next while.  Note the fifties “Avocado” colour.
But whatever.   And when I say “we”,  I mean “me”.  Might be this year.  It depends.   I need my play time..

Probably going to go with a nice big shower,  and then renovate the bathroom off the “man cave” downstairs and install a tub down there.  Maybe something with jets?  

I mean,  we’re not big “hot tub” fans,  but on the rare occasion that T.C. and I have ventured into a hot tub,  I've been more than OK with the whole thing. 

Possible tired muscles after a round of golf?  Get yourself into the hot tub for at least twenty minutes to a half hour,  and you’ll be fine. 
 At least it’s worked for us.  And that’s my story.

It took us a couple weeks of close observation of the maintenance of the hot tub at the condo in Maui before we decided that yes,  they do indeed keep the thing clean (no bits of skin for me thanks) and maybe we’d try it out.  

We’re just a bit ‘funny’ that way.

Here’s hoping the snow melts soon.   The boats go in the water April 30,  and there was already a note today from the skipper asking for who wants to sail on what days.  I haven’t quite figured it all out yet.  I’ll let him know over the next few days I imagine.  

I do tend to take the commitment of signing up for either a Tuesday or Thursday somewhat to heart,  so I’d rather not commit to a day and then find that it doesn't work for some reason or other.

If it’s a Tuesday say,  then T.C. and I can go to a cottage on the Wednesday and come home on a Saturday.  You know.  Like that.  Watching all the cottagers heading north as we’re on our way home.  Always gratifying.

Kind of like not shopping on the weekends,  when all the working folk NEED to get to the stores.   I'm about ready to spit any time I see a retired person dare set foot into a store on a Saturday.  EVERY DAY is Saturday!   What’s yer freakin’ problem?


That’s a whole rant coming on right there,  so we won’t be doing that.

Thanks for stopping by.  And keep yer stick on the ice.

I minor skirmish.

This is a picture from last year.  Seems we once again have a bumper crop of grapes, and I guess the word got around.  So last night there was another bandit type visitor flummoxing around on the grape vine. 

Not for long!

As one of my sisters-in-law aptly put it a number of years ago,  “They sound like old men in over coats”,  so it’s not like I have super hearing or anything.

So I took to the corn broom and hose.    I think I did get in one good whack over his little noggin’,  but even that wasn’t enough to settle the issue.  I had to break out the hose. 

That was too much,  so he “decamped”. 

Of course, I knew he’d be back,  and I was just riled up enough to make sure I dug through my little “treasures” to find some sheet metal.  Hey,  I have lights in the shed after all.

There was no way I was going to guard a paltry few grapes for the rest of the night.

And yes,  I said a paltry few grapes,  but the little buggers make such a mess.  And it’s the principle of the thing.  My grapes.

Not much metal was needed,  and I found a handy dandy little piece I had removed from one corner of the house that had been used as a squirrel deterrent. 

Worth hanging onto.

There’s a certain evil delight in hearing the sound of little claws on metal,  all the while knowing that the grapes are once again safe.  Bwahaha!

Go away ye little bugger! 

Is that mean?  

You can judge me,  I don’t care.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sticks.  Ice.  All that.