Just a bit of catching up.

Um,  lemme see.   Hope all those to whom it applies had a great Father’s Day.

I still ended up “doing stuff”,  but I somehow don’t think it really matters.  Some of us like to BBQ.  Or cut grass.   Oh wait,  scratch that last one.  But I did BBQ. 

Always good to eat.

 

Meanwhile,  we’ve been moving forward with “house work”,  and I don’t mean the kind involving a hose and a central vac.

We’re going to be hiring a Carpenter Dude,  as we will be recladding the front cedar sections of the Ponderosa.   It’s long overdue.

We’ve come up with our list of materials,  and I’m off tomorrow to part with some cash.

We’ve had the help of one of Daughter Number One’s architect associates,  who declared that structurally,  all of the cedar is sound,  but now we just have to make it all pretty and such.  

It’s been chewed by squirrels,  carpenter bees,  and woodpeckers.   I think they were after the bees.  At least I hope so.

 

Let’s just say there have been many different “strategies” put forth for this type of reno,  from the guy last year who basically wanted to build us a new house,  to a couple others who have come by to look,  and rather than saying,  “this is beyond the scope of my abilities”,  simply never show up again. 

Really annoying.

And yes,  sixteen footers will fit nicely on a landscape trailer.   I’ll be picking up my nephew’s truck tomorrow in the a.m.

I have to make two stops,  mostly due to the availability and/or price of dimensional cedar.   It all comes from the Left Coast,  but it’s a matter of trying to come up with a decent price and decent quality.  It’s a challenge.

 

You may recall that we had our new dining room set delivered a few days ago?  Weeks?  Whatever,  doesn’t matter when.

The sad reality however is,  the old set had to go.

I took a stab at selling it on Kijiji,  and maybe if I had been willing to pony up the dough to keep it on the first page, I would have had more interest.  There was some,  but nobody seems to really want old stuff.   At least not somewhat run of the mill old stuff,   so it ended up getting donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. 

They were the only ones who were willing to come and fetch it,  so it was picked up this morning.

 

I had already disassembled the table,  so that was the easy part.  Nice to get my garage emptied out again.  Relatively speaking of course.

I just put in that gratuitous photo to show that it was in fact,  well made.

 

We bought the set used back some time in the 80s,  and it has served us well for all that time.  Nary an issue in terms of structural integrity.   Made by the Andrew Malcolm Furniture Company of Kindcardine,  Ontario.    Kind of sad to see it go,  but now some deserving family can enjoy it for another few decades.  Or longer.

 

 

 

I guess that’s it for any kind of updates.  Like you care.

 

Keep those sticks on the ice.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Off to vote.

Didn’t think I could hold my nose for that long,  but I managed.   Not going to say how I voted.   The members of our household have never been ones to stick to one particular party or another.   Mind you,  these days we do try and have a unified effort,  since one year many years ago,  we all cancelled each other out.  May as well have stayed home.

Today’s title was going to be something along the lines of “If you put out your junk,  they will come”,  and maybe in some obscure way that ties in with the voting thing.  I’ll let you sort that out.

Anyway,  today is one of those “put out your junk” days,  and I complied.  The thing is,  most times it’s best to put the stuff out the night before,  as the Region really and truly prefer not to pick up “metal items” or “appliances”.  

Well now,  that could be an issue.

That was pretty much all I had.  There was the old dishwasher and the fireplace insert.

I regret to say that I failed to get any photos,  but the fireplace insert was the first thing I put out,  and it was gone already by 5:00 p.m.  with a couple scavengers arguing about who “saw it first”.    Really?

The one guy,  who is the local brain addled bum that we refer to as “Dan Two Cells”, ‘cause that’s just about the number of brain cells he has functioning after having spent his youth sniffing glue,  had walked home to fetch his wheelbarrow,  (doesn’t have a vehicle,  are you kidding?) probably with the intention of using the insert in his shed,  or garage or wherever.  Not the best plan by the way,  as I had taken out the fire bricks.

(*that’s* why the damned thing was so heavy!)

Anyway,  by the time he got there,  some other scavenger Dude had shown up with his trailer,  and was about to load up.   I didn’t intervene,  and the only reason I was privy to this “conversation”,  was because I had mentioned to the trailer Dude that there was also a dishwasher available.

“Too much plastic”  was his reply.

OK, whatever!

Too bad for him though,  as I put it out later on,  and it was gone lickety split.   It was a Miele,  and I somewhat doubt that there was “too much plastic”.  So he lost out on that one.  Too bad.   Jack-ass.

There’s also that expression having to do with “looking a gift horse in the mouth”?    Um, ya.

 

Damned if I didn’t forget about the old snow blower though!  Gah!   Oh well.  Next time.

My preference with that item would be to give it to a vocational school for one of the small engine shops.  They’re always looking for stuff to take apart and/or repair.   I may have to look into that.

 

 

Sometimes Travelling Companion and I have these little miscommunications when it comes to “what to eat”  right around dinner time.

Kind of along the lines of “he said, she said”, or something like that.   Or maybe more like,  “what did I say?”

So I had to come up with something quickly,  since there was a memo or something that I missed regarding dinner.

So we have,  “colourful”,  and “not so colourful”.  Just some veggies and a couple of those frozen burgers.

 

They’re certainly a far cry from “Bob’s burgers”,  but they’ll do in a pinch.  Helps to slather on lots of BBQ sauce…..

 

Oh,  and in the photo department,  we have this.

 

That’s our neighbour using our lawn mower.  

A few days ago she and her hubby were out there trying to get their machine going,  and while I’ll admit that I basically haven’t a clue on the subject,  it sounded suspiciously like the carburetor needed to be rebuilt.   There were questions about what kind of gas they had been using, and whether it contained ethanol?  

They weren’t entirely sure,  and that tells me that they were probably using the wrong fuel.   It almost seems like one of those “wives tales” or “internet legends” or something but no,  you’d best keep ethanol away from anything with a carb. 

I was given strongly worded advise about using gas WITHOUT ethanol when I bought our machine.    So if they were using a fuel with ethanol for three seasons (their machine is only three years old)  then that tells you just how quickly ethanol with muck up your carburettor. 

Naturally,  the repair place advised them that it might take “three weeks” before they get their machine back.    And you know what?  That’s the way she goes.   I happen to know the owner of that business (which is why I sent them there)  and his main bread and butter are the “Lawn Care Technicians”  who need their machines to make a living.   If you’re a “walk-in”,  you have to cue up.   Of hello,  don’t use the wrong fuel.

My neighbours understood.

Meanwhile,  they’re welcome to use my machine.   Oh,  but of course,  I put in my own fuel.  

*ahem*

 

 

Not sure how the sailing will go tonight.   We might only be racing to the clubhouse for a pitcher of beer,  as they’re calling for thundershowers or some such thing.  Never a swell idea to be on the water during an electrical storm.

We’ll see.

 

 

Meanwhile,  keep it between the ditches.  And thanks for taking a look.

 

Cheers.

 

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When you can’t sleep.

Mind you,  I might have been fretting about my Slovenian class.  We’re pretty much drinking from the fire hydrant at this point.  It’s overwhelming.

So I spent a fair amount of time on Friday trying to get somewhat caught up,  as I had given the previous weeks class a pass.  That was the Boy’s weekend.   No class.  And you can take that any way you like,  but try not to judge me.

Anyway, we survived our third last class.  At least I *think* we only have two more.  That’s OK.  Note previous fire hydrant reference.  Besides,  there was only Daughter Number Two,  Travelling Companion,  one other person and I.   Great class size,  but there’s no hiding behind someone else,  trying to figure out what you’re going to say or do next.  There’s another six participants,  all of whom are in one family, plus fiancé,  who are currently travelling in Slovenia.  Sort of why they were trying to brush up.  I suppose you could say they didn’t plan the timing of their trip all that well,  but I suspect they had booked their travel time quite some time ago and well,  sometimes that’s the these things play out.

I did have something that I thought I wanted to say for yesterday,  but I guess I was a bit weary.  Plus,  I’ve been a tad busy,  and I don’t mean just with the removal of the old fireplace insert. 

It’s OUT, by the way,  and siting in the garage waiting for the BIG PICK-UP later this week.   We’re once again having one of those “bring out your dead” kind of garbage days,  and I’ll be putting out a couple items the night before,  in anticipation of the transient metal picker-uppers who always manage to end up with a pick-up truck full of stuff. 

More power to them,  I say.

 

I thought there was an old “clean out” at the back of the hearth, and I was happy to find it there. That’ll do just nicely for my gas line and power supply. The insert requires a half inch line,  and that’s the same size as the hot water heater,  so we’ll figure that one out.  Probably right around the time that we install the gas fired stand-by generator.  Yes,  it’s still sitting in the garage.  Cut me some slack.

 

I’ll just show you some pics,  and you can see what we had delivered yesterday.

Of course I had to put a couple bits together,  but that was no big deal.

Put it this way,  when the manufacturer uses cherry wood to act as braces that get removed and “thrown away” after assembly?  That’s a pretty good indication that the quality of the piece is maybe not too shabby?

I also liked the way they packed everything.  The roll there keeps the chair away from the sides of the box,  and then there was the usual coverings and such.   Even the fabric they used to protect the feet was nice stuff!

 

 

 

 

Got a little conjested in the dining room this afternoon.

 

 

It looks a little redder in the photo than it really is.  I’ll not bother to try and do any kind of correction.

With the exception of getting rid of the hutch and buffet now,  we’re into the next phase of what’s to take place in here.

It’ll involve some cabinets along the back wall there.  That’s only something I’ve been planning of for a long,  long time.  I mean,  there was that whole time spent in Europe that sort of got in the way,  but now we’re back at it.

I wasn’t quite sure what the cabinets would look like,  but now that the table and chairs have arrived,  I’m pretty sure I can incorporate some of the design elements of the set.

I’m not very creative,  so I need these little hints once in a while.

 

Of course,  the grass needs cutting and it’s raining,  but what else is new?   I’ll see if it’s dry by mid day tomorrow.

 

Keep those sticks on the ice,  and thanks for stopping by.

 

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