A not-so quick update

Things are looking much better in the back yard now!  

First the before:

After the repairs:

Looking much better already, right?  The contractor (not a Sask Energy employee as I initially thought) recommended that we end the sidewalk at the end of the house, then fill in the rest of the area with more base and crusher dust.  As a result they had to pour a small patch of concrete at the meter.

I suspect eventually the patch will lighten and won't be as noticeable, but regardless it makes more sense now.

While I was running errands yesterday I stopped in at both Home Depot and Rona to see what my alternatives for the pathway might be.  I discovered, very quickly that the round concrete blocks I had thought I would use were far too heavy for me to lift (and that was important because I'd be doing that work myself), and fairly expensive.  I found at Home Depot there were plastic alternatives but Rona didn't carry them.  That was a bit disappointing as I still have a gift card (from the paint debacle earlier this year) but I'm sure I'll find something to spend that on later. Back to Home Depot I picked up 36 square Stomp Stones. These are made from recycled tires and were quite inexpensive.  Best of all the placement is very easy.  Simply place the stone on the ground and literally stomp on it!

The almost finished project:

I say almost finished because I wasn't happy with how crooked the path was so went out later with a yardstick and lined them up a little better.  I had used the ruler to measure the space between each block but that didn't keep them straight.

I haven't made up my mind if I will change out the last nine blocks to the same pattern as the rest.  I had placed them in three because the path widens at that spot but I'm still not certain about the placement.  I'll leave it be for awhile and either I'll decide it needs to be changed or I'll just get used to it!

In the backyard there was this unsightly spot, before:

After all the rain we had recently the crusher dust had settled down several inches.  I picked up a few bags of black soil and filled it in before spreading and raking in some grass seed.  It will take awhile to fill in with grass but that's okay, it still looks better than it did.  As you can see there is still a patch by the end of the path that is full of crusher dust the grass didn't grow well there anyway.

The after:

I did have to pay for the removal of the rest of the sidewalk (and the blocks), but Sask Energy picked up the cost of the rest of the work that was done.  This made sense, in that they didn't need to remove all of the sidewalk to move the line thus it would have been my responsibility anyway.  But finding someone to do the work was proving difficult as every landscaper I contacted was busy until September.  That Sask Energy did the right thing and sent out one of their contractors was a pleasant surprise.

Happy Fourth of July to my readers in the United States!  Have a great day everyone.

Weekly wrap-up

Wow, that was a fast week even though there wasn't much happening.  We had lots of warm/hot weather so I spent a fair amount of time outdoors reading and relaxing.  It was great!

S was back in Regina on Thursday so I met her at Timmie's for a quick bite to eat as she headed back north.  I'd finished the research for Fairmont Hot Springs and gave her a copy of the spreadsheets.  We discussed a slight change of plans as she and her husband will spend Thanksgiving (Canadian) with family in Manitoba the weekend of October 12 so instead I'll be flying to Edmonton on the 14th.  We agreed on the room we wanted at Fairmont and when I got home I made the booking.  She's stuck with me now!  There is a so-called seat sale for both Air Canada and WestJet but the prices were actually lower before the sale so I'm waiting until tomorrow to see what happens to the prices. I still have the option of using AirMiles and I can't imagine the prices will change more the $50 so not too worried.

On Friday I met my friend K for lunch and we had a good long chat.  We went to Mr. Greek, a franchise restaurant that opened up in Regina a few years ago.  We've been there before and quite enjoy the food. We both had gyros with french fries and a drink.  Yummy!  She and her partner J are just back from Virginia with a side trip to the Outer Banks visiting friends.  Both areas sound like places I'd like to visit someday.  A bit of a gossip and conversation about our next adventures was in order.  

Friday evening was our regular dinner though we've moved on from the restaurant to a nearby Denny's.  I met C there with friends M and C joining us.  We had a great visit as always.  I like Denny's as it has a senior's menu - helps me save a few dollars as I seem to be eating out more frequently now that I'm retired.

Saturday was a quiet day, and Sunday evening K and I drove out to my brother's farm to feed Hollywood (the cat).  R and his family were in Edmonton for the weekend for a basketball tournament.  Hollywood is about 16 years old, the last surviving member of Puddy's litter from which I got Silas and Shady.  She is blind and not in good shape but still hanging in there.    

Yesterday, of course was Canada Day.  I generally stay home but this year C convinced me to join her in the park.  Our other friend C also came as he goes every year.  We arrived around noon, assuming we'd be there for the 21 gun salute but this year that part of the events was cancelled.  We walked over the main stage for the speeches, then wandered the grounds of the park for awhile.  Then it was over to the pedestrian crossing to watch the Plywood cup races.  Teams enter the competition by collecting pledges.  Each team is then given a few pieces of plywood, a few nails, some duct tape, and tools.  They build a craft of sorts out of the supplies and then it's time to hit the water.  All of the "boats" are put in the water at the same time and they float or not.  This year there were 17 teams and only 11 made it beyond the starting point.

The first paddler was out in a hurry and moving quickly.  The paddle they built (and yes they have to do that too) was something like a kayak paddle.  He was halfway across the lake before the rest of the paddlers had figured out how to move their crafts.

Most of the boats had one paddler but there were a few that had two.  The latter probably wasn't the brightest idea because the extra weight simply made it harder to keep the boat afloat and slowed the progress down.

It was fun to watch...though I'm not sure if we were cheering them on to finish the race or sink!  There was a couple of individuals who obviously did sink so they swam across the lake instead.  The lake isn't that clean - it's manmade - so it's not really recommended but they obviously had fun.

From there we headed over to the beer gardens where we could sit and watch the bands play.  The music wasn't that great so off to Houston Pizza (another tradition) for a late lunch/early dinner.  I was home in time to watch the Roughrider's football.  The game was late in the late in the second quarter when it was stopped for a weather delay.

We had a wicked thunderstorm that lasted nearly 90 minutes!  The lightening was coming fast and furious and it sounded like a freight train was rumbling by.  I called my daughter at one point and could barely hear her over the noise of the storm.  My son and I sat out in the sun room and watched it pass by.  Those are the fireworks I enjoy best!  

Finally, some good news!  No, the house hasn't sold but this morning a crew from Sask Energy showed up to check the back yard.  They've agreed to do some repairs to the work that was done.  They will cut the pavement off at the point where the house and sun room meet and pour a patch of concrete to fill that area.  I've agreed to pay to have them remove the rest of the concrete, they'll fill the area with a mixture of crusher dust and base.  I'll pick up 6 or 8 round paving stones and that will finish the area off.  I've already filled in the hole with black dirt and added grass seed. Hopefully in a month or two one won't be able to tell anything was done.  The crew will be back later to do the work, hooray!

Time to get busy about the house, that darn vacuum isn't moving on it's own.  Have a great week everyone!  Hope you all had a wonderful Canada Day.