Painting continues and future travel plans

More painting happened this week. A couple of days in, I was thinking it would never end. The first coat was finished in the basement area by mid-day Tuesday. It could have been sooner, but I took a break Monday afternoon...to plan a trip.

D, Eli, and I had been talking for a few months about travelling to Nova Scotia this summer. Eli is old enough now, at 8 years old, to remember most of the trip. We had meant to book for 8 days, 7 nights, but somehow I managed to book flights for 9 days, 8 nights. Probably a good thing as our days will be full! We'll be staying in Halifax for a couple of days, then travel to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg before spending another night in Halifax. From there, we're off to Baddeck, with a couple of stops along the way. From Baddeck we'll travel to Sydney for one night. A one night stop in Antigonish, will have us back in Halifax on Canada Day, before we fly home the next day. There are museums, parks, gardens, and historical sites to visit. The day of our flights home, we've nothing planned, and we have late flight. We'll have time to pack and some playtime at a park before we drop off our rental car at the airport. 

Eli will miss a couple of days of school, but it is the end of the school year so won't be missing much. D has been working with him on his phonics for his French language and discovered this week, he is ahead of his classmates! Sadly, there was an issue with his in-class teacher and he hasn't been able attend class for a couple of months. He is working with a resource teacher (one-on-one) on his other subjects, but it has been left to D to provide the French language skills he needs. She attended French Immersion from kindergarten to Grade 12, and has her Education degree. As a result, she's well able to help Eli with his school work.

We're all looking forward to the trip. I did a road trip to the Maritimes with friends back in 2016. This will be different travelling experience. I suspect, though, like that trip, I'll be doing the majority of the driving. I do like feeling in control. :)

The photos on Wednesday is the work I completed on Tuesday. The first coat of paint was on the walls, and I was tired. I had taken part of the morning off to go thrifting. I found a couple of pretty decorative cushions and a 2 cup glass measuring cup ...with the markings on it. So many times the thrift store measuring cups have had the markings missing - I don't know if they were washed off, or if they were simply so poorly made. My daughter measures things using a coffee cup; I'm not that talented. But my best buy was a pair of brand new blue jeans (still had the waist tag on them) for under $7. 

The painting party continued over the next few days. I did have an accident on Wednesday morning. There is/was a water fountain for the cat and I managed to knock it over and when I got back from the bathroom where I had taken it to dump, I found I'd also managed to tip over the paint can. There is now a large splotch in the carpet. I cleaned up as much as I could, and will use a carpet cleaner later to see if I can any more of it out. If not, the carpet is ancient, there is a cat and a dog in the house, so at some point I'm sure my son will want to replace it. 

By Thursday afternoon, I had finished the second coat throughout the basement. I noted, as it dried, a few spots that needed to be touched up but decided I needed an afternoon off. Since I'm on nobody's schedule but my own, I chose to do just that. After a much needed shower, I went out to do a wee bit of shopping. I can't say I found anything special, but came home with a pair of pillows and bath mats. 

Friday morning, I made a few touch ups before I tackled the stairwell. There were some holes to patch that needed to be left to dry before sanding. I was able to continue painting other areas, though, while that happened. I'm not able to reach the full height of the walls at the top of the stairs, so will send my son up the ladder on the weekend. He's over 6 feet tall, about a foot taller than I am and should be able to do the edging along the ceiling.

By midday, I decided to call it quits. Can you tell I'm getting tired of painting? Oh, I'll power through and get the rest of the foyer and stairwell painted, but my bedroom is going to wait until my next visit. I plan clean the basement next week, and then I'll start packing the car to go back out to my daughter's. 

Instead, I spent much of the afternoon watching television and cross-stitching. Guess what I did, for part of it? Not painting, not stitching, but snow shovelling! We got about an inch of snow over a 24 hour period. While we could drive through it, the snow had piled up in front of the garage. My son likes to park in the garage over the weekend, while I like to have my car available (we have a narrow driveway). It only took 15-20 minutes, but it is the first time I've had a shovel in my hands since December. 

Later today, I'll continue the painting up on the landing and the stairwell. I'm using latex paint, and as it dries quickly, I'll try to get the second coat on in the afternoon. Then I can clean everything up and put my supplies away!

Meanwhile I'm watching the women's world curling from Korea. Canada is playing Scotland this morning and at the moment the game is tied up. I've got my tea and bagel with peanut butter to enjoy along with the curling. Go Canada go!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Making plans, some finishes, and sunshine too!

I keep a calendar on the my kitchen counter and make notes of things to be done, check off those that are done, and to keep track of appointments and the like. I've realized that if I didn't, I couldn't write my blog. Or rather, I'd have to write about different things unrelated to my daily life because I'd never remember what I did most days.

Of course some events are more memorable than others. For one, I still want to sell this house and am hoping to have it listed by fall. I had the contractor that I used last year for the basement renos at the house on Monday to give me a quote on doing flooring and baseboards, as well as couple of minor changes/repairs. The quote came in on Thursday and is slightly more than I hoped but still very reasonable. I picked up samples of the flooring yesterday and will be making a choice in the next day or so.

My friend C picked me up in her new-to-her truck on Tuesday morning and we headed to the thrift stores. The duck from the photo on Wednesday was one of my purchases. When I was hesitant about the price, C reminded me it was senior's Tuesday, with a 30% discount; sold! It will find its way out into the front flower bed among the hostas in a couple of weeks. I also found a jacket for Eli that he won't be able to wear for a couple of years, but it was in such good condition, and at only $3.69 (after discount), I couldn't resist. 

Speaking of articles of clothing for Eli, I picked up the sweater at the tailors on the weekend. She did a nice job (though pricey) of inserting the zipper. Meanwhile I finished the oversized sweater for my daughter. Here's a tale of two sweaters:

Eli's sweater was made with yarn purchased on sale at Michaels. I paid about $6/skein and used 5 skeins for the sweater and toque, the zipper was $8, and the tailor cost me $27. Grand total $65. The ladies at stitch and chat on Wednesday informed me they would teach me how to put in a zipper on my own next time. That is, of course, should there be a next time.

D's sweater was made with thrift store yarn which cost me about $15 in total. Since I didn't have enough of one color, I did a sort of color block pattern. The blue and wine are on the front panels as well as the sleeves, while the teal is the back and fills in the rest of front and sleeves. 

I modified the pattern somewhat, adding to the length, adding pockets and a belt at my daughter's request. I also did the trim in double crochet rows, as I knew I didn't have sufficient yarn to create the ribbing effect (see bottom of the sweater and the cuffs).  This was the first time I used crochet stitches rather than knitting for ribbing, and while I liked the effect on the bottom, I wasn't happy with the sleeves. They were made top-down. If I were to use this pattern again, I'd make the cuffs separately and stitch them to the sleeves instead. (The photo to the right is what yarn was leftover when I finished. That's pretty good use of stash yarn!)

I'm continuing to work...slowly...on the African flowers afghan. Twenty of the flowers have been blocked (of thirty), I've added green single crochet to the outside of some of the blocked pieces, and started the process of stitching five flowers in a row. Besides blocking this is the slowest and most tedious part of the process. When I'm not in the mood, I've been working on the knitted toddler sweater. One more sleeve to complete and then I'll put it together.

Our weather has been great this week with temperatures in the mid-20's Celsius (72-77F). I'm itching to get out in the yard but will leave the raking for another week for the pollinators. The trees in the back yard are just beginning to leaf out. I've been avoiding the garden centers, so far, but I'm not sure how much longer I can resist. I do remind myself, that I'll be dragging plants in and out of the garage if I start buying now.

I did manage to finish a project that should have been completed months ago. On Thursday morning I headed down to the basement, finished sanding the door frames and got them painted. The closet paint was touched up as well. I did not, and will not, paint the baseboards. Unless one gets down on the floor and looks at them closely, no one will know. How would I know, you ask? Well, I lived in this house for nearly 10 years before I realized the baseboards on the main floor had never been painted. I did paint them before I listed the house in 2019 and the thought of crawling around on the floor to paint just doesn't appeal to me. Hence, I'll have the contractor do the painting when he installs the new ones on the main floor.

Yesterday, I did a few errands, a bit of housework, and met with a landscaper. I've been having issues with drainage in the back yard for some time, and this year, have noticed some significant heaving of the lower deck and the shed. I had already planned to replace the sod, including where the other shed once stood. If you want to read the story of the potting shed removal, you can read it here). My goal is to make the back yard look as big as it can possibly be, since the sun room and decks take up a good portion of it. It was a sticking point for potential buyers the last time I had the house listed. As I said to the landscaper, they forget they have the use of the sun room for 7 months of the year, while the back yard is only available for about 4 months. Enough of my ranting....

I've not much planned for today, though there are several sports programs to watch so I know I'll be parked on the couch for a good part of the day. The final curling event of the season is finishing up this weekend. There is baseball and hockey too. I guess I'd best get moving now, and get a walk in before I laze about for the rest of the day. The sun is shining, it's a lovely 9C (48F) and I need the exercise.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone.

2020 Vision

2020 is here, and for the first time in a long time I'm not certain what this year will bring.  I realize no one ever knows ahead of time, but I usually have formulated some sort of plan....it didn't work so well for 2019.  I must admit the uncertainty is a bit unsettling as I like to be in control.  Perhaps this is the year that I learn to let go and simply experience every moment.  We'll see.    

The only for certain is a cruise I booked on my January 2019 cruise for June 2020.  I've got airfare booked (and almost paid for), the pre-cruise hotel booked, and started a short list of sights to see in London.  There is still a flight to Amsterdam, a return train back to London, plus post-cruise hotel to be arranged but I won't look to complete those until the end of January or early February.  My travelling companion for this trip, L is in Mexico for a few weeks so I'll wait for her return.

Another probable certainty is a visit to D and Eli's in January.  I've bought myself a weekend pass to the Grand Slam of Curling event - it's being held in a community about 20 minutes from their home.  The uncertainty is due to what the weather might bring. There are four draws on Friday, three on Saturday, and two on Sunday. If it's 40 below zero then I'll choose the games I might attend and spend the rest of the time at D's. If there is a blizzard I'll have to determine whether I go at all.  Currently the Farmer's Almanac is calling for snowy periods and mild weather for the weekend...but we all know that can be off.  

Gracie and Cola on a run in the valley with my brother

That's it - the rest of the year is a blank slate.  I'll continue to craft, to spend time with friends and family, and do a bit of work on the house.  

I don't make (or keep) resolutions but a goal for this year will be to get healthier, both physically and emotionally.  Perhaps that is enough of a plan.  

Wishing all of my readers (and lurkers) a very Happy New Year and all the best in 2020!

One step forward, two steps back

These days I'm often reminded of Robert Burns' "The best laid schemes of o'mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley".  Or in more current lingo, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  The plans I've made over the past number of years are tantalizingly close but oh so far away.  

Obviously the house hasn't sold yet.  All of my plans are predicate on that happening.  On Thursday my hopes were high.  Actually, let me back up a bit.  On Monday there was a showing, and while that was happening, I had a call from my agent with two more requests for showings on Tuesday; one at 3 p.m. and one at 3:45 p.m.  Of course, I agreed to both.

So on Tuesday the cats and I went for a drive, and about the time I thought the second showing would be done, I drove past the house.  The agent and his clients were still there so I parked down the block until they left.  Later my agent contacted me to say that group hadn't been able to get into the house.  The prior agent had locked both the deadbolts and the door knobs/handles.  They still wanted to see the house and asked for a showing on Thursdays.

I've never used anything but the deadbolt and wasn't even provided with the keys by the previous owner.  So, now there is tape covering those locks to ensure it never happens again.

In any event, the showing on Thursday seemed to go well.  This time, I only parked down the block and read a book.  They arrived shortly before 3 p.m. and were in the house/yard for at least 35 minutes.  I even drove by at one point because I thought I'd missed them leaving.  I sent an e-mail to my agent to let him know that I'd like feedback and to confirm that I'm prepared to look at any offers that come in.

Then today happened.  Today was the day that the gas line move was scheduled.  The workers from Sask Energy started arriving about 8 or 8:30 this morning and continued to do so throughout the morning.  At one point I think there eight guys out there, each for a different purpose.  One guy was the paper work dude or at least he wandered around with a clipboard and kept checking a list of some sort and making notes.  There was one guy breaking up the sidewalk and couple with wheelbarrows moving out the concrete, and one handling the water hose.  There was a Hydrovac truck out front blocking the driveway, and later another truck showed up with some other piece of equipment.  It was full house, that's for sure. 


(I didn't feel I could take many photos as the process unfolded, because I'm sure the guys wouldn't have appreciated being in the shots.  So I waited until they all were standing around having coffee to grab a couple shots.) 

This is the hole they dug to get to the original gas line.  It's the yellow line to the bottom left.  The other line is the one Sask Tel dug in a week or so ago for the InfiNet.  What Sask Energy was doing was diverting the line to the right and then running it about a foot out from the sun room, which puts the new line where the side walk runs.  I was told that it isn't a problem to re-pour the sidewalk.  

When they finished up just after noon, I went outside to take a look and talk to the guy who seemed to be in charge.  I asked when they would be repairing the side walk and replacing the sod they'd removed in the back.  I was told they would not, he said they'd put down crusher dust and it wouldn't settle (really?) and that was all they obligated to do.  Not happy with that I went out and took some additional photos and called into their head office.

It turns out their office is closed between noon and 1 p.m. so I left a message.  The individual who called me back was the same guy I spoke with this morning so after a few minutes of listening to his nonsense (a safety issue, not required to do anything more, blah, blah, blah), I asked to be called back by someone higher up on the food chain.  

A
About 3 p.m. I had a call from another person who gave me basically the same spiel.  I explained to him that the lawn was trashed, the sod that was removed where the hole was dug was not replaced (as SaskTel did last week), and the cut line was poorly done and had I know they weren't going to replace the pavement I would have insisted it all be removed.  He asked me to send photos, which I did.  He later replied saying:
- yes the grass is trampled, I would expect with a little time and some water it will bounce back.
- please understand, Sasktel needs a lot less space to do their work then we do. Yes, maybe they could have put the sod back on top.
- they certainly could have cut the cement straighter. I've sent the picture to our Construction Dept and asked them to comment back to me.




I'm so angry....perhaps the lawn that was merely disturbed will but how on earth is grass that isn't there is going to come back AND there was no offer to replace the sod that was removed.  I'm waiting to see what the response will be regarding the cut line.  Depending on that response I will likely contact the provincial ministry in charge of Sask Energy by e-mail and post something to their Facebook page.  Sometimes a bit of noise, squeaky wheel and all that, might get some attention.  In the meantime I've contacted the landscaper that did the work out front for me to get a quote regarding the costs associated with replacing the sidewalk and the sod.  It's a small job so he may not be interested in doing it but I'll deal with that later.




Around dinner time my agent got back to me with feedback from the Thursday showing.  It was mixed, they've seen 5 houses so far and liked mine the best, but wanted to see more before making a decision.  On the negative side, they could smell the cats and noted the carpet in the basement and bedroom needs replacing.  I agree with them, the carpet needs replacing, and is likely the source of some of the cat odor, so I'm not replacing it since the cats will be living here until we sell.  I responded to my agent advising that I am prepared to get a quote as to the cost of replacing the carpet with a similar quality product but I won't cover the cost of installation.  It is an offer I'd make to any potential buyer, to provide a check for that amount upon completion of the sale so that they can decide whether to put in carpet or some other flooring.  I won't cover the cost of installation because I won't get the benefit and it may be they can find someone to do the work for less.  I think that's a fair offer.

In the meantime I've decided to get the rugs professionally cleaned as I suspect my carpet cleaner isn't up the task.  Plus I'll buy some Kilz paint that blocks and seals odors and paint the drywall in the area where the cat litter boxes live.  More work for me but if it means getting a sale or not, I'm more than willing to do it.  

And so the saga continues!  Tomorrow I'm taking a break from all of this and going to see Rocketman at the theater with friends.  Now that's a plan I can go along with.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Reflections

I should get off my duff and head down to the nearby pond to get a couple of photos but it's cool and threatening to rain and I'm feeling too lazy to do so.  So instead you get a photo from two years ago.  I'm sure it looks pretty much the same today with lots of ducks and geese on the pond.

At the moment I'm sitting out in my sun-less sun room listening and watching the birds at the feeder and in the trees and on the fence.  There are a couple of fledgling grackles who haven't quite figured out flying but have left the nest.  The parents are quite aggressive with any other birds that get near them.  Yesterday I watched two of them attacking a robin and went out to intervene. Today there are fewer smaller birds at the feeder.  I hope these fledglings figure out what they need to do as I'm not really fond of the grackles.  I'd far rather see the sparrows and finches.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be the blog post today.  As I was enjoying my breakfast and coffee this morning, I was thinking about my retirement.  I jokingly tell everyone who asks that I recommend it and even though it is my attempt at humour retirement has been very good for me.  I've been out of the office for over 6 months now - I don't miss it one bit.  Not the work which at one time I loved, and I certainly don't miss the office politics and petty grievances.  There are some co-workers I keep in contact with, but in general most of those individuals had retired before me.  Occasionally I get a text from someone still at the office, usually asking for a reference but that's about it.  Of course, my son works there too so I do hear of things happening in the office every once in a while.  

One thing I think every retiree (or maybe just most) learn is that it's not difficult to fill the hours in the day.  There were so many things around the house that I did rarely, that now I have time to do frequently.  Of course, having the house up for sale makes for more frequent vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing than I might do otherwise but even so I'm more attentive to the details. Yesterday, for example, I went out and washed down the deck.  With all the birds attracted to the feeder and bird bath there seems to more poop on the deck.  Where I might have let the rain wash it away, I spent 35 minutes (according to Fitbit) sweeping and mopping it down.  Then we got rain last evening.  

A shirt for Eli - someday

I also have more time for activities I enjoy including gardening, knitting and crocheting and sewing. Too, I've the time (and inclination) to blog more which may or may not be a good thing.  I'm definitely reading more, blogs, books, news articles, and a perennial favorite, court cases.  I know, I'm weird!

A doily - does anyone even use these anymore? 

Yet, with more time I'm finding I'm actually watching less television.  This is partially due to a reduction in the number of channels I subscribe to in order to save costs, but also because I'm busy doing other things.  I think, too, when I was working flopping in front of the television in the evening was just easier after a work day.  I usually didn't feel like putting in any more effort.  So I didn't and thus my weekends were crammed with catching up.  


I know it's still early in my retirement but I can truly say, I'm not bored. (That was something I felt all too often in my final year in the office.)  While I recognize this may be the place I'm at in the moment, I cannot see myself ever thinking that way.  There is still so much I want to do, including volunteering,  taking a class or two, or spending more time on my physical fitness.  Sadly my weight loss has stalled so I know I need to kick it up a notch or two.  In any event, I have a number of goals to achieve yet - continuing to work on my physical health, challenging my mind, and giving back to my community.  

Another lesson I'm learning is about finances.  I'm a spreadsheet person - it's part of my background as an accountant and I haven't given it up in retirement.  I'd created a budget setting up my expected budget, to track my income and expenses/spending and to identify where variances might exist.  When I planned my retirement budget I had two scenarios in mind, one which took into account living in this house, and another where I reduced my costs significantly by selling the house.  The latter provided more opportunity for travel and other enjoyable activities, while the former has much less flexibility.  After tracking for four months I've learned that these days what I have to do is coming well before what I want to do.  Some days I find this a bit of harder lesson than others as I have been presented with a number of opportunities and I must pick and choose, or even perhaps pass up on some of these.  I can't complain though, as I know I'm truly fortunate to be able to retire and even more so, to be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle.  

Just a quick update on the open house.  We had three couples through, two of whom were quite interested but currently have houses of their own up for sale. The third couple are into house flipping so I'm sure they'd find lots of projects in this house.  My agent worked with them several months ago, showing them a number of houses, while they had their current home up for sale.  It has since been sold and now they are looking for a new project.  Everyone liked the layout of the house and none had children so the yard was not an issue.  Unfortunately one of the men has allergies and had to leave the house because of the cats and his wife has a heat sensitivity.  Sunday's temp was in the 30C+ range so the sun room was likely unbearable for her.  And so it continues.

The cats and I spent the time at my friend C's house.  They were in their carriers in the shade outside the gazebo where the two of us were relaxing.  Much nicer than sitting in the car for over two hours!  Her yard is spectacular and the gazebo is set up in the back of the yard so the view is wonderful.  We had a good visit and while Sasha and Saku talked a fair amount I think they enjoyed the fresh air.  

Time to get back to the household chores.  Enjoy your week everyone!

What to say...

I've written two posts today and erased them both.  Nothing of real interest has been happening here.  We're continuing the packing (just 19 sleeps to moving day!), so my house looks horrendous with boxes half packed and items scattered about as Eli helps unpack.  He's going to be a great helper on the other end of this.  His newest favorite toy is a cheese grater.  It makes a very cool noise when it is banged against the stove, the television stand, the lamp on the side table....well, you get the picture.

D has packed away most of his toys and I've noticed he doesn't seem to be missing them. Well, except for his ride-on police car.  He tried very hard to pull it out of the box before she moved it out to the garage.  There is a small toy box of items that will stay behind so he'll have something to play with at G'ma's.  I hope she'll learn from this and not put everything out for him at the new house.  It will be like Christmas when she brings out a new box.  AND, if she gets rid of the broken and outgrown items each time, she should be able to keep things under control.  To be honest, I'm doubtful that will happen.

On another note, I had to take my car in for some work this week.  I'd noticed a noise from the front end and a bit of shimmying.  The tech thought it might be a bearing, but when they took it out for a drive they couldn't hear the noise.  Of course not!  However, the mechanic did find that my brakes on the front right were seizing...something about calipers and brake pads, that they thought might be causing the sound I was hearing.  It was a bit of an unexpected expense though I was expecting something needed to be fixed, and something that could not wait.  Heaven forbid, that my brakes failed when I'm driving Eli out to Melville on moving day.

D's decided that I should take Eli away from the house while the truck is being loaded.  I agree, though I'm not sure what we'll do for the 2 hours.  I am planning to drop into the office, as there are several co-workers who would like to meet the little guy.  They've seen many of G'ma's brag photos!  Then I'll take him somewhere for a bite of breakfast before we head to Melville.  He'll be staying with D's friend A while the movers unload.  He loves to play with her little boy so hopefully he's not too upset when I drop him off.

I'll admit it, I'm going to miss my little sports watching buddy.  Today, the mixed doubles in curling was re-broadcast (it was live in the middle of the night as the game was played in China). Eli used to sit with me last winter/early spring while I watched curling and I didn't think he'd remember.  Well, when I turned to the curling he came skidding to a stop in front of the television and stood there mesmerized through the first end.  

His mother suggests I am brainwashing the child.  I say I'm training him right.  :)  Either way, this child enjoys watching sports.  He's a big fan of football - he'll even point it out when an ad comes on.  Eli and D also watch gymnastics together.  I know she plans to take him to the gym in the next town over for classes.  He's certainly got the flexibility and energy for it!
He's also demonstrating his talents in finding his nose and mine though he does have a tendency to poke his finger up my nose.  Ew!  Next up, mouth, ears, and eyes.  New words this week include thirsty and shirt. I suspect to the unaccustomed ear it probably sounds like gibberish but for the most part we understand him.

*******
My thoughts and best wishes are going out to those currently affected by the storms in North and South Carolina, in the Philippines and China.  I cannot fathom the devastation that so many are facing.  Beyond the loss of life, of which there are far too many, there will be so many more who will have lost their homes and possessions.  It cannot be easy.

While I may grouse about the mess in my home and express my annoyance with my daughter, I'm truly grateful for my family and my life.  It is a reminder that I am truly blessed.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!