Keeping it real in the suburbs
It’s been really, really hot. Which I’m sure most of you are aware. Went out golfing yesterday in Langley where it hit about 33 degrees. Luckily today I’m working the day shift in the air conditioning at Global.
Tomorrow morning our kitchen floors go in.
Whistler was a great time, the condo was very nice, and as you can see I had some fun in the snow. Pictures are here.
Started painting the moulding around the sunroom and the mantle above the fireplace in the family room. The paint gets really runny in this kind of heat, and after talking to someone at work, I think I should probably look at the instructions on the can and see if I can apply it when the temperature is this high. I may go back tonight and do another coat at midnight just to give it a chance to dry when it’s cool out.
Heather and Steve are coming into town on the weekend, and we’re looking forward to seeing them. Everyone stay cool!
We went up to Whistler this past weekend with our friends Aaron, Lauren, Jason, Amy, and Shelly. It was beautiful, but very hot, and we had a great time. Most notably, we played boys against girls at Cranium and Trivial Pursuit, and the girls wiped the boys off the map at both games. I think that we can all draw the logical conclusion.
Now that we’re home, we’re back to work at our jobs and our renovations. We made an Ikea trip tonight, and have been touching up paint in the few places that need it. Up next–we need a creative window covering solution for the sunroom, because the old blinds are beyond repair. Then, we’re hoping to get at least some of the baseboards in this weekend. No rest for the home improving.
After much work on the part of Jon and I, I actually have something resembling a family room, at long last. So far the sum total contents are two bookshelves, a lamp, some wall sconces, and Tilly, but at least the boxes containing all of our belongings are pretty much history. It’s very exciting–now we just need something to sit on. I think we may have room in the budget for a beanbag chair–what do you guys think? We can decorate it in a style I like to call ‘Starving Student Chic’. Now, if only I could find some milk crates for a coffee table …
Today we’re off to Whister for a weekend of R&R with some friends. We’re staying in a condo with Aaron, Lauren, and Lauren’s friend Shelly. I’m looking forward to doing some reading, walking, and relaxing without having to do any renovations on the place we’re staying.
On that front, the family room is now clean. Tilly has now settled into her new more spacious home. Apparently all is not happy down in piggyland. Although the room is a lot cooler than the old digs in the spare bedroom, there is a distinct lack of furniture for her to hide under. It’s looks like we’re going to have to get some furniture in the family room, if only to give the Pig someplace to hide.
Time to go workout
Hey Everybody. Haven’t been posting for awhile because we’ve been too busy enjoying our new kitchen. It’s so nice to be able to make breakfast on dishes that actually wash.
I see that quite a few of you have been checking out the video of my ceiling painting adventures. With the new Windows media files, it’s pretty amazing how easy it is to create video that can stream on your website. Not like the old days of needing special RealVideo software and the accompanying server side setup. Now you just make the file, post it, and people can watch the stream over a regular HTTP server. I know this may be a little boring to some of you, but to us computer geeks it’s a pretty major advance.
The kitchen floor is the next thing. It will be the same laminate hardwood that we have in the living room, and it’s going to be installed on Friday, August 1st if everything goes right. I’ll post some new pictures a little later. Time to work on the Jon Strocel Inc. taxes. At least I’ve managed to gather all the bank statements and reciepts, which I think is most of the battle.
Our kitchen and bathroom countertops and sinks, as well as our dishwasher and stove, went in this weekend. After only a few days with a functioning kitchen, Jon and I both heartily recommend having a full kitchen. A house with a kitchen is much better than a house without a kitchen, in our experience.
We took advantage of our newly-kitchened status to host two dinners this weekend. First, our friends Aaron and Lauren came over on Saturday to eat our first meal in our new house with us. Then, yesterday my family came over to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. All in all, both meals were wonderful, and Jon and I are so happy that we were able to host them. Perhaps it’s the novelty, but cooking in our new kitchen is great!
I’m beginning to see the end of our lack of kitchen. It’s actually pretty exciting at this point to think I’m going to be able to eat an actual meal in my house for the first time. Good times all around.
I had a very bad mother moment last night. I let Tilly out of her cage, and I decided it was safe to leave the room. It was pretty much piggy-proofed, and I put a suitcase in the doorway to block her exit. I thought she would be fine without me.
Half an hour later, when I went to check on the pig, she was nowhere to be found. Now, she can’t climb, and she’s 2-3 pounds, so she can’t just disappear. I freaked out, convinced that she had fallen down the stairs or suffocated inside an empty suitcase. Not so. She was quite happily hanging out under our bed, down the hall. She was not so happy when I caught her with my bare hands and returned her to her domicile.
I will be very glad when she can move to her permanent home in the family room this weekend, where there are no stairs to fall down, and where I can hang out with her while she explores. In the meantime, she’s restricted to her cage unless I am right there to watch her. I just can’t handle the stress of another jailbreak. Eek – or should I say squeak!
I was lucky enough to take part in the RDS coverage of the LPGA Event held at Point Grey this weekend. The course is absolutely beautiful and our show went off pretty well on Friday and Saturday. We were basically taking the show from TSN and adding French commentary, interviews, features, etc. It would have been much easier to have an EVS to do the work we needed to do with highlights, etc. I’d forgotten what it’s like to do furious tape-to-tape editing before an event. We’re all spoiled with the EVS systems nowadays.
This week is the big push to get the kitchen operational. I’m really looking forward to being able to cook a meal that does not consist of microwave pasta and yogurt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
