Defying Gravity

The overnight parking ban on Designated Snow Routes starts Monday so we had to pull the panel out of the fence so we could park both vehicles in the back.

When we pulled out the fence, the mirror resting against it refused to fall. This non-typical winter of icy, rainy snow has proven to be very interesting.

Intellectual Pursuits

N1 and N2 play chess while N3 invents stuff with the K'nex.

Are We Going to be a "Big Pond"?

This was on CBC radio yesterday and this item was in today's Free Press.
"Ikea coming to town maybe, in few years

WINNIPEG appears to be next in line in Canada for an Ikea home furnishings store, but don't expect one to spring up here for a few years at least, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The Swedish-based retail giant has identified a parcel of land for development in the city, but it hasn't purchased it yet, Ikea Canada's Madeleine Lowenborg-Frick said from Burlington, Ont.
"It is very premature for us to say anything at this point," she said, and there is no timeline for a Winnipeg here.
"Yes, there is a piece of land that we are interested in, but there is no deal signed on it and we have not purchased the land," Lowenborg-Frick said. She would not say what part of Winnipeg the company has its eyes on.
Winnipeggers have longed for decades for an Ikea store -- huge outlets that carry furnishings and accessories for every part of the home -- but until now they've had to order products by catalogue.
Lowenborg-Frick said Wednesday the city is now a priority for a new store in Canada.
"It is the market that we are taking the most serious look at right now for expansion," she said.
Local developer Sandy Shindleman, president of Shindico Realty Inc., said an Ikea could take 30 acres or more of land. To put that into perspective, Polo Park Shopping Centre complex, excluding the expansion areas that Shindico is working on, is about 40 acres.
Shindleman has followed the Winnipeg-Ikea saga for at least 25 years. "If I had all my money back from my long-distance charges (from) calling Ikea, I could probably buy a three-room group there when they open," he quipped.
Shindleman said he believes that "it's likely a question of when, not if" a store will materialize in the city.
He said potential locations include Kenaston Boulevard, the east side of town or on the northern outskirts, near the capital region's booming bedroom communities.
Premier Gary Doer said Wednesday the provincial government and the city have been meeting Ikea for some time, and he hinted the province may have offered some incentives to lure the company."

It Has Been A Long Time

since I have had such a good steak. Odd to find it in a Greek place.
The Geek and I stopped for supper at the Pembina Village Restaurant. A friend brought it back to my attention when she said she and her husband went there for their anniversary in October.
The last time I was here was with Ruzter and K when K was newly pregnant with Baby A.

Bathroom Reno Phase 9: Bliss

I will no longer take showering at home for granted. During the week I usually shower at the gym, but this certainly will be lovely on the weekends!

I Wish it Were Always This Easy

to clean the bathtub

(can you tell I'm anxious to give it a try?)

It's Just Various Shades of ...White

So, now that we have the first coat of paint, can you tell the difference from when it was just primer alone?

I just compeared the two. Maybe it is a different shade of white.

If Its All White With You, Its All White With Me!

We have primer!!

Still Room for Optimism

False Alarm

Since The Geek made her comment on the previous post, she has done some checking. The door is reversible.
While it isn't easy to see, there is no seal on one side of the door while there is on the other.

She has to move it from one side to the other and then it can be mounted on the wall.

I am CAUTIOUSLY Optimistic

Still Moving Forward

Since The Geek has put up all the tile she can until the floor is installed,

she will also grout what she can.

Multi-use Tools

The Geek's portable air filtration system is good for cleaning dust out of the airand for scaring off menacing aircraft.

Measuring Time

Just how long have we been working on the bathroom?

Long enough to have used an entire tube of toothpaste.

Lulled by the Behemoth's Roar

That beautiful big beast in the basement is apparently alive and well and warming things up nicely.It was balmy in the house when I got up today-as opposed to the 13 degrees it has been for the last few days. (It looks like the thermostat is still on daylight savings time.)

And we beat by 12 days our record from 2005. That is the year we put in the floors and didn't manage to turn the heat on until November 23.

High Pressure Tactics

Since we are now very close to turning on the heat, The Geek uses the compressor and an airgun to clean the radiators.I wish we had thought of this when they were being cleaned up for painting.

Note To The Geek's Dad: This is not standard Canadian housekeeping practice.

Four Stars Who Deserve Five Stars

With all the things that have not gone according to plan, mention must be made of those people and their companies who went beyond expectations, since, it seems, merely doing your job does not happen anymore.
In order of appearance...

Randy, the very knowledgeable and sympathetic owner of WC Potts -not only did Randy sell us the towel rack and all the correct accompanying parts to install it, he also was the man who had the right toilet when the other one was not...suitable. He has also been a wealth of information when it came to where to find rust-inhibitor for the boiler system and for any other questions we had.

Brian, of Brian Sheridan the Window Man, one of the last independent window companies in Winnipeg. He stopped by to measure the window on his way to work. When it was ready his installer showed up, put it in (it fit perfectly by the way) and things have been good ever since.

Debby, of Schluter Systems who sent this response to Tina when Tina, in an email to Schluter, was bemoaning the lack of Kerdi-Fix in Winnipeg.
"Hello Tina, I am sorry to hear about your problem trying to obtain our products. I will send you a tube of KERDI-FIX compliments of Schluter Systems. I will send it by Fed-ex today. You should have it in a few days.
Best regards,
Debby T
Customer Service
Schluter Systems"
Tina gratefully declined the offer since by that point, we had obtained the needed Kerdi-Fix.

Harry of Industrial Water Treatments who gave us a gallon of rust-inhibitor. From his residence since he had brought it home from the 'office'. And refused payment since he said they don't usually deal with residential installations.

A most honourable mention must be made for Burly, the plumber. He had initially said he would do the bathroom for Tina, but his daughter was involved in a serious accident, so he has not been taking on any work beyond his regular job. He has been most helpful with telephone consultations and advice.

We are very appreciative of them all.

Lest We Forget

The Remembrance Day service at Bruce Park, one of several held in the city today.

As Rare as Blue Diamonds

This stuff is extremely hard to find. We have been trying to track it down for several weeks now. One place was expecting their shipment in on November 7. The Geek and I stopped by on the 8th and the store was closed until November 18. I suspect they got their order and promptly scalped all the tubes, enabling them to go on the first of many exotic winter vacations.

Another tile company (which is now on my list of unorganized, and therefore untrustworthy, businesses) took my name twice and promised to advise me when the Kerdi-fix came in. They didn't and The Geek just happened to call today and bought their last tube. They were the only two retailers in town.

But, it has been bought, and applied and that is all that matters!

Bring on the Bulldozers!

The Geek says she is pretty much finished making drywall dust. Let the clean up begin! (She is at this moment wiping down all surfaces in her bedroom. She calls it 'serious habitat destruction.')

Equality, Eh?

When it comes to most things in Canada, men and women are pretty much equal.
There are some areas tho' where I think the guys have it sooo much better (and I am not talking about that whole 'peeing in the bushes' thing).
I was in a department store one time and the directory said Womens' Lingerie and Mens' Furnishings. Now, don't 'furnishings' sound a whole lot more comfortable than 'lingerie'?
The same story was played out again today. We stopped at MEC while we were downtown as The Geek wanted to look at a bigger bicycle helmet to wear over a toque. I figured I would look at wool underwear, (not the long john variety) as the older I get, the colder I get. The womens' underwear hardly looked big enough to keep any part of you warm whereas the mens looked very cosy. I felt somewhat cheated by the whole arrangement, so I bought the mens.

I have to show you two random examples and ask which one you would prefer to wear and be comfortable.
The mens pair (and I may ask at another time why one piece of underwear is called a pair)


or the womens pair (if there is even enough here to be called a pair)?

Potential Versus Real

In this case, we are talking about heat. We are debating whether we should fill the boiler system even if we don't have the rust inhibitor. The fellow who said he would mix up the 'stuff' for us over the weekend, has apparently gone out of town until Monday.
We still have to clean the dusty radiators in the rest of the house so they don't wind up with a baked-on finish once we do turn on the heat, so we have at least one more day to ponder.
Pro: We can test the system for leaks (and have heat) without worrying about getting rust inhibitor all over the bathroom.
Con: We will have to pour the rust inhibitor into the system through a little hole in the towel warmer and risk getting rust inhibitor all over the bathroom.
The weather may decide for us, but so far it doesn't look too bad.

Well, it Looks Like it's Winter

For the last two years I have raked the leaves on Remembrance Day. Even last year when it snowed early in October and the weather people said it would stay, it was gone by Hallowe'en.I don't think the leaves will be raked this November 11 unless I want to do an awful lot of shovelling first.

The Radiator Mounts are Up

and The Geek has sealed the grout on this wall. Now we need the rust inhibitor for the boiler.

Most of the Tile is Up

The Geek has tiled as much as she can until we find some Kerdi-fix (more shin-bone/ear-bone stuff) and grouted the radiator wall.

I Just Don't Get It

On part of my drive home today I found myself next to an SUV with two adults who looked like they had picked up their children on the way home from work. There was no sign of luggage in the back of the car.
I mention this because this SUV had screen in the back of the front seat headrests and both children appeared to be watching a cartoon.
Now I can see how these little 'TVs' in a car would be a godsend on a really long trip, but surely you can think of ways to entertain your children on a 20ish minute trip home at the end of the day.
Who is to blame here? Do the parents not know how to interact with their children? Are they not curious about how they spent their day and what they may have learned? Do the children have such little imagination that they can't entertain themselves for a few minutes in a vehicle? Do they have to be spoon-fed 'thoughts' at all times?
I know that all kids aren't being raised this way so I definitely feel for the ones who are. Especially since that is the generation that will be making decisions when the day comes when I am no longer able to do so for myself.

Future Boots

Or shoes. Or mitts. I have never seen a whole truck load of cow hide before. And this stuff looked like it was newly removed from the cow.

I guess this is how the term 'rawhide' got started.

Still Waiting for a Killing Frost

The coldest temperature we have had in the yard is -2, but that was enough to destroy the tomatoes and the beans. The turnips, parsley and petunias are still very much alive.

It reached 18 degrees here today.

More Hallowe'en Night

The 'hostess' and his mom greet the guests as they arrive.The Geek, surrounded by snakes and caged spiders, is ready to frighten the unsuspecting.

The only reason I recognized myself is because I remembered the blue jacket I was given to wear. At this point we were between guests. When I was in position to startle someone, I was draped over the arm of the chair.

It is a pity that camera flashes are so very bright. This stuff looked much spookier in the dark of a small town.

Now it is the Right Way

This is how the radiator attachment should have been attached as opposed to the way we found it to be on October 11.

Lesson learned: Don't pay most of your plumbing bill. Pay less than half so they won't dilly-dally in getting back to you to fix mistakes.

Hallowe'en at the Pumpkin Patch

We went to friends' in Niverville on Hallowe'en night to help them with their annual interactive display.

The local kids (and adults) take great delight in being frightened in the haunted tour. This year the theme revolved around snakes, last year, dinosaurs and the year before, spiders. The Geek and I were some of the living props.

Kids are amusing. Some would be walking by and I would leap up from where I was draped over a chair and roar. Shrieks, screams and a great deal of teenage bravado would result. " I knew you were real!", " You didn't scare me, dude."," High -five, dude", and the oddest of all, "You smell like pork."

In all, about 290 treats were handed out, and at least 500 people went through the display.

The mom spent the day carving all these pumpkins-she said that evening that her hand was a 'little sore'. I can see the creative juices flow strongly in that family.

And apparently The Geek has developed an affinity for Tyvek suits.

We will post more pictures when we get them.