-After a few days of regular thundershowers and downpours we've had a few rain free days. While the days haven't been quite as sunny or warm as I expected, they've nonetheless been a welcome change of pace. Actually, aside from the fact that they're not quite as sunny as I'd like they've been almost perfect (not to windy or hot or humid).
-Today we went to an open house/jazz concert that was held down the street from where we live. Not only did the open house allow us to see one of the units in a row-house complex we'd been contemplating when we were in the housing market, we got to hear the jazz band while were outside working in our yard. The only bummer was that by the time I was finally ready to go the jazz band had finished their show and was packing up. I guess this will teach me to be a bit prompter next time I was to see a free outside show.
-The regular pea pod stir-frys we've been having with our backyard-grown pea pods have been really wonderful. I think that next year we'll have to consider doubling the portion of our garden we devote to peas.
-Our very own sweet little Marie has been really misbehaving the past few days. It's been a real bummer following her around just to clean up her messes. We're hoping that now that we've switched her back to the kitty litter she'd been using for her first few months with us that she'll calm down (but that may be too hopeful).
-As of this week the our house is now completely repainted. The body of the house is purple and the trip is a cream colour. We both are quite please with the outcome.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the colour change seems to be attracting a fair bit of attention. Most drivers seem unable to drive by without at least slowing, some even come to a complete stop. Pedestrians, as you might have guessed, are also frequently stopping to look at our newly purple house. I get the impression that the people of Regina aren't quite used to houses being painted purple.
-I guess it's time for me to get back to dinner. Hopefully it hasn't burned in my absence.
Showing posts with label Home Decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Decorating. Show all posts
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 379
-It seems that for the past few days it has been hovering around, or just above, zero celsius. One of the most noticeable results is that much of the snow that was on the ground when we arrived has now melted and been replaced with greenish grass. The unpleasant side of this is that it has been quite grey and overcast since we returned home. There has certainly not been a day that I would consider calling nice.
-My uncle flew in from Newark last night. Unfortunately, his flight was delayed by about three hours and one of his bags lost in transit. Sadly it seems that this is pretty standard for this airline on this flight. My father said that he recently read that this particular flight had a 0 out of 5 rating in terms of being on time.
The only good news is that given my Uncle's familiarity with the flight he was able to pack so that his carry-on bag had many of his essentials.
-It seems that Neil, Rebecca, and I will be going to a Christmas party/Housewarming at a childhood friend's new house. Other parties thrown by this friend and his wife have tended to be quite incredible. Unfortunately, I feel a little out of the partying mood, so I am looking forward to attending less than I should be.
-My sister and Uncle, with a little help from me, placed the Christmas tree in the Christmas tree stand. As of right now it is still undecorated. I presume that decorating won't happen until tomorrow afternoon, though it is possible that some could take place in the morning.
-I should probably get going. There are a few things I should attend to before I head out to the aforementioned party.
-My uncle flew in from Newark last night. Unfortunately, his flight was delayed by about three hours and one of his bags lost in transit. Sadly it seems that this is pretty standard for this airline on this flight. My father said that he recently read that this particular flight had a 0 out of 5 rating in terms of being on time.
The only good news is that given my Uncle's familiarity with the flight he was able to pack so that his carry-on bag had many of his essentials.
-It seems that Neil, Rebecca, and I will be going to a Christmas party/Housewarming at a childhood friend's new house. Other parties thrown by this friend and his wife have tended to be quite incredible. Unfortunately, I feel a little out of the partying mood, so I am looking forward to attending less than I should be.
-My sister and Uncle, with a little help from me, placed the Christmas tree in the Christmas tree stand. As of right now it is still undecorated. I presume that decorating won't happen until tomorrow afternoon, though it is possible that some could take place in the morning.
-I should probably get going. There are a few things I should attend to before I head out to the aforementioned party.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
That time of the year
As American Thanksgiving has come and gone it is now officially holiday decorating season. Like last year I decided to go with hand-made paper snowflakes and a single string of Christmas lights. Hopefully this will be visible but not overstated (one never wants to make such decorations too obvious). Also, if I keep things to a minimum I am less likely to annoy either Rebecca or Neil with my decorating scheme.
Yes, this second picture is of our corn. It has done shockingly well considering that it was planted in Halifax in late August. Though it may be hard to see this in the photo, it seems that he corn is sporting the tussles that are common to mature corn. As of yet we still don't have any evidence of ears of corn, though I expect that these will show up in the very near future.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Apartment Update 2
-Today, after taking a shower, I noticed that a section of our bathroom floor seemed to be covered in water. More surprising was that it was quite clear that this water did not come from the bathtub area, but from a seemingly non-existent source. After some investigation Nithum and I failed to locate the source. Fortunately, it seems that the water did not continue to accumulate and lead to a substantial problem.
-Various sections of our parquet floor seem to be no longer attached to the sub-floor. While this isn't typically much of a problem, it is somewhat annoying to find a section out of place.
-Our walls are still pretty bare. We haven't really put much of anything up to cover our plain white walls.
-Though I thought I had figured out a way around it, our oven still seems to bake unevenly. I now fear that I will have to put up with this inferior cooking apparatus for the duration of my residency in the apartment.
-A few nights ago, for the first time since I moved in in September, I changed a few light bulbs. As most of our fixtures seem to hold about three bulbs losing one or two isn't a bit problem, allowing me to one undertake the task every few months.
-Various sections of our parquet floor seem to be no longer attached to the sub-floor. While this isn't typically much of a problem, it is somewhat annoying to find a section out of place.
-Our walls are still pretty bare. We haven't really put much of anything up to cover our plain white walls.
-Though I thought I had figured out a way around it, our oven still seems to bake unevenly. I now fear that I will have to put up with this inferior cooking apparatus for the duration of my residency in the apartment.
-A few nights ago, for the first time since I moved in in September, I changed a few light bulbs. As most of our fixtures seem to hold about three bulbs losing one or two isn't a bit problem, allowing me to one undertake the task every few months.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 146
-Today was another unseasonably warm day in Montreal. On my way to school I would guess it that it was approaching 10 degrees, though it has since dropped a little. On top of the warmth we have also had a fair bit of moisture and win kicking around. Moments ago the wind was strong enough to blow my building’s large recycling bins into the street.
It should also be noted that the temperatures appear to be dropping and are forecasted to dip below zero in the coming days, though this is still relatively mild considering the location and that this is supposed to be a harsh winter.
-Last night I was invited to a classmate’s for lunch today. A few of us went over for vegetarian nachos. I was quite impressed with the lentil dish that served as a substitute for ground beef. This dish has inspired me to try lentils again, though I know that I am sure to screw them up, as I seem to be unable to cook beans and legumes properly.
-Upon leaving our host’s house after lunch three of us stopped at Segal’s, a Portuguese grocery store on St. Laurent. The advantage of this store is the range of products, many of which appear to have originated from Portuguese speaking lands, as well as its commitment to low prices.
I ended up purchasing some olive oil, bacon, crackers, and a raspberry pie. Unfortunately, the pie was a bit of a dud and didn’t end up tasting all that much like raspberry. If I had to describe the pie I might say that it tasted like red flavoured goo with a stale crust, fortunately it wasn’t all that expensive.
-Segal’s also sells various salt cod products, most notably full split fillets and split heads. A few months ago, and still kicking around in the back of my head, I was thinking that it might be neat to mount of the cod items on my wall as a decoration. The idea being that in some ways this might be somewhat reminiscent of something that Mary Pratt might do.
Anyway, soon after thinking about the idea the problem of smell came up. Having a salt cod fillet on one’s wall would be a little nauseating after a while, and may frighten any guests away.
As I am lazy and running out of time in Montreal I probably won’t get around to solving this problem (which will also be more difficult as I don’t have that much space), but it seems that I might be able to coat the cod in some kind of clear spray paint or sealer. Several applications of such a product might be enough to seal the smell in and assist in the preservation of the item, as well as making it somewhat more rigid that such things tend to be in their natural form.
-By tomorrow evening I will have completed my first week of my last semester of classes at McGill.
It should also be noted that the temperatures appear to be dropping and are forecasted to dip below zero in the coming days, though this is still relatively mild considering the location and that this is supposed to be a harsh winter.
-Last night I was invited to a classmate’s for lunch today. A few of us went over for vegetarian nachos. I was quite impressed with the lentil dish that served as a substitute for ground beef. This dish has inspired me to try lentils again, though I know that I am sure to screw them up, as I seem to be unable to cook beans and legumes properly.
-Upon leaving our host’s house after lunch three of us stopped at Segal’s, a Portuguese grocery store on St. Laurent. The advantage of this store is the range of products, many of which appear to have originated from Portuguese speaking lands, as well as its commitment to low prices.
I ended up purchasing some olive oil, bacon, crackers, and a raspberry pie. Unfortunately, the pie was a bit of a dud and didn’t end up tasting all that much like raspberry. If I had to describe the pie I might say that it tasted like red flavoured goo with a stale crust, fortunately it wasn’t all that expensive.
-Segal’s also sells various salt cod products, most notably full split fillets and split heads. A few months ago, and still kicking around in the back of my head, I was thinking that it might be neat to mount of the cod items on my wall as a decoration. The idea being that in some ways this might be somewhat reminiscent of something that Mary Pratt might do.
Anyway, soon after thinking about the idea the problem of smell came up. Having a salt cod fillet on one’s wall would be a little nauseating after a while, and may frighten any guests away.
As I am lazy and running out of time in Montreal I probably won’t get around to solving this problem (which will also be more difficult as I don’t have that much space), but it seems that I might be able to coat the cod in some kind of clear spray paint or sealer. Several applications of such a product might be enough to seal the smell in and assist in the preservation of the item, as well as making it somewhat more rigid that such things tend to be in their natural form.
-By tomorrow evening I will have completed my first week of my last semester of classes at McGill.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 140
-Today has been another cool, clear day. As there hasn’t been all that much wind the cool temperatures have not been all that problematic.
-At about 1:00 AM last night about 10 police cars, with their lights flashing, congregated on the corner of Milton and Parc. Neither Nithum nor I could figure out what was going on.
It seems that the cars raced to the location with their sirens blaring and lights flashing, only to stop at the aforementioned location. Once there, cars were able to pass without interruption on Parc, and weave through from Milton to Parc.
For about 15 minutes the police cars just seemed to sit near the corner, lights flashing. Then the police cars, without a reason being obvious, left as quickly as they arrived.
-Yesterday morning I baked two loaves of bread for breakfast. Though I have now done this on a multiple of occasions, I hope that I soon learn that bread really takes to long to prepare to be considered a appropriate thing to make for breakfast.
-Today, for no apparent reason, I baked some raspberry almond bars. Maybe later this evening I will try to sample this batch.
-Several days ago I moved my bike from street level to our balcony. A few days after that I moved my bike from our balcony to our living room. For the past number of days it has been sitting below our living room window, not particularly doing much of anything.
As the bike has been doing much these days, except taking up space, and as we don’t have a Christmas tree, nor as we likely to obtain one, I requested Nithum’s permission to decorate the bike in a seasonal fashion. Nithum OKed the idea and I have since started to adorn the bike with paper snowflakes, Christmas lights, and our lone commercially produced ornament.
-Today I read that there are 82 000 000 people in Germany and 79 000 000 cell phones. I also learned that Austria, Belgium, and China are Germany’s three largest trading partners.
-It seems that in the past few years I have started to combine foods in a frying based almost solely on availability. For instance, tonight for dinner I took out the frying pan threw in red onions, garlic, mashed potatoes, couscous, celery, and wiener schnitzel. Though I was satisfied with the result I can’t imagine that I will ever encounter it again (except the portion that was leftover and that I will eat either tonight or tomorrow).
-At about 1:00 AM last night about 10 police cars, with their lights flashing, congregated on the corner of Milton and Parc. Neither Nithum nor I could figure out what was going on.
It seems that the cars raced to the location with their sirens blaring and lights flashing, only to stop at the aforementioned location. Once there, cars were able to pass without interruption on Parc, and weave through from Milton to Parc.
For about 15 minutes the police cars just seemed to sit near the corner, lights flashing. Then the police cars, without a reason being obvious, left as quickly as they arrived.
-Yesterday morning I baked two loaves of bread for breakfast. Though I have now done this on a multiple of occasions, I hope that I soon learn that bread really takes to long to prepare to be considered a appropriate thing to make for breakfast.
-Today, for no apparent reason, I baked some raspberry almond bars. Maybe later this evening I will try to sample this batch.
-Several days ago I moved my bike from street level to our balcony. A few days after that I moved my bike from our balcony to our living room. For the past number of days it has been sitting below our living room window, not particularly doing much of anything.
As the bike has been doing much these days, except taking up space, and as we don’t have a Christmas tree, nor as we likely to obtain one, I requested Nithum’s permission to decorate the bike in a seasonal fashion. Nithum OKed the idea and I have since started to adorn the bike with paper snowflakes, Christmas lights, and our lone commercially produced ornament.
-Today I read that there are 82 000 000 people in Germany and 79 000 000 cell phones. I also learned that Austria, Belgium, and China are Germany’s three largest trading partners.
-It seems that in the past few years I have started to combine foods in a frying based almost solely on availability. For instance, tonight for dinner I took out the frying pan threw in red onions, garlic, mashed potatoes, couscous, celery, and wiener schnitzel. Though I was satisfied with the result I can’t imagine that I will ever encounter it again (except the portion that was leftover and that I will eat either tonight or tomorrow).
Monday, July 02, 2007
My Long (Work) Weekend
Last fall my parents told me that my sister was to have her room redecorated and the windows replaced. All of this was to be accomplished by the time that I returned home for Christmas. Unfortunately the work was not done in the fall, nor was it done in the winter (because of the presence of snow). Though spring was a possibility, that didn’t really happen either (but much of the furniture had been removed and placed in my room because of this possibility). Eventually, about a month ago, the windows were finally replaced, though none of the other work was completed. This meant that the room had to be painted, the carpet removed and replaced, and the moulding replaced.
Late last week my father informed me that we would be proceeding with the project this weekend and that he expected my help. So while I can’t say that I really volunteered, I was keen to assist if it meant it would hasten the removal of the excess furniture from my room, and possibly allow me to access my desk, dresser and floor within a few days.
Saturday
The first task on Saturday morning was to install the new moulding around the floor and closet. While this would seem a relatively straightforward task there were a few hiccups. In particular, we seemed to be unable to accurately measure any of the boards that we cut, frequently necessitating a second cut. A more particular problem, which occurred in only two instances, was that we had to chisel out the back of the moulding to create a channel for phone cords. Fortunately these modifications went relatively smoothly, and seem to look just fine.
About five hours (and much frustration) later we were able to move on to the first coat of primer. While I got off to a slow start, things eventually started to speed up and were able finish the first coat without delaying dinner by too great a period of time.
The period of time immediately after dinner was actually spent on a pruning project that my mother and I had noticed earlier in the day. For this project I had to climb one of the front maples and cut of a branch with about a 3 inch diameter. It was also decided that a few smaller branches could also be removed. Once these several branches were down they had to be cut up and then tidied.
Shortly after the pruning operation was wrapped up we were able to head back upstairs and start on the second coat of primer. From my perspective, this coat seemed to progress a little more quickly than the first. The only problem we encountered was that we did not have enough paint to complete one of the walls.
By about 11:00 PM we wrapped up for the evening. All in all, it was a pretty full day.
Sunday
While we started working a little later on Sunday, we were still able to accomplish a fair bit.
The main task of the day was to apply two layers of the top coat, a light pink colour. Like the second coat of primer, this process moved along relatively quickly. Because we had assisted the drying process with several fans we were quickly able to move from the first coat to the second coat. The process was made more efficient by a division of labour, I cut in while my father rolled.
Amazingly, we were able to finish the day’s work without delaying dinner. Though the day was much shorter than Saturday, I was still quite tired when all was said and done.
Monday
The least amount of work was scheduled for Monday. The plan was to give a first coat to the moulding and then paint the closet doors. The moulding seemed take only an hour or so to paint. Amazingly, the doors, because we each took one set, also only took an hour or so to paint. From start to finish, we likely only took about three hours, maybe even a little less.
On the other hand, before the day is out we may have to start re-installing some shelving units and maybe apply a second coat of paint to the moulding. Though, even with these several additional projects, I don’t think that the number of hours of work will be as much as either of the two preceding days.
As much as this wasn’t how I planned on spending my Canada/Memorial Day weekend, I am pleased with the progress that was made in terms of removing the extra furniture from my room. Accessing my desk should be a particular pleasure in the coming weeks.
Late last week my father informed me that we would be proceeding with the project this weekend and that he expected my help. So while I can’t say that I really volunteered, I was keen to assist if it meant it would hasten the removal of the excess furniture from my room, and possibly allow me to access my desk, dresser and floor within a few days.
Saturday
The first task on Saturday morning was to install the new moulding around the floor and closet. While this would seem a relatively straightforward task there were a few hiccups. In particular, we seemed to be unable to accurately measure any of the boards that we cut, frequently necessitating a second cut. A more particular problem, which occurred in only two instances, was that we had to chisel out the back of the moulding to create a channel for phone cords. Fortunately these modifications went relatively smoothly, and seem to look just fine.
About five hours (and much frustration) later we were able to move on to the first coat of primer. While I got off to a slow start, things eventually started to speed up and were able finish the first coat without delaying dinner by too great a period of time.
The period of time immediately after dinner was actually spent on a pruning project that my mother and I had noticed earlier in the day. For this project I had to climb one of the front maples and cut of a branch with about a 3 inch diameter. It was also decided that a few smaller branches could also be removed. Once these several branches were down they had to be cut up and then tidied.
Shortly after the pruning operation was wrapped up we were able to head back upstairs and start on the second coat of primer. From my perspective, this coat seemed to progress a little more quickly than the first. The only problem we encountered was that we did not have enough paint to complete one of the walls.
By about 11:00 PM we wrapped up for the evening. All in all, it was a pretty full day.
Sunday
While we started working a little later on Sunday, we were still able to accomplish a fair bit.
The main task of the day was to apply two layers of the top coat, a light pink colour. Like the second coat of primer, this process moved along relatively quickly. Because we had assisted the drying process with several fans we were quickly able to move from the first coat to the second coat. The process was made more efficient by a division of labour, I cut in while my father rolled.
Amazingly, we were able to finish the day’s work without delaying dinner. Though the day was much shorter than Saturday, I was still quite tired when all was said and done.
Monday
The least amount of work was scheduled for Monday. The plan was to give a first coat to the moulding and then paint the closet doors. The moulding seemed take only an hour or so to paint. Amazingly, the doors, because we each took one set, also only took an hour or so to paint. From start to finish, we likely only took about three hours, maybe even a little less.
On the other hand, before the day is out we may have to start re-installing some shelving units and maybe apply a second coat of paint to the moulding. Though, even with these several additional projects, I don’t think that the number of hours of work will be as much as either of the two preceding days.
As much as this wasn’t how I planned on spending my Canada/Memorial Day weekend, I am pleased with the progress that was made in terms of removing the extra furniture from my room. Accessing my desk should be a particular pleasure in the coming weeks.
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