A Few Quick Notes - 629

-Despite a light dusting of snow late yesterday afternoon/evening, the winter continues to be unseasonably warm.  Again today we're expecting temperatures close to five degrees above freezing and I'm not sure if it's even gone down to -20 at any point this month.  It's just bizarre.

-A few months ago I noticed that our oven didn't seem to be heating evenly.  Of course, because it did eventually heat up it took me a while to identify the problem.  That the element in the oven continued to operate as normal made the problem even more baffling.

Finally, after months of procrastination we finally called an appliance service company last week and arranged for a visit by a repairman.  After quickly describing the problem, the service technician got down to work and began disassembling our oven.

Before long panels were off and he was deep in the gut of the thing, where he found that the oven's second element - which was hidden in the side of the oven away from site - was shot.  Fortunately, he had a replacement element on hand and he was able to have the oven back in proper working order in less than an hour.

While we were more than satisfied with the quality of the service call, it seems like a bit of a design weakness to place a replaceable element in a location that requires the oven to be torn apart to reach.  That the first element lasted about fifteen years will hopefully mean that this won't be a service call we will need to make again.

-With our newly functioning oven we've both already completed baking projects.  Yesterday I made a loaf of bread and Jeannette made a small batch of coconut cookies.

-In addition to regular Sunday cleaning and errands, we'll likely have to make a trip to the grocery store later today.  Hurrah!

Cameron - 10
Neil - 0

New Neighbour Day

My gut is that just about a year ago a neighbour across the street decided to move to BC to be closer to her children.  Not surprisingly, this same neighbour placed her house on the market.  Though it did take a few days for the house to sell, it did sell a fair bit more quickly than many of the other houses in our neighbourhood that have been on the market recently (there are two on our street that have to be approaching at least 2 years with no movement).

Sadly, soon after the sale was announced it became clear that the house hadn't been purchased by an individual but by a developer interested in demolishing the cute yellow house occupying the lot and replacing it with two much larger homes.

I get a little hazy about the order of operations, but at some point not long after the sale closed the house entered a partial demolition phase - though the demolition was definitely just partial.  I know the front door was removed and I heard rumours that a few of the fixtures were also removed.  Conveniently, the windows were left handy so that they could be smashed at a later date.

At some point between the point of possession and the time of the final, complete demolition the houses being advertised by the developer were removed from the market.  Though we didn't know what, we could tell that something was in the works.

Eventually, as Summer transitioned to Fall, construction began in earnest on the two houses - which now appeared to be mirror images of one another.  Much to our surprise, the houses went up quickly and work on the finishing touches has continued throughout the Winter.

Of course, during this entire construction phase there has been a single, common For Sale sign between the two newly subdivided lots.  As far as we could tell, neither had sold, nor was there much apparent interest in the semi-complete houses.

Of course, it was just about two days ago that I finally clued in to the fact that these 'houses' aren't really 'houses,' but two suite mini-apartment buildings.  Each building seems to have an upstairs and main floor apartment.  How we didn't clue into this fact until earlier this week I will never know (though I think it's fair to say that the developers didn't make a show of it either).

Anyway, today, just days after noticing the two-flat situation we came home from a walk to discover people moving into one of the main floor flats/suites/units/apartments.  Pretty exciting.

Then, after a few errands, we both came home to a second move-in a little later in the day.

Definitely an exciting development for the two new, as-yet-unstuccoed and unlandscaped buildings across from us.

Though I haven't yet seen much activity from the newly arrived residents, I imagine that over the next few days we'll begin to see a little more of them as they get to know the neighbourhood?

Cameron - 8
Neil - 0

A Few Quick Notes - 628

-Despite technically warmer temperatures on Saturday, both yesterday and today have felt a fair bit warmer.  Sadly, neither of these days has been accompanied by the sunnier skies of Saturday.

-Yesterday was Family Day in Saskatchewan.  Though I tried talking Jeannette into a day trip to Montana and North Dakota (Plentywood and Williston in particular), we spent most of the holiday cleaning the house.  Despite being a little disappointed that we didn't manage an international adventure, I'm quite happy that we did some long-overdue deep cleaning.

-One task I didn't finish yesterday is folding all of the laundry that I did.  Guess I should get down to that shortly (and because I've also changed the sheets since then theres even more to fold).

-In most cases I feel as though if I'm not completely unreceptive to ads, I'm relatively unreceptive to ads.  There are many companies whose ads I know I've heard thousands of time (if you listen to podcasts you know which companies I'm talking about) that I have no interest in patronizing.

One product, despite the low production qualities of most of its ads, I've long been tempted by is CLR - a product that promises to de-calcify household objects.  Even as a child I found this product tempting, though because St. John's has relatively soft water how or when this liquid would be used was never entirely clear.

Since we've lived in Regina the uses for a product that might de-calcify a household objects have become a little clearer.

Since first buying some CLR for Jeannette (so that I could clean our kettle) I've had the pleasure of using this product and observing that it works as advertised and did exactly what I wanted it to do.  It was strangely satisfying to finally buy this product after so many years of ads and then find that it works as advertised.

Oddly, I'm not sure that I have similar feelings about many of the other products I've seen ads for on a regular/daily basis for the past 15 years.

Cameron - 6
Neil - 0

Apparently it's February

So our unseasonably warm winter has continued.  Today we're experiencing temperatures quite a few degrees above freezing accompanied with intermittent blue skies.




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On the whole, the effect is quite palatable.

Unfortunately, we may be due for some rain later this afternoon.  Of course, the upside of any rain would be that it would likely go a long way towards eliminating the small amount of snow that we do have remaining on our lawn.  The downside would be rain in February - and one of the best things about Regina is that it doesn't typically have rain in February.

Cameron - 3
Neil - 0

Biggish Dig - 4

After several weeks of developments that made the site actually look like something of a 'dig' (meaning there was a hole) we've now returned to a relatively flat construction site (but with piles sticking out of the ground in a few places).  It's all rather underwhelming and kind of looks as though someone with a drilling rig is just basically driving around and drilling on a whim (though I'm sure that's very far from reality).

The return to flatland (making for rather uncompelling photos) and the addition of a barricade on the portion of the sidewalk that used to take me past the worksite explains the paucity of updates.



I'm hoping that as the days get longer and standing with my hand exposed while I reach above the fence to take a photo becomes more pleasant I'll begin to take a few photos and observe the process more closely.



Despite the apparent slow progress, it's still quite entertaining to watch this process unfold.

Cameron - 2
Neil - 0

Winter so far

Somehow, despite the fact it feels as though we just moved here, we are in the midst of our fourth winter in Regina.  Under normal circumstances this would mean that at this point in the year we'd be clad head to toe in various thermal garments and be making last-minute trips to the car at 10:30 PM when we realized that we'd not plugged it in.

Instead, because it has been a record breaking winter, we often choosing spring jackets (or on one occasion two nights ago - no jacket) and we haven't even gone so far as to locate our car's block heater cord.  On one or two of the colder days I did dig out my ski mask, but that was probably more just to do it than because it was necessary.

Strangely, at least so far, the milder weather has not meant more storms or snow.  As of a few days ago, the last time I heard any reporting on the matter, we were well below 10 cm of show for the season.  While we don't typically get much snow here, we do typically get a fair bit more than 10 over the course of several months of winter.

And the impact of this minimal total snowfall has been mitigated by several days of temperatures above zero.  The past two days have been particularly impactful as they've been accompanied by very clear skies.  The effect was such that we now have largish patches of (brown) grass showing.

Despite the mild weather that we've had through the end of January there's still plenty of time for things to take a turn for the worse in February, March and April.  Of course, if we're able to maintain the current trajectory I don't think anyone will be complaining.

Biggish Dig - 3

Big, big developments on the worksite.

As of yesterday, they have begun to actually deliver construction materials to the site.

Similarly, though this thing arrived a few days ago, it seems that each day more equipment has been showing up on the work site.  At the moment I'd say that most days are averaging almost ten pieces of equipment and about seven pick-up trucks.

This guys are making very quick work of the remnants of the foundation.  Much to my surprise they made quick work of the foundation floor.  At this rate they will have completed the demolition by the end of the week.

Presumably once the demolition the excavation will extend beyond this kind of thing.

Really don't quite get this point of this kind of activity.

Biggish Dig - 2

Somewhat surprisingly, given the history of the project, excavation has continued at quite a pace.  Even with just a single digging tool good progress was being made.

Of course, there was a hell of a lot of work to do.  And on the educational front, who knew that there was so much rebar hidden in the basements of old buildings?  This must be what they mean when they talk about re-inforced concrete?

Eventually a second digging tool, though smaller, was added to the mix.  This little guy's now been going at it hard for days.  Unfortunately, because I don't get a chance to watch them in action for much more time than it takes me to walk past the job site, I can't say how much of a contribution this guy is making to the original machine.  Presumably it's doing something useful?

Maybe it helps sort the rebar from the cement?

Maybe even more significant than the ramping up of the excavation of the old foundation is that the pile driving/drill has been moving around the work site and fitted with a drill attachment.

In a few instances I've even been lucky enough to see it actually drilling into the ground - suggesting that the project is working on tasks parallel to the foundation excavation.  Sadly, despite the use of this machine on a least a few of the last few days, I still haven't seen much evidence that it's digging/driving efforts extent much past the first few inches of top soil.

Then a few days ago this pile of dirt seemed to come from nowhere.  Weird.

If they're not careful they'll end up with a perfectly manicured cement floor six feet below ground level.

Of course, while I don't get to see all of these exciting developments as they happen I am starting to get the sense that I am at least getting the chance to feel some of the more significant developments.  With increasing frequency I am starting to feel a variety of vibrations as I pass my time working at my desk.  I am worried that if the shaking and jiggling is this bad without pile driving, I could really be in for a treat once the pile driving starts.

A Few Quick Notes - 626

-It seems we've finally begun to move towards late Fall and then Winter.  A few days ago we had our first flurries of the season and we've not had a real snowfall enter the forecast (though I'm not completely convinced it will materialize).

-I guess that means it's finally time to start thinking about putting the snow back on the car?  It feels as though we only took them off a few weeks ago.  Bummer.

-Much to our surprise we ended up with about 72 Trick or Treaters by the time we made our way across town for a party.  Had we stayed we surely could have broken 80 as the streets were still teeming as we pulled out of the driveway.  At least from the candy perspective it was good we left when we did - we were basically on empty.

-As we spoke to a neighbour and her son just before we left we were informed that one of our other neighbours (on the de classe side of the street which isn't technically even on our street) was jumping out and chasing kids with a real chain saw.  Maybe this had a negative impact on our numbers?

-To attend our Halloween party I dressed as a Saturday morning hockey Dad.  Of course, because I have no idea what a Saturday morning hockey dad really looks like I just wore my paint and tar stained jeans (they're my only jeans), a tee shirt, a flannel jacket/overshirt, and a toque.  Of course, I also grabbed the largest size coffee available from Canada's favoured coffee retailer.  I'm not really sure if I looked like a hockey dad at all, but at least I got to look like a dirt bag for a bunch of uncostumed people at the party.

Biggish Dig - 1

One of the most prominent intersections in Regina is where Albert Street and Victoria Avenue cross.  Not only is this intersection significant because it is the meeting point of two of Regina's most important thoroughfares, but also because it, more or less, marks the centre of the city.

Since before we moved to Regina in late 2012 this intersection has been notable for another reason, one having nothing to do with its significance as the meeting place of Regina's major north/south and east/west routes, but that for years one corner of this intersection has been nothing but a vacant lot.

Of course, for years there was talk of a major condo/hotel development.

For years nothing happened.

Eventually they swapped out the old fence surrounding the site for a new see-through fence.

Progress!

Then in September it was announced that in October real would start on the development.  Finally.

Of course, the real work wasn't scheduled to begin until after Thanksgiving.

When a single backhoe and dump truck showed up and seemed to move some old pavement around for a few days I wasn't particularly convinced the project was really a go.

Of course, after quite a number of days of similar action/equipment my hopes weren't much lifted.

Eventually, in time for the October 28, 2015 photo op this pile driver was delivered.  Aside from its use as a backdrop for the photo op I don't get the sense that this has done anything much yet.  And as my understanding of piles is that they aren't driven until excavation has been done, that six levels of parking excavation are still incomplete/not started I can't see how this thing is going to be of much use for the next few months.

Of course, it wasn't until yesterday/today that I've really started to have any faith that the project is really going to move forward.  Finally, for as far as I can tell, the first time obvious attempts at excavation were in the works.

Of course, what this excavation seems to show is that the hotel that was previously on this site was only partially demolished.  The top was knocked down while the foundation was left to rot/be dug out years later.  Now that I see how much demolition is still required before true excavation can start I am worried that much progress will be made before Winter sets in.

Of course, one of the real reasons I'm particularly interested in this construction site has nothing to do with the significance of the intersection or it's impact on the re-development of downtown Regina - but because my new job is located in the building next to the construction site.  

Days after I arrived is when they years delayed project finally started.

Even though we're only a few days into real work transpiring the sidewalk I pass along to get to work is already covered with mud - a problem that is only likely to grow worse with continued excavation.

So I guess at the heart of it I'm really just another NIMBYer, or at least a LMSTPPACSWRINer (Let's Make Sure This Project Proceeds According to Code and Schedule and With Respect for Its Neighbours).

I'll do my best to keep you updated until this whole thing is complete, which should be some time in 2018.

Hooray for timing!

A Few Quick Notes 625

-While we had grey skies and a little rain today, I think I still have to classify the day as generally nice.  Most importantly, the temperatures, which can really start to dip in October in Regina, have stayed relatively warm.

-After a few weeks of procrastinating I finally got around to calling my home insurance company about our most recent renewal rate, which was a fair bit more than I expected.  The explanation for the jump, which made more sense than I expected, paired with being walked through various fee lowering options made for a relatively pleasant experience.  Of course, the online quote from their competitor that I was trying to grab at the same time which eventually came in much higher than what we're paying didn't hurt either.  Apparently I wasn't being ripped off as much as I feared I was.

-Well, there's nothing like a parliamentary election to make for good TV viewing on a Monday night.  And of course it's hard to be an election result that will likely lead to two leadership contests in the near future.  The only bummer in all of this is that the two parties (one is certain and the other seems likely) that may be in search of a new leader both use various universal membership voting mechanisms to select their leader.  As a view of political events I much prefer delegated conventions with real on-the-floor horse trading.

-Also, I can't recommend viewing a Canadian election in Regina enough.  Things kicked off with the polls closing in Newfoundland just as we returned home from work.  30 minutes later the rest of Atlantic Canada entered the mix.  Just as the first 33 races were pretty much resolved we had enough time for a quick walk around the neighbourhood before the major onslaught of polls everywhere from Quebec to Alberta closing.  By about 8:00 PM the final outcome was really starting to come into focus.  We were basically in bed at our normal hour.  (Of course, our riding - Regina Lewvan - was one of the last to be resolved and was so close that it may now be subject to a re-count.)

Back in Newfoundland election viewing means a very late night with the excitement not really even starting until after when I'd want to be in bed.  It's all very uncivilized.

A Few Quick Notes 624

-We are in the midst of an almost perfect fall in Regina.  After a few near-frost days the temperatures have really warmed up and the skies have been free of intrusive clouds.

-Of course, while the weather has been great the leaves have been turning (and falling) at a remarkable rate.  In just about a week the tree in our front yard went from green to yellow to empty.

Of course, other trees aren't changing quite as quickly and it is a great time to walk around on many of Regina's well-maintained trails.

Seriously, it's hard to imagine a much more beautiful time of year in Regina.

-And of course, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to take a related time-lapse video



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-For some reason I've been quite pie-inclined for the past few weeks.  I'm really having to restrain myself from cranking two or three pies (as I did last weekend).

I think I'm going to crack.

Three years

It's been almost three years since Jeannette and I moved to Regina (one month shy of three years if you want to be precise).  Of course, we moved to Regina because I accepted a job that was based here.  Fortunately, since we moved here Jeannette, who was originally working from home for her Ottawa-based employer, has also found a great job in her preferred field.

Now, almost three years later, I've accepted another job.  The new job, which I start on Thursday, is also in Regina.  This time, though rather than being in a library, it is a policy analysis position.

Because when I accepted my first job in Regina I expected to be with that employer for the foreseeable future I have had to come to terms with that reality not really coming to pass.  Instead, I'm leaving the position less than three years after arriving (and it feels as though I just arrived).  Though the change is happening in just a few days it still feels a little unreal.

Maybe more significant change than simply changing employers is that the nature of my work is about to change rather dramatically.  Perhaps not surprisingly, I expect that in this policy analysis role I'll have to do a fair bit more analytical writing than I do than in my current position.  Of course, this feature of the job is something that attracted me to the position in the first place.

A Few Quick Notes 623

-As noted previously, today has been a fair bit cooler than forecast.  To the best of my knowledge, these cooler temperatures can all be attributed to the sun-blocking powers of massive quantities of throat and lung-irritating smoke.  It seems reasonable to assume that as long as the smoke sticks around the temperatures will stay down, which is nice because it's not really open window weather at the moment.

-We've finally started harvesting food from our garden.  So far we've managed to grab a few early kale leaves, some celery stalks, and quite a number of green onions.  I suspect that for the next few weeks, at least until the peas come in, we'll more or less be suck with these three vegetables.

-On the fruit front we've also managed to grab a few raspberries and a few handfuls of haskap.  While the haskap are likely just about done for the year, our real raspberry harvest is still probably a few weeks away.  Hopefully by next year, when all of our plants are a little more established, we should really have good production from both types of plants.  Sadly, our strawberries, now relocated to the front of the house, don't look as though they'll ever do all that much.

-Since some library school friends in town for a conference paid us a visit a few weeks ago Jeannette and I have been a little obsessed with tofu shish kebabs.  Prepared with the broiler or the barbecue, these things are really great.

Nasty hail storm in Regina

After weeks with no precipitation of consequence, we finally experienced a long-brewing summer storm in Regina.  After a few minutes of rain the hail began - and then really came down.


 

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We weren't quite a golf balls, but these marble size hail stones were still capable of doing damage.  By the end of brief hail shower our garden had really been hit hard.  Hopefully we'll be able to recover - though I'm sure many of the plants will be set back by at least a few weeks.

Then, almost as quickly as it all began, it stopped, reverted to rain, and then became sunny.  The whole interlude was maybe only 15 minutes.

Very weird.

A Few Quick Notes 622

-While it is unlikely that we will make it up to the low-twenties, as we did yesterday, we have every indication that today will be at least another passable Spring day - if a little overcast.

-To take advantage of yesterday's great weather Jeannette and I spent much of the morning walking around our neighbourhood and the downtown area.  First we made our way to the city-funded arts centre (which just happens to be a few blocks away from us) to visit a showing of local artists works.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to find anything we wanted to buy.

We then made our way up to one of our local coffee shops for some road coffees for our walk to the farmer's market.

Mainly as a justification to head out for a walk, rather than with intent to actually buy anything, we made our way over to the Regina Farmer's market.  Unfortunately, as is normally the case, it was something of a disappointment (and nothing like the Saskatoon Farmer's Market that we visited last Saturday) and we weren't even remotely tempted to buy anything.  As usual, there wasn't even any flour.  What's up with a farmer's market in Saskatchewan not selling flour?

Because the farmer's market is on the same street as the optician from whom I recently purchased glasses I then went to have my glasses adjusted.  For some reason my glasses have been slipping down my nose (a problem I have had with every pair of glasses I have ever owned).  While I think the adjustment helped I'm not sure if the problem has been altogether solved and I fear that I may have to start using my weird little rubber ear piece attachments.  Bummer (particularly, because it this problem that motivated me to buy new frames).

-After a little bit of early yard work (mostly some raking and sweeping) Jeannette talked me into having our first barbecue of the season.  Not surprisingly, it was quite pleasant.

A Few Quick Notes 621

-After very cool temperatures just a few days ago, we've moved into a sunny warm patch.  Yesterday, and hopefully again today, we'll see temperatures above zero and plenty of melting.  Assuming this trend continues as forecast we should see plenty of melting over the next few days.

-Jeannette and I had an incredibly productive and pleasant day yesterday.  We began by walking over to the first Farmer's Market of the season.  Unfortunately, we were going to buy some lentils and barley and that vendor was absent.  From there we made our way to the pet food store and then the downtown shopping district.

After grabbing lunch and taking care of a little downtown shopping we realized that we were just feet and minutes away from a free Regina Symphony Orchestra chamber ensemble concert at the public library.  Amazingly, though we arrived only a few minutes before they were to begin we had a great selection of seats to choose from (within just a few minutes after our arrival almost all of the available seats were taken).

After the concert we spoke with a member of Jeannette's book club and her friend who was visiting from Winnipeg.  Not only were we able to pick up a little inside information about hot Winnipeg restaurants, we learned a little more about the free concert series at the library.

Once we returned home we hopped in the car and made our way out for an afternoon drive.  In our continuing attempt to at least visit many of the towns surrounding Regina we made our way through Pense and Belle Plaine.  Unfortunately, the melting snow and muddy streets likely meant that we weren't seeing these towns at their best.

-Hopefully we will head out for a walk along the creek later this afternoon.

-Because I'm a sucker for this kind of thing I'm watching the Manitoba NDP leadership convention as being streamed by CBC.  Yesterday I followed the Newfoundland NDP convention via Twitter.  I think I'd probably watch/follow almost any delegated convention occurring in Canada - they really make for exciting viewing (whether or not you like the party involved).

-Not having a dishwasher is a real bummer.  It seems that we constantly have a sink full of dirty dishes to do - no matter how many sinks full of dishes I've already done.  Definitely a bummer.

A Few Quick Notes 620

-Though a little warmer today, for the past few days we have been waking up to rather frigid temperatures (in the -35 to -40 with wind chill range).  Fortunately, these temperatures have decreased rather dramatically as the days have progressed and, typically, by evening we're up to a comfortable -20ish.

-I'm 1/4 in this year's Roll Up the Rim to Win competition.  I suspect my only entries will be those I purchased while either traveling to and from Edmonton or while I was in Edmonton.  I'll be surprised if I even get a chance to move up to 1/5.

-With ever lengthening days it has been a treat to walk to and from work in full light this past week.  Of course, paired with the cold temperatures we've been having, the full sun and bright skies have been a little dissonant.

-Over the past few days Jeannette and I have been somewhat obsessively watching Orphan Black, a show staring Regina native Tatiana Maslany (who also happens to have been in the Newfoundland-filmed movie Grown Up Movie Star alongside one of Kirsten's school friends).  Of course, because there aren't all that many episodes currently in existence this will necessarily be a short-lived obsession.

-I'm thinking about trying to drag Jeannette out for a walk along the creek/river today.  Aside from the somewhat cool temperatures, it's a perfect day.

Cameron - 14
Neil - 0

Definitely a storm

I rather prematurely doubted the severity of today's forecast storm.

Soon after my post things really began to pick up.



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Of course, just as things were picking up we had to head out for my optometry appointment (and a trip to the local Asian grocery store).

Not only was the blowing snow really quite good at reducing visibility, but the cold temperatures (almost -40 with the windchill) and high humidity (about 80%) were causing cars' windows to frost up in a most impressive fashion.  I've never experienced anything quite like it.

Normally, when it's this cold the major upside is low humidity (including a low risk of snow).  Somehow, we've managed to get everything today.



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Fortunately, the snowing is supposed to stop in a few hours.  I guess once it does I will have to head out and take care of some shovelling.  Yum!

Cameron - 11
Neil - 0

Big bad snow storm?

So, for the first time this winter in Regina we've been warned that a snow storm may be on our way.  Of course, I thought it was supposed to start hours ago and presently it's just begun to snow lightly - so I'm not altogether what this says about the impact of the forecast storm.  Is it just a little late?

Of course, one of the things I find funny about this storm is that it is supposed to bring with it 10-15 cm of snow.  In other parts of the country this quantity of snow would hardly be worth noticing - particularly during a winter when the eastern portion of the continent has been hit repeatedly with more substantial blasts.

To be a little fairer to this region, even a relatively small amount of snow and wind can make driving, particularly highway driving, quite dangerous.  As there is almost nothing to stop snow from blowing once clear streets and highways can instantly, or so it seems, have snow patches that might impact the trajectory of one's vehicle.  Even days after a snowfall light and fluffy snow can be blown around in ways that are problematic for drivers.

What makes this storm particularly notable, though, is that it is supposed to be taking place while it is relatively cold (-21ish and with a windchill of -37ish).  Normally when it is this cold we don't get all that much snow - and we certainly don't have snowstorms in these conditions.

I guess we will just have to wait and see if the storm does materialize.

Cameron - 9
Neil - 0