Deux Hirondelles

Catching up

2010-09-24T13:20:00.000-04:00

Although I've spent much of the summer at the lake, there is not much new to report. Work on the bathroom slowed to a crawl because of my health issues, although we have got the supply plumbing all in now.

It was something like 20+ joints I sweated and NOT ONE leaked. I was so proud, as that's a first for me. Now we're thinking we want to put a tub faucet in the shower, and we actually have an extra one. It would give us a place to fill buckets for cleaning the floor, etc. rather than having to cart them from the utility area downstairs. So, more joints to undo and re-do. Oh, and we removed another wall, to make it easier to get the shower in and out.

Turned out to be a very good thing as we found a short on a wire to the baseboard heater repaired with electrical tape inside the wall. The more we find, the scarier it gets.

I found out the folks that make the flotation base for the dock that we want, Quaibec, are still in business, and their prices are still quite reasonable, so we will likely pick one up this fall. The cedar that used to be the bathroom walls upstairs will become the dock.

I bought a used Honda scooter from a friend. A 2007, bright blue, 379 km. Barely broken in. Excellent price. Was I ever awkward the first time I drove it, but I'm getting the hang of it now. Way cheaper on gas than the SUV for little errands around town.

Four houses sold on our side of the street in the city this summer, and two more around the corner. Prices ranged from $260,000 to $296,000. We should have no problem getting $280K - $285K seven months from now. And we renewed the mortgage for a good rate, for one year, putting us in a better position for selling. We kept the payments the same, putting the extra onto the principal. We were under $200K when we renewed so that's a nice chunk of change in our pockets when we sell. More than enough to cover the exterior renos we have planned, and the equipment acquisitions necessary.

Thanksgiving is almost here. After that, it's the big push to get the city house ready for sale. Germany in December, and we list when we get back, assuming my health issues are on track. If they aren't, the year off gets delayed and that would be a real downer.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

A bonus visit

2010-03-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

Some unforeseen time off for health issues allowed me an unscheduled visit to the lake; two weeks by myself with the dogs then joined for the final week by DS and DD.

Two weeks alone...absolutely wonderful. I missed DS terribly, but loved the solitude. I got out snowshoeing nearly every day, usually for an hour. Got more than 18" of snow in three days the first week. Snowblower and I do not get along. After repair of one part just recently, a whole new part broke during it's third go. At least the drive was quite negotiable by that time.

Weather was absolutely awesome during week 2 and 3: mild, and sunny. The snow would soften and compact during the day, and re-freeze overnight. When I would go out snowshoeing the next morning, it would be hard and I could walk pretty much anywhere I wanted without sinking in at all. The dogs loved it: the lake became one huge level, solid field on which to run and play.

Haven't seen the otter yet, but we did come across some tracks and scat that we believe are from a lynx that has been seen locally. Of course Duster had to roll in it :rolleyes: Good thing it was frozen.

Although I had a long list of little things I could do, I didn't have the energy/drive to do more than just take care of myself and the dogs until the very end of the second week. By then, I decided to tackle removing the box around the beam in the LR. It did take me three days to do it, even though it was something I ought to have been able to do in a few hours. The beam itself, at least the part that shows in the LR, is only about 8" x 8", but the box was 12"+ wide and jutted down almost as much. Because it was made of the shame ship-lap paneling as the walls, there were a lot of lines that made it look very busy, so visually, it was huge.

When DS arrived, we ran expanding foam along it on both sides to seal it. No more moist house air getting into the attic space, and no more mice getting from the attic to the living space. I'm fairly certain the spring water leakage has been from the house air forming frost and then melting, as there has been no problem at all this year, and it's the first year that the hole left by the fireplace has been sealed up and taped/mudded.

Now, the ceiling looks higher and the whole room airier.

The other thing I did was to remove the front wall on the large (8'+) closet in BR2, and move almost all of the tools into it. Our bedroom is now the size it ought to be. It feels so much better to sleep in there now. Almost the same as sleeping in the LR the first year. The shelves and rolling tool boxes/tables all fit into the width of the closet, and the shower curtains I was using to divide our room hides the tools. Perfect solution.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

2010-02-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

We've been working on the upstairs bath. I really want ceramic tile for the backsplash and landing space and wall to the left of the vanity. Ceramic is often costly, the budget is tight, and besides, we don't want to spend more money than absolutely necessary on a bathroom that is going to get very occasional use. I've been checking the home improvement circulars we've been getting, but haven't seen any appropriate tile on sale at ridiculously low prices.

We have a fair bit of tile leftover from the main bath reno in the city house, but it's grey, so doesn't fit into the color scheme chosen for the second bath.

Then I got the idea to paint the grey tiles with ceramic paint, using earthtones. A trip to Michael's netted me what I needed for less than $30. Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paint it on, let it dry 24 hours, then bake it for 35 minutes. The result is tough enough to withstand a dishwasher.

Now, I just have to do some trials and decide the paint method I will use.

From an iPod nano to an iPod Touch...

2010-02-10T19:00:00.000-05:00

...all in the name of health, believe it or not!

Like many, I have waged a life-long battle with excess weight. It's not an information issue. I know what it is I need to do to get and keep my weight down. It's an emotional energy/emotion/energy issue.

A number years back, I discovered Keyoe's Diet and Exercise Assistant software for the Palm OS. I had a Visor, and began using it. It is the single most useful and user-friendly tool I have found for managing my weight, and I have tried a lot of them. Then my Visor died. The software is available for desktop PC, but by then, I had already switched to Mac. And, the mobility was an important factor in the usefulness of the software: being able to make accurate informed choices on-the-go was a snap.

I resigned myself to living without the software for the foreseeable future. In January, once again having the desire and energy to attack my weight, I popped over to Keyoe's website to learn with delight that their software had been re-written for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Yippee!

After a morning of research, I listed my old iPod Nano and went out and bought an 8GB iPod Touch. I would have bought a 32GB if I had known my old Nano would sell so fast, but no matter. The first thing I did was load the Keyoe app onto it and start using it. That was nearly a month ago, and so far, so good. My weight is down, and that's what is important.

I highly recommend the software for anyone serious about managing their weight for their lifetime.

Tech time in the city

2010-02-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

So, the hard drive on my laptop was more than 2/3 full, even after the Snow Leopard upgrade that freed up about 10 GB of space. I tried using an external NAS drive for my music, but the problem with that is if it is not actually spinning when I open iTunes, then the software creates a new directory on my internal HD and any music I buy ends up there if I don't notice (which I didn't).

A little bit of research online revealed that swapping out the HD on a MacBook is easy-peasy. Some very nice folks (on Instructables) have done some great step-by-step instructions. So I started shopping and learned that just over $100 could get me a 640 GB HD...wow. WD Scorpio Blue, a well-reviewed drive with a good reputation. I opted for more space rather than going with a 7200 RPM drive.

Right about the same time, DD discussed with me some plans she had for getting an external drive and a tablet. So we decided on some swapping. I would get the new drive for my MacBook. She gets my old 250 GB, my 1TB external NAS drive and our old wireless router that has been sitting unused for two years. I get her old 120 GB drive (which I would put in an enclosure), her BlueTooth keyboard and some cash. Everybody's happy.

So, some online research reveals that my best deal for the HD is NewEgg. By the time we got back to the city after our cottage visit, it was waiting for me. A few more days of research, to make sure I was all ready, then I started. That's when I learned the smallest Phillips screwdriver we have (size 0)was one size too big to do the job. Off to Canadian Tire to buy one the next day. I get the drive out only to learn that the smallest Torx we have (9) is also one size too big. Back to CT again.

Finally get the new drive in...works like a charm. Over 300 GB of empty spac :-)))) Wait a few days to make sure all is well...yup. Do the process all over again for DD. She's happy too.

So finally, I buy a copy of XP and load it onto BootCamp. It takes me a couple days to get Myst (Masterpiece) running, but I do. That was my primary goal for loading XP: being able to play the entire Myst series. Uru is iffy, though: my on-board video may or may not be supported. Depends on who you talk to. More on that later, though.

So then I start looking into upgrading the HD on the iMac. It's a little more complicated, but not rocket science by any stretch. I also start thinking about increasing the RAM on my MacBook. Although not at their lowest, prices are quite good.

'Round about the same time, DD asks me to make another CD for her. A couple years ago, I did up a collection of songs that I found inspiring and contained messages that I wanted to pass on to her. The idea was triggered by the song 'I hope you dance' by Lee Ann Womack She loved it and later told me she played it a lot when she and her beau broke up. Now, she wants another one.

I start thinking about what songs I might put on it, and don't really have any inspiration. One day, while following a link from one of the blogs I read regularly, I find a song that I had never heard before and I know that it will be on the CD: Do I Make You Proud by Taylor Hicks. A couple days later, while driving, I hear another: Second Chance by Shinedown. Same thing. From no inspiration to two pivotal songs without any effort at all on my part. Life is serendipitous.

So, the CD gets burned onto a LightScribe disc, but it's not ready yet. I want the disc to be a total package, great graphics included. Problem is, DS and I have been without home 'fun' publishing software for several years now. We had really enjoyed having PrintArtist when we first got our first PC, so I start looking into that again. I found a very reasonably priced one, fully loaded, able to do CD labels and family trees, two projects that are important to me right now.

Then, out of the blue, DS starts talking about upgrading our Bell receiver to an HD dual-receiver PVR. A few clicks later and voila! It's on sale at BB and they're offering a year interest-free. Well, while we're at it, why don't I just buy my RAM and get it done?

So I start shopping. Out of curiosity, I ask DS to check the iMac's RAM situation. It has 1GB, as a single stick, which I find odd. But it's the same RAM as my MacBook uses. Which means that I can take one of the sticks out of my MacBook and slap it into the iMac, doubling the RAM. DD also wants to upgrade, but she has two 512MB sticks. So I can sell her one of my used sticks and she can buy one new. A little research shows 1GB sticks are....$30!!??? WTF? Then again, 2GB sticks are about $50 to $60, so that's right. My problem is that I need 2 x 2GB which I must buy new. Everyone else benefits from my tech addiction. Though well under control, it's still an addiction.

Some on-line searching says there's some to be had at FS and BB, but it'll cost me more than if I order it online. I was ready to pay the higher price in the interests of having it now, though. Luckily, despite the website inventory, there is none to be had. We get the dual PVR receiver, and the publishing software. The other software that I have been wanting to get for quite some time is Adobe PhotoShop Elements 8 for Mac. Seems it's hard to find in stock, and neither BB nor FS have it.

Back to NewEgg. This is a good thing, my impatience must be tamed. Two sticks of Corsair RAM ordered, total cost $110, taxes and shipping all in. I would have paid $131 had I bought it locally, either from BB or FS, or even the local computer shop. The bigger shop downtown, 'though they had better prices, didn't have it in stock.

First visit of 2010

2010-01-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

Arrived late evening, as usual. Usually, we loll around a bit, then go to bed, tossing and turning until fatigue gets the best of freezing in an icy bed.

This time was different. On our last visit, a friend had told us he uses an electric blanket to heat his bed every evening. One of those 'why didn't we think of that?' moments. We had considered a heated mattress pad, but they are expensive, and since we won't have a double for very much longer, it seemed an unwise purchase. Timing was perfect, we caught a sale back in the city.

While DS started the woodstove, I opened up the travel bin that rides on the hitchrack. The first thing out was the electric blanket, and in less than 5 minutes, our bed was made, and heating up. We opted for leaving it on the bed, and left it running very low. I woke up and turned if off around 2 AM. It was absolutely wonderful, and we used it every night.

We treated Keith, our buddy, to a nice home-cooked meal as a thank you.

This was another very laid-back visit. I spent some time stripping the old desk. I got the first pedestal finished and the second one started. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! DS tidied up the attic loft and did some airbrush practice work. Learning the dual-action is tougher than the single-action.

We also went snowshoeing every day. It was terrific.

Two weeks of absolute rest

2010-01-06T19:00:00.002-05:00

Just back from the holiday break. The trip up this time was a bit different: we made a stop-over in Montreal to see the Cirque du Soleil. First time ever for us. Definitely not the last. It was absotively a-m-a-z-i-n-g. We arranged for the dogs to spend time getting bathed and in doggie daycare at Montreal Dogs while we were at the show. We were able to leave the car there, walk 5 minutes to the Metro, and with no transfers, straight to the Bell Centre. Everything worked out perfectly. We were very pleased with Montreal Dogs and it was inexpensive, compared to what we usually pay. $100 had both dogs taken care of from 2:30 to 6:30 PM, with playtime with other dogs, and both bathed. Usually, a bath alone for the big guy would be $70.

DS had requested a R&R vacation. So, no work was done on the upstairs bath. I, on the other hand, got a lot of little things done: The 'wagon wheel chandelier' is down, and has been replaced by a ceiling fan that pretty much matches the light fixture family we have chosen. Luckily, the plug box was easily replaced with a fixture box, and was sited directly below a truss, so with 4 screws into the joist, it is very firmly attached.

The wheel itself was hung by some fairly substantial chains and eye-hooks. Problem is, we learned once we removed the first of them that all but one of them were only long enough to pierce the drywall. What were they thinking? This thing could have come crashing down at any moment! Not to mention, we just happened to leave the only solidly attached hook to last, by sheer luck. Had we worked in any other order, the whole freakin' thing would have just fallen onto our heada. And it is a 52" diameter solid oak 8-spoked wheel, not a lightweight!

I also changed the ceiling light in the hallway to a semi-flushmount like those that replaced the LR chandeliers. I tidied the tool area and compressed it a bit, so got 6" more space in the bedroom half of our room. Doesn't sound like much, but it makes it a lot easier for the dogs to turn around on my side of the bed.

I also moved the cable running from the satellite to the decoder to the attic. No more worries of it falling down onto the baseboard heater and starting a fire. And no more unsightly wire. This, along with the wagon wheel, were both bugging the crap out of me.

Since the septic system had been installed, the lights on the lake side of the attic had not worked. DS and I assumed that the electrician, in doing his wiring, had simply cut the wiring going over there. I got around to testing and futzing in the attic to see if I could rectify the problem. After an hour of turning off breakers, re-connecting disconnected wires, testing, with no luck, I solved the problem: the bulbs were burned out. Occams Razor at its best!

Let's see, what else got done...I removed a baseboard heater in the hallway just outside the kitchen that did absolutely nothing except collect dog hair.

I put a second coat of drywall mud on the old fireplace ceiling patch, and patched the ceiling where we removed all the paint when we pulled tape off. I patched and mudded the tiny miscalculation in the ceiling drywall when we built our bedroom last year. And I patched the holes left by the wagon wheel we took down.

We realized we had some more rodent visitors, and that they were accessing the house through a couple holes in the ceiling of our bedroom, so DS foamed those and I set out traps. We got two mice on each of the first two nights, then nothing, so I guess that's that.

I got the horseshoe I bought spray-painted. I chose a brown hammered finish and it looks great. Also, I finished painting the old kettle, pot, and two lids, so they're back in their proper places near the woodstove, and the effect is exactly what I was seeking.

And, I finished reinstalling the heat-shrink plastic on the four windows from which it had been removed over the course of the summer.

Snow conditions were absolutely perfect, so we went snowshoeing a few times, including a night-time trek with friends by the light of kerosene lanterns just before midnight on New Year's Eve. The weather was great, and it was something I had always wanted to do. Definitely a do-again.

We snowblowed on the second Monday. DS did the drive, and I did the parking area. We've been having problems with the snowblower since last winter. I suggested we bring it in in the early fall, but DS said it was fine. Well, after my little wrestling match with the thing on the Monday afternoon, I issued DS an ultimatum: bring it in for repairs (the transmission is f*cked, I'm sure), or else she'll be clearing the snow on her own or paying the guy to do it out of her own pocket. I think I got through this time :-)

The weather played us a bit of a trick, though. Right up through New Year's day, the forecast was for a trace of snow on the Sunday of departure. It began snowing on the Friday, and didn't stop 'til some time on Sunday night. Between Sunday morning and Saturday afternoon, we didn't check the weather station. Saturday afternoon, all of a sudden, there's this heavy snowfall/weather warning. We ended up having to call our plow guy to clear the drive before we could get out. Thank goodness he is responsive!

The sugarbush beside us is still for sale. The price is now $209,000. We have decided we are going to find a way to acquire it. Somehow. Land beside and behind us, and across the road, 156 acres all told. A couple shacks, the sugar shack, and a 4-season cottage.

More bath work, the Olympic Torch and some help from Mother Nature

2009-12-06T19:00:00.001-05:00

This most recent visit saw the continuation of the bathroom renos. We got the build-out of the back wall (to hide the supply lines) done, and drywalled. We also got the side wall for the shower up, and dry-fitted the shower - it fit!

The vanity is centered on the tall section of built-out wall, and we left space in the upper part of that section for a medicine chest we had removed from the powder room of our city house. I had kept it, knowing it would be useful some day. A little bit of sanding and routing on the frame around the mirror, and a new coat of paint inside and out, and it will look as if it was made to match the vanity.

The supply line sections for the shower control are laid out and ready for soldering. We need to buy a new drain for the shower. And we realized there's another problem to solve. The vent connection for the sink is below the P-trap, and does not run uphill. A bit of research has led me to an an air admittance valve (AAV) which may be a solution. Placed after the P but before the turn to the vertical, and as high as possible, it allows air into the fixture drain when the fixture is used, without having to connect to the house's vent stack. Probably the best solution in our situation.

We did a bit of running around this time, as well. In fact, we went out every day, which is very unusual for us. One of the outings was to watch the Olympic Torch run through one of the neighbouring villages. We got up at 5:30 AM for that, and stood out in the cold air, along with almost every resident of the village, for an event that lasted about 5 minutes. Very much worth it. I caught video of the torch, the crowd, everything. Should be fun to edit it.

Another little job I got done was to run a cable from the satellite box to a second TV in our bedroom. We won't be able to watch a different channel, but we will be able to watch the end of a hockey game, say, or I'll be able to watch some of my later shows with DS snoring beside me.

So, I know I have mentioned in previous posts that there was originally a hydro line running from the house to the sugar shack, and that it was removed just before we took possession. Most of the poles were cut down, but one, not far from the stream, remained. It was going to be tricky, because there was a second pole helping to support it, attached at an angle by a long bolt through the top of the second pole and through the main pole. I wanted it down this summer, but we just didn't get around to it. Friday night, we're watching the hockey game when we hear a fairly loud thump. We did the rounds of the shed, the house and the second floor, but found nothing.

Today on our morning walk, we checked out the falls and the stream. The dogs were sniffing like crazy at the lakeshore a bit further on, so we went to see what tracks were there, if any. Sure enough, the otter had come out of the lake there. When we turned around to head back to the house, there on the ground was the hydro pole. It had rotted through at ground level, and had come crashing down, bringing the secondary pole with it. Thank you, Mother Nature! Hopefully we'll be able to get it raised off the ground before the snow covers it so it doesn't rot through. We hope to use it for the new footbridge over the creek.

It rained a lot Thursday and Friday. The lake is now iced over relatively smoothly with only a bit of snow dusted across it here and there. We're hoping to be able to skate over the holidays. And, the driveway is bare along the tire tracks. So far, so good.

2009-11-25T19:00:00.001-05:00

We haven't undertaken any renos in quite a while, for a few reasons. The rush and pressure associated with the '08 holiday season bedroom reno burned us out, and the new garage roof emptied our pockets.

So, we have been limited to doing tiny little things, more maintenance than renos. But the itch has been there, unsatisfied. It was worsened when I had an idea for my daughter's condo. She has rats as pets, and it turns out 'the boys' have delicate respiratory systems. So her new condo, with all the carpet and melamine off-gassing, and the accumulated dust (because she places as little priority on housekeeping as her mother) has been problematic for them.

A few weeks ago, I got an idea that I put to her: remove the carpet in her bedroom, replace it with inexpensive laminate, and move the boys there. It would be easier to keep this one room dust-free and properly humidified, and they'd be more comfortable. Her room is just over 100 sq ft, so the cost would not be high and DS and I could do the labour. In a few years, when her budget is not so tight, she could re-do the entire condo, and wouldn't have to feel bad about removing an investment of about $100-$150. She liked the idea, so I began to scout for deals on laminate.

On a visit to Big Orange, we noticed a special deal on some at $0.89 per sq foot. Yes, it's a dump of laminate on NA by an EEC mfr, but that's how we got our ceramic-look laminate for the main floor of our house a few years ago and we have been very pleased with it. And it looks real. Most visitors squat down to touch it and are surprised, in fact. Anyway, this product looked pretty good, and is slightly thicker than most. I phoned DD later and got approval in principal. The next day, I returned and ensured they had enough for her job. For $153 and change, she got some pretty nice-looking flooring (that's now taking up space in our front hall, unfortunately)

Big Orange knows its customers. Every once in a while, I get these 'spend $299 or more as many times as you want over the next 6 weeks and don't pay any interest or principal until 8 to 10 months from now.' This is how we renovated our entire city house. I think we paid $3 in interest once, when we had miscalculated how much was left to pay and had a balance for a couple weeks. I had received one of those tantalizing offers some time in October, but after consulting with DS, had tossed it. Or so I thought. I felt bad that I couldn't offer such a benefit to DD, but the bill was small enough that it wasn't really an issue.

On our last visit up, we decided we were ready to start tacking the upstairs bath. We haven't used it since moving in, because the toilet doesn't flush well. We're fairly certain we have figured out why. The house has a steel roof with a fairly steep pitch. The plumbing vent stack is at the bottom of the slope. No barrier of any kind was installed to protect the vent stack from sliding snow. It got knocked off it's connection in the attic, venting foul-smelling (and dangerous) gases into that airspace. So, the previous owners stuffed something into the top of the main stack, and into the smaller connector stacks coming from the kitchen and upstairs bath sinks.

How did we figure all that out? There are several clues. First, in the eave storage space where the broken vents are, there is no smell. Not a whiff. Second, when the clothes washer empties, we can hear a bubbling in the bathtub and in the entrance utility sink. Same for when we send a load of dishwater down the drain. And, the upstairs toilet flushes, but drains s-l-o-w-l-y, yet has never backed up. For a while, though we were puzzled by the fact that the downstairs toilet flushes fine. I suspect it is because it is a low-flush toilet, and we are very conservative in our use, not flushing for every liquid 'deposit'. It therefore has the airspace of the vent stack between the first and second floors to help it, which is fairly wide-diameter pipe, and lots of time to replenish that air between flushes.

Anyway, we hope this is the case. If not, then we'll have to re-do the line from the toilet to the main stack. This will mean opening the bathroom ceiling, but we can do this and then just build a 'box' around the lower plumbing, and it will give a little more interest to the ceiling.

Before we even knew we had permission to buy the place, we had bought a new shower, vanity & sink combo, and faucet for the upstairs bath. A while ago, we bought a new toilet. So, on our last visit up, I dove into the plumbing preps. Although the water to this bathroom has been shut off for some time, there are no fixture shut-off valves. And, all the supply lines are exposed.

Having decided how we wanted to hide the supply lines, I started cutting into them so I could remove the sink, shower plumbing and toilet. There were no threaded connections. Everything was soldered. Mind-boggling. Although, I guess it helps to ensure that you'll have to call a plumber if you want to change anything, thus more money in their pockets. Armed with my trusty Bernz-o-matic, some fittings, and some bread*, I soldered shut-off valves for the sink, toilet and shower. Most folks don't for the shower, but I don't see why not. Of 8 soldered joints, only one had to be re-done because of vapour contamination. I was pretty pleased with myself.

We then started removing the ship-lap boards from the back wall, so we could install a vapour barrier. When we got to the end of the back wall, however, we realized that the side wall on the bathroom had been installed after the back wall and there was no way to remove the final plank without removing the side wall. Since we were going to have to futz around with the door anyway, because the shower won't fit through it, we decided to go ahead with removing the side wall. We would then frame a new one and put drywall up, at least on the inside of the bath.

It has always been our assumption that the walls of the bathroom were just two ship-lap cedar planks, back to back. Turns out not. The walls are made of 3" thick cedar boards of varying widths. There is a groove cut into the long 3" wide faces of each board, and a small piece of plywood, slid into the grooves of adjoining boards, hold them together. The boards are nailed top and bottom. Fairly ingenious. Now, we're trying to think of what we'll used these hefty pieces of cedar for...

DS installed about R6 of fibreglass between the strapping, then sealed everything up with a vapour barrier. We'll add foamboard insulation to the ceiling, then re-drywall the ceiling and back wall. We'll also eventually be adding insulation on the outside of the knee wall, but at least for now we've done a bit to make the house more airtight.

On the drive home, we were discussing things we could do that would cost little or nothing. I suggested that we proceed with removing all the inside boards on the ground floor and do the same thing. Or, continue with doing the rest of the kneewall upstairs.

When we got home, while sifting through some paperwork, I happened upon the (happily not discarded) nifty offer from Big Orange. On a visit this past Sunday, we purchased some stick-on vinyl plank flooring in a cork pattern, and the control valve for the shower (since we already have the shower head itself), and some other items. So, we're all set for getting that bathroom to a useable state.

And, because the family decided (without us) that the holiday celebration would be elsewhere this year, we have no time pressures on us.

*There is sometimes no way to completely empty all the lines when you solder. Stuff a ball of fresh white bread into the pipe opening. It absorbs the water, preventing steam from ruining your soldered connection. The heat turns it to 'toast', and it will flush out of the pipe. You have to be sure to flush it out before installing any faucets or the valve cylinder on a control valve.

An expensive week

2009-10-18T19:00:00.002-04:00

So Zach, our newest family member had his 'little operation' last Thursday. While the surgery went well, it was an anything but run-of-the-mill vet experience.

In addition to the 'large dog neuter' cost ($325) and pre-op bloodwork ($65), we knew he had a hernia to be repaired ($75), and his testicles hadn't descended. One could be felt 'right there', but while the vet thought the second was palapable also, he wasn't sure. If the vet had to go 'fishing' for it, it would be a surgery more along the lines of a spay rather than neuter, along with an added cost. This proved to be the case ($125 for one cryptorchid - the technical term for a hidden testicle). So, Zach was left with a 1/2" incision, and two additional ones that were 2-3" in length. Needless to say, this added to his discomfort, so we opted for pain meds ($6).

Because of a little slip some days before, his gait seemed to be 'off' a bit. We opted for hip x-rays ($70 set-up and $86 each of two views) while he was already under for the surgery. The clinic sends them off digitally for a consult with radiologists in the U.S. ($100)

Then there was the microchip ($50). The bill came to within a sliver of $1000. I was expecting about half that, maybe a bit more. The vet tech kept saying 'poor you' as we went through the bill, and post-op care. When I commented that I knew what an infected incision looked like and what treatment could entail because of a previous experience with our dog Duster, the light went on in her face. The dog with the head abcess? That was you guys?! Which prompted another round of 'poor yous' And I wasn't making a big deal of the bill, which made them even worse to my ears. I knew I could pay this bill, but just barely. (And yet, I was not freaking out, even in my head, which says a lot about how far I've come.)

Zach was a very quiet, clearly uncomfortable boy. Until the next morning, when he seemed entirely back to normal. And thus the fun begins. Leash walking and no excessive running playing or jumping for the next 7 to 10 days. And the cone. We have cone pix of all our dogs, and Zach will be no exception, assuming we can get him to stay still for the length of the exposure.

He really wants to play with Duster, but Duster has been hit with the cone too many times to count and now scoots out of the way as fast as he possibly can when he sees Zach coming. Turns out our Duster is quite the athlete, able to clear the corner of the couch, arm and all, from a sitting postion, one one quick hop. Zach can't figure out why his big brother wants nothing to do with him and plops down with a heavy sigh, feeling sorry for himself I'm sure. We spend some coneless time with him every day, where the two of us do nothing but pay him attention and scratch around his neck. We took them for a long walk yesterday afternoon as it was a gorgeous day, again without his cone.

We ran into the first Bernese owner in the neighbourhood, who had not yet seen him, but had heard we got a Bernese pup. Bernie, their dog, is a 140-lb male. Her estimate was that Zach would not be as big. At first I was a bit disappointed, but then when Bernie got out of the yard and was right next to Duster, it turned to relief. If he ends up the same size as Duster, or a little bigger, that will be just fine and dandy.

This ended up being a very expensive week for us, though: DS brought her truck in for what we thought was possibly a reverse gear issue. It turned out to be the brakes. Plus, one of those fancy tire valves that tell a light on your dash that tire pressure is low had gone missing, and an oil change. $1600 later. Ouch.

So, there go my hopes for an HD PVR dual-tuner receiver as the family gift for Christmas.

Boy, that was a short autumn...

2009-10-13T19:00:00.025-04:00

We ended up leaving the city in the wee hours of Friday morning. DS was exhausted, and since we were taking both vehicles with the dogs taking up the back space in mine, sleeping on the road would not be an option for me.

A stop at SIL's place in Drummondville to pick up four young oak trees for transplanting to our property ended up taking 1.5 hours, what with the coffee and chat. We made a quick stop for groceries, and arrived just after noon. With me having cut back to two large coffees per morning, I was totally wired when we finally touched down. For the first time since owning this place, there remained some color to the trees when we arrived for this long weekend. Mostly gone by the time we left, and snow flurries....yes, that is what I said, snow flurries, enough to accumulate on the truck and ground, Saturday night and again overnight to Tuesday.

The beavers have been busy: the lake was within inches of flowing over the causeway. So high, in fact, that the beavers had taken to crossing the causeway overland, 'cause they didn't have to drag their branches up a slope anymore.

We picked up our wood on a slightly rainy Saturday morning. Like last year, the maple is nicely dried. Two pick-ups and our trailer with one layer got loaded, moved and unloaded in just over one hour by three women. Not bad at all, considering we stacked into the trucks rather than just pitching the wood in. Because of the recent rain, though, the maple got tossed into the carport and will sit 'til the next visit.

The beavers had felled the large poplar across the lake, north of the house, as well as another smaller one, in addition to the medium one they had felled earlier. DS went and removed branches, and cut them into roughly 4' lengths. We'll float them across the lake on one of the next two trips.

We planted the oaks across the lake, west of the house, in a line with 24' between them, including the tiny seedling oak we planted two years ago. They'll have lots of room to grow, and will get good light as well. We used good earth from the garden area and added compost to the bottom of the holes from the forest floor. Water and a good tamping and we'll hope for the best. Although they can survive in our zone, there are very few oaks in the area, and there were none on our property. While we had the shovels and little trailer out, we removed the two large rocks that had surfaced in the drive over the past two winters. DS was sure they were huge, but I estimated not. Should have bet a bottle of wine, I was right for a change!

I took care of the mouse mess and put out some traps. Three days later, no catch, so I suspect that we don't have any in residence, but we left the traps out 'til next visit just to be sure. And, we confirmed that our snow removal guy is still working and set that up. I also got 'hold of the trapper, so the beavers ought to be gone by the time we go up at the end of the month. I lowered the dam, so the water was down more than a foot by the time we left. I'll take it out completely next visit. The list didn't all get done, but we didn't just laze around, either. And we winterized the outside tap, which was important.

I had been contemplating moving our bedroom around and proceeded with that. The tools now take up half the space they did before, and are hidden behind the Asian-style shower curtains I bought about a year ago, for $5 each. The head of our bed is against the outside wall, just south of where it will ultimately be. We don't see the tools anymore when we're lying in bed, and aren't looking directly at the yukky part of the ceiling either. Plus we have more room to move around.

I also moved the blinds from the south-facing LR window to the large north-facing one. While we don't do it often, if we want to watch TV during the day, the window would be reflected on the screen. Now it's not an issue.

We also visited with BIL who is back for a visit from working in Alberta. They live on DS' parents old homestead, and DS had reserved all the boardlengths that are stored in the attic of the old garage. She's the only woodworker in the family, so no one else wanted them. We went to pick up some and she and BIL were quite surprised to see how much was actually up there. We ended up with 34 cubic feet (yes, cubic feet, not board-feet) of mostly maple. There are varying thicknesses from 1/2" to 2" and some as long as 14 feet. DS says that what we picked up is about a third of what's actually up there. Eventually, our DR table and chairs will be made from this wood.

Next visit is at the end of the month, as someone is celebrating a 50th...but we won't say who. Hopefully the rest of the list will get done then.

City news and what's planned for the next trip

2009-09-29T19:00:00.000-04:00

I just learned that we'll be getting a GreenBin soon and am very excited!

We already recycle as much as we can right now. We can often skip a garbage day. And, in order to stop the house garbage from smelling, we put all foodstuffs garbage in the freezer to await trash day. Now, we will be able to put a lot of stuff in the GreenBin.

Next visit's 'To Do' list:

Bring in all the lawnchairs, BBQ etc.
Get our 2 cords of firewood
DS wants to pick up some woodworking maple from her brother's place
I want to take apart the old footbridge
Pre-winter tidy of the woodshed area
Clean under the bath vanity (mice activity) and put out some traps just in case

Fall is upon us

2009-09-21T19:00:00.003-04:00

This visit included firing up the woodstove every evening. Overnight temps were below zero, just a degree or so, but still! Some of the trees are turning already, but likely by the next time we go up, the leaves will be down.

The water was a bit higher than when we left: the beavers had added a fair amount of 'mortar' (weeds from the bottom mixed with mud) to the dam. All we did was open up a hole in the dam, about a foot wide, the first thing on our last morning. That'll get the level down a bit, and I'll take the dam down next visit.

Our To-Do list for this visit is all done! I think that's the first time it's happened. And we got some other stuff done besides.

I think my most favorite accomplishment is the bedroom door installed:

From Deux Hirondelles

We also got the snow removal pickets and the motion sensor light installed. Up until now, we have had an on-at-dusk-off-at-dawn zillion-watt light shining from the top of the house. Not so energy efficient, and it also interfered with star-gazing unless we unplugged it. Besides which, it gave us very little light where we needed it: unlocking the door. Now, we have a more conservative wattage that lights up the carpark area, and the door, when we arrive and while we unload. It is also where we most often let the dogs out at night, but on the other side of the house from where we usually do our stargazing.

From Deux Hirondelles

We also got stuff done that wasn't on the To-Do list:

From Deux Hirondelles

I fixed my yukky concrete job on the steps and we cut a little access hole in the wall unit I had moved in June. I knew I was blocking off the thermostat and a light switch, but I lined things up so it would be easy to create access.

From Deux Hirondelles

And, we brought in our wood,We had set up our wood storage to be 8' wide, so we would know how much we actually had. Well, as you can see, we're up to the ceiling, so this is 4 full cords of stovewood length, plus we've already burned some and the woodcart is fully loaded. More than half of last year's wood was punky birch. This year, we have a lot less punky wood, so it will last longer. We have also reserved two cords of maple from the same source as last year, so we should be fine 'til the burning season ends.
We've decided to do our 'winterize' routine on our next trip up.

And for you animal lovers, the obligatory cute dog photo:

From The Dogs

DS loves to put the ballcaps on the dogs, but started too late with Duster and he doesn't like it on. So, she's starting early with Zach.

Needless to say, these busy days left us all tuckered out:

From The Dogs

Hmmm (Part Deux)...

2009-09-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

Our morning routine is such that DS lets the dogs out when she gets up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM, and I bring them in and feed them when I get up. While they're eating, I head into the kitchen to make my breakfast. Before I sit down to eat, I go back to the kitchen door with two end-chunks of banana in hand for the boys, where they are waiting patiently for their treat.

So this morning, there was no Zach at the door waiting for his banana. I stepped over the curtain rod that serves as a reminder to them that they're not allowed in the kitchen and went searching for him. (It's not like it's really a barrier: it's six inches off the ground and they could easily just step over it, but they don't. And it's a little bit of exercise for us.) Zach, however, was nowhere to be found. Hmmmm.

Then I looked at the landing wall and saw the Zach-shadow on it. The little monster had once again gone looking for me upstairs. Of course, he still won't come down without an 'escort'. Usually, Duster obliges and goes to get him, but this time I went. At the top of the stairs, on the second floor landing, there was Zach, and by his side, one of DS' sock-in-slipper combos. It was too cute. Duster never collects our clothes when he misses us, but a dog our family had as a child did, when we were out. I left it there for DS to find upon her return.

Labour Day Weekend

2009-09-08T22:00:00.006-04:00

At the lake, of course! This was our first full-length trip with both dogs together in the back. Zach can't yet comfortably see out the windows, so he tends to crash out at the back. This was taken on our way back. Clearly, if he continues to favour that spot, we are going to have to do some load re-arranging.

From The Dogs

We finished clearing brush along the stream. We cut down the weeds-masquerading-as-trees/shrubs so long as there are young, real trees to take their place. This is so we don't make the streambank susceptible to erosion. This will give the real trees an opportunity to grow. At the same time, I trimmed almost all the low-lying branches over the stream, and all the dead ones. I also got rid of the various cement blocks/pieces of cement blocks that were here and there. They have no business in the stream. Looks so different now. Before the snow flies, we hope to be able to remove the old bridge over the stream. We have to carve a new footpath at the end of the Sugarbush Trail so we stay on our property. The cedar logs they used are likely sound enough for us to re-use to make a bridge over the drainage ditch when we do that. We'll build the new one in the spring, likely. We have enough full-length used hydro poles, and 4' length ones for the structural elements, and will likely be able to do the actual walking surface out of either the 2x3's or the two remaining picnic table 'roofs'.

We also removed all the branches that flowed out of the beaver dam(s) either as the beavers were building them, or as we were dismantling them. Since the lake was only up about 6", we left the dam alone. We also did trail maintenance on the Sugarbush Trail. There were several evergreens that were lying across the trail. DS has turned into a wood-burning crazy! ;-) Anything bigger than 1.5" diameter gets cut into stove-lengths*. Anything resinous will go to friends for their outdoor fires once dried. The rest stays for our stove.

The boys - Duster and Zach - got bored of this activity real quick. They spent their time 'sploring the woods around where we were working. Duster is great, really reliable: if we whistle, he comes. Zach, with his shorter legs (for now) is slower. He eventually would show up, except one time. After a few minutes of calling for him, we still could hear no movement in the bush. We told Duster to 'Go find Zach'. DS saw him sniff around, pick up the trail, and take off. He came back two minutes later with Zach in tow. Now THAT's a big brother!

Saturday was the traditional Family corn roast, this year hosted by two nephews. Weather was sunny, but with a cool wind. No one went swimming. I got into the Mott's Caesars at the early end of the evening, and got a little tipsy. It's been a heck of a long time since that happened. A good time was had by all. Since the dogs had been alone for several hours on Friday, we set ourselves a limit of 6 hours.

Moka and her moms came over again on Sunday. We all prefer our socializing to be done at our place. The dogs can run free with no worries, there. And, E & C find it as peaceful and re-energizing as we do. But, they were uncomfortable with us always feeding them. So this time, they hosted us at our place. It was kind of weird, sitting there and letting them do everything, and being asked "do you want a drink?" but it worked out really well, and it will likely happen again.

The kids had a great time. Moka is so high-energy Zach didn't know what to make of her for the first couple hours. He eventually joined in on the fun, though. It works out well: Duster and Zach tag-teamed Moka so they could each take breaks. I got this shot close to sunset:

From The Dogs

I compared Zach's hind leg musculature to Moka's as they are one week apart. He is a bigger breed, though, so his legs should at least be as big as hers, if not bigger. He's not quite equal to her, but he's very close. Such a big change in just 3 weeks.

Zach had no accidents in the house while we were up at the lake. Then again, the boys didn't spend much time in the house.

We left around noon, after taking a 'short walk' around the lake. DS' idea, and she thought the growth was about knee high. I knew it would be more like waist high, but was a sport and went along. We could tell where the boys were by the waving grasses lol. It was good exercise for everyone.

There was a purpose to this madness: DS wanted an up-close look at a large poplar the beavers have been working on. She'd spotted it from her 'yak. Turns out it's about 16" or more diameter. We'll let them topple it and remove the branches, then we'll scavenge it for firewood.

The To Do list for next visit:

install the door on our bedroom
put up the motion-sensor light
put up the markers for snow clearing

I'm sure there's more but it's not coming to mind just now.

*DS also does the same thing with the beaver dams I de-construct. We got 1/4 cord of wood from this year's residents.

Hmmmm...

2009-08-29T11:27:00.001-04:00

So yesterday, I showed a reluctant Zach how to go up the first flight of stairs from the main to the second floor. This didn't take much time, and only 3 or 4 trials.

Shortly afterwards, I had to duck into the kitchen for a minute. I came back out, and there was only Duster. I checked the back hall, his crate, no Zach. Then a movement caught my eye. There was the little gaffer, on the landing looking down at me. He seemed awfully proud of himself. Hmmmm....now I'm not sure teaching him stairs was a good idea.

Yesterday was also our first full day of no accidents inside. I have an idea for a portable bell that they could step on to alert us that they want to go outside. It's a mechanical contraption using the far end of a fishing pole, a bit of wood, a hinge and some string. I have a friend, though, that could probably do something much more unobtrusive that I could stick to the wall. I'll have to e-mail him.

Oh, and it's pouring today. Zach's 'wet look' is too funny:

From The Dogs

Zach update

2009-08-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

So, it's been almost two weeks since the new pup joined our family.

I took him to the vet the next day (Monday), by which time we were noticing that he would occasionally cry when trying to get up. Given the rough-housing with the Lab two days earlier, we hoped it was the result of that, and not something else. He weighed in at 39 lbs. On the vet's advice, he got anti-inflammatories for 5 days. I signed him up for his own health-care plan via VetInsurance the very next day. Rather than add him to our existing policy, I got him his own so we could cover his hips, just in case.

I went to the drugstore and picked up glucosamine/chondroitin and MSM and started both dogs on the three weeks of double-dosing. We kept the little one on lead and as quiet as we could for the rest of the week. I also dug up the physio exercises we had been given when our Saint had had his knee surgery. They were for rebuilding muscles in the leg and hips, and increasing mobility, so I knew the pup would benefit. Friday evening was his last dose of meds, and we held our breath, hoping we would not see a deterioration over the next several days.

Our concerns proved to be totally unfounded. He has been off the meds for a full week now, more than ample time for any residual effect to have gone, and there has been no deterioration. We have continued to supervise their playtime together, and they were left alone, outside, together, for most of the day today, but I stayed within earshot. They mostly sleep with some play periods interspersed. I'll be heading into the office, so they'll be alone most of the day outside tomorrow. The little guy will also move to two meals a day tomorrow as well.

The little one has already visibly grown. I noticed today that his legs are longer then when he first arrived. And, despite what I've been reading about Bernese owners needing patience when training, he has proven to be a quick study. He has already mastered 'wait' for his meals, won't try to get Duster's food when it is put down just before his, has learned 'shake', is working on 'high five' and 'down'/'couche.' Danielle used the process we learned in our puppy book to teach him 'no' and he mastered it in three or four days. He's getting better at emptying his after-dinner treat-filled Kong, and no longer bucks about going into his crate.

I began taking them for walks together and by the third morning, everyone knew what was expected of them. The little guy sleeps inside in his crate, and likely will always sleep inside. With only 21 months left to go before we are full-time in the country, it's not a big deal.

And, reluctant DS has not for a moment regretted changing her mind.

Vacation at last!

2009-08-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

I was finally able to return to work for one week before my two weeks of vacation time. My sleep is now reliable again and all the tests finally came back negative.

This year, we decided to have no large projects planned. Because it's been raining all summer, we take advantage of another 'no interest no payments for 14 months' deal at HD and pick up the last things we will need to renovate the upstairs bath: a toilet and some plumbing and DWV piping and elbows etc. I find some 'Top 'n Bond' that will cover and smooth my unsatisfactory new step. There's also the drywall to put up on the wall where we changed the window, and a myriad of other small things we can do inside to keep busy.

We depart the Friday morning, as there is no work for DS. We stop for groceries on our way and arrive around suppertime in the midst of some drizzle to find the lake within inches of passing over the bridge at the falls. We unpack, and try to unwind.

The next morning dawns cloudy, but it clears by about noon. This will prove to be the pattern for most of our holidays. We go for a paddle to take advantage of the new perspective on the lake, a little bigger, with no rocks or vegetation to be seen breaking the surface. Then, the dam comes down. I do it in three stages because of the volume of water being held back.

Over all, we had one full day and two half-days of rain during our entire 16 days. We got the best two weeks of weather of the entire summer. We each worked in the mornings on whatever project we wanted to undertake, and after lunch, enjoyed the sunshine. DS continued tidying the garage and worked on some hobby projects. She also built the steps for our laundry stoop. It was a small job that took her two hours, but it's one that makes a big difference. With my short legs, I had been having a heck of a time climbing up to put the laundry out, and so dreaded the task. Now we just waltz up. We did laundry nearly every day, and used the dryer only twice. It was wonderful.

I chose to thin and trim the brush along the lake-bank from the gate to the house. This involved working from both the driveway side and the lake side - from my kayak! I only dropped my clippers once, and managed to retrieve them using a bungee cord and a branch I had just cut. Considering that I had essentially been getting no strength-building exercise at all for a year, it was a good workout for me. I was able to get back into being physical fairly gradually and it felt good.

DS did get the drywall done, and I did some more stripping of the desk. Mostly, though, we relaxed. We decided that we would no longer plan big jobs for our vacation time, but rather, take care of small jobs instead. Now that I think about it, though, we really only have one more summer vacation at the cottage, and that's next year. After that, there's my year off, then one more summer when hopefully I'll be living at the cottage pretty much full time.

On the Wednesday of the first week, a friend called from the village and said "it's a beach day, come on over!" We were there from early afternoon to mid-evening and the crowd got bigger and bigger. Someone picked up steaks on their way in from town, we all chipped in and had a nice communal meal. They have a picnic table that seats about 12, and we were able to accommodate 16 people with a little creativity.

We had learned that another friend's daughter had acquired a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy and he happened to be at the BBQ. This is a breed that DS and I have loved for quite some time, since we first saw a pup more than 5 years ago. Me being me, I had researched them and learned about their health issues. We had then decided that it would be too much heartbreak. But, one moved into our neighbourhood two years ago, and another a year later, and a third...we came to the conclusion that when we got our second dog, once I had fully retired, it would be a Bernese, and a girl. But you know what they say: life's what happens while you're busy making other plans.

Back to the BBQ. As I said, we've seen many Berners over the years, but none with that completely adorable face that we loved on that first one we had seen. Until the BBQ. He was just such a little doll. Quiet, but friendly. There were four dogs there all day, and he just did his thing. It was such a warm day he really only wanted to sleep in the shade. He came to life after the sun went down, but even then, was nothing like our other friends' Lab puppy, even though they are the same age. I couldn't help but scoop him up into my lap a couple times, and he let himself be, but didn't want to stay. Of course our guy got jealous.

The pup had been brought over by his 'grandmother' and when his 'mom' arrived, I told her if ever she thought of giving him up, to call us. See, a little voice inside of me said this was a distinct possibility. On what basis, I'm not sure. DS sort of gave me a stern look when I said it, but I just smiled.

Wednesday of the second week, the Lab pup's moms called and asked if we would puppy-sit while then went camping for a couple nights. No problem. From Wednesday evening to Thursday at noon, it was non-stop activity at our place. After that, the Lab pup was totally tuckered out and things really settled down. We had fun, and it wasn't that difficult. Her moms returned Friday and stayed over 'til Saturday as they wanted to try camping with the pup to see how things would go. It was a mild night so the timing was perfect.

We all enjoyed a huge breakfast then DS left mid-morning for a family reunion an hour's drive away, and would not return until suppertime. Our friends insisted on doing the dishes from the night before while I went off to finish clearing brush from overtop of the old Mill's underground foundation. When I got back around noon, they were just finishing up the dishes and told me the phone had rung but they had not answered. I checked the message and learned that the Bernese puppy's mom had decided to give him up if we would take him.

See, the owner was a mid-20's young lady who is quite social. Pup was spending most of his time in her garage, alone, and she felt terrible about this. Since we had expressed interest, she had begun to think about letting him go. Not to mention she had a trip to China scheduled in the coming months. I had all day to think about it and pretty much knew DS's start position would be no. She's a person who has difficulty making a decision most of the time, but on some things she has a pretty much set-in-stone point of view. I've also learned that trying to persuade her, convince her or bully her only makes her more resistant to changing her mind. I had my work cut out for me.

So, the discussion over supper was pretty much what I expected, and after dinner she phoned the girls and said "No." I was surprised at my reaction, though. I was really quite disappointed. Needless to say, the discussion continued that evening and the next morning. By late morning, DS had changed her mind. I was certain that the owner would have already offered the pup to the next in line, a friend of hers. DS made the call, and the pup was still available. We picked him up just before noon. Named Madden, but pronounced 'maiden', we knew his name would change.

He was just one big ball of fluff. The owner told us he had been playing with an adult Lab the day before and she now thought he had a sore neck, as he had had difficulty eating that morning. It was clear he was having some movement issues and we wondered if we had agreed to take a pup with issues. Neither one of us considered leaving him there, though. My point of view was that if he needed medical care, she was not going to be able to provide it to him, and we could, and I was prepared to foot whatever bills that entailed.

Having decided we would take the dog, DS had tried to reach her boss to see if there was work the next day, but had not been able to. We had decided to delay departure until the next day. We spent a couple hours getting the two dogs acquainted and slowly packing up. Then DS reached her boss and there was work. Since work has been slow, and we had just spent some unplanned cash on the puppy, and we knew there would be more to come, we decided we had to leave.

Poor little guy. His world was turning upside down pretty quickly. We finished packing and left by 4:30 PM. He travelled with DS and Duster with me. I guess everyone had left Montreal for the weekend, because we hit traffic like we'd never seen before on the way home. Between that, construction, and more frequent stops for the pup, we arrived shortly after midnight, and what with unpacking the truck and getting the dogs settled, I didn't get to bed until 2:00 AM

Meanwhile, pup still did not have a name, despite our each spending much of the drive thinking about it and suggesting various options via walkie-talkie. The next evening, Zach was suggested, for Zachary Richard, the singer/songwriter responsible for the name of our lake and this blog.

So, without further ado, here is the not-so-little guy:

A real sweetie, eh?

Bonus visit

2009-07-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

With no work for DS late last week, we decided on a spur-of-the-moment trip to the cottage. The weather was not forecasted to be great, but we figured any time out of the city is great.

Thursday morning, DS decided to start dismantling the 2x3 walls we had removed when reconfiguring to make our large MBR in December. She tidied the garage at the same time. We ended up with a goodly pile of 8' 2x3's, and some 48 to 72-inch long pieces as well. She re-arranged the doors we had also salvaged from closets and we ended up with a much better organized garage.

I used the time to tidy the woodshed/entry. By rearranging storage areas and removing several empty cardboard boxes, we ended up with a spacious and tidy woodshed.

The afternoon weather was good, so I took advantage and soaked up some sun and did some brief swimming.

Friday morning, DS continued in the garage, while I formed, then mixed concrete (we had two bags left over from the woodstove install) and poured a new bottom step for the woodshed entry. It didn't turn our as nicely as I would have liked. I had forgotten that this concrete needed more water than the bags say. My step surface is not even and smooth and I am not happy.

Again, good afternoon weather, so we soaked up rays again.

Saturday morning, it poured rain. DS did some hobby painting while I got a chance to do some more stripping of the old desk. I was able to detach one pedestal from the back and the other pedestal, and it was quite easily moved downstairs after that. I worked in the woodshed with both doors open, so had good light and good ventilation.

By the afternoon, the weather had again cleared, so I got to work removing the beaver dam. DS cut some of their materials into stovelengths. They've used several maple saplings, and quite a few softer wood small trees of 3- to 4-inch diameter. We're all about recuperating what we can. Once done, more sun worshipping.

Sunday morning, we had to re-stack the one woodpile that had fallen for the second time. The only thing we can figure is that one of the foundation pieces we are using is a length of spruce trunk. I theorized that it's round shape permits too much movement and/or it's excessive length prevents the bottom of the cord from 'hugging' the ground. We got rid of it and hope we have now addressed whatever shortcomings existed in our stacking methods so we don't end up having to stack it yet again.

On this visit, DS and the dog saw a deer across the lake. We were also visited by 3 Great Herons on several days. The loon did a flyby, but did not land. He did let out a call, though, while flying overhead. Always lovely to hear, the loon.

Friends visited Friday for supper and brought their 3-month old chocolate Lab pup, Moka. The two dogs had a blast tiring each other out. When Duster would wade into the lake for a drink, Moka would barrel down the hill, dive in and swim around him. I guess he took notice of the fact that she can swim. On Saturday, while removing the dam, I was pitching rocks for him, each a little further than the last. He ended up going out far enough to have to dogpaddle (front legs only) on no less than three occasions, and once actually did a circle looking for the rock.

On Sunday afternoon, I got out his lifevest. Last summer, it was a fight to get it on him. This year, the minute he saw it, he went nuts and I couldn't follow him to the water fast enough. He stood patiently while I fitted it on him, and we did a repeat of the previous day's swimming. He may well be a waterbaby by the end of this summer!

An unexpected visitor

2009-07-12T16:00:00.000-04:00

On this most recent visit, circumstances permitted me to stay behind for several days after DS left. When we left the city, there had been promise of nice weather in the second week, but we all know what weather forecasters' promises are worth. Still, I was hopeful for a bit of sun, and figured my staying behind would make the between-visits stretch a little shorter, therefore mitigating the beavers' effects somewhat.

I did draft a list of things I could do, if I felt the need to do something other than just drift through the days. Surprisingly, I did manage to get one of those things done.

I had mentally been moving the two sections of the wall unit from their current positions, and reuniting them on the new wall we built in December. If I wanted to do this on my own though, I had to figure out how to handle the centre piece that is suspended by virtue of it being screwed into it's adjoining neighbours. The wall unit is built of 1/2" melamine. Certainly, this could be expected to make the tall pieces fairly heavy, but the centre piece is about half the height of the tall pieces. This wall unit was custom-built and has a significant difference from those you will find in retail stores: the back is also 1/2" melamine.

Since we had made the trip with both vehicles, we had filled the pick-up with various items we were ready to live without in the city. This had included my rolling tool-box/workbench. I had used it as a trolley to move the old 29" CRT TV when I had come down with the new 32" LCD TV on the previous visit. On a hunch, I rolled it into the nook under the centre piece of the wall unit. It fit like a glove. This gave me the ability to remove the screws without the centre piece coming crashing down. Luckily, the combined heights also fit under the beam in the LR, so long as I crossed under it near it's centre. I figured I could carefully, tilting the unit along the front-to-back axis, slide pieces of wood under it to raise it to the level I needed so that the old TV would fit in the nook and be at the right height for viewing from the LR seats.

Once the other units were in place and levelled, I measured. I'd have to raise the centre part 8" to get the desired result. It wasn't easy tilting it forwards from the back, as I had no hand-holds, but I eventually got it done safely.

One evening, while I'm on the phone with DS 'round about sunset, I see a shadow and movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head and catch a glance of a horse's butt disappearing out of the south-facing LR window. A horse's butt??? By the time I process this info, I realize it has to be a moose. I tell DS what I saw as I get up and go to the patio door. Sure enough, standing alongside the deck, about 10 feet from me, is a young moose.

He must have seen the movement of me appearing in the doorway out of the corner of his eye, because he turns his head towards me and places one hoof on the deck. I am convinced he would have strolled over to take a better look at me, had it not been for the dog choosing that exact instance to bark. Meanwhile, I'm telling DS on the phone that there is a moose here. "Where?" she asks. "Right there", I reply in a somewhat exasperated tone...funny how our brains work sometimes.

Then DS, ever the photographer, tells me "Get your videocamera out!" I have to think where it is - right in front of me on the coffee-table, get it out of it's case, flip it open, open the lenscap aim and start recording, with one hand, because the other is holding the phone and I'm not quick enough to think to put it down. While I'm doing this, the moose decides to distance himself. He trots about 30 feet away, towards the picnic tables on the edge of the clearing at the south end of the house. I just manage to start recording when he ambles up the short steep slope, between the two picnic tables, and disappears into the darkness of the clearing. I got video, but all you can really see is a shadow. Bummer.

The next morning, I take the dog out for a walk and let him smell the tracks. Ever the brave one, he sits down near the deck and barks his warning of "And stay out!" from a safe distance and never even thinks of following the tracks. I laugh, because I recognize the behaviour: it is what small dogs do when we encounter them with Duster while walking in the city. They say nothing until he has passed and is a safe distance away, then they bark up a storm. Hilarious to see our 90-lb 'brave boy' doing the same thing.

This leads DS and I to surmise that if we see this much wildlife close up on our infrequent visits, just imagine what we're missing when we're not there! Of course this fuels the desire to be up there full-time even more.

Finally back

2009-06-28T07:57:00.000-04:00

The past few months have been uneventful reno-wise, but eventful health-wise, hence my absence.

What's new at Deux Hirondelles? A roof, some beavers, some ducklings.

Over the May long weekend, two BILs and a nephew donated their labour and removed the old garage roof. Well, what was left from the late December windstorm anyway! They applied strapping and installed the new roofing. Turns out that the old roofing was in fact steel siding panels, which are thinner than roofing panels! No wonder they bent like toilet paper. They started work at 6:30 AM and the job was complete, with the jobsite cleaned up, by 3:00 PM. DS and I assisted by cutting the strapping to length and pre-dimpling the screw locations on the steel panels before they went up onto the roof. They new roof looks great, we know the job was done properly, and the color now matches the house. We used a fabrication company one village over. We like to stimulate the local economy whenever we can. For those who are interested in costs, we had 17 panels 18' long by 3' wide each and the total cost, including taxes was $2300.

I'm off work for a bit, so I went up early on our next scheduled trip. I planned for a 9:00 AM departure, but the dog had other ideas.

Because of insomnia, at 4:00 AM I was awake and sitting at the kitchen table. All of a sudden Duster started barking. Like Buddy before him, he does not bark without cause. This was a true canine alarm bark, but interspersed amongst the repeated "Get away from here" messages was the occasional "Reinforcements needed!" yip. I zipped to the back door and knew before I opened it that we were dealing with a striped invader. Duster was clearly angry, but also seemed a little confused and chagrined. I called him in and realized instantly that he had been sprayed already. Luckily, he got about 3 feet before I barked "Out!" at him, and he did a U-turn and returned to the yard.

Of course by this time DS was up to see what all the commotion was. Realizing there was nothing we could do, we both went back up to bed. Duster would quiet down for a bit, then would start barking all over again. Taps in the window would calm the noise, but minutes later, he would be back at it. At 5 AM, I had had enough of the noise, and I'm sure the neighbours had as well, though I'm also sure they were quite able to deduce the situation without even leaving the warmth of their beds.

I put on old, disposable duds and headed out the front door to the side of the house. Sure enough, there was the skunk. IN OUR YARD. Apparently uses the same travel guidebook as the hare who lives under our deck. She is cornered right by the gate in an area about 5' by 5', where there is no egress to allow an escape. I have two choices. One, bring the dog through the house and tie him out front, thereby allowing Ms. Stripes the opportunity to leave the yard by the same route she used to enter it. This option involves getting physically close to an agitated, very furry 90-lb stink bomb and guiding him through the kitchen, hallway and living room area. Hmmm. Not an optimal situation, and fraught with opportunities for the plan to go awry.

The second option means getting the tie-out from the front yard, and clipping Duster to one of the deck posts to prevent him from access to the area where the skunk is having her repeated hissy fits. This will enable me to go back out via the front and try to negotiate a 'free-fire' zone with Ms. Stripes to enable me to unlatch the gate through which she can then make her getaway. This approach, however, places me potentially in the line of fire.

I opt for Plan B. I figure by now the skunk has to be out of ammo, and I can run quickly if she isn't. Also, being less furry than the dog, I can shower all the scent off relatively easily if my top speed isn't fast enough. I approach the gate slowly, talking calmly, explaining the details of the plan to the very puffed-out skunk standing on her front paws facing the gate. She backs up in little hops, scraping her nails on the cement of the patio stones as she does so. As she backs up, I advance. After 4 or 5 hops, she quickly darts forward, stopping just at the gate, stamping her front paws on the ground hard enough for me to hear it. Her attempt at intimidation, I guess. Doesn't she know her opposite end is much scarier? I retreat just as quickly as she advances.

This little scenario gets repeated several times. Finally, she backs away just far enough that I dare advance to the gate to unlatch it and swing it wide, my eyes never leaving the stressed-to-the-max black and white bundle mere feet in front of me. It takes her mere seconds to realize that her time as hostage in our yard is almost over. From the safety of the corner of the house, Danielle watches her leave. Luckily, she turns right at the end of our path, heading towards the neighbours' house.

I secure the gate and release Duster without touching more than 3 hairs under his chin. He is dismayed to see that he is not welcomed into the house and even more so to be served breakfast 'alfresco' on the deck. After all, he wants away from the smell too. Back inside, DS and I make plans for breakfast out at Timmies. She'll head off to work and hopefully the time will allow some of the smell to dissipate. The vet's office opened at 7 and I was their first customer.
With a garbage bag smock and wearing gloves, I approached the dog. Luckily, he had received only a minor dose, and it was limited to his head. The enzyme shampoo worked well enough that we were able to get underway about noon.

This year's beavers are quite an industrious pair. Between our departure May 24 and my return June 4, they had almost completely dammed the water's exit from the lake. I kept at it every day, first thing, until our departure June 14. By the end, their determination had started to wane and there was less and less work done each night.

I am not looking forward to what awaits me Monday, however. The forecast is for rain for the next week, but sunnier thereafter. I hope to be able to extend by stay by 5 days or so. I'd really like to get the new footbridge started, maybe finish stripping the desk. We want to get the drywall up on the inside of the new wall upstairs, and do a trip to the dump, now that DS has the trailer wiring done on her truck.

And finally, on to the ducklings. We get two pairs of ducks every spring, but have never seen ducklings. This spring, while driving up, two friends spotted 9 ducklings trailing behind momma duck. I had been up 4 days and was oblivious to these new arrivals as I had not seen them. A couple days later, though, I was treated to my first glimpse. We saw them several times, and even got a short video. Turns out momma had 10 babies. We are hoping they are still around and we get to see them this next trip up.

Ruminations

2009-01-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

When we are not at Deux Hirondelles, we have access to the internet, and can spend a lot of time researching and planning. When we are there, we are implementing plans, or relaxing. I look forward to the day when we can do both while we're there: it will mean we've moved there permanently!

So, with a natural, rustic slate woodstove area, and wainscotting, we've been contemplating what to do with the floor. DS isn't sure she wants to go the acid etched concrete route. She's beginning to think it will be too cold, and she likes the idea of vinyl flooring, which is what's there now. Duster (the dog) doesn't care what we pick so long as it gives him TRACTION! What with smooth vinyl in the country and laminate/hardwood in the city, he can't sit anywhere and not have his feet slowly slide out from under him. Carpet is out because it accumulates too much dirt and dust, no matter how assiduously you clean.

So, today I went browsing on the 'web. I found a nice vinyl flooring from Armstrong. It actually has the look we would have achieved with the acid etching of the concrete: a uniform but random blend of earthy tones with no tile pattern at all. We would have to see it IRL, but it looks promising. Unfortunately, it is listed as one of the 'best' flooring, so the price goes along...

Link to it here, to see it. I wasn't able to link to the image.

The other thing we've been contemplating is the closets in the MBdrm. I got the idea of using the drawers from our dressers in pairs at the bottom of the closet, with hanging space above. DS said, why not just put the hanging space over the dressers as they are? Turns out, three drawers wide would be way wider than we can fit, at least on my side where the slate wall will be. Besides, it's not like we have a ton of full-length stuff to hang: it's almost all tops and pants.

Doing this gives us drawer space without having to go to the costly customizing and also opens up the wall space either side of the door, making the room feel even more open.

The other idea I have is to place a mirror, the same size as the slate panel, on the opposite wall. This would balance the coloring, but would also give us a mirror in the bedroom. Maybe even with a one-tile border all around it...

Off to SketchUp to see how it would work out.

Bedroom expansion and woodstove tiling done; a new unexpected project is defined

2009-01-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

The plan for this visit was to get the MBdrm expansion and tiling around the woodstove done, and everything cleaned up, of course, in time for the big party we were hosting for New Year's. Goal reached.

The Mbdrm expansion meant removing the paneling from two walls, taking three walls down (which included doing away with one large closet) and rearranging the associated wiring, then building the new wall abutting the hallway. This turned the smallest bedroom, 8 x 11, and the adjoining closets and hallway, 4 x 11 into one large bedroom space.

We also got our first look at the wall treatment that will eventually migrate all over the ground floor main living area and hallway.

So, here is a 'before' shot, as best as can be made:

The wall in the right of the photo showing the door is the one we replaced and extended. The woodstove backs onto that new wall from the LR side. The LR can just barely be see in the far right of that photo. The closets, seen at left in that photo, back onto the tiny bedroom seen in the photo on the left. Both of these areas were combined to form the MBdrm, now 12'6" x 15', give or take.

The following two photos show almost the same view, but with the panelling, drywall and closets already gone:

In the top photo, the white wall with the shelving on it is the wall that is common to the next-largest bedroom, the one most often used by guests. To assure privacy via soundproofing, while we will be removing the drywall from that wall, we will be reframing another wall just in front of it, but not touching, the existing framing. In fact, the wall being removed (tilted at an angle in the photo above) was preserved intact, less the sill and top plates and will be reused for that purpose. The tiny closet seen near the window will become an alcove of shelves in the other bedroom. The front door is hiding behind the stack of wood panelling in the photo on the right. It will be filled in this summer coming. The far right of that photo shows the back of the woodstove install and the new wall forming the N end of our new bedroom. Eventually, when the exterior gets redone, the window will be moved to a centred position and enlarged.

These photos show the newly-framed wall, first from the outside corner, then from the old door looking towards the new room's doorway and the hallway beyond.

For now, because of our extended absences, we share the bedroom with the tools and supplies for renos, to keep them out of view. It's cramped, but at least our bedroom and dressers are no longer in the living room! And, once we get a door installed, we'll have privacy. Notice how the foreman is ever-present!

During this last visit, to allow room for the tools in the LR while we were knocking out and rebuilding walls, we occupied the next bedroom down temporarily. Duster, the dog, developed this habit of 'tucking us in': he would stay in the LR on his bed, until he heard the sounds that told him that we were both in bed, then he would come for a visit. He would sometimes lie down and snooze with us for a bit, but always went back to his bed eventually. The first night in the newly-constructed room, we whistled for him to come visit once we were in bed. We heard him trot down the hall, right past the doorway, to the next room where we had been sleeping. It took him a few seconds to figure out we weren't there anymore, and the gales of laughter quickly told him where we were.

Finally, this last photo shows the woodstove tiling all done, and the wall that is the N end of our bedroom, from the LR side. Hard to believe the bottom half is done in the same panelling as that seen in the 'before' photos above, eh? Amazing what a little bit of planing can do. The planing was actually a brilliant idea: it removes the old finish and brings the panelling to the same thickness as drywall, eliminating headaches for window and door trim.

There will be trim at the joint between panelling and drywall and also at the top of the wall, a simple half-beam up top and very plain baseboard and chair rail, very Arts & Crafts in styling and proportion.

The old kettle is the one that came from DS' family home, sandblasted and rustpainted. It needs a coat of matte black, but will be only decorative as it is quite corroded inside.

Photos really don't do the tiles justice, their colors don't come through this far away, but everyone who saw the stove and it's area was quite impressed. The on sale for $50 tilesaw we got at Canadian Tire performed beautifully, and I kept all the off-cuts for some mosiac work on the bedroom side of the wall.

These next photos show the next, unplanned project:
Yup, high winds tore a good chunk of one side of the garage steel roofing panels right off, right to the far end of the slope. DS is about 1/3 the way through the temporary repairs in the photo below.

3 panels got torn off the other side last year during the holiday season, but we replaced them and repaired all the holes with fibreglass and roofing pitch. We had hoped to put off the new roof until the major reno year, but clearly that's out of the question now.

Again, notice the foreman sleeping on the job?

And here, you can see where he is carrying out an up-close-and-personal quality control check:

DS was cutting away the vinyl flooring where the new wall was going in and he just had to come and stick his nose right in it.

The little guy gave us quite the scare. On the evening of the 1st he developed quite a large lump on the top of his head. We thought it was a hematoma from having bumped his head earlier in the evening. After peaking on the 2nd, it showed daily gradual improvement. Until we got up on departure day, the 6th: it was once again huge, and he was lethargic and without appetite (a big thing for him, being part-Lab).

As soon as we got back to the city, we went straight to our vet's office. The history gave them nothing, so they tried aspirating. It turned out to be a huge abscess, and he went from there to the local Animal Hospital Emerg. where he had surgery in the wee hours. The house felt incredibly empty without our furry little friend. He came home the next day, with a drain and looked pretty rough. The drain is now out, and he is doing much better, essentially back to his old self, sans a good patch of hair, though:

Their best guess is that since he loves to chew on sticks and 2 x 4's, etc. he got a splinter that migrated and formed a small abscess. The bump on the head early evening on the 1st caused it to burst, and it quickly (90 minutes or so) developed into a huge abscess that his body fought off successfully for a while, but then could no longer.

He's a bright guy and should be able to learn not to chew on wood; we were able to teach him to leave the firewood alone. Oh, and he's getting a health care plan, too, just in case. He's only 21 months old, and pure 'Dennis-the-Menace', but we love him to pieces.

Summer to winter in 4 days; a new window

2008-11-24T06:38:00.000-05:00

Having both been swamped at work, we once again delayed our departure until the wee hours, and arrived in time to meet a SIL for breakfast Thursday morning.

The weather forecast was for warm and sunny. At 2 PM we were out on the back deck, in shorts, enjoying a beer. We took a full day for R&R, sorely needed.

Friday morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we began work on the weekend's project: repairing the wall and replacing the second-floor window on the SE side of the house. The frame had separated from the sill by about 3/8", water had leaked into the wall, the framing had become damp and carpenter ants had moved in. Clearly, the problem had been addressed somehow, though, because although we had seen past evidence of the ants when we took possession, there had been nothing since.

We knew this much because we opened up the wall enough to get good window measurements in August, when the window was ordered. It has been ready and waiting since Labour Day weekend.

Here is what we found when we opened the wall:
You see what looks like a brick pattern in the upper left corner of the photo above? If you haven't guessed, that is the inside of the shingles on the outside wall. We got right through to them simply by scratching away the rotted material with our bare hands.

Friday was pretty much spent taking apart the inside of the wall to see the extent of the damage inside, and figuring out how we were going to proceed and what materials we would need. Saturday morning early, it's off to the hardware store with a stop in a nearby village to pick up rented scaffolding.

By Saturday night, the window is out and most of the rotted wood on the outside has been removed. The area of damage on the outside is larger than on the inside, which makes sense.

Also, we now know how the walls are built. Starting from the outside, cedar shingles, black roofing paper, 3/4" x 5" rough-sawn boards, 2x4 framing, 3/4" x 5" boards, black paper, 1/2" sheathing (that light compressed cardboardy stuff with black on one side), strapping, 5/8" shiplap cedar boards. It appears the second-floor end walls are insulated with woodshavings. We know the downstairs and side walls are insulated with fibreglass, and we're not really sure why the difference.

The shower and warm fire are very welcome: the temperature has dropped and we spent parts of the day working in a cold drizzle.

Sunday morning, I get to work on removing the shingles that remain in our way. This is tedious, and involves cutting through the nails holding them on with a hacksaw blade whose end is wrapped in duct tape (so my hands don't get chewed up) from the underside of the shingles. This way, they can be removed without being damaged. This takes me until noon. DS does the re-framing from the inside while I work from the scaffolding. Not long after lunch, we are ready to cut and install the 3/4" ply that will replace the rotten boards we have removed, and cover it with new roofing paper.

It is late afternoon by the time we are ready to install the window. The sun is setting and we're in a little valley, so on the SE side of the house we are rapidly losing light as we carry the window, level by level, up the scaffolding. We are working by the lights from the inside of the second floor. We are literally about to raise the window into the hole when all goes dark. I don't mean the sun has set, I mean everything: the power has gone out. The timing could not have been worse. We quickly reconsider our options and decide not to wait. We lift the window and find the opening because of the high contrast with the white shingles. We get the window in, then I stand there, holding it in place.

DS climbs down the scaffolding and tries re-setting the main breaker, just in case. No go. She finds a flashlight, locates her drill and installs the screws that will hold the window in overnight. We headed downstairs for a well-deserved beer, drinking by candlelight until the power came back on, about 30 minutes later.

Notice the Site Foreman in the above picture doing an up-close inspection of the insulation job. Typical of most foremen, he gets in the way more than he helps.

Monday was spent finishing up the inside of the wall and re-installing shingles and trim in a steady snowfall. We were able to pack up the scaffolding and return it at about 4:30 PM. We didn't get enough of the interior finishing done to be able to reconnect the baseboard heater, so I hope it doesn't get too cold while we're gone.

It was a whirlwind trip, pretty much all work, but necessary, and it feels great to have it done.

Here is the outside view, before and after:

Septic is done!

2008-10-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that I can be so thrilled at such an unglamorous 'renovation', but, well, I am!

We didn't leave the city until the wee hours of Saturday morning, so arrived 9-ish. We took advantage of the 'business hours' arrival to run several errands. We made 7 stops before we got home! Exactly the kind of day we hate, but it needed doing.

Sunday, we dove into the clearing of the 12 foot wide swath down to the stream for the septic system's discharge pipe. We had chosen a path that involved the removal of mostly quite small trees and only two medium-large ones. We would have been all done by suppertime, but the chainsaw quit on us again. During our holidays, it did the same thing and when DS unloaded it at the dealer, it started on the first pull. She was quite reluctant to suffer the same embarrassment again.

The tanks arrived bright and early Monday morning: by 8:30 AM they had been unloaded and were sitting there, waiting to be sunk into the ground. While unloading, one brace-foot sunk into the ground beside the garage quite a bit. It looked suspicious, and I was concerned that the
weight might shift suddenly and endanger the driver, or drop the tank. All went well, though. I went over to take a look after he left and there seems to be yet another underground wooden structure. However, what purpose it serves and where it goes, we have no clue. That's a puzzle for another day, some time in the distant (I hope) future.

Tuesday was spent picking up two cords of stove-length hardwood at $55.00 each, helping some friends load a cord of their wood into their truck, and dropping off and picking up the recalcitrant chainsaw. Best we could all figure out, our gas was too old (5 months) so we decided to mix in smaller quantities. We also stacked most of our bought wood and some of our spring cull wood in the shed as well.

A quick call at the end of the day confirmed that the contractor would not be at our place before Thursday AM, so we finished our felling, bucking and removal of the wood culled from the swath on Wednesday. The two medium-large trees were Paper Birch, which will make for good burning. They were at the bottom of the hill, though, and without any other means of getting them out of the way, we carried and toted by hand. We burned a couple-three calories that day! We also had to get all the longer, but much smaller lengths out of the way. By suppertime we were exhausted, but all the wood was waiting to be stacked and bucked. And this spring's cull was stacked in the woodshed. When we were all done, we hauled out the 300' tape measure and checked. I had estimated 300' based on the plans, and I was within a foot. These trees netted us close to two cords of wood for next winter, and we bucked and stacked it while we watched the work progress.

Now, you might think that I, an overweight, under-exercised pencil-pushing girl from the city would perform such heavy physical labour only under pain of death, but that is just not the case. I find such tiring and sweat-producing efforts quite rewarding. We both do, and look forward to the days when we get to do this full-time. Busman's holiday, I guess. Anyway, I get a sense of accomplishment from such activities that I really treasure.

Thursday morning dawned grey and dreary. By 8:30 AM, digging had started. Once the top was off the old holding tank, we learned that both the inlet and overflow tubes were underwater, which should not have been. It was quite surprising that our toilet wasn't flushing slowly. A quick call to the local firm and the poop-sucking truck would be there in an hour. He just happened to be in the village.

Steve, our contractor, moved over and started digging where the tanks were planned to go. About a foot deeper than the soil test hole dug in July, he hit bedrock. He followed it along, and it went deeper for a bit, then headed back up. There was no way to set up the system with a gravity feed unless the tanks were placed at least 100' away from the house, and even then, we weren't positive that would work because there was another 'wave' of bedrock along the way. We opted for a sewage pumping station near the house. Not the best scenario, but in our case, quite likely the only solution. This also means that the tanks cause a rise in the ground level a bit higher than the slope that was already there. And, we have one of those u-g-l-y vent pipes that end in an upside-down 'U'. It will be a challenge to hide that puppy, and it's right in the middle of the slope to the clearing at the end of the house. We have plenty of room for our 'road' between the tanks and the pumping station at the end of the house, so it's all good.

On the plus side, Steve dug up all the old cast iron piping and hauled it away, as well as the really putrid soil and timbers from the old holding tank. The exchange was that he didn't charge us travelling time on the shovel, worth $110. I had asked him to put any large rocks he found while digging off to the side, and DS had spoken to him about making the pile of old timbers from the greenhouse more manageable for us. He found quite a few rocks, which was great. He dug up the huge one we'd found bulldozing and hadn't been able to move with the 'dozer, and ended up standing it on it's side and placing it almost exactly where I would have put it. I couldn't have asked for better. He also dug a huge hole and dumped all the greenhouse junk into it and covered it back up, so we don't have to worry about dealing with that come spring.

Also, he reworked the crest of the slope between the clearing and the 'path' to the stream so it is now a gentle and manageable one. Next spring, we'll haul out the bulldozer and rework the clearing and the 'path' a bit and then we'll be able to sow grass seed. The winter snow and spring melt will cause the soil to compact and settle, so there wouldn't be much point in re-working it now. We'll need some topsoil for the area around the tanks, because it's very much clay there, but from beyond there, right through the clearing, it's beautiful soil.

I'd like to plant some trees along the 'path' because it is a lot wider than it needs to be, and I picked out a nice spot for a campsite. We might make a couple, actually. They are not too far from the planned firepit, yet enough under the trees to be really attractive.

Anyway, it is great to have that worry off our minds. The total bill is more than we hoped, but less than we feared, so that's good, too. From what was found, we would have had problems this winter. Now, it's done.

We had some ducks and even four geese visit. I also got some footage of Oscar the Castor. We got lots of footage of the excavator, too, for the great-nephews. Notice I say footage and not photos. I bought the family Christmas present early: a hard-disc drive camcorder. Of course we forgot all about taking still shots, so unless I can figure out a way to cull a still shot from the footage, there's nothing for the blog!

Unfortunately, we didn't get any work done on the window. That's for next time. Our bedroom may have to wait until the holiday season vacation starts, but we will still be able to get it done before the big family party; we may just not have it done for our own family celebration.

Septic Dates Set

2008-10-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

The contractor called tonight. He has another job at the beginning of the week. Should it take longer than expected, he will be at our place Thursday morning. Otherwise, it will be Wednesday. This gives us a little more time to get our end done. If things go well and we finish early, we can then get started on changing out the upstairs window.

They will, however, be delivering the septic tanks on Monday. Two tanks, 8' long by 52" wide. We're going to have to find a spot to put them that won't interfere with our getting the bulldozer out and to the clearing.

While we are going to reimburse our account for the difference between what we had saved already for the woodstove and what it actually cost, that will take some time. We should have enough left to pay for the septic. We're hoping there'll even be a little left over. Keeping fingers crossed.

Odds and Ends

2008-09-30T20:00:00.000-04:00

Last week, DS drove 40 minutes to drop off her mom's old cast iron kettle, a pot and two lids at a sandblasting place for cleaning. The items were supposed to be ready by Friday. She didn't get a receipt. The guy said he lived near us, so he would bring the items home for pickup, rather than have us drive out. We called Friday and the 'receptionist' said they needed to be redone and knew nothing about it. Monday, the guy was there and said they'd be ready Tuesday and he would call for pickup. No call. I sure hope DS hasn't lost these items; she'll be heartbroken.

The septic guy called Monday evening...checking on the dates. I said Tuesday, because we still have to clear the way for the discharge to the stream...He asked if we were there all week. I got the feeling that he's got a conflict, but he assured me that it will get done next week.

I've been thinking about using the firebricks left over from the old fireplace to make a bench next to the hearth. Just high enough to accomodate boots underneath, for drying. It would be a place for mitts and stuff to dry, and be more thermal mass.

The big news this week is the financial crisis in the U.S. resulting from the slowing economy and that huge sub-prime mortgage fiasco. I was reading an article the other day that talked about retailers with associated credit cards, who are thought to be the next sector of dominoes to fall. The article explained that it depended on the business model used by the retailer. If the business model was based on customers paying their bills, they should be fine, but if the business model was based on customers not paying their bills, it could pose a problem. Not being well versed in economics, I didn't really grasp this whole concept. A business model built on customers defaulting on their credit card balances just didn't make sense to me.

Big Orange helped me understand. If you've read all these posts, you will know that they have financed the renovation of our current house for various periods, at no interest. In 7 years, we have paid them less than $4 in interest. We almost always have one of those 'no interest, no payments for 6/12 months' things on the go. This year, we had 4 on the go at once. Three were due between Feb and June, the last was in July. It got confusing at times, but they all got paid off on time. Now we have three more on the go for various dates next year, and we are nearing the $2000 limit on that card. Yesterday, they sent me a special 'Thank you' offer for 12 months no interest. One of those cards you keep for the next 3 months and can keep reusing. Regardless of date of purchase, the due date is December 2009.

That's when I figured it out. Our card has seen more activity in '07/08 than ever before, because of the cottage. Our balance is up there. Now, we know that we have budgeted accordingly and that we will pay no interest on these plans, but they don't know that. We're nearly to our current max on that card and they are offering to loan us more money, in chunks of a minimum $300. I'm sure if we requested an increase in our credit limit, they'd accommodate us. It looks to me that they use the business model based on customers not paying their bills on time. This nets them more interest revenue. Now I get it. Thanks for the lesson in economics, HD!

That said, I am contemplating suggesting to DS that we go for it. It would be worthwhile to change some of the baseboard heating units in the cottage to more efficient ones with electronic thermostats, particularly since we're doing some wall work now.

The downside of the part-time rural lifestyle

2008-09-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

After each having had the 'week from hell', we managed to scoot out of the city a little earlier than usual, leading to a very reasonable arrival time of 10:00 PM Thursday night. The light-sensitive zillion-watt lamp that watches over the property from dusk to dawn was out. Since DD and SIL were the last ones at the cottage, we figured they had been star-gazing and had forgotten to plug it back in.

DS learned the power was out when she tried to switch on the outside light after unlocking the door. There had been some rainstorms on the way up, with significant winds, so we weren't that surprised. Then DS opened the door to the house. One whiff and she thought "there's something dead in here, and it's bigger than a mouse." She wasn't far off. The smell in the house was horribly putrid. I reached into the chest freezer and felt nothing but softness. Yuck. The power had obviously been out for a while.

A call to Hydro connected me to a snippy woman with attitude. She checked and commented that something had happened on Monday, had we been gone this week? 48 hours or more. Well, that explains the smell. "Go to the main switch on the panel, turn it off, wait 10 seconds, then turn it back on. I'll wait if you want." Damn straight you'll wait. I waited 15 seconds just to be sure. Nothing.

This result left her a little perplexed, until she dove further into the layers of our connection details. "Are you the only ones on your transformer?" Yes, it's right outside the house. An accusatory tone, as if I've been a naughty child: "You must tell us when you call that you are alone on your transformer." Now, how am I supposed to know that? I have dealt with a live person at Hydro several times, twice for power failures, and no one has ever mentioned this. Ms. Customer-Service-of-the-year puts me on hold to check something else, at which point I begin to explain to DS what is going on. The Hydro clerk returns and quickly says something that sounds to me like 'Monday morning'. Monday morning??? Are you &^*% kidding me? I think but "Excuse me?" is what I say. DS thinks I'm talking to her, so she repeats what she just said at the same time as Ms. Clerk repeats herself. I still hear 'Monday morning', and am trying to process this. Clearly, I am not reacting as quickly as she would like as she testily says "Madame?" I explain that someone else here is talking at the same time and could she repeat again? "One o'clock in the morning." (in French, they sound quite similar if spoken quickly) Ah, okay, thank you. Click, she hangs up. No explanation, nothing.

DS and I are left to try to figure out what to do. No power means no running water. We have two choices: get the corn roast propane burner out of the garage, get water from the lake, and start cleaning while we wait for Hydro to show up, or make the bed and try to sleep. We opt for sleep. I find some essential oils and place a couple of drops of Bay on my pillow and Eucalyptus on the bed between our pillows. We open up several windows and pile the blankets on the bed. The breeze from the patio door means we get only an occasional whiff of rotting flesh and dairy products. Even the dog finds the odour too much and abandons his familiar, comfy sleep locations for the floor next to the bed.

In such a situation, you can either laugh or cry. We choose to laugh and try to make the best of it and we're still chatting when Hydro pulls up next to our transformer, but leaves without doing anything. A few minutes later, we hear the faint 'beep, beep' of a truck backing up, and the lights come on seconds after that. We start a fan to keep the smell away from the sleeping area, close most of the windows, and drift off to sleep.

The next morning, all we can muster is coffee, which we drink outside on our ritual morning walk. We don masks and elbow-length rubber gloves and empty the fridge and freezer, wash them out and haul the garbage bin to the road. Thankfully, garbage pickup is the next morning. Once all is clean, the smell is gone. Phew.

All this unplanned activity has put us off our work schedule, however. There is nothing to eat in the house, so we head out for breakfast, then pick up some groceries. By the time we get home, the day is pretty much done.

Friday morning, I get busy removing the latest installment of the beaver dam. It's been two full weeks and the water level is fairly high. This beaver is using rocks and is clearing the bottom of the lake of deadwood. We don't mind, but the fish probably do. It's not a huge dam, though, and I'm done in an hour.

The woodstove guys are scheduled to arrive and show up at 10:00. Thirty minutes unloading and setting up, and two and a half hours later, they are pretty much done. I had asked them if they could remove the top two sections of the old chimney, and we had some cash on hand to pay them for this job, as it was not included in what we paid for. They do it, tape the open top every which way from Sunday, and refuse payment. By 1:00 PM, they are packed up and gone.

We proceed to light our 'break-in' fire, and of course, record it for posterity:
We have a family dinner to go to, but when we get back at 9:00, we put in a real fire. At 11:00, we throw a hunk on the fire and go to bed. We're burning the wood left by the previous owner, very dry, but softwood, so it is consumed fairly quickly. I wake at 2:00 AM and the glow of flames dancing on the LR ceiling is gone. But when we get up at 6:00 AM, the top of the stove is still a bit warm. One burn and we can tell that once we have learned how to use this stove properly, it will serve us very well indeed. The stove is a Hearthstone Mansfield, and cost us about the same as a significantly smaller, full enamelled cast-iron stove would have.

I also spoke with the municipal inspector on Friday. He was curious as to the placement of the discharge pipe from the second septic tank to the stream. I explained about the micro-hydro and he thought we were seeking approval for that now. When I cleared up this misunderstanding, he said he would go ahead and prepare the permit.

Saturday the first order of business was the damn dam. Again. Very small, though, took me about 15 minutes. After that, we moved on to the bulldozer work. We needed to get started on lowering the level of the clearing where the septic tanks will go. We also needed to scope out the path the discharge pipe will take, because we need to fell all the trees along that path for 12' wide. It took us a bit to get used to working with the 'dozer, but once we got the hang of it, it went well. Typical for us, we forgot to take before and after photos. I did get a photo of DS in action, though:
About halfway through the afternoon, after a bit of a jolt, the 'dozer just quit and wouldn't restart. Turn the key, nothing was happening. We know next to nothing about engine mechanics, but we guessed it had something to do with the battery or the starter. We fiddled with this wire and that, and reconnected two wires that seemed to have been broken or cut, but no go. DS called her brother who confirmed it had to be something electrical. I have a multimeter, but as of yet, haven't the faintest idea how to use it. We decided to take the battery out and put it on the charger. That would at least tell us if it was dead. The needle kept going end to end, so DS disconnected it. While she did that, I cleaned out the battery compartment, which had been filled with pieces of old rubber innertube. Once they were all out, I learned why: an old battery had leaked and there was a hole in the bottom of the compartment. I put everything back tidily, and in a manner to keep the battery from bouncing around too much. Then, for lack of something else to do, I proceeded to clean the battery lead connectors. One seemed dirty, the other not, but I did 'em both anyway.

Reconnect the battery and voila, the 'dozer starts. We were amazed, and still aren't sure what the problem was. I worked for a bit, then turned the key to turn off the dozer to let DS take over again. Now the 'dozer wouldn't stop! I ended up stalling it to get it to stop. We disconnected the wire we had reconnected, figuring that was the reason for the new behaviour. It seemed to be because the 'dozer responded normally after that.

Yet another adventure. We look forward to many more.

The Wild Life

2008-09-13T20:00:00.000-04:00

Or, as some would put it, the wildlife. This is the post where all the animal-related stories will get placed, so check back every so often.

Not long after the warm weather showed up, I noticed a baby garter snake in the grass near the deck. I know how DS feels about them, so I kept my mouth shut. One day, we were moving some wood and I got a splinter. Not a bad one, but in an annoying spot, so I went inside to remove it. I grabbed my tweezers and headed for the head of our bed, where the patio doors are. This is where there is the best daytime light. Now, there's about 18" between the head of our bed and the door, and I sidle in and push the bed away a bit to get some room. I'm about to sit down when my brain tells me there's something amiss. I guess I noticed out of the corner of my eye that something didn't look quite right.

I glance down, and stretched out peacefully in the sun, in the guide track of the patio door, with one languid loop hanging out, is a garter snake about 16" long. Inside. I head to the door and yell to DS to get in here now. On my way back, I grab a pair of glove and the BBQ tongs. I know that I am the one who will have to deal with this intruder; DS is simply too put out by snakes to be able to be of much help.

The way she tells it, she figured I had come upon a whole family of mice, as we were still working on evicting them all from the premises at the time. But when I passed their likely location and kept moving towards the LR, she figured Murphy the groundhog was on the back deck with all the kiddies in tow. As we approached the patio doors, she was able to see the deck was empty. 'What the heck was all the commotion about, then?' she wondered. Following my gaze, she spotted our guest. Simultaneously shrieking and jumping back about 5', she asked what we were going to do.

I suggested she get a pair of gloves and a long stick, just in case I missed. I explained my plan was to grab the protruding loop with the tongs and remove the reptile, to allow her to then unlock and open the patio door. I knew I had one chance to grasp it. If I missed, it would move and all hell would break loose. There was no telling how long it would take us to capture it then. DS got the gloves and a baseball bat the previous owner had left behind in the woodshed. She also moved her nightstand and dresser about 10 feet away from the site of operations.

I took a deep breath and grabbed. My aim was true, but the snake was pissed at having his nap interrupted. He was writhing at the end of my tongs and sticking out that tongue. I moved him to the side so DS could handle the door. She was so rattled by this situation that it took her four tries to get the door unlocked and open. Finally, I was out on the deck. With one mighty swing, and a perfectly-timed release, that snake travelled almost to the middle of the lake.

"You know, snakes can swim," DS pointed out. Damn. I didn't know that.

Craftsman style becomes the solution

2008-09-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

When we began contemplating the upgrades we wanted to make, we hit a bit of an obstacle. We both really liked the cedar shingles used for the gable ends, but adding insulation to the exterior to bring it close to R-20 meant ripping all the exterior coverings off. Although the profit we'll make on the sale of this house will be enough to fund the upgrades, we're not made of money, and at $5.00+ per sq ft, that shingle-look siding is out of our price range. So are cedar shingles themselves. We were concerned that removing and re-applying the shingles would damage too many of them.

Remember that housing project with the Craftsman look DS was working on? Well, it gave us the solution. On the ground floor, we will upgrade the insulation from the exterior. On the gable ends, we will do the upgrading on the inside. We will address the wall variation on the outside by doing this:
That little bit of roof detail between the top and ground floors will hide the inch or two difference. We've seen the framing required on the jobsites and it's tedious, but not difficult. The roofing will come from the roof we remove when renovating the woodshed/carport.

There are many variations of porch supports in the Craftsman/Bungalow style. DS and I have decided that this is the look we prefer, more or less:

With that in mind, here is a view of the woodshed/carport as it is now,and more or less how we envision it once the changes are made:

Just add some gable detailing and windows, and you get the picture. I admit, my SketchUp skills are very rudimentary, but I'm working on it.

We Wanna Be Free....

2008-09-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

We are both finding it increasingly difficult to resume the day-to-day of our worka-day life here in the city. With some 2 years, 7 months and three weeks (but I'm not counting) left to go before we pack up here and move to 'the cottage' permanently, we wonder how we are going to make it.

For the first year of ownership and part-time residence there, it was hard to come back, but not as hard as it is now. Our theory is that the first year was clean-up and small maintenance projects. Now that we have actually started renovating, we are more 'engaged' in that property. We are starting to leave our tangible marks on it. We have a clear vision for the property and are itching to 'get on with it'.

The rational side of me knows that the 2+ years will go by quickly; after all, we have been travelling there for 17 months and it has gone by in a flash. Last year's puppy, part Lab, had us wondering if he would ever settle down; he is now a very well-behaved 17 months old, seemingly in the blink of an eye. We'll make it, we know, but it's not easy.

A new homeowner!

2008-09-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's not us, but I'm still excited. DD, after living in her brand-new condo since last December and paying occupancy costs, actually closed this morning. The unit is now officially hers. This is important, because her monthly payments go down since her mortgage is at a great rate, and she starts building equity. This was right down to the wire, because the excellent rate she got for her mortgage would have expired on the 10th.

She has paid her adjustments and her legal fees and has a bit of money left over. This is a huge change for her: not being one to wait and save, she was quick to spend money on 'stuff'. At one point, while still a student, she was a few thousand dollars in debit via credit cards. Such behaviours are all in the past. She is putting money into savings, and is still living well. And, as a parent, I can breathe easier knowing she has the tools to make it.

Finally, movement on the septic system

2008-09-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

So I ended up copying the septic system plan, drawing what we needed on it and e-mailed it to the soil engineering firm. I let them know I was less than impressed with what had happened since the soil tests had been done. Not surprisingly, I got a call from the engineer himself explaining that so long as distances from the house, well and property line were respected, the tanks could be anywhere, given that a leaching bed is not involved. When I pointed out to him that the report itself says that deviations from the plan need prior authorization from them, he explained that if the contractor digs and can't install where the plan shows, a few feet one way or the other isn't a big deal, the contractor can just pick up the phone and call. Nice of them to say so now. He did say that a corrected plan would go out, however, PDQ.

Also got a call from the second contractor with more questions and info about the installation. The compartment which permits the compressor to be installed outside the house costs $300. He thought that was a lot. I said from our perspective, to be sure we don't have the noise of the compressor in the house, it was fine. It is, after all, a completely watertight enclosure. Also, it must be within 6 feet of the house. Not a big deal.

While showing the contractor around, he was looking at possible points of entry for the wiring for the pump, compressor and alarm. We pointed out the wires that had run from the antenna tower to the house and explained that a junction box could be installed and the wiring run down to the sewing room on the first floor, as the wall is completely open on the second floor at present. The electrician would just have to figure out what breaker it's on. In fact, this placement would be ideal, even if new wiring has to be run. The compressor can take its air from inside the closet of Bdrm 2, minimizing any sound, and the wiring for the alarm and pump can be run from the back wall of the closet to the sewing room on the other side. Even if a totally new circuit needs to be run, there is access from overhead in the unfinished eaves, and the breaker for the food disposal is now unused, and will never be needed.

Food disposals are not recommended for houses running on septic systems. They chop the food into particles that can suspend in the liquid, and they can therefore pass into the leaching bed, clogging it prematurely. While we won't have a leaching bed, they have never interested me.

This second contractor pointed out that if we are able to dig down deep enough to place the septic tanks without having to pump the waste uphill from the house, there will be too much soil on top of the tanks. Because of the need for periodical inspections, 36" is the maximum collar height. We explained that we had a bulldozer and would be happy to bring the whole clearing down as much as was needed. We also discussed timing. Since we'll have some work to do before the installation, we decided the days just before Thanksgiving would be good. There won't be snow yet, but the vegetation will all be gone. That will give us three full days to get the bulldozer work done. In fact, if we need to, we can go up a few days early for Thanksgiving and finish what needs to be done.

Hopefully, we can finish the upstairs window install, too. I forgot to mention that we picked up the window on this last trip. We were really very pleased with the look.

The second contractor sent us his price estimate last night. From the looks of things, both are very much in the same ballpark, so it will be a question of who we got the better intuition from.

Also, we had gone to pick up an ABS bed base. We had seen them for sale at a local shop and thought they were an excellent idea. With our move to our bedroom coming up, we figured it was time to make this purchase. Unfortunately, with the rising cost of oil, the manufacturer has stopped production. Yesterday, though, an IKEA ad came in the mail and I got the notion that we could use some of their bedslats. In fact, it will likely be a less expensive solution, and more comfortable.

So, the revised plan has now arrived by e-mail. Looking at the elevations and where the bedrock was found, it's anyone's guess as to whether we'll be able to dig deep enough. The good news is that we will only need to bring the clearing down by about 6-8". We were going to bulldoze anyway, to clean up the mess of junk that resulted from the previous owner bulldozing the greenhouse, and to clear all the scrub. The plan was to have a spot, sheltered from the wind, where we could have our outdoor fires.

So, it is finally looking like the septic system will be happening...

Scrap Metal Wages

2008-09-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Leading up to, and during our holidays, we expended a fair amount of energy collecting and loading all the scrap metal from the garage, the woods and the clearing into a container. A company dropped off the container and picked it up when done. They would pay anywhere from $.06 to $0.10 per pound, depending on the quality of the scrap you have.

When we were told that we had 9876 lbs of scrap, we were disappointed, and suspected they were being dishonest on the weight. After all, we had a 9' snowblower that by itself weighed a fair bit: our Case bulldozer was able to lift it and move it, but the ass end of the 'dozer lifted off the ground at the slightest bump. That snowblower was close to the weight limit of the 'dozer for sure. Then, there were several trailer frames, and a whole lot of small pieces that weighed a ton. Anyway, we calculated at $.06 a lb and arrived at just over $500. Not quite what we had hoped for. We recognized, though, that we had no recourse.

Well, the check came in the mail today. They paid us at $.10 a lb, for a total of just under $1,000. That's more like it! We are quite happy with that amount.

So, this gets added to the pot for the woodstove:
$710 found money, $987 scrap metal, $1400 saved so far and $54 in beverage container returns for a total of $3151. This leaves about $2500 to come from the proceeds of the sale of the 5 acres, which we will reimburse to ourselves over time. With any luck, we'll have enough left over from the stove and septic install to do the second floor insulation upgrade this fall. Keep your fingers crossed!

Accomplishments and frustrations

2008-09-02T19:00:00.000-04:00

This past visit included DD and her boyfriend. They practically live together, so he merits the tag SIL. They both helped with the woodstove hearth project. DD washed the slate tiles and SIL helped stack and fill the concrete blocks.

But first, the frustrations. A new beaver dam has appeared, so now we are into Beaver Wars, Part Deux. Not big dams, though, and he waited until Sunday night to rebuild.

The 'corrected' report from the soil engineer still wasn't right. I'm getting pissed.

Now on to more fun stuff: the hearth project. DS mentioned that she has seen masons on jobsites cutting blocks many times and would be happy to try her hand at making our half-blocks. Why didn't she say so earlier? Her cuts turned out excellent, as we already had the stone chisels used for such work. We bought them to take apart the old fireplace last summer. We went out and rounded up all the full and half-blocks we could find of the dimensions we were using for the wall. We were able to get enough in good to excellent condition to do a wall about 6' high. That will be plenty of thermal mass.

Since we ultimately decided to pour concrete into all the CMU (concrete masonry units aka cinder blocks) voids, and used rebar in the edge voids, we opted to not surface coat the wall. The last voids have a 5' rebar from the bottom block upwards and the next ones in have a 4' rebar from the top down. We're confident that the wall is not going anywhere, at least, not anytime in the next 50 years.

We used an OdJob for mixing, which was easier than hand mixing in a wheelbarrow, and margarine buckets for moving the concrete to the voids. The mixer, when full, was too heavy to lift into place. As it got emptier, we were able to hoist it into position and 'pour' the concrete into the voids more quickly. Then, as the wall got higher, we had to do everything bucket by bucket.

At first, we lay 4 rows of blocks, then filled all the voids. That was tiring, so after lunch, we opted for laying two rows then filling them. We didn't vibrate the air out, but we did use a 1/2" x 1/2" stick and tamped down each void every 4" of concrete or so. For a total of 9 rows, it took 7 66-lb bags of concrete. We earned every bit of the steak and shrimp dinner that followed.

Here we are transferring the last of the concrete from the OdJob to the wall:

Here's the view from the top showing the rebar in one of the voids:

And here's the (mostly) tiled wall and hearth:
We'll need a tilesaw to finish and we just missed the sale on the one we wanted to buy. But, enough is done to have the woodstove installed and not worry about the stove and/or pipe getting in the way or plastered with thinset. Once the drywall and wood are on the wall to the sides, we'll install one last full tile on each side of the wall section. Because we'remaking the wall wider than planned, we'll have less tiles for the bedroom side. This means we will have to use all the tiles, even the broken ones. We've decided that we'll break up any broken pieces and do some mosaic squares, and that we will also do an irregular pattern using all the off-cuts as well. Should be interesting.

More good septic news

2008-08-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

Or at least, it would seem so. When I got the soil report last week, there were a number of things that had to change. I asked for priority handling, so we could have the actual report back in our hands yesterday. Since I'd had no news, I phoned them yesterday. Karine apologized for it not being ready. Once I explained that we were hoping to arrange it so we could get visits for submissions later this week, she asked who we were going to be dealing with and said she would fax it out, with changes, to the municipality and those contractors. Although they haven't kept promises in the past, I thought it best to call the contractors and let them know it was coming. They both said call us Thursday, and we'll come by Thursday night. I told them to bring their bug spray.

So after some discussion back and forth, the thermal mass wall process has been decided on. We're going to build as high as we can with the blocks we have, using the concrete adhesive we bought. We bought rebar, and will fill all the holes with cement, reinforcing two vertical channels with rebar. We'll skip the surface bonding cement, as the concrete filling of the holes will form channels of solid concrete that will ensure stability. We may even build a collar and top everything off with a slab of concrete, depending on how much we have. We'll steel-stud frame the top portion to the ceiling then cover front and back with cementboard, screwed into the block wall with Tapcons. The wall will be inflammable, and won't be going anywhere.

I'm still toying with a couple solutions for getting the half-blocks we'll need. Get a blade and cut them ourselves, or bring them to someone to cut them for us. Need to find a mason for that, though.

We'll also fill the gap between the base and the wall with concrete, so we have a good solid and level base for the wall ties to rest on. Of all of this, the thing that I view as the biggest challenge is laying the tile itself. I have never used thinset mortar, nor buttered the back of tiles, so this process is totally new. I am confident in my ability to learn how to do it well, but it's still the unknown.

Which reminds me, I had better read up on the specifics and save it to my hard drive as the internet will be miles away when I'm into the project.

More Ideas...

2008-08-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Water
One of the benign issues for many rural well-supplied residents to address is the hardness of water, and we're no different in that regard. I tested ours with one of my aquarium test strips and it was off-the-scale hard. The main reason for wanting soft(er) water is to limit accumulation of minerals in home appliances, such as the water heater and washer. I'd also like to have softer water for washing my hair. Right now, after 5 days at the cottage, I feel like I'm wearing a broom atop my head.

Not long ago, I was reading an article about residents of islands off the coast of BC and how they capture rainwater for household use. I didn't immediately see the potential application for us until a few days ago. It was always our wish to move the hot water heater and pressure tank to the woodshed once it is converted to living space. I began thinking about a possible layout for that new space, which got me thinking about the water run-off from the roof. It's the only side of the house that doesn't have ready access to the lake for run-off. We have a rainbarrel here in the city that we've used for gardening water, when we had time to garden. I thought we could do something like that. Then it dawned on me. Building a rainwater holding tank into the renovation of the woodshed would be an ideal solution.

The main bath, hot water tank and washer/dryer are in that corner of the house. It would be easy to run plumbing from the rainwater system to those appliances. There will be plenty of space for the necessary equipment, and if we want a huge tank, it will be easy to work one into the plans, since we have to tear out the slab and put in a proper foundation anyway. We could even set up solar assisted hot water at the same time in the same location.

Right now, such a system would cost about $6,000 to $8,000 because they are scarce one-off custom installations. My view is that all of this renewable resource technology (RRT) is going to start coming down in price, much as computers have over the past decade.

Space Heating
Another issue for our location is winter heating. Because of the lake, we are exposed to prevailing winds. Currently, the heat source is 30-yr-old baseboard electric. While the current cost of electricty is among the lowest in Canada, and quite likely North America, I'm not willing to bet that it will always be thus. We both feel we need to do what we can to reduce our reliance on electric heat.

The house is not oriented N-S; the 'south' facing walls actually face southeast and southwest. But, with a concrete slab, we have a reasonable heat storing mass, and the southeast gable wall has little or nothing in the way of sunlight obstructions. A while ago, I suggested to DS that when we undertake the exterior renovations, we could move the windows in the two back bedrooms from the northeast and southwest walls to the southeast wall, enabling us to maximise our passive solar gain. This would have the added benefit of removing openings from the load-bearing side walls to the non-loadbearing gable walls. Although she gave me one of those looks, she didn't say no. This would improve the view for what will be Bdrm 3: right now, that window looks out onto the garage and clothesline. Bdrm 2 would lose their lake view.

Yesterday, while browsing around for info on rainwater collection, I went back to the DIY Solar projects page. The solar space heating projects caught my eye. We have always planned to eventually use this for the garage/workshop and the Guest Cottage, but I hadn't considered it for the main house. We could, however, install one or two such units on the southeast wall and supplement the woodstove heat at that end of the house with solar spaceheating. This would be the perfect solution for Bdrm 2: improve the existing window, but leave it on the southwest wall. Put solar spaceheating on the southeast wall. Depending on temperatures, we could even put a solar spaceheating unit on the southeast wall of the second floor.

More food for thought, and more research to do.

Reno plans get refined

2008-08-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

In order to remove the panelling on the wall we were taking out, we had to uncover the last foot or so of the huge wooden beam. Turns out it is twisted, so leaving it exposed is out. We will have to build a box for it. Too bad.

Also, the ceiling drywall is installed on strapping. To make life easier, we will increase the depth of our bedroom a little less than originally planned, so that the new common hallway/bedroom wall will follow a line of strapping. Also, we will have to move an outside electrical outlet. This was the only way to remove all the wiring and reinstall it. We decide to remove and fill in the doorway to the outside in this phase of the reno, and install the plug there.

Once that decision was made, we needed to get a building permit. We needed one for the woodstove installation anyway. Cost of the permit, for all the work to be done by year's end? $20. And, they don't come out to inspect. Nor do you have to submit plans or drawings. No wonder there is so much bad work done in Quebec.

The soil report arrives!

2008-08-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

I had e-mailed the firm on Tuesday and was told the report had been mailed last week and that several attempts had been made to fax it to the municipal office, but had failed. The secretary told me she would telephone the office. Finally, the report arrived in the mail today. The postmark dated August 18, Monday. Not last week, it turns out. And, there are several changes and some corrections to be made. I've asked for them to be done priority and mailed Priority Post. We'll see what happens.

We'd gone shopping on Tuesday night, to Big Orange, as we remembered seeing inexpensive slate tiles there a while ago. They had some Indian Autumn, but at $2.99 a sq ft. They had only 2 boxes left of the cheaper ones, $1.99 per sq ft. The clerk was very helpful and checked other local stores, locating one that appeared to have some 60 boxes. He even telephoned to verify, and it turned out they had about 40. The stuff wasn't flying off the shelves, so we said we'd come by the next night.

So, late this afternoon, we head out. It's all there, but it's not the best quality. It would be quite challenging to tile a walking surface with it as there are significant variations in thickness with some tiles being twice the thickness of others. Also, there are some other cosmetic issues, like round 'rust' spots that are very rough and would accumulate dirt that would be next to impossible to remove. But, for our purpose, a raised hearth and backing wall, they are fine. Particularly since the price is not $1.99, but $1.69 a sq ft! We make an on-the-spot decision that this is the tile we will use on the other side of the wall as well, in our bedroom, and buy 100 sq ft. The best price we had found locally was about $4.10. We do try to source locally as much as we can, but when we're looking at saving more than half the cost, it's not a tough call. We check every box, exchanging all broken tiles, and there are several. I never realized slate was so heavy, or so dirty.

Of course, we round out the purchases to make sure we can take advantage of the no-payments-no-interest. We now have our own Ramset, which will be very handy as we'll be relocating several partition walls in the house.

Once we got home, I selected 5 tiles with different looks, washed them and gave them two coats of sealer. Can't wait to see how they look under natural light.

ETA:

Not bad at all. Even though it will mean more cuts, I think the running bond will handle the edge irregularities better than the typical style. I picked a grey thinset, but don't know it it's dark or light grey. I'll bring some of the leftover colorant I have, just in case. Now I can't wait to get started!

How we spent our summer vacation...

2008-08-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

Two glorious weeks spent toiling away at 'the cottage'. The weather pretty much sucked, and we cared not a whit. We got a lot accomplished.

Quebec has this odd custom of legislating vacation time for the entire construction industry. Many other related supply sectors follow along, so the week we arrive, many of the places we want to deal with are closed 'til the following Monday. We head to town for groceries and spend a few days doing odds 'n ends. One job, repairing a hole in a wooden culvert, has been nagging us for a year and we finally get it done. I also get to continue work on stripping the 5-panel doors I bought. Our friend Keith has given me a tip: cover the stripper with aluminum foil. It stays wet longer and doesn't oxidize as quickly, so it works longer and better.

I've mentioned there was a lot of furniture and junk still in the house when we took possession. Most we trashed, but some we kept. There was a huge two-pedestal desk upstairs that I thought might be nice once it was stripped, and I have been using it as my door-stripping worktable. Out of curiousity, while waiting for the stripper to work on the door, I take a closer look at the desk. I pull out one of the extensions and apply stripper. The first three layers of paint, including a mint-green layer, come off easily. Then, there is a varnish that just turns to gel and drips right back off the scraper when I try to lift it. I figure out that steel wool is what's needed. Finally, I'm down to a nice medium brown oak board. Nice enough, and I can now imagine what the desk will look like, or so I think.

Back to the door, where I'm now working on side two. This door will be our bedroom door, so I want it completed soon. Scrape, reapply stripper, reapply foil. I have finally figured out what works best, so the work is easier than the first side, but the static posture is hard on my back. After an hour, I'm pretty much beat. I show DS the bit of desk that I've done and we agree it's quite nice. I get a couple more hours done on the door over the next few days, and keep looking at the desk. I'm trying hard to stay focussed on the door, but the desk is calling...

Ultimately, I am unable to resist the desk. Close examination reveals the wooden drawer handles are removable. I take one off and apply some stripper, then wrap it in foil. Unwrap the handle. add some elbow grease and steel wool, and what do I see peeking out at me from under all that gaudy 'make-up'? A beautiful quarter-sawn oak desk handle! I have an original quarter-sawn oak desk, possibly dating back several decades, maybe even to the Craftsman era. I am thrilled, and proceed to remove and strip two more handles and one drawer front just to be sure. The top of the desk shows a long strip where clearly something was removed. It may have been a roll-top. I will have to do some research. More good news: the desk is built so that the top is removable, which will make it easier to bring downstairs. This will be necessary, because it has now been promoted to becoming my desk.

We get one mostly-sunny afternoon and take some R&R time, but after 20 minutes, I am no longer able to sit still. I decide to finally move the satellite dish from it's location over the centre of the patio doors. It has been bugging me, because when I stargaze from bed, there it is. I'm at the top of the stepladder. DS is behind me on the deck playing guitar. I notice the dog snorfling along in the grass and realize he is herding a snake towards the deck and DS, who is absolutely disgusted by them, and more than a bit afraid, as well. "It'll go under the deck", I think to myself, but continue to watch just in case. Of course, it chooses the overland route and is headed right for DS's feet. She has her back turned and is missing all of this action. I opt for the 'less detail is better approach' and order her to lift her feet. "What?" "Lift your feet!", but it's already too late.

The reptile in question has passed right over her bare feet, causing a bloodcurdling scream no doubt heard several counties over. The dog, encouraged by all the commotion, has decided that for the remainder of the vacation his second-favorite activity will be snake-hunting in the remains of the rock garden that extends from the lake to the deck. His most favorite activity remains chewing wood of any kind, but he does prefer the cordwood stacked and waiting for winter and the woodstove. I think he believes we were most kind to organize supplies for his favorite pastime in such an accessible way. No amount of discouragement from us can change his view of our woodpile, so we have to keep a close eye on him.

Monday, after dropping off the dog to be 'babysat' by friends for the day, we head off to place orders. We need a window and we're ready to order our woodstove, and that involves a 45-minute drive. The first window place we stop at there is one salesman, and four customers ahead of us. We quickly tour the showroom and realize they don't have what we want. Another stop at a hardware store, and he directs us to a manufacturer in town that we didn't even know existed. He assures us they have what we want. He gives us directions, but they're not quite accurate, so we lose time trying to find them. After being helped by two guys standing at a loading dock, including the ready loan of a cellphone, we get proper directions.

Their showroom includes the style of grille we want, but we're not sure about the PVC-covered wood frame. Their sales person shows us what she thinks we're looking for, but we're not certain it's what we want. We both want to get this done, though, and don't relish having to buy all our windows in Quebec City, an hour and a quarter's drive away. We decide that it's a south-facing window and we can live with what we're being shown. As in anything else, there are umpteen decisions to be made. Because we have to add insulation to the wall, we're not sure what total depth we need. We go for 12", to be safe. Overkill, but easy enough to trim on-site. This window is the only one that must be done before all the exterior wall renovations; we'll know the depth for the rest. We end up with a casement window with two sections, with the single grilles at the top, in a 3-over-one arrangement for each section. Double-pane argon and low-e, just over $500 for a window that is 52 x 47. We were figuring on about $450, but the extra depth factors in. The window will be ready for our next visit, so that will be handled before the fall. (A subsequent visit by a friend reveals that if one wants PVC-covered wood-frame windows, they come with wood interior frames. This just doesn't work in our climate, so all-PVC is the best compromise.)

We leave at 11:00 AM. It's nearly noon, and we have one errand done on a list of 6 different stops. We head north to order our woodstove. There again, there is a little bit of sticker shock. The stove itself, a Hearthstone Mansfield with black enamel trim is $3,300. It's a soapstone stove, and we'd been quoted $3,100 for a significantly smaller Vermont Castings stove, so that's palatable. It's the chimney (18' at $850) installation ($450) double-wall stovepipe, etc. that brings the final total to $5,700. We'd been expecting about $4,500, but we accept that this is the cost and place the order. Delivery is likely two weeks, and installation will be set when it arrives, but their lead time is currently short as the season is just beginning.

We are exhausted and our transactions-per-hour stat is dismal. We revise our list, knock off two stops and make short work of the other two. The dog is glad to see us, but just. He regards our friend Pary as a playmate, and she gives him lots of reason to, so he's quite happy with her and her partner Piaf.

Tuesday morning, we start the real work. First off, the scrap metal. We had been rounding it up and placing it near the house for easy access. We called the firm we had spoken to months ago, who promised delivery of a container the next day, Wednesday. By 4 PM he's still a no show, so we call. No answer. Thursday morning, early, DS gets 'hold of them. 'We didn't have one available' is the response. Why didn't they tell us, or call? 'If we could predict the future, we'd all be rich' is the response. We are not impressed. Friday morning, guaranteed. At 2 PM on Friday, we start calling other scrap metal dealers. We are promised a call back from one of the bosses of one firm, but by suppertime, nothing. We are pissed. We have spent the last three days just tinkering around, not undertaking anything major, because we want to be able to just drop what we're doing and get the junk loaded. There are things that must get done, so Saturday and Sunday are set aside for building the wall where the woodstove will be placed.

First, we have to take down the existing wall. Because we want the cinder-block heatsink wall, we need 2x6 framing. The current bit of wall that is there is, we learn, 2x3. We figure out work methods for getting the pine shiplap paneling off the wall with little damage, so we will have no problem salvaging them for re-use as wainscoting. Removing the paneling reveals the existing wall was framed in three stages. It was intended to be a half-wall, then got filled in, and later got lengthened. This is what builders refer to as change-orders. Most clients make many during the building of a house. We're no different when we renovate, but at least we're our own contractors!

Now we have to figure out exactly where the stove and chimney will be. We go upstairs and open up the floor to make sure we know the truss spacing and how it relates to the new wall. We call one BIL who is able to tell us the clearance for double-wall chimneys, and we determine the chimney placement in relation to the upstairs wall and the trusses. We couldn't hope for better, and the chimney centre I had roughly determined by measuring was within one inch. Not bad.

By Sunday suppertime, the first section of wall, up to the cinderblock section. is built and the wiring is re-run and functional. We're pleased, because this is the first real step in renovations. Actually getting work underway has also been very good from another aspect. We are beginning to see concretely (haha!) how the wall and stove will relate to the rest of the room and house.

As always, we think and discuss forward and beyond what we're actually doing, to make sure we know how the remainder of the project will pan out. We've realized the in-floor hydronic heating would likely be an unnecessary expense. The woodstove will be able to keep the main area of the ground floor comfortable and we can change the old baseboard heaters for more efficient convectors and electronic thermostats. The concrete slab will be a significant heatsink, and the $20,000+ that it would cost can be put to better use. It also means that we don't have to worry about allowing for the extra thickness of the overpour in our renovations, and can therefore tackle projects in the meantime as finances permit.

We realize the cinderblocks we were going to use for the raised hearth are too thick, but this is in fact a good thing: we have enough thinner ones to make the hearth, and so will have enough thick ones to build the wall without buying more. More recycling, less expense. We go to bed happy. We're soon to get happier. No, this is not an X-rated blog, lol.

Monday morning 7:30 AM the phone rings while we're having breakfast. It's Salvage Guy #2. He will have a container to us this morning, and gets directions. At 7:31, we leave a message for Salvage Guy #1: don't bother, we've found someone else. At 9:30 AM, the container from Salvage Guy #2 is delivered. We waste no time getting Mr. Case (the bulldozer) to work. At 10:30, Salvage Guy #1 arrives with a container. I go see him and tell him he is not needed. I explain a message was left at 7:30 AM cancelling. I point out that not showing up when promised and not calling has worked against him. He utters not one word, turns around and leaves.

As they say, you know who your real friends are when there's work to be done. Piaf and Pary have asked us to call when the container shows up. They arrive at noon, bearing lunch to boot. We have several large pieces and it's slow going getting them loaded, because a bulldozer is not the most multi-functional piece of equipment, but four women can be pretty resourceful. By 5:30 PM, we have spent a couple hours wrestling with the second-to-last large piece, with no success. We stop for the day and resume the next morning. P & P stay overnight and give us their time until 10:30 AM.

Ultimately, we give up on the problematic piece, and one other. By the time P & P leave, all the bulky pieces are loaded, and it's all hand-bombing left. The old utility trailer has been sitting, loaded with small stuff from the garage and house, for weeks. We empty it then get three trailer loads from beside the garage, and another three from behind it. We take two 20-minute breaks, but don't stop for lunch. We want this this job done. The scrap metal is the last junk from the previous owner and we want this gone. We have even scrapped our old utility trailer and loaded it, and the container is full. By 2:30 PM, we are calling Salvage Guy #2 to come get his dumpster. It will leave the next day.

We've been together 12 years now, and like many couples, are often on the same wavelength without discussion. We have both been thinking that a dinner out is in order, and laugh when we share this thought. I can't remember a time when the shower felt better. We get back from dinner to a message from Salvage Guy #2. Please call, he'd like to come get the dumpster tonight. We do, and he shows up at 8:10 PM. Some other friends stop by to visit at the same time, and watch the whole process. I'm in the house with the dog, on the phone with P&P to share the news, and to calm my nerves because I'm concerned about the loading. From my vantage point, it is taking a long time and I'm concerned it weighs too much. He finally gets it on, and gets over the deteriorating culvert without breaking through. He makes a significant dent in it, though, and during our walk the next morning we face the fact we will have to replace it, and soon.

We call another local salvage guy we've been told might come pick up the last two pieces of junk. He arrives shortly thereafter to check them out, and by bedtime, they are gone. We are so happy to have this job finished. We continue with odds and ends, clearing some brush, gathering and cleaning the cinder blocks we will use for the hearth, pricing slate tiles locally, and picking blueberries. Last year, we found 2 or 3 shrubs. This year, we realized there are close to 30! We make stakes to mark them and paint the tops blue so they will be easy to find. In all, during our two weeks vacation, we gathered about 4 lbs of berries, and there are still some remaining.

Before we leave, I lay mortar and the blocks for the hearth base, and set the first course of the larger wall blocks in place in a bed of mortar as well. We have been unable to find fibre-reinforced cement and half-blocks locally, so the rest of the wall will have to wait until we come back. Further research has shown that 4' is the highest we can build mortarless without rebar. I'd really rather not have to deal with pouring cement down the holes of the blocks inside the house, which comes with using rebar. We decided we will steel-stud frame the top and cover that and the cinderblocks with cement board, retaining it's fireproof character, but cutting down on the heatsink a little. Oh well.

One of the last jobs is setting up the weather station. The past several days have shown us that none of the local forecasts capture us and that if we want to have any idea of what to expect where we are, we need local data. We decide to use the TV antenna, and while I'm up there, I decide to get rid of wires that run from the house to it to power lights that no longer work. There are also wires that hang down, and end in taped-on marrettes laying on the ground. I can't imagine that they're live, but we check just in case and learn they are! Not able to determine what breaker they run from, we opt for just shutting down the main entry. It takes several hours of work 20' up in the air for me, but by early afternoon, the wires are gone and the weatherstation is up. The wires still end in taped-on marrettes, but just under the eaves at the peak of the roof, well out of anyone's reach.

Septic update:
The report, promised to be faxed to the municipal office by August 6, had not arrived by the time we left. We're getting tired of being promised things that don't materialize. Why can't people just tell the truth and face the fallout?

The cherry on the sundae:
P&P had camped the weekend before we arrived and had had three opportunities to observe a young moose eating from the bottom of our pond. We'd been there two weeks and had seen several tracks, but no animals. I'm getting ready to mix mortar when DS calls me to the patio door. There is Morton Moose nibbling on branches near the lake. Eventually, the moose ambles down the bank and we spend 40 minutes observing the noshing of what we call skunkweed. (The beavers used it as mortar in the dams I spent last summer taking apart, and it truly smells of skunk.) Moose must have really bad breath. Oh, and Morton is a she. DS gets several photos with her big zoom lens, and we get a couple shaky clips with the digital binoculars. What a gift for our day of departure.

Other wildlife spotted during this vacation includes a grouse the dog accidentally flushed out of the brush while we were picking blueberries, a cormorant (from the bird books we have, way off the beaten path as we are hundreds of miles from sea), one lone duck (we think it's the same mixed-species bird that visited last year) and herons. We see one, who we've named George, almost daily. Occasionally, he brings Georgette. Once, he brought Georgette, Georgina and Jorge. Sensing a theme? It's a name I once came across, and seemed apt. We name the wildlife generically: all the groundhogs are Murphy, all the hares Bugs. It makes it easier to alert the other to a viewing opportunity and quickly. We haven't named the snakes.

Seeming to proceed at a snail's pace at first, two weeks have just whizzed by and we pack up and head back to the city.

Early on Tuesday
Back to the city
Back to the lives that we don't choose
Driving, nothing to say
This is ok
It is just one of those things we do

Early on Tuesday by Jesse Cooke

Trying to shed a little light/Counting down the days

2008-07-27T19:00:00.000-04:00

Shedding light
Though we have found a family of fixtures that will meet our needs for all the common areas, I am still on the hunt for wall sconces to go on the landing at the foot of the stairs, and outdoor lights.

The landing shouldn't be too difficult, but everything I like costs considerably more than we're prepared to spend for such secondary lights, or else, they are too big. There are two boxes, one on each wall. I have been searching high and low for some I found through another blog, Hillsdale House.

They are a couple turning an ordinary tract house into a Craftsman Bungalow. They've been at it 5 years now. Granted, theirs has been a major renovation, involving adding a second story. They have been quite good at blogging all the stuff we house- and reno-obsessed folks like to read about in every detail. He is quite a woodworker, and has led to my having some new ideas. Anyway, he shopped for his lighting on-line, and found some nice wall sconces for their upstairs hall, these neat little black numbers, here. I would love to find something like that, with amber shades to match the ones we've already chosen.

Anyway, despite having reached the spot in his blog where he says he got the lights, I was not able to find them. But, I found something on-line from a Canadian retailer, no less, at a reasonable cost, that fits the bill. Here it is.

And, while searching, I stumbled upon the perfect outdoor light for the main door. It is beautiful, crafty- and organic-looking and it is a dark sky light! It is pricey, but I'm willing to spend a little more for such a significant piece. Plus, fluorescents will fit in it. For this one, I'll actually include the pix:

I think it's gorgeous. I just hope DS does, too. I don't think I'll tell her the cost, though...

As if all of this wasn't enough, while searching for the wall sconces, I found another Craftsman-style dark-sky light for the second door on the front of the house, and for the back of the house. I have no idea on cost, but it is a Meyda Tiffany and is made in the US, which will mean no duty. More plain, but those are secondary entrances, and therefore that's appropriate.
I also found a celing fan at Big Orange that would have been perfect, to a point. Here it is. Were it only the bottom up to the blades, I would jump on it. But that huge extra part on top means this thing will hang low enough to decapitate most guests...too bad, 'cause it's a good fit all 'round. There was even that 4-squares design on the blade holders. I can't find a pix of it on-line, though.

We may just have to go with the Seagull Lighting one; it's a little more expensive, but it is EnergyStar rated so there's that, anyway.

Three days to go

Today, I went and had lunch with DS as she was working nearby. On weekends, there's not many people around, so I can bring Duster, too. He loves going for the car ride, and exploring houses under construction. These days, many projects set aside the wood they can't use, but which might be useful to someone else. On this particular project, they don't have any such system, but anything in the dumpster is fair game. What happens is this: as each trade goes through, if they forget stuff or don't pick up after themselves when they're done, what's left goes in the dumpster. The job site foreman has no choice: if houses are not cleaned between trades, there's too much potential for injury.

DS had warned me that when I came, we'd load up the truck, and she was not kidding. We got at least 6 8-foot 2x2's, several full-length 2x4's. Two full length PT 4x4 posts, and a couple short lengths of cedar 4x4. A couple 6-foot pieces of 2x8 and a full 8-foot piece. But the piece de resistance is a full, whole, complete roll of roofing paper. Not the thin stuff you can get retail, the good, thick stuff. Amazing. On Friday night, I was watching a show hosted by Steve somebody, the guy from This Old House (the young one that followed Bob Vila). He does a show on green minded renovations. Anyway, this one guy building a house said one of the things they are doing is minimizing waste in their project. Apparently, another 30% of what actually goes into a house is tossed as waste during building. HUH!!???

So, on top of saving some money, we are also recycling. Every bit we pick out is another bit that can stay on the tree. With what we picked up, we likely will not have to buy a stick of wood to fix the framing under the south 2nd story window. The two 4x4's will be very handy as temporary posts for supporting the main beam while we replace the existing bit of wall with a new longer 2x6 framed wall. the 2x2's will be used to thicken the walls where we need to add insulation. The short bits of cedar will go into a culvert repair. Don't ask. That's a whole other blog post...

So, we're starting to get very excited about our upcoming vacation. We will finally be starting a real renovation project: enlarging the smallest bedroom to turn it into the master bedroom, and getting the hearth ready for the woodstove.

Only 3 more sleeps!

Floorplan changes, good septic news

2008-07-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

While discussing the proposed floorplan with one SIL, she mentioned making the new DR table location open to the kitchen. This has always been our philosophy, because whenever you have a group of people over, they hang in/near the kitchen. The new flooplan did not allow for this, though.

Our original response was that this was not in the plans, but like many things, the idea percolated with me for a while. That concept has always been an important feature of any floorplan we developed, either when we were planning to build our own home, or making changes to this one.

'Way back when, I had originally thought to place the woodstove with its back to the wall between the open area and the master bedroom. I ruled that out for some reason, moving the woodstove across the room to the north wall. I think it had to do with my perception of how much space the chimney would take up on the second floor. So I got to thinking, if the woodstove goes with its back to our bedroom wall, we could build a masonry heat sink wall that would transfer heat to our bedroom, so long as the slab could stand the weight.

So, back to Sketchup. This is what the house looks like, as is:

Here is what was originally planned, showing the master and the main area:

(Sorry about the poor quality of this image. I can't figure out how to get SketchUp to give me better than this. I'll have to re-do it on HomeArchitect 3D)

Ultimately, the house will look pretty much like this. What's in the main entry area and kitchen may change somewhat, but the rest should pretty much end up like this:

The new arrangement addresses several shortcomings. There is more room for DS's desk, and several options of where to put it. The breakfast bar no longer sticks out into the space in front of the planned second doorway at the front of the house. We don't need a half wall to divide the space, and this combined with the new DR table placement achieves the goal of the table being open to the food prep area. It also moves the table back closer to the windows, to allow for viewing of birds and wildlife, as we can do now. It also places the woodstove more centrally in the floorplan, making for more even heat. Finally, it means we can prepare the area for the woodstove without having to futz around with the baseboard heating. In addition, it doesn't complicate life if we do eventually decide to put in a second-floor balcony on the north end of the house, overlooking the lake.

And, on Friday, I got very good news from the engineering firm. There had been a lot of back and forth discussion about providing them a copy of the survey, but I had found a to-scale print I had made of the section showing the house. I was no longer sure if he wanted me to send a better version, so I e-mailed them. I figured it wasn't a bad idea to mention timeframes, either, given the discrepant info we had been given.

The reply came quickly: yes, please, send a different version of the survey - done. And, more importantly, our report will be ready by the end of the first week of August, as they have prioritized it! They will fax a copy to the municipality. If we can get copies of it from the town office, then maybe we can get the two contractors to visit to provide estimates before we leave. If we can do that, we may still be able to get it installed at the end of August/beginning of September! That would be awesome.

And now we're up to date

2008-07-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

We tackle one renovation project that can no longer wait: the south window on the second floor. The thermopane is shot, and the frame has been leaking. This is where the humidity has been getting into the wood, making it attractive for the carpenter ants. We begin pulling off the tongue and groove paneling and realize that unlike that on the ground floor which is pine, this is all cedar. Behind the T & G is strapping, behind that black-coated sonopan, and finally the 2 x 4 stud wall. The insulation is blown-in fiberglass mixed with sawdust. Beyond the stud wall is another layer of sonopan, then the cedar shingles.

A section of this wall below the left corner of the window is so rotted, we do not need tools to remove anything; we could punch a hand right to the outdoors without fear of injury. Now, many folks would cry at finding this, but we are nonplussed. This is no worse than what we found under a bay window in the bedroom of our house in the city, and we fixed that ourselves no problem. We had already assumed that the insulation on the second floor would need to be addressed, and it’s what DS does for a living. In fact, we are pleased that the area is not as big as what we anticipated to find.

The window has not been properly installed, though: there is no gap for insulation between the window frame and the stud wall. Clearly, the work we will do in the coming months will save us a bundle on heating costs over the years.

Wanting to be sure about the extent of the damage, we remove the adjoining section of grey-painted plywood that is the flooring of the finished space. Below it, we find black roofing paper. Lifting the paper, we find maple boards, nailed with about a 1/8” gap between them. Wow. A hardwood board subfloor. And planed on at least one side. We need to cut one board to make sure the bottom members of the truss have not been affected by the rot and ants. DS checks the depth so she can set her sawblade. 1 ¼”?? that can’t be right! But it is. The second floor subfloor is nearly 2x4 maple, planed on one side. Nailed in place 30 years ago, they are now better than kiln-dried and worth a small fortune to a woodworker such as DS.

We are considering replacing all that maple with T & G ply.

The most important thing that got done this past trip, though, is the visit by the engineering firm as the first step for the septic system install. The test digs reveal we cannot put in a leaching bed, or even a polishing bed because of the proximity of the bedrock and the poor soil quality. However, the stream runs adjacent and the volume is many times that needed for discharge of the treated wastewater into the stream, so long as we install what is called a Secondary Advanced treatment system. Which is what we wanted to install anyway. The final test hole revealed that the vein of bedrock that we feared was blocking the path between the house and the new septic tank location is the kind that breaks apart, so dynamiting should not be necessary. Hopefully, the new system will be up and running by Thanksgiving. The longest delay will be waiting for the engineer's report.

Fast forward: April to July 2008

2008-07-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

The utility trailer we've been using (given to us free) needs complete reworking of the wood and wiring and is missing several lights; it has no springs, which is not a problem when full, but not fun to haul when empty. More importantly, a 4x8 sheet does not fit in it. The repair work is planned for this summer, and is the reason why we took a welding course in the fall of 2006. DS spots a utility trailer at Big Orange, big enough to place a 4x8 sheet in, and it has springs. It is reasonably priced and not heavy. It is also galvanized. And, we have yet another 'no payments no interest' offer from them. We buy it.

The mousetraps were reinstalled in March, but have remained empty for more than a month. We have licked the rodent problem and we can now safely go shopping for a real bed. We have been sleeping on an inflatable mattress for close to a year. It's okay, but very cold when we arrive at midnight in the winter. Timing is everything; we take advantage of yet another firm's no interest offer and haul the new mattress down in the new trailer.

Our intial thought is to use whatever money left over from the sale of the property not eaten up by the septic system to put a downpayment on a tractor. We even go shopping for estimates. At the same time, we're shopping woodstoves again. After research, we narrow it down to a few, and go visit two local retailers. I'm thinking DS is going to want a Jotul, as they look most like the VC we had picked, or a PE Alderlea, as you can swing out the top grill and cook on the top of it. I am leaning towards the Alderlea, but the model we are most considering does not come in an enamel finish, which is an important consideration. When we actually get to see all the stoves, though, we both fall in love with the Hearthstone soapstone stoves. There isn't much cost difference, you can cook on them, and what cast iron is on them can be had enamelled in one of several colors. Finally, our choice is made...again. Here it is:

More mulling over the snow removal option eventually leads us to the conclusion that to buy a tractor now would not be the best use of our money. First off, because we've had less time to save, we're looking at $400 monthly payments if we want interest-free. This scares us both. Second, it will sit idle 90% of the time, not to mention being vulnerable to being stolen. Not a worry we want. Finally, it will likely cost us about $400 to have the local guy clear the snow for us for the number of times we'll go up, and the bonus to this is there'll be no more walking in at midnight. We'll be able to drive right to the door. We are relieved.

After considering options, we decide that upgrading the insulation on the second floor, and changing out the south window that is leaking is the best investment for whatever cash is left after the septic and woodstove are installed. I want R-50 in the ceilings and R 20 or 22 in the walls. And a vapour barrier. DS thinks R-50 is overkill, until she learns that this is the Energy-Star standard in homes being built now. R 22 is their rating for walls. Despite insulation being her trade, the ceilings are always blown in, and this is done by another crew, so she wasn't current on what was being done. We're still not in agreement on how this will be accomplished.

I'm prepared to pull up all the boards in the side crawlspaces and add to R-50. She feels that will be a ginormous amount of work, and will rob us of valuable storage space. My argument is that we have 3 years before we will have the cash for any major renos, all we have is time, and I have a plan for the storage issue. We'll work it out; we always do.

We finally gather the courage to attack the attic of the garage. We throw all the metal for salvage out the second-story hatch and end up with quite a pile. There are several drive shafts, sundry parts for an old tractor, an old humidifier, dented front and rear chrome bumpers from an old Ford, and many other similar 'finds'. I come across the pump hose and nozzle from an old gas pump and decided to set it aside for E-Bay. You never know. Anything containing aluminum or copper we also set aside, as their prices have skyrocketed. This includes a few old radiators.

There is also a lot of junk in the garage attic, and the new trailer is shown the road to the dump. By the time we're done, it has cost us about $100, plus gas, to haul all the junk left behind when we took possession. All the hazardous waste gets transported to the garage in the village, who is the local drop-off point. No charge. The metal, we will sell. It has taken our time and effort, but since we didn't have the money to begin any substantial renovations, it has kept us busy. Financially, we will come out ahead.

We embark on the clean-up of the back clearing. This is a veritable 'gold mine' of scrap metal. An old oil tank, several I-beams of various sizes, one with a small bulldozer track welded down it's length...what is that about? An old trailer frame, wheels still on it. We learn they no longer turn when we hitch it up and haul it out. No matter. We load it and haul it down to the garage, where we have collected all the scrap while waiting to be ready to have the dumpster delivered.

We fire up the bulldozer and collect the last few items in the clearing. The most challenging is a 9' wide snowblower, suitable for clearing snow on a municipal scale. It was probably placed on the edge of the clearing, but that was years ago, and it is now in the edge of the forest.

We had already taken off the snow chute and the frame for attaching it to the vehicle. WD-40 is truly a miraculous substance, loosening off bolts we were certain would never move again. Finally, we're left with the carcass: two huge snow- and ice-chomping augers and the main transmission/fan at the back of the unit. We chain up one end to the bulldozer and pull it out of the forest. Changing the angle of the pull, we spin the snowblower so now we can bring the blade of the 'dozer right up to the augers. We chain it on and cross our fingers. The ass end of the 'dozer lifts a little, but it picks up the snowblower. We feel triumphant as the ‘dozer carries this monstrosity to the junk staging area. Finally, the clearing is devoid of all scrap metal.

We have purchased our first chainsaw and have begun teaching ourselves how to use it, with help from research and family. We cleared away the junk brush along the south side of the stream below the falls and cleaned up a trail we found. We have also collected two cords of stovewood by cutting up two trees the beavers felled for us in the summer of 2007 and collecting a number of standing deadwood white birch near the house.

Fast forward: November 2007 to March 2008

2008-07-19T20:00:00.000-04:00

The lake ices over in November, and it begins to snow. City folk predict it will melt. One old-timer says that the snow has not melted on the big rocks on his property, and that usually means it will stay. Score one for the old-timer. It snows all winter, heavily. Several records are broken, many others come very close to it. Everyone is astounded at the volume of snow, as the past years have been quite sparse by comparison. We figure that we are experiencing the greatest snowfall we are likely to experience in the years we will live here, and decide we can cope.

Many times we arrive at midnight, walk in, and deal with the snow the next day. Sometimes we call the local guy and have him clear the whole drive, particularly when there has been a lot of drifting and our 30" snow blower just doesn't have the muscle. We begin to think we need to buy the compact farm tractor sooner rather than later.

We are also developing relationships with the local business folk. A couple times, because of the timing of our visits, the response to enquiries about payment are "pay me next time you come up". We do, without fail. These are relationships you want to preserve, and we want to have a reputation for honesty. There may be times in the future when having that reputation will weigh in our favour. We do likewise with the municipal taxes, following up when we don't get a bill, and paying without delay when we do.

We buy snowshoes and spend many hours traipsing through the woods, exploring every corner of our property, and a few corners of the adjoining ones as well. We do feel a little guilty trespassing, but not enough to stop. We decide next year we will obtain permission, as it really is great to spend hours outdoors.

The departure of his canine friend and the arrival of the snow have made it more difficult for Duster to burn off the youthful Lab energy he possess in seemingly limitless quantities. The morning and evening walks just don't give him what he needs. We replace the walks with snowshoeing and that does the trick. Generally preferring to trailbreak or explore the woods either side of the trail, he drops back to second in line when he gets tired. By the end of the winter, he is learning not to follow too closely. Most of the time. Trying to take a step with a 50-lb-becoming-90-lb dog perched on the back of your snowshoe is a surefire recipe for a face-plant in the snow.

We do a little work inside, but not much. We finish washing out the last remaining cupboards in the entry hall. We remove the non-functioning food disposal and regain the second bowl of our double-bowl kitchen sink. Big Orange helps by sending us more offers for year-long periods without interest and we pick up a new kitchen faucet.

We have been looking for lighting fixtures that we both like, generally fit with the Craftsman look, and won't break the bank. Apart from one over the DR table and one in the kitchen ceiling, the remaining fixtures are either bare bulb or bare fluorescent tubes. We finally see an ad for a new line, available at the local hardware store. We begin by buying two, and I am finally able to rid our 'bedroom' of the chandeliers I can't stand. There is no discussing taste, as one SIL has asked for them and can't wait 'til BIL can install them.

We also spend a lot of time shopping woodstoves. Originally, the plan had been to buy one of the big old-fashioned style cookstoves. We have come to realize, however, that they are not primarily heating appliances and therefore will not meet our needs. We reluctantly begin searching for an alternative. We settle on a Vermont Castings unit, and nearly buy it, but hold off. A little later on, more research reveals that they are not the quality units they once were, the company is in bankruptcy protection, and we need something bigger than what we had chosen. Back to the drawing board.

We also begin to discuss selling the original 5 acres we had bought years ago, to fund the spetic system that needs to be done. We keep getting told of persons interested in purchasing it. This is problematic. We closed on that property the day before my MIL died. DS, the baby of the family, was quite attached to her mom. She had often mentioned that her mother had always wanted a weeping willow but never got one. The afternoon of the day she died, I took DS to our land with a weeping willow purchased at a local garden centre and we planted it. Seven years later, we are making inquiries into getting the tree moved and are getting varying responses. It is also now clear that the tree was mislabelled and is not a weeping willow, but some other willow, as yet undetermined.

Ultimately, we take cuttings from the tree and plant them in appropriately damp spots on the new land. On a return visit two weeks later, we are convinced they will not survive. Three very rainy weeks after that, all of the cuttings are thriving. The weather has been less than ideal, but the trees love it. In addition, the niece and her husband are posted overseas for 4 years. They had been the first to mention being interested in buying the land if we decided to sell, and the timing is perfect. They have somewhere to park their equity, we have the money to get the septic done, and more time to decide if we want to try getting the original tree moved.

A 'poorly-plowed road'

2008-07-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

It took until Labour Day weekend for DD and her SO to be able to get up to the cottage, what with his school and work schedule, and her low seniority for vacation. They fell in love with the place, and DD wants the wedding to be in the clearing at the corner of the drive. It's actually an excellent choice: there's a path that leads from the house to that clearing, there's a line of trees with a natural break in the middle, perfect for a 'wedding arch', and the clearing slopes gently downwards, so everyone will have a great view.

Once they see the place, everyone is agreed that the family holiday celebration will be there. When the time comes, we leave on the Friday evening; they will follow once he finishes work late Saturday afternoon, driving my SUV. They have detailed written directions. Because the 'nightlight' on the house is burned out, we tell them to call from the village from their cellphones and we will head out to the end of the driveway with the truck so they will know where to turn. We get a call around half-past midnight; they want to check to make sure they've made the right turn. They are about a half hour away, and on the right road.

We settle back under the covers, hoping for a little nap before the next call. 10 minutes later, the phone rings again, and this is not a good sign. "Mom, the road got really rough, then really narrow, and it wasn't well plowed. We tried to turn around, but we got stuck. We're going to try to dig out, but we'll call again if we can't." I hang up and relay this information to DS. A short discussion leads us to the conclusion that they made their next turn too soon, and are likely on a snowmobile trail. We chuckle, but are concerned at how far they may have gotten and how stuck they may well be. DS suggests we get up and start getting dressed now, in anticipation of the inevitable call. I vote for 5 more minutes under the covers.

The next call comes, right on schedule. I pass the phone to DS, who knows the road and what questions to ask to pin down their location. Our mood is lighthearted as we get dressed and head out with flashilights, shovels, traction aids and firewood for traction, just in case. We park in a round-about where the trail begins and walk in. It is quite a cold night, beyond -20 celsius, but in the trees as we are, there is no wind so it is quite nice. The sky is clear, and we enjoy the walk. We marvel at the fact that they managed to drive a few hundred yards before deciding to turn around. One wheel of the SUV is in the soft, ungroomed snow off the trail. By the time we arrive, they have figured out where they went wrong, what they're on, and have begun using branches under the tires to help in traction. What more could a parent hope for?

With three of us pushing and DS at the wheel, we manage to get the SUV unstuck and turned around. It takes about 15 minutes. Once she gets it going in the right direction, DS doesn't stop until she's off the trail and back onto the road. We walk out, pile back into the vehicles, and head for home.

Sitting around the table with hot cocoa, laced with Bailey's, and snacks, they are starting to see the humour, but just. We alter plans for tomorrow's festivities, since an early rise is out of the question for all of us. Privately, DS and I laugh as we imagine the puzzled faces of the folks using the trail the next day.

Fast forward: April to October 2007

2008-07-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

After a failed attempt to sterilize the well, we dump two gallons of bleach down it and let it sit for a couple days. Finally, a month later, our lab results come back 100% clean. It takes a little time to drink tap water without thinking about it, though.

We spend a week of vacation building a shed for friends. In the rain. It turns out well. We then spent two and a half days breaking apart the stone and mortar exterior of the fireplace. Hard work, involving many trips to dump lawn-tractor-trailer sized loads of rocks and cement back in the clearing. And messy, despite having taped up poly walls to minimize the dust. Sure enough, the firebox was leaking. The dissenting friends and family finally accept we were right.

We take down the 6' diameter satellite dish perched on the lawn between the house and the lake, right outside the south LR window. Clearly, it had not been used for years, as there is a much smaller elliptical dish affixed to the side of the house, at shoulder level right next to the patio door. Yet, there it still stood.

We spend a fair amount of time closing up the areas where the attic of the house are open to the not-at-all-air-and-mouse-tight woodshed. We find other smaller openings and use spray foam insulation, metal flashing and metal tape. Finally, by October, we think we have the problem licked, but it's hard to tell. There won't be much mouse activity until spring. After a month of empty traps, we pick them up.

We begin to clean out the garage, sorting into metal for selling for salvage, garbage for trips to the dump and hazardous waste. Trips to the dump are 40 minutes round trip, and we are charged based on weight. Each trip costs us about $20 and we make three while clearing out the ground floor of the garage. The attic remains, but we put it off. We finally get up the courage to round up all the beer bottles and cans that had been left behind and bring them for refund. More than $12 worth. At 5 cents each, that's 240. Just for fun, all the money from beer and soft drink container refunds goes into our stove fund. DD decides to save all hers and donate them to the fund as well, so we find ourselves importing pop cans over provincial borders. Hopefully this is not some sort of offence ;-)

We face the reality that our Saint's hips are not good, and getting worse. We decide we will not put him through another winter. We spend one weekend at the property without him and decide the house, dogless, is just not the same. We keep our eyes open for a suitable mixed breed pup and find a yellow Lab/Bernese cross born in early April. Duster comes home with us in mid-June, and we find ourselves travelling with two canines. We feel like a roadshow at rest stops.

Buddy's health takes a turn for the worse in early August, and we have him euthanized in mid-September, then head straight to the cottage. Duster, who has been looking for his friend, jumps out of the car and runs around looking. He does a complete circle of the cottage twice, something he has never done before. We all grieve, and slowly adapt.

After me hounding for months, we finally complete the fireplace demolition. The first section of insulated chimney comes off easy, as the chimney caulking has cracked and is easily accessible. The next section, the one going through the ceiling into the attic, takes us three hours. By the time we're done, the top of the section that inserts into the next section looks like it was removed by beavers. We lay heavy planks across the trusses to support and close off the chimney section running from the attic out the roof, which we will remove next summer, and we close up the hole in the ceiling of the LR. Not pretty, but a vast improvement. We have also learned there is no vapour barrier, and a huge gap between the big beam and the attic space.

Just as we remove the chimney and firebox, the sun peeks through the patio doors and our efforts are rewarded. Despite the 3' x 4' hole in the vinyl flooring in the middle of the space, it is a vast improvement. We later find the missing piece of vinyl flooring in the attic and install it. Not a perfect fit, but better than concrete. The one downside is that our bedroom space is now out in the open.

A design vision is born

2008-07-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

DS works in construction, and as a result, I get to see a lot of new housing go up. Shortly after we took possession of 'the cottage', she was on a higher-end project where the designs are heavily Craftsman-influenced. Browsing through the Homes section of the paper one morning, I came across an ad for the development. The look of the houses caught my eye, and the rooflines were quite similar to those on the cottage. I showed it to her, to see what she thought of the 'look' and she mentioned she had worked there, and liked it very much. We took a drive out to see the houses and decided that this is what we would aim towards.

Turns out, the original owner may have been influenced by the same style. The gable ends of the house are cedar shingle up top and pine board horizontal siding down below; the original roof was cedar shingles. The entry door is 42" wide, and has a little bit of a Craftsman look to the portico. Granted, the blue color makes it hard to imagine, but here's a photo:
The window in the carport is the kitchen. The window faces roughly NE, so there is little to no natural light in the kitchen, my one major complaint. DS knows too many horror stories of skylights leaking, so they are verboten. There is a new house just outside a neighbouring village that was built in the Craftsman style as well, and it has a long roofline like ours. There is a flat dormer window in their roof that is is low and wide, and I suspect it is to give natural light to a stairwell or some such. I see something like that on this house, just over the kitchen, to get me that natural light.

Of course, that carport roofline is going to be altered. Not only is it UGLY, but it is such a low slope that snow has to be shovelled off it. It was clearly an afterthought, and we'd like to be able to relocate the carport, or do away with it, but there really is no alternative. We plan on living here 'til we die, and when we're 80, and sooner even, we'll want somewhere sheltered for the car in the winter.

I'd like to extend the peaked roof to form a gable over the door and a porch with some of those heavy beams and wide base supports. Also, extend the peak's height so that the carport is covered. This will give the house that historical double-gable look.

Over time, by considering what has already been done in the house and the changes we want to make, and combining these with ideas from browsing the web and magazines and books I have begun to acquire, I have developed a vision for the interior as well. DS has succumbed to my fervor. So long as we're not spending money just to get 'a look', she's okay with it. Google's SketchUp helped a lot in that regard. I was able to really show her the floor plan I had developed and the space usage, with the Crafstman touches I envisioned.

A friend visited us recently. We learned that he is essentially doing the same thing with his home as he renovates, turning a ranch into a Bungalow. He asked if I wanted some 5-panel doors, circa 1907/12? Turns out his local historical society had 'rescued' them during the demolition of a local convent and now needed the storage space. He learned of them too late to use them in his house. 36" wide and 84" tall, we will need to re-frame every doorway. DS rolled her eyes, but I said I would do it myself if I had to. They were mine for a $10 donation each to the historical society.

They were delivered a few weeks ago in the back of his pick-up. Some still have the original handles, but the rectangular plates (escutcheons?) are all gone. They had huge mortises cut for the locks, about 6" high. Some have been filled in, some not. It will take some creativity, but I can address all those issues. I started stripping one on our last visit. They are a fairly close-grained wood with a reddish/pinkish tint. I'm thinking mahogany, but am not sure. The nicks and dents give them character. I cannot believe I was this lucky!

This find is even doubly fortuitous: shortly after we took possession, a friend who visited and co-owns a door factory mentioned she had a 5-panel frosted glass door someone had ordered but not taken. I was looking to replace the door of the sewing room at the end of the hall, to allow the light from that room's south-facing window to reach the hallway at the centre of the house. Not being one to spend money that does not need to be spent, I had resigned myself to having that one non-matching door and keeping the rest of the doors. They are all solid pine, in a standard 5-panel configuration. Now all the doors will be the same configuration. Getting the same color will take some doing, though.

The main space in the home is essentially open, comprising of the kitchen, dining area and living room. It is huge, 24 x 45, with only one wall jutting into the space but not fully enclosing the kitchen. Smack dab in the middle of this beautiful open space, blocking the light from the 6' patio doors was this huge stone and mortar fireplace. See what I mean?

(that's Buddy, my boy, standing in the middle of the LR. He went to the Rainbow Bridge a few months after this photo was taken. I still miss him terribly.)

While washing the walls and ceilings, I realized that there was too much soot on the ceiling to just be from opening and closing the fireplace doors. The mortar between the rocks was cracked in a lot of places, there were loose rocks, and we guessed the firebox was leaking. When we would mention to the family we were going to get rid of the fireplace, they would say, "but why? it's so beautiful!" But we couldn't wait to get started on it. We planned on replacing it with a woodstove, more efficient, better-situated, and cleaner-burning.

See that enclosed beam running along the ceiling just behind the fireplace? It is a 6 x 9 hardwood beam, roughsawn. We are going to expose it and smooth down the surface facing the floor, but not too smooth. The sides will be covered with wide planks. I still can't believe they boxed it in. Not to mention, there is a huge gap between the drywall and the beam, and no vapour barrier. In the winter, our heating goes right up to under the LR roof and forms an ice dam in the N valley between the main roof and LR roof. When this starts to melt, it leaks down into the LR. This is easily enough solved, but like many other such issues in this house, nothing was done.

Like the fireplace, everyone loves the floor to ceiling wood panelling. Except me. I find it too much. Also, it has yellowed over time. The plan is to remove it, but re-use it by flipping it over and re-install it as wainscotting (it's planed on both sides, lucky us!) It may also get stained or oiled.

We're planning for a built-in bookcase and desk/storage area under the stairs, which we will enclose to minimise heat loss, a built-in daybed with hidden DVD storage, and built-in TV/Entertainment centre as well.

It really is too bad. This house has so much to offer and has been neglected. It's in good hands now, though.

You know you've picked a rural setting when...

2008-07-16T17:40:00.000-04:00

We are making our second trip to 'the cottage' as we have now begun calling it. We left about 6:00 PM, and is it past midnight. DS has handed me the wheel, because she was getting sleepy. Now her job is to watch the ditches for the glint of eyes alerting us to the possibility of an unexpected deer or moose crossing.

About 2 km from the border crossing, she warns me just as I see a glint of eyes. I slow down, and a large, gangly shadow detaches itself from the others. An adolescent moose trots out onto the road just ahead of us. He turns away from the car, and starts an ungainly trot down the road. DS describes him, quite aptly, as 'running in high heels'. In reality, it could easily be a she. The moose is keeping to the right, so I pull into the passing lane and begin to accelerate a bit. Moose decides to hog the centre line, so I pull back. DS explains that moose have been known to charge a car that is following too closely. "What is 'too closely' from the perspective of a moose?" I wonder, but I back off.

Despite there being no other vehicles for miles around, we crawl along at 15 km/hr, following this young moose for some time. We crack jokes about his having been at the local bar taking advantage of his new-found liberty, mom having just set him loose. Finally, he turns left up a drive and disappears into the brush at the back of the lot just as quickly as he came.

The next morning, we are treated to a return visit from the River Otters, as well as several pairs of ducks. DS gets out her bird books. We have several species of ducks on the lake. Later that day, DS is headed into town for something and when she comes back, she describes having stopped to let a grouse cross the road in no big hurry. We are thrilled at all of these sightings.

By the time of our next visit, the ice is out of the lake and snow in the bush has melted enough that we can go hunting for our survey markers to load them onto our GPS. The otters are gone, but there are Canada Geese in their place.

One morning, I awaken and roll over to check out the lake. There, perched at the end of our deck is a groundhog with two pups. Cute, but not the best critters to have so close to a house built on a slab foundation. We will have to do something about Murphy and family, as he comes to be named. (Murphy, the marmotte) Later that day, just how much of a city girl I am becomes apparent: I am excited to see a beaver swimming by in our lake, not 20' away. Gordon, it turns out, is not alone: Francine is with him (named after Frank and Gordon, the Sympatico spokesbeavers)

Over the summer, my joy at seeing this couple turns to irritation, then animosity, as I spend many hours toiling to take apart their dam, only to rise the next morning to see it rebuilt. We could set our clocks by these two: they start their shift at 7 PM, and work until 7 AM. I must admit, though, that along with my cursing of these industrious rodents there is an admiration at the engineering knowledge that goes into their dams. They are not easy to take apart, and are very good at holding back the waters. Were it not for the danger to the footings of one of our Hydro poles perched on the edge of the lake, I would likely let them be. It becomes the summer of 'Beaver Wars'. By necessity, the trapper has the last word once the season opens. I am saddened by the thought, but am learning to accept that some things must be thus.

The adventure begins

2008-07-14T19:20:00.000-04:00

Friday morning we wake up, our first morning in the new place. The kitchen isn't clean enough for cooking, so we head back to town for brekkie again. By this time, everyone knows who we are. We chuckle.

The fridge is to be delivered the following week. The plan had been to buy a used stove locally. However, there are few used stoves available, and they are asking almost the price of new. DS goes shopping for a new stove while I stay behind and clean.

At noon, DS is back. Turns out she hasn't even been to town. She had car trouble on the way, and has spent all morning at the garage in a village close by. Luckily, the repair has involved more time than money. After lunch, she heads out again, determined to make it to town this time. I decide to rip up carpets, which proves to be a good choice!

While ripping up carpet in the master bedroom, I notice paper on the floor in the closet, under the carpet I have begun to pull up . I pick it up, and it seems to be an accounting of money in and money out. A few inches away, I notice something just peeking out from under the edge of the carpet I'm lifting. It turns out to be a cache of money, clearly long since forgotten. Not a fortune, but enough to pay for the stove with a little left over for our woodstove fund. I am excited by this, but have no way to tell DS, because we don't have a phone, and the cellphones don't catch a signal.

Now, some folks might say that the proper thing to do would be to give the money back. I am a principled person, but I have no guilt over keeping this little find, and here's why: the vendor tried to get away with a property boundary dispute he knew existed. Had we agreed to a survey after closing, we would have been stuck with the costs of addressing that, to the tune of several thousand dollars. Remember the 'no legal guarantee'? Well, that works both ways. In addition, we have seen signs of carpenter ants, something with which we are familiar from our current residence. It's a problem that can be fixed, but could be costly. Whether they knew about them or not is moot, it's on us to bear those costs. I sleep just fine at night, thank you very much.

When DS arrives, she has purchased a brand new stove at a very reasonable cost, and it will be delivered the next day. She is pleased with herself, having had to make an 'executive decision' in the process. I steal her thunder with news of my find. She doesn't mind one bit. Thereafter, she goes through every single item we have already ditched and those we're about to throw out, seeking more cash.

A SIL, a nephew and his wife show up on the Saturday to help clean and cart all the junk out of the house. We make a pile. It is quite impressive, as you can see:
They inform us that the municipality runs a service and will pick up household waste at the end of the drive, or at the door if you have enough, free of charge. Terrific! We won't have to hire a dumpster.

In the cupboards below the counter in the kitchen, among myriad other places, we find plenty of mouse droppings. Clearly it is a long-standing problem and no effort has been made to address it. In one cupboard we find a box of Baker's chocolate, packaging circa the 1980's, with a gnawed corner. Yuck.

Despite all of this, we are not regretting our purchase at all. Ultimately, it takes several visits to get everything clean, but it's well worth it. And, you know who your friends really are by who shows up to help.

Once we start cleaning, we reconsider our sleeping arrangements. The not-nice son had the master bedroom, and we can't bring ourselves to set up in there. The second largest room is also suspect: it has a lock on the door, keyed from the hallway. The sliding window is siliconed in place open only a smidge, and there is what looks like an oversized scraper, home-made and very heavy, about 2' long, clearly used for propping up against the door from the inside to prevent unauthorized entry. We don't know what went on in there, and we don't want to know.

The third room is barely 8' wide, and we find a dead and decomposed mouse on the floor in the closet. We decide that we like sleeping in front of the patio door.

Part of the planning had included buying security film for the windows, and we get that installed the first week as well. We also secure all the other entrances as well. We are itching to begin renovating, but there are many things to do first.

We also take time out to enjoy the property, going for frequent walks to explore sections we haven't even checked out. A custom develops: after breakfast, we head out for a walk with the dog and our coffee, heading out to the road and back. We do the same just before or after dinner, sometimes varying our destination to the clearing, or around the lake. Dogs are creatures of habit, and we get told if he finds we're dawdling over breakfast.

The natural benefits of this property are becoming apparent: DS has spotted a River Otter and his lady love frolicking about in the open water and on the nearby ice where a stream feeds our lake. We spend lots of time with the binoculars.

We also realize that somewhere, somehow, between the city and this property, there is a space-time warp, and the property is actually at the North Pole. When we arrived, snow had receded to several feet from the edges of the drive and the spring thaw had begun. Two days later, it begins to snow, and it doesn't stop until several days after we leave. We even have to get the bulldozer out to clear the drive. DS's learning curve on it is steep.

How we survived the 'pregnancy'...

2008-07-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

...and other odds and ends.

Not long after we first viewed the property, I had to give myself a stern talking to. It was becoming clear that the acquisition of this property was going to be more of a process than an event and I am not the most patient person in the world. Ultimately, it took 9 months from the time we saw the ad, to closing. A term pregnancy. There were a few times that we feared the deal would fall through, but we just kept believing. There were times when we would give ourselves a shake and try to change our mindset, knowing that if things didn't work out for whatever reason, we would be in for 'lunchbag letdown' of indescribable proportions. Try as we might, it never worked.

From the minute we first laid eyes on it, we began to believe it would be ours. Not hope. Not think. Believe. Really, truly, believe. We were powerless to do otherwise, it seemed. We planned, we dreamed, we sketched, we shopped. It was never 'if' we get it. It was always 'when we get it'. DS' family is close, and when we all get together, we are 40+ people. The past few family celebrations had been at rented premises. This house could accommodate everyone for the party, and overnight!

When we did the inspection, we took detailed measurements so that we could estimate the cost of the work that needed to be done. And so I would have something to do to keep me busy. DS calls me the queen of planning. Before we found this property, I spent hours keeping myself out of trouble by designing floorplans for our future retirement home. Each time I showed DS and said 'this is it' she would smile, provide her input, and wait until the next time. She teases me, but this trait has served us well in the past, too, and she acknowledges it. Much as her penchant for hoarding toilet paper has served us well, but I digress.

Armed with measurements, we realized that the dimensions of the kitchen, and the layout, were very similar to the one we had just finished renovating in our current home. DS and I have very different tastes, so it takes some doing to find the middle ground. And since we don't believe in spending money we don't need to spend, finding what we can both agree on at a price we're willing to pay can be quite the task. Choosing a backsplash for the kitchen had been particularly time-consuming and challenging, but we had eventually found something we both loved, and for a song, because the tile line was discontinued. In fact, we love our entire kitchen so much, it was the one negative aspect to this acquisition: we would not get to enjoy it for the 8 years we had foreseen.

So, true to our mindset of 'it's ours', the weekend after our offer was accepted, but months before conditions cleared, we went out and bought enough tile for the backsplash in the new place. In fact, we cleared them out of it. This was very much against our usual pragmatic approach, but we were powerless to do otherwise. Try as we might, we could never consider that this might not all work out.

The weekend we had done the inspection, we had also taken a few pictures. DS is the photographer of the family and does extremely well, but this time, I happened to luck out. It was a breezy morning when we went to take the water sample, but one of the photos I snapped showed a mirror-calm lake. In fact, it's the one in my first post. We had that photo enlarged and laminated. Twice. We put one up on the wall just outside the kitchen door, where we would see it every time we came downstairs, or came or left the kitchen. I kept the other in my office. That photo became our computer desktops. We would look at it and sigh, imagining our golden years there.

And we planned and shopped and planned some more. Say what you will about Big Orange, but they have financed all our home renovations at zero interest, and we appreciate it. That trend continued with us buying a new shower for the upstairs bath, and various other items. In January, months before closing. It stood in the corner of our living room until the end of March, keeping the tiles company. When the day to pack up and head to the closing finally arrived, it was not a day too soon. The living room and hallway had long since stopped looking like a home and had taken on the airs of a big-box home improvement centre as we took advantage of bargains we came across that fit our vision, such as it was at the time.

We also buy a fridge. It took some doing to find a small, Energy-Star rated fridge, but we did finally find one at Sears. We place the order on-line, and using their nifty little calendar utility, we select delivery for the day after closing. Except they try to deliver it on the Wednesday, a week before closing. Luckily, no one is home. We had left a SIL's number with them and she calls, saying she's had a call from Sears. After several phone calls back and forth, we arrange for delivery the Wednesday after closing. Seems Wednesday is the only day for delivery to our area. Ah yes, a subtle reminder that we are choosing to leave behind some of the conveniences of city life.

We also put in a lot of hours at all manner of Home Renovation and Cottage Living Exhibitions. And we began saving every penny for kayaks.

Now, some people love a challenge, and I'm one of those people. We have always known that we would leave this area when we retired. One of my concerns about that was my daughter, who began her working career in the spring of 2005. As I have already noted, this area's real estates costs are amongst the highest in the country. Some folks pay their kids' way through college, but I have never believed in that, and even if I had, I was not in a position to do so at the time. But, early in 2006, I saw an opportunity for her and for myself. A newspaper article spoke of a special assisted home ownership condo building going up right downtown, in a very desirable area. We made some enquiries and crunched the numbers. If I gifted her the downpayment, she could handle the rest. And I could leave the area knowing that come what may, I had done what I could to see she was settled in and had a roof over her head. So she signed on, and I committed to forking over a good chunk of change.

So, on top of the purchase of the dream property, I had to be able to meet my commitment to my daughter. We very nearly cancelled the deal, forfeiting the deposit we'd made, when my daughter got laid off due to downsizing in the summer of '06. Our esthetician, a very savvy businesswoman, talked us out of it. You know how people say every cloud has a silver lining? Well, this one sure did. It ended up that my daughter went from that first fairly low-paying job to a contract job at better pay, followed by an extension, followed by a permanent job with even better pay, benefits and opportunities for advancement! She was now earning enough money that I wouldn't even have to sign as guarantor on her mortgage!

For a while, I had to cut some corners pretty tight, but it all worked out in the end. We closed in March of '07, and she got her condo later that same year. In fact, things have really worked out. Daughter is very happily in love with a young man who lives down the street from us. They both love this neighbourhood, and the plan is they will buy this house from us at a fair market value when we head to the rural property. This is such a great neighbourhood, they will be the third such second-generation residents on our street. And, in a turn of events, for the year I come back to work, I will inhabit the basement space my daughter inhabited when she lived in this house with us.

Part 4: Closing

2008-07-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

We're waiting on final confirmation of the closing date, and it's down to the wire. Finally we learn the hold-up: the driveway is on the neighbour's property. In fact, the vendor knew this, and had had a confrontation with the neighbour about it. This explains the attempt to have the sale before the survey, and helps to explain the 'no legal guarantee' clause. Several solutions are discussed in a conference call, and it is agreed that the neighbour and the vendor will come to an agreement for transferring that property to our vendor just before we do our transaction, but our transaction is postponed from the Wednesday afternoon to the Thursday afternoon. Not a big deal, but we lose a full day of cleaning time.

In the end, we arrange to meet the agent for inspection of the property at 8:30 AM on the Thursday, and he will leave us the keys. We will have all day to unload and start cleaning, and head into town for the 4:00 PM closing.

The plan is to load up the van, truck, and trailer and leave on the Wednesday early evening, sleep at friends' and rise on Thursday refreshed, to go meet the agent. Whether it is stress or food poisoning, I don't know. I am awakened in the wee hours of Wednesday with a migraine and upset stomach. By late afternoon, I am starting to feel better by late afternoon, but cannot yet drive, and we must delay our departure. We decide that at the worst, DS will depart at midnight to meet the agent for the inspection, and I will follow as I can. I need to be there for the closing, but not before.

Ultimately, we leave around midnight and arrive just in time to meet with the agent. But upon touring the house with the agent, we are dismayed. Much furniture and junk has been left behind, and the place is a mess. A tour of the garage reveals that there is even more junk there, including hazardous waste. Here is a photo of the mess:

From Deux Hirondelles

We let the agent know that we want confirmation that the son has moved out and is not coming back, and we want to know what the vendor intends to do with the junk. We let him know that if we must deal with it, we expect compensation. He assures us that the son is gone. We leave the rest to discussions at closing.

We had bought a kit consisting of a bottle of champagne and two glasses, intending to drink it once we are alone, but all thoughts of it are chased from our minds by the mess that faces us.
We clear a corner of the living room and unload our belongings. After all this time, 9 months, it is a little anti-climatic. Once we're done unloading, we decide to head into town for breakfast.

It's our first visit, but our waitress sees the out-of-province plates and asks if we're the new owners of her uncle's property. Ah, the joys of a small town! Many people don't like this aspect of rural living, but it doesn't bother us.

Back at the house, I dive into the bathroom, and DS cleans the kitchen sink and a couple feet of countertop. We set up our bed in the area we've tidied up in the living room. The patio door is our headboard. I try to take a nap, but can't sleep. Soon, it's time to head to the lawyer's.

When we arrive, our lawyer leaves the neighbour and vendor for a few moments to come see us. We explain about the condition of the property and she gets her secretary making calls about the costs of a dumpster and used oil disposal. She comments that things are tense in the room.

As the neighbours leave, we introduce ourselves. They own the sugarbush camp adjoining our property and will only be there for about 3 weeks a year. We head into the room and meet our vendor for the first time. Two of his kids are there with him. We negotiate $500 off the adjustments to compensate for having to get rid of all the junk that's left. The papers are adjusted to show this, and that everything left is ours to do with as we please. This includes a compressor that we pointed out to the agent, nearly new and worth a few hundred dollars, and stacks of sawn boardfeet of cedar, oak, maple and birch found in the attic of the garage, also worth a few hundred dollars to us.

There's a lot of work ahead of us, but it is finally ours! We head back to the property. DS suggests we might not want to sleep there, but I will not hear of it. It's ours, and I want to wake up there tomorrow morning.

Part 3: Clearing conditions

2008-07-14T18:50:00.000-04:00

First up: water quality and building inspection

We make arrangements to pick up the sample bottle on our way down Thanksgiving weekend, get the sample, then make the 3-hour round trip to drop it off and come back for the inspection. The son who now occupies the house, and will be evicted when we take possession, is not happy and wants us out of the house ASAP. I don't let the water run 5 minutes before taking my sample, and this will prove to be significant. We also take samples from the lake to make sure it's swimmable.

A BIL who has been working in construction all his life agrees to come look. DS and I are not totally in the dark either, we know what to look for, we know what we're capable of handling ourselves. We just don't have all the intricacies of framing and truss construction catalogued in our brains the way BIL does.

Structurally, the house is sound. The slab is in good condition in the main house. There's a crack in the unheated attached woodshed slab, and some sinking, but that slab is not attached to the main slab. The toilet upstairs doesn't flush well; the ventstack outlet on the roof has been detached by the sliding snow, so the stack vents into the attic, but there's no smell. We know this is odd, but can't figure it out. Likely the stack is blocked by who knows what. There is certainly enough evidence of mice everywhere. Some of the electrical is DIY, and poorly done.

The garage is likewise sound, and includes a mechanic's pit to work on the bulldozer that comes with the house. Yup, a bulldozer, for clearing snow. Also a lawn tractor and push mower.

We see nothing that we can't address ourselves. I completely rewired our current kitchen during renos, changing out breakers in the process and not only passed inspection the first time, but got told I do better work than most contractors on developments! We know how to do pretty much everything that will be needed, except the septic, and having taken measurements, can now start to estimate approximate costs. And with DS and her four brothers all working in construction, there'll be plenty of help if we need it.

The lake water comes back pristine. The well is another story: coliforms are off the chart. It's so bad, the technician in the lab wants to talk to me directly. Given the situation, we conclude that most likely, a good sterilization of the well will suffice. In case it doesn't, I do more research and learn that we can get UV sterilization installed for $1000 max. We decide not to worry about it. Given the situation, the real possibility exists that sonny played with the water to try to dissuade a sale. After all, once the place was listed for sale, he began re-painting the exterior, but in such a slipshod way that the house is currently three different colors, all visible as you drive up. Little does he know it will take more than a patchy paint job and some bacteria to deter us!

Next, government permission

We have to apply, and it is rarely refused, but we can't be sure until we have the response in our hands. The built-in timelines mean it will take 3 to 4 months. A week after we get home following the inspection, the agent is telling us that someone else wants to see the property, a businessman from in town who was prepared to buy it 'sight unseen', oh, and by the way, have we sent in the paperwork to the government yet? We recognize a scare tactic when we hear it, but it gets us thinking: if someone else places an offer, we have to sign off on conditions within 48 hours, and that includes showing proof of financing.

We get the application off to the government, and I visit our current mortgagor to increase the home equity line of credit on our current home, just in case. Without batting an eye, or even doing an appraisal, they increase the limit enough for us to buy the new place cash, without selling our current home. We are flabbergasted to learn what our house is now worth, but still don't grasp this as an option for financing: we figure the monthly payments would be so high that we wouldn't be able to afford them on top of the utilities and taxes of the new place.

We learn another thing: while the agent is telling us about the 'new buyer', he happens to mention that there were other showings before our offer was accepted. This was the real reason for the deadline extension request on our offer back in September. They hoped the showings would lead to an offer, but they didn't. Very likely, this worked in our favour and explains why we got an accepted offer.

So now, we sit and wait to hear back from the government.

Then, financing

The holiday season approaches. While visiting with a niece and nephew, he mentions that they have refinanced their home to pull out the equity and pay off some higher-interest debt. The thought starts to ripen in our minds, and on the way home we decide to look into this option more seriously. I make a few phone calls myself, but the two loan officers I end up speaking with (new folks, because I have decided I will not do business with the guy who has replaced the very knowledgeable loan officer at our current institution) seem to know less about refinancing than I do. I get the idea to call the mortgage broker who handled our purchase of this house. She's excellent, knows her stuff and listens to what we want to do. No problem. In less than a week, we have an offer at a very reasonable rate of interest with payments that end up being $120 more a month than we were already paying.

The plan is that we will sell our current home four years after closing, when I take my year off. We will take the further equity and finance the renovations. When I go back to work, DS will stay behind and I will rent accommodations here and resume the regular visiting pattern we will have adopted in the years leading up to my year off.

By this time, the whole extended family is as excited about this project as we are. The winter holiday season comes and goes. Seeking reassurance, I do more research. I learn that the government posts its decisions online and I go looking at other similar requests. I realize they have no reason to deny our request, and this helps.

Finally!

In mid-January we get the official okay, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. We sign off on conditions, and fax a letter from our mortgage broker assuring we can pay for the property.

The date for the transaction is set for the end of March. The vendor still has to get the survey done before then. A couple weeks later, the agent calls and suggests we do the transaction in March, but wait until the summer to get the survey done. This is unheard of to me, and I tell him I doubt we'll agree, but I will speak to our lawyer. I know the response, but I figure I'll let her deal with it. She does, and he arranges for the survery to be done. Before closing.

Part 2: Getting to the offer

2008-07-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

We viewed the property on the last day of our vacation, so now we have a 6-hour drive back to the city. Our thoughts and conversation are a jumbled mix of obstacles and dreams.

In no particular order, these include how much below asking do we think we can get it for; how much might the septic cost, worst case scenario?; we're 6 hours away, what do we do with the property for the 8 years left 'til our planned retirement?; what equipment will we need to maintain such a property?; what renovations need to be done?; does the fireplace stay or go?; how do we pay for it? This is just the pragmatic stuff. We are already talking about updates and renovations, changes to the heating system, etc.

As often happens, time eventually helps us address the hurdles one by one. Back in the city, a few phone calls confirm that $15,000 is the absolute most a septic will cost in that area, and it will likely be much less. The property is zoned agricultural, but the owner has government permission to sever the 35 acres on which the house and lake sit, and it is designated for non-agricultural use. There are no easements or rights-of-way, except for Hydro.

I call the lawyer who handled the purchase of our original 5 acres. She wants to know why we want to go retire out in the middle of nowhere, and if we've thought of the realities of living so far from civilisation? Some would say it's not her place, but she has always looked out for our interests and we chat a bit. She answers several questions, and tells me what she needs to review. I contact the agent and get him to send her the documents. I let him know we are interested in making an offer, but need to answer some questions. Not the least of these is the fact that we will need government permission to buy because of the size, zoning, and the fact that we aren't currently residents of the province.

Being an impatient city person, I'm thinking we need to get all this done quick, so we can make our offer. We head out on our next vacation segment, and I pack all the documentation, as well as a listing of all the ReMax agent offices along the say so we can stop in and sign off the offer without too much delay. By the time we get back after two weeks, we have heard from no one and I'm getting panicky. Finally, I sit myself down and acknowledge that this is rural property and the pace is different.

The calculators are overheating as I crunch numbers, trying to figure out just how soon we can get out of the city, and our jobs, for good. First, we're thinking that if we save every penny, then quit and live off our savings, we could likely make it to my pension date if we quit in 3 1/2 years. Then, my employer sends out a reminder notice.

With our previous contract we had negotiated a sabbatical plan. Our employer has been notorious for denying leaves of absence without pay, so the union has worked something out for us. I could work 4 years at partial salary, then take a year off at the same salary. At first, I'm thinking I will take the year off leading up to my retirement date, but the government has other ideas. For some reason, one must return to work for at least the same amount of time that one was off, or else there are tax implications. Crap.

Ultimately, we decide to do this anyway: I will take the sabbatical, then go back to work for the required year. I'll come back and rent a room, going back on weekends. The biggest issues now are what we will do with the property in the meantime, and how will be pay for it?

All our free time, every discussion, is brainstorming and research focussed on the property. We could rent it out, but it is somewhat remote, and besides, we have friends who have lived horror stories with tenants. We start crunching numbers to see if selling our current residence and thereby releasing the equity in it, then renting is feasible. But rents in our area are so high, it would be tight. And that solution still leaves the property vacant. Might a SIL want to rent? We toss that idea. Hmmm....we could use it as a vacation property, staying there instead of with a SIL as we usually do when we visit. That simmers for a few days, then I realize that I already work from home, and many employees are now working compressed weeks. We'll work compressed weeks, and head up to the property for long weekends every couple weeks. That will keep it semi-occupied, and we get to enjoy it.

Finally, we have the answers that let us move forward. We haven't figured out exactly how we'll arrange financing, but we can afford it, so we place our offer. Our lawyer talks us down $5000 from our original notion, telling us to offer the estimated evaluation. There is a long list of conditions as well. The offer goes out on Wednesday early evening and the response is due Friday at suppertime. The agent calls Friday morning explaining the vendor is in the hospital; not serious, but can he have until Tuesday at suppertime to respond? We agree.

Finally, Tuesday morning we have our response. It's not a counter-offer as we expected; our offer has been accepted, at $30,000 below asking! The proviso is that the property is sold without any legal guarantee. If we close and find a problem afterwards, we have no recourse. We contemplate it and decide that the building inspection will cover us on this front. We are ecstatic, but it's not over yet. There are still many issues to be addressed.

The Backstory, Part 1: Finding the property

2008-07-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

My spouse (DS) and I really enjoy renovating. It's one of the things we like to do for fun. Seriously. Yes, we know we're nuts. We had always planned to build our own retirement home, start to finish, and already owned 5 acres where our retirement years will be spent. But as they say, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans...

Rewind to late June, 2006

We are putting the finishing touches on the kitchen reno in our current residence, located in a large city in Ontario. We've been at it since the first week of April. Some friends and family from out-of-town will be visiting at the end of the week, and it's Tuesday. There's not much left to do, just some trimwork. Spouse mentions to me that a good-sized piece of property, with it's very own man-made lake is on the market. Years ago, I had gifted her a subscription to her hometown's local paper, and she had kept it up. Unknown to me, and despite the fact that we already had our land, she was still perusing the real estate ads. "Whatever for?" I asked when the topic eventually turned to this, "Well, we didn't have any water. No stream, etc., so I just sort of kept an eye out."

Call it serendipity, providence, whatever. We're just really glad she kept looking. Although the hometown area hasn't yet seen the advantage of listing prices on real estate ads, it's a ReMax listing, and I know they have adopted this practice. I also know GoogleEarth links to the ads, and we know where the property is, so, I fire up the cucumber* and we investigate. The asking price is unbelievably reasonable to us, since we live in an area where you can't get anything for less than $200G. We figure there has to be something wrong with it, but I pick up the phone and call the agent to ask a few questions.

The owner's health is failing, he is in a nursing home. The son left living at the property cannot keep up the maintenance. It is about 35 acres, mostly wooded. The house was built in '79. The garage/workshop is 30 x 40, the house is a bungalow on a slab, 30 x 50, plus some finished space in the attic. We're headed to the area for vacation in 3 weeks, so we let the agent know we'll arrange a visit if it's still on the market. And we start thinking.

During the weeks between our call and our vacation, we make some enquiries of friends and family in that area. There's going to be a road put in, but we understand it to be planned for the other side of the road into the village, about a kilometre from the back of our property. A planned pig farm is causing some controversy in the town, but it's potential location is several km away. No problems with smuggling at the border crossing near the property, it's a dirt crossing leading to logging roads and sugarbush camps. Hmmmm....so why is it so cheap?

Come vacation time, we're camping out on our land, visiting with friends and family. We happen to mention the property to a nephew who works in the village. He works with the eldest son of the vendor, so he can give us lots of background. Vendor is a paraplegic since a logging incident years ago. He used to live on the property with the youngest son, but had to move to a nursing home. Youngest son was permitted to live there, so long as he paid the bills, but he hasn't. The vendor has had to pay the hydro costs for the past year, so the property is up for sale.

We do a 'drive-by'. Neither the house nor lake can be see from the road, so we turn down the drive and inch forward. As the nose of the truck peeks out of the trees, and we see the property, we fall in love. This is what we saw:

From that moment on, we knew we had to have this place. For the next few days, we discussed our plan: move the house to the 5 acres we already own, and sell that piece at a profit, then build our retirement home. We arranged to visit with the real estate agent. He has had only one other call besides ours, and no visits. It has been on the market two months. We had heard that the owner had tried to sell it before on several occasions, but was asking way too much for it given the area's economy. This is likely working in our favour: because prices aren't listed, everybody assumes he wants too much for it. We're also hearing that he was a businessman used to getting his way.

The morning of the visit arrives. It's a rural area, and hunting is big. There is a stuffed lynx mounted on a log, and a stuffed owl, similarly perched, hanging on the wall beside the pool table. The agent asks if we hunt and says we can do so from our back deck. I tell him if we buy the property, the first thing that will go up will be 'No Hunting' signs. We love the outdoors, but shoot animals only with cameras.

As we tour the house, each of us is thinking "This place is HUGE and the layout is great, we could make this work." On the closet shelf in one of the bedrooms, I notice something dark and furry, and move in for a closer look. There is a head attached. It is a black bear pelt. As we're preparing to leave, I ask the vendor's son about the lynx and owl and he tells us they were killed on the property. "The guy in the back closet, too?" Yup. OK, so maybe BIL will get hunting rights.

We walk around the property without the agent for a bit and take a few pix, sharing our thoughts for the first time. Now we are really hooked. The house needs updating, but none of it is work that we haven't already done at least once ourselves, on our current home. The roof was redone already and is steel. It will not need to be redone in our lifetime. Yes, the septic needs to be redone from A-Z, but we can do all the rest ourselves.

Armed with the listing pages, we stop off to visit a couple SIL on our way back to the city. There is not much talking going on in the car; we are each busy in our thoughts of this idyllic spot we have just seen and absolutely must own. But, there are obstacles to be overcome and issues to be addressed before we can even think to make an offer.

*Several years ago, in responding to a question from my daughter of where to find something, I replied "It's on top of the cucumber." Now, both my daughter and I heard what I said, but I didn't. I was convinced I had said 'computer.' When asked to repeat my response, I repeated 'cucumber.' Three times, in fact. I never realized I was using the wrong word, until they pointed it out to me. So, in our family, the 'puter is now known as the cucumber.