Deux Hirondelles

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.

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 I, on the other hand, got a lot of little things done: The 'wagon wheel chandelier' is down, and has been replaced by a ceiling fan that pretty much matches the light fixture family we have chosen.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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!

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.

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.