The queasiness I'm feeling today may have something to do with the hangover, but is also being prodded uncomfortably into action by thoughts of a little note I found on our front door on Sunday evening.
It was a business card from the excavator who supplied some dirt way back during the heyday of construction and it said "Please call me to arrange payment for two loads of fill ($180 each). Thanks".
a) I don't remember owing him money. I generally don't like owing people money, so I try to square up as soon as possible.
b) He was notoriously difficult to contact (we actually didn't hire him again later because of this fact), never answering his cell phone nor returning my messages. It is possible that the fact I did owe him money slipped through the cracks of house construction because I got frustrated with his approach so I said "Eff that, if he wants his money bad enough he will contact me". Because THAT does sound familiar.
c) Still, even if that's the case, why would he wait until now to ask for payment? Why not ages ago? The work was done roughly eight months ago. Who runs a business like that? Does he need Christmas money to buy gifts for his kids?
d) He has legally forfeited all rights to liens on the mortgage, which is kept back by the bank for just this purpose. In case of a dispute (a "he said, she said" argument regarding non-payment, much like the one I see arising from this very situation), my understanding is that the bank is arbiter. But what now? Mortgage is officially closed, all liens are held back for 60 days following the issue of an occupancy permit (again, ages ago). He asks for money he says we owe him, I say "WTF? we don't owe you any money" and then...he vandalizes our house? I pay out becuse I'm a push-over and can't find any paperwork either for or against his claims? If he ran his business properly, with invoices and prompt payment requests it might seem just a tad less sketchy.
I don't know. Grumble grumble.
(That was my stomach)
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query money. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query money. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Resolutions Part 3
The kernel of things
"For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money."
-Arne Garborg, writer (1851-1924)
"For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money."
-Arne Garborg, writer (1851-1924)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
New Diggs
Last month, my husband and I became part of an elite group of people called landowners. With a sparkle in our eyes (the same eyes diligently watching the bottom line), we left the land of hustling renters. With plans to stick it to the over-privileged lords of this mini-feudal system we call the “University-town renters market”, we sketched, and called, and estimated for months. About four weeks ago we became legal owners of a small (75’x 160’) lot that backs out onto a small lake, about 20 minutes from downtown.
Part of the reason for starting this blog was to keep track of the arduous journey ahead, bit by bit. We plan to build the house ourselves; contracting out the trades my husband cannot do himself. The house is intended to be somewhat temporary-the real estate in this town is about 3 times more expensive compared to the city we were born in, and we will probably sell this house for a profit in a few years, move elsewhere and start anew. The blog will help me the second time around, I hope. It will also be a place where friends and family can come to check out progress when they aren’t actually visiting/contributing to the manual labour (*cough cough*).
The first week was productive, we had the existing well tested for minerals and coliforms. Looks like we’ll need 2500.00 worth of water filters. Week two/three was spent waiting for the engineer to “swing by”, and finally ended in a tearful phone call with the receptionist when she informed me the price would almost double if we wanted to be made “a priority”. Once I got a grip on myself, I told her to shove it. We found, and then consulted, with a second engineer (at a fraction of the cost, natch) who helped us decide where the house should go in relation to the existing well and septic. Then Thanksgiving. Then I got sick. So it was last week when we had the excavator person and foundation person in to look at the lot. They work as a team, sorta, so that a large gaping rain-accumulating hole is not left for too long on the future spot of our house. Monday was supposed to be the day when site was cleared and footings poured. They ran into a snag, of course; there was stagnant water where they were going to pour the footings. Past experience dictated that this sort of soppy set-up was not going to pass inspection. We could build there anyway, but we would need to get an engineer to design a pad to be placed over the gravel, which would take time we don’t have (hello, frost!) and also money. A second game plan: excavate the entire area which had been filled in with gravel from a previous construction attempt in 2000. Drain the water with a few ditches, and then fill it in with dirt. Place footings as usual. This plan would cost money, but could be done right away. Hmmm…we’ll see this evening how that went.
Part of the reason for starting this blog was to keep track of the arduous journey ahead, bit by bit. We plan to build the house ourselves; contracting out the trades my husband cannot do himself. The house is intended to be somewhat temporary-the real estate in this town is about 3 times more expensive compared to the city we were born in, and we will probably sell this house for a profit in a few years, move elsewhere and start anew. The blog will help me the second time around, I hope. It will also be a place where friends and family can come to check out progress when they aren’t actually visiting/contributing to the manual labour (*cough cough*).
The first week was productive, we had the existing well tested for minerals and coliforms. Looks like we’ll need 2500.00 worth of water filters. Week two/three was spent waiting for the engineer to “swing by”, and finally ended in a tearful phone call with the receptionist when she informed me the price would almost double if we wanted to be made “a priority”. Once I got a grip on myself, I told her to shove it. We found, and then consulted, with a second engineer (at a fraction of the cost, natch) who helped us decide where the house should go in relation to the existing well and septic. Then Thanksgiving. Then I got sick. So it was last week when we had the excavator person and foundation person in to look at the lot. They work as a team, sorta, so that a large gaping rain-accumulating hole is not left for too long on the future spot of our house. Monday was supposed to be the day when site was cleared and footings poured. They ran into a snag, of course; there was stagnant water where they were going to pour the footings. Past experience dictated that this sort of soppy set-up was not going to pass inspection. We could build there anyway, but we would need to get an engineer to design a pad to be placed over the gravel, which would take time we don’t have (hello, frost!) and also money. A second game plan: excavate the entire area which had been filled in with gravel from a previous construction attempt in 2000. Drain the water with a few ditches, and then fill it in with dirt. Place footings as usual. This plan would cost money, but could be done right away. Hmmm…we’ll see this evening how that went.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Fire his ass ... (?)
Last week, this news story made the rounds. John Ross, the head of emergency medicine at the hospital, set off a "code orange" - an internal mass casualty alert for hospital staff - in response to a flood of untreated patients in the ER.
This week, it is quietly being announced John Ross is no longer the head of emergency medicine at QEII.
From the memo on the Capital Health website:
"We are writing to let know that we have re-aligned responsibilities within the Acute Care Portfolio and put a new leadership team in place at the QEII Emergency effective Monday, February 2. "
Re-aligned, eh? You mean, "re-assess how badly we need you versus how bad you make us look in public"? Health care in Canada, although free and accessible, costs a shitload of money to run. And the sad truth is, the emergency room is often the first stop for non-urgent medical problems when people can't fit in an appointment with their over-worked GP or can't make it to the local clinic (often open for fewer hours due to budget restraints). I don't know John Ross, but I am willing to bet money he was just dealing with a horrible situation the best way he knew how: call a code orange and let every capable person in the hospital be ready to treat patients. Put down the incessant paperwork, and clear the hallways. I applaud this sort of action-driven protest against how we run our hospitals, and I wish he wouldn't be demoted because of it.
It hasn't escaped my notice that the bloated healthcare system with all it's redundancy, paperwork and red tape is just mimicked in these new leadership roles. To wit, Dr. John Ross has now been unceremoniously replaced with not one, but two other people:
"Sam [Campbell] and Sandra [Janes] will work collaboratively in a co-leadership model to ensure we are positioned to optimally deliver quality and safe patient access and flow"
Right.
This week, it is quietly being announced John Ross is no longer the head of emergency medicine at QEII.
From the memo on the Capital Health website:
"We are writing to let know that we have re-aligned responsibilities within the Acute Care Portfolio and put a new leadership team in place at the QEII Emergency effective Monday, February 2. "
Re-aligned, eh? You mean, "re-assess how badly we need you versus how bad you make us look in public"? Health care in Canada, although free and accessible, costs a shitload of money to run. And the sad truth is, the emergency room is often the first stop for non-urgent medical problems when people can't fit in an appointment with their over-worked GP or can't make it to the local clinic (often open for fewer hours due to budget restraints). I don't know John Ross, but I am willing to bet money he was just dealing with a horrible situation the best way he knew how: call a code orange and let every capable person in the hospital be ready to treat patients. Put down the incessant paperwork, and clear the hallways. I applaud this sort of action-driven protest against how we run our hospitals, and I wish he wouldn't be demoted because of it.
It hasn't escaped my notice that the bloated healthcare system with all it's redundancy, paperwork and red tape is just mimicked in these new leadership roles. To wit, Dr. John Ross has now been unceremoniously replaced with not one, but two other people:
"Sam [Campbell] and Sandra [Janes] will work collaboratively in a co-leadership model to ensure we are positioned to optimally deliver quality and safe patient access and flow"
Right.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Stripping for money, Stripping for fun
Last week when the electricians were finished the floor was littered with excess electrical wire. Inside the little stringy nuggets of plastic? Feet and feet of copper wire. For those of you who don't trade commodities on a daily basis: that shit is worth alot of money these days. Actually, around here people are so poor they will strip the copper from key mechanical/electrical units in schoolhouses and the like to sell the copper for a hefty (albeit karmically-jinxed) profit. Which of course makes it one of the leading stories on the nightly faux-news (shout out Bruce Frisko). So last weekend, on our "weekend off", I gathered up all the plastic-covered wires and spent a soothing few hours stripping the plastic to expose the copper with the intent of bringing it to the scrap metal place. What a beautiful metal! If it weren't so bloody expensive, I would definitely litter my house with sculptures of the stuff.
The empty, empty husks went in the trash-box:
And I wound the copper around my fingers & flung 'em in this cardboard box to bring home:
Pretty, non?
Between our bouts of "movie marathon-ing", we became engrossed. Copper is so beautiful! We started off by twisting it around pens and pencils to make super tight spirals that looked like springs. But once the pair of needle-nosed pliers were introduced, it evolved quickly. Our creations:
Mine was a semi-3D hummingbird and flower. It was exceedingly difficult to get good pictures, but there are a couple below. One from below looking up, one from the side looking down, and one straight on.
Different angle/different light:
His was a more straight forward (and definitely 3D) CopperPiggy.
Unfortunately, they're still headed to the scrap metal heap, but at least some metal worker will get a kick out of them. Rest in peace, CopperPiggy.
The empty, empty husks went in the trash-box:
And I wound the copper around my fingers & flung 'em in this cardboard box to bring home:
Pretty, non?
Between our bouts of "movie marathon-ing", we became engrossed. Copper is so beautiful! We started off by twisting it around pens and pencils to make super tight spirals that looked like springs. But once the pair of needle-nosed pliers were introduced, it evolved quickly. Our creations:
Mine was a semi-3D hummingbird and flower. It was exceedingly difficult to get good pictures, but there are a couple below. One from below looking up, one from the side looking down, and one straight on.
Different angle/different light:
His was a more straight forward (and definitely 3D) CopperPiggy.
Unfortunately, they're still headed to the scrap metal heap, but at least some metal worker will get a kick out of them. Rest in peace, CopperPiggy.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
My house costs three times my annual salary...
...and I got a steal of a deal.
I worry about money alot. I worry about debt, I micromanage the budget, I deny myself dinners out and new shoes more often than I used to. This article in Globe and Mail explains why I've hustled since the age of fifteen to save money for university while also trying to make a life worth living (in my eyes = travel, wedding, home ownership, time for family): it is damn expensive.
Life & tuition costs 1984 vs 2012 (Globe and Mail)
I had a big scholarship for both my degrees, and I still graduated in debt. I've recently paid off my student loan officially (no debt-punching celebrations since I cheated by consolidating the last $1000 to our home reno line of credit to simplify the budgeting/get the government off my back), six years after I graduated from my first degree paying back double what the government suggested.
This is all alarmingly relevant, as the Quebec student protests have recently swelled their ranks to encompass not just disenfranchised youth but also parents and teachers who are acutely aware of what increased debt does for life down the road. The symbol of the protestors, the little red square, represents life "in the red". I've been thinking about these protests: how peaceful they've generally been, how few media outlets are covering the unfolding events, how perpetual critics of "apathetic youth" look away (or worse, criticize the "joint-smoking, free-loading" youths) now that they are protesting in huge crowds, and how we are all basically required to get at least an undergrad degree to be competitive in a job market that doesn't pay enough to climb out of the hole in reasonable amount of time (say...less than five years).
Thank goodness I live in a cheap area of the country (for housing at least). I can't even imagine the thoughts I'd be wracked with if I lived in a city I couldn't afford in a house that cost six times my annual salary. We'd never have kids, and we would likely never vacation either. Bootstraps can only be pulled by so much force before they snap, and I've got compassion for the plight of financially drowning students everywhere. Suit up with a red square and realize that just because an older generation thinks the students are whining about bullshit doesn't mean they are.
I worry about money alot. I worry about debt, I micromanage the budget, I deny myself dinners out and new shoes more often than I used to. This article in Globe and Mail explains why I've hustled since the age of fifteen to save money for university while also trying to make a life worth living (in my eyes = travel, wedding, home ownership, time for family): it is damn expensive.
Life & tuition costs 1984 vs 2012 (Globe and Mail)
I had a big scholarship for both my degrees, and I still graduated in debt. I've recently paid off my student loan officially (no debt-punching celebrations since I cheated by consolidating the last $1000 to our home reno line of credit to simplify the budgeting/get the government off my back), six years after I graduated from my first degree paying back double what the government suggested.
This is all alarmingly relevant, as the Quebec student protests have recently swelled their ranks to encompass not just disenfranchised youth but also parents and teachers who are acutely aware of what increased debt does for life down the road. The symbol of the protestors, the little red square, represents life "in the red". I've been thinking about these protests: how peaceful they've generally been, how few media outlets are covering the unfolding events, how perpetual critics of "apathetic youth" look away (or worse, criticize the "joint-smoking, free-loading" youths) now that they are protesting in huge crowds, and how we are all basically required to get at least an undergrad degree to be competitive in a job market that doesn't pay enough to climb out of the hole in reasonable amount of time (say...less than five years).
Thank goodness I live in a cheap area of the country (for housing at least). I can't even imagine the thoughts I'd be wracked with if I lived in a city I couldn't afford in a house that cost six times my annual salary. We'd never have kids, and we would likely never vacation either. Bootstraps can only be pulled by so much force before they snap, and I've got compassion for the plight of financially drowning students everywhere. Suit up with a red square and realize that just because an older generation thinks the students are whining about bullshit doesn't mean they are.
Friday, February 19, 2010
tossing and turning
This week is money week. I've started watching all EIGHT seasons of this reality program called "Til Debt do Us Part" which is basically about a hard-nosed (and curiously accented) host slapping consumer-driven Canadian couples from their debt-riddled lives. Since this is the first time in my life I have had a predictable incomes AND predictable expenses, I've taken the advice to heart. I've made budgets several times over, and actually stayed AWAKE a few nights ago, fretting about our financial future. Which is utterly unnecessary, since unlike the couples featured in the show who are routinely one full year of dual income-worth in debt, we have relatively little. The real eye-opener is that my scratchings on paper have told me we could pay off our mortgage ENTIRELY by the time our five-year term expires, by contributing $2000.00 a month to our mortgage. Ask someone in Toronto whether 2000.00/month for two people is impossible. It certainly is NOT impossible. It is certainly appealing to this young gal, who once had her heart set on mortgage-free living.
As I see it, interest rates can really only go one way from this point on. What if in five years our reasonable, locked-in rate of 5% jumps into the double digits? It has happened before, it will happen again. My mom was telling me about one of the mortgages she had before divorcing my dad and filing for bankruptcy. Fret fret fret.
Again, we I thought we lived frugally. But I think we could be doing better. The complication is that last week, before the budget bingeing started, I called the mortgage lady to ask for money for home renovation. The demolition is chugging along, and hopefully before the snow melts entirely we will be ready to have electricians and plumbers help with our best laid plans. Since we have excellent credit and moderately good incomes, I think we will be approved. The question of course is whether we should go for it if we are. Last week I was sincerely and completely in the "no shit, abslutely" camp. The downstairs is a wreck, gutted without a proper kitchen and NO INSULATION means we are paying out the nose for heating this winter. I don't want to spend the next 24 months fixing it. I want to spend six months fixing in it and then 18 months paying for it. But at the expense of paying years more on the mortgage? We are teetering on "maybe not such a good idea, don't-spend-it-until-you've-got-it"now. Or at least I am. Hubby probably thinks I'm two parts crazy & one part hormonal.
Ask me next week, I'll likely expound on the virtues of different flooring options. I am a tad spastic with my obsessions. *breathe*
As I see it, interest rates can really only go one way from this point on. What if in five years our reasonable, locked-in rate of 5% jumps into the double digits? It has happened before, it will happen again. My mom was telling me about one of the mortgages she had before divorcing my dad and filing for bankruptcy. Fret fret fret.
Again, we I thought we lived frugally. But I think we could be doing better. The complication is that last week, before the budget bingeing started, I called the mortgage lady to ask for money for home renovation. The demolition is chugging along, and hopefully before the snow melts entirely we will be ready to have electricians and plumbers help with our best laid plans. Since we have excellent credit and moderately good incomes, I think we will be approved. The question of course is whether we should go for it if we are. Last week I was sincerely and completely in the "no shit, abslutely" camp. The downstairs is a wreck, gutted without a proper kitchen and NO INSULATION means we are paying out the nose for heating this winter. I don't want to spend the next 24 months fixing it. I want to spend six months fixing in it and then 18 months paying for it. But at the expense of paying years more on the mortgage? We are teetering on "maybe not such a good idea, don't-spend-it-until-you've-got-it"now. Or at least I am. Hubby probably thinks I'm two parts crazy & one part hormonal.
Ask me next week, I'll likely expound on the virtues of different flooring options. I am a tad spastic with my obsessions. *breathe*
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Eight more days
Being a new grad last summer, I qualified for a government salary supplementation for my first year (-ish) of work at a "small-to-medium size company" in my field of study. At the end of the last pay cycle, my boss informed my that there was a much larger balance in the grant account then we previously believed. Basically, this funding was going to run out at the end of the month whether I claimed it or not, so if I wanted to work my ass off for 17 days in a row, I could drain the account (doubling my normal pay cheque $$), bank the hours, plow through an ever- accumulating "to-do list", apply the money to our new woodstove AND take some time off after April 1st.
So that's what I decided to do, calculating 17 successive, 9-hour days would be enough time logged to empty the left-over grant money. I am now over half way finished, and have managed to stay in relatively good spirits and health. Nine hours days, in reality, are nothing compared to the strenuous hours in other jobs. As my husband reminded me yesterday, upon delivery of some delicious potato pancakes and beer for my suppertime meal taken in the lab..."you're not an undergrad, you're not a masters student anymore. You're getting paid for your time. Chin up."
...of course, it's molecular biology. I protocol started is a protocol to be completed until an appropriate storage stage is reached. So I was here last night at 1 am transferring a Western Blot :)
The nine hour days alone are not really a problem. It is the quick spring that overtook us, highlighting the need for attention outside (ex: incomplete chicken coop, soppy garden and crumbling exterior finish) that is difficult to neglect on beautifully sunny weekend days.
Coincidentally, there were lots of planned appointments (doctor and hair) and installations or estimates for these two weeks (like the stove, planned for a Thursday installation, or the spray-foam insulation guy who is coming tomorrow afternoon). So I have been working more like four ten-hour days, and then five hours a day on the weekend.
I've also been tutoring someone while she studies mid-wifery via correspondance. Her current course is anatomy & physiology. (Thankfully, there is quite the overlap in content from my undergrad cell bio/metabolism/animal biology classes...says the girl who studied fungus, algae and plants for her scientific career). Originally a 14-week course with ~4 hours of tutoring a week, she was just informed late last week that in order to qualify for government student loans, she needs to complete the course in under seven weeks. All of a sudden, four hours a week has turned into 8. We have standing dates on Tuesday & Friday and Sunday evenings to go over the remaining material. She must complete the course by the end of April, so hopefully my banked hours this month can be used for day-long study/cram sessions before her last few exams. She also received a grant to pay for my tutoring services at a great per hour rate.
So just to re-iterate: I have job(s) I love, I'm keeping busy and I love potato pancakes with spinach and cheddar. Yum!
So that's what I decided to do, calculating 17 successive, 9-hour days would be enough time logged to empty the left-over grant money. I am now over half way finished, and have managed to stay in relatively good spirits and health. Nine hours days, in reality, are nothing compared to the strenuous hours in other jobs. As my husband reminded me yesterday, upon delivery of some delicious potato pancakes and beer for my suppertime meal taken in the lab..."you're not an undergrad, you're not a masters student anymore. You're getting paid for your time. Chin up."
...of course, it's molecular biology. I protocol started is a protocol to be completed until an appropriate storage stage is reached. So I was here last night at 1 am transferring a Western Blot :)
The nine hour days alone are not really a problem. It is the quick spring that overtook us, highlighting the need for attention outside (ex: incomplete chicken coop, soppy garden and crumbling exterior finish) that is difficult to neglect on beautifully sunny weekend days.
Coincidentally, there were lots of planned appointments (doctor and hair) and installations or estimates for these two weeks (like the stove, planned for a Thursday installation, or the spray-foam insulation guy who is coming tomorrow afternoon). So I have been working more like four ten-hour days, and then five hours a day on the weekend.
I've also been tutoring someone while she studies mid-wifery via correspondance. Her current course is anatomy & physiology. (Thankfully, there is quite the overlap in content from my undergrad cell bio/metabolism/animal biology classes...says the girl who studied fungus, algae and plants for her scientific career). Originally a 14-week course with ~4 hours of tutoring a week, she was just informed late last week that in order to qualify for government student loans, she needs to complete the course in under seven weeks. All of a sudden, four hours a week has turned into 8. We have standing dates on Tuesday & Friday and Sunday evenings to go over the remaining material. She must complete the course by the end of April, so hopefully my banked hours this month can be used for day-long study/cram sessions before her last few exams. She also received a grant to pay for my tutoring services at a great per hour rate.
So just to re-iterate: I have job(s) I love, I'm keeping busy and I love potato pancakes with spinach and cheddar. Yum!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A hundred ways to eat a root vegetable
A little more than a year ago we settled into the old house we are repairing, and had some lovely people live with us for short bursts of time. Foodies. Locavores. Teachers. And boy, was I in a good spot to be taught. Doritos for lunch or the occasional chocolate-bar-breakfast was not that uncommon in my life. Instant gratification over nutrition. Blame it on youth.
This picture still makes my mouth water, Pavlovian-style.
This picture still makes my mouth water, Pavlovian-style.
I'm proud of how our habits have changed for the better, and the repertoire we've worked on. I'm gonna brag a bit. The biggest change was buying a share in our CSA last year. Every week we would get tons of vegetables, with some selection, chosen at the weekly farmers market. I found it easier to plan meals for the following week because at least this aspect of it (the vegetables available) reduced the possibilities. Heard of Omnivore's Dilemma? Reading that book shed alot of light on life in general but eating habits in particular. Too much choice can be overwhelming. Going to CostCo gives me a near-aneurism. Anyway, the trick is to let someone else (local farmer) pick part of your grocery, then all you have to do is fill in the rest.
We are lucky we live in a place that has a weekly Saturday morning farmer's market. It is still small enough to afford only a single/very few stands for chicken/pork/beef. And none for seafood (which is sad to me). That said, 35 km away there is a giant farmer's market that has multiple booths for all that stuff plus tons more (honey, cranberries, apples, pears). So we have a pretty basic "comfort-food" menu that can get us through the week eating locally produced goods almost all year long, especially if we supplement from our freezer and the neighbouring market. Here are some of the things we'll eat this week:
local trout/butter/flour fried up, served with an apple/carrot/cilantro salad (all local, with a dressing of imported olive oil and organic lemon juice), and our own dill pickles from the garden. Non-local rice served as a carb side-dish. Someone gave me cilantro seeds last weekend as a gift, so I'm going to try and grow those in a window over the next few months. God knows we've got enough apples and carrots in storage to last us.
Honey garlic sausage from our local vendor, fried julienned carrots in a pepper/maple glaze, mustard pickles from our garden and a buttered piece of locally made bread. Sometimes we add fried red cabbage in garlic too. Yum!
local beef stirfry: the best beef I've had in a long time combined with local root veggies (kohlrabi, carrot, red onion), local bean sprouts and local mushrooms. I added some items from my freezer, which I stocked when stuff was in season: green peppers from the farmer and zucchini from our garden. Served with some more non-local rice. Randomly thrown together sauce of tamari & ginger (imported) + garlic & maple syrup (local).
local chicken breast roasted in the oven with spiced broth, combined with mashed sweet potato and frozen local corn. Cranberry sauce from our own cranberries. I'm not gonna lie, I'm fairly addicted to Kraft Stovetop stuffing, so I may round out this healthy pseudo-thanksgiving meal with a 99 cent box of crap-laden Stovetop. Can't win them all...
Carrot ginger soup. We eat alot of meat, but I try to get in one veggie meal (usually a soup) and/or a noodle based dish over the week. The carrot ginger soup is a favorite: we can get local carrots all year long (that taste as good as the ones I remember pulling up from my grandmother's garden as a kid). Combined with some local onion and some local garlic (if we can find it....the stuff we planted this year lasted only until November. I've planted twice as much this year hoping to harvest enough for the entire winter at least), the soup is the nicest thing to eat after shoveling the driveway for the sixth time in seven days. Fried onions & garlic in local butter on the woodstove, add some chicken broth (my own if I've thought ahead to thaw some from the freezer, organic pre-packaged if it was on sale and the pantry is stocked, or regular boxed stuff in a pinch) and four cups of cut up carrots. Add some rice for texture, simmer for an hour then blend to smooth consistency. Voila!
And for breakfast this week I made a batch of the baked oatmeal. We ate it with local maple syrup and brand-name yogurt that was on super-sale this week at the grocery store. I'm still having a hard time with local dairy products. Cow's milk is easy to find and I've grown to like mild goat cheeses (which are lovely on beets. I scored some golden beets in the fridge waiting to be cooked up!). But the yogurts and mild cheddar-like cheeses I've tried so far are 1. really expensive and 2. not that great. So this is an area of improvement: we still stock up on Danone yogurt and Black Diamond cheddar when it goes on sale at the grocery store. But the baked oatmeal had tons of locally sourced ingredients: cut oats, milk, eggs (from our backyard!), dried cranberries, dried apples, dried pears. I think I put in a handful of imported organic raisins too. I feel better about the imported stuff if it's organic (like the celery in my fridge right now) but that's just because I'm a privileged white person who tries to fix the world's giant environmental problems with my grocery money. You know.
Basically, I like buying food from people who grew it/made it. I look them in the face, give them my money and thank them for their hard work. It's just kind of a decent thing to do, if you can.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The opposite of warm
The boiler broke down in our apartment building last night. My husband came to pick me up from work and he informed me of the situation on the way home. There, in our apartment driveway, was this rusting hulk of metal. We both laughed at the fact the thing made it this far. Luckily, we purchased an electric fireplace last year because we missed our old, REAL fireplace and it spits out heat like nobody's business. Well, like electric fireplace maker's business, I guess. I felt slightly guilty at not inviting anyone from other (perhaps less fortunate) apartments to come over and huddle. I wish we could be a super-friendly-community, but, *sigh* we aren't (Evidence of this: nasty notes discouraging obnoxious laundry hours and stealing apartment number one's Saturday newspaper). I also imagined a nice holiday beer/wine meet & greet but, meh, we are leaving soon and moving to a house so why put in the effort? ...I hate city living. The apathy it instills is depressing.
Speaking of the house. We swung by last night after dark to discern, as best we could, the work that had been completed. We were met by a gaping 40 x 40 foot hole, about 4 feet deep. The excavator ran out of gravel surge to fill the hole to make an engineered pad, so that's what they were going to do today. Actually, correction, they misquoted us on how much (a known volume of) gravel would be needed, and so now they are adding about $1500 to the bill on account of "not having enough". Grr... this is why we should get things in writing. I've tried to force the excavators & foundation people to sign, but they always have an excuse. Without hubby backing me up, I get a weak comment like "are you a lawyer or something?" & a shrug. Fine for now, we have the money. Not so good later when we're scrounging for pennies.
Speaking of the house. We swung by last night after dark to discern, as best we could, the work that had been completed. We were met by a gaping 40 x 40 foot hole, about 4 feet deep. The excavator ran out of gravel surge to fill the hole to make an engineered pad, so that's what they were going to do today. Actually, correction, they misquoted us on how much (a known volume of) gravel would be needed, and so now they are adding about $1500 to the bill on account of "not having enough". Grr... this is why we should get things in writing. I've tried to force the excavators & foundation people to sign, but they always have an excuse. Without hubby backing me up, I get a weak comment like "are you a lawyer or something?" & a shrug. Fine for now, we have the money. Not so good later when we're scrounging for pennies.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Buck up
None of my experiments really worked today, although I still have one to finish so maybe the week will end in a bang (doubt it). The crappy car we drive had to be "inspected" today - a joke since we both knew dropping it off that the thing is going to fail. I imagine we'll end up paying $750 dollars in repairs this time around which is a total kick in the nerdy pants when I have much better ideas on what I could spend that money on.
And on the agenda this weekend is a massive, soul-cleansing, exterminate-every-dust-bunny cleaning marathon. Wood needs to be split and stacked, every fixture that our water comes into contact with needs to be scrubbed hard (the water purification system we paid 3 grand for is doing a shit-tastic job so our water cycles through the disgusting colour rainbow of grey, red, or yellow. We have someone coming next week to give us yet another opinion) and those chairs still haven't been entirely recovered.
My poor neighbour - she is giving me free plants for the garden (more hostas than I know what to do with) and she set out some stuff for me to plant weekend before last. I didn't get around to it, and of course that meant they stayed in the wheelbarrow for the whole week. Apparently she commented about it to the husband (who she hilariously calls Andrew even though we have corrected her multiple times) but we were never home during daylight hours the entire week. Friday we left for Hometown for Thanksgiving weekend and I felt so guilty upon returning after the long weekend that I took one look at the wheelbarrow and decided to plant those motherfuckers right then.
It was 11 pm on a Monday night.
I didn't even bother to get changed, I just threw on my sneakers with the skirt and tights I was wearing (oh, and my houndstooth jacket) and got to digging. I was mixing peat and manure by the light of the front porch, and if my neighbours didn't think I was crazy before, suspiciously digging in the yard at midnight in near formal attire will have convinced them otherwise.
And on the agenda this weekend is a massive, soul-cleansing, exterminate-every-dust-bunny cleaning marathon. Wood needs to be split and stacked, every fixture that our water comes into contact with needs to be scrubbed hard (the water purification system we paid 3 grand for is doing a shit-tastic job so our water cycles through the disgusting colour rainbow of grey, red, or yellow. We have someone coming next week to give us yet another opinion) and those chairs still haven't been entirely recovered.
My poor neighbour - she is giving me free plants for the garden (more hostas than I know what to do with) and she set out some stuff for me to plant weekend before last. I didn't get around to it, and of course that meant they stayed in the wheelbarrow for the whole week. Apparently she commented about it to the husband (who she hilariously calls Andrew even though we have corrected her multiple times) but we were never home during daylight hours the entire week. Friday we left for Hometown for Thanksgiving weekend and I felt so guilty upon returning after the long weekend that I took one look at the wheelbarrow and decided to plant those motherfuckers right then.
It was 11 pm on a Monday night.
I didn't even bother to get changed, I just threw on my sneakers with the skirt and tights I was wearing (oh, and my houndstooth jacket) and got to digging. I was mixing peat and manure by the light of the front porch, and if my neighbours didn't think I was crazy before, suspiciously digging in the yard at midnight in near formal attire will have convinced them otherwise.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Pesto, tomato, apple, huckleberry and gaudiness
 |
| Saved some money by preserving our harvest... |
 |
| ...spent some of it on this borderline gaudiness (love it) |
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Timing is everything
Yesterday I attended a free screening of the documentary on James Orbinski called "Triage". The film is about his time spent on the frontlines of the genocide in Rwanda while working for Medecins Sans Frontiere. Concurrent with the screening of the film was a separate but related photo-journalistic installation in the lobby of the building highlighting HIV/AIDS work in Rwanda called "Living With" by a Canadian group called "Photosensitive". There are probably 75 photos throughout the extensive first floor of the building, and every time I have gone down to the coffee shop there are at least a few people milling about the photos, reading the captions. The black and white pictures chronicle the effects of HIV/AIDS in a country devastated by a genocide where systematic rapes were used during the killing campaigns. I myself went through the whole installation a few days ago, and so when I found out very last minute about the "Triage" documentary, I decided to watch it. This is a definite change of heart for me, because although I know about the genocide (numbers killed, the ethnic groups involved, the rough timeline, etc.) I have, until a few days ago, completely avoided media about this event. Don Cheadle did a movie called Hotel Rwanda which I could not watch, and I have avoided both the autobiography and subsequent film based on the experiences of Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire (who used to maintain a summer cottage literally down the road from where my mother grew up) called "Shake Hands with the Devil", because I can't handle it. But these instances where I can educate myself about the past and current conditions of the genocide keep throwing themselves in front of me, and I cannot avoid them any longer. In a way, this is my tiny effort to honor those who died for nothing - to acknowledge the circumstances and be able to recite to others who may not know as much. And if the timing of these events were coincidental, they keep happening: Romeo Dallaire himself will be speaking at the university in two weeks.
Oddly, about 1 1/2 years ago he was to present as well, and although myself and some other students tried hard to get tickets to the extremely poorly organized event (Shout out University Student Union!) and failed, the talk was cancelled last minute anyway. So now I see that he is scheduled to speak again, and I would very much appreciate his talk in the context of my new knowledge surrounding the genocide. But lo and behold - he is speaking the week we will be in Vancouver. So sadly, I won't be attending this time either. Perhaps one day the timing will be right, and I will pay money to a non-profit organization to get the privilege of hearing Lt. Gen. Dallaire speak about the most horrendous human-lead tragedy to occur in the last fifty years.
Oddly, about 1 1/2 years ago he was to present as well, and although myself and some other students tried hard to get tickets to the extremely poorly organized event (Shout out University Student Union!) and failed, the talk was cancelled last minute anyway. So now I see that he is scheduled to speak again, and I would very much appreciate his talk in the context of my new knowledge surrounding the genocide. But lo and behold - he is speaking the week we will be in Vancouver. So sadly, I won't be attending this time either. Perhaps one day the timing will be right, and I will pay money to a non-profit organization to get the privilege of hearing Lt. Gen. Dallaire speak about the most horrendous human-lead tragedy to occur in the last fifty years.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Something Happened...
...when I got a real job. I work the same amount as I did in grad school, but now I feel guilty when I blog at work. And my personal computer (which I use at the apartment to steal wireless internet) has been held hostage by BigBox Store for repair (today ends week 3). Before I was stealing from a big, nebulous funding agency when I goofed at work. Now I'm stealing from my bosses. My feelings are stupid, because I:
1. Still surf as much inane internet content as before
2. Don't log all my hours in an attempt to make up for my non-productiveness.
Bad cycle. Made worse by the weird exception I've made in my head about blogging.
On the other hand, it seems it was only this past Monday where I was able to catch my breath a little. I had traveled to multiple out-of-province conferences and meetings that kept me running, and wore myself out teaching little (and big) kids at two different science outreach camps. I became much more self-reliant at work, and found an increase in requests as a result. Everything culminated in a wedding she-bang for a good friend of mine this past weekend. I was the de-facto wedding-day organizer, stepping in for the bride (as she rushed around town getting hair/nails/pictures done) troubleshooting the flower arrangements, seating, decorations and food preparation. Then I MC'd her reception and made sure nothing went terribly awry during the celebrations. We managed to beat the hurricane headed up the coast by a measly 12 hours- but that was good enough. The 2:30 wedding rehearsal on Friday lead to a fun session of go-carting, lead directly to a massive (and delicious) family BBQ, that lead to staying overnight in her bridal suite (where Queen Elizabeth stayed the year of my birth!), that lead to rushing around in preparation for her afternoon wedding, that then lead into her evening reception meal and finally to an outdoor party where we drank until the wee hours and passed out in a tent. (A soggy tent by the morning).
I woke up on Monday with precious little to do. The wedding was over, the requests from the bosses had been fulfilled in the lab, the house buying ordeal was moving forward and the apartment was clean.
So I rented Season I of Mad Men.
I also borrowed ThisOldHouse magazines from the library. I keep day-dreaming about houses that look like these (which looks just like ours if our front porches were not enclosed):
And of course, thinking how much it will cost. Sigh.
Hubby and I have already narrowed down the style and colour of the new roof, the exact colour of the exterior paint and the types of windows we prefer. So far, the planning has been conflict-free.
Tomorrow morning we do our walk-through for the closing. Our landlord in town was hoping for a months notice, so we will probably stick around the apartment for awhile still. The bulk of our furniture, still in storage, will be moved at a later date. I don't think we will get around to fixing much of the interior until the spring, so we can live in it as it is currently and start building back up our savings account (our bank appraised the hose at 120 K instead of the 130 K we paid - they don't account for the 134 acres of land we also purchased along with the house. As a result, they would only fund 80% of the assessed price and we needed to come up with 8 K extra right quick. It happened but we don't have money for shingles anymore. Boo.)
Off to read about the pros and cons of keeping versus replacing old windows. :)
1. Still surf as much inane internet content as before
2. Don't log all my hours in an attempt to make up for my non-productiveness.
Bad cycle. Made worse by the weird exception I've made in my head about blogging.
On the other hand, it seems it was only this past Monday where I was able to catch my breath a little. I had traveled to multiple out-of-province conferences and meetings that kept me running, and wore myself out teaching little (and big) kids at two different science outreach camps. I became much more self-reliant at work, and found an increase in requests as a result. Everything culminated in a wedding she-bang for a good friend of mine this past weekend. I was the de-facto wedding-day organizer, stepping in for the bride (as she rushed around town getting hair/nails/pictures done) troubleshooting the flower arrangements, seating, decorations and food preparation. Then I MC'd her reception and made sure nothing went terribly awry during the celebrations. We managed to beat the hurricane headed up the coast by a measly 12 hours- but that was good enough. The 2:30 wedding rehearsal on Friday lead to a fun session of go-carting, lead directly to a massive (and delicious) family BBQ, that lead to staying overnight in her bridal suite (where Queen Elizabeth stayed the year of my birth!), that lead to rushing around in preparation for her afternoon wedding, that then lead into her evening reception meal and finally to an outdoor party where we drank until the wee hours and passed out in a tent. (A soggy tent by the morning).
I woke up on Monday with precious little to do. The wedding was over, the requests from the bosses had been fulfilled in the lab, the house buying ordeal was moving forward and the apartment was clean.
So I rented Season I of Mad Men.
I also borrowed ThisOldHouse magazines from the library. I keep day-dreaming about houses that look like these (which looks just like ours if our front porches were not enclosed):
And of course, thinking how much it will cost. Sigh.
Hubby and I have already narrowed down the style and colour of the new roof, the exact colour of the exterior paint and the types of windows we prefer. So far, the planning has been conflict-free.
Tomorrow morning we do our walk-through for the closing. Our landlord in town was hoping for a months notice, so we will probably stick around the apartment for awhile still. The bulk of our furniture, still in storage, will be moved at a later date. I don't think we will get around to fixing much of the interior until the spring, so we can live in it as it is currently and start building back up our savings account (our bank appraised the hose at 120 K instead of the 130 K we paid - they don't account for the 134 acres of land we also purchased along with the house. As a result, they would only fund 80% of the assessed price and we needed to come up with 8 K extra right quick. It happened but we don't have money for shingles anymore. Boo.)
Off to read about the pros and cons of keeping versus replacing old windows. :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The verdict.
It is nearly impossible to spend only 10 Euros in Barcelona in one day for food. How I went through 25 Euro and ate only bread, cheese, fresh fruit and water is beyond me. That works out to nearly 50 CDN dollars given the crappy exchange rate I got at the counter this morning. That's not even counting the stuff I purchased while shopping (all modest items, but still) that I charged to my CC. It almost makes me ill. Almost. I wouldn't want to upchuck all that expensive food for nothing and waste all that money. bah! I hope this conference starting tomorrow will have lots of free food that I can steal for TF and I to use later.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Lecturer?
My university is desperate for someone to teach the intro to human bio class (for non-science majors) this upcoming fall. They've opened the search to M.Sc. holders, qualifying yours truly. If I were to teach anything, a non-science-majors course would be it I guess, that way the students wouldn't realize how horrible of a teacher I am. If the department doesn't hire anyone, all these other classes need to be switched around too. So if I put my name in, it would be considered. Thing is, do I want to teach? My answer was always no, but having lecturer on my resume would be pretty cool, I admit. Hm.
Update: I think I'll apply. Might be the best/only chance I get to stick my foot in the teaching door. The money's shit, but that is never the point of my career moves anyway :)
Update: I think I'll apply. Might be the best/only chance I get to stick my foot in the teaching door. The money's shit, but that is never the point of my career moves anyway :)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Sigh. I hate London. I had to pay 5 pounds per hour for internet access at the budget hotel. Boo!!
But we got here, and other than the price of internet, the hotel is clean and worth the 50 pounds per night for a great soft bed and full washroom. We bought groceries before leaving Prague (and a czech garnet ring! SOO beautiful!!) so we've just camped out here, and will continue to do so before noon check out tomorrow. Then catch the free bus to the terminal, check-in, and fly home. Almost time for reality to set in. I keep getting emails from the realtor at home sending new listings, and I tallied up our total cost of our trip (somewhere around - cough- $5000 for two for three weeks) that doesn't even include the $2000 gadget we bought right before taking off, so I really ought to find a job. The manuscript writing is continuing after a false alarm, and I'm due to present my work next week at a conference in Hometown. I'll probably work on the presentation on the plane tomorrow.
Ha! Yeah right. Just kidding :) I'll probably spend the whole time worrying about money. Or reading The Cloud Atlas. I can't decide.
Cheers to everyone back home!
(Oh, and just in time I hear. The budget hotel news program tells me the WHO are suggesting borders be closed due to the swine flu. Not before I get home, bitches. I'll jump into the Thames if I get stuck in London...)
But we got here, and other than the price of internet, the hotel is clean and worth the 50 pounds per night for a great soft bed and full washroom. We bought groceries before leaving Prague (and a czech garnet ring! SOO beautiful!!) so we've just camped out here, and will continue to do so before noon check out tomorrow. Then catch the free bus to the terminal, check-in, and fly home. Almost time for reality to set in. I keep getting emails from the realtor at home sending new listings, and I tallied up our total cost of our trip (somewhere around - cough- $5000 for two for three weeks) that doesn't even include the $2000 gadget we bought right before taking off, so I really ought to find a job. The manuscript writing is continuing after a false alarm, and I'm due to present my work next week at a conference in Hometown. I'll probably work on the presentation on the plane tomorrow.
Ha! Yeah right. Just kidding :) I'll probably spend the whole time worrying about money. Or reading The Cloud Atlas. I can't decide.
Cheers to everyone back home!
(Oh, and just in time I hear. The budget hotel news program tells me the WHO are suggesting borders be closed due to the swine flu. Not before I get home, bitches. I'll jump into the Thames if I get stuck in London...)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
We are on the Stena Ferry running from Belfast right now and they have free wi-fi, so I am going to post the video I made a few days ago on the hill-top camp site, a moderate hike up from a winding road on Dingle Peninsula. The weather has continued to hold, we returned our car without a hitch, we stayed overnight in Belfast and are on our way to London. We will be staying overnight at the airport again, and catching a flight out to Berlin early tomorrow morning. We've had to repack our luggage so that we can store some items at Heathrow airport (mostly camping/rain gear) for pick-up on the way back to Canada, which was a gigantic chore. I've got a mild sunburn, which I am enjoying immensely and I'm happy to report I've had no more run-ins with ticks :) As I mention in the following video, my camera fell out of my pocket into loads of beautiful, fine white sand a few days ago, rendering it completely useless (I was in the process of running after some beer, which I had put in the water to cool down while we cooked our pork chops on the sand. When I next looked up, my two cans of Bulmers were serenely floating out to see, so I jumped up to wade in after them. Rest in Peace camera.)
(PS I didn't bathe IN the lake, but I did bathe in the waterfall down the hill from it. It was so cold it hurt my scalp, but I was hard up for a shower after swimming in the aqua blue Atlantic waters off Dingle Peninsula. Yes, my life is hard.)
PPS Oooo sorry for the crummy quality. The original movie wasn't that bad (ie you could actually make out our bright yellow tent... but the switch from .mov to .avi file with the crummy free online patch I used obviously was worth the money I paid for it. You'll just have to trust me that it was stunning enough to record the movie with the built-in laptop camera )
(PS I didn't bathe IN the lake, but I did bathe in the waterfall down the hill from it. It was so cold it hurt my scalp, but I was hard up for a shower after swimming in the aqua blue Atlantic waters off Dingle Peninsula. Yes, my life is hard.)
PPS Oooo sorry for the crummy quality. The original movie wasn't that bad (ie you could actually make out our bright yellow tent... but the switch from .mov to .avi file with the crummy free online patch I used obviously was worth the money I paid for it. You'll just have to trust me that it was stunning enough to record the movie with the built-in laptop camera )
Monday, February 18, 2008
Chilly weekends = chills from a head cold
The view from the apartment on Monday, after the snow last Sunday
Last weekend was a quiet one around the house - no major updates just small things that needed to get finished. These included putting the two basement windows in, installing the sliding patio door & the front door and cleaning the house of wood scraps/construction waste. The kitchen cabinet person came by for measurements. We were supposed to start shingling the roof as well - all the materials were on hand and the elaborate staging was in put in place. But then it started to snow, which hampered the shingling. This is the last step that needs to be complete prior to out second draw for our mortgage, which means we can't get money until it is done. The options were to take three weekends and do it ourselves (weather permitting) or hire someone to do it for us for $1000 in a few days. We went with the latter, and they are almost all done. The plumber was in this past week and has pretty much finished the rough in too. As soon as the roof is 100% complete, we will contact our mortgage person for an inspection.
One piece bathtub, with robin's egg blue finish
Just kidding. Blue protective film, which will be removed to reveal white finish, from the other side
Playing in the snow at the house last weekend. My mother-in-law and I made a big box out of scrap plywood to hold excess wood (headed for the fireplace, one day soon). We put Tyvek on the bottom of it so it would slide easily on the snow. It turned into a sled when I jumped inside and my husband gave me a push.
My in-laws have been visiting and helping every weekend for almost two months. My mother has offered her help as well, but feels she is better suited to indoor work like insulating and drywall (although I'm sure she would kick ass at anything we asked her to do). So...I want to get her/my uncle/other family members up here to help March 1st weekend to drywall. Many, many things must occur before this can happen. Namely, the electrician must come in (which he will only do when the home is roof tight) and finish his rough-in in time for a municipal inspection. It will be a tight squeeze. But if it happens - we'll be rocking, time-line wise. Although we closed on the lot in mid-October, we really only started building the first week of January, so it hasn't even been two months yet.
Roofing
And despite battling a head cold, I was out helping install vinyl siding on the house. Not my personal fav as a siding option, but cedar shingles are time-consuming and expensive so we'll save those for our "real house" and not the one we plan on selling. It was nice to do something that gave observable progress. After last weekend, we needed a psychological boost and siding was the way to go, even though it really didn't need to be done now.
Installing vinyl siding on the back (I'm on the very left)
Vinyl siding from the front,with basement windows
A picture of the two walls of vinyl siding that I measured, cut, and installed all by myself!
The weather was mostly cold, but sunny (except for the last hour on Sunday). The wind was chilly, maybe - 15 Celsius and I had to warm up in the car every 45 minutes which was relatively often compared to colder days when I could stay out for longer. I blame my illness - it makes sense to me that my body would be hoarding blood for sick internal organs and view my limbs as expendable. Fucking freezing though, my feet felt like frozen stones the whole weekend, and would hurt when I would thaw them out in the car (picture included of our set-up; a plug-in portable heater sitting in the front-seat of the van. Hmmm...toasty).
Toe-defroster
And the neatest part of the weekend: our neighbours went skating on the pond behind out house. Yay!
Skating neighbour.
Check it out (narration provided by yours truly, nasally from the head cold no less...enjoy!):
Monday, June 6, 2011
Old house Things
We are getting quotes for moving our furnace and venting this week. In the process I was looking for antique grates to replace some of the broken or missing ones in our house and came across the ebay listing for this item from Wisconsin for $90:
We have at least two of these exact cast iron grates in our house, and they'll be unnecessary once we move our ducting.
My mom came down this weekend to help outside. I shovelled about 6 yards of pit run gravel around our driveway to shore up low spots in the ruts between the grass lane. It took about seven hours of physical work to get it all done (our driveway is probably ohhh....100+ metres long) and I was very sore the next day. I also seeded one of the two garden beds with zucchini, squash, green beans, lettuce/spring mix/cilantro and some golden beets. I received the tomato plants to finish out that bed from my father-in-law last night. The other bed I seeded with vetch/pea/clover mix (ie green manure) to increase nutrient soil of that fallow bed. Then third bed was too hard to manipulate still (tilled from sod only twice so far I believe), so I'll add some peat moss and till it once more before adding my kale and onions and potatoes. And cucumbers. Also "seeded" the beaver dam on the other side of our 135 acres with 100 tiny speckled trout. Hopefully they'll be big and tasty next year.
Since we left the back part of the house exposed with Typar house wrap and lattice over the winter, now is our opportunity to replace the exterior finish. There is some contention on this, as we try to balance ease of installation, cost of initial installation and maintenance over time. We live in a folk Victorian, so the most historical choices would be wooden horizontal plank or shingle. We could cheat and install either cement Hardie board instead of wooden plank, or vinyl siding meant to look like cedar shingles. Both would have much lower maintenance costs (in time and money) but ew, I hate vinyl. And I LOVE shingles. Love them soooo much. But how much? Like, hire-a-painter-every-few-years-to-refinish love? Scrap-shingles-in-the-heat love? Hmmm...I can say yes, but right now we are financially stable, child-free homeowners. In a few years those things might change. SO decisisons decisions.
We have at least two of these exact cast iron grates in our house, and they'll be unnecessary once we move our ducting.
My mom came down this weekend to help outside. I shovelled about 6 yards of pit run gravel around our driveway to shore up low spots in the ruts between the grass lane. It took about seven hours of physical work to get it all done (our driveway is probably ohhh....100+ metres long) and I was very sore the next day. I also seeded one of the two garden beds with zucchini, squash, green beans, lettuce/spring mix/cilantro and some golden beets. I received the tomato plants to finish out that bed from my father-in-law last night. The other bed I seeded with vetch/pea/clover mix (ie green manure) to increase nutrient soil of that fallow bed. Then third bed was too hard to manipulate still (tilled from sod only twice so far I believe), so I'll add some peat moss and till it once more before adding my kale and onions and potatoes. And cucumbers. Also "seeded" the beaver dam on the other side of our 135 acres with 100 tiny speckled trout. Hopefully they'll be big and tasty next year.
Since we left the back part of the house exposed with Typar house wrap and lattice over the winter, now is our opportunity to replace the exterior finish. There is some contention on this, as we try to balance ease of installation, cost of initial installation and maintenance over time. We live in a folk Victorian, so the most historical choices would be wooden horizontal plank or shingle. We could cheat and install either cement Hardie board instead of wooden plank, or vinyl siding meant to look like cedar shingles. Both would have much lower maintenance costs (in time and money) but ew, I hate vinyl. And I LOVE shingles. Love them soooo much. But how much? Like, hire-a-painter-every-few-years-to-refinish love? Scrap-shingles-in-the-heat love? Hmmm...I can say yes, but right now we are financially stable, child-free homeowners. In a few years those things might change. SO decisisons decisions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)