Next

Two months later? Really? I'm terrible at this. How am I going to make enough money to stay at home if I don't get this thing going on a regular basis? Good grief.

OK. I got the basement floor done. Re-organization is ongoing. (Anyone want a crapload of kids toys?) Bought the lumber for the Garage Loft last Saturday. Didn't do the project on Sunday as planned. Awesome weather for November and I got roped into indoor chores instead. Hope it's not too cold this Saturday when the father-in-law comes to give me a hand. I think I'll take before & after pics of this one. Hopefully the pics show that what I do is worthwhile and not a disaster.

When is it too soon to put up the Christmas lights? I put mine up during the great weather last week, but I haven't turned them on yet. I figure I should wait until at least December 1, right? I wasn't the only one hanging them, by the way.

Topaz monkey is making major progress in swimming lessons. Moving classes seems to have been the right choice. Mid-term progress report came home too. No issues to report.

More to report on after the weekend.

Moving forward

My dad has given up on living in a house. As the story was related to me, he went out to do some yard work. After about 45mins, he came back inside and said to my step-mom, "I'm done. I don't want to do this stuff anymore."


Within a week, they were looking at condos. Within 2weeks, they had put in an offer on a place. Now they own it. Why am I posting about this, you may ask? The death of yardwork for my dad means that he no longer needs tools. LOTS of tools. (And a bunch of other stuff too.) With that in mind, my brother and I - I hate to say "ransacked", but what else could I call it? - dad's place. Tools? I've got plenty now. Places to store them too. I got a nice rolling cabinet and another bench that I have to make room for somewhere. (The cabinet came full, BTW) Extra garden tools. Grass seed, fertilizer, tree pruner, electric roto-tiller...(3 of those things will go a LONG way toward fixing the disaster of a front boulevard I currently have)
I also came away with some rather random goods. (Pop, juice, V8, "towels"...) When my Dad cleans house, he doesn't seem to go half-way. The only reason I stopped? The mini-van was full. I have to go back at some point to get the garden tool holder, sewing machine and bedding. (And Lord knows what else they'll have lined up for us)
So this week, the drive is back on to get that basement floor painted and organized and to get in and really start on that garage project. Going to need to find a dollar or six to get that one going. Maybe I'll just have to start smaller for now, but I've got to get better use out of all that space!
I've got about a mile of hoses. Talk about wasted space. Note to other home owners and prospective home owners: Do NOT cheap out on a hose unless you really will bring it indoors in winter. They don't survive well. Then you buy new ones. Then they fail. (And if you're like me, they all pile up because you can't think of a "green" way to dispose of them...) Must clean hose. Must pick one of the new "good hoses" to live in the front. Must get a better hose reel that won't spring off the wall too. The work may never end...

Patio Done

So,

I finished the patio. Did I even mention starting it? I think I had it on "the list" there at least. Anyways, it's done. Dug it out, leveled it, added fabric screening and a thick layer of limestone screening and then levelled it again. Then laid the stones. Turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. Next project is using the pulled up patio stones to make a path at the front of the house. (Halfway done that one.)

After that, I really need to get in and finish painting that basement floor! Followed by choices:

Garage storage loft? Framing said basement for future renos? I'm leaning towards the garage since it's an "outdoor" project and hammering in the winter with frozen fingers probably isn't a great idea.

Oh. And I did get those caps put on finally too. Ended up having to do it all on my own, though. The Mrs picked up a circular saw for me for Father's Day. (Now I don't ever have to borrow my father-in-law's again!) I used that to cut the posts down to size before capping them.

The backyard is almost an oasis of peace and quiet. (I say almost because the garden is empty and there's a monster sized play set. We do have young children after all.)

It's all come together quite nicely though.