Weekly Update

Hi!

We've had a busy week, with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend visiting and my dad and stepmom arriving.

We got lots of visiting done last week. We had dinner at the in-laws on Monday.  I had to work on Tuesday.  Wednesday, N and I drove to Halifax to pick up my parents.  Thursday, the whole family (except N who went to the Lobster Carnival in Summerside with his friends) went out to eat at Mille's Cove Restaurant at Milligan's Wharf.  C spent 3 nights at friends' houses last week! N picked strawberries twice.  Saturday was the Tyne Valley Soapbox Derby and my parents took the kids to DiverseCity in Summerside.  Yesterday, K, N and I took C to Camp Kier for the week.

She comes home Friday!

My in-laws got a new mattress and gave their old one to my parents to put in their trailer.  We took the old trailer mattress out and it's been sitting in the yard waiting to go to the Waste Watch Facility.  The kids have had fun with it.

C has also used it to practice her backflips!  

I haven't done many home projects... But I did start a small one- finishing up the last bit of drywall in the hallway on the right of the door. This needed to be primed.

Here's looking from the hall into the kitchen.  I had to mud up some drywall joints near the ceiling and prime.

Now I just have to paint!

This week, with C gone, I hope to work on finishing up the drywall in her closet.

The weather has been cool, cloudy and rainy the past week.  Hopefully, it will clear up soon.  I'm missing the sun!

Have a great week! :-)

Front Room

Hi!

The front room is coming right along!  I primed the last unpainted walls on Wednesday.  Then Thursday morning, I put the first coat of grey Boomerang paint on the walls.  

After we got back from our errands, I started using the magnetic primer on the angled wall.

They recommend 3 coats, but I'd read that sometimes it doesn't work that well, so I did 10!  You have to wait 30 minutes between coats so it took me all afternoon and evening! I used a foam roller, and smoothed it out with an old foam roller with dried paint on one side.

Here's after the first coat.  It was pretty watery at this point but the primer got better mixed and thicker as I went along. 

I also did the second coat of grey paint on the other walls.

We tried out the magnetic wall with some of C's old magnets. It works!! 

Yesterday (Fri), I applied 2 coats of chalkboard paint. Again, I used a foam roller. 

I also put up some trim moldings around the doors.  ( I spent $85 on the cheapest moldings they sell- $4.99 or so for 15!)  This seems like a lot and doesn't seem to make a big difference.  But I think I just got used to seeing the doors without moldings and that maybe it does make a difference? 

Here's a picture (of the ceiling mostly!) And I can see that the front door does look better without the red Tuck Tape around it!

I was able to re-use some old mouldings- to fill in the gap above the double doors and for the tops of the doors, which includes the doors in the hallway. I got enough molding to finish those doors too.

I had to rip some 3/8" plywood to fill in the gap around our door that's supposed to fit in a 2x4 frame, but we added an extra 1 1/2 inches with 2x2's and foam. 

I spray painted some lights (from ReStore, way back) and screwed them into the sides of the lockers.  They still need to be wired up.   I had enough old molding to go around the window, but I'm having trouble cutting the bottom ledge with the jigsaw, so that's on hold for the moment.

I cleaned up the dresser!

I've got an old (stained) tablecloth that would make the perfect curtains here.  I'm just a bit hesitant to cut it up.  Although, I probably shouldn't be because I have 2 tablecloths (from my mom- although I don't think she ever used them!) and this is the one that we don't really use. I used the other one for the outdoor table before I got the new painted one.

Here's the door to the hallway.  Notice I have a straw hat hanging above the anchor hook?  And also a black hat by the front door above the key holder (made from an old door btw!)?  Under those hats is a margarine container so that when you open the locker doors next to the walls, the handles don't bang into the walls! They're like door stops!  I thought this was a very clever idea! 

Here's another mostly ceiling shot from before to see the difference the moldings make.

And finally, here's the black, magnetic chalkboard wall. 

We have to wait 3 days before we can coat it with chalk to season it....

Now, I have to do the crown molding and baseboards. And finish sanding the double doors. And finish the outside of the lockers (which probably means stripping off the paint on the doors). I also need to caulk and paint the moldings.  And paint the bottom of C's locker.  And find some kind of bolt for the locker handles so they're not sticking out in the back so much.  And find a light for the ceiling.  And wire the other lights in.  And on and on! ....

Have a great weekend!  :-)

Front Garden Plans

Hi!

I've got some plans...

For the front garden.

The nicest part is hidden by the car most of the time.

So, I'm going to move some plants around and make more of a garden in the front.  I've outlined the new garden shape with old boards (and placed hubcaps and pots in for plants!).

I've got enough hosta plants that need dividing to fill in the extra space.

Here's the view from the front steps.

I had to make sure there was enough room for the septic pumping truck to get between the garden and the spruce tree which you can see in the back ground.  There is just enough room! 

We only get the tank pumped every 3 years or so. If we did it in the fall or early spring, I don't think the plants would get harmed much if they got ran over. And, if this plan works out and I'm willing to sacrifice some plants for the overall look, I may expand the garden even more, like so:

Now I have a lot of digging to do! I guess I should wait until the fall to transplant and divide my plants.  But if I get the beds dug and we are expecting rain, I may get to do it sooner!

I am patiently waiting for the drywall mud to dry in the front room... I should be able to prime and paint tomorrow!  I'm going to try some Rustoleum Magnetic Primer on the angled wall. I've had it a really long time, so I hope it's still good!  On top of that will go some chalkboard paint!

Have a great day! :-)

Weekend Update

Hi!

Has it been another week already? 

Here's what I've been working on.

I decided to get some herbs for the backyard.  Instead of putting them in the previous herb garden, which has gotten overgrown with grass (and oregano), I put them right outside the back door.

On the right side of the door is lemon balm (far right) and thyme (in the middle). The plant on the left is a day lily.  There's nothing growing in the pot.  C discovered a snake in the area when we cut the grass on the side of the house!  I think now he's moved away since we haven't seen him (her?) in a while.

On the other side is (from left to right) cilantro, basil, dill, summer savory, parsley.  All of these are annuals.

 Here's a larger shot, where you can see I used to have an old lobster trap, that my mom had bought, in that corner (to the right of the red, yellow, and blue milk crates).  You can also see in the foreground where the herbs used to be.

I moved the trap on top of the old grassy part.

When I moved it, guess who went inside?  Our cat, Lilly!  See her white paws sticking out? 

Which reminds me, when N was about 2, he had a sandbox with some sand shaping toys.  One of them was a lobster.  When we told him what it was, he put it in the trap, because that's where lobsters go! :-)

I've also been working on the drywall in the front room. 

There's an angled wall, that needed a bit of figuring out in order to put the drywall up.

K got the drywall up, but as I began to mud the corners, I came to understand the importance of clean cuts. I had to use the mesh tape to fill in the gaps with mud and then cover that with the metal/paper tape. I tried the plastic edging stuff, but it was only 90 degrees and wouldn't fit the corner.  I read online you could get different angles, but I think my solution will work... We'll see!

I'm hoping to paint in the next couple of days! Yay!

The Lockers are pretty much done on the inside.  (Except C's, who instead of a grey bottom wants white).  I've still got all the outside to do.

I worked 4 times since the 4th, and there's no word on when (if?) the Alberton Library will open.  Right now I've got nothing on my work schedule...

Speaking of work, N has been working picking strawberries in town.  He picks from 7:00am till whenever they finish- usually around 9 or 10.  He gets $.50 per box.  (They sell the boxes for $4!) The first day, he made $4 for 2 hours.  There are about 30 people who pick.  The strawberries need rain so they are not ripening up as they should and this means there are not as many strawberries to pick.  There's no rain in the forecast for the next week.

Besides all this work, K and I got to relax in the pool. 

It's finally warmed up so we don't need our wetsuits!

Next week, K's sister and her man arrive on Sunday and my parents get here on Wednesday so it will be a busy week with visitors!

Have a great week! :-)

Weekend Update

Hi!

We're still working on the front room lockers!

Here are some current pics.

This is N's locker, bright green like his room.

(Sorry for the funny pic, it's hard to photograph inside the tiny closet!)

The shelves are up and the hooks are painted.

Here's K's locker. 

My locker is pretty plain.

C's locker is pink and green.  We tried to use the pale pink (from when her room was pink)- you can see it on the inside of the door on the left- but it wasn't bright enough.  So, we got a tester pot of bright pink Tutti Frutti and she's started painting the back wall.

Outside, the purple (irises?) are blooming in the garden. 

N and I went for a bike ride on Friday to Green Park.  It was a great day for a bike ride! 

We bought a new pool and set it up on Friday. 

I thought it was the same size as our last pool, but it's bigger.  This one is 12 feet wide and 36 inches deep.

Here are the kids trying to get into the super cold water! 

Have a great week! :-)

Happy Canada Day!

Hi!

Yesterday was Canada Day!  

We had a nice day at home.  N had spent the night in Summerside at a friend's house, so K picked him up around 1:00.  The electricity was out in Tyne Valley for about an hour from 4:30-5:30.  We'd planned on BBQing hotdogs, so this didn't affect our dinner plans. 

There were no fireworks at Green Park this year so we did our own!

(These are not our fireworks. This is a collage C made!)

I also got a lot of work done yesterday on the front room lockers.

K got the frame built.

And I did the finish work- facing out the front and cutting the doors to fit, 

K helped hang the door.  As you can see we still have one last door to hang.

Here's the space before.

I also cut the boards that the hooks are on to go inside 

Did I mention I got this long 7 foot long by 7 inches wide board with shaker pegs on it for $3, when I got our outdoor table?  I cut it down and got 4 hooks each for 3 lockers.  For the last locker, I used the hooks from N's airplane hooks.  See the blue airplanes above the desk?

We had a leftover 7 inch wide piece of plywood that was the perfect thing to put them on. That board below is the shelf board that needs to be put up...

I also got this 8 foot long board with metal hooks for $3.

I'm taking the hooks off this and putting them on the sides of the lockers. 

Here's one already hung on the wall. (The little black spot inside the locker!)

Here are both "lockers", (with the unhung door placed in).

I really like them!

Now, we have to: fill all the screw holes; paint; put the knobs on the doors; put up the inside shelves; install the side hooks; paint the insides; and build the shoe bench.  Is that all? ;-)

Have a great day! ;-)