Month: August 2022

Today we decided to re-organize our kitchen pantry in preparation for the new cupboard doors coming next week. We took everything out and placed everything on the dining room table.

I added a new shelf and we put everything back in the pantry, but in a more organized fashion. We placed the more frequently used items in the lower section and grouped things together like baking stuff etc.

We ordered new spice racks which are on lazy Susan’s and will replace the spice racks we currently have.

This morning, after returning some stuff to Lowes, I began doing a little tidying up in the garage. I started with my tool pouch which was full of a lot of duplicate tools and very heavy.

It was surprising how long it took to do that.

I had also purchased some under cabinet lights which are wireless. This, in preparation for our cabinet door replacement project which begins next week.

We have also began looking at a reorganization of all the shelves available.

This morning I got right back at the gate job at Steve’s place. I managed to finish it before the heat got too bad.

I did save some lumber by using part of the old fence and I decided to use that stuff on the inside where the gate is most visible.

Other than having to deal with very deep and very big rocks, it went pretty smoothly.

Jane and I had arranged to go to Sara & Steve’s new home, so I could work on installing a gate on the back fence. My first step was to get the gateposts in place, but I ran into difficulties because the soil was riddled with rocks making it impossible to drive in the fence post stake. So one post will have to be cemented in place.

I did manage to get the gate opening done and tomorrow I will get some cement and construct the gate.

This afternoon I asked Jane if she felt like going out for dinner because we haven’t done that for quite sometime.

Her quick, “Yes” in response told me she was totally on board and she immediately began checking places here in Barrie. In minutes she had made an online reservation at a place called The Town and Country on Dunlop Street.

She requested patio seating so we’re heading there for a 6:30 pm reservation.

After breakfast this morning I grabbed the ladder and cleaned the leaves out of the eaves trough. During the last heavy rain, we noticed the downspout was clogged.

After that, I went for coffee which I had down at the Barrie waterfront. I asked a passerby if he would take a picture of me. Turns out he was a professional photographer and took several shots.

This morning I went to Lowes to pick up some additional material to use on Steve’s gate project.

I needed a 4 x 4 for the post as well as some nails and a fence post stake. I’ll be going down there on Sunday to help Steve with the construction and installation.

This morning, right after our wake-up coffee, Jane and I headed up to Georgian Bay to spend some time on water.

Although it was overcast with thunderclouds, we didn’t get rain and Jane actually went for a swim when the sun came out

We will spend most of the day here and have a picnic lunch here at Tonch East, at the spot we got married almost 10 years ago.

I will be making a new gate for Steve so the back yard is completely secure when the little ones are out there playing.

We just have to firm up the plans and then I’ll put together the gate here and take it down there when it’s done.

This morning, despite the rain, I managed to clear out all kinds of debris from the cedars at the back of Steve’s house.

There was all kinds of rotting firewood and remnants of a couple of composting cages

The front veranda at Steve’s place has a section of brickwork close to the soil in the flowerbeds that had been damaged by moisture.

Steve is replacing it with a row of concrete block topped with new brickwork. A stone mason will be doing that part but we needed to get rid of the old bricks.

Steve rented a demo tool and between the two of us, we got them all off; this tool had to be held horizontally and it was heavy and the day was warm. We were both worn right out!

Then we tackled the back steps leading into the yard. I had picked a new step up in Barrie and brought it down today.

Jane left in the afternoon to go over to Chris and Tonya’s so she can babysit Max tomorrow. I’m staying at Steve’s overnight and Jane will pick me up tomorrow afternoon. It’s a good thing we have a shared calendar on our iphones!

Tomorrow Jane and I head down to Steve’s place so I can help him remove some brickwork. Jane will be driving me there in the morning and afterward, she will head over to Chris and Tonya’s to babysit Max tomorrow.

I’ll probably stay at Steve’s. We’ll BBQ a couple of steaks and have some corn on the cob as well as some home fried potatoes.

The forecast is calling for rain so I am taking a big camping tarp and tarp poles.

Steve will be renting a demolition hammer from Home Depot.

Well, this afternoon Jane goes for her introductory flying lesson at Edenvale Airport and we have been watching the weather closely.

They are calling for rain sometime this afternoon and it could interfere with our plans.

Jane checked with the flight school and, they too, are watching the weather. If it’s a no-go they will call.

We are keeping our fingers crossed. Well, look at this, up she went and had a blast! She even took control of the plane when over the water!

Today I went to Simcoe Masonry to price a precast cement step for Steve’s backyard. This is a continuation of his sidewalk paver project.

I found one the right size and after consulting with him, I picked it up and will take it to his place this coming Sunday when I will be helping him with some other brickwork.

Today I have an appointment at Georgian Radiology for a followup ultrasound that was scheduled after my hernia surgery. It’s just a routine deal.

And some exciting news. This coming Friday Jane will be taking an introductory flight lesson at Edenvale Airport – the same place I did mine a couple of years ago.

I had given Jane this as a birthday present this past March, but this is the first chance she has had to actually do it. She is pretty excited to finally get it done.

For sometime now, my printer scanner has been acting up. The print feature works for the most part, but the scan feature doesn’t function the way it should.

I can’t get it to wirelessly connect to my computer so whenever we need a scan of something, we simply use our I phone to take a picture of it.

It’s a work-around that works.

Today I took my I Pad in for repair because I had dropped it on a tile floor and the screen cracked in several places. It still functioned but the cracks were very distracting..

I found a repair shop about 15 minutes from the house and took it there and they had it fixed in a couple of hours.

On the kitchen Reno issue, we now have a date scheduled for bothe cabinets and painting so this after I did some preliminary work in removing some trim and lights.

First thing this morning, Jane and I headed down to Steve’s place to help him with re-laying pavers alongside his house. He had arranged for the lower course of damaged brick to be replaced and it was time to put the pavers back.

It took most of the day but we managed to get done what he set out to do. There is still more work to be done on the steps leading down to the garden area.

Before we got started, Jane cooked up a big breakfast for Steve. Bacon, eggs and toast using our Coleman camping stove because the kitchen is completely gutted for renovations. She was pleased that he ate it all with gusto, just like in his Scouting days!

A productive day.

This morning we headed off to Steve’s new home which is under renovation. Roxana was with Steve for the day and was excited to try out her new swing that Daddy had installed.

We are planning on hanging out here for most of the day with Steve and Roxana.

I also showed Steve the time capsule that I have for our new grandson; his birth is next month and the time capsule is going to be buried in the yard next year, for 10 years. All the grandchildren will open theirs when they turn ten.

As part of our kitchen cabinet Reno, we have been looking at replacing the ceiling fan/light with a low profile flush mounted fan.

In reviewing the ones available on the internet, we determined that none of the flush mounted styles were suitable for a kitchen environment because cleaning them would be impossible.

In talking about it some more, we concluded that the fan really wasn’t necessary given that there is a fan in the microwave so we are leaning toward having just a light fixture like this one.

I have begun working on putting together another Time Capsule, this one is for Steve and Sara’s son who will be born next month.

This one I am hoping to bury somewhere on Steve’s property….maybe under the sidewalk beside his house. It needs levelling anyway, so it would be a good time to do it.

We are going down to his place this Saturday to spend some time with him and Roxana at the new place which is under renovation right now.

Further to yesterday’s post, Dennis brought two sample handles to us and measured the drawer fronts. We have decided on a colour and also discussed more details of the project namely how he is going to install the gables.

I returned some under cabinet lighting which I determined unsuitable and have ordered some wireless puck lights that include a remote.

Jane has gone to Chris and Tonya’s place to babysit Max tomorrow.

This morning Jane and I went to Marathon Hardware as recommended by Revive Refinishing to have a look at the different cabinet and drawer hardware that is available.

There was a multitude of handles and knobs to choose from and we did find a couple that we will ask Dennis from Revive to pick up so we can view against our existing backsplash.

Today Jane and I went to Lowes to check out new under cabinet lighting to be installed when the new kitchen cabinet doors arrive. This should happen early September.

We are also planning on replacing the ceiling fan with a more modern low profile model that will open up the room a bit.

We didn’t find anything suitable at Lowes so I ordered some ribbon lighting from Amazon.

We still need to identify the fan that will be installed after the painter does the ceiling and walls.

The jewelry box/music box/time capsule that I made a couple of years ago for Roxana when she was born needed some tweaking as to contents, so today Jane and I updated it.

I have now begun working on a time capsule for our 2nd grandson, who has yet to be born but is due in mid-September.

The treasure chest time capsule for Max is now complete and all will be given to each child on their 10th birthday.

Today, Denis from Revive Refinishing came to our place to do final measuring for new kitchen cabinet doors.

He had some very good ideas with doing the job and expects to be able to complete the work the week of Sept 5.

This is what they look like now:

I’ll do a before and after collage once it’s all done.

After breakfast this morning we headed up to Georgian Bay to get some sun and toodle around on Shenanigans.

We ended up at Fryingpan Bay where we beached the dinghy and I sat on shore enjoying the view while Jane splashed in the water.

After a little while we took a spin through Deer Island channel to South Bay Cove Marina where we had a delicious lunch and chatted with a couple who had just arrived with their helicopter from Kitchener.

Jane is having fun with Max at Chris and Tonya’s place.

He really likes playing in our car where Grandma lets him lick mints, but he tries to put them in his mouth, which is a choking hazard; she has no problem digging her fingers in there to pull it out, much to his dismay!

This afternoon we received a Tornado alert from the weather network so I rolled in the back deck awning and made sure everything was covered.

Jane is heading down to Toronto early to babysit Max tomorrow. she’s leaving now to try to beat the worst of it. It’s getting really dark outside and it has begun to rain.

This morning I removed the leaf from the dining room table and repositioned the chairs back to the way they were.

I also stowed all the camping equipment away in the garage.

In the afternoon we went to Canadian Tire and purchased new everyday dishes because some of our old set were cracked and got too hot in the microwave.

Jane is now working on her Grandkids journals.

This morning after breakfast, Steve, Jane and Roxana strolled over to a nearby park and playground. Roxana quickly checked out the slide and swings!

While they were gone, I dismantled the tent and both cots and stowed them back in the garage. I wanted to get it done this morning because rain was forecast for the afternoon.

It was a delight having everyone here this weekend and it was satisfying to see the grandchildren having such a good time.