Our kitchen will be accepting appliances tonight for the first time in over 5 weeks! (39 days to be exact - yikes!)
I got the grouting done last night (pretty easy to do), and wiped down twice. I think it'll need another 1 or 2 rinses before putting the stuff back in as it's still pretty hazy, but that won't take long at all. And just in time - we've been holding off on doing the dishes in anticipation of getting it all back together, so we have a huge pile of them waiting for the dishwasher on the counter.
The kitchen won't be 100% finished tonight as I will still have to trim all of the kick plates and cabinet parts which will be too long now since the floor is about an inch higher than before. I also have to figure out how to taper the rug to the new floor height as there will be about a 1/4 inch drop from tile to rug. I planned that because hardwood will make it about even, when we do that (next summer, maybe?). I didn't want a tapered edge along the tile as that will be pointless and in the way when the hardwood comes, so we'll just deal with an unsightly carpet transition for the time being. I hope it won't look to bad.
Anyway, the floor looks great. I hope it holds up! It should, as I followed all the guidelines and pro's suggestions to the tee. But I guess time will only tell... My neighbour across the street has the same model house as us, and they had the builder put tile in their kitchen and foyer. They have had them back 2 or 3 times to fixed cracked grout and problems, and they now have a cracked tile that they're stuck with because they can't find that tile anywhere to replace it. The problem was/is the builder didn't put in a strong enough floor to support the load. So that's why a while back I had to beef up out floor joists to eliminate, or minimize, the deflection. I hope it was enough.... and next house that we build (if we build again), I'll be demanding stronger floors!
Pictures to follow!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
3rd weekend in a row
for a wedding, that is. This one was in Toronto again at the lovely time of 11 in the morning. With reception to follow . . . . . at 5:30! This one was another of Marn's high school friends. We are done with weddings now until 08/08/08. Nice date to remember, that one.
I was up until 2:30 in the morning on Friday (Saturday) trying to get the floor finished as planned, but didn't quite have enough in me to do it. I actually stopped because I ran out of mortar, and didn't want to mix another batch, otherwise I would have pressed on. It was tough getting up the next morning for the wedding, though. We had to be out of the house at 9:30 in order to get there on time.
For the time between wedding and reception, we drove to Oakville to visit Marn's Great Aunt Irene (her Grandma's sister) and Uncle Drum to see their new place - a 10th floor lake-front condo 30 feet from the lake with an amazing unobstructed view of both the lake and marina. They are really fun to be around and were really excited to have us over, giving us a big tour of the place, facilities and beautiful grounds.
Sunday Morning I finished the kitchen floor and I'll be getting grout tonight and hopefully doing that as well. We have Marn's friends from Australia coming for a night on the weekend, so we want to have the kitchen back to "normal" by then.
I was up until 2:30 in the morning on Friday (Saturday) trying to get the floor finished as planned, but didn't quite have enough in me to do it. I actually stopped because I ran out of mortar, and didn't want to mix another batch, otherwise I would have pressed on. It was tough getting up the next morning for the wedding, though. We had to be out of the house at 9:30 in order to get there on time.
For the time between wedding and reception, we drove to Oakville to visit Marn's Great Aunt Irene (her Grandma's sister) and Uncle Drum to see their new place - a 10th floor lake-front condo 30 feet from the lake with an amazing unobstructed view of both the lake and marina. They are really fun to be around and were really excited to have us over, giving us a big tour of the place, facilities and beautiful grounds.
Sunday Morning I finished the kitchen floor and I'll be getting grout tonight and hopefully doing that as well. We have Marn's friends from Australia coming for a night on the weekend, so we want to have the kitchen back to "normal" by then.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Kitchen Floor
Hopefully this weekend we'll be done with the kitchen floor and will have pics to post. We've now gone 4 weeks (coming up on 5) without a stove or dishwasher and it's driving us nuts. Mind you, for 1 week and 3 of those weekends we've been out of town, but still! There's only so long you can go with eating cold, microwaved, or BBQ'd dinners...
I have all the edge pieces cut and ready to go. I just need to find a few hours to set them and let dry, then on to grouting and finishing up. So far, it looks great - I did mess up one section, but it's not too noticeable. When I was placing the tiles, I didn't realize that I was pushing too hard against the already laid tiles, causing them to shift all the way down the line. I noticed it the next morning and was quite mad about it. Not enough to rip them out and redo it though as I'm sure I would have caused other damage and hassle. A light grout will help hide it so not to worry (but it'll still bother me). The plan is to put the remaining tiles down on Friday night, and then do the grout on Sunday.
On Saturday we have another wedding - the 3rd wedding in a row, again in Toronto, but this time we're not staying the night. After that, we'll be done with weddings until August when my friend Louise and Kevin are married, and hopefully that will be the end of them for the year.
I have all the edge pieces cut and ready to go. I just need to find a few hours to set them and let dry, then on to grouting and finishing up. So far, it looks great - I did mess up one section, but it's not too noticeable. When I was placing the tiles, I didn't realize that I was pushing too hard against the already laid tiles, causing them to shift all the way down the line. I noticed it the next morning and was quite mad about it. Not enough to rip them out and redo it though as I'm sure I would have caused other damage and hassle. A light grout will help hide it so not to worry (but it'll still bother me). The plan is to put the remaining tiles down on Friday night, and then do the grout on Sunday.
On Saturday we have another wedding - the 3rd wedding in a row, again in Toronto, but this time we're not staying the night. After that, we'll be done with weddings until August when my friend Louise and Kevin are married, and hopefully that will be the end of them for the year.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Catching Up
We're back from a great visit with the Asbury's. I wish we were closer as we always have a great time hanging out with them.
This time our visit was spent mostly hanging around the house with not too many adventures. The Sunday after we arrived we were able to go down and cheer on Adrienne's half marathon. She did really great with a time of 1 hour 50 minutes, beating her (and our) expectations! She finished 999 of 5600, 316th of 3583 other females and 58th of 570 others in her division. Top 1000 in her first, maybe last, half marathon is amazing! We tried to meet her down at the finish line after seeing her pass the 11 mile mark, but road closures and construction foiled those plans.
Monday, Marn spent the afternoon with the Morrison family at the White Rock beach. I didn't feel like going as I was tired and wanted to rest/sleep. After 4-5 years, Marn finally got to meet Erin's kids! Brendan wasn't able to come due to a rehab appt.
Tuesday afternoon, Marn and I went to visit Bernadette and Don and the kids and stayed for dinner. Bern made a great meal - quite domesticated! The kiddies are too cute. Bodhi took a little while to warm up to us, but once he did, wow! He was right in there playing and chatting away with us. Rian was such a good baby also - until dinner time and screamed louder than I've heard in a while (making me second guess Marn's pregnancy!), right in Uncle Andrew's ears. I couldn't do anything for him. THE SECOND Bern took him, he stopped. Momma's boy... ;)
Adrienne, Parker, Mariner, Marn and I ventured over to Bowen Island on Wednesday via the ferry from Horseshoe Bay. Probably not a place I would go back to unless it was summer on a weekend. It is a sleepy cottage town nestled beside the mountains with stores mostly closed during the week. It had some nice trails and a lake apparently. We walked for 1.5 hours looking for it, but made a wrong turn and never did get to it. After seeing our mistake, it should have taken mo more than 20 minutes to get to from where we started. argh! It was a nice walk, but Marn wasn't enjoying it as much... Parker was an absolute trooper and didn't complain once all day. The views of the mountains from Bowen Island were fantastic.
On Friday afternoon, we rented a car so that we could travel into town for wedding events without hassle and also get back to the airport without having to bug Adrienne. That night Will and Nina had a pre-wedding cocktail party for out of town guests at the Macaroni Grill downtown Vancouver. It was fun as about 40-50 people came to it. About half were from Ontario, so we knew quite a few people there.
The wedding on Saturday was also fun, but cold. The rain held off until after the ceremony which was great, but not 5 minutes after, the skies opened and didn't stop most of the night. I think pretty much every woman in a dress was freezing. We brought a jacket for Marn just in case, and she had it draped over her legs most of the evening. The wedding was beautiful with a backdrop of the mountains and ocean, and the food was fantastic. Unfortunately the dinner started late and speeches were long (but great), so the party didn't end up starting until 11:30pm! We didn't end up staying too late with a 45 minute drive back to White Rock, but we still didn't get home until about 1:30.
Sunday, Mother's Day, was pretty lazy. We got up late and made the famous Simpson's Egg Benny for the family. It was a hit - except for Parker who ate his own thing. We then went out to some stores and ended up eating out at Milestones. After dinner, Marn and I planned on meeting up with Marn's friend Judith for coffee and/or dessert, so we rushed back out and met with her for a few hours. The visit was nice, but short, and rushed.
On our way back, we had a box of stuff to ship home on a truck, so I stopped in the Vancouver office to drop it off. Guess who set off the security alarm? Yup, I did... After listening to screeching alarms for 2 minutes, I figured out how to shut it off and reset it, then got outta there before the cops came. Just kidding - it's not monitored to send the police! It was nerve wracking, though! I couldn't find the "off" button that was required after punching the code! Anyway, it was no big deal. I called Ayr, who is notified when that happens, and told them it was me and that everything was under control. Kind of embarrassing, though!
It was a great mini-vacation, but always too short! Echo was boarded all week and had a great time, as usual. He stunk like crazy, though. We opted to not have them bathe him this time as they charge close to $40 for him. As soon as we got home on Monday I washed him on the back porch and I think he knew he needed it as he stood there pretty well. It took him until today (Thursday) to start "recovering" from all the playing. They told us that he plays really well with all the other dogs and just love him. So that's nice to hear!
This time our visit was spent mostly hanging around the house with not too many adventures. The Sunday after we arrived we were able to go down and cheer on Adrienne's half marathon. She did really great with a time of 1 hour 50 minutes, beating her (and our) expectations! She finished 999 of 5600, 316th of 3583 other females and 58th of 570 others in her division. Top 1000 in her first, maybe last, half marathon is amazing! We tried to meet her down at the finish line after seeing her pass the 11 mile mark, but road closures and construction foiled those plans.
Monday, Marn spent the afternoon with the Morrison family at the White Rock beach. I didn't feel like going as I was tired and wanted to rest/sleep. After 4-5 years, Marn finally got to meet Erin's kids! Brendan wasn't able to come due to a rehab appt.
Tuesday afternoon, Marn and I went to visit Bernadette and Don and the kids and stayed for dinner. Bern made a great meal - quite domesticated! The kiddies are too cute. Bodhi took a little while to warm up to us, but once he did, wow! He was right in there playing and chatting away with us. Rian was such a good baby also - until dinner time and screamed louder than I've heard in a while (making me second guess Marn's pregnancy!), right in Uncle Andrew's ears. I couldn't do anything for him. THE SECOND Bern took him, he stopped. Momma's boy... ;)
Adrienne, Parker, Mariner, Marn and I ventured over to Bowen Island on Wednesday via the ferry from Horseshoe Bay. Probably not a place I would go back to unless it was summer on a weekend. It is a sleepy cottage town nestled beside the mountains with stores mostly closed during the week. It had some nice trails and a lake apparently. We walked for 1.5 hours looking for it, but made a wrong turn and never did get to it. After seeing our mistake, it should have taken mo more than 20 minutes to get to from where we started. argh! It was a nice walk, but Marn wasn't enjoying it as much... Parker was an absolute trooper and didn't complain once all day. The views of the mountains from Bowen Island were fantastic.
On Friday afternoon, we rented a car so that we could travel into town for wedding events without hassle and also get back to the airport without having to bug Adrienne. That night Will and Nina had a pre-wedding cocktail party for out of town guests at the Macaroni Grill downtown Vancouver. It was fun as about 40-50 people came to it. About half were from Ontario, so we knew quite a few people there.
The wedding on Saturday was also fun, but cold. The rain held off until after the ceremony which was great, but not 5 minutes after, the skies opened and didn't stop most of the night. I think pretty much every woman in a dress was freezing. We brought a jacket for Marn just in case, and she had it draped over her legs most of the evening. The wedding was beautiful with a backdrop of the mountains and ocean, and the food was fantastic. Unfortunately the dinner started late and speeches were long (but great), so the party didn't end up starting until 11:30pm! We didn't end up staying too late with a 45 minute drive back to White Rock, but we still didn't get home until about 1:30.
Sunday, Mother's Day, was pretty lazy. We got up late and made the famous Simpson's Egg Benny for the family. It was a hit - except for Parker who ate his own thing. We then went out to some stores and ended up eating out at Milestones. After dinner, Marn and I planned on meeting up with Marn's friend Judith for coffee and/or dessert, so we rushed back out and met with her for a few hours. The visit was nice, but short, and rushed.
On our way back, we had a box of stuff to ship home on a truck, so I stopped in the Vancouver office to drop it off. Guess who set off the security alarm? Yup, I did... After listening to screeching alarms for 2 minutes, I figured out how to shut it off and reset it, then got outta there before the cops came. Just kidding - it's not monitored to send the police! It was nerve wracking, though! I couldn't find the "off" button that was required after punching the code! Anyway, it was no big deal. I called Ayr, who is notified when that happens, and told them it was me and that everything was under control. Kind of embarrassing, though!
It was a great mini-vacation, but always too short! Echo was boarded all week and had a great time, as usual. He stunk like crazy, though. We opted to not have them bathe him this time as they charge close to $40 for him. As soon as we got home on Monday I washed him on the back porch and I think he knew he needed it as he stood there pretty well. It took him until today (Thursday) to start "recovering" from all the playing. They told us that he plays really well with all the other dogs and just love him. So that's nice to hear!
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Introducing....?
Wow, that's our baby! The little thing was squirming around like crazy during the ultrasound -- it was so cool! It's legs were kicking and arms moving around. Marn said she didn't feel anything (not yet anyway), which is surprising because it's 8-10 inches long now. I didn't add the other 2 photos because they weren't that great - you could barely make out what you were looking at. But this up-close profile is pretty good! You can see most of the torso and right arm resting on its stomach and the left arm and hand is up over the head, just chillin'.
Marn also kept her promise and didn't talk the technician into telling her the sex of the baby before I was able to come into the room yesterday. She said we had "a beautiful little baby in there", so Marn thinks she was hinting that it's a girl. :)
Anyway, the tech. gave us the full tour when I went in, showing us everything like legs, arms, hands, feet, hips, spine, head, eyes. Everything but a certain area, although she spent a long time "near" that area - just never close enough for us to make out anything. I still think it's a girl....
We would still like to get a 3D ultrasound as the clarity of those is incredible (think Rabbit Ears vs. HDTV), but not if the cost is $300 like Marn thinks!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Ultrasound
Today at 3pm Marn goes in for the ultrasound... we can't wait! This is a long appt. because they do a lot of measuring and checking. So she's in there for approx. 30 minutes before I get to go in, and at that time, they show us the baby. We're looking SO forward to it! Hopefully Marn won't convince them to tell her the sex of the baby while I'm in the waiting room - I don't trust that girl! ;) I'll try and get a scan and post it before we leave for BC.
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