The Light

Last Saturday we finished the caulking.  We had finished the siding the week before and plugged away at the caulking through the week.  On Saturday we had time to finish, put away the tools and clean up before the 36 hours of soaking sheets of rain started.  Great timing I would say.  
Over the last two days Pat took down the chains for the old windows and we tidied and cleaned.  There is still trim to put around the new windows. We need it to cover up the expanding foam we used to keep creepy crawlies out. It is an inside job and will get done a little later. We have the veranda back and it is great. Just in time for visiting family this weekend.

Next on the list is making the area off the verandas back door a little larger and putting on a railing.  A one point we were going to put a large set of steps across the whole back but have changed our minds and without the steps it is a little crowded.  So make the top area larger and then put on a railing.  

The platform will be another 30" wider with railing on three sides.  It will make sense when I show you a done picture.

Now that I am finished with the renos I thought I would spend the rest of the post on a couple nature pictures.

The last week or two we have woken up to mist in the ravine, I will fall back on my usual line, " it is hard to describe". There is not one sliver of poet in me so I will rely on a photo that my photographer took one morning.

I have three more that I hope illustrate the incredible light we encountered on our walk Monday evening around 7pm.  This is what enthralled us as we walked down the road.

I swear no enhancing or altering other than I cropped the first two a little.  The light was golden and it was so calm the reflections are almost as sharp as the original. 

As we walked we noted that 24 hours earlier the rain had been falling in sheets and we couldn't see across the ravine.

I am loving "weather" in the country.

I Was Wrong

Remember in the last post I thought the worst (veranda wise) was was over and the siding wouldn't be too bad.  I was wrong.  The windows were a far more pleasant job.
The windows fill big spaces all at once, the siding goes on one painful board at a time. And they need caulking.  I have spoken about my dislike of painting well painting is nothing compared to the caulking required when you install Hardiplank siding.

Tom was out the first week to help Pat.  I was spared, it was on the warm side but the mosquitos were vicious so you had to douse yourself in insect repellant and stay covered.
This is the south side and the start of the project.
Over the next 10 days Pat and Pat and I worked away.

You might ask, what is all that green tape about?  You have to tape before you caulk.  Please note that each board beside each window or door is taped.
I will explain the process.  You tape sides of boards. nail heads and where the trim abuts the window frame.  You caulk with the appropriate colour.  Then carefully with you finger you smooth it into the cracks hoping that you haven't got too much and it gushes everywhere, then you peel off the tape that is now covered in caulking and hope that you don't get the **$%! caulking everywhere.  Because when you do you have to get the stinky solvent because this caulking is not water soluble.  Now remember you are dressed much warmer than you would like because the mosquitos are vicious and the sun is shining so it is very hot.
I hate caulking, it is exponentially worse than painting.
The wall above is the west wall and it is done, the south and east sides mostly done and we haven't started on the north side which has 4 windows, which means that much more taping and caulking.  We have left over siding which we thought we might use for an out building,  no, no a thousand times no.  When we are finished with the veranda I will never 
participate in siding again.

We have had some fun too.  You will know that I am not much of a hockey fan.  But our niece is engaged to the nephew of Brent McEwan one of the LA Kings scouts. 
He arranged for the Stanley Cup to come to Whitewood, SK.
There were photos ops in Emma's backyard for family and friends before it moved to the community centre. 

Hockey fan or or no to me the Stanley Cup is a part of Canadian culture and if you get a chance to have your picture taken with it you should jump on it.

The summer is zooming by.  We are in Saskatoon and took Norah and Brooke to Jerry's for supper while Zachary and Heather had an evening to themselves.  As we were waiting for our food I was remembering when we were there with them about a year ago and that I found it a little stressful.  Jerry's with a  2and a half and a 4 year old is much easier than 1 and a half and 3. This time Brooke was totally independent and so is Norah (mostly).  We had a very nice time no stress. After ice-cream and ice-cream bars were consumed without mishap we were off to what Brooke calls the "purple and green playground" and it is her favourite because there is no sand that gets in your dawg shoes!
A lot happens in a year!