You might need a latte/tea/coffee/beer

It has been a while, so I thought you might want a coffee and a little cookie.  We were in Saskatoon for nearly a week and there has been kitchen reno frenzy since we got back.
So maybe I'll start where I left off.  The extra laminate samples proved to be a disappointment, more of the same.  The bathroom vanity top is ordered and the kitchen counters are in a holding pattern.  That is my catch phrase for now.

One lovely summer day prior to our Saskatoon trip and we were sick of being inside. We (Pat) decided to work on water management and our road.  We shaved off the turf, dug the ditch and put the turf back down.   I was part of the "we" but someone has to take photos. 

We need to extend the trench a little farther and then plan to build a rock lined culvert affair that will carry the water to the other side of the road then down into the ravine.   There is another place we plan to do this but who knows when.  We do try not to have too many projects going at the same time but a person does need some variety.

We had a great hectic visit in Saskatoon. We took the girls to supper one evening while Zachary and Heather had a free evening.  I had forgotten what a meal in a restaurant with a 3 and a 1 year old is like.  I knew I had eaten as my plate was empty but it is a little harrying.  A one year old with a very tight grip on a "dilly bar" bears watching.  I know if it falls off the stick there will be a lot of tears. We also had a barbecue with longtime friends and dinner with friends in a nice restaurant courtesy of our real estate agent. Pat spent three days in the office, I did some reno shopping and another day Edna, Brooke and I had did a little shopping and lunching, we had such fun.  We rounded the week out by helping Carmen move.  We arrived Sunday and left Friday of the long weekend. 

No time to rest, the land of renovating awaits.  Carmen and her pooch Teddy arrived Friday evening for a bit of a rest and to help.  As all of you know Pat can't imagine why you would want to sit and visit when you can work and visit.  As it turns out Carmen takes after her Dad and was a godsend when it came to assembling Ikea cupboards.  She figured out the drawing and directed me, we were a great team and it left Pat free to work on other tasks.  

  

The photos in order of appearance. Teddy making sure no mice or squirrels came near the garage.  2x4"s added to the existing beams for extra support. Dry walling done, Pat did the plastering (and did a very nice job), walls painted.  I must digress here for a moment.  As I was painting I recalled a chat with a friend who through the course of the conversation stated "we don't paint".   I am so envious of her, I really don't like painting.  I have had quite a few opportunities ( while painting) to contemplate why.  I think it comes down to no matter how careful I am I am a messy painter, it gets everywhere and I hate that.  Back to the photos, floor installed, Carmen assembling and Pat installing rails.  Last photo, our kitchen as of last evening about 8:30 when we discovered how much our floor slopes and we would probably have to take all the cupboards out and start again.  We decided tomorrow is another day and we would start fresh in the morning. The morning has come and gone as I write and I will tell you that the cupboards are back in,  are level and there were neither tears nor angry words.  Not bad.  I may wash dishes in a kitchen sink tonight.  I will have more photos of the kitchen next time.  To tantalize you for next time I will tell you  " the mudder hath cometh"  and we have purchased   "equipment".  

The mist in the ravine in the morning is beautiful and the wild flowers are glorious.

    

Holding Pattern

I did figure out how to redefine the width of the actual blog.  So the pictures will not not hang out over the edge. Next how to resize the picture and text in the blog header.

We are in a bit of a holding pattern.  Still no mudder to do the upstairs as I write.  I think we have been waiting about six weeks and it feels even longer. I believe I am suffering from "no sewing" withdrawal and have started to consider where I might set up.  I am also tired of thinking," I know I have that, but it is in a box somewhere."  We hung all the drywall in the kitchen and Pat and I have decided he will start taping this afternoon.  I cannot be in a holding pattern in the kitchen. Crankiness will rear it's ugly head.

I have been bread making again, trying a smaller baking pot. I also added raisins, I love raisin bread toast.  It was mostly successful, I put the raisins in at the end, next time I will put them in at the beginning to see what including them in the 12 hour ferment does.

I went to a u-pick near Yorkton with three other women and picked 4 pails of strawberries. Some for the freezer and some to gorge on. They were delicious.           The u-pick, Prairie Dome is beautifully maintained, a parklike setting.  They are very organized, requiring you to book a picking time and number of pails, Pat and I have booked picking times this Saturday for Saskatoons and Raspberries.  

Last week was flax, this week canola and Pat was the photographer in this case.  He was out very early on his bike on the weekend and captured these.

 

I am off to Esterhazy to look at more laminate samples for a bathroom vanity top.  I started this process about three weeks ago and nothing is even ordered.  Discontinued samples and distance creating the delay.  There is supposed to be a whole sample book for me to look at so I have decided that the bright side of this will be lots of samples to choose from and hopefully there will be something that will work for the kitchen counters as well as the bathroom.

Enough of the somewhat boring details, a glorious day here today. With all the rain the hillside below us is lush and full of wildflowers. 

Enjoy your week and we will all hope for sunshine.

A Tomato Plant or Two

 I believe I have commented to a few people that we weren't going to have a garden this year.  Too much other work and where would we put it.  First I bought a bag of seed potatoes to just "stick in the ground", new potatoes are like candy and can be expensive.  I had talked about a tomato plant or two in a pot, also some basil. Basil plants were sold out at the local Co-op but I am going to Yorkton tomorrow, not just for basil there is a bathroom vanity involved in the trip.
Not to digress any more. On Saturday we decided we needed gardening space.  

  Give a man tool and he is able to do a lot.  We borrowed Bruce's front end loader!
The cows we pasture provided some dry pies for a little organic material.  While one person drives the loader, the other gets to break the "pie" into smaller pieces.  I think I should learn how to drive such equipment!

By the end of the day Saturday, this is what we had.

Sunday we planted potatoes, beans, carrots, parsnips, beets, two cucumber plants and moved the garlic Pat had planted last fall.  Where are the tomatoes?  They are still going into pots along with some peppers and one planter worth of flowers.  The yellow bathtub is awaiting lettuce seed.The garden soil is a bit heavy for the pots and bathtub so will need the addition of peat moss.  We are off to Esterhazy today for a special farmer's market and barbecue. We will take the opportunity to buy peat moss.  Maybe someone will have basil plants!  Oh yeah, there is also a bed big enough to bury me on the left side of the photo for rhubarb plants.  It is hard to do small with a loader, so with a loader  sitting waiting to be used  why would you use a shovel. 

We had company Sunday.  Believe it not I have never seen a Thirteen Line Ground Squirrel before.

  
She made me laugh while I was snapping the standing photos, she just stood there like this and watched me the whole time.  Now, I do admit there is a huge advantage to having a good telephoto lens.

Remember the field of crocuses, this is what it they look like now they have started going to seed.  I  am not sure which I prefer, the flower field or the seed head field.

The last image I will leave you with is the view from a log bench down by the pond.  I have dreams of taking a morning latte there for breakfast.  To date I am not sure if it has been 10 degrees at that time of day.  Pat saw frost in the ravine yesterday morning.  I am hoping for a window between frost and mosquitos.

Progress

We feel we have made some progress this week.  We have been installing flooring. We put a product called marmoleum in the front entrance and the bathroom. I chose 12" tiles in a checker board pattern.  I am very happy with the final look.  The colour in the picture of the hallway is a little off.  It is a charcoal grey with the other colour a brown, it is called camel.  The walls are only primed so far, painting is on the list for this weekend but we may wait until more work is completed upstairs.  Also the hallway is long but not as long as it looks in this picture.

Baseboards yet to come

We were out for an early morning walk yesterday to view the crocuses! The hills on the other side of our ravine were thick with them.  A little short height wise this year but is it any wonder.

We walked carefully, it was hard not to step on them.

I couldn't resist digging out a clump and bringing it home.  Past experience has taught they don't do well as a cut flower



Below is a a little friend who sat on the back of this chair for a very long time.  At times I am sure he/she was watching me.  He is not in the small bird book we have here and my field guide is packed who knows where.  Does anyone know my name?

A trip to the big city tomorrow (Regina), we need to look at bathroom vanities and tops.  

I ordered the bathtub for upstairs from Home Depot .ca.  It is to be delivered to Whitewood with delivery included in the price.  I will let you know how that turns out.  We have started on the pantry.  We have told ourselves it has to be finished before we start taking apart the kitchen. 

Spring at Twin Oaks

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day.  We have been working but did take a break to sample a bit of spring in the country.  The melt has started; this is the view from the back step, as you stand there you can hear the water roaring through the ravine.

We decided a short break was in order and did a little exploring. The culvert under the road seems to be doing it's job. But more importantly we discovered the pussy willows are out!

The next photo is a still of the water moving through the bottom of a narrow channel.  We took a video of it but importing it into blogger did not seem to work.  Think of rapids and the sound they make when you look at the photo.

The road is drying out and it looks like there will not be a problem for the moving van, our fingers remain crossed!