Waiting for the Vinyl!!!!

The downstairs is freshly painted...all of it!!! It is very white!!! There are FIVE gallons of primer on the walls followed by about THREE of semi-gloss top coat. It was alot of painting but it does look fresh and clean. The cement floor has been swept, vacuumed and washed with bleach and it is ready for the vinyl. Pearl, the installer, was out on Sunday afternoon and took the final measurements so she could do some precutting. We were all geared up for installation yesterday BUT....you know we always have to have a glitch....the supplier sent the wrong glue. It is to be couried from Regina. We hope that by the end of next week we will have new vinyl INSTALLED. They estimate that it will take four days to prep the surfaces and actually install the linoleum. The rooms will take on an entirely different appearance.
Then we will be able to unpack the Recreation Room boxes and set up Glen's workspace. You can't imagine what is behind that far door...the storage room is jammed full of boxes, paintings and furniture.
The rain of late has brought on new growth outside. The grass Glen planted has takenand is doing well. The trees that were so brutally cut back are also growing. Today Glen is trimming so they will grow in an orderly fashion.
It is hard to believe that it is the end of September. We have invited another couple to join us for the Beef and Barley Special at the pub tonight. Soon the round of fall suppers will begin. I love the cabbage rolls and perogis that are served along with the traditional turkey.
I have all the makings for cabbage rolls so have been searching the net for a "recipe"...there are as many different ways to make them as there are people who produce them!!! I used to make them many years ago with my cousin...so I am thinking I will go with what I remember and see how they turn out.  

Back in the Saddle Again!

On Sunday, the 24th of September, The Right Reverend Rodney Andrews presented Glen with a License to Officiate as a priest within the Diocese of Saskatoon. In this picture Father Charles Irish reads the document. The Bishop is smiling and Glen (sporting his salt and pepper beard) looks like an Orthodox priest. Obviously the cultural mix of Theodore is having an influence.
Glen "cleaned up well" for the Eucharist. The day before he was in old clothes and covered with paint spots. The good news however is that the basement is ready for the installation of the ceiling and new flooring. (Picture by Shirley Baker) 

St. Francis likes his new home....

We have tried St. Francis in several locations and he seems to like the front entrance the best. Andrew and Chantelle gave us the Harmony Stepping Stone that carries the symbols of sun and moon. He has been overseeing the planting of the beds. Glen scrounged orange lilies and holly hock seeds and we actually purchased some iris for the side bed. We were not thrilled with the three days of rain but the plants were thirsty and really perked up.
On Saturday we went to Holy Trinity's garage sale in Yorkton. It was the second day of their sale so it was $1.00 a bag. Interesting the items that were in the bag when we got home...little brass candle sticks...coasters from Wales...its always fun to see what treasures can be found.
We have spent alot of time in the basement priming. I think we are suffering from snow blindness and it is not the weather. White on white...and then it is white again. It is already for the top coat. Just a small hall way to prime...we used five gallons of primer and Glen went to Yorkton to get more primer late yesterday afternoon. The top coat should go on a little easier....we are hoping anyway.  

Clever Glen....

The laundry room is very small...a washer and dryer just fit. We have taken the closet beside the side entrance and put a little deep freeze in there...so I lost a space for the broom, and mops. So Glen came up with the perfect solution. Behind the door in the laundry room he installed a board with fittings to hold the clutter. Works like a charm.
Today the counter tops in the kitchen are being installed. It is a lot more complicated than I anticipated. Emil has it all under control and by days end we can put everything back into the kitchen. Not that we will remember where it all goes.
It is rather wet and dreary today. Glen planted some Iris this morning...and they love the cool and the drizzle. Yesterday he went to a garage sale and came home with a little wheel barrel and a rain barrel. We pried up a cement block for it to sit on and installed the rain barrel in the flower bed at the side of the house.
 

More Dirt.....

Glen of late has this fascination with dirt. The yard at this end of the house seemed to be sinking...so the plan is to build it up so that any moisture will not run into the foundation but away from it!!!! Yesterday the front end loader brought fill from the town and today it brought "soil" from our garden across the street. We have arranged with the neighbor to bring in "aged manure" to fertilize the garden plot. The plot is so large that we hope to plant some fruit trees as well as vegetables and flowers next year. At present we are in yard mode. However on the weekend it will be back to priming and painting as the drywall will be sanded and ready!!!!!
 

Use Your Imagination...

We are into Day Four of Operation Basment!!! Emil is taping and mudding the final coat. This is the big room that will be our Recreation Room. The stairwell leads right into this area. In behind is a smaller bedroom and a bathroom with shower. The former recreation room has been repaired and will become the Workspace where Glen will set up the computer and his research materials. I am hoping for a corner to sort pictures and create MANY photo albums. The next step is the suspended ceiling and then we will prime and paint. We went to the dollar store and bought paint trays on the weekend. The vinyl linoleum that we chose looks like ceramic tile...it is ordered and should be in by month's end. We are making progress!!!!
I am still scraping glue which held the carpet off the cement. It can only be done in small intervals. Glen is focusing his attention on grass and the planting of bulbs....tulips, hyacinths, daffodils anenomes and lilies. We should have
a beautiful showing come Spring!!!! 

Toasty Warm this Winter

Yesterday the plumber from Springside arrived to install our new high efficiency furnace and air conditioning unit.
There was lots of banging and clanging happening...holes
drilled and in the end we have a shiny new unit that will keep us snug as bugs in the winter and cool cats in the
summer months. So we are making progress.
I have not been idle!!! Glen has been playing in the dirt
planting grass in the areas that were shaded by the trees.
I on the other hand have had paint brush in hand painting
the closet in one of the bedrooms on the main floor. I even put the roller on an extension pole and painted the ceiling and thehigher bits. The shelves are in the garage drying as I type. This is just one of many closets to be done. They have not seen paint in many a year and this is the time to do them before they are filled to capacity and the ambitious gene gets pushed to the back of the brain.
Glen is off to Yorkton to have the oil changed in his car and the frost on the ground this morning convinced him that he should have a block heater installed as well. 

Playing in the Dirt

The yard cart has proved to be a great addition to our gardening supplies. The front planter is sporting more
lilies...orange and yellow. Glen hopes that with all the action from the bees that some cross pollination has taken place and next year we may have red lilies. There is a nursery that specializes in lilies in Churchbridge which is not too far away on Highway 16. The area under the living room window has become a flower bed since this photo was taken.
Glen has planted poppies at the back. He was reading on the Internet that you can actually plant poppy seeds on the top of snow in March and they are so hardy they will grow.
Glen is looking more distinguished with each passing day...he has decided to grow a beard in retirement. It is quite white mixed with dark highlights.
This morning we moved all the recreation room bits and pieces into the storage room in order that the basement can be worked on easily. Glen must have been psychic as later this afternoon the furnace people phoned wanting to deliver the new furnace. If all goes well....it will be installed on
Thursday and we will be snug little bugs this winter.
The sun has shone brilliantly for most of August.
I am still scraping carpet glue off the concrete floor...progress is being made but it is a SLOW job.  

Now You Know Where We Live.....

It seems that our street address is Anderson Avenue but for all intensive purposes our house faces Christopher Street. This can be very confusing for those trying to find our house....even though the verbal directions are given on the CORNER of Anderson and Christopher people still have it in their minds that they should find us on Anderson Avenue. SO Glen has found a solution to the problem and put our name on the side of the house. Needless to say it is quite prominent and can be seen a block away. Now you know where we live!!!!!
The latest project has been the downstairs storage room. We gave the walls two coats of white paint and the floor is a very dark grey. The plan is to move all the boxes and assorted bits of downstairs furniture in there so that they can work on the rest of the basement. We are in a bit of a holding pattern there...waiting for our drywaller to finish up all his previous work.
Saturday we went exploring and drove to Katepwa via some interesting back roads. Saw Trevor Powell briefly and discovered that a good friend David Nevitt was in Fort Qu'Appelle. So we stopped in for a visit. He is also retired. He has been in Fort Qu'Appelle for the better part of a year and will be finishing up in that parish at the end of October and moving on to another interim appointment.