Saturday, February 13, 2010
My introduction to drywall mud...
Andrew and I spent the afternoon with H., stripping wallpaper and sanding drywall mud so the painter can get going tomorrow.
I have never done this, although I'm acquainted with the insidious pervasiveness of drywall dust. I don't think I'll become a construction worker overnight anytime soon! I clearly need to work up to this. I was reminded of Mr. Miyagi teaching The Karate Kid to strengthen and quicken his arms - "Wax on, wax off..." - alternating left and right arms in circular motions until I thought both arms would fall off. I fell asleep on a pile of flooring boxes, resting and stretching my back. Nice to work on our nest together - quite the romantic Valentine's weekend! After throwing together a curry vegetable stew and biscuits for my crew (wait - Andrew is the GC and H. is the expert here, I'm the crew!) I'm headed directly to the bathtub, with a nice cool beer. I'm sure my shoulders deserve it!
Housing here; housing in Haiti...
We bought this house we're renovating on January 12, the same day that the earthquake struck Haiti. We've been unable to reconcile how it is that we're debating hardwood flooring when so many people have no floor, and wondering what the most efficient toilet is when Haitians are subject to open latrines. What to do? Which charity to support?
It seemed fitting to direct our support to a housing effort, with all our focus on hearth and home. We may be regrouping as a family, in a different age and stage, someplace without a stalker, but our adventure is an incomparable joy and privilege relative to the experience of so many, many people in Haiti. A friend, Shelagh Mirski, drew our attention to ShelterBoxes, a project of Rotary International that delivers substantial tents, along with tools, cooking supplies, and bedding for 10 people in a box to places in need of relief housing. As Camp Outlook alumni, we have an acute appreciation of how much can be achieved with a tent and some tools, so this approach appealed to us. We made a contribution to ShelterBoxes, which will be duplicated by the Government of Canada in its Haiti Relief Fund. It's not enough, but it's a start.
For information on ShelterBoxes, click on http://www.shelterbox.ca/
It seemed fitting to direct our support to a housing effort, with all our focus on hearth and home. We may be regrouping as a family, in a different age and stage, someplace without a stalker, but our adventure is an incomparable joy and privilege relative to the experience of so many, many people in Haiti. A friend, Shelagh Mirski, drew our attention to ShelterBoxes, a project of Rotary International that delivers substantial tents, along with tools, cooking supplies, and bedding for 10 people in a box to places in need of relief housing. As Camp Outlook alumni, we have an acute appreciation of how much can be achieved with a tent and some tools, so this approach appealed to us. We made a contribution to ShelterBoxes, which will be duplicated by the Government of Canada in its Haiti Relief Fund. It's not enough, but it's a start.
For information on ShelterBoxes, click on http://www.shelterbox.ca/
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Flooring expedition buys toilets
February 6, 2010
Last weekend, Andrew and I went shopping for a little comparison info on flooring before seizing the current Home Depot sale price on birch. We headed to tiny Tweed, Ontario, which has the distinction of being home to Gaylord Hardwood Flooring. In an old-fashioned downtown storefront, flooring is displayed on every surface. Walls, floors and ceilings are covered in gleaming oak, ash, maple and hickory, glowing by firelight or lit with track lighting. It was like shopping in a jewelery store of wood, except for the taxidermy deer peeking out here and there, to suggest a rustic setting (or support the local taxidermist?). Gaylord's promo of the week caught our eye - Brazilian jatoba.
Harder than hickory, deep russet tones, "art on the floor" in our eyes. We wouldn't need rugs or furniture - just pull up a pillow and admire the flooring! We nearly swooned. On sale for only $2,000 more than the Home Depot birch. Birch?! Whatever were we thinking, when we could have this Brazilian exotic, harvested with sustainable methods, of course, and regularly reforested... We asked for a quote on 1200 sq. ft. and drove off into the countryside, starry-eyed over gorgeous wood.
Next stop was Lowe's in Belleville, for energy-saving toilets. I never knew there was so much to know about a toilet... We chose a high efficiency model and Andrew started schlepping three out to the car (one at a time to take advantage of the $20/purchase coupon) while I took photos of tile for the
kitchen backsplash.
Oops - the toilets we chose wouldn't qualify for the energy rebate after all. Andrew returned them all, replaced them one at a time with a different high efficiency model, while I took more photos of tile. How complicated can toilets (and coupons) be?!
Once home, with three toilets and no flooring, H. gazed longingly at the jatoba sample and we tried to find money in the budget. The toilets didn't save us that much! The Home Depot sale ended before we got the jatoba estimate, so we ended up with the birch, in a cherry stain. Oh well - it will be covered with area rugs, and we're beyond sitting on pillows to admire the flooring. Whatever were we thinking? Maybe we could just hang some on the wall...
Last weekend, Andrew and I went shopping for a little comparison info on flooring before seizing the current Home Depot sale price on birch. We headed to tiny Tweed, Ontario, which has the distinction of being home to Gaylord Hardwood Flooring. In an old-fashioned downtown storefront, flooring is displayed on every surface. Walls, floors and ceilings are covered in gleaming oak, ash, maple and hickory, glowing by firelight or lit with track lighting. It was like shopping in a jewelery store of wood, except for the taxidermy deer peeking out here and there, to suggest a rustic setting (or support the local taxidermist?). Gaylord's promo of the week caught our eye - Brazilian jatoba.
Harder than hickory, deep russet tones, "art on the floor" in our eyes. We wouldn't need rugs or furniture - just pull up a pillow and admire the flooring! We nearly swooned. On sale for only $2,000 more than the Home Depot birch. Birch?! Whatever were we thinking, when we could have this Brazilian exotic, harvested with sustainable methods, of course, and regularly reforested... We asked for a quote on 1200 sq. ft. and drove off into the countryside, starry-eyed over gorgeous wood.
Next stop was Lowe's in Belleville, for energy-saving toilets. I never knew there was so much to know about a toilet... We chose a high efficiency model and Andrew started schlepping three out to the car (one at a time to take advantage of the $20/purchase coupon) while I took photos of tile for the
kitchen backsplash.
Once home, with three toilets and no flooring, H. gazed longingly at the jatoba sample and we tried to find money in the budget. The toilets didn't save us that much! The Home Depot sale ended before we got the jatoba estimate, so we ended up with the birch, in a cherry stain. Oh well - it will be covered with area rugs, and we're beyond sitting on pillows to admire the flooring. Whatever were we thinking? Maybe we could just hang some on the wall...
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