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Archived At Home with Ailsa!
September 21st - 15th, 2003.
Click here to Return to Today's At Home With Ailsa! ** More Archived Updates!
I know, I know -- it's weird having these days backwards like that -- maybe one day I'll have ime to switch them all around. Ah, well. At least this gets them onto their own separate pages -- I had no idea the original page was sooo long!
Sunday, September 21st. Good Morning, Sunshine! Isn't that a sweet name?? My little sister used to have a Principal who called her students that, and every little face would light up when she said it -- just shows you -- sometimes the smallest compliment can brighten your entire day!
So, we popped into Calgary, yesterday, and picked up sixty 10'
Boards to put on the Deck (From Totem, one of my favorite Hardware Stores!).
We worked until 8:00 p.m. and got a quarter of the Deck done, which was enough
for us to go out from the Sunroom and admire our work! The view from this Deck
is fantastic, and at night it's the best location to see the Northern Lights
and for Star-Gazing.
Today we'll go out and get as much of the Deck done as we can (we finished the
Framing for the Deck on Friday night... the Framing is the hard part!), then
we'll put up a temporary Railing so no-one falls off. The Deck is a good 12'
off the ground on the Walk-out side, so that's essential.
Tip of the Day: If you're still at the Planning Stage of your Build or Remodel, consider putting a Window in your Bathrooms. What a huge difference this makes! It lets you put on make-up in a natural light, saves energy from Light use, and is Aesthetically very pleasing. We have a Glass Block Window in the Master Bathroom above the Double Tub, another Glass Block Window in the Steam Room Bathroom downstairs (close enough to My Office that I could do some work on the computer, go have a Steam, then back to the Office for more work! ha,ha!), and a 4' X4' Regular Window in the Front Entry Bath.
The Glass Block Windows that we used come as one full window -- no leakage or uneven joints -- very nice and worth checking out at your Local Window Store! Most Hardware Stores carry Windows, now, so you can check there for prices.
Well, Dwight's just come into my Office, so I better go help him with the Deck! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and see you tomorrow!
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Saturday, September 20th. Hey, Baby! What's up?? It's the weekend, so plenty, I hope!
We got back to work on the Deck off the Sunroom after Dwight got home from work, yesterday -- finally! There are some jobs that just seem to be pushed to the back-burner, and this was one of them. I am anxious to get this deck done because it's the one with the Hot Tub, and we bought the 10 Man Tub a year and a half ago -- can you believe that?? It's just been sitting waiting on Dwight to install it! Talk about 'jumping the gun'! If it isn't set up soon, we'll miss the Fall Season (the part of the year when you can still go outside without your ears falling off! ha,ha!), then we'll have to wait for Spring. AAAAAH!
I'd really like to bring our Carpenter, Trevor, back to finish the deck (and not just because he's good-looking, either...!!), but Dwight insists on doing it himself... hmmmmm.
Hey, I've gotta thank all my brilliantly wonderful Readers for sending out the word to their friends about my little Site! My 'traffic' has DOUBLED in the last week! WooHoo! Now I just need to make the site turn a profit and I'm all set (Truth be told -- Dwight has been paying for the Site since it's inception, and has threatened to 'pull the plug' many, many times -- his words aren't that nice, so I'm paraphrasing, here...So please, oh, please click on a few ads so I don't have to listen to those words any more! AND, tell your friends to tell their friends -- just like in the Breck Shampoo Ads! Soon we'll all have much cleaner hair and bigger & better houses! ha, ha!)
Tip of the Day: This one is for you to look younger, and it doesn't include scrubbing away at Grout, neither! ha,ha! (Although some of that grout got on my face the other day when I was mixing it, and it DID cross my mind that it might make a good Facial Mask...pweeease don't try that at home -- I immediately ruled it out as an intensely stuuuupid idea!).
Trim or Pluck your eyebrows. I know, I know -- that does sound painfully simple, but over the past year, Dwight's eyebrows have suddenly gone mad -- and he was starting to look a little more like a Pirate and less like a Contractor! Eeeeks! That ain't good! So I made him stay still for two minutes and I gave them a little trim. Not a 'Judy Garland' kind of trim (and that's not to say that some men don't look fabulous with that style...). Just trim off those crazy stragglers that don't belong there!
One thing that's pretty funny that I've noticed since I had my 'Eye's Done' (Lasik Eye Surgery) is that now people can actually see my eyes, so I have to pluck my eyebrows again -- for a long while, there, I was just trimming them with manicure scissors! I am completely thrilled with not ever having to wear Glasses or Contacts, again, so it's all worth it!
Enjoy Your Weekend! Later, Baby! Ailsa
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Friday, September 19th. Hey, there, Baby-Cakes! (What's that -- those delicious little 'baby' brownies that I was only slightly addicted to when we first started shopping at Costco?? A little taste of heaven -- that sounds exactly like you, yes??ha,ha!)
Well, did you watch Survivor? What a great show! Especially on the Big Screen... it's just like you're there, only you're all comfy and cozy and they're not! Man, a LOT of very good-looking people on the show, this year, many of them with their clothes off ... now that's entertainment! ha,ha!
Dwight mixed that grout for me, yesterday, so I was able to get some of the Tiled Floor in the second part of the Front Entry done -- I thought it would maybe take me about 3 hours, but it took me the whole day! I had to go and mix the grout again, myself, and I take back everything I ever said about that part being easy! Yikes! That is some seriously hard work! The Mixer is huuuuge, and only has one speed -- crazy fast, I think it's called... it makes your whole body vibrate, which is not nearly as much fun as it sounds! ha,ha!
I thought for sure that I'd get half of the tiled area done, but it was soooo much work all by myself that I got a much smaller fraction of that (let's just say about 1/8th, so I don't have to do any math!)... I'll give my arm a rest (I have an old Arm Injury from when a Special Needs Student attacked me years ago... still hurts when I overuse it) and get back to the floor on Monday.
Finally, the smoke from all the terrible fires in the B.C. (British Columbia, Canada) has dissipated and we can see the Mountains, again! September is a beautiful time in the Rockies -- the Mountains are Snow-capped and the sky in the morning is all Pink with this amazing shade of blue -- gorgeous! Very pleasant to wake up to! I get up, turn on the Fireplace, make some Tea and enjoy the View (for about a minute, then the rest of the day starts!).
Tip of the Day: When you're mixing the grout, be sure to wear your Safety Glasses -- it went all over the place when I was mixing it, yesterday! AND, don't leave it for any length to time between the time you mix it and the time you put it on the Floor. That crazy Dwight told me to 'leave it for a while' before putting it on the floor, which I did...and I carefully covered the pail of grout with a wet towel, went to 'refresh my make-up' (because it's sooo important to look fresh and pretty when you're grouting the floor...) and came back out to a pail of rock-hard grout. So I said to Dwight when he got home that 'a while' is NOT '2 minutes at the most'...but I did get to take a break, so it's all good! ha,ha!
Have a great weekend! Later, Baby! Ailsa
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Thursday, September 18th. Hey, Baby! How you doin'?? ha,ha! Can you believe it's already time for the New Survivor?! We all love that Show, particularly the Beach Scenes! That's how I got connected with the whole Buff thing -- Cara desperately wanted the Survivor Buffs, so I got them for her, and now I have the Wholesale Connection...it's all about connections, Baby! (I'd still really like to see the Buffs for the Major Sports Teams and Colleges, but also for all schools, too -- they're a great Fundraiser, and we never seemed to have enough funds when I was a Teacher! Maybe this'll really help -- there's more info on my Buff Page...)
Well, I cleaned out the Garage, yesterday, and found all sorts of things I'd totally forgotten about, and some stuff that I thought was long gone (like some of my old writing ... during my 'bad' days! Maybe I'll be able to Publish that one day! ha,ha!), and I cleared a big space for Dwight's Truck. I still have a work area for me and a separate work area for Dwight, so we're all set... except that my van is still outside, but that's okay for now!
And wouldn't you know it, Dwightie finally mixed the Grout for me to do the Floors, today, so I need to go get started on that. It'll probably take me a few hours. Grouting the Floor has been a real 'Bone of Contention' between us -- it's been driving me up the wall that it has taken soooo long to get to this job. Dwight showed me how to use the Giant Mixer last night, too, so I can add more water to maintain a 'creamed butter' consistency.
So here's my Grouting Tip for Today(!) -- 'Pipe' the grout between the tiles, just like you would pipe icing on a cake... You can buy a special 'Grouting Bag' at the Hardware Store, or just use a bag you already have around the house. I'm going to use a Large Freezer Bag, because they're made of a pretty heavy plastic, and I think it'll hold up to the weight of the grout. Wish me luck and see you tomorrow! You can check my Tiling Page to find out All About Tiling!
Later, Baby! Ailsa
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I totally looove Flowers, and I need to send some today to my wonderful Auntie Joyce -- she's been a tremendous influence in my life, and she's not feeling well... So I always put stuff on the site that I need and that you might like, too! Ain't that nice?? :)
<FTD.COM - Send Love, Send Flowers!>
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Wednesday, September 17th. Hi, Honey, you're HOME! ha,ha,ha! Hey, remember how I said earlier that Joe Schmoe was a great show?? Well, I watched it last night and man, has it gone quickly downhill! The very first show was hilarious, what with the Pimped-Out Robe and the perfect party game 'Hand on the Hooker' -- you can't go wrong with a Hooker Game(!), but last night it was just sad and not at all funny... even the hilarious 'Schmarmy Host' couldn't pull it out of the water!
Ah, well. The new Survivor starts on Thursday, and the weeks just fly by after that! (A lot of 'Is it Thursday already??'... very good in a cold climate!)
I've got to go and clear a space for Dwight's Truck in the Garage, today. It snowed again last night, so he was mad at having parked his truck outside when we have such a big garage (over-sized Triple... I think it's 36' X 28' -- I should know, since I drew it, but I've forgotten, now!). But there's a lot of work going on in the garage! My Saw Horses are set up one side for all my painting (mostly Trim and Drywall... I've painted thousands of feet of Trim for this house!), and Dwight's work area is on the other side with all his tools and stuff, then all the extra stuff from the old house is kind of in the middle... that pretty much takes up all the room in the garage, so I have to go move stuff around, since I'm not quite finished painting the Trim...
Gotta go start cleanin'! See you tomorrow! And please, oh please have a look at my sponsors! I gotta build up my bank account! Hey, that sounds like a great name for may new site 'Build Up Your Bank Account'! Must give that some thought! ha,ha,ha! Later, Baby! Ailsa
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Tuesday, September 16th. Heeellllooooo! Guess what we woke up to this morning?? Snow! Can you believe it -- Sept. 16th! Man, welcome to Alberteee (my name for Alberta, Canada!). I like to LOOK at it, since it's really pretty, but I can't stand driving in it ... these are the days when I'm happy to be AT HOME!
Aidan, who turned 4 on Sept. 11th, was sooo excited when he saw the snow, so he shouts,"YiiPeee! I can't wait 'til Santa gets here!" That crazy Dwight told Aidan last year that Santa comes when it snows, and I had to remind Dwight that it snows here, oh, about 8 months out of the year... so now Aidan is sure that Santa will be here any minute at every single snowfall!
We cut the Drywall for the Face of the Bar last night (I painted it to match the Lower Level Walls), and it looks fantastic. We'll Trim it out like the Walls, then put on a Granite Tile Counter, to match the Island upstairs.
Hey, have you seen that new show, The O.C.? It's great -- great location (California Coastline -- my favorite place in the whole world! Every time the show come on and I see the house with the Negative Edge Pool over-looking the Ocean, I say to Dwight, "That's what I want!" Each and every time - ha,ha,ha! Dwightie nods and goes back to sleep -- no, I'm just kiddink -- he doesn't want to miss one Bikini-clad woman, and there are plenty in this show!).
It's on here on Monday nights, so if you haven't seen it yet, check it out -- the writing, acting and camera work is great!
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Monday, September 15th. Hey, good-lookin'! (What ya got cookin'...sorry, just a little song to get you started! ha,ha!). Well, I got the Trees in and Dwight and I loaded a LOT of Bark Mulch into the Truck (3 loads!) and spread it all over the two Front Entry Gardens -- one on either side of the Front Door. I have to hurry and write this before Dwight heads out, this morning. I want him to mix up some Grout for me (the mixer is really heavy!) so I can Grout the Tiled Floor in the Sunroom. We have over 1500 square feet of Tiled Floor (not including the Tiled areas in the Bathrooms and Countertops...), so there's still a lot of work to do.
Better go grab him! Later, Baby! Ailsa
P.S. Later the same day -- Dwight said he didn't have enough time to mix the grout for me, again... wish I had paid more attention when Steve was mixing the grout so I could do it myself...see how important it is to be self-sufficient! I'll try again, tomorrow!
Grout Tip for Tiling: 1. Get someone to mix the grout!
2. Okay, here's the real tip! After you've 'placed' the grout in between the tiles and wiped the excess off, dip your finger in clean water and lightly pull your finger along the grout line. This will give it a nice clean line.
3. Also, if you are working on a really large area and you want to go faster, when the Grout is almost dry, you can use your Vacu-Flo wand attachment very carefully to remove the dry grout from the middle of the tiles. That can save you a couple of hours and a lot of wear and tear on your arm!
Check out Overstock.com for Anything You Could Possibly Hope to Find!
Recipes -- Cheesecake ,Cinnamon Buns, Salsa Chicken , Macaroni Salad ,Chicken Noodle Soup, Taco Spaghetti , Easy Pie Crust , Creamy Peach Pie , Great BBQ Marinade , 'Pass da' Pasta, Rosemary Steak, Onion Barley (an Aphrodisiac!), Stuffed Green Peppers, Fruit Puffs , BBQ Veggies, Apple Crumble for One , Barbequed Meatballs, Everything Else!!
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