It's been 3 weeks since my last blog mainly since they were largely filled with plumbing without too much to chat about on the house side. In that time however, Scott has completed all the rough-ins and we have a working toilet inside as well as a sink with cold...very cold water. The electrician is coming tomorrow which means hot water will follow.
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| Scott looking through the guest toilet hole |
The main challenge was avoiding and working around large beams. In the guest bathroom this meant we needed to face the toilet a different way but otherwise everything went to plan. Upstairs.. 2 showers, 2 sinks, 2 toilets, washing machine and dryer. Main floor.. 2 sinks, 1 toilet, dishwasher, ice maker,. Basement.. Hot water heater and UV light installation to remove any bacteria from the well water.
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| Planed boards |
Good weather meant I could load up the floor boards and take them to the local mill for planing. It just took a few hours and they charged only $60. Such nice people. Scott bought a plug and core set at Lee Valley for when we put these floor boards back down. They are currently taking up a fair bit of room on the main floor but can't be stored outside.
We had been wanting to go over to Halifax to meet our nephew Jim's and Angela's baby boy Liam since the summer. Veda also really wanted to meet her 10th great grandchild and almost miraculously was feeling better after being particularly sick last week so the 3 of us headed over on the ferry Thursday.
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| Parked on the lower deck before heading to the lounge |
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| Great fun catching up with Monica at the Mic Mac Tavern |
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| Veda with Liam, her 10th great grandchild |
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| Peyton, Jim, Angela and Liam |
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| Peyton - Love his smile |
In all we spent 3 nights at a hotel in Dartmouth, visited with Jim and family, met up with Monica a long time friend and co-worker from Travel CUTS days, shopped at IKEA, Costco, Lee Valley Tools among others, enjoyed a meal at the Mic Mac Tavern as well as a donair from King of Donair (recommended by Anthony Bourdain) and a tour of Pier 21... great visit. We'll be back Halifax.
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| Our first snow of the season on the drive back to the ferry from Halifax |
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| Ferry arriving at Pictou (Pronounced "pick two") |
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| Arriving back at Wood Islands (10 minutes drive from home) |
We had been seeing signs of an unwanted house guest enjoying the warmth of our motorhome. In cleaning out the bays, Scott found a large nest (easily 1.5 feet wide). He set out the live trap, some rat traps, mouse traps with assorted enticements. When we got back from Halifax we noticed a urine smell when we turned the heater on so we cleaned out the heating ducts with Javex. To date (3 weeks in all) we haven't caught anything but think we've driven whatever it was away.
Fingers crossed. Squirrels, mice, etc.. can be really destructive.
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| UV Light set up in the basement |
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| New co-worker/friend Tracy making a Christmas Wreath |
Brother in-law Trevor and Pam own Tattries Christmas Tree Farm and the season is ramping up. This includes preparing wreaths. Tracy has been making wreaths for quite a while and I'm the newbie. This was our first day, half day to get into the swing of things.
While I was away at work, Scott worked to getgot one toilet working which is wonderful. We are still living in the motorhome however with it getting colder and harder to dump solid waste we've decided to only use the RV toilet for liquids, any big business needs to go inside. Not too bad unless you've got to go just before bed or first thing in the morning when it's pretty cozy in the RV and minus temperatures plus very windy outside. Gives me the shivers just writing about it.
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| Emily - Ready to decorate cookies |
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| Concentration |
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| Cute Cookies |
I had seen a cookie decorating class advertised a while back and thought it would be fun to go with niece Emily. At 10, she was the youngest in the class but easily kept up and made gorgeous cookies. We both really enjoyed it. Not sure if Emily has eaten hers ..
Scott and I have - yummy.. as good as they look!!
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| Emily and I with our gorgeous cookies |
Back at home this week Scott has been knocking off all sorts of projects in preparation for the electrician and spray foam insulation coming soon.
Our guest bathroom does not have any windows so we installed a sun tunnel to bring in
some natural light. Looks great, even at night.
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| Sun tunnel installed |
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| Sun Tunnel in the dark - there is a solar panel which charges up a "night" light in the tunnel |
On Monday I already had a pre-arranged day off to take Veda to a follow up with the plastic reconstructive surgeon who removed the cancer from her ear and nose. She is cancer free however he recommends another surgery to ensure a clear margin on the nose. Overall, a great relief.
Back to work this week... We've been busy making and decorating the wreaths.
They are sold plain or decorated.
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| Heat pumps outside |
Beck's Home Heating is installing 2 heat pumps - first stage rough-in complete and units outside.
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| Mudroom Pocket Door Frame |
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| Temporary sink - mainfloor 2 pc |
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| Plenty of plumbing |
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| Wi-Fi Entry system |
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| Guest Shower Base |
We like the Schlage Wi-Fi Entry system. It can be opened with a code or using our phones. We can even set a time frame for when renters can access the house on a particular code.. check-in, check-out times, new code for the next people. Pretty slick.
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| Mainfloor 2-pc is in the mudroom - somewhat closed in now |
Scott put drywall up on one side of the walls to add privacy in the bathroom. "Door" will be a drop cloth for now. At least the electrician won't see either of us sitting on the toilet.
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| Sunset to end this weeks blog |
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