Well here we are at the little house in the city! Attila has a bit of a vacation now that the summer season is over. We drove down last Saturday night, August 30th. Since arriving we have been shopping, shopping, shopping, making up for the last year spent in the bush, far from any reasonably priced retail establishments.
On my “must have” list was a self-propelled lawn mower, so that I can handle cutting the grass myself at the little house in the city. We found a good one on sale, after a day’s shopping. I will be giving that a try when the grass next needs cutting.
We purchased a bottom of the line LED television, to replace the monstrous CRT television that had been given to us, a discard from the kids. Dropping the CRT unit off for recycling at the Restore was a perfect excuse to shop there. Attila loves rummaging around, and purchases hard to find screws and nails and hardware, by the bagful. A trip to a different Restore allowed us to drop off electronics that the kids discarded in our direction, and that we had no use for. Attila had a shopping basket full of hardware, once again.
Apart from mowing the lawn, and weeding the garden, our only domestic project until today was to add the casters to the bottom of the metal topped table, paint the wood, and install it in the kitchen. The kitchen table that we have been using is now a work table placed between the refrigerator and the range, it works a treat. The metal topped table can be moved to the living room when we have company for dinner, allowing better seating room, and freeing up valuable kitchen space for food preparation.
We were not expecting to put any new windows into the little house in the city, in the foreseeable future. The old windows, particularly at the south end of the house, are energy inefficient, and almost impossible to open and close. The one in the dining area of the kitchen is huge, six feet wide, with only two panes of glass, so that opening that window means shifting a three foot by four foot pane, or pain :), of glass. I can do it, but often only after several tries.
Attila, during a middle-of-the-night-snacking-session, was reading the local paper while he ate, and found a deal that had to be investigated. Windows, double glazed, gently used, at a fraction of the price of new.
Our day trip yesterday, Wednesday, was off to the construction yard, where the used windows were on view, to have a look around. Attila had all his measurements with him. We found three suitable windows, two to replace the large dining area window, and one to replace the window above the kitchen sink. That leaves nine more windows to replace.
This morning, after a leisurely breakfast, Attila began the process of replacing the dining area window. Tomorrow he will tackle replacing the kitchen window. He is beginning with the dining area window today because tomorrow promises thunderstorms; the kitchen window is under the roof of the verandah and can therefore the work to replace it can be carried on in dry conditions, even if it is raining outside.
It was also interesting that the awning was attached to the window frame, and not the exterior wall. This meant that Attila had to detach the awning and support it with boards until the new window could be installed, and the awning reattached.
It is going to be very hot in the house today, and tomorrow! With a large gaping hole in the wall, at the south end of the house, sitting just above the black shingled roof of the garage, the heat entering the house will be significant, on this hot and sunny day. I will have to spend a lot of time outside in the shade! Attila says he is not adversely affected by heat and humidity, so he will comfortably carry on with his window replacement project.
Me, I cleaned the new used windows, moved bedroom furniture here and there until it suited me, washed and dried dishes, and puttered around looking to make small but significant changes in the furniture and storage layout of our little house.
The colour of the table base is the same as the kitchen cabinets, and the table legs end in lockable casters, so this table goes anywhere with ease, and stays there when you want it to.
Note the window, which is a 1960s renovation, the house is much older than that. That window has an aluminum frame, is cracked, lets in the heat in the summer, and the cold in the winter. It is also very hard to open and close.
The view from this window is lovely though, towards the back yard is a tree, towards the front yard more trees and a bit of the quiet street. And sky, lots and lots of sky! This is the south side of the house, always bright and cheery.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
Forgot to collect this info! It has been nice though, until today when it became hot and muggy!
Quote
“You will find men who want to be carried on the shoulders of others, who think that the world owes them a living. They don’t seem to see that we must all lift together and pull together. ”
Henry Ford
Wouldn’t it be grand to be able to talk to Henry Ford, to find out what assumptions lie behind this particular statement. I know what it would mean if I said it, but Henry Ford might have meant something very different than what I understand.
Love the wheelie table… very handy and very pretty.
Thanks Bex, I have had that table for so long that I do not remember where I picked it up! The enamel table top is so handy! It can handle heat, does not stain, and can be cleaned lickety split!
Please do keep showing pics; it’s always interesting to see your surroundings.
Kate, I try to remember to take the pictures. I use a camera, as we do not have a cell phone that is capable of sharing pictures. Oh it takes pictures OK, but it will not download them anywhere, or email them anywhere, so they are stuck on the phone. Still, this old cell phone will go a few weeks without recharging if we don’t use it very much, and it is eight years old now.
The few times I have looked at the back postings of my blog, I find the pictures are great for placing the entry, I remember the visual cue far more readily than the text.
*chuckle* Here we go with doing similar things again, only the timing is off.
We also have old sliding windows that have to be replaced. The livingroom and kitchen windows are double pane but water has gotten into them, compromising their insulation value. I also have a very hard time opening and closing the larger windows. (I think ours are a few inches short of 6 feet.) We’re hoping to replace windows next year.
We’re also looking at renovating our kitchen in the future, and I’ve recently been looking at work tables to be used in place of an island. I’m thinking of going in the direction of a butcher block top for our table, but no casters.
Maggie, wanted to ask you about the Restore. How does that work? I notice that you’re dropping things off at more than one Restore. We also have an old CRT TV that we need to get rid of. It works great but since SD moved in with her mom we have no use for it and would like to leave it for someone who could use it.
I have a similar table, which I love. It was my children’s great-grandmother’s.
I, too, love the photos. You give us good words, but the visuals are a bonus. 🙂
You two have been BUSY!
Teri, our little house is nestled between two cities, both have a Restore. They take electronics, not to redistribute them, but to recycle them. In the cities near us there are no charitable goods stores that accept old CRT TVs. We tried, for years, to find a recipient, but finally gave up the search and settled for recycling.
http://www.habitat.ca/findarestorep4235.php
Those old slider windows certainly take a lot of strength to open and close!
Reenie, I wish I could remember where I picked up the metal top table! It wasn’t significant at the time, as I was much busier then than I am now, and an old and dilapidated piece of furniture, that no one else wanted, would not have registered in the memorable scale. In my “single Mom” days I took in a lot of lost “toys”, because most of them eventually came in handy.
We have been busy indeed, Attila renovating and me go-ferring. Not the best kind of busy there is, but certainly we feel blessed that we can do it!
I’ve been enjoying the photos, too! Hopefully, you’re getting sufficient breathers in the midst of all that busyness!