The Saga of Summer Landscaping Continues..

Jim borrowed the neighbours tractor and started digging the pond in the back yard.  He has gone as far as the tractor can go and one of our other neighbours will dig it a bit deeper with his skid steer.  It is about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide and hopefully, will provide water for the trees in a dry year.  The soil that was dug is lovely rich top soil that has been spread in various places around the yard to fill in low spots or along either side of the driveway to make the ditches a little more shallow so that I won't fall off the mower when I cut the grass.  Jim really knows how to take the thrill out of a girls life.  Once all the pond digging is done, we will line the area with thick plastic (pond liner) that we'll keep in place with the rocks and stones that we've continuously picked from the yard so that we could mow it.

 Allan was out for part of the weekend and we took the opportunity to press him into service to spread some washed rock, that we had left over from the weeping tile, along the west side of the house.  first a layer of fiberglass fabric was put down to discourage the weeds.  This should keep the area neat and tidy, the weeds at bay and we won't have to manoeuvre the mower around the air conditioner.

If Mothers Can Have Anything They Want On Mothers Day...

...I wanted a fence.  So, I was out there with Jim and the post pounder to surround the property with fence posts.  151, 7 foot long, 3 1/4" wooden posts were pounded in to a depth of 4 feet between Saturday May 12 and Sunday May 13 (Mothers Day).  We still have 9 left but they couldn't be put in either because the post pounder couldn't be maneuvered into place or because the shed (which has to be moved) was in the way.

We will spend the summer purchasing and installing the 10 foot rails that connect the posts, a few at a time.  For now, Ma and Pa Farrell are pooped.

I'm So Treed Off!!

The old, cow pasture is pretty bald...devoid of anything taller than a weed.  This is the year for basic surround trees.  Yeppers, the fast growing Brooks #6 Poplar.  We chose the male cultivar so we won't have to deal with all the fluff.  In my over exuberance, I managed to buy 200 plugs...the roots are about 3-4 inches long and the tree is only a small stick.  We only needed 75...oops.  We ended up planting 90 as we thought we might need some replacement trees.  Turned out we were right...those rotten pocket gophers have eaten 2 and one was run over by the truck while we were fencing...no not with sabres.  Our neighbours gladly pitched in and gave homes to the remaining 110.

Then, just when we were about to drop from all that planting one of our neighbours came over with two white spruce trees as a gift.  They required a little more effort as they are 4 - 5 feet tall but they seem happy in their new home.

It Is Way Past Time For An Update On The Basement

All the electrical has been completed and poor Jim had to install 29 pot lights in the bulk heads of the rec room area, as well as, 2 other overhead lights. 


As the framing is complete and the electrical, aside from the bathroom, is also done, we are at a standstill as the county has to inspect before we can go any farther.  I applied for the development, electrical and plumbing permits 3 weeks ago and we are still waiting for approval.  Until they are approved we can't call for an inspection.  Oh well...it's spring and the yard awaits.

Welcome to 2012

Happy New Year! After a break for silly season, Jim is back at it in the basement. Our mechanical room is becoming a nightmare of equipment. The newest addition is the Vacuflo Hide-a-Hose, built in vacuum system, that has to be installed before the drywall can be started. It has taken several days to get all the piping laid out properly to allow for the hose to suck back into the wall for storage.

To accomplish this, Vacuflo has created a long 90 fitting (2nd picture) that makes a 90 degree turn over about 1 foot. The first picture is the black vacuum unit itself.

The last picture is the extra large outlet that allows access to the hose. Jim has put one outlet on the main floor, as we can reach all areas of the main floor and the loft with the 50 foot retractable hose. In the basement, we have 2 of the original outlets as we have a 30 foot hose that does not retract for that level. Obviously, the salesman realized that I am not the type to devote my life to constant housework and, that the cheaper installation in the basement will be more than sufficient. There is also an outlet in the garage in case Jim decides to vacuum out the vehicles...Yes, Jim...I am even less likely to devote any time to cleaning cars.

The Basement Finishing Begins

We can put it off no longer. The basement is now officially under construction. What you see in the picture is the future bedroom on the far left. Yes, it's full of junk. Next to that, featured in the centre of the photo,where the saw resides, in front of the ping-pong table, will be the bathroom and next is the storage room. Why have a workbench when you can have a ping-pong table? Judging from the amount of "stuff" we have acquired, the poor storage room is going to be taxed before it's even finished. On the right side of the picture (which you can barely see) is the mechanical room aka the furnace room, where the money spent on all the equipment to keep the house warm, dry and carbon monoxide free makes you long for the cold, damp, CO filled homes of old. Oh right...it's only money.

Are We Blind?

The poor blog isn't being neglected so much as we have moved to construction from savings to construction from earnings...much slower pace. After a vacation in Nova Scotia (thank you Ron and Carolyn) and Newfoundland (thank you Ron Jenkins), we came back with renewed resolve and some new ideas for finishing the house. We have to admit that the spirit is not always willing but it seems to keep pace with the earnings.

First, we ordered blinds for the sunroom to cool it down. Then, in a seemingly contradictory move, Jim built a duct, housing a fan, that draws the heat from the ceiling of the sunroom into the cold air return that will allow us to heat the house, more easily, from said room. Split personalities are not responsible for this...no, no... For the most part, we leave the blinds up to allow the sunroom to create as much heat as possible but, occasionally, we like to sit out there. The blinds drop the temperature down so that we can enjoy the space clothed and without personal fans. It should be noted that we have had an inordinately long period of cloudy days since their installation. I should probably question the amount of money spent but, as we learned long ago, it's only money.