Basement Renovation Progress

I haven't been too inspired to blog for a while but have been intending to post some pictures of the progress of the basement renovations.  After concentrating on outside renovations (driveway, shingles, grading the yard, etc)  during the summer the basement renovations finally got underway with the new basement windows installed in October and the framing starting in late November.  We are somewhat at the mercy of when the contractors are available. 

The framing and rough-in wiring was completed by early December.  You can see the framing between the steel braces along the south wall (to the right.)  In the back you can see the bedroom window on right and closet and storage room on left.

   The spray foam insulation was done December 19 and the drywall work started the next day. 

This is a closeup showing the spray foam insulation  filling in the headers between the floor joists and between the framing and steel braces.  It makes a complete insulated seal from floor to ceiling and needs no vapour barrier.   The framing is set out from the wall so the foam insulates between the concrete and the back of the framing as well.

    The drywall sheets were all up by the end of December and then last week the finishing work started with taping and mudding. 

Here I am inspecting the progress.  The area behind me used to be an office/ computer room  and now is part of an open layout family room.   We also have a half wall  along the side of the stairs to add to the open layout.

Now we are thinking about paint and flooring as the work continues ...    

4 Days of Christmas

On the 23rd, called Little Christmas Eve, we had rice porridge for supper which is a Norwegian tradition. On the 24th, Christmas Eve, we had our Christmas dinner and gift opening with our own family as we usually do. We had roast leg of lamb with mashed potatoes as a change up since we would have other turkey dinners. We had a very nice time with our family including playing Trivial Pursuit in the evening. Then we had a quiet day on Christmas Day while Mary, Chris and Mike were having the day with "the other side of the family." Elaine and Janice were working on food preparation for going up to Saskatoon on the 26th. In the morning on Boxing Day we travelled up to Saskatoon for turkey dinner and the day with Elaine's family. It was a full day of eating and visiting with a short break for gift opening, and then more eating and visiting. We had a great time as usual and then headed home for the night. It has been a great 4 days of Christmas.

Aunt Helen's 90th Birthday

I telephoned my Aunt Helen today to wish her a happy 90th birthday.  We sent her a card and 2 pictures which she said she received.   Aunt Helen lives in Delaware and was married to my father's youngest brother George who passed away in 2004.   The picture below was taken in 2004 when we visited there.   Behind Aunt Helen are my cousins Carol, George (in middle) and Roy  (with Tara the dog peeking out beside.)

 It was very good to talk to Aunt Helen.  She is still full of life and not expecting to stop at 90 or any time soon.  She said she always keeps a positive outlook on life.    I said,  "Yes we can certainly tell that."  She said,  "God has been very good to me."   And she told me,  "Just enjoy every day of your life."   I was very glad I was able to talk to her on her birthday.   

Remembering

On November 11 we remember those in the military who gave their lives in war and peacekeeping.  And for Elaine and I,  this year on November 11  it is 35 years since we were engaged.   So for us those memories are  part of our Remembrance Day. 

My Mother's 60th birthday was November 10, 1976 (yesterday she would have been 95) and we were going up to North Battleford on November 11 for a birthday supper.   I was working in Regina and Elaine living in Saskatoon and I was going to pick her up to come with me to NB.   My plans were to stop along the way at an overlook by the river and ask her to marry me and give her the ring.     But Elaine told me we had been asked to pick someone up (Rose) to give her a ride from Saskatoon to NB.  That would make my plans awkward, so I asked Elaine to marry me at her apartment (she said yes) and I gave her the ring right away.  When we went to pick up Rose the couple where she had been staying insisted on us coming in for tea and a lunch.  Elaine was trying to keep the hand with the ring under the table.   The woman must have suspected because she said "Elaine put your hand up on the table so we can see it."    Eventually we went on our way to NB and had the birthday supper but we did not say anything yet about being engaged during the meal.    After supper my Mom and Darlene were whispering to each other about seeing the ring and came out and asked us about it.   We weren't making it a secret just trying to surprise them. 

The picture on the right was taken while we were visiting in NB that weekend.  The one on the left was a surprise party our friends had for us when we got back to Saskatoon.  In these pictures from 35 years ago Elaine looks the same as now, other than her glasses.  I sure had a lot of dark thick hair then which is long gone now (but that does have its advantages in convenience though.)    And 35 years later we are still both smiling and laughing together the same way. 

Staying In and Staying Warm

This afternoon it is 6C with wind up to 60km/hr.  I was sitting in my living room wearing my Rider sweater while we watched the Rider game on TV    At least the fans who sat out in the cold and wind had something to cheer about with the team finally getting a win.   If the Riders can finish the season on a winning note maybe there will be a little more optimism for next year.  

I wasn't feeling well earlier in the week so didn't go out much, but doing better by the end of the week.  Yesterday afternoon we went and got our flu shots.   I have gotten a flu shot every year since 1995 after I had pneumonia.  I usually get little or no adverse reaction from the flu shot, and just some mild soreness in my shoulder this time.  (Janice tells me to stop poking it to see if it is still sore.)  This was the first year that Elaine got a flu shot as well and had no adverse reaction at all.  The influenza vaccine this year has the same three components as last year: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (B Victoria lineage).  There is no live virus in the vaccine but inactivated components that will develop antibodies to these or similar influenza viruses.  The A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus is the same one that caused the H1N1 scare two years ago and there was a separate H1N1 flu shot.   For the last two years it has been part of the regular seasonal flu shot.  

In other news we finally got our new basement windows installed on Thursday morning after waiting several months since the contractors are so busy.  The small furnace/ laundry room window had a single pane with wood frame rotting and has been replaced with a double pane PVC window.   We also got the basement bedroom window replaced with a larger one that meets the regulations for emergency egress.  The existing window met the minimum dimension but was just less than the minimum area.  It needed to be replaced anyway with a better quality window that stopped the wind from blowing through.  For that bedroom window we also got a larger window well  to meet the regulations.  This was done by the bobcat contractor when the soil build up and grading around our house was finally completed.   So slowly the work we need is getting done and maybe soon we can get someone to start working in our basement.    

October afternoon in the park

Yesterday afternoon it looked like it was going to be the warmest day for a while, with a high of 16C, so I dropped off  Elaine for a bike ride and then drove to the park to meet her there.   I dropped off Elaine at Kiwanis Park and she rode her bike to our usual meeting place at Pine Island in Wascana Park.  After she met me there I went onto the island and took some pictures while she rode her bike around the lake.
   

 It was a nice fall day with some sun and cloud but fairly windy at 30 km/hr and gusty.    You can see in the picture above the choppy waves with some rowers practicing.    That side of the island was facing the wind off the lake so I couldn't walk around a lot since the wind is hard on my breathing.   But I walked some and then stopped to take some pictures or sit on a bench for a while. 

 I put 5 of the pictures together in a panorama (using a program that came with our Canon SX130IS camera) of the view across the lake toward the legislature and downtown and the marina at the far right.   I posted previously a panorama of this view at sunset.  

Afterward we went around the lake opposite Willow Island where it was more sheltered from the wind.   While we were there sitting on a bench looking across the lake our friend Dale (Elaine's 2nd cousin) came along walking home from work.  He said,  "What are you doing here?    I answered,  "Just being retired sitting on a park bench."   We felt like we had not gone to the park enough often in the summer and the warmer fall days may soon be gone.  So we take advantage of the nice days when we can, and being retired makes our schedule a little more flexible.       

Rain and Mud

We need some build up and grading of the ground around our house to keep the water away from snow melt in the spring and from rain.    We had someone arranged who was not available until fall but that was OK for us.   However that contractor got tied up with emergency projects from the flooding in the southeast area.    I was calling other contractors but they were so busy I couldn't get people to even call back.   Finally I got a contractor who does bobcat work who said he could do it for us.   However the job he had ahead of ours dragged on a week longer than he expected.   He finally came last Thursday afternoon and got started and filled in at the back of our house with clay and topsoil.   The weather was just perfect and the soil was dry just right for working but he only worked for 3 hours and had to leave for the day. 

That night it rained all night and continued the next day.  In the picture you can see some temporary extensions on the eavestrough downspouts to try to get the runoff past the bare ground that turned to mud.

  The contractor left his small bobcat parked in front of our house beside the remainder of the piles of clay and topsoil that were standing in pools of water as the rain continued. 

Then over the weekend it seemed like it was drying up some.  The contractor came back on Tuesday and tried to do some work but it was still way too muddy to accomplish much.

The rest of this week we have had damp cloudy weather with fog patches and rain showers.   So the little bobcat still sits in front of our house in the mud with the remaining dirt pile.    The good news is that the forecast for next week is for sunshine so maybe it will dry up enough to get this project done, as well as other outdoor work.
  

Counting Our Blessings

We had a good Thanksgiving weekend here.  It is a time when we are reminded of all the things we have to be thankful for.  Back in 2008 on Thanksgiving I posted the song "Count Your Blessings." (Hard to believe I have had a blog that long.)  The words of the chorus are:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The other hymn that really expresses how I feel is Great is Thy Faithfulness,  especially the words in the chorus "all I have needed thy hand hath provided"  and in the last verse "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow."   God has provided all that we need and has given us strength for each day and a bright hope for the future.

I am really thankful for Elaine and our family, as well as friends and relatives and our church family.    I like being retired and am thankful that God enabled me to work my full term to have a pension that meets our needs.  And every day we try to remember to count our blessings for we have a lot to be thankful for.

On Sunday after church Janice came straight home and put the turkey in the oven and made the mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mike and Nicole came over and we had our Thanksgiving dinner together about 4 PM.  Elaine made the dressing and vegetables, and Mike and Nicole brought a salad.  We had a very nice meal and visit.  Then on Monday we had a quiet day at home and watched the Rider game on TV in the afternoon.  At least I can be thankful I don't have to figure out how to fix their problems.  There is always something to be thankful for.