The 20lb creature in my fridge

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

While my American readers are celebrating Thanksgiving, we have moved onto Christmas already up here in the north.

Tomorrow we’re hosting Matt’s Mom’s side of the family for an early Christmas dinner, and in between vacuuming up drywall dust and supervising the carpet installers who arrive this morning–giving new meaning to last minute party prep–we’ve added a new animal sighting to our list.

Although our Butterball is not exactly a wild animal

Thanks to Matt’s parents for venturing south of the border and braving American grocery shoppers to bring us this turkey. In addition to the obvious Thanksgiving date conflict between Canada and the U.S. I think we may have inadvertently undermined 200 years of peace when my MIL’s friend Marg grabbed the last three turkeys in the store so that we could have the pick of the poultry.

Matt’s pick is for the biggest turkey he can find. At 20 pounds, I think this guy fits the bill.

I’ll post a full party wrap-up next week. Until then, I’m setting aside all cultural differences to wish everyone a good weekend and all of my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving.

Seasonal shut down

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Nothing is ever simple with us, and winterizing the water lines was no exception.

Tools used included a drywall saw, an air compressor and a mop.

The drywall saw was required to access the one shut off, which was in the ceiling in the ping pong area of the basement. We knew it was there and had marked its location when we were installing the drywall. (The other cut-out in the ceiling is a heat register).

We hung buckets by their handles from the taps to catch the water as we drained the lines. However, we quickly ran out of buckets, so Matt used what was available: one of our empty paint cans.

Paint cans dangling from the ceiling is not the decor we’re going for in the basement. Fortunately, this line drained quickly, and Matt was able to install the access panel that we bought to cover the hole.

The water line to the driveshed needed a little help to drain, hence the air compressor. The low point of the line is in the utility room in the basement, so my Dad connected the air compressor to the tap at the driveshed and let ‘er blow.

While the utility room is the low point, there’s obviously another area somewhere in the line where the water pools, because there was much more water in the line than I expected. The force of the air was a little too much for the bucket we’d hung on that tap, and we ended up with water sprayed all over the utility room.

It was nothing a mop couldn’t fix, but since the water flowed out into the rest of the basement we were very relieved that our new carpet isn’t installed yet.

Once the line was clear, we poured some antifreeze down the pipe just for extra protection.

Our third exterior tap and the old line to the barn were winterized without issue. The old pump and pressure tank in the barn are probably not fully drained, but, given their deteriorated state, I’m not concerned about any further damage. The line itself is clear and is also below the frost line, so when we’re ready to have running water in the barn we should be able to put it into service.

Winterizing the waterlines was at the top of the list of our fall chores, and it feels good to cross off another to-do.

Have you winterized your waterlines? Or is your climate gentle enough to not freeze your exterior hoses? Anyone else dealt with basement floods recently? Do you have any jobs that ended up being more complicated than you expected?

How to install pot light trim

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The end stage of a renovation involves a lot of little tasks: put on the cover plates, caulk the trim, touch up the paint, clean and dust everything. One of the little to-dos on our list was to put the trim on the pot lights.

My post on how to install pot lights is one of the most frequently accessed posts on the blog. But it’s unfinished. The housing for the pot light is just one part of the fixture. The other part is the trim, which goes on after the ceiling is finished.

Without the trim, the pot light looks a bit rough.

Our trim-less pot light

The first step in installing the trim is to wash a summer’s worth of drywall dust off of them.

This step may be optional for some installations.

The trim should be made up of three pieces: the baffle, trim ring and spring or hook.

This spring connects the trim to the housing

Step one is to attach the hook to the baffle. There should be little holes in the narrow end of the baffle specifically for this purpose.

The end of the spring without the loop should be hooked to the baffle.

The next step is to connect your baffle and trim ring.

This is probably the simplest step. Just slide the the trim ring over the baffle.

Remove the light bulb, so that you can reach into the housing. If necessary, adjust the height of the socket so that your bulb is recessed as much or as little as you want.

Loosen the wing nut, and the metal socket will slide up and down. Tighten it back up when the socket is positioned where you want.

To connect the trim, insert the baffle into the housing, stretch the spring and hook it into the cut out on the pot light.

On our pot lights, the cut out looks like a candy cane

I found I was able to reach into the housing and hook the spring by hand. If your hands aren’t as small as mine, needle nosed pliers may come in handy.

Screw the light bulb back in and admire your trimmed pot light.

All done!

The trim reduces the brightness of the light somewhat and directs it downwards. I may adjust the height of the bulbs if we feel we need more light once we’re using the basement.

However, for now the pot lights are bright enough for me to admire our nearly finished basement. Is it weird that I stood there for nearly five whole minutes on the weekend just looking at the rooms and remembering how far we’ve come?

Friday night lights

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’ve mentioned before that the farm is a wee bit dark once the sun sets. Well, since the time change a few weeks ago, things have been extremely dark out here in the country.

This is not just a black square. I actually went outside and took a picture for you to show how dark it is.

Arriving home had gotten a bit hazardous between stepping on cats and randomly jamming the key in the general direction of the lock on the front door.

The time had come for a call to the electrician.

After a quick rewiring of the driveshed, an installation on the barn, relocation of a timer and a new circuit panel–also in the driveshed, the top of our driveway now looks like this when we arrive home at night.

Exterior lights on the barn and driveshed

Let there be light! This image was taken from roughly the same angle as the one above.

We had lights on the driveshed and barn already, but neither of them were working. In the driveshed, we’d killed the power because of sketchy wiring and an obviously unsafe fuse box. On the barn, the old light had a blown transformer, and ultimately the whole light had to be replaced.

Thanks to a timer we already had in the basement of the house that the electrician was able to repurpose outside, the lights come on automatically before we get home and then go off before we go to bed. The new barn light also has a photocell that senses darkness, but we decided we don’t need to see what’s going on outside all night long, so we let the timer shut everything down around 9 o’clock. We may adjust that, but for now it’s working well for us.

The lights are also working well for the cats who no longer have to worry about being stepped on or run over. Up until now, our only way of seeing them when we come home was watching for the glow of their eyes in our headlights.

As much as I’m thrilled with our new exterior lights, I do have to admit that I’m looking forward to being home during daylight this weekend. I’m starting to forget what my property looks like outside of the lighted sphere of the barn, driveshed and house.

Cozy kitties

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A giant crate had been sitting in the burn pile beside our fire pit ever since Matt and I dragged it up from the end of the driveway at the start of the summer. I kept saying, “I’m sure we can use that somewhere.” However, it was Matt that finally had the vision of where.

Slice and dice with the sawzall

He sawed it in two, filled each half with straw, placed them in a sheltered corner in the basement of the barn and, voilà, cozy cat beds.

One bed even got a canvas tarp for extra coziness.

Cross task #3–fix up some winter beds for the cats–off our fall to-do list.

Our hardy, independent barn cats are living in the lap of luxury now. Easter and Ralph have each claimed a crate and made their own nests in the straw. Although they’d probably stay warmer if they snuggled, Ralph has put her paw down at babying her kitten any more. It’s in everyone’s best interest that they each get their own bed.

Documentation of their enthusiasm for their new beds was difficult to obtain.

Pictures of Easter look like this.

“What are you doing over there? I’m going to come see you!”

Or this.

“Treats! Oh yes, please! I like treats!”

We finally got Ralph to model for us, but even she looks like she wishes she was somewhere else.

“Are you done yet? Back scratches will only get you so far.”

The crates may be a little rustic for other felines, but our pusses think they’re just purr-fect.

Sorry.

For future photo shoots, anyone have any tips for encouraging cooperation from cat models? Is there anyone else who has four legged creatures sleeping in your barn, shed or garage? For other cat owners out there, where do your kitties sleep?

Monday night football

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

360 feet: the length of an American football field (including end zones)

384 feet: the length of trim currently in our basement–all of which required two coats of paint

Matt and a portion of our 23 pieces of casing

We’re at the two minute warning on this basement renovation. Walls are painted, carpet is scheduled for next week. The next play is to install the trim.

We bought pre-primed MDF casings and baseboards, but they still needed two coats of paint–Benjamin Moore Cloud White in a pearl finish. So I strapped on my knee pads and got to work.

Didn’t you know painting trim is a full contact sport?

Me and a portion of our 18 pieces of baseboard

The task for this week is to install all of the trim. It’s team MJ versus seven doorways and five rooms.

Cheer us on as we head for the end zone!

The story of a wooden shoe

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

When I was a little girl, this shoe sat in the curio cabinet in my grandparents’ living room. It is a hand-carved, child’s wooden shoe from Holland.

During the Second World War, my Grandpa was part of the Canadian Army. After first serving in Italy, his division was transferred to Holland. While in Holland, he was billeted with a Dutch family in their home.

When it came time for my grandfather to return to his own family in Canada, the family who had housed him wanted to express their gratitude. The father took his daughter’s wooden shoe, painted it with messages for my Grandpa and presented it to him.

Painted on the shoe is “Siddeburen,” the name of the town in which they lived, “souvenier,” “good by [sic], so long,” and “MEI 1945” (May, the month Holland was liberated by the Canadians).

For many decades after the war, my grandparents stayed in touch with the family, sending letters and cards back and forth over the Atlantic. The gratitude the Dutch people have for the Canadians was made tangible by my family’s connection to this one family.

Remembrance Day is a very meaningful day for me. In addition to marking the end of World War I and an occasion to remember the service and sacrifice of veterans as well as current soldiers, it is also my Grandpa’s birthday.

My grandfather in his World War 2 uniform

A note on the back of this photo in my Grandma’s handwriting says this picture was taken at Avellino, Italy Dec. 29, 1944.

This Sunday on Remembrance Day, I will be thinking of my Grandpa as I stand at the Legion with my family.

The wooden shoe now resides with my Aunt. My grandfather’s medals are with my Dad. Every time I visit, I look at these items and remember.

It is my hope that as Matt and I work on our forever house, we can fill it with meaningful items that show the legacy and tell the story of our families.

William Wallace by way of a wet saw

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Saturday morning, Matt’s bathroom looked like this.

It’s not just Saturday. The bathroom has looked like this for the past several months while our attention has been on finishing the drywall in the rest of the basement.

By Saturday evening it looked like this.

Beautiful tile. Finally progress!

I’ve tiled before, and I actually enjoy doing it. It’s not hard work, but it does require planning.

My Dad and I spent several hours in the morning laying out the shower floor, carefully fitting and figuring. When we finally spread out the mortar, we had a really good idea of how everything should go.

The marble mosaic hexagon tiles that we used on the shower floor are all on a mesh backing that basically makes them into 12×12 tiles. It’s important to pay close attention when you join the sheets to make sure the gaps between the tiles are consistent. Despite our best efforts, I did still have a bit of difficulty keeping everything perfectly straight all the way across the floor, but I was able to adjust the spacing on the individual hexagons, and I think it will all look okay once it’s grouted.

Here are two lessons I learned about how to work with mosaic tile:

Don’t start with your first sheet tight to the wall. Keep it off an eighth or even a quarter of an inch. This will give you more room to make adjustments on your other sheets as you progress across the floor.
For areas like the drain, remove all of the tiles that come into contact with the drain. Lay your (mostly) full sheet as you usually would, and then insert individual tiles (or pieces of tiles) into the gaps as necessary.

On the main area of the floor we used actual 12×12 tiles, which were a piece of cake to install. The biggest piece of figuring we had to do was determine where the middle of the floor was and then centre our tile along that line.

The only sour bite in our cake was cutting out for the toilet. I know other people have used dremels or other tools to get nice round circles. We used the wet saw, which only cuts in a straight line. With lots of patience, lots of back and forth and even trading off cutting duties between my dad and me, we got the tile cut on the first try.

The cut of the day

It’s not as smooth as it would have been with another tool, but it will all be hidden under the toilet. That works for me.

What didn’t work for me was the William Wallace/Gene Simmons makeup I had going on after using the wet saw all day. All of the tile dust mixes with the water from the saw and from my waist to my hairline I had a dusty grey stripe in line with where the saw blade had sprayed me all day long–attractively along only the right side of my face.

Thank goodness for safety glasses

Next step is grout and then I can move onto the walls. Who knows, someday we might even move on to installing the actual fixtures and using this bathroom.

What’s your tiling experience? Any tips for keeping things straight and even? Or cutting a curved line with a straight saw?

Saturday night love letters

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

For our Saturday night date, Matt and I primed his office–it’s an exciting life we lead, I know.

Given that we were on a date, I tried to inject some romance into the evening and left a note for him while I was cutting.

He wrote back.

It’s clear where his heart lies. He even framed his message.

Ultimately, the love letters, the bacon and even the retina searing green primer were all covered by two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Manor Green–Matt’s choice of colour. Helping your husband paint his office forest green? That’s true love in my opinion.

Anyone else have a hot date this weekend? How did you spend your Saturday night?

Growing free

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

When we had the nephews at the farm two weeks ago, the tall one and I went to work on task #10 on the fall to-do list: remove stakes from established trees and stake the new trees that we planted this spring. The first step was to unshackle the trees from the cuffs that were wrapped around them. Some were tied with rope, some had sections of garden hose, some had wire. All were snug. Some were strangling. It was quite an arboreal torture chamber we were running here.

No tree emerged unscathed. Some are simply scarred.

Others are permanently deformed.

We cut the wires and hoses and ropes out of the trees as best we could. Where we ran into trouble was the stakes. The nephew and I did fairly well on the first few trees rocking the stakes back and forth to loosen them up and then pulling them out in a coordinated effort. However, after he left and it was up to Matt and me, the rest of the stakes held strong.

We must have been missing the magic touch, because no matter how much we wiggled the stakes we couldn’t get them to budge.

In desperation, Matt went and got Wiley, and I found a rope. We tied the rope to the stake and attached the other end to Wiley’s loader. Then Matt raised the bucket, the rope snapped, and the stake stayed where it was.

I went and got a chain. We hooked everything together, and Matt raised the bucket again. And the front wheels of the tractor lifted off the ground.

We spent a while adjusting the chain, adjusting the tractor, tugging on the stake and only succeeded in bending it.

The conclusion I came to is that the stakes have been in the ground so long that the tree roots must have grown around the metal. I don’t think we’re going to get them out. Above ground, the trees are free. I can only hope they survive their ordeal and continue to grow. Matt, however, is a bit traumatized from his wheelie on the tractor, so we’re calling this job good enough for now. The rest of the stakes–removing them from the older trees and adding them to the new trees–can wait until spring.