TWO WORLDS, AND NO ONE KEEPING TAB

This week was a good example of the two worlds between which we commute. Up in Kemble the sunrises are awe-inspiringly different every morning. A lot of pink-and-grey, like a tutone '57 Plymouth Regent or the nickname of some common birds in Australia. Then the sun comes out cold but sharp, stretching tree shadows like a seasonal measuring tape. All beautiful, like the finches lingering at the feeder. There's indoor chores such as sewing or draining the water lines, but sometimes you look out and there's another freighter arriving in the bay...

The city home is just as appealing, but very different. Local Lions Club sells Christmas trees but most of them are small, in pots, for small apartments. Condo construction continues nonstop ---- our local gas station (Shell), burger icon (Lick's) and a century old church (Bellefair United) and more are all becoming multi-condo$$. There's indoor chores such as paint touch-up or  doing the blog. Tonight we have overnight guests, so the spare mattress has to drop over the rail!

P.S. The Samsung Tablet  didn't work out and has been returned. It's great for viewing and gaming, but too awkward for our interactive blog or other inputting. The trusty netbook will be on the road with us once more this travel season...

SANTA ARRIVES... PUT IT ON MY TAB!

Like a new home reno reality show, Backsplash Rescue had it's finale this week. Soaking the tiles with an obscure and expen$ive liquid, plus tonnes of hard brushing, finally and gratefully allowed the homeowners to breath a sigh of relief. As if to celebrate, one of the workers climbed up on the counter and repaired some drywall!

Meantime downtown, Toronto joined in all the parades  this time of year. Upside down clowns, an octopus on drums, Mother Goose, and the jolly old guy in the red suit all brought smiles to the crowds. Back in the northern garden, the weather held up for spreading leaves to put the plants in hibernation. Next day, BAM! the snow fell and ended gardening and driving up the hill til the spring.

This morning there is already 6 inches of snow and more to come. The cardinals, goldfinches, and squirrels all dig down for sunflower seeds. The big indoor news is the Samsung Galaxy 7" tablet to be used for our upcoming winter travels. Lighter and faster than our trusty but old netbook, it will be our connection on the road. There's a steep learning curve in the next month, but for this blog to continue, I'll have to ---- put it on my Tab!

ALL WORK, NO PLAY

Not a fun week ---- got some small jobs done but one BIG problem/disappointment. Remember the classy stone backsplash that we put on last week? All that was left was to fill in the gaps with grout and clean off the excess. I mixed the grout til it looked like vanilla pudding, then slathered it on like buttering toast. (Why all the food analogies??). Then Pat followed by wiping off the extra. Oh-oh, the finished tiles became grey and pocked with grout hardened like cement. BIG OH-OH!....

We did take a break and went downtown for a couple of Tightwad Tuesday movies. Rush and Captain Phillips --- both based on true stories, both great action/suspense. Also wandered through the St. Lawrence Market; good to see the tourists and foreign students are still here despite Toronto's sad and embarrassing situation. Also did a quick daytrip to Kemble to make sure the plumbing hadn't burst in the cold snap. Ice is forming on the pond but the air still mild enough to do the last oil change of the season. The basement is full of equipment and outdoor gear stored for the winter, like memories waiting to be retrieved in the spring.

Back at Wineva the neighbour and I put in the porch handrail required by building code. Pat always does the finishing touch of careful painting --- another mild day and it dried before the Wet Paint signs could be noticed! But the backsplash crisis was always on our mind. Options included ripping it out but online searches suggested soaking in sugar water, or spraying with grout-eating toxic acids! Stubborn Mrs. Wyszynski has been grinding away with a wicked wire brush on the power drill! As of this morning, there is improvement but she's using a haze remover as a last resort. Any predictions out there??

LOSS AND GAIN

A big loss this week was the passing of Pat's uncle Arnold Draves. Not unexpected, but Pat's last uncle. A consolation is that Pat was the last of her family to visit him at home, and that Pat had told him of our marriage only days before. In the 16 years I had known him, Arnold was a classic old-school guy: generous, modest, and full of stories that made everyone laugh. It's appropriate that our mailbox shows the overlap of  Draves and Dale and Wyszynski.

Meanwhile in Toronto there's a hurry to get the outdoor jobs finished before the real cold and snow arrive.  The rooftop TV antenna was finally anchored --- great view up there! Around the back, the garage now looks very classy with dark brown doors, paint, fascia and soffit. Still to be done are garage electrical and front porch handrail --- who's on first?!?!

Inside, the big gain is the kitchen backsplash tile job. It took weeks to find  natural stone material with some colour and warmth because what's in style these days is hard, cold  surfaces like glass or shiny metal. A fun step is laying out the sheets for best fit and colour flow. Then glue, cut, pray. It still needs sealer, grout, and valence but now the dishwasher can splash all he wants!

HONEYMOON EXTENDED

The clocks were set back an hour this morning so the honeymoon week after our wedding is an hour longer! But things seem back to normal with torrential rains, the first snowflakes, and a 6-pack of turkeys squatting in the yard. (And every Nov. 3 is the day to remember and celebrate my Dad's birthday --- he would have been 102.)

We've been away from Toronto for 21 days and I'm feeling the absentee-ism, but there have been events and chores to attend to up here. A major ritual is the draining and cleaning out of the pond. The good news this season was healthy growth of frogs, fish, and especially plants with their thick roots. The bad news was that the water never did clear up and thick muck coated everything under water, like these bricks. Every year is different.

Our work jeans got soaked and mud-caked from the rains and pond muck but luckily they dry out nicely by the fire. I managed to lie down on the job doing some plumbing. The (literally) bright spot of the week was Pat picking out her gold band with Carol and Walter. She says it ain't coming off!