Pano - Dec 29,2006

Panorama view from across the lake.

We had just finished clearing up some deadfall from last year. We weren't confident that the ice was thick enough to bear our weight, so we left the part of the tree that had fallen into the lake for a bit later.

Snow plow

You're probably wondering - what's the big deal about a snow plow?

The big deal is that the city told me in November that they wouldn't be coming down the road to plow it and we would have to get a private contractor. We did, but if the city is going to plow the road then we won't have to do that next year.

Pano - Dec 28, 2006

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

We have had quite mild weather in December. The snowfall that we had in early December had completely disappeared, and the ice covering the lake had started to recede. It got cold again on Monday (Christmas Day), and we had a bit of snow overnight. The colder weather meant the lake started to refreeze, and is now completely covered with a thin film of ice, as evidenced by the snow that we got over night (only about 1/2 cm).

Propane refill

We use propane for heating the water for the radiant floors as well as domestic hot water (with the same boiler). We also have a propane stove, fireplace and dryer. This means if there is a long power outage (like the ice storm in 1998 that left some people in the coutry without power for over two weeks), we can live mostly normally with heat, water, and cooking and laundry facilities, etc. (We wouldn't be able to run an electric range with a small generator.)

Clean like a pro!

An article in the Ottawa Citizen mentioned that microfiber cloths worked like a charm for cleaning taps, mirrors, etc. All you had to do was get them slightly damp and then wipe down - no cleaner needed.

Now, you could go and pay $20 for a set of 2 microfiber cloths at a specialty shop. I had bought a package of microfiber cloths at Costco for wiping down the car after washing it (no - I never did wash the car this year either!), 20 cloths for $15 or so.

After showering, I sqeegee the glass, and then wipe the glass and taps down - this gets the cloth slightly damp - and then I wipe down the taps on the sink after I get out of the shower. Everything is sparkly and shiny like new!

There you have it - a tip on how to clean like a pro.

Pano - Dec 21, 2006

I have started to take a set of photos every Thursday and put them together into a panorama. I have a spot that I stand on every week, and take a series of photos. The photo below was put together by the autostitch software (read more about it in my post here). I am still getting used to taking enough photos with sufficient overlap to create a panorama that I can crop the jaggedness off the edges. I didn't quite make it again today.



To see all the panorama photos, click on "pano" where it says "Labels: pano" just below this post.

Panorama - Dec 14, 2006

Thursday December 14th, 2006

Tawny, listening intently to something across the road.

Accomplishments

Well, we had a busy weekend.

One thing we got accomplished was making this headboard. It looks pretty darned nice if I do say so myself.

Oh, Charles is coming over on Monday morning to review the outstanding deficiencies list. This is about 8 1/2 months after we "moved in", and 6 1/2 months after we created the initial list. Still, not everything is done. Sigh.

Sat Dec 9th - sunset

What a gorgeous sunset!

Dec 7th snowfall

Extremely beautiful!

Panorama - Dec 7, 2006

December 7th, 2006

The lake is starting to freeze - still an open section just across from where I am standing.

Today, echoes of "a day that will live in infamy" ring in my head...

Why we have the dog shower

As usual, Freda walked Tawny yesterday afternoon, after getting home from work. It was not very nice - since it was freezing rain. Tawny found something that was stinky, and especially interesting to her since it was also mushy from the rain, and rolled in it. She got herself good and covered with the mess - more than likely some kind of scat.

This is precisely why we have the dog shower.

Tawny doesn't really like being washed, and you can tell she is dreading it by the way she has her ears back and is looking somewhat sheepish.

And so winter begins

The first snow of winter. This was followed by several hours of freezing rain. Fun. Not!

Oh, and the caulking didn't get done either.