A good kick in the pants

Nothing gives you a good kick in the pants like putting your house for sale!

Stupid TLC and HGTV!!! I blame them for those buyers who want everything done for them!

 NO I WON'T PAINT THE LIVING ROOM!

I understand that the house must be clean but everything brand spankin' new? No way hosé!

So over the weekend we scrubbed and painted and I changed (finally) the kitchen faucet...yes the one that had been dripping for years....

And now that the interior is mostly done we need to take care of outside...raking leaves and painting,staining.....

We are really happy with what is being accomplished and we plan to keep everything squeeky clean...

                                          The old kitchen faucet had been dripping for years....and even
                                           when we tried to fix it, it was not cooperative! We tugged and pulled
                                           for more than 4 hours and we were not able to pull out the old
                                           cartridge. When i turned the water back on, the faucet was not dripping
                                           anymore...but that miracle lasted only 2 weeks.

                                          Enter the new faucet! With an integrated  veggie shower it
                                          was pretty easy to install once Dan was able to remove the old one.
                                          I started but didn't have the strength.
                                          So this gives me another faucet under my belt...so in the last 10 years I've
                                          installed  4 faucets. Not bad!

                                          As for light fixtures...I've installed 10 light fixtures and rewired 3 lamps in the
                                          same time period not counting dimmers. I quite enjoy working with electric                                                   thingies and if I had to start over today I would probably take an electrician                                                   course.

                                          We still need to wash windows....

                                     

Happy Easter!!!

I wish you all a very Happy Easter! May you day be filled with joy, peace and of course food!

I also wished I had seasonal pictures to share with you ...It snowed here yesterday....and we are knee deep in painting the kitchen!

In between coats....we clean, purge and pack!

I made quite the discovery on Friday while cleaning a shelf in front....

                                         All these homemade liqueurs! Blackberry, orange, strawberry,
                                         coffee, red currant and xmas cordial!
                                         Of course it was my duty to taste them all to see if some had
                                         gone bad! I threw out 2 : the orange liqueur was soapy (EW)
                                          and the xmas cordial was lumpy! and the taste was off as well!
                                         

                                           I was looking for wrapping packing paper in Staples on Wednesday
                                           and saw my favorite Tassimo flavor! Pumpkin Spice Latte!
                                           And the price was just right too $4.99 a package instead of $12.99,
                                           So I grabbed 3 packs. DELICIOUS! Unfortunately, they are discontinued...
                                           I don't know what will happen in the Tassimo/Keuring battle....
                                           Tassimo makes a mean cappucino and a meaner latte but there are less
                                            varieties....
 

                                                    As mentionned before we are painting the kitchen.
                                                     here you can see the before color (green) and

                                                    Here is the new color; grey.
                                                    We felt that the green had turned and would turn prospective buyers
                                                     away....
                                                     I will share more pictures as this evolves.

                                                     Don't eat too much chocolate!

Seen Around

Since the thrifting is non-existant.....

The nest best thing for me is Dollar Store shopping.....in Montreal the Dollar store chain is called Dollarama.

I saw these last Friday

                        Okay, this really freaked me out! Dollarama Weight Loss Centre! WTF???

                                             I didn't  check out the prices ; dollar stores here now carry items over a dollar...But I don't think I would buy raspberry ketones or green coffee beans from the dollar store.

                                             Look at that man's face and tell me he doesn't look like Wolowitz !!!

                                             so funny!

We are still working on the move but things are going slower than planned (and different too)
I say that as long as we do move related chores, then we are moving forward!

 We gave out one hutch, one bed and a dresser....So we need to redecorate around the missing pieces. Just as in the decorating shows we are shopping in our house and reporposind things left and right!

I hope you all had a fantastic week! And I am off to bed so I will be bright eyed and bushy tailed for work tomorrow!

More taste of vacation

So yesterday we had a big day downtown and wanted to enjoy some foodtruck grub.

Now Dan has never tried food from a food truc and was really eager for the experience

We were there by 11:13 am. At around 11:25 they told people that they would be opening by 12:00 pm. Not Nice, if they say they will be there by 11:00 am I expect food soon after!

By 11:45 am we got news that they were waiting for a delivery and when they got it the pork would'nt be available for quite a while.....We had some appointment so off we went...

To Mr. Steer on Ste-Catherine st.

                                            This is definitely a Montreal classic.

                                            no 2 medium suzy ( a Steerburger cooked medium with suzie q fries)

                                             Of course you can get it with other stuff on it, like bacon, cheese,beans)
                                             My fave is just as is. An added bonus they renovated the place!
                                             After 30 years....for my taste it lacked personality....

                                             Oh well ! It  is what it is! Be well :)

PROGRESS!!!

You know I've been feeling bad about the rotten wood on the house, the absence of a balcony and the fact that I felt we were left behind by the reno workers.

Of course I'm not in charge of this project....Dan is and I never seem to get all the facts!

Last night I was getting stressed nearing the house...there was talk of work and wood, and measurements, railling.....

So last night we came home to this....Keep in mind that I could not take a pic last night.

This tiny tiny wood step ladder.

We were laughing so hard! Of course most of the workers are in their 20's or 30's.

They can't imagine that quasi-seniors live here!

The earth was loose and the ladder tippy!

 

I'm happy to report that all the rotted wood was removed and replace with new treated wood and a vapor barrier was installed as well.

 I will have more progress updates for you soon.

 

Now for some shopping/thrifting front.

 

I went on my annual window shopping trip to Holt & Renfrew, Montreal very chichi departement store.

And I was shocked by what I saw! Is it that because you are rich , your common sense leaves you?

 

That you don't mind paying $25 for a dozen shortbread cookies?

That a sweater for your dog costs $90, the price of a trip to the grocery store?

 

Cute dog sweater....

 

Scary price tag!

 

 

Tower of cookies

Yep you saw that right!

 

$120 for a tower of cookies! Are they hand crafted by vestal virgins on the slopes of

Mount Vesuvius?

I don't think so.

 

I took Dan there tonight for a show and tell...It gave us some great conversations!

 

And it make me feel good that I spent $5.99 at Renaissance and I actually used some Sears points to purchase a Xmas gift!

 

Now I promise that tomorrow I will take some pictures of my Xmassy thrifty finds to show you.

 

I hope you're all toasty warm with a full belly snuggled up next to your loved ones, furry and otherwise.

 

Sandy's damage was a big shock for us, let's face it usually this kind of  crazy bad destruction is seen in warmer climes....

so we've been gathering some emergency stuff. I will take some pics to share with you and of course your suggestions and comments are always welcomed!   

 

 

Grateful

As the days grow shorter and the temp cooler, even colder; I find myself really grateful for my house, for heat , light , for a great partner, for being resourceful, handy, crafty, quirky pets, for a full freezer,
for money to pay the bills, for a good job, for flannel sheets, hot water, for soup

and for being able to go in the backyard and harvest a big bowl of greens....

 Fresh greens from the veggie garden.

Right arugula, left baby collards and in the Pyrex bowl a mix of arugula, baby collards and winter greens.

I'm thinking of sauteing some in butter for a side dish tonight.

 

Here's what the view looks like this afternoon. 

 

 The week was stressful....

We watched the news about Sandy approaching.

They predicted really bad things here and I was worried about the old tree in the backyard that should be cut....and the roof

But nothing really happened.

Instead we watched and gasped at the devastation in New England and New York city.

 We are praying and sending you all good vibes.

 

People are suprinsingly resilient and strong in emergency situation like that.

I would've freaked out at first to loose my house or have damage to it.

 

I know because I freaked out Thursday night when we came home....

 

The workers came and removed all the ciment, that was rotting the house, good, but

they didn't install anything so we could get in the house....

Now the front door is boobage level!

It was dark and rainy and muddy...but we draged adirondak chairs and a plank and were finally able to reach the door... but we couldn't  unlock it because the house had shifted.

 

There was a lot of fiddling involved and finally I was able to get in and feed the cats while Dan (crafty devil) fiddled some more so we could lock the door.

BECAUSE I AIN'T SLEEPING WITH THE DOOR UNLOCKED!

Yes that was part of the freak out, I also ranted that we should call the foreman because you don't let people stranded like THAT! Imagine if we were seniors or not as crafty!

 

 

These are my feet and you can see the chairs and the plank and a saucer because the black stray

came for a light lunch.

 I'm praying all this gets fixed soon...

 

To all my readers that were affected by Sandy be safe, be well.

 to the rest....well keep out of trouble! lol

 

 

Another find and an update.

Yesterday I did find something AWESOME, well to us at least! It was one dollar. I have been yearning for this for a couple of years....

Yep a rack so I can dry the wash on it. I do have a clothes line but it's not very long and i need the extra space. I tell you it is new! And for only a buck! SWEET!

The last find was another amazing bargain at the same garage sale. We bought 2 curtain rods complete with all the hardware and fleur-de-lys end pieces for a dollar each. FANTABULOUS!

So this is what we're working on this weekend. All the trims had a coat of primer and 2 coats of deliciously pristine white paint, the ceiling is done and the living room floor has been removed. The wall with the windows used to be dark blue (dated!) and we decided to tint the primer so we bought some that was supposed to kinda match the paint we choose. Surprise, surprise! The primer turned pink on the wall. It looks really ugly and reminiscent that we did have a pink living room in the early 90's.

There was a lot of trim that was in knotty pine. We couldn't stand it any more. Back in 1995 when we moved in our style of decor was more country than today. Now it's mish mash country ecclectic vintage I want all my furniture to be made of teck now and put Pyrex in all the bookcases.

It should be mostly over by wednesday night. Why? because we're having a new floor installed in the living room and dinning room. I can't wait!

Tomorrow I should work on the pool, the veggie garden, install the A/C and assist the master painter whenever my presence is needed. Oh I might even go and get a new grill to replace the one I threw out friday. I think I'll get some rest at my job on tuesday...lol!