Types of Vanity

I must begin with a correction to the previous post.

No, it doesn't involve my recollection of events leading to the construction of the sliding door.  That was spot-on, if somewhat embellished.

It's about the mirror selfie. From additional research, it is now my understanding that such pictures are taken and posted on social media by young, attractive females, or males who wish to display their abdominal muscles. I am not female and I do not have abs. Well, I'm sure I do but they are in no way visible. And no one wants to see my hairy bellybutton so I am disqualified from taking such pictures.

It shan't happen again. I replace it with this sexy, sassy beast.

God I hate that floor now...Luckily, when I enter the cottage these days, my eye is drawn elsewhere.

In late July, on a Saturday, my dad and I worked on the baseboards, quarter round, and doorway framing while Christine was visiting Mike in B.C.  We stopped at the delightful Home Hardware in Perth on the way. The flooring that I wanted to use as a back splash in the kitchen instead was on sale, so I took advantage of that.

I didn't really expect to complete the work that day though. But with a bit of time left in our afternoon, when my dad asked if I wanted to install right then, I nearly wept.

And it came out looking rather splendid, I think.

It just makes the kitchen look...finished. It ISN'T finished by any means (oh, you just wait until you see what Christine has cooked up!) but it looks more finished.

The back splash still needs a little framing of its own but everyone who sees it comments on it almost right away. And touches it, for some reason. I'm not sure why.

Now Christine will have you believe this was her idea too.

*sigh*.

Not so. I saw the flooring at the HH (what cool people call Home Hardware) and called her over to see it because I knew she would like that style. And JUST as I was about to say it would look good as a back splash, she rattled off "OhMyGodThisWouldMakeAGreatBackSplash" super fast just so she could take credit. Ah well.

While buying it, there was some debate as to how much we would need. If I recall correctly (and my mind is computer-like), I thought there was a chance we could get away with only two boxes. But taking into account the possibility of a break or some such, I bought an extra one.

Damn good thing, too. We would have been short by about 16 inches. That would have sucked. Those things really don't stretch well.

But now I had a little over a box left instead. So what genius did *I* (not Christine) come up with?

To change the vanity in the master bedroom from this style (using the term loosely)...

To this:

I neglected to take a picture of the vanity prior to its removal because...Well, why would you want to have a picture of that thing around, unless it was to induce vomiting after accidentally ingesting poison?

The light isn't great (it's the master bedroom, we WANT it dark in there) so it gives the drawers a bluish tinge but they are actually just a plain white. At least for now they are, Christine may have plans of her own there.

She already did change the also-white knobs with the little purple flower you see at right. I admit that it's kind of cute, but only because this blog is blocked from appearing in Google search results and no one but family and close friends would ever know I said so.

The back splash part of this reno was supposed to be a surprise for Christine when she returned from BC. She had considered going to the cottage briefly on the Tuesday...but changed her mind. So I had to struggle to avoid spoiling it all the way to Friday night. Tough gig, long wait, but well worth it.

Spring! Time To Rotate The Furniture!

We had some company this past weekend. Christine's mum and Nanny came by on Saturday and spent the night. Rob and Deb joined us that afternoon, then Kathy showed up early on Sunday for the day.

Beautiful mini-vacation. Chris and I arrived on Thursday evening because we took Friday off to make a four-day weekend. The entire "holiday" was sunny and warm. A lot of our time with guests was spent at the kitchen deck, chatting and munching.

The dining room and hallway renovations aren't quite completed yet but discussion about the work done to this point made me notice how many things have been improved simply by moving items around. The paddle on the wall above the wine rack and the boat picture above the couch in the dining were both wasting away in the bunkie, for example.

With that in mind, more recently...

The above was the proverbial first domino to drop. Just a Wal-Mart purchase. It replaced a dresser that was shorter, but wider. However, because of that width, it was a bit in the way when entering the master bedroom. So not only does this guy look significantly better, he helped create better access.

Plus he's heavy as hell. Christine likes to have me carry heavy things.

The dresser that was replaced went into the bunkie.

There he is, holding up Fred The Frantic Garden Frog. He was a bit in the way in the master bedroom, but for a structure that will become a shed, a dresser with several drawers of varying sizes makes a lot of sense. Nice fit.

While I was down there, I noticed a small table that I also wanted to repurpose. It's supporting another frog now.

Just a little fold out deal that they had tucked away for guests to use while spending nights in the bunkie. Therefore, it no longer served a purpose. Now it does. In addition to displaying Fern, I also rest my Captain Canuck coaster there when I sit in the Captain's Chair.

The table we used previously is now next to the new dresser (at right on the first picture).  And the coffee table that we were using in the living room now appears in the bunkie picture.

And why is that, you ask? Because we made this guy:

This was another table that sat in the bunkie, gathering up clutter. We popped of the top, trimmed a few pieces of wood that were laying around under the house and screwed those in place. It looked pretty nice at first, but one of the boards is starting to warp so it still needs a little love. We'll work on it.

To cap things off, we replaced the cushions on the chairs in the living room.

Doesn't Fern look happy? He's positively glowing! :-)

Nothing fancy there, those were picked up in a Loblaw's. The previous ones were stained and worn so they're now in forced retirement.

So a bunch of small changes executed while making the big ones. The big ones are almost done and I can't wait to share those too.

Let There Be Light Fixtures!

Our anniversary this year was on a Sunday. Neither of us worked on the Friday before, or the Monday after, making for a nice long weekend.

Following Thursday's double turtle save, my folks dropped by on the Friday to take us out to dinner. They let us choose the restaurant. We thought of going to The Maples (shown on the "Places of Interest" page) in Sharbot Lake, remembering a very good meal on their beach-side deck last summer, but instead gave the Fall River Restaurant yet another shot.

Jumpin' Jesus, what a fantastic meal!

This was "yet another shot" because it was at least the third time that Christine and I tried to go. They were closed during both previous attempts. I believe my folks were with us one of those times and that it led to having that meal at The Maples I mentioned earlier.

For preservation's sake, if the menu ever changes, Christine and I had the bruschetta and (to the surprise of no one)...

Roasted Vegetable Tower 

Layers of roasted vegetables anointed with balsamic vinegar and basil and baked with a combination of cheeses. Surrounded by a moat of garlic and parsley cream

We could have taken pictures of our dinners meals, but didn't want to be those people...

The cozy atmosphere was made all the easier to appreciate by the monsoon going out outside throughout the meal and well after. I swear, on the way back I saw some bearded dude gathering animals in pairs. It was nasty out there. But Saturday was beautiful and my folk stayed around longer than they'd originally planned, so it was all good. :-)

Monday, we got back to business a little bit. We'd been looking forward to finally getting the electric panel cleaned up and Monday was the big day. It was a lengthy procedure, but it went smoothly.

We were also hoping to get some light fixtures installed and Bam! All three went up. Pictures won't display these very well (I'm not even trying the master bedroom one) but they're all I got.

First, in the hallway, we had some cheap would-be artsy piece of crap that looked like it belonged more on the Starship Enterprise than in a cottage. We replaced it with a piece from Elk Lighting called Woodland Sunrise. Now does THAT not sound more appropriate for a cottage, I ask you?

Straight walls are ceilings are SUCH an outdated concept...

Meanwhile, in the living room, we had your standard ceiling fan...

...And now we have...huh...something that doesn't rotate.

We removed a ceiling fan in the bedroom as well. It may seem like an ill-advised thing to do, but not so much. We didn't use them. We get enough of a breeze throughout the cottage that fans are not required.

The switch for the bedroom fan/light was in the hallway. Not terribly handy. Plus when you sat facing the one in the living room, its lights blasted you in the face. It's supposed to be a living room, not an interrogation chamber. The new ones are just more...pleasant.

Installation of the baseboard heaters turned out to be more problematic right at that time, but not necessarily off the table. We may be able to revisit that idea in the fall. In the meantime...Bring an extra blanket, I guess.

Boys weekend.

With Christine having left for Halifax earlier in the week to hang with three generations of women in her family, dad, Oscar and I went up to Crow Lake on Saturday.  This was the first overnight'er of the year.

So of course, it hailed before we left.  Then wet snow on the way.  Then snow flurries throughout the day Saturday.

Didn't really matter though. We still prettied the place up (to the highest standard that two straight guys and a daschund of questionable orientation can) for next week.  Christine and I took the Monday and Tuesday off so we can open the place up for good.

Look how pretty it is:

Isn't that cool?  This is the adult (?) equivalent of sleeping in Star Wars sheets as a kid. 

We had a ridiculously dry summer last year which is now underscored by the high water level. Compare this picture from this past September...

To this one, taken yesterday:

While we did see some folks walking around their own cottages, I doubt these people chose to have lunch at the picnic table or at the gazebo.

So we mostly spent a relaxing day inside, chatting, munching and messing with the fire.  And perhaps dozing off on occasion.

We headed home early on Sunday to pick Christine up at the airport.  She was on an Air Canada flight and, in a shocking turn of events, arrived on time.

We're Floored up!

Well, installing the floor in the master bedroom was relatively painless. And in my case, it is with some degree of surprise and pride that I can mean that literally as I fully expected to return home minus at least one digit, and perhaps even an organ.

But no!  Aside from a few of the standard speed bumps (like the need for some precision cutting in some areas), it went rather well.

Now the living room is still a little messy...

...but that will be a quick fix next weekend.

So after everything the room had been cleared, swept, etc, we started with this:

Got a little cork padding down, then started fitting the "boards" all nice...

And just a few hours later (pizza break included): Bam!  We were in "that's more like it" territory.

We're going again next weekend and hopefully between now and then we'll be able to find a type of baseboard to mask the inevitable imperfections at the edges (in fairness, those are mostly caused by walls that are about as straight as Steve and Chris, seen below).  We can then restore the living room to some kind of state of normalcy.