Well little by little we are getting settled into our new house. A snowstorm this weekend allowed Darrel to try out his snowblower. When we bought this house, with its long driveway and garage in the back, Darrel informed me that we just had to factor in the cost of a snowblower into the price of the house because he wasn't going to shovel that whole driveway during long Canadian winters. Fair enough, I can understand that. So he kept an eye out in the Buy'N'Sell, with a small stroke of luck, and a little bit of elbow grease he was able to pick up this one for $50 and get it running properly. The test was fairly successful -it was really wet snow and tended to stick in the blow chute but that really couldn't be helped. I think he was pretty pleased that he wasn't shoveling, much easier on the back. And heck, why use a simple stick with a blade when you can use something mechanical with an engine! And the snowblower was a really good deal, which I think makes Darrel love it even more.
I spent an hour this afternoon hanging shelves in my kitchen, I was pretty pleased with myself that a)I got around to doing it; b)I couldn't find the drill or power screwdriver but forged ahead with hand tools, (hmmm -I think Darrel is rubbing off on me!); c)found the studs, and managed to screw the brackets into them with no extra holes in the wall; d)hung the shelves level, even if they don't look it, I think the ceiling isn't completely level; e)I did it without resorting to nagging Darrel to help me as I used to do these sorts of things by myself all the time before we married but lately just make "handyman" lists for him and don't really consider it my thing. It makes me feel good to say nope, I can do this, I know how and I'm competent enough to do and and then do it; and finally f)they look so darn cute. The yellow pots will have plants in them when I am able to make a trip to get some, and I have one or two other things that will go on the shelves, like my recipe box. Death to anyone who defiles them by piling crap on them! This is a joke as in our household the most likely culprit would definitely be me. Darrel is extremely good about putting things away as he goes and cleaning up after himself, whereas I am more sloppy and tend to dump stuff with the good
intention of getting to it later -it ends up being much later sometimes and the pile has to reach a certain level of chaos before I clear it, (note the pile of tools and miscellaneous stuff on the dishwasher, hiding behind the pumpkin), yup, all stuff I've left out, not Darrel.
And finally, just a funny picture of Jack. These swim goggles were in a bag of clothes that Lara brought for Jack when they came to help us move. Needless to say he thinks they are pretty neat.
Well little by little we are getting settled into our new house. A snowstorm this weekend allowed Darrel to try out his snowblower. When we bought this house, with its long driveway and garage in the back, Darrel informed me that we just had to factor in the cost of a snowblower into the price of the house because he wasn't going to shovel that whole driveway during long Canadian winters. Fair enough, I can understand that. So he kept an eye out in the Buy'N'Sell, with a small stroke of luck, and a little bit of elbow grease he was able to pick up this one for $50 and get it running properly. The test was fairly successful -it was really wet snow and tended to stick in the blow chute but that really couldn't be helped. I think he was pretty pleased that he wasn't shoveling, much easier on the back. And heck, why use a simple stick with a blade when you can use something mechanical with an engine! And the snowblower was a really good deal, which I think makes Darrel love it even more.
I spent an hour this afternoon hanging shelves in my kitchen, I was pretty pleased with myself that a)I got around to doing it; b)I couldn't find the drill or power screwdriver but forged ahead with hand tools, (hmmm -I think Darrel is rubbing off on me!); c)found the studs, and managed to screw the brackets into them with no extra holes in the wall; d)hung the shelves level, even if they don't look it, I think the ceiling isn't completely level; e)I did it without resorting to nagging Darrel to help me as I used to do these sorts of things by myself all the time before we married but lately just make "handyman" lists for him and don't really consider it my thing. It makes me feel good to say nope, I can do this, I know how and I'm competent enough to do and and then do it; and finally f)they look so darn cute. The yellow pots will have plants in them when I am able to make a trip to get some, and I have one or two other things that will go on the shelves, like my recipe box. Death to anyone who defiles them by piling crap on them! This is a joke as in our household the most likely culprit would definitely be me. Darrel is extremely good about putting things away as he goes and cleaning up after himself, whereas I am more sloppy and tend to dump stuff with the good intention of getting to it later -it ends up being much later sometimes and the pile has to reach a certain level of chaos before I clear it, (note the pile of tools and miscellaneous stuff on the dishwasher, hiding behind the pumpkin), yup, all stuff I've left out, not Darrel.
And finally, just a funny picture of Jack. These swim goggles were in a bag of clothes that Lara brought for Jack when they came to help us move. Needless to say he thinks they are pretty neat. 
1 comment:
Yay for Darrel's snowblower! Yay for Kirsten's shelves! Yay for fun weird things that keep kids happy!
I remember another shelf-hanging incident years ago with you, Kirsten. It was in your apartment in the tall tower and I was over one night, we were listening to the Dixie Chicks' "Fly" album. You hung a shelf in your bedroom and I was shocked that a young woman could do this: wasn't this always a job for Dad? You just put up that shelf like you knew what you were doing, and I've thought of that so many times since. I have tried, in my own way, to emulate your self-sufficiency and have even passed this lesson on to my mom when I hung Maddy's new curtain rod. "Don't you want to wait for Strater to get home so he can do it?" she asked. "Nope, let's get it done," I replied. And she said, "Wow, I always thought dad had to do things like that. It's that easy?" So there you go: you're making the world a better place, one woman-with-screwdriver at a time!
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