The Last of the Summer Wine

I thought I would post slightly early this fortnight. I have Stuart and Janet Doyle visiting for Easter and I thought it would be a good idea to get this out of the way before they arrive later today (Friday).

I had to change my plans half way through the period. I started off resuming work on the main bathroom, while I waited for the quartz slabs for the kitchen counter tops to arrive from Calgary.

I ran all the wiring for the underfloor heating and then boxed in the bath and walls around it ready for tiling. I remembered to turn the water supply to the bath on just in time before sealing it in or I would have had to cut a hole in the fibre board, which I may do anyway.

That done I put the sink in. This is the same one as is in the two piece bathroom downstairs and it will match the colour scheme in here, which is going to be black and white.

I then cut and fitted the Schluter shower tray into the shower alcove and connected up the drain.

At this point Don, one of my neighbours, phoned to say that he was arriving a day early to install the slabs in the kitchen. I rose early the next day to move the car, ready for Don to back his truck up to the front door to make it easier to unload the slabs. While I was at it, I decided to take some rubbish down to the dump.

To cut a long story short, for a small price in bone, blood and flesh, I managed to retrieve this set of elk antlers from the bottom of the dumpster and they will go nicely on one of the walls of the cabin. Next time I tell this story I'll show the scars and will probably add a bit - like how I had to fight off a cougar and a bear to get them. I was never one to let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Anyway after a trip to the hospital to get patched up and sparing the Doctor in ER the truth about how I came about my injuries, I managed to get to the airport to pick up my neighbours, Luis and Nona, who had flown in from Mexico via Galgary and get back out to the cabin just in time to watch Don finish installing the slabs in the kitchen.

He did a splendid job, which is probably what you would expect from Don, who always aspires to the highest standards in whatever he does. 

I spent the next couple of days plumbing in the sink and the dishwasher, slowed down only a bit by bandages and splints. Bar the splash plate on the wall above the counters, the kitchen is now finished. The splash plate will have to wait until my hands are healed up.

To celebrate, I cooked myself my first proper meal in the kitchen, a stir fry - come on, what did you expect, a full roast!

I washed it down with the last of the summer wine.

Unable to resume work in the bathroom out of a need to keep my hands dry, I have started work on the 'home office' at the other end of the cabin. I have a few shelves built already and no doubt Stuart Doyle will help me stain them and fill them with books. I will probably build an angled desk in the corner.

Well that's it, the Doyle's will be here shortly. Until next time ….

The House of the Rising Sun

Since my last posting I have worked almost exclusively on the kitchen.

It took three days to make all the doors and draw fronts but, I have yet to decide how to finish them. I think I am going to follow the advice of a close friend and wait until the counter top is in and will live with them for a couple of weeks before deciding how they should be finished. The architrave on the top of the wall cabinets is in place as is the kick board under the base units. I have also finished the under counter lighting and the trim under the wall cabinets to hide the lights from direct view.

My neighbour, Don Burton, whom some will recall supplied and installed the quartz top for the en suite bathroom vanity, came over last weekend to measure up for the counter top. He made a template out of hard plastic sheets which he joined to together with masking tape and took away with him to Calgary to have the top cut out of the same quartz, which will be a good match for the island top.

I did have my heart set on a copper cowling for the hood fan but, after eight months of waiting for it from the supplier with no sign of them actually getting down to making it, I decided to go with a glass and stainless steel one from Ikea. It isn't as nice and doesn't really suit the rustic look I was trying to achieve but, as compromises go, I can't really complain. BC tradesmen and suppliers can be a bit like Caribbean islanders. It is often mañana, which really means maybe next year if I feel like doing anything, which is also probably unlikely.

In case you are wondering. I didn't want stone on the island, which doubles as a kitchen table. I wanted something softer for eating off and sitting at to be sociable. However, it does mean that I will have to provide some protection for the wood, especially either side of the gas hob (cooker) and ….

…. that is why I have put these grills in place. There will also be some cut offs from the quartz slab I have bought for the counter top and Don his having some chopping boards/protection plates made out of them. Bye the way, the blue saucepan was the first food to be cooked on the hob - you've guessed it - boiled eggs.

You have probably noticed the ironing board in the background of the previous picture and I bought this because I had to shorten some curtains for the internal windows in the bedrooms. With the days getting longer, guests due at Easter and the house facing the  "rising sun", I felt curtains were now needed. Off the shelf curtains here come in two sizes, 96 or 84 inches.

The 84s are just right for the long windows but, ….

…. far too long for the internal ones so they had to be shortened. Actually, I didn't sow them. I bought iron-on tape and did a much better job than if I had attempted it with a needle and thread. I can sow my own "blue jeans" but my needle work just isn't good enough for this type of work. 

Anyway, red for ….

…. bedroom number 2 and …..

…. chocolate brown for the master.

There is still quite a lot of work to do in the kitchen. I hope that the counter top will arrive next weekend and then I can get on with the back plate. The ceiling needs decorating, some panelling is still required and I want to put some small shelves on the wall cabinet ends either side of the window. The panelling however will have to wait because, would you believe it, I have run out of wood. I have some on order from Macdonald's Mill but, I don't know yet when this will be ready. I hope that I will be able to pick it up next week.

There have been two more sighting of the cougar. It is now confirmed that it is a female and that she has two cubs. I am concerned for her because the threat she posses to children and small domestic animals almost certainly means that she will be killed. I wish she would find another place to raise her family.

On a lighter note, I went to see a play last night - The Foreigner by Larry Shue. It was put on by the Cranbrook Community Theatre, a small amateur unit that works out of an old Masonic Temple building. The theatre, which is upstairs, seats 88 people and the stage is very small but, don't be deceived, the productions are very professional and this one was very entertaining. They have their own Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cranbrook-Community-Theatre/280798644410?fref=ts) which is worth a glance if you are interested. I will certainly be going to any future productions.

Coming together

PS. Older, 'Animals' fans, will understand the link between the title of this post and certain words in the text that are in between quotation marks. Younger readers might want to google "Animals - The House of the Rising Sun" 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgTSfJEf_jM&list=RDMgTSfJEf_jM