Thursday, October 07, 2004
Well I guess by now you have forgotton about our little house build project....I haven't forgotten to update the site but did go offline while our kitchen woes were being handled by our mutual lawyers. Due to the nature of settlements I am not at liberty to disclose any details but enough to say that we are embarking on re-purchasing our dream kitchen from an alternate supplier.
Picketing 101
I must say that it was very interesting to Picket an establishment, and to see the reaction of the president when he saw me infront of their business with a sign over my shoulder.
Picketing
Pictures Galore
Just wanted you to know we have virtually completed the house at this point in time and we have received an occupancy certificate from the city. Check out some of the latest shots in the blog.
Cluster Flies
When we moved into our new home it was already occupied by "Yup" you guessed it ... Cluster Flies. These slow moving flies appear as if they are suffering from Mad Cow disease as they tend to roll around on the floor for an hour or 2 and die.... Well I went to a local hardware store that specializes in equipment for farmers and purchased an automatic dispenser (every 7 minutes) for killing flies... Well dropping like flies is an understatement... I now vacuum the garage (Unfinished) twice a day of the approximate 100 dead flies.....
Wishful thinking
We hoped these little visitors were remnants from the house building phase before it was complete but just to make sure we had our contractor sniff around the house for possible points of entry... Well you can just imagine this guy (Freaking out) & running away when he pulled off some of the insulation in the basement and was inundated with about 500 live flies....He discovered 3 differnet points of entry all linked to ducts leading to the exterior of the house (Air exchanges and Fireplace). He resealed all 3 entry points and we are now waiting to see......
Hmm... Looks like he mised one of the ducts.....on the second floor....
Shitty Pipe
Well I have now spent a total of 3 full days buring our septic pipe that has a tendancy to float in the water. The first attempt was futile as the rocks I piled on top were no match for buoyancy of the pipe . Second attempt was blostered by "Cement Deck"Post holders, quant 2....
Unfortunately the tie waps couldn't handle the load and the pipe was still boyant in the middle. Appeared as if we had or own Ottawa River Ness for a while...
Not fooling around anymore I purchased no less than 6 concrete blocks and aluminum wire to hold this mother &^^#@# down.... A full day of burying the pipe in the water and success... I thought.....
2 weeks later the water level has now receded so that I can inspect the under water job done before.... I.E. The bloody pipe is sitting on top of the ground ! (Not buried deep enough!) . Now it looks like it is also too short.....%&^^&$%*&^$ Note: Threw my back out 4 days ago so really really not looking forward to shovelling mud....
Autumn Colors
Autumn Windows Background Check out this link.....
Its what I am currently using as my windows background screen. A quick picture looking out over the water from our 2nd floor (MBR)....
Feel free to explore the advertising links should they interest you....
Location location location......
Its been over 1 year now since we have had our place up for sale, and a good time to mention Location Location Location. Yup, for some reason, in Ottawa, corner lots are not considered prime property but are the opposite. Even though we have a double lot, it appears that the local s shy away from corner lot properties....
When our realtor found out that we were building our new house beside a "Bar/marina" she almost had a fit.... Are you kidding she said in disbelief..... Well low and behold our neighbour (The bar Owner) has been having difficulties with the bar/marina and has now decided to shut the place down an build his own house. Yup, we'll have a new neighbour.....and Location, Location, Location.....
Dumpster, going, going, gone...
We have also been playing neighbour to a local city sponsored dumpster strategically positioned 50 ft from our front door. Our dog Karie would graciously announce every local visitor coming to vist this dumpster, and managed to scare off a few with her loud bark as well.... We complained to the city that it was not be best location for the dumpster and after their attempts to sway the locals into cleaning up the mess they chose to remove the dumpster this week......
Rock Garden
I think we are going to specialize in Rock gradens as our entire lawn constitutes a rock garden at this time. Our contractor laughed (Belly laugh) when I asked him the best way to remove the rocks......He showed me his 2 hands and denoted ths was the only way as our property is 80% rock and 20% earth...Mom has spent the better part of 3-5 weeks rock picking... and now all thats left is to order and spread about 4 truckloads of earth and seed....to cover the remaining rocks...
A few more pictures to post and I'll be calling it a day with the New House build Blog.......
I just want to thank all of you who have sent me your thoughts and "laughs" after reading this blog, as it has helped me get through a few tough times in the past year....
SO one last word of advice if you are thinking of building your own dream home....
Don't do it !!! Unless you are a glutton for punishment !
When asked if I am pleased with the results, yes overjoyed. Would I ever do it again....
NEVER !....... Well Maybe.......
