Twin Ponds makeover

Our land is extremely rocky. Choose any spot to dig and you'll hit a rock, or worse, an immovable boulder.

Our hope to have a yard where we can host picnics and maybe even a badminton court were dashed when we realized just how many rocks we had to contend with. Because summer is just around the corner (right? RIGHT?? Mother Nature I'm talking to you...), last week we hired a landscaper. 

Here's what our yard looked like a week ago:

This week, we came home to this:

And not only did our amazing landscaper bury all the rocks, he also extended our driveway to nicely lead up to our deck's second staircase!

Our driveway used to end at the set of stairs on the right. Not anymore.

Building a foundation

Last year we made the decision to replace an old shed that's been on the property for decades. It was rusting and starting to cave in, and well, it was its time to go.

What a mess.

Despite its feeble appearance, it was anything but. A sturdy sucker, it took three men solid hours of work over a couple of days to bring it to the ground. Not only were its bolts rusted in place, but over the years its foundation had sunk about half a foot into the soil making it extremely difficult to detach the side panels from the submerged frame. That meant a lot of brute force and one huge pry bar were necessary. Okay, and some swearing. But only a bit.

To avoid a similar fate, Spence and I decided to put everything we learned last year to good use and build a foundation for our new shed. Luckily Sunday was a perfect sunny spring day so we celebrated by rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

We learned a couple good lessons along the way (like when you're measuring for joist positioning, you start on the outside of the first one, not the inside). Also, it might be wise to wait until the frost is completely out of the ground otherwise you're going to spend a couple hours chipping away at piles of frozen logs and soil that the previous owner left piled behind the old shed. Y'know. There's that.

Overall, though, I'm happy to report it was a smooth, injury-free process! By mid-day,we'd figured out a system that kept everything running smoothly. I brought the raw materials to the saw bench, measured, and marked them. Spence cut each piece, carried it to the foundation and installed it while we both held it in place.

We put the final piece of subfloor plywood down just in time to pack up and hit the road at our usual time. Success!

Building material

Making everything square and level

Welcome 2014!

I didn't get my act together to write anything as 2013 came to a close so I'll make up for it now.

Yesterday was bittersweet. We dropped Aimee off at her new home with two of our friends. It was surreal to pack up all her stuff and put her in her crate for the last time. Thankfully we know we'll get to see her again and most importantly, we know she'll have a great life. Twenty minutes after we left she was already happily lounging on the floor. Shortly after that she was on the couch purring and headbutting and by early evening she was curled up cozily on her parents' bed. Sleeping on the bed is one of her favourite things and something she hasn't had the opportunity to do in more than a year thanks to my allergies. It was really nice to see her peaceful and content in the photos.

Waking up this morning and not finding her sleeping outside the bathroom door really made the move official. I miss her, but I know we did the right thing for her. She won't be alone so much and will get so much more love and attention than she has been with us in recent months. I also know unequivocally that she couldn't have gone to a better home and that makes it easier too.

Here's a couple of shots of Aimee's first day with her new family:

Other than that yesterday was a day to start gearing up for the things I want to do in 2014. There's a few big projects I want to focus on this year:

• Build a gaming table. One of our friends up north who is an excellent carpenter has offered to help me build it and teach me some basics along the way. I'm very excited about this -- carpentry is something I've always been fascinated with and I'd love to know enough to build our cabinets and built-in bookshelves when we build our house. I spent some time yesterday gathering inspiration pictures. The next step is to start sketching some ideas.
• Timeline: Mid May/early June
• Finish the bedrooms, bathroom and laundry room in the cabin. We've made amazing progress lately and it finally feels like everything's starting to come together. This weekend we're going to finish installing the floor and hopefully assembling our electric fire place.
• Timeline: Everything but the baseboards and trim  in the bedrooms should be done this weekend. The bathroom and laundry room won't be done until the beginning of summer.
• Rewire the cabin and renovate the kitchen. Once the rest of the cabin is complete we'll turn our attention to the kitchen which needs some TLC. We're hoping to insulate it this year so the fridge can actually function in the winter.
• Timeline: Summer/early fall

I think that sums up the big projects for the year, but apart from that I want to keep doing some leathercraft projects and maybe come up with some interesting things to do with my summer off. Watercolour painting, biking, and maybe learning some natural building techniques are all in the mix.

Bring on 2014!

Plumbing

It's been about three years now that we've been without plumbing at Twin Ponds. The outhouse that was on the property when we bought it was caved in with no roof to speak of. Not exactly inviting for guests. Although we did have a septic system installed last year, it wasn't until last month that it was actually hooked up to the bathroom in the cabin. We still have no running water, but we finally have draining water. I've never thought about the distinction before, but now that I have I actually think the latter is the more important of the two.

So, as of October we've had a flushing toilet. Need to pee at 3 a.m. in mid-January? No problem!

We top off the tank after every flush manually using watering cans which we fill at the pond -- and now that it's frozen -- the river. You won't hear me complaining about hiking through knee high snow for 10 minutes to get the water this winter, though. I'm way too happy about being able to press that little lever to mind it one bit.

Last weekend, we picked up a fancy schmancy water jug for our newly connected bathroom sink too. We rigged up a support system because that sucker is heavy when it's full and it now happily rests above the sink ready for use. All we have to do is turn the tap and presto: water! No more washing our hands and brushing our teeth in -20C on the show-covered front porch. 

Progress is a beautiful thing.

We realized we didn't have any proper soap so we've been using dish soap to wash our hands

Week 24: Celebration time, come on!

.: August 6 & 7, 2011 :.

August 6th this year marked the first anniversary of our ownership of Twin Ponds. Although the weekend was not a long one, it was exceedingly enjoyable.

Our drive up on Friday was punctuated as usual with a stop in town for a few supplies. Unfortunately, most of what we bought was accidentally left in the grocery cart. When we got back to the car, Jasmine was misbehaving and she totally distracted us. So we basically drove off and threw away about $40 (we checked in with the store on the way home, but no one turned our stuff in -- there's a shocker).

Anyway, we arrived Friday evening around 8:30 which gave us enough time to relax and play a couple of games of cribbage on the veranda before turning in for the night. The weather was perfectly warm and there was almost no wind. Having put the shopping incident out of our minds, it was a perfect start to the weekend.

I arose early Saturday morning intending to head to the nearest store and shortly after pulling out of the driveway he encountered D., our neighbour. He and I drove up the road a bit and D. introduced me to our Mennonite neighbour, E. - a very nice fellow with a cute-as-a-button 4-year old daughter. There wasn't much to chat about though, so I excused myself and proceeded down the highway to the store, where I found replacements for all the items we had left in Orangeville.

I also stopped at a hardware and procured the lumber that was needed to remediate one of the (four) picnic tables left by the previous owner on the property. This hadn't been discussed with Sim, but I  wanted to surprise her with the thought of having a fully functional picnic table to eat at. I spent the morning pulling the rotten wood off the old table and reassembling it with the replacement lumber. It didn't take long before it was ready to be sanded and stained, most of which Sim did. Before we knew it we had what looks like a practically brand new picnic table that will host meals and entertainment for years to come!

Earlier in the week we had arranged for Bob the Pond Consultant to come provide us with some expert advice on clearing up the murky waters of Pond Superior. He arrived late, but it quickly became clear that he was very knowledgeable about ponds and water in general. As it turns out the murkiness is because of the fish themselves, so our intentions to clear up the water for them, although good, are misplaced. Be that as it may we do not really want to get rid of the little guys, so we opted for the time being for some water dye (which has more than a cosmetic effect, we were pleased to find out). Its effect on the water was immediate and profound. We can't wait until next weekend to see what it looks like completely distributed throughout the water.

Apart from that we did not do very much work. I moved more brush out of the area we are clearing for the septic bed, but it was very hot and even more humid, so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the ponds just relaxing.

By early evening it was time for supper, so we started the barbie. It took a bit more time than usual because by that point there was no wind whatsoever. I finally had to start it with gasoline (*poof*).

Finally the food was ready. Neither of us had had lunch so were both starving. The meal was fantastic. We had seasoned pork chops with baked potatoes and niblets corn. What made it most special was that it was the very first meal we ate on our new picnic table. And how appropriate that it was on our first anniversary!

After we cleaned up from dinner (the table and dishes, not ourselves) we drove over to our neighbours' place and asked them if they were interested in celebrating our first anniversary with us by having a toast of champagne. They were flattered and impressed that we chose to share it with them and the six of us (Jazzle and Bubs were there too) sat out on their deck enjoying the company and conversation. As usual time flew by and before we knew it almost 3 hours had passed. We therefore took our leave and headed back to the chalet to settle in for the night.

After washing up etc. we started to watch The Ninth Gate, but I got tired not even halfway through, so we shut it down and went to sleep. I was so tired in fact that I slept until 10:30 Sunday morning, which is very unusual for me.

We didn't do much on Sunday. I went along the path past the bridge to chop down the vast overgrowth of foliage, but it was literally like a jungle so after 20 minutes he came back and got what he needed to go swimming. Pond Superior was characteristically perfect and it wasn't long before Sim joined me.

Unfortunately, by 1:30 or so the skies clouded up and it started to rain, so we packed and cleaned up and headed out, stopping at the neighbours' to say goodbye for the week and drop off a brochure from Bob the Pool Consultant.

On the way home we decided to get a raft for the pond. Bob had suggested that adding a permanent raft to the pond would be a great way to breathe life into it. He said in his experience doing so turns a pond into a party. That sounded pretty good to us! Despite Bob's offer to provide us with free plans to build our own out of wood, we opted to purchase a fabricated one instead. They're not only more durable and require far less maintenance, but it's also a good way to avoid some splinters in unpleasant places. The raft we chose will be anchored in the middle of the pond so we can use it to jump in the water and to lounge in the sun. More on that in the weeks to come.

Despite the rain at the end it was a fantastic weekend. A happy anniversary indeed.

Second life

Inaugural BBQ dinner

Fish wisperer

Week 23: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

.: July 30 - August 1, 2011 :.

Our fish are quickly becoming acclimatized to our presence and are now quick to swim up to us for their weekly feeding. There's something truly peaceful about sharing the pond with them and it's something I look forward to every week.

We spent the weekend continuing our landscaping work, this time turning our attention to the overgrowth down the length of our dirt driveway. We also had a great time swapping stories with the neighbours while enjoying a glass of wine on their deck. Talk about a spectacular view!

Since we'd cut down quite a few branches during our work, we dedicated a bit of time this week to building a makeshift shoe rack. Since the cabin is quite small, we need to optimize the space carefully otherwise it quickly starts looking quite dishevelled. We were quite happy with the final result despite its very rustic appearance. Rustic is good, right? (Note from the future: using freshly cut wood to build anything is a bad idea as it does not age well. Wood should first be professionally kiln dried or seasoned for a couple of years after it's cut in order to be useful in building projects.)

Eating from our hand

Our neighbours' view & ours

Construction

Work cons

Roasted to perfection

Week 13: We're back!

.: April 30, 2011 :.

Given the original state of the cabin when we bought Twin Ponds there is understandably a lot to do. Thus, when we go (other than for brief visits) we try to have definitive objectives that we want to achieve. The goals this week were to finish laying the floor in the bedroom, assemble the table for the living room, get a futon, install the new television, and to assemble the dining table as well as the new charcoal barbeque. We got a late start and ended up arriving well after noon, but it didn't stop us from making progress. This was also to be the first overnight stay of the year. We had packed some travel pillows and sleeping bags and were ready!

TV for rainy days

Upon our arrival Spencer turned on the power, plugged in the fridge, and stowed our (soon to be) cold drinks. The first order of business was to get the new TV mounted. It was a bit of a task because, disappointingly, the TV's wall mount was a proprietary design that did not work with the mount Sim had procured. Spencer therefore improvised a wall mount using wood while Sim went to the ponds to check out what was going on there. By the time she got back, we were ready to mount that puppy on the wall. We stepped back, checked out the work, and the work was good.

Next up was laying the floor in the bedroom. Since the room is quite small, this task didn't take too long. Before we knew it, we were done and it was time to move the bed back to its rightful place.

We then decided to head to a department store in Al's town to see whether we cold find a suitable futon. On the way there we were, shall we say, going a little faster than the posted limit. As we came around a bend in the road there was a police cruiser travelling in the opposite direction. Although Spencer immediately slowed the vehicle, alas it was too late. The cop car wasted no time in hitting its lights and sirens, turning around mid-highway, and coming up on us from behind. With a sign of resignation Spencer pulled onto the shoulder and stopped the car waiting for the inevitable. In those few seconds we looked and each other and shrugged as if to offer a mutual albeit unspoken, "What can you do?" And then the cops drove past.

Nothing like getting caught and then realizing you hadn't actually been caught. With a sigh of relief we continued on (at a somewhat slower, but still slightly unlawful, speed).

Shiny new floor

As we rolled into town the A&W beckoned us, so we stopped and had our usual meal, which was customarily delightful. We then headed to a department store to explore their selection of home furnishings. To be honest, Spencer was not too optimistic that we would find something that was appropriate. And in fact he was almost right. But Sim managed to find their last metal-framed unit which was seemingly perfect for our purposes. Regrettably it was in a box that clearly had been opened. That is to say, the bottom of the box was nowhere in sight. We looked at each other somewhat reluctant to buy this one, even though it was their last. We each independently had visions of getting it to the cabin, being halfway through the assembly process, and realizing that parts were missing. Despite our initial discouragement Sim noticed an inner box which ostensibly contained all the parts (i.e., everything other than the futon mattress). Better yet, it was still sealed. So Sim hunted down a very polite member of the store's personnel who not only offered to help us get it to the car, but also told us that he'd "pull a few strings and get 10% off, since it was a floor model."

Futon-y goodness

Overall it was a very positive experience and once again proved that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (unless it's been written by a German author).

After getting the futon back to the cabin and unloading it, we both puttered around for a while, each procrastinating. We both recognized, though, that sooner or later we would have to get it put together if we wanted to sleep, so we got down to business. It took a while, but eventually there it was. By this point we were both very tired and sitting on it for the first time there was an audible "aaaahhhhh" as we relaxed and enjoyed the fruits of our labours. That was a sweet moment.

By this point it was fairly late and we had not assembled the table. We had discussed going into town for supper, but procrastinated that as well until we both finally just decided that we should just relax. Before going to bed we wanted to experience the new TV, so we plugged in a memory key (the only one with any media on it) and watched one of Spencer's favourites - Three Days of the Condor. We gradually approached unconsciousness, so before the movie ended we wrapped it up, brushed our teeth, snuggled up in our sleeping bags on the futon, and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we got up relatively early, went to Tim Horton's for breakfast, and drove back to the cabin to get down to business putting the table together. Before long ... and then it was time to pack up and head out.

Table-y goodness

This week's trip was a bit of a watershed event, because we decided to try a new route on the way home. We had been aware since last September that there was a route other than our regular one. We had not, however, counted on the new one being so much better. Not only was it far more interesting, but it shaved a good 30 to 40 minutes off the time we spent on the road.

It was also significant because we met the neighbour to the north of us (across the concession road). He is a nice older gentleman and it was a pleasant encounter, which bodes well for future interactions.

Overall we were quite satisfied with our accomplishments. Despite not getting the barbeque put together, the progress we made was substantial. This place is really starting to feel like home.

Week 9: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

.: November 27 :.

This week's trip to the cabin wasn't planned until Thursday when Luke imparted the bad news about having lost his job. Although his former employer is a jerk, it gave us the perfect excuse to go to Twin Ponds because we were eager to share with him how good it now looks with the new floor. We therefore planned to leave around 8:00 Saturday morning so that Sim and Spencer could get back to Toronto in time for a friend's birthday party.

The three amigos

Despite the best of intentions we did not leave until 9:33. That was okay, since it gave Spencer a bit of additional time figuring out how to get a certain weapon in Fallout: New Vegas.

By 9:35 we were on the road to Burger King with Luke and Bandet in the back seat (and unfortunately sans Jasmine, for whom we did not have enough carspace). We got there and ordered our typical breakfast item in addition to what Luke wanted (which for some reason Spencer could not comprehend).

By the time we were westbound on the 401 it was obvious that the weather was turning bad. The sun had virtually disappeared and before long there was a fair amount of snow coming down. It wasn't enough to discourage us from forging onward, but it was enough to slow traffic a little and make us wonder what the remainder of the trip there and the trip back would be like.

Bubs!

The farther into the Guelph area we travelled the worse the weather became. By the time we stopped at the Home Depot the snow was coming down so hard that the windshield wipers were having difficulty keeping up and there must have been at least 5 inches of snow on the ground. We went in and procured a few items we'd be needing, including a big sheet of plastic and some caulk-type glue for patching the hole in the floor in the closet as well as a caulk gun.

We then stopped at the neighbouring Walmart because Sim wanted to get some slippers for inside the cabin. She initially considered getting some pink, fuzzy ones but decided against it when she realized that once their funniness wore off, she'd be stuck with them. So she got a pair of gray ones for her and one for Spencer (even though he didn't really think he wanted them at the time).

Winter wonderland

Soon thereafter we were back on the slippery road heading towards Twin Ponds. The snow was so horrible that Spencer had wondered aloud whether we should head back. However, we were looking forward to what we'd planned, so we pressed on. As luck would have it the snow finally stopped and for the remainder of the trip there the roads were in pretty good, if not even excellent, condition.

Upon our arrival Luke was clearly impressed by the quality of the gate. We proceeded down the path to the cabin and were amazed by how peaceful and beautiful the landscape appeared, the trees and ground having been laced with pure white snow. It was a glorious sight to behold. The cabin itself stood in the familiar clearing, the contrast between its wood and the covering snow making the structure appear to be an accessory to the surroundings rather than an integral part of them.

After admiring the view for a moment we entered the cabin and once again admired the impressive difference the new floor made. Spencer quickly plugged in and started the space heater and fired up the wood stove and it wasn't long before he and Luke headed out to cut some logs in the forest, which was the first in our list of tasks so as to ensure sufficient heat for the remainder of the day. Unfortunately that did not turn out well. Spencer tried for 5 minutes to start it and then realized it might be out of gas, which it was.

Lofty goal attained!

Easy fix? No. Spencer had for the first time forgotten the chainsaw gas/oil mix back in Toronto. And although he and Luke spent some time trying to cut some wood the old fashioned way, it hardly seemed worth the effort. They reluctantly bundled up what they had managed to cut and brought it back to the wood shed. And that, as they say, was that.

Which was just as well because there were things to be done inside. Our actual goals for the day included removing the mite and other creepy-crawly infested rug from the loft (what a NASTY job that was), discarding the carpet in the bedroom, and putting down tiles therein. We got the first two done (thanks in large part to Luke, who also completely cleaned the loft), but we didn't manage the third.

In the process of taking the disgusting, aged carpet out we noticed that there were two very large water patches covering the floor boards in the bedroom. This posed a couple of problems. First, we could not lay tiles on a wet floor. Second, we had to find the source of the leakage. Indeed, upon inspection we noticed water streaks along the wall boards beneath each of the back and front bedroom windows. We thus decided to go to the hardware store in town to get some sealant for the windows and some bleach for the floors (which seemed rather mouldy). Of course there's no guarantee the bleach will work, but for the price we figured we might was well try. Sim was ready for a break as well since she'd been cleaning and assembling furniture.

No rest for the wicked

In town we stopped at the hardware store (for the sealant and a shoe mat for the cabin's entrance), the supermarket (for bleach and a mop and bucket), and then Tim Horton's (for hot chocolate and donuts). It was a pleasant break. Luke observed that he recognized a number of people whom he had seen while staying with Amanda at the estate during a week in late October. No surprise there, given the size of the town. Spencer recognized the trainee serving them as the one who had served them the previous week. She'd been polite and eager, as well as a little tentative, while this week she seemed to have a little more confidence.

Chairs for all

After returning to Twin Ponds we set about restoring the fire in the stove and cleaning up while Sim assembled the remaining three of the four Ikea chairs we'd bought in September. Luke and Spencer did their best to prepare the bedroom floor so it would be ready for tiles on our next visit. Luke did a fantastic job of sealing the wood around the windows. Hopefully there won't be anymore water. They also patched up the hole in the floor so no more rodents or other creatures could get in as temperatures plummet and they start seeking refuge from the elements.

It finally came time to clean up, pack our stuff, and head out.

The weather during the trip home was absolutely horrific at one point. We could barely see in front of the car. Luckily, though, the snowstorm subsided (coincidentally with Spencer stopping for a Red Bull? We think not!). At one point we stopped at A&W so Sim could get a Mama Burger (their Spicy Mama Burgers were no longer available, to her chagrin) and we spent the rest of the relaxing trip listening to a part of the audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

Overall while we were disappointed by our inability to get the floor tiles down in the bedroom, we were very enthused by our accomplishments.

Week 8: Apocalypse Now

.: November 20 & 21, 2010 :.

Cabin face is built! Staining to come.

As some of you may know, Spencer is an avid Fallout fan. He played Fallout 3 until its timely demise, which was brought about only when it was supplanted by Fallout: New Vegas. For those who aren't familiar with the Fallout series its central theme is the survival of mankind in your run of the mill post-apocalyptic world.

The apocalypse in this case was the drastic change wrought by the cumulative effects of the recent renovations and, more importantly, what we accomplished this weekend.

Despite the weather forecast Spencer felt it was going to be very cold. Be that as it may we decided to spend the weekend, because it could very well be the last opportunity for doing so this season. November is after all a potentially stormy and unquestionably unpredictable month when it comes to weather in ever-so-slightly northern Ontario. There were a few things we wanted to accomplish:

As Luke said: measure once, cut twice.

(a) prepare the cabin for the winter;

(b) get a lock on the outer gate;

(c) meet with our contractor to pay him and discuss future projects;

(d) install blinds on all the windows; and

(e) install the floor in the front room of the cabin.

Progress!

So Saturday morning we packed our stuff consisting of a couple of sleeping bags, toothbrushes, nightware, etc. (remember, we're minimalists) and headed to our sanctuary. The trip there this time took longer than it typically does, since we stopped no fewer than four times on the way. Probably the most important stop was going to Burger King for breakfast, which is becoming another tradition. The croissanwiches there are terrific. The other stop of significance was at a place that sells electronics and coffee. That's right. You can buy a monitor or computer and a bag of coffee while you're at it. How convenient. In our case we picked up an iPod dock with speakers so we would have music to work by. Regrettably (and to Sim's chagrin) it did not come with a coffee brewer attachment, so we were forced to forego the little tin of espresso on the neighbouring shelf.

We were scheduled to meet our contractor, Al, at 1:00 p.m. and by the time we got there we had only 10 minutes to spare. Al had always previously arrived on time and we had no reason to think he wouldn't again, so it was important that we weren't late.

Supervising

We unloaded the car and ushered the dogs into the cabin. It was SO cold. The first thing Spencer did was turn on the space heater we'd previously brought. He then started our very first fire in our newly serviced wood stove. It was so cold that it took a while before it started to make any difference inside, but before too long it became cozy and delightful.

By about 2:00 Al hadn't arrived yet so we started installing the blinds on the windows adjacent to the front door. Regrettably our hand held drill hadn't been charged and Spencer had to install by hand the screws that held the brackets. That was a bit of a chore.

Right after getting the first one installed Al arrived. He apologized for his tardiness but it was truly no big deal. We then sat down to settle what was due for his services up to that point and talked turkey (or was it turducken?) about the projects we'd been contemplating for the spring (more on that in future posts).

Following Al's departure we swept and vacuumed with our new shop vac and started the weekend's main event: installing the new floor. What you should appreciate is that neither of us has ever done this before, so we were not exactly brimming with confidence as we started. Sure, we had done a minimal amount of due diligence when we bought the laminate floor tiles by asking the Home Depot guy about how to do it. Spencer had nodded in faux appreciation at his instructions. Luckily Sim had understood what he was saying, so we had nothing to worry about.

New blinds and an amazing find

At first we fumbled a little through the proper steps, but after a little while we got the hang of it. However, regardless of how adept at this stuff someone is, it's bloody hard work. You're constantly bending over, kneeling down, laying the tiles, measuring space, measuring pieces, standing up, cutting pieces, kneeling down, re-laying the tiles, forcing them in, standing up, feeding the wood stove, and repeat. Heilige Scheisse it's tough on the body and neither of us expected how fatiguing it would be.

About halfway through the afternoon Spencer was digging through the wood basket container thingy and came across some old Toronto Star newspapers. He pulled them out and Sim asked him to check the date. The first one was dated sometime in July, 1989. He then looked at the one beneath it - that one was dated October 7, 1989. It was so cool to unexpectedly go back in history. Coincidentally the first page of the October issue's entertainment section contained a review of John Goodman's role as Dan Conner in Roseanne - one of Sim's favorite TV shows. We flipped through the rest of the section and got a chuckle out of some of the movies playing, including Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors. We naturally spared the papers from the fire and in fact intend to preserve them as an interesting tidbit in the history of Twin Ponds.

It was just after five when we decided that we needed a break to get some lights from the local Home Hardware as well as supper. We headed into town, got an indoor and outdoor light, went to Tim Horton's for soup and a sandwich, and were back at the cabin by 6:30.

It was around 10:00 p.m. when the new floor had reached the half-way point in the room and we were totally wiped out. So we decided to do something less stressful, like hang more blinds.

Ahhhh, so nice!

By this time our handheld drill had been sufficiently charged so the process was relatively straightforward. First we did the second one next to the front door. Then we moved to the kitchen. After a brief bad-shoulder incident we moved to the bedroom to finish the two there. The first blind right next to the bed wasn't too bad. Unfortunately though the fifth and last blind couldn't be installed until we did a bit of a mini-major remediation of the area around it. We had already tossed the hideous and aged blue and pink curtains, but the rods were still there and on closer inspection there were numerous cob webs and other crap hanging or dangling from the walls and ceiling around the window. By the time we had taken care of the surrounding grime and gotten the blinds up it was about eleven o'clock, so we got ready for and went to bed.

At half past two Spencer woke up. It was pretty cold outside the sleeping bags. We had closed the bedroom door and turned on the space heater so that neither we nor the dogs would freeze to death, but although we were warm enough the dogs weren't, so in his semi-comatose state Spencer turned up the heat on the space heater. That was a fail since he didn't turn it up all the way. For the rest of the night Jasmine continued her fitful sleep which kept waking us up. At 8:00 we both got up and we felt terrible that Jazzle had had such a bad night. We decided that it would be faster for the car to warm up so instead of starting a fire in the wood stove straightaway we decided to go for breakfast at the nearby inn (it was inexpensive and good!).

By the time we got back we still weren't quite ready to resume work on the floor. The cabin was still very cold and Spencer fired up the stove. Again it took a while to heat up the interior of the main room, so in the meantime we found little things to do which weren't directly related to installing the floor. The rest of the day was spent just getting the floor in. Intermittently we would step back, gauge our progress, and tell ourselves how awesome it was looking.

Completed! Well, almost.

Incidentally, this weekend we decided to count the number of times Spencer hit his head on the overhead lights in the main room. He reached 15. That's right. And every time it happened there was a cute little bell type of chime when the bulb hit the fixture which his head had struck. Ding...

Anyway, by the time we had expended as much sweat as we could (about 87.2%), the room really did look awesome. In fact, a few of the other adjectives we used to describe it were "fantastic," "astonishing," and "unbelievable." Those are all words which (justifiably) expressed our feelings for the difference this new floor makes to not just the appearance, but also our desire to spend time there making additional improvements. The possibilities now really do seem endless.

Thus it was with tremendous satisfaction that as we closed (and locked!) the gate for possibly the last time this season we enjoyed the beginning of Twin Ponds's post-apocalyptic era.

Week 7: Big Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

.: November 13, 2010 :.

Spencer got into the office early Friday morning since he thought it was going to be a busy day. It turned out that the whole morning was a write off due to computer problems. However, none of that really mattered. The first thing Spencer had done was check his voicemail and lo and behold there was a message from the contractor who was installing the new doors and windows. The news was that except for the bedroom window everything was pretty well done.

Gate-a-licious

Spencer had to contain his excitement and hold off calling Sim until he knew she would be up and getting ready for work, but the time finally came and the news made Sim's morning.

So it was that Saturday morning we headed up to Twin Ponds. On the way we stopped at Home Depot (they call it *The* Home Depot, but the use of the definite article just seems wrong) and we bought a shop-vac for future use.

We drove the whole way pondering what the renovations would be like. We'd be able to lock the cabin. We'd be able to open the door without it catching on the floor boards. We'd have light from real windows. And we'd have a real gate.

A locking door, you say?

When we pulled up to the laneway the gate was immediately visible. It completely exceeded our expectations. It was at least as high as we'd wanted and the bars were not only not made out of cheap, light metal, but they were finely welded and polished with a nice finish. Plus there was an unexpected added bonus: each of the two gates had a wheel on it to stabilize its weight and help it open. Bingo!

After admiring the gatework we entered the estate and drove along the lane and just as we turned the corner to catch our first glimpse of the cabin Spencer asked Sim, "Are you ready?"

No more broken window?! Hooray!

Ready indeed! The face of the cabin had been completely revitalized - the new metal door was centered with a shiny new window on each side. Spencer inserted the key, unlocked the door, and listened for the unmistakable sound of a new door opening as we both entered.

It was a moment akin to the one on Week 3 when we opened the cabin to find it completely empty. Inside there was more light in the front room than we'd ever seen! Overall it was an incredibly significant change for the better. It is noteworthy that our contractor impressed us so much by his attitude and by making good on his promise (not only about the work itself, but the timing thereof) that we intend to reward him with immediate payment and more work in the spring!

While comparing the inside of the cabin to how it used to be Sim noticed that the wood stove appeared to have been moved. Not only had it been moved, but it had been completely serviced and repaired. This was another very pleasant surprise because although we had commissioned the work in September, we hadn't heard anything from the chimney contractor for several weeks. The stove is now presumably ready for action and we can hardly wait for the moment that we load it with wood and fire it up! How sweet that will be.

A beautiful stove

We subsequently spent the next couple of hours discussing possibilities for future improvements while wandering around the grounds with the dogs.

This week's trip wasn't really meant to be anything other than a look-see, so after a while of simply enjoying the environment we headed back to Toronto with enthusiasm and optimism about the future of Twin Ponds.

Addendum: On Sunday Spencer went to Twin Ponds alone for the sole purpose of transporting the remaining bundles of laminate flooring, a shelf, and a steel brush broom.

He admired how great the place is coming along and then went home, stopping only to pick up a couple bacon cheeseburgers at McDonald's (which was a bit of a mistake, since he washed them down with Red Bull).

In any event he got home just in time for the Jets-Browns game. Browns lost. Yes!!

In the Face of Adversity

So within an hour of seeing Twin Ponds for the first time we were in Ed's office making an offer to purchase the property. Little did we know that the certainty we had about this acquisition would in short order become anxiety thanks to the unreliability of a certain financial institution which shall remain nameless (we're looking at you, ING) and other factors beyond our control.

Luckily for us the stars were properly aligned and everything that we needed to fall into place for the financial arrangements to work out did indeed come together. It took a little longer than expected, however. We had to delay our closing for over a month and, to our chagrin, had to agree to let the seller sell it to someone else if the seller found another buyer in the meantime.

Fortunately that didn't happen. Our arrangements came together and then faster than you could shake a stick, Twin Ponds was ours.