Setting (and sort of achieving) Some Lofty Goals

At some point in life, you realize that unless you set lofty goals, you’re simply not going to get anything done. Small steps will only get you so far, you have to shoot for the stars. This applies to many areas in life, including writing, as well as basic household projects.

With this in mind, I’m going to attempt to get a number of projects done before it gets too cold. Actually, some of them can be done in the cold, but others, especially painting, need to be done before the snow comes, or as I’ve been told, before Thanksgiving. That gives me a little over a month to get a load of painting done.

The first step is to work on those windows, cleaning them, replacing, when needed, the storm windows, and painting some of the trim. The inspiration for this was rather serendipitous because I was simply painting the trim on the dormer windows when I noticed that A’s storm window was rotting. I tried to take it out to measure it and it literally crumbled before my eyes. This set in motion getting new windows, which was an adventure in itself, and then the desire to clean the windows and paint the trim. Not always easy to do when you have to stand on the roof.

The other big goals are to finish the floor and walls of the vestibule. This will require insulation and dry wall, which intimidates me because I’ve never done it, but what else is new? Then, if I’m really feeling invincible, I’ll paint the entire upper half of the backside of the house. That will be a project.

We’ll see where any of this goes. I did manage, with the help of N, to paint the front step, and there’s still about 5 cords of wood that needs to be split and stacked. Finally, the weather has been lousy, non-stop rain, and hockey is on the horizon. Oh well, nobody said being a real-man in training was going to be easy.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Following Through

I finally managed to finish a project or two in A’s room, and they were only on hold for about a year. The first was to try and address the cold in her room. Her bedroom, like ours, faces north, so it doesn’t get much in the way of direct sunlight. Her room is also furthest from the wood stove, but what I think also contributes to the cold is exposure to the roof. Her room has a doghouse dormer, so it abuts the front roof. There is a small knee wall with a bookshelf, and the bottom shelf is exposed to the roof.

Now the roof is vented so that the cold air can circulate to the ridge vent, so it stands to reason that the wall will get cold. There is some fiberglass insulation there, but let’s face it, it can only so much when ice cold air is passing through it. We have the same situation in our room, and I’ve noticed that when I put on a shirt from that shelf in the winter, it’s like putting on a cold pack. It’s that cold.

My feeling was that it might help to seal that bottom shelf up, ideally with some rigid foam insulation. In a perfect world, I’d some how insulate the entire back wall of the shelf, but the crawl space back there is big, so I decided to just seal it up. It wasn’t easy because first I had to cut the wood to size, then fill in some gaps before securing the wood. This was difficult because it’s such a small space to work in, but I managed. I ended up caulking the seams, and now I’m interested to see how winter will be.

The other project was to build another shelf for her room. She really needed a shelf to put her clock and other projects and knick knacks, of which she has plenty. She was using various containers and surfaces, and it looked rather sloppy. Plus, it took up a lot of space. I had the wood to build her shelf, it just took some time and motivation to build it and paint it. Going to Europe also set me back, but when we got home, I was motivated to finish it.

She likes the final product, and I have to say, it makes the room feel roomier and more personal. As long as she’s happy with it, that’s all that matters.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Going Viral

I don’t know if this has ever happened to me, but I actually got hit with a computer virus. I was running my antivirus software and it detected malware, which is kind of nasty stuff. I noticed that the computer was running kind of funny, and whenever that happens, I run a spyware check and then a virus check, but most of the time, they find nothing. I have had spyware infections, but those don’t seem as insidious as viruses. This time around, the antivirus found it.

Kind of a bummer, though it did clean it up. Not sure what to make of it all, but I’m guessing I need to be more vigilant about keeping an eye on things. What a crazy world we live in.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Crashmaster007 for the pic.

Doing Unto Others

As you may have noticed, I’m kind of into hockey, almost to the point of OCD. Now in all fairness to myself, it’s an uphill battle making it all work out, because on a number of levels I’m facing a great deal of resistance. R is not completely thrilled with all it takes to play, particularly the time and expense. I can’t control the amount of time, but I can whatever it takes to help ease the financial burden.

A large part of this is getting equipment cheap, and if possible, free. When N first started, all his equipment was second hand, and almost all of it was given to us. He suffered a little because his skates were not an ideal fit, and he got blisters the first week. To his credit, he never said a thing, and played through it. What a real man he is. I felt terrible, and we addressed the situation and eventually got him some good skates, but I’m just so impressed that he didn’t complain. I would have been whining from the get-go.

I tend to always be on the lookout for equipment, that means hockey swaps and the Listen Center, and have found some real gems. This works really well for my stuff because I’m not too picky. Now that A is playing, it’s even more stuff to get, though again, to her credit, she never complains when her stuff is old and second hand, which applies to most of it. What great kids.

Anyway, as I mentioned, we were helped out a lot in the beginning, so when some friends expressed interest in their kids giving it a try, I jumped at the opportunity to help them. This was a double-whammy of good vibes because it also meant unloading some of the equipment that we no longer needed as well as placating R’s discontent over the growing pile of hockey equipment in our basement.

I spoke with DL, whose two sons are going to give it a try. I get the impression he’s a hockey player himself, but suffers from the same problem we all do, no time. Anyway, he inquired about where to get some deals on equipment since there is no telling if his kids will even like it. I said to come by, and was able to help him out. I think he’s in pretty good shape, and now our basement is a little cleaner.

Then again, that just means I have more space to go out and get more stuff. I can’t wait.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to ever bamboo for the pic.

Hockey on the Horizon

Hockey is almost upon us. Campion already has their ice, I think Barwood is getting theirs in soon, and within two weeks, Union will be up and running. I can’t believe it. Of course, with hockey about to begin, it means spending huge chunks of change to register everyone into the program, including myself. Enrolling two kids in hockey can get reasonably painful in terms of how much it costs, though I’ve been told that our team is much more affordable than the neighboring program. One of the parents said she can enroll her two kids for the price of one over there, so I shouldn’t complain. Like that’s going to stop me?

That doesn’t include equipment, meals, transportation, and time. Hockey is not for the faint of heart, or the faint of wallet. Plus, when travel is involved, it will mean in certain instances staying in hotels. The whole thing bums R out. She’s even said that she’s dreading the season (ouch!), not so much because of the cost, but because of the time commitment. It is a chore if you’re not as enthused as myself, and because of this, it behooves me to make it as painless as possible for her, both logistically and financially. Consequently, I’m working my tail off and going broke, fast.

Boy, the things we do for hockey. Then again, there are no second thoughts on my end. It’s a good thing the kids love it... as do I.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Nadia L* for the pic.

Vermont 50

Last weekend, sort of out of the blue, we helped out during the big Vermont 50 race. The V50 is an annual race where people run or bike 50 miles or 50 km. Talk about grueling. It’s kind of a big deal, and our friend MH runs in it. Last year she was the first woman in her age group to finish, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. The race goes through trails and woods, so it’s not for the faint of heart.

MH had asked R is we were interested in helping, and we thought it would be interesting. We went on Sat to find out what we needed to do, and there was free ice cream and snacks. We went back on Sunday morning for the race, and it had been raining for the previous two days. The race finishes at Mt. Ascutney on the ski trails, so you can imagine how muddy and challenging it was.

They have hundreds of volunteers, so we weren’t really sure what we were supposed to do. We ended up helping at the finish line as all the racers arrived. They were quite the site, all wet and caked with mud. Mountain bikers seem to relish these circumstances. The runners came a bit later, and we actually saw MH cross the line. She was indeed the first woman of any age group to finish, and she was, I believe, in the top 5 finishers. Granted, she did the 50K while I’m assuming the others were doing 50 miles, but 50K still works out to about 32 miles, which is impressive to me. What’s crazy is she wasn’t even panting.

After a while, we went over to the tent and got a free lunch, which was amazing, and then we came home. I thought it was a nice day, and great for the kids to volunteer their time and do some work. They enjoyed it, and I think a lot of the racers got a kick out of seeing the kids greeting them. They’re so cute, I can’t say I blame them.

Afterward, the kids went to HH’s house to hang with friends, then home to relax and enjoy the end of the weekend. Ultimate has come to an end, so we were able to spend a quite Sunday evening at home. I’ll take it.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Chris Gidney1 for the pic.

Getting Ready For... Skiing?

Is it that time already? Since we took a late vacation this year, we came back in the thick of fall and preparation for winter sports, which includes, of course, hockey and skiing. We’re in pretty good shape for hockey, though there are always things to update, and for skiing, I think we’re all set.

I had the kids try on their boots and incredibly enough, they said they fit. I was pleasantly surprised, even after asking them to make sure because slightly comfortable translates into pain on the hill. They said they were fine, so I have to go with that. This is beautiful because if we don’t have to update skis and boots, then that makes life simpler and more economical. I might be inclined to get their skis tuned up, and we might have some needs in the Nordic department, but all in all, we’re looking pretty good. Then again, things can change between now and January.

I bought new skis last year at a yard sale, and though they only cost $15, the guys at Henderson’s said they were great skis. Good enough for me. However, I found that I wasn’t totally thrilled skiing on them. Mind you, we hardly skied at all last year, partly because of hockey, but also because there was no snow. Plus, the conditions weren’t always stellar. The few times we did ski, I felt like I had to work a little harder to have fun, and I might go back to my old skis, which were used rentals. They’re not pretty, but I sure enjoyed skiing on them.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Pauljh for the pic.