Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween and the girls scored again as usual. Fantastic weather with no jackets required. We saw a lot of older kids with and without costumes with loot bags that seemed a bit too large for my liking. We also saw toddlers (barely a few months old), whose parents obviously needed the candy themselves. All in it was a great night with Aaliyah even bumping into friends from school on their rounds. 

Aaliyah went dressed as a medieval Queen with Layla as her Knight. I am so concerned that this will be the Status Quo for these two from now through Adulthood.

Here they are.......

 

Shed Build Diary - 14 - Final Frame

Wow. It has been a long time since I posted. The last days of September were a blur. I needed to get the shed done prior to Mum & Dad's departure. And we did - save for the shingles. So here in pictures is the shed in it's last phases of completion.

The inside with it's "Wal-Mart Vinyl Tile" floor 

Dad's pride & joy. The shed not me!!! Dad painted the door and we put the brass door hardware that I scored at the ReStore. This is the North Face with the lean-to.

The South Face looking towards the backyard. Pardon the mess, but we were busy building a building!!!!! The green tub contains what is soon to be 'Mohamed's Finest'. 2008 they say, will be a great year for wine in Canada.

Asterix in Brampton

This is my collection of Asterix figurines that I scored from the Netherlands and Quebec city.

Me like.........

Shed Build Diary - 13 - Taking Sides!!!

The siding of the North, South and West walls are now complete along with the trim work around the door. Also visible is the extension built on the North wall to allow me to continue work outside regardless of the weather. The roof goes on next week.

Shed Build Diary - 12 - John Hancock

Prior to the siding going on the walls, Dad and I signed our names on the Typar. Hopefully we have immortalised our efforts this summer.

Shed Build Diary - 11 - It's a Wrap!!!

The shed wrapped in Typar house wrap and all seams and staples taped. Managed to get this completed the evening before leaving for Quebec City. Rain was predicted for the entire weekend and I wanted to get this done prior to our departure.

Shed Build Diary - 10

OSB does not stand for the Order of Saint Benedict

Anyhooo...

We did manage to sheathe the entire shed by Friday evening. Here are views looking south and north with dad taping up the corners in preparation for the house wrap.

 

Shed Build Diary - 9

The rain looks like it is here to stay for a few more days. I will attempt to get some indoor stuff done. On Friday, I got me a box of vinyl tiles from Wal-Mart even cheaper than Home Depot's cheapest. Incidentally Home Depot's cheapest are the same tiles that are in our washroom. What the hell were the PO's thinking??????

Brendan comes tomorrow. Yay!

Shed Build Diary - 8.01

With rain expected tonight and tomorrow, this evening was a frantic rush to tarp off the roof and sides. I had asked Lynda to be around as I would be working on the roof of the shed. She came out all ready to do work but I just needed her to be around to call 911 if I happened to fall off the roof. After a while she got tired of waiting around and decided to water the plants. 'Let me know if you fall' she advised. I expect to scream as I fall was my retort.

Anyhoo. Work was done without incident. Layla was up and down the ladder assisting and hoping that I would invite her on the roof. NOT!!!

Shed Build Diary - 8

Since I cannot start working on the North wall without removing/dismantling the old shed, I decided to start with the sheathing of the South and West walls as well as the roofing. This will allow me to move stuff into the shed and get rid of the old one. For some reason, I miscalculated the OSB requirements and came home one sheet short. So tomorrow it's back to the 'Depot'.

Shed Build Diary - 7

I managed to install 90% of the rafters all by myself as Dad is still in the East end. I used joist hangers that are not supposed to be used for rafters, however the price difference of CAD 7.00 per hanger justifies it's use.

Simpson 'Strong Tie' Hurricane Ties used at the front of the shed.

Joist hangers used at the wall end.

Dealmonger - Malibu Deck Lighting

This morning saw me back at the Brampton ReStore in an attempt to score a window for the south wall of the shed. I did not find the window, but instead scored 9 of the above Low Voltage Deck Lights for the princely sum of CAD 1.00 each. That means that I got the 9 units for CAD 9.13, which is less than the pre tax price of CAD 12.98 per unit at the 'Depot'!!

Me Happy!!!

Shed Build Diary - 6

No pics. I had the entire work area covered in Tarpaulin as there was rain on the weekend. On Saturday Dad and I got in a good deal of work, building the South wall and bracing the structure. Got the wood for the rafters and I intend to start construction later in the day.

Day & Mum are at A. Joy's place for the week and Savio has already found a place to stay. So I'm all alone this week. Let's see what I get done.

On another note - download Praan by Gary Schyman and sung by Palbasha Siddique. It's from www.wherethehellismatt.com. Good listen. Strange Motive.

Get on the GO

Last Thursday I took the Girls to the CNE (Seperate post on that) and we took the GO Train in. It was an amazingly smooth ride. It's a pity that ridership numbers (and the CN) do not justify or allow for all day services. We had to take the GO bus back in to Brampton and was stuck on the 427 for 45 minutes on account of construction. However the sheer luxury of the seats more than made up for the delay.

The LINK - GTAA Terminal Train

This morning Dad & I got to joy-ride (yes. You heard that right) on the LINK, Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminal Train. While waiting for Savio, we decided - what the heck - to go for a ride. The train is not technically a train, but a Cable Car!! It contains no propulsion unit but instead is moved by a cable from station to station. If you look closely you can see the return cable running within the framework. Very interesting!! It is made by the Doppelmayr Cable Car Company from whose site the pictures above have been culled.
A very nice ride!!!!

Shed Build Diary - 5

Finally managed to get some work done today in between entertaining Dagmar, Maya & Gang and collecting Savio from the airport. The front wall has been framed and the window installed just to see how it looks. Me thinks it looks fine. I could've done with more space... but then again... how much land does one man need??????

A Shout Out for my Mother

While most of my posts feature my father helping me build schtuff, It would be thoughtless of me not to mention my mother who by ensuring that there is food on the table for lunch and dinner, has enabled me to complete my projects by due date. Alas I do not have pictures of Mum and A. Ayn at full tilt in the Chutney Factory that was my kitchen last Saturday. Pity.

Here is Mum in the gardens of Casa Loma

Shed Build Diary - 4

This is the door that I picked up from the Brampton Re-Store. I could've got a steel door, but I need to make adjustments to the height of the door and this could be cut easily. Besides I liked the fact that the door is Oak. Dad will sand and varnish the door and it should look great in contrast to the white shed.

Shed Build Diary - 3

The floor in place. We used 5/8" Spruce Exterior Grade Plywood, No Nails adhesive and 97, 1" screws to lay the floor. This is to ensure that the floor will not squeak for many years to come.

Word of Advice. When getting anything cut at the Home Depot, be sure to measure before and after the cut. The kid there screwed up one entire board because he did not know how to accommodate for the Kerf. So I had to get another board and got the cuts for free as well.

Shed Build Diary - 2

We built the base using pressure treated wood on the sides and standard SPF (Spruce/Pine/Fir) studs as the floor joists. I used Simpson 'Strong Tie' Joist Hangers for added strength. We then lifted the entire unit from the Deck where we built it, to it's intended location and then used concrete screws to fasten it to the wall at the rear and the floor at the front.

Shed Build Diary - 1

Finally started work on the Shed. Dad and I moved the old shed off the foundation and to the side.

Prisoner - Denzil Francis D'Souza

And finally pictures of Dad as P.O.W. going about his daily chores breaking bricks..........


Happy prisoners have a better chance of parole!!!

And are even permitted to have visitors!!!

And for the record we have a video of the prisoner going about his daily duties.....

Garage Sale Loot - Saturday the 9th of August

Wow we really trawled Brampton this morning. Got some great packs of Black & White pictures of Canadian soldiers as well as the Scottish and Welsh countryside. From the same sale I got a Honeywell programmable thermostat, a scouts compass for Layla and a vintage cookie cookbook.

From another sale I got a Yoke (the kind that hitches bullocks to a cart) and from another I got a Bessey Table vice.

Not to shabby for a morning at the sales.

Sounds from the Road - Part Zwei

Saturday morning sees Dad & myself at the bank to withraw cash for the Garage Sales and what do I find lying on the grass in the parking lot of the bank. A retro Telefunken TR 606 receiver. I did not expect it to work but saw me using the case as a computer case for the Media Server that I have planned to build for the longest time. Unfortunately!!!!!! (or fortunately) it works!!! And well. Oh well. Back to driving the roads with eyes peeled.

Here it is hooked up to my Acoustic Energy's and my Creative MP3 player, looking cool and sounding so good.

And it even has a Midrange control that you do not ever see on modern receivers.

The Tuner section is sort of spinning freely and needs looking at. Otherwise!!!!????

LCBO & Beer Store

Dad & I at the Beer Store this evening with Avi documenting the visit.
A Bud (or two) for you.

It's Canadian!!!!!

Kingfisher!!! Albeit, brewed in the U.K.

Bacardi. Made in Brampton!!! Just down the road from us.....

And finally. WildAss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds from the Road

So my neighbors (2 houses down) set this out on the sidewalk a day before collection and I wheeled all 30+ kilos of it home. I thought that I could reuse the unit as a subwoofer enclosure that would sit beneath the basement stairs and fire into the room from between the treads. The dust cap appeared torn, but that was not a concern as I would be replacing the bass driver.


That was the plan until I unscrewed the rear on the enclosure to find that the bass driver is a JBL unit.........And then I connected it to the amp and it plays astonishingly well!!!!! The midrange driver is shot on account of it being connected directly to the connector plate with no crossover to filter out the low frequencies.

Did I mention that I love this country???????

Cooking Al Fresco!!!

Dad and I just completed what, to me, is the perfect complement to the BBQ. An outdoor kitchen table. Made from Pressure Treated 2x4's, Fence Boards as the work surface and trellis for the door inserts, we completed the table in our target time of one week. A SS sink from Ikea's AS-IS and a faucet from ReStore Brampton complete the table. Mum has already been putting it to good use, slicing apples and other fruit that seem to follow her home from her walks. The doors serve to hold and hide the recycle bins and the girls' various outdoor toys.

Gate Complete

The gate has just been completed late this evening with the assistance of my father. This is a picture of the fence and gate when we took possession of the house.

This is the gate now. Painting is still balance and will be done once the Pressure Treated wood has dried completely.

Go Fly a Kite

And yesterday...... I flew a kite for the first time in my life.... Hey what was I to do??? Let the girls know that their father is unable to do something??????? So we flew the kites and kept them aloft for a lonnnnng time. After which the girls found mock fishing in the "river" to be more fun than the kites.

Thanks Avi and Eva for gifting the girls the kites. Much Love!

Going Commando

Meanwhile Dinesh, my bestest brother ever, got me two more of the Commando anthologies. Commandos are still a great read even after all these years.......

Thanks Bro.

Artemis Fowl - The Time Paradox

Just one day more.......... Be still, my beating heart

From the Mouths of Babes Part V or History Rewroted

So we were driving to see 'Iron Man' (or Istriwallah as they say in India) when Layla mentions Mary Magdalene.
Intrigued, I prodded for more information "What do you know of Mary Magdalene"
Layla: "She's that old girl from the Bible. She discovered a fossil"
Me: "A fossil?"
Layla: "Yes, a fossil of a dinosaur"
Me: "A dinosaur"
Layla: "It was a Fish Lizard type dinosaur"
Layla: "Oh Yes. It was called a Thesaurus!!"

You have been informed. Make the necessary changes in your history books.

May the Fourth be with you!

Wow. It has been long since I last posted. Spring hit us by surprise and sometime in there we had a brief preview of Summer as well. But that is behind us as the temperatures plummeted again reminding us that it is well and truly spring.
This sort of upset my DIY/Reno clock as my mind shifted to outdoor projects. Lynda wants the flower beds in a perfect line. I want a brand new utility shed. She wants the foot of the garden tended to. I want to build a brand new outdoor kitchen in time for summer grilling. She wants the deck area revamped. I want a new recycling centre to keep the blue bins hidden & I want to raise the height of the rear gate and fence.
So much to do with so little time. The girls needed the cycles maintained and I did that. Now they want to cycle to school!!!
Where do I begin?
May the Fourth be with Me!!!

'Achtung!', 'Gott in Himmel!', 'Donner und Blitzen!' - 'Die! Englischer Schweinhund'

While trolling Amazon, I had come across "The Dirty Dozen" way back in 2006. Thinking it to be just a reissued anthology of old comics, I gave it a pass. Until I chanced upon the book itself in Chapters up on Bovaird Drive.

Seeing, as they say is believing.

The book itself is simply amazing. At 25% larger than the original comics and at 700+ pages, it was a must have. Especially for those who spent most of their childhood into the teens watching the Pommies, Yanks and Ozzies trash Jerry!

The book is categorised as a paperback, but truly is constructed like a hardcover. The entire book is section bound. That obviates pages deciding to detach themselves from the book. Best of all.... It's printed and bound in India!

As I was already picking up 'Airman', I passed on the two issues that Chapters had in the stores at a discounted price. However having received the all clear from Lynda, I was there in a flash and so starts a collection..........