New Years Resolution: Fail

One of my 2013 resolutions was to take a photo-a-day for the year; a 365 for 2013.

I only made it through January (well, missed a couple of days). Some photos I made an effort to take...even braving the cold to get out for a new subject. A few were just cellphone shots - at days end I remembered my task and that turned out to be the only photo taken (still counts).

A Month of Pictures: Jan 2013

		Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday

Maybe I'll try again in 2014.

The color is coming back

Been a bit blah for blogging.  Sorry if you've been checking these several weeks to see if anything new was posted.

Cold, snowy winter - just wasn't inspired to write much or take photos.  I started the new year with the intention of "doing a 365"  (taking one picture every day for the year).  I only made it as far as January;  I'll have to do a montage of the 31 photos and post it here soon.

Crocus on the grounds of  the Government House, St. John's

But Spring is on the horizon....starting to feel perky again.

Blizzard !

Snow started yesterday around 3:30-4:00pm.
Lost power this morning just before 7am (and just before the coffee maker had time to get more than a few drops brewed, much to Greg's chagrin).   Power back on around 11:30a.  The sound of our furnace like music to my ears!

Greg couldn't get the door from the kitchen to the deck open (it opens outward). 

So opened the door's window to shovel some from the door frame.  Measuring tape says we have 20" (51cm).   Wind gust have been over 60mph (100km).
Snow and wind to continue today and then change to rain/drizzle.  We'll get up above freezing for the weekend so we'll see how much of this sticks around.
We've got enough food/water/beverages to keep us comfy, so we're not going any further than our front door.

Music NL

My friend Mary recently mentioned liking a Newfoundland band, Great Big Sea.  They're a great band and are well loved in St. John's.  The lead singer has been in a locally shot tv show, The Republic of Doyle.

I'd like to recommend another band to all you who come from away... Hey Rosetta.

Not sure I'll get to make another post for a week, so I'll now wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Miss you, love you!

Looking like Christmas

We've got a few decorations in doors, but no tree.  We didn't think it was worth getting one since we'd only get to enjoy it for two weekends.

A Fond Farewell

My parents & I stood in the parking lot at the MetroNorth train station.  I was getting ready to board the train into Manhattan, and after a few errands, onto a bus to LaGuardia and then onto my plane ride back to NFLD.
With an affectionate pat, my Mother said "bye bye baby".

Projection: Newfoundland

Was looking something up on line and came across a projection/topo map of Canada.

Its so pretty, and it reminds me of how far north I'll be flying in a week.

Bathroom, part 2

So there's some controversy out there about taking books and crafting with them.  I've seen a few cutting comments about people who buy books based on the spine color so it will coordinate with a room. Eh, not my cup of tea but whatever floats your boat.  Another craft blogger/personality was savaged for taking brand new books and shredding them.

I did feel a bit guilty pulling these books apart.  Ok...no so much in the case of the two Nancy Drew books.  But another was Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop and the fourth was Pearl S. Buck's Pavillion of Women.

I assuaged my guilt by recognizing the books were in bad shape, stained and with broken bindings and would have gone in the trash if I hadn't bought them. 


But I was kicking myself when I got around to pasting up the title page of Ambassador Dodd's Diary.  The name on the title page (Martha Dodd) was nagging me and then I realized I'd heard a review of a new book on NPR's Fresh Air.  The author, Erik Larsen, had read Dodd's Diary and written In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror & An American Family in Hitler's Germany.  It sounds like a fascinating story.  You can read/listen to that interview here.

Wish I'd read the Diary before pasting it about.  I did find someone selling a copy of it on-line...for less than 10 cents.

The Bathroom

The bathroom upstairs is one of the rooms we're living with until we can gut it.  It's functional, although Greg had to do some grouting and creative repairs to the tile around the tub to make it so!  One of the first times he took a shower, I discovered a leak coming through the ceiling fixture/medallion in the front hall.   It turned out some of the tiles were loose and the water was finding its way down.  So, it was functional (semi) and ugly (full-on) when we moved in:

Different tile on the floor and walls that don't go with each other, and a formica-topped vanity that goes with neither.  Plus really special wallpaper.

New sink faucet, new lights and power switches/outlet and new window blind.  While Greg was working with the plumber to take out the copper (it was in bad shape under the vanity) and replaced with flex pipe, I suggested Greg remove the doors to make access easier.  We didn't really want to keep them.  The one on the right wasn't a door but a tip-out bin, something we'd never use.  I found some fabric that I was able to fashion into a skirt and put it up with a tension rod. Painted the face of the vanity that shows above the skirt an almond color (Behr's Baja).  I stripped off the wallpaper and pasted up the pages from some falling-apart books that I scored at yard sales.  It probably took me 10-15 hours to do the entire bathroom (over the course of a few days).  It was fun and something I'd definitely try again in a spot we we don't expect to demo.

So now it's tidy enough for a while...

Movember 1

It's Movember;  a month long consciousness raising about men's health, with particular focus on prostate cancer prevention.  To that end, men who don't have mustaches grow one for the month, shaving it off on December 1.  And men who usually sport a 'stache shave it off on Oct 31 and start fresh one (presumably not shaving on Dec 1).  They often do this as a team effort with co-workers, club members, etc and pledge to raise money for cancer research.

Greg didn't participate last year, I guess because I've expressed a dislike of facial hair (soul patches should be illegal, imho).

But, for a good cause, I can put up with a little bristling.  And my hubby looking like a 70s porn star.

Here's Nov. 1 (late in the day hence the 5pm shadow and the reclined position):

And here's today's porn-tastic shot:

My mantra is:  It's all for charity, it's all for charity, it's all for charity.....

A small light

We're still getting new lighting fixtures sorted out here.  Some are brand new and some are new to us.  I mentioned in an earlier post a fixture I purchased at the ReStore.  That one is painted, rewired and ready to go up.  I'll have photos of the fun of fixing that once I know it will actually light up!
Here's a smaller success story.


When the electricians started (holy cow, 4 months ago), the pulled down every ceiling fixture in order disengage the old knob-and-tube wiring and upgrade us to current code wiring. In some instances, they had to put in fixtures where none had existed.

The sound of Summer

This is one of many things I wanted to share going back to pre-Labor Day (just fell behind with lots of intended blog posts).
I was sitting out on the front stoop, sanding a light fixture (that's another blog post in works).  And a cruise ship was getting ready to leave St. John's harbor (this photo is from a different day):

Caribbean Princess exits St. John's Harbor through the Narrows, by Greg

And as they leave they blast their horns and other ships answer, rather lyrically in my humble opinion.  Here's a clip that I recorded with my cell phone:

I really love that I can hear that from our front door.

Ah well, no more cruise ships; the season is over.   Fall is here.  The clocks went back this morning; the furnace is on. 
But it was a glorious summer for St. John's.  Ask any of the locals.

Hurricane Sandy

I've been listening to reports about the aftermath on WNYC via our Sirius Satellite Radio and NPR iPad app.  I hope you all are safe and comfortable, that the power is back on and your homes are dry and warm. 

Labor Day

No...we didn't take a walk.   
We laboured (funny spelling 'cause I'm in Canada); a few projects around the house.
Nothing worth taking a photo of. 
Well...photos were taken but to use as a "before".  Not worth showing until there's an "after".

A Short Walk

Trying to get Greg to go for a walk with me; to here and beyond (a bit):

Looking back towards town

The trail continues below Signal Hill

I walked out last week, mostly out of curiosity.  Getting to this spot is under a mile from the house.
Today's weather is pretty similar - bright sunny skies. 
Will I succeed in luring him out ???  Tune in later.

Moose Alert

This is the only moose I've seen so far (and enjoyed very much) since moving to NLFD.