Autumn Nights ~ Tuesday 4

Annie at Cottage by the sea is our host for Tuesday 4 and she writes 

"Autumn evenings were always special when I was a kid.  The day ended early and the family gathered in the living room where my mother and grandmother watched a little TV and my father sat on the sofa reading and smoking his pipe.  My parents enjoyed a cup of coffee and sometimes a snack."

Here are the questions she poses (and my answers) this week.

1. Does your life go along in the same way all year or do  things change with the seasons?

My life goes along in more or less the same way all year. The thing that changes is that I am indoors a lot more once the summer ends simply because it's cooler and often rainy. It keeps me from wanting to go out unless I have something specific I need or want to do.  

Where I live the weather is inclement for half a year so if we want to do something we have to plunge ahead and do it, not wait for better weather.

2. Do you have a favorite meal on the chilly night?

I don't really have a favourite meal on a chilly night but as the weather gets colder I do need to fuel my body with hot and more substantial food than at other times of the year. Having a salad during our winters just doesn't cut it though I wish it did.

3.  Do you have a snack while you watch TV or read?

Yes indeed. I usually have a hot drink of herbal tea or regular tea with milk (the Kenyan way) or if I don't feel too cold I might have a cold drink. If I have a hot drink I will always have something to go with it like a few cookies, a piece of cake or pastry. On a rarer occasion, I'll have crackers and cheese or yogurt with fruit.  I'll often make a fruit smoothie for my cold drink and add some healthy things like chia seeds and sometimes green protein powder.  This becomes my dessert and also boosts my nutritional intake.

4. Do you have a fireplace in your home?

I have a fireplace but very seldom use it. In fact it doesn't even work. The pilot light keeps going out and I only got it fixed once. I could light it myself but I'm afraid to do it.  My fireplace likes needs replacing because the pilot light keeps going out.  Fixing it is not top priority because of all the other building projects and special assessments. One thing about living in a condo is you don't plan the overall capital expenditures yourself though you do vote on them and you do have a legal obligation to make sure the capital projects are done and paid. You don't control the timeline or negotiate costs of expenditures unless you sit on the Strata Council or are the Strata Manager.  Not every building has a strata manager because they need to be paid just like any other service.

Thanks for stopping by for a blog visit.

Update on the Current To Dos

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all fine today.

It's been a busy day for me after a night of insufficient sleep.  After a period of dormancy and lack of action it seems things are moving forward at last on both indoor and outdoor repairs.

There wasn't much happening outside today. It seems they were removing garbage and excess materials in preparation for the final restoration work to be done. I'm hoping it will be done soon because it is already going on 6 months of work. Mostly work that has occurred elsewhere on the property, not on my own balcony. 

The work hasn't progressed beyond this point.

Indoors, the insurance adjuster came at last to inspect the interior damage and work to be done. It was a pro forma visit just to add something to her files because the household insurance will not be responsible for the interior renovation work.  The strata building's insurance provisions have been triggered and work will be done by a contractor of the strata's choosing. The same company that did the emergency work will do the interior repairs. Someone is arriving shortly to take an overview and make sure he and his crew are prepared for the actual repair work with the needed supplies.

I'm happy about that because now I will make sure that I bring two areas to their attention which were not captured in the original report. One of the items is the malfunctioning bathroom exhaust fan. It stopped working shortly after the water leak and I believe the motor probably died due to excessive water contact. So I'll bring it up today and see how it goes. In the meantime, I removed the old fan and I'm cleaning out the opening. It's so full of heavy duty dust. I was shocked since I'm always vacuuming the ventilation screen at least every week. In any case, it is a good opportunity to make sure things are nice and clean.

Old fan full of lint/dust

In fact, I ordered a fan from Amazon and was simply going to install it myself. However the fan arrived in obviously used condition without instructions. In addition, it is much smaller and lighter than the original fan despite my checking to make sure it was the right model etc. So I will be shipping it back. If the insurance doesn't cover a replacement, I'll take the old motor to Home Depot and make sure I get something that will work.

New fan & motor

I've been cleaning out several boxes that the movers packed and stored in the master bedroom closet. I got rid of a lot. Most of which has become trash because I've kept it so long without using it.

I need to take another good hard look at things and get rid of even more.  I'm just so over keeping things for possible later use.  I'm also more resolved then ever not to hang on to things or to over buy things. I've observed that things end up not being used once they are stored away because I never see them and then it becomes clutter and ultimately gets tossed out or given away. Either way, it is a wasteful practice.  Overall, I'm making progress in not buying so much. NowI just need to make more progress in downsizing my possessions. I'm getting my DH to do the same because he has accumulated a lot since joining me.

When I need a break from insurance and renovation issues, I'm usually looking at small home improvements. It takes time to consider what needs to be done and even more time to look for budget friendly solutions then going out to find them in stores or on line.  I make small progress here and there. I also continue to read when I need a break. Right now I'm making progress on reading these books.

Books 35 & 36

Book #37

I've also decluttered a few books that I picked up free over the years.

I'm not sure how many of you noticed that I've posted every day for 61 days ending on Canada Day, July 1st. It was a bit of an experiment and I think the first time I've ever done that over all these years of blogging. I now plan to cut back a bit and enjoy the rest of the summer. 

Thank you for visiting and commenting. I always love to read your comments and visit your blogs. Those of you who blog regularly will know that I'm a prolific blog reader and commenter. I enjoy reading about what you're up too and letting you know I visited by leaving a comment. I figure that if I take the time to read, it is only an extra minute to leave a comment.

That's it for now. Take care until next time.

Monday Starts the Week Again

This past Monday was demolition day at the condo. This was the beginning of it. The walls and ceiling were cut away later. The end result is that the water seems to have dried well enough and there is no mold growing. So that's great news! 

Now they have to fix everything and I'm keen to make sure the end product doesn't look like a patchwork quilt.  I can't wait until everything is nicely painted, carpets are washed and everything is generally fresh again.  I'm hoping to immediately reduce more items before I completely return things to the bedroom.  It might be a bit difficult but it must be done.

The workers arrived at 9:30 a.m and left at 5:30 p.m. I felt quite tired so I went out for a bite to eat and a bit of grocery shopping instead of cooking.  I didn't make it to the community garden but I must get there very soon.

While I wait for the bedroom renovations to begin, I'll be purging in other areas of the condo. I made good progress on Sunday by cleaning the bookshelves and getting rid of a lot of magazines, expired Covid tests and various bits and pieces. 

I also completed reading the thoroughly enjoyable books, The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn and the book Digging Stars by Zimbabwean author, Novuyu Shuma.

Rain was in the forecast for Tuesday but it only rained in the morning.  I was hoping for a bit more rain today and I see the clouds are forming though the sun is shining brightly.  Perhaps it will still rain later.  The forecast is for warmer temperatures again for the rest of the week.  Even if it rains more I have a lot of photos of beautiful scenes and flowers to enjoy from recent walks.

I'm hoping to make good progress on a lot of 'small' tasks and jobs this week.  

Enjoy your week ahead and thank you for making time to visit my blog during your busy day. I hope you'll visit again soon.

Tuesday 4

 Hi and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept alive in her memory by Annie from Cottage by the Sea.

This week's questions come from Pamela Steiner from Florida and the Open Doors and Closed Windows.

Here are this week's questions and my answers. I hope you will participate too.

1. In what part of the country is your current home located? North, South, East, West, Mid West,
coastal, rural, city, mountains or plains?

 

I live on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in the very far west of Canada. I don't literally live on the edge of the ocean but my city is located adjacent to the ocean.

 

 2. Why did you choose your present home, and how long have you lived there?

 

I chose my present home for many reasons, primarily location, size and view. My home is located in the centre of the city making it handy to get to downtown, the airport, the train station and the Greyhound bus, the latter of which is no longer servicing most of Canada.  It is also situated very handy to public transportation and unlike many who live in condos or in high rises, I have a spectacular view outside my window.  My home, though small, is not nearly as small as many other condos in the city and it came with a larger than normal patio, storage unit and parking spot. I thought all of these features would be great advantages for livability and for resale value. I moved in just before Y2K.

 

3. What do you like the most about your present home?

 

There are so many things to love about my home which is an apartment in a condo building.  I love that I do not have to shovel driveways when it snows or take care of all the exterior maintenance issues or common area issues.  The other things I love most about my home are the location,the big patio garden and the fact that virtually everything I need is within walking distance or a short drive away.

4. If money were no object, is there anything you would change about your present home, or would you keep it just the way it is?

 

There are so many things I love about my home but over the years I've come to feel it is a bit too small for my liking or my needs. I don't want to move out of the city to a find a larger space and I don't want the upkeep of a stand alone home. 

 

The thing I would like most is one more room for crafts and sewing and for overnight guests to sleep when they visit.  An addition to my home is out of the question given I live in a condo building.  If money were no object I would like to replace all the flooring which have mostly been replaced once already during my time here. I would also like to put in radiant heating in the common areas and update the kitchen and bathrooms.  

 

One thing I also miss is having a lot of space for plants.  I love plants of all kinds but one needs floor or shelf space. I'm doing some decluttering, reorganizing and so on to make more space for house plants.  My apartment is too cold and drafty for house plants but I will do my best to keep them alive. Here are some recent plant additions to my home.

 

 

 

Currently I am undertaking very small improvements to make things flow better and make the living spaces more enjoyable.

A view to downtown Vancouver from Spanish Banks.

 

 

 

I'm linking up with Tuesday 4.

Renovations

I've been making good progress on my goals this year.  Some of the obvious progress has been on my hobbies (reading, crafts and more recently the garden) but I've also made progress on my spiritual goals, home and family, health & lifestyle and financial goals. It's been hard work but I've managed to pay off two debts and make a very modest increase to my savings and my giving to the mission field. I've only been able to do the latter by eliminating debt. I hope to be able to continue in this vein in the coming years by continuing to do careful shopping, watch my spending and not incur new debts. It is a challenge.  I have some huge financial goals to reach before I hit the magic age of 65.

One big goal I had for this year is to cost out some modest renovations.  This week I will have a renovator come in for a consultation and let me know how much it would cost to attend to the large and small projects I have. The renovator is also an architect and so he can do drawings in addition to the actual work. He came recommended by a woman from my women's group.  His rates are incredibly reasonable because he works alone and as a bit of a hobby after his day job.  I've seen some of his prior work in photos and will try to speak to some of his past clients too.

After the fire a few years ago, all the interior walls of the condo had to be torn down and reconstructed and the insulation replaced. New carpeting had to be laid also.

I've been living in my place now for several years and the cabinetry, tiles and fixtures in many of the living areas are looking rather old and tired. I'm spurred on by the local downturn in the real estate market.  If you want to appeal to today's buyer and make sure your property is highly saleable, then you really need to make upgrades that are more in keeping with the fresh, modern look that most of the buyers are after.

This is what renovations looked like a few years ago.  The main bathroom was the only room that got a major overhaul  (new light fixtures, new tub tiles and flooring tiles) but I don't have a current photo. I don't like the tile flooring we selected so may change this and a few smaller things.

I also want to make the changes for my own sake.  I have never liked the finishing that many condos are made with, such as stock white kitchen cabinetry that are made of some kind of pressed board, marble surround fireplaces, laminate counter tops and tile floors (which are cold and very hard on the feet).  One of my bathrooms was updated after the fire several years ago but the master bathroom was not. It will be a chance to find out what kinds of less expensive changes I can make to give it new life.

Once my reno guy comes over, he will draw up some plans and cost estimates.  I will then know what I can actually move forward with in the coming months and what might have to wait until next year.  I will try to remember to take before and after photos as I think things are going to look very different. I'm excited although it will be a bit of a challenge to "sandwich" the renovations in between travels and visitors.

In preparation for my consultation, I'm decluttering once again. I'm finally getting rid of a lot of fabric I inherited. After holding onto it for 2 1/2 years I know I won't likely be using it. Actually some of the fabric I bought myself quite a long while ago and I no longer  wish to make whatever it was I had in mind. I've also got more books to offload and yarns and crochet thread to someone who can make use of them. Slowly and bit by bit I'm getting through the clutter but still have more to get rid of especially in the crafting department. In this area, I like to sort carefully because it is expensive to replace everything and sometimes hard to find certain things.  The decluttering never really stops as one is always buying something.  But slowly, I am retraining myself not to spend what I don't need to and eventually I'm hoping to get to the point of a more streamlined household.