Let Them ...

Mundane Monday started at 6 am, greeted by a dreary, dull, and cold day. Deciding to embrace the quiet, I settled in with a new library book at 7:30 am after not falling back asleep. As I prepared coffee, I made two, but S, slept soundly through the morning, waking around 9 am.

After breakfast (I am trying to implement eating before noon), I embarked on my morning marketing routine and completed the Etsy sale post, successfully launching it.  I had S, the Telus account holder, cancel our home number which took forever. They even came back offering free long distance and phone for $5/mth. After 24 years, we were no longer using the familiar 403-934-3222 as our landline.

While S worked on his Matt invoice in his big brown notebook, I handled accounting tasks and started a load of laundry, including washing our bedding.

After lunch, S folded and put away his laundry, then headed to the public skating rink to gradually get back on the ice without worry of tearing the hamstring again. He also fulfilled Britt’s request by picking up Cooper.

As I prepared for the upcoming month end, accounting continued to be a priority that I diligently worked on. I tried the first rinse cycle on the Nespresso machine then made an iced coffee.

Just before 4 pm, S returned home with Cooper, We prepared for Taco Monday. While the meat simmered, I applied a black stain coat to Kaylin’s desk topper.

Nathan sent these cute pictures of Renn volunteering to help clean poop off the upper deck - I don't believe she did any just got a bag ready like Dad does. This brave little girl is out in the elements sans diaper or pants :)

Hockey was on Prime so into the bedroom went S. I stained the other side of the desk topper then joined him sorting years of prescriptions and health receipts to save or toss. B was out to do her thing then took Cooper home. We ventured out for a hot tub during 2nd intermission. The game switched up with the Flames winning in OT which made S a happy man. We then watched another 1883 episode before he was off to sleep.

Come on spring, where are you?

It appears we inhabit a -6 universe, which I fervently hope will soon come to an end. While it’s possible that the temperature will drop further, I am hoping that it will rise. S was up to take a refreshing shower at 8:00 AM, getting ready for the day ahead. I fed the cats and Harley, prepared us coffee, and spent a few moments relaxing in bed, starting the day with a sense of calm.

As the morning unfolded, S prepared a bagel breakfast for himself and me, before he headed off to church. I had him to leave a stack of games at the gate for someone to pick up after church ss well as drop off another bag of used coffee pods at the post office.

The hippo rider

I dedicated the morning to working on the sales ads for the jewelry box. Listing on Etsy necessitates providing all the necessary information, including the shipping size box and weights, as well as a video. I also completed the accounting tasks for the day.

In my search for the original box for my Saje diffuser, which had stopped working, I spent countless minutes scouring the house. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate it, and S returned home at noon while I was still on my quest. As a result, we had limited lunch options, and S decided to cook grilled cheese sandwiches for us.

I loaded Shelby’s babies gift and was leaving the yard for town when Britt arrived to feed the horses at 1. I stopped at No Frills to get a prescription and a few groceries, then headed to Amanda’s to drop off some things for the kids. Craig’s sister arrived while we were having a quick visit, but I soon had to leave and go to Sharon’s. It had been a while since we had a “tea” visit, so there was a lot to catch up on. Of course, she had fresh banana bread to enjoy as well.

At five, I set off to pick up Britt, and we headed to our appointments at the day spa. After 6:30, I dropped her back home with a few errands to run, including another overcharge on a Walmart receipt. Please ensure you check your recipes before leaving the store. This one was $5, but if they do that to ten people daily, I’m certain it adds up in their favour. I also picked up a rotisserie chicken for supper and headed home.

S had taken Harley for a walk, given her a bath, and changed her fresh blanket in the kennel. He read a bit of my library book and enjoyed some TV time. Additionally, he prepared a pot of rice to accompany our delectable and easy supper, which included a packaged salad and the chicken.

We finished watching the movie “Your Place or Mine.” Now that it’s on Netflix, we watched an episode of “1883” so that S can finish the season and I got a rewatch. He went to sleep, and I watched “With Love, Meghan.”

Couple more projects complete, yeah me!

There was a substantial snowfall when I let Cooper out at his requested 7:45 am. A gentle snowfall continued as we enjoyed our coffees in bed later on. Today was another two-coffee day. After marketing, I moved the dresser, vacuumed and brought in the little table to stage and photograph while S was on his laptop.

I decided to add drawer liner so found a piece that I cut to fit, sprayed it in place and put drawer back together.

The coffee table top looks not as bad but still had little imperfections so I sanded it smooth and will do another coat once it warms up to give best chance of self levelling.

S went to Matt's to repair the concrete but it was too cold so her drove to fetch the mail and informed us that we had approximately 2 inches of snow. Upon returning, he settled into his laptop, engrossed in watching hockey on a new streaming service. I headed back out to work on the jewelry box. I added gold around the edges and sprayed the glass with a gold mercury finish. It looks better now.

He prepared salmon sandwiches for us to enjoy before our 1 pm workshop. The snow resumed its descent and persisted throughout the afternoon. Our workshop concluded early today, by 4:30 pm. S and I took the dogs for a walk while the horses ate their food I had made them, as the snow had ceased. Returning indoors, I fed the dogs, and the snow began to fall once again.

Now, it’s time to post the small table on the sales websites. The snow stopped as we had supper around 6. B landed safely shortly after that. S, meanwhile, is watching more Tigers hockey on the streaming service. I put the glass in the jewelry box door back on and brought it in to take photos. Afterward, I watered all the plants and worked on today’s and yesterday’s blogs.

While I was working on tutorials, Britt arrived before 8:30 for a very brief visit. She and Cooper then left. S had moved on to his Flames game in the TV room. After finishing up on the tutorials at 9:30 I crawled into bed and watched another Million Dollar Secret, the new episode of Surface then was watching some Love is Blind when S came up dejected from the Flames loss at 11:30.

Knockdown unsuccesful

Dreary and with a bitter -6°C to start the day, I sent the dogs out, fed the hungry cats, made coffees, and returned to bed. Unfortunately, the lady planning to come see the dresser today changed her plans, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she comes another day. This did, however, allow me to head to town now, so I jumped in the shower. Next, I loaded things to take to town and put a second clear coat on the little green table. It’s now done, and I’ve left it very simple and elegant.

S came to town after testing the ceiling spray and found that it doesn’t work. Our first stop was Matt’s shop for S to add more screws to the table side that he had forgotten. As we passed the dump, we tossed the trash. Library books were picked up as the snow began to fall thick and fluffy. A huge box of clothes was dropped at the homeless supervisor’s house, and S dropped me at Walmart to get the items on my list. He ran to Rona to return and replace the spray stuff. The snow had stopped by then.

He picked me up and dropped me off at Opa’s to get us lunch. We went back to the ranch to eat. S hit the big brown to watch the news while I shared the latest tutorial on daily link-up parties and started creating two new tutorials for the table and jewelry box.

I ventured back to the garage and finally decided to add a filigree stencil to the jewelry box. I’m usually a fan of a green blue color, but I’m not sure about this colour. Even after adding the gold filigree, I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

The table wasn’t finished like I thought it would be. Seeing the sealed top and shelf gave the table a richer colour green, so I decided to clear coat the entire table. I then decided to use an oil-based sealer on the coffee table. Would this be another mistake?

While I was doing these projects, Sheldon kept trying to spray the sample drywall piece between watching YouTube videos. First it came out of the can blobby, then after heating in hot water it was too thinned out, and he tried everything in between, but he couldn’t get the right finish. He even called the company that made it for help, but they were ZERO help.

one of the many spray attempts

can you guess which one is the original knock down and which one is his test board?

Time to take a break and feed the horses. I used the shedding blade on Switch and Bird, and took the dogs for a walk. It was a chilly -2 degrees Celsius, but I managed to get everything done. As I checked back on the coffee table, I noticed small pockets marks across it. Why is this table being such a hassle? I needed a cold beverage.

S was also ready for a cold drink giving up on the cieling repair. I put the prime ribs in the Instant Pot for supper and peeled potatoes. While the supper cooked, I submitted my paint order and time sheet since it was month end. After supper, I returned to catching up on the blog and S was working on his laptop. At 8, I suggested watching a movie. We started with Your Place or Mine, but guess who got tired halfway through? He was off to sleep, so I switched to Million Dollar Secret.

This is our beautiful Britt and her new hair do with her good friend Brooke at the wedding tonight

Work bench complete and delivered

It was wet out again when I woke up. By the time S woke up after 9:30, I had already received a buyer’s interest in the white dresser and had confirmed a pick-up plan for tomorrow. I made us coffees and we had bit of a phone peruse before I started working on marketing and we each had another cup. S was on the phone with Enmax again, trying to understand the absurd distribution charges.

I headed to the coffee table and stained it with a coat of walnut followed by espresso while still wet. While the stain was drying, I painted a second coat of paint on the small table. S was out to work on the workbench at 11 and spent the next two hours working on it. I also painted a second coat of paint on the jewelry box.

B was out to feed and drop off Cooper after 1 p.m. She timed it well as it started raining turning to grapple after she left at 1:30 p.m. The rain only lasted for about 30 minutes, which was enough time for us to have lunch. I started writing today’s blog on the island, and S hit big brown with his laptop. He tried to take a nap while I was heading back to the workshop. For the afternoon, I sorted through all the transfers, rice papers, and other excess items I had and decided which ones I would never use. I sorted them and rehung them on the cabinet after it was cleaned. 

S decided against taking a nap and was out around 2:30 PM to finish assembling his workbench. I assisted him in flipping the workbench over so that the bottom shelf could be installed. In an hour, he had it completely screwed together. Then, he brought the skid steer over. I lifted one end of the workbench using the furniture dolly while he used the skid steer forks to lift the other end. We backed the workbench out into the driveway. Whew! Now just to get it to Matt’s shop. Matt has planned to come over around 6 PM to drive the pilot truck.

He even borrowed the old anti fatigue mat to use as kneeling pad

We carried out the saw and the spare board. The old man’s calculations for supplies were quite accurate. The sawdust was swept away, and once he was done, he headed inside to elevate his leg in big brown. I fed the dogs and finished tidying up. Then, I applied a clear coat of paint to the green table and the shelf.

Now, it’s time to prepare a goulash supper. It was almost ready to be eaten when Matt and his youngest son, Charlie, arrived to drive the pilot truck for Sheldon’s workbench delivery. The huge bench was securely strapped on with Charlie in the cab along with Sheldon then they and Matt set off. S returned about half an hour later for us to enjoy our meal.

S washed up dishes while watching his Flames and I was working on blog posts as I am now 3 days behind. I also published the new ecru desk tray tutorial and did the marketing parts of it. He headed to TV to watch on the big screen. I uploading photos and published Tuesday, proof read yesterday and today's blogs. I took a yogurt bowl down and joined him for part of the last period. Sadly they lost. I moved to bed to watch some LIB then when S was up from the highlights we watched some Loot.

Duelling jobs in the workshop

It was drizzling and wet when I woke up before 7 a.m. The horses rushed in to get water, their hooves thundering and their bodies wet and looking clean. It was a typical coffee routine (with breakfast for S), with a second cup for both of us. Britt was out to drop off Cooper and race to the city for a haircut at 10:30 a.m. while S was heading to Matt’s to repair some equipment.

I got working on the coffee table after I got the confirmation email I had to take it back to bare wood. Ugh! I started stripping the finish and while it was on doing its work, I did some marketing.

S returned at 12:30 p.m. as I was scraping off the recent finish and neutralizing the wood. We had lunch, and then I got back to the coffee table, hand-sanding the top and power-sanding the edges. I then cleaned a small table to paint another new paint colour, briar patch. I started painting it when S came out and prepared his building materials after doing some rodeo correspondence. But first he had to sweep and wash the floor where he will build it.

the supervisors!

S began his workbench build at 3. I took the dogs for a much-needed walk in the blustery 8 degrees. Afterward, I cleaned and painted the jewelry box I had recently purchased with another new colour - bluegrass.

I was consulted for big decisions for leg placement. This is huge so outer edge sturdiest I think.

B returned home with her new hairdo around 4:30. She quickly fed the horses, and then she and Coop headed home. Tomorrow, she will be leaving for a friend’s wedding in Arizona, while Cooper will be staying with us.

The last task I completed was applying pre-stain container to the tabletop. It looks great as is, except for being a little to light. I finished my tasks and went in after 5 p.m. to prepare supper. S completed his 2 1/4-hour workbench build.

After our pork chop supper, we went out for a hot tub soak. Afterward, we hopped into bed and relaxed by watching "the floor" on the big screen while I wrote today’s blog, and S browsed the internet on his laptop. We followed it up by finishing watching The Continental series, but even after the 45-minute remaining, S started to feel dozy again. A snack break rejuvenated him, so we watched a comedy called No Hard Feelings. He then went to sleep, and I spent the rest of the evening watching YouTube.

Kaylin does her magic

Early wakeup call from the pharmacy around 7:30, WTH. I made coffees fed dog and cats and soaked B's food at her request. She is covering for someone for an evening shift today so needs to feed this am. Upon checking my email, the gal interested in the little drop leaf table had sent the $$ so we chatted about getting it to her as she lives in Edmonton but has friend in Calgary. She has bought from me before. Now to mark it sold on sale sites. Thank you!

After browsing the coffee flavours online with S to get an idea of his preferences, he added shock to the tub to start the brewing process. I had forgotten about the Marketplace to post the dresser for sale so added it there. Then I finished writing yesterday’s blog. We were taking Harley for a walk after 10:30 when Britt and Cooper arrived. Cooper joined us for a walk to the gate and back before going to his mom feeding. She brushed horses’s with the shedding blade while Bird ate, and Roo put on her grazing muzzle, much to her annoyance. After that, she headed home to get ready for her evening shift at work.

We quickly devoured some leftovers and hit the road at noon. S dropped me off at Pet Smart where Kaylin was picking up dog food. He was off to an appointment at 1, so she and I headed to SugarMe. She kindly gave my lashes an eco-friendly infusion and a brow dye. S was there to fix the shelves, with Nathan helping him out. This time, the shelf repair was a success. Kaylin then performed my body sugaring, and her dad got on the bed to trim his brows, ears, and nose hair. We all had a successful day. Thanks, Kaylin!

before and after

lighter coloured dye above and darker walnut below

look at these worker bees go

and if you can believe it I messed up getting the nose hair removal video LOL

also earlier this week she did Britt's as well as Shaina's when she was here.

What a generous sister and daughter XOXO

Renn and Nathan were lounging on the couch when we arrived. The next few hours were a whirlwind of cuteness. Nathan was busy making chilli on the stove and headed to Cob’s to get the freshest buns to go with it. Thanks, N! His dad and Nicki are staying there for the week but had other family plans tonight.

This little girl has such a sense of imagination and fine motor skills and dexterity, she is not even 2!

We bid farewell and embarked on our journey eastward at approximately 7:30 PM, as little Miss prepared for her bath. During our drive home, we encountered a few light sprinkles, and shortly after our arrival, a gentle rain began to fall. Harley was fed, while S settled in front of the TV to cheer on his Flames as they secured a victory in overtime. We resumed watching the final episode of Continental, but S soon grew weary, leaving me to engage in some YouTube videos, including tallow making and gardening.