Saturday, May 9, 2009

Covered in paint

It's in my hair, on my glasses, my fingers, my arms, my clothes.

We've been painting the house. It looks like a different house now. The main floor is almost all done, and today we made a start on the second floor. With a little luck, we might get it all done by the weekend. We've also got a new hot water tank, and a new burner for it. Dad did the plumbing hookups, and we put the burner in together. It took another day before I was able to figure out the wiring for the burner and get it fired up.

We've got a range, refrigerator and dishwasher now. The dishwasher is still a work in progress. We had to cut out some of the kitchen floor in order to get it under the counter. Today we hooked up water and electricity and ran it without any leaks. Now we have to figure out how to patch the floor! Washer and dryer were hooked up today too.

It's all starting to take shape. There is still lots to do though, and I feel like the house will keep me busy for a long time to come. Not that I am complaining. I am learning lots and having fun. Yes, I am a little sore from being on my knees most of today, bent over painting the baseboards, but the end result was worth it! Tomorrow...we'll tackle the refrigerator and hook up the ice-maker. I'm starting to think it won't be such a big job to plumb the espresso machine now.

Photos to follow.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Halifax Crafters Spring Sale

Today we paid a visit to the Halifax Crafters spring sale, held in an old wooden church on North Street. There was live music, food, lovely crafty things, and lots of people who looked familiar to me. It was like I was back on Main Street, at a craft fair in Heritage Hall. It was, for want of a better word, comforting. And, to top it all off, a rather funny thing happened to me.

Ever since we arrived in Halifax, I have run into people who think they have met me before. It inevitably turns out that they haven't, although I'm starting to wonder if there is another long-hair myopic asian barista roaming these parts. When we went to view the house we ended up buying, the lady of the house was sure she'd met me before. 'Don't you work at Dal?', perhaps my double does.

In any case, back to the Halifax Crafters spring sale. Patty had spied some lovely screen printed handkerchiefs and called me over to inform me she was getting me a subscription to receive a new hanky each month. The woman at the table looked at me and said 'I think I know you!', to which both Patty and I replied 'No, you don't'. I was just about to explain how this has happened to me quite a bit, when she said 'You worked at JJ Bean on Main Street'. She did indeed know me, and I knew her too. We'd actually worked together for a short time at the store on Main Street! What a nice surprise, someone who thought they knew me, actually did know me! It really is a small world.

If you're in the area on Sunday 3 May, the Halifax Crafters spring sale is at the North Street Church, 5657 North Street from 11-5. Admission is free. You never know, you might run into someone you know too.