We have had a busy few weeks, but I did not want to do a blog post about each item individually, so I am lumping them all into one long post … hunker down and grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea.
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Painting Project in our Foyer:
A few weeks ago, I wanted to get my foyer repainted in the same colour. It was a refresh, but also a repair paint job. The kitchen paint colour was accidentally brought into my foyer back in 2018. While they are both white, each is its own colour and they both have different sheens. To the naked eye, most don’t notice it, but “I” noticed it. The foyer colour is Fencepost by Dulux. It has been discontinued. It is a warm white with creamy undertones and I love it. The kitchen colour is Designer White by Pratt & Lambert. It is a cool white. If you’re looking for a true white, this is a good colour choice. It pairs well with our kitchen cabinets which are Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore (I believe).
The kitchen wall paint colour has a satin finish and the foyer wall colour is flat which made the transition between the two obvious to me. I finally painted two walls in the foyer to repair the paint job and to freshen it up. I’m so happy to cross this item off my list.
Here are a couple of before and after photos. Again, not noticeable to most, but to me …. Very noticeable!
I also purchased the book Surf Shack. I’ve wanted it for some time now, hoping I’d find one second-hand, but had no luck. I finally order it from Amazon. You can purchase it by clicking here to have your own copy. This book is such a good book both from a reader’s point of view and for someone who enjoys photography. I’m so happy to finally have my own copy and I love styling my home with it.
Weeping Tile Repair:
We’ve been in our home for over 21 years now. In that time, home repairs will be necessary and it was time to take a look at replacing about six feet worth of weeping tile in our back yard.
Back in the Spring, my neighbour mentioned to me that he thought he saw a rat in my yard. It was possible that if that’s what he saw, it may have been burrowing beneath my patio stones and had possibly trenched its way to our weeping tile. The fear was that the rat might bring a family of rats into my weeping tile and eventually make its way into our home. I needed to address this issue asap, especially before the cooler weather sets in.
The last weekend of August, I had my sons pull up the patio stones and expose the existing weeping tile, which is the black drainage pipe you see in this photo:
Once it was fully exposed, I cut about six feet worth of weeping tile out. Upon inspection, I found a small hole which proved that indeed a rodent of some kind, had made its way into the weeping tile. I’m so glad I finally did this.
I cut a new six feet length of weeping tile to replace it with. I crumbled up some chicken coop wire to prevent rodents from crawling up the weeping tile (hopefully that works!) and I also sprayed it with a rodent resistant spray.
I used only the materials I had on hand to do this job. I wrapped the weeping tile with black landscape fabric to prevent any excess silt or sand from entering into the weeping tile and then I added gravel. Ideally, you’d want to have a good four inches (4”) around the entire weeping tile, but this was all I had on hand. I then backfilled the area with the existing earth to cover it up and then laid the patio stones back in place. The patio stones are not perfectly levelled, but again, I used only what I had on hand. Trust me … it is better than what we had. The patio stones had started to lift and I wasn’t sure what was causing it … rodents or tree roots. As it turned out, it was likely the tree roots from the neighbouring tree that was taken down at the end of June this year. In repairing the weeping tile, I tried to remove as many tree roots as I could to help in the preventing it from lifting any further.
I am so happy to have this project also crossed off my list. These kinds of jobs are more labour intensive, but if you are a home-owner or have ever owned a home, you’ll know that these kinds of jobs are essential for keeping up a home.
Celebrating my Son’s Birthday:
Out of the blue, he is 17!!! I’m not sure where all of these years have gone, but I am starting to feel old now. As a mom of three boys, I am busy between, work, school, soccer, hockey, everyday errands, etc., but I don’t mind because I have enjoyed watching my boys grow and become amazing young adults (although my youngest is still in his pre-teen years). I am a middle child and so is my now 17 year old so I try to be aware of the connotations that come with being a middle child. We had fun celebrating a nice dinner out and a nice dessert at home. Let’s slow down time just a little bit please.
Moving into Residence:
I am not affiliated with IKEA and do not receive any monetary imbursements if you click on the below links.
Last weekend, I moved my son into residence at university. We have been picking up items here and there throughout the summer to get him all ready for dorm-life. He has been so excited to flee the coop and experience university life. He is just over an hour away from us, so not too far.
As far as furnishing his room and decorating it goes. I didn’t have too much say, so most of what he has in his room is his style, but it looks nice. Wait a few weeks and it’ll be a completely different space as he learns how to decorate like his peers (flags, LED string lights! Etc.).
We picked up most of our items at IKEA. IKEA is so great for residence life. My son went with a mostly grey colour scheme. The bedding is the ÄNGSLILJA set. It’s affordably priced and looks great in his room. We already had the linens and I honestly cannot remember where I got them from. The flooring is linoleum, so my son picked out this cute grey carpet, the HOVSLUND, to go beside his bed. In hindsight, we could have gone a little larger, but this still works. The lamp was a last minute find at Walmart. I cannot find an on-line link, but it was $49.98 in-store. Bulbs were extra. For under bed storage, I already had a roll away tote that I gave him, but we also picked up a zip-storage case from IKEA which he can use for off-season clothing, extra blankets, etc. They are called SKUBB and come in two different colours. We went with white.
It was a long day with travel and setting up his room, but he is happy with his room (for now) and ready to start the next chapter of his life. Thank you for reading my blog today. These past few weeks have been busy ones, but I wanted to try to capture as much as I could to share it with all of you because that’s what I like to do. Please, if you will, subscribe to my mailing list so you will be sure to receive weekly updates. Thank you!
