Back from the abyss...

Hey loyal readers (the few of you who still check in here!) I'm back again!

I've been making a good recovery from surgery. Catching pneumonia when your jaw is wired shut isn't something I'd recommend.

So while I was recovering I pinned a lot of things to eat and to make and got it in my head that I should get some vinyl and try out cutting it with my Cricut. After some trial and error with blade depth / speed / pressure I figured out how to do a "kiss cut" and cut just the vinyl and not the backing. Then I ordered some transfer tape to make my decal making easier.

I've been having a blast!!

I've made all sorts of decals for myself and for friends and I have a small handful of some that I made multiples of that I'm hoping to be able to sell to folks I know. I'm not trying to run a business making these, just bring in enough to recoup my costs for the vinyl, tansfer tape, etc in order to buy more to play with!

My most recent, put on my 1981 CJ7:

KEEP CALM AND JEEP ON

In the same theme as the KCCO decal, I made a siliar one for the camper!

KEEP CALM AND CAMP ON

I think I like that one the best since it's the first one I made!

Then I got creative with the design program I use and made a "subway art" style decal for the inside of the camper, I LOVE this one!

WHEREVER WE ARE TOGETHER, THAT IS HOME

Next week I'll be giving some of my friends the decals I made for them... I can't wait to see my creations on their vehicles!

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Some Summer Adventures (in photographic form)

I bet you thought I ran away. Joined the circus and whatnot. In actual fact, we've just been really busy. The only consistent computer time I've had recently has been at work and THAT has been so busy, by the time I get home at the end of the day, I don't even want to look at my laptop!

We've been camping almost every weekend this summer, with the exception of some kitchen renovation weekends and that ridiculous project has been dragging on for SO LONG! I am just sick of the contractor we hired and his unprofessional ways!! But I digress, I could bitch about him for days and never run out of bad things to say about him. Once the kitchen is finished (God willing) I will have a HUGE picture post with all the steps of the reno!

But that isn't why I'm posting and not why you're reading (you're still reading right?) so here's what I've been up to...

We went to the Nova Scotia Jeep Club Jamboree 2011 and had a BLAST! I drove our Jeep a lot on the 2nd day of the event and got to spend some quality time with  my favourite people:

My grandmother had her 85th birthday and a party was held in the hall of her church and friends and relatives came from all over to celebrate with her:

We tried out a new campground in the beautiful Annapolis Valley (during strawberry season) and met some wonderful people and had a lovely fire! I also put together a surprise for HOTGI and made strawberry shortcake with fresh berries and biscuits (his favourite) while we were camping! When we came home I made about 45 cups of strawberry freezer jam!

We spent a weekend camping at a racetrack, yes... a racetrack!! and had an incredible time! It was blisteringly hot and I took very few pictures, but watching my coworker races his car in the Legends Series was a highlight as well as watching NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose race in the IWK 250!

We following weekend, we went yard camping at my sister-in-law's place and got to spend some quality time with the nephew and the niece!

The next weekend was camping on our friends' property out in the country. They raising Muscovy ducks and there are currently about 80 birds, and the pooch was a bit overwhelmed! We had a GREAT bonfire and they set off fireworks!!

Then two of my childhood friends got married (I've known the groom since we were 5 and the bride since we were 12!) Congrats again guys, you had a beautiful wedding and I was blessed to be part of your day! The bride is a talented blogger as well as a teacher, so check out her blog here!

Off to camping again, this time to a wonderful campground, with OUTSTANDING weather and even better friends!! There was washer toss, happy playing pooches, swimming, and all-out Crazy Eights! Haha! I played in the pool with my new underwater camera and had tonnes of fun!

So, the summer isn't over yet, and there are more adventures to experience, a birthday to have, and pictures to take!

I promise to come back and share soon!!

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The Re-emergence of a Kitchen Renovation Homeowner

So, a few months ago, I blogged about an earl grey latte (as it were) and in the background of the finished product picture are my ugly old outdated cupboards. I mentioned that I hoped the next time I posted pictures of the kitchen that they would be fresh and white and new in our renovated kitchen.

On Wednesday June 8th, right after work, HOTGI and I left for the NSJC Jamboree for 2011. Le pooch went for a sleepover with the neighbours. They love having him and we love knowing he's being cuddled and cared for like nobody's business. The Jeep Jamboree seemed better than almost any other, and this was my seventh one. The explaination of how that particular event struck a special chord with me this year is something that can go in another post...

However, the event ended with us coming home around lunchtime on the 12th. Tired, oh so tired. All attempts at napping and going to bed at a sensible hour were foiled by good times with great freinds. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but oh... does my body and mind now ache with exhaustion. But there are cupboards to be packed and things safelt stashed away (but oh, even when packing with "like" items, you will never find that one bottle of seasoning you know you packed somewhere...) because the demoltition -- of the stupid corner unit -- begins that night!!

I packed, and HOTGI took down the stupid corner unit. I packed things away until I was so tired I thought I might throw up. At the same time I am fighting a cold that I got from playing with my friend's adorable but fresh-with-a-daycare-cold daughter. Meh, it wasn't that bad of a cold. I drank my Immunizer tea from David's Tea (my newest obsession) and I just kept working because the demo wouldn't stop just because I had a cold.

So we demo-ed.
And spackeled.
And sanded (OH how I hate sanding walls!)
And cut-in with the paint, and rollered the walls.
Laid a sub-floor -- with apx. 1800 screws holding it down
Sealed the subfloor
Laid in-floor-heating lines
Poured NINE bags of self levelling compound over the heating lines and the rest of the floor
Cleaned up leaking-into-other-rooms compound
Go to Wendys for a ghetto supper and finally get sight of myself in a mirror. Oh for shame.
Check for flaws/low spots
HOTGI and awesome-helping-friend lay tiles. They did an impeccible job. Flawless.
Next day, HOTGI and same great friend grouted. I am not good at the grouting. History... well. Not good.
This morning... the grout is dry and IT.LOOKS.AWESOME.
Almost all the haze is off but another couple washings and it'll be flawless.
Super happy with the grout colour I chose.
I picked it Friday morning while I was eating breakfast, because HOTGI was picking it up at lunch.
Grouting was happening that day.
No pressure.
SO happy it looks so awesome!

I had 2 good night's sleeps execpt for waking up this morning feeling like my back had been fractured; I believe as a result of the roundest of felines choosing my lower back as a comfy place to sleep. Urg. Muscle relaxant + hot tub as soon as I got up and hobbled downstairs helped make some of the worst of the pain go away.

Next post will be a pictures post outlining all the parts of the demo progress.

I have no idea when I can post pictures about the cupboards as our cabinet guy seems to vanished. WTF, I know... vanished? Seriously? Yep. Dude is gone somewhere and nobody seems to have any idea where. He didn't go to his day-job all week. Not at his shop, not answering at his apartment (phone or door) from both us and one of his coworkers whose girlfriend is my favourite bartender at the curling club I belong to! Anyhow, he's AWOL. I just hope he surfaces soon and puts in my cabinets. We won't be great references I'm afraid.

Until then, we bbq and eat in the camper, etc,etc... and make do without a kitchen. I am getting innovative. And fed up. I want my kitchen back!!

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