May 29-30 -- lots to do

Yes, there is a lot to do, but first I'm going for a reasonable bike ride on a clean bike.

I pulled the crankset to check the bottom bracket bearings and was surprised that there was some roughness in the rolling of the non-drive-side bb bearing. These ceramic bearings should last much longer ... anyway, I cleaned, added grease and put it back together again. I'll monitor it and replace if necessary.

Stef called and we chatted for awhile -- about my ride across the country and about their house-browsing in the Toronto area. They are staying with Aaron's dad this week in Mississauga. Just out of curiosity they toured an open house in one of the townhouses on Concil Ring Road in Mississauga where we used to live and she realized how small it was. Yes, our standards have changed over time -- her place in Exton is a lot larger than that townhouse. It was also interesting to note that they are selling in the mid-200's. If I remember correctly, we sold it for sixty-something over 25 years ago. Overall, though, Stef and Aaron were surprised to see how high prices are in Toronto. The housing price slump has not affected Toronto as much as other areas in North America.

Oh -- I should have mentioned that Kylie's U.S. Citizenship finally came through. She too is now a dual citizen.

So -- I did go out for a ride -- the longest ride that I have ever done here at the cottage. I rode to Highway 69 and back then turned around and continued on to just past Port Loring then back to the cottage -- just under 68 miles. There was a west wind strengthening as I rode back from Port Loring. It was a hard ride -- the road is reasonably rough and the terrain rolls. I now know why I was in good shape going to the cross country ride -- I did a ride of this type (other than the rolling terrain) every day in Florida. Riding by yourself, non-stop, 70-90 miles, dealing with a headwind 1/2 the time, is a good workout. Riding 100-125 miles with 2-4 other guys and 2-3 SAG stops is easier.

My plan is to do a ride of this sort a couple of times per week -- I hope that I can maintain that regimen to stay in shape.

Back at the cottage, Abby and I went out for a boat ride. I was playing around with the depth finder that I put on the Whaler in Florida. The water temperature ranges between 62 and 64. I was checking out the shoal in Smith's Bay and the deep spot by the lodge -- just over 80' deep.

We went over to the Lodge to see what Jimmy was talking about where a deck post had been moved by the ice on the cottage facing us -- I now see what he is talking about. The rock crib was shuffled, the post pushed over and the deck has sagged on that corner. I offered him some 4x4's from the shipping skids that I have stored on our property, and a helping hand if he needs it, since he is going to help the lodge get this righted.

Back to the depth finder -- it was showing all sorts of fish, so it will be interesting to see if they are actually there. I have to get my license for 2007 and see if I can catch our dinner one of these days.

While out on the boat I stopped to say hello to Bob Simms -- he was going out fishing for the first time this season. It sounds like he had a good winter and they did very well ice fishing up here. We did not get up north this past winter but it is certainly something that we intend to do in 2008.

Sandy got back from Sudbury just after 5pm, having visited most of the grocery stores and a variety of other places. I'm going to go to Sudbury tomorrow to look at material at Home Depot as I plan to finish the basement floor. I also have to do something with that garden/lake water pump system.

--------------


May 30 ...

I worked on the water pump this morning, fixing the one in the garage which was our old water pump when we used lake water and swapping it for the one in the she. Pumps, pumps, pumps -- the one that was in the garage is the newest, purchased within the last 5 years -- it overheated due to lack of water at one point and a rubber gasket had shredded in side. It was an easy fix. The water system now pumps to 60 psi. I also took apart the pump that was in the shed -- the old Berkley that Dad had fixed a few years ago. It was so full of crap that it had sucked in from the lake that it was a wonder that it would pump at all. I cleaned it out -- it too needs some gaskets replaced so I'll source those with the place in North Bay that fixed it the last time and have a spare pump for the inevitable issue that comes up later.

I then had lunch and went into Sudbury -- two reasons -- one to look at the materials that I'll need for finishing the basement floor and second to buy a replacement water tank for the shed and 3/4 pipe to run a more permanent line to the garden. The old line was disturbed by Dale when we did the excavation for the new house and I've been running hoses to the garden ever since. You don't get as much flow through 350' of hoses and there is pressure loss at full flow.

I picked up a small pressure tank, 300 feet of the lightweight poly pipe that they sell and a variety of fittings -- more than I need. I'll take back the excess -- Home Depot is great that way.

Regarding the basement floor, our intent is to tile the finished areas, but the concrete is cold so we need to insulate. I'm not going to heat the floor. One option that I was looking at is styrofoam insulation with plywood over top. The fellow at HD showed me another solution -- a product called DRIcore that creates a subfloor with space under for water flow if there is ever an issue and that air space also helps insulate. They come in 2x2 sections and tongue-and-groove together like laminate flooring. On top of that I need 1/2" plywood, exterior grade, then a waterproofing membrane/tile base called Ditra. It all adds up of course, work-wise and money-wise but cutting corners inevitably takes more time and costs more.

Sandy called me when I was on the way to HD -- she wanted me to pick up some frozen bread at Costco. I was going to Costco anyway, and it is right beside HD so that worked out well. She called again later, at this point she was in Parry Sound -- she was going there to pick up vegetable plants for the garden and go to the LCBO to pick up wine from an Opimian Society wine delivery. She asked me how I wanted to pay for it, i.e. which credit card ... yikes ! -- it's already paid for. She got that straigtened out, thank goodness. I can't imagine going to the LCBO trying to explain that you had paid twice for something and try and get your money back. Plus, I don't imagine that the prices for these wines would even show up in their system since it's a club purchase from vintners that the LCBO does not deal with.

For you non-Canadians, the LCBO is the Liquor Control Board of Ontario -- it has the exclusive rights to retail liquor and wine in Ontario and collects duty and excise taxes for the government for anything imported directly. In LCBO stores you can also buy beer, but only imports in six-packs. Beer is sold through the "Beer Store", which is another provincially-run outlet. It used to be called "Brewers Retail" when I lived in Ontario.

I got home a little after 5:30 -- Sandy had beat me home and brought the wine down to the house. I unloaded my car and then moved the wine down to the wine cellar. Included in this delivery is also some Scotch and Amontillado (Sherry) -- have to try something different sometimes ! Remember "The Cask of Amontillado" -- an Edgar Allan Poe short story ? I have always wanted to try some. I have no idea what it tastes like.

These last two will probably last me many years, assuming that we ever get through them. The last couple of bottles of Scotch that I had were given to Stef last year -- we had moved them to Philly 13 years ago and had not touched them. This Scotch, however, is different. It's a single malt, better quality stuff than the Johnnie Walker Red, or whatever it was.

That's it for the day.