2023 Highlights

Merry 2023 Christmas everyone!

This year we thought it would be fun to post a series of photos that highlights what we did in 2023. We had a good start to the year in Arizona and returned home in the middle of March. Our first project was the removal of the large Siberian elm tree from our backyard.

 We hired a company to do the falling and clean up.

 Well, they felled the tree but it didn't go exactly as planned and destroyed 3 sections of fence.

That's okay, they reduced the total price and we rebuilt the section of fence ourselves. An additional spring project!

The fabric top on our small gazebo kept ripping in the wind so we replaced the whole thing with a hard topped gazebo that can handle a snow load. Another fun project, sometimes a challenge to follow the limited instructions.

We moved the frame of the old gazebo onto the main deck and made a pergola top for it using painted PVC pipe. It provides some shade and we will put a rectangular shade sail over it for the summer.

After 20 years of ownership and some wonderful riding memories, we sold the motorcycle.

It was a good year for gardening and fun to see the seeds in the greenhouse turn into beautiful lush plants. I had 3 garden areas: the main one in the fenced area

 also a section by the shop for cucumbers and cantaloupes

 and also one on the west side of the house for squashes and watermelons. 

Here are samples of the harvest:

We golfed about twice a week this summer at Christina Lake golf course and also took a trip for a 2 night stay and golf at Kokanee Springs Golf Resort. It is still a gorgeous course, very challenging. The food at the restaurant was good, nice to stay at the lodge where you can walk to everything. The view from the first tee is always lovely.

We took the boat out on the lake a few times, even caught a trout for supper. A peaceful sunny day on the water.

Late this summer, we bought kayaks as a new adventure and went out on Christina Lake and Wilgress Lake to try them out. They are fun, looking forward to more kayaking next year.

As usual, we returned to Arizona in late October and got right into some projects that we've had planned for a while. The first was installing artificial turf in the open area of our lot and setting the gazebo and furniture over it. We did all the work ourselves, and were able to purchase the turf at a wholesale store and take it home in the back of our Santa Fe. 

The hardest part was scraping away the landscaping rocks and leveling the ground.

We had been collecting pavers for 2 years and put a border around the turf.

We have also been collecting aluminum sun shade louvres and had enough for 2 projects. Our neighbours wanted a shade section on the side of their carport as they live there year round. We pieced together the best pieces and I painted them before installation.

Before: 

During:

After:

The project on our lot was more challenging. We put an angled set of louvres from the edge of the 14 foot metal roof. The structure is 24 feet long. 

Before:

It involved lots of planning, more painting and climbing tall ladders multiple times to get it done.

During

After:

The last project this year is a rebuild of the tool area under the shed stairs.

Before:

During:

After:

Final event for the year was the purchase of a new (to us) golf cart. It is a 2014 Yamaha and we've fitted it out with an enclosure and seat covers.

Our old 2000 GEM is still for sale. Hopefully, we get a buyer in the new year.

Those are some of the highlights of our year. There are many more that we haven't mentioned. It's been a good year, full of blessings.

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas, peace, prosperity and good health in 2024.

Linda and Stuart

 

NEW KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS

 Yes, that’s the new project!  We’ve been finishing and re-finishing the old concrete countertops almost every year and getting tired of the routine and the struggles to keep it looking nice.

In mid-September, we requested a quote for granite countertops from 7 companies in Kelowna and received 5.  The owner of one company stopped in to assess our project and we were impressed with his knowledge and skills.  As he had excellent reviews, access to granite slabs that we liked and a reasonable quote, we signed a contract for the work.

We were the responsible for taking out the old countertops and doing the prep work and that was extremely challenging.  We had to jack up the edge of the concrete at multiple spots to get it to release from the cabinets below.  Sometimes the silicone/glue gave way cleanly and sometimes it took a piece of cabinet with it.  The next step was to break the concrete into smaller pieces that we could handle (about 100 lbs was our max).  The concrete had wire mesh and reinforcement rods inside that had to be exposed and cut away.  What a messy process!  We got it done without any serious mishaps or strained muscles.

We had to live with makeshift countertops from time of the demolition to installation which was about 3 weeks total.  Stuart had melamine boards from another shelving project that he cut to size and that worked very well.  He also rigged up a board for the faucet so we could use the sink which made everything easier.  Check out the cardboard for the breakfast bar.

The installation process included half a day to make templates of the countertops and backsplash and then 2 weeks until installation.  Due to the configuration and size of our countertops, we had to purchase 2 slabs of granite so that’s why we decided to do the backsplash as well.  There wasn’t much granite left over.

Installation day was exciting and stressful.  They had to do some fancy maneuvering to get the first piece in and up over the breakfast bar.  It took 4 guys including Stuart, but they got it done without problems.  The rest of the job went well, and they were working on it for about 6 hours.

After the installation, there was more work for us to do.  After putting the faucet back, we had to re-install all the under-cabinet lighting and valances (they were removed to enable the backsplash to slide into place).  There were little paint touch ups and some caulking under the breakfast bar to fill some gaps.  A little more work and we are now fully enjoy the beautiful countertops.  We love the colour and the pattern and durability.  What a privilege to be able to do this project!