Dusted off the bike

With the warming of the temperatures, our focus has moved to getting outdoors, in our activities and at home. As has been mentioned in previous blog entries, our backyard is mid-reno, so there is a lot of dirt and dreams of the future. We are trying to make it as tolerable (and usable) as possible as the reno slowly unfolds. The patio as is needs a lot of love. Yesterday we took a few hours to start de-weeding and sweeping it. The sections we did do look better. Bdot put together some lovely potted arrangements to bring in some colour. Saturday we spent a few hours wandering Humber nurseries for vegetables. Yes, we’ll hopefully grow an assortment of veggies. The plants should get plenty of Sun, most of the backyard bakes all day in sunlight. Our new trees (in the backyard) are coming along nicely, especially the two fruit trees. We were told to give the Birch another month before we should become concerned about its lack-lustre leafing so far this year.

Martha Washington Geranium

We are currently getting quotes to continue the backyard reno which will include some or all of the following: *deep breath* Redoing the entire back patio with new stone and taking it down to one level, ‘stepping stones’ from the patio to the new ‘back patio’, retaining wall along half the backyard along the edge of the ‘back patio’, redoing the walkways along the side of the house, numerous new plantings (flowers, shrubs, a tree or two…) and steps from sliding door down to new patio. So there is lots to do… this also doesn’t include the water feature, shed, seating area, pergola… We have big plans for the backyard.

Saturday was a busy day. It started with a haircut and a massage. Which normally wouldn’t be a big deal. However, the Vibe was getting work done on it so we juggled one car all morning. Unfortunately the Vibe’s AC is still not fixed. The compressor is installed but now another part has failed… so… Ugh. I’m waiting to hear from the garage as they are trying to locate the part. We put new Summer tires on the Vibe and they seem to ride noticeably smoother than the snows. No big surprise. I was suppose to meet up with KK to watch the TFC match but the day unfolded in a manner that made it not happen. Shame… TFC had an incredible and rare, come from behind home win. Huh!

Tanga cools off with a swim

It has been awhile since we last biked. Clearly pre-home reno because the bikes were covered in dust from the cutting of the hardwood floors. We drove over to Caledon East to bike along the Caledon Trailway Path….with the dog. It seems like a great idea to bike with your dog. She gets a ton of exercise and gets a really good run… but the ride for the humans is rather disappointing. The trailway is understandably busy…. so with each jogger and cyclist we pass; we had to stop, gather the dog and wait for them to pass. This made for really interrupted and unsatisfying biking. If I biked ahead I’d just have to keep looking back anyway worrying about the dog so… Bah. I’d certainly bike with the dog again, but it would have to be somewhere significantly less busy. We both seemed to enjoy the ride otherwise. I think we’ll return sometime soon and see how many KM we can cover. I figure without the dog we could do 10-20KM fairly easily.

Netflix. I’ve resisted looking at this for a long time. With little on the tube this weekend we decided to check it out. The first month is free and it says I can cancel at any time. I figure a movie costs about $5 or so to rent on-demand so if we use it twice a month then it would be worthwhile. Well… I have to say, so far I’m pretty impressed. Yes it the content is a little lacking, especially in Canada, but the streaming technology has worked flawlessly so far for me. Additionally the UI is clean and simple to use and it learns what I like to watch and offers me new suggestions. So…it may become a welcome addition to our media consumption. This twitter feed (@newonnetflix) also updates the newest releases on netflix for us Canadians. Right on eh!

Wow. Sunday night I BBQed steak with baked potatoes, roasted peppers and brussels sprouts and of course caramelized onions…. I think it was the best steak I’ve had this year. Yum yum yum.

What a battle the Western Conference Final was. Kings and Hawks taking game seven to overtime….! Kings win! I still have a shot to win the hockey pool. I have eight points to make up in the finals I have five guys still skating… it could be a really close finish.