Phew!... Finally I'm Back Online

Yup... for two days now I have been without connection.  For some reason, I think probably because of the wind, we had no access to the internet. I'm not sure that wireless connection is any better than dial up. Dial up is slow that's for sure, but unless you live where connections are really good, I'm not so sure that wireless is any better.  Wireless here is faster but we have lost it twice in the last two months... so it's quite tiresome to go to write on the blog and discover that I can't.... especially when I have a good idea for something to write.... these days that doesn't happen too often.

We are now at a whopping +3 degrees!!! Far cry from those shivering -29 that we got just a few short days ago. while the rest of Southern BC is experiencing severe winter weather we are enjoying a rare pleasure of mid-winter balminess. Both the Daughters are off for a academic and work ethics honours trip for some bowling and some swimming... a good day to have wet hair outside.

I have been working once again on jewelry.

For Daughter #1 for Christmas

For Mother for Christmas

Two more necklaces finished and one more and a bookmark left to go. And I started a new shawl.... yup, I pulled out that eewww bright pink alpaca yarn that I skeined up a few weeks ago and decided to knit a shawl with it and then promptly sell it..... I am using the pattern of an ex-instructor of the Master Spinner Program at Olds college only I'm playing with it a bit.... and so far if you forget that it is god-awful pink then it is looking pretty good.

Still waiting for the contractor.... hmm... starting to get concerned that my renovations won't go ahead before Christmas.... that would really p--- me off. I'm being very polite and I'm not bugging him but it is starting to be a worry...

We I have finally decided on flooring for the house.... I was really waffling back and forth on hard wood flooring or that laminate stuff which I really don't like, but with dogs and cats as a busy part of this household, I thought perhaps that it would be practical.... We've I've decided that neither one of it will grace these floors mostly because hardwood wouldn't stand up to the running back and forth of the dogs and laminate is too.... well I just don't like it. I want quarry tile instead.... or at least something that looks like it...  I've found what I wanted and it's not that laminated quarry tile stuff either. Home Depot carries a lovely product called Allure. They have lots of different designs but basically it is a recycled rubber product that is designed to look like tile or hardwood and believe me it is hard to tell the difference.... originally that is what we had decided to put on our floor but we couldn't get enough of the product in the colour and pattern that we wanted.  I stupid like, had a friend pick it up for me and she didn't get enough of it so it has been sitting in the shed ever since.  We will use it on the parent's place where new flooring is needed through the whole house. In the meantime, I have seen it (the hardwood style) on another friends house. It even has the knot holes grooved into the surface of the rubber so it really does have the appearance of wood. Well, I want tile and so I had a look at the tile.... and it is gorgeous

... so rubber that looks like tile it will be... There is one slight problem... our living room floor used to have carpet and the kitchen floor was built up to be the same height as the carpet was... this means that we will have to build up the living room and the sun room with a half inch of sub-flooring material. All in all, the flooring will cost $2000.00 dollars which will have to wait till after Christmas.

The whole house renovation will soon be complete... I keep telling myself this... but then I keep waiting for the contractor... hmmm....

That's a short update and since the connection on the computer has come and gone twice since I started writing this I'm thinking I should finish now before the whole thing goes ..... and is gone!!!