A Warm Blanket

My current crochet project. I am loving this blanket, which will be a twin bed size when it is completed. The colour pattern is random, as each ball of yarn begins with a different colour, and I like the effect. (Suzette stitch, Bernat Pop Foggy Notion, 4 worsted, 5.0 hook). This blanket was originally intended for Grace The Trailer, but Attila wants it at home, so it stays at Mist Cottage. I think I might crochet a second one, so that we each have one for our beds, and then maybe another few for the living room so we can cuddle under them in the winter, while reading. And then maybe another couple for Grace The Trailer… luckily I am enjoying the simplicity of creating this blanket!

It is chilly today, with the sun popping out from behind the clouds from time to time, to fill the living room with light. The weather people predict one more gasp at warmish weather, and we are considering staying overnight in Grace The Trailer, at the Rideau Camp, on that warm night. It will soon be time to bring home all fabric and food from Grace The Trailer, to close the slide out, and to put the winter covering over it. Once the cover is on Grace The Trailer, we will visit the Rideau Camp, but not stay there overnight.

I am looking forward to getting back out to the Rideau Camp. Attila has installed new windows in the dining area here at Mist Cottage, which has required that we stick close to home for the last few weeks. The window install began just as I was dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s related to the property dispute. This means that we haven’t been back to the Rideau Camp to relax after the kerfluffle. The property dispute was deeply disturbing, I felt violated, and then had to fight for my rights as a property owner. I do not like fighting for anything, I like challenges, but I am not keen on conflict between humans, particularly when it is uncalled for. The whole exercise exhausted me on many levels. One side effect was that I had stopped sleeping through the night, an affliction that persisted until last night. Last night I slept soundly through the night. It was a great relief.

The new windows in the dining area at Mist Cottage turned out much better than I had anticipated. We bought inexpensive, energy efficient windows, a common stock item. I did not expect to like them. I love them! Attila finished the project last night, the paint is dry this morning, and I am contemplating what window treatment to use, if any. We don’t really have to have a window treatment, as they are very high and no one can see in. In addition, they are protected from the southern exposure sunlight by an awning. Curtains would make them even more energy efficient than they already are, so I am thinking about it.

The new windows in the dining area of the kitchen, completed just last night. The kitchen is still in chaos. I find kitchen renovation to be the most intrusive of all the types of renovations we have done. We have decided to put down a commercial grade vinyl tile floor in this kitchen. As you can see on the left side of the floor, part of the existing vinyl flooring had been torn up, and was like that when we purchased the house in 2010. We had planned on waiting until we had finished replacing all the insulation and drywall on the main floor, before tackling the floors. In that long term plan the kitchen would have a red pine floor, painted white. But that is taking too long for my liking, and putting too much pressure on us to undertake new projects, so that we can get to the point where we can install the pine floors. So, I want a new floor right now, and Attila agreed. We will put white vinyl tile over the existing floor, anticipating that perhaps someday, and perhaps never, we will tear it all up and install red pine floors. If we decide to replace the kitchen cabinets at some future date, then the red pine floors would be installed. However, I like the old, owner installed cupboards, in all their crudeness.

Our next project, a new kitchen floor! At last!!

The vinyl tiles to be installed in the kitchen: Armstrong 12-in x 12-in Cool White Speckle Commercial Vinyl Tile.
These are old fashioned tiles, the colour runs the whole depth of the tile, so if they get scratched the surface colour remains the same. We find that the vinyl with the thin surface of colour on a backing do not wear well at our house. The layer of colour is easily marred by a falling knife, a moved refrigerator, anything, and then it looks bad, and it is hard to clean. This tile is also much cheaper, at 88 cents per tile we are able to put the new floor in for well under $200. Attila will use a special bonding agent to lay the new floor over the old floor.