Tag: DIY

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A Garage at Last

A man’s work is never done – that’s the expression right?? Anyway, this weekend brought along the final A Wake at Last project of the year – building a 13X40 garage to store her (our Boston Whaler) over the winter. Thankfully, we had Murphy to keep us company! Some uncooperative weather meant it’s not yet completely finished – but it will be before next weekend!

And speaking of uncooperative weather – I have one daughter in the path of Sandy, and two daughters in British Columbia, which experienced a 7.7 quake over the weekend (thankfully, no where near them). Talk about having to spend a lot of time in prayer!

And finally, a bit of housekeeping if you will: if you enjoy this reading my posts, I’d really appreciate your vote at the Canadian Blog Awards. Voting is simple – you don’t have to register or log-in, you just have to visit this link, and at the bottom of the left-hand column, you’ll see a category called ‘Best Business or Professional Life Blog.’ Expand that, and you’ll find humble little Jerry by the Sea!

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Tuesdays With Murphy: In the Doghouse

I hope I haven’t given the impression that just because I live in the Wonderful World of Whiteway, it’s all fun and games out here. I can’t leave my humans alone for 5 minutes without them coming up with some new special project that, of course, I have to supervise. Take The Berry (a.k.a. Miss Kijiji), whose dalliance with online bargain shopping led us to one of our more recent work days – setting up the dog house.

When Jerry, Joe and Alf backed in the trailer, I knew it was ‘go’ time – these men can’t be expected to supervise themselves! Of course, the humans are calling this 6X6 from Mount Pearl a ‘shed,’ but I know what it really is …. four small walls, small roof, set outside in viewing distance from the house – that’s a doghouse if I ever saw one. Maybe it’s a bit bigger than the standard, but I’ve already seen Jerry ‘in the doghouse’ more than once. But not to worry, gentlemen – if your time in the doghouse starts becoming more literal than figurative, you’ll know I’ll be right along beside you to keep you company!

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Drain Ditched for Beauty

What a difference Nature – and a bit of elbow grease – can make in a month! This drain used to be just that – a drain, a ditch, a neglected area that gets forgotten. Now, although far from finished, it’s becoming a thing of DIY beauty (if I do say so myself).

It’s my labour of love – which with our busy summer season has meant it is usually usurped by labour of necessity – but I still get to dabble here and there. And by the end of the summer, we’ll have a fabulous foundation for a great showing next year. (And check out below if you’d like to see the ‘before’!).

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Look Out, Butchart Gardens!

If you follow this blog, you know that we were recently in the lovely Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. And we were blown away. But the Butchart Gardens needs to look out – we’re back in the Wonderful World of Whiteway, and our rock garden is on the agenda. We had the idea to beautify this drain pipe (and boy, did it need beautification!). And now it’s taken on a life of its own, on the way to becoming, in my opinion, quite the unique garden space.

We’re turning this ditch (below) into a work of art! And getting in lots of outdoor time (and exercise!) in the process. It’s been really fun – stay tuned for updates!

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DIY Flower Bed, Before and After

Yesterday morning we woke up to a light frosting – pretty like frosting on a cake, and great weather for pick and shovel work. Which is just what The Berry and I set out to do. Last fall I bought tons (literally) of slate rock we found listed on Kijiji. And finally yesterday we completed our project of building a flower bed behind the house.

I’ve wanted to build something along this outer wall since the day we bought the place. And after a career of business suits and power meetings (which of course I was grateful to have), it feels great to be out sweating and working with my hands. Especially with a great partner by my side!

Now that Spring is ramping up (post-season snow notwithstanding), I’m sure many readers are beginning DIY projects – would love to hear about them!

BEFORE

AFTER

Thank you, Hobb’s Construction!

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Two Berries

 

Our goal of ripening our Whiteway cottage The Partridgeberry from green to this lovely red colour got put off this weekend, due to some stormy weather. But thankfully we didn’t get hit with a snowstorm yesterday (yes, that was a subtle dig at you St. John’s townies!) so we were back at it. Here’s The Berry (Laurelyn) ripening the Berry – quite the pretty picture!