Long Time No Blog

For those of you who like to read with pictures - sorry. This is a writing blog. I like pics too but it wasn't to be this posting around!

Since last time you ask? Well, we now have black dirt where the grass will be eventually! It's nice to see some good soil track side instead of just the jet black coal slag that used to be our soil out there! I think our grass will have a much better chance growing in good black central Alberta dirt, don't you? We also have the three front areas bordering the street side groomed. That meant a few hot days leveling out the base, putting down filter fabric and making use of the bobcat that was here to spread dirt move loads of cedar mulch that was delivered Monday morning. Kev and Peter spent quite a few sweltering hours out there Monday getting that done! All of this was happening while I was home working on recouping from a bad cold. Hence, no pictures of the action! But you now know that we have still been working away at things out there!

That's the landscaping, what about inside you ask? Again, lots of things have been in the works here. Not really here at in the station, more like at home in the garage and shop. Since the board room is the last room to be done, we have run out of "work space" here at the station. So all the wood has been taken to the house to be manufactured into the different elements to finish off the board room. We've been cutting and sanding and routering and preparing space to stain and varnish the wainscotting panels, trim work etc. And since that's all been going on at the house and the camera didn't follow us home - no pics!

So you will just have to believe us when we say we are still busy finishing up as much as possible before the grand opening. We've also made the decision to hire Lonnie the Painter to do some more inside work for us. We miss having her around anyway - so here's our chance to make her keep coming back!

All this while keeping the office going - trying to stay (get) healthy - plan the grand opening with the tenants. It's been a year now. A long year. A tiring year. But a year worth every challenge, stretching beyond what we thought capable and meeting lots of new friends in the community.

In Response to .....

I think one should expect a response to things they post. This was a surpise! Gophers, I guess, can also get upset and chatter and scold from the other side of the fence! Maybe their grass is not greener!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin eater,
has a good wife and would like to keep her.
He put her in a train station shell,
and there he kept her very well.

He kept her busy as can be,
so busy in fact that she didn't see.
My family and I were having fun,
drinking iced caps out in the sun.

Well then we found that rubber stuff,
Lorraine got mad and took off in a huff.
We didn't know that it wasn't fair game,
Not as much as a NO! from what's her name.

Lorraine tried to like us, but she was afraid.
She just couldn't get over that mess that we made.
So up went a fence as fast as can be.
That Peter's a wiz, take it from me.

A word of advice from me to you,
don't make them mad, whatever you do!
Stay away from their building and all of their things,
metal, wood, rubber and all of their bling.

The moral of this story shouldn't be a surprise.
If you make them mad, they will plan your demise!

(This response was relayed courtesy of "Lonnie the Painter"!)

The Little Fence that Could!

Once upon a time, not so long ago, and not so far away lived a train station. Now this train station was not very old, not as train stations go, but this poor building had a problem. I’m sure this dilemma was one that many of the much older stations had to deal with as well in days past, except for one difference. Those older and much simpler stations didn’t have the newer machines that seemed to complicate life today. They didn’t have something called Air Conditioning. Without the sleek grey boxes sitting on their boardwalks they didn’t have to worry too much about the problem this new station was now facing. Without these containers the neighborhood gophers could wander freely up and down under the older stations’ protective covers and not find themselves in trouble.

Gophers, being gophers, can get into mischief. When spring comes and the young venture out of their underground tunnels, they find it important to romp, scurry and explore everything within calling distance of their burrows called home. Some of them in their wanderings one day discovered something not seen before sitting in the shade of this new train station. Something cool, grey and having interesting pipes running close to their eye height. Now those pipes had some wonderfully chewy black stuff on that was fun to take nice big chomps out of! Little did those gophers know that this new game was something frowned upon greatly by the builders of that brand new red building out there by the tracks. Being young gophers they didn’t think twice about going back to this new adventure park over and over again.

Upon discovering the antics of these young prairie dwellers, the owners of the new station knew something had to happen. Something needed to be done quickly! Before another day passed those zealous gophers had to be stopped in their tracks – so to speak. That black foam was very important and needed to stay on those pipes. With the station dwelling out there right now with little to protect it from the large family of rodents living within a stone’s throw of its walls, at least the grey boxes and pipes could be saved from their eager little teeth.

What should be done though? The containers were there to help the builders of that station work comfortably inside the freshly painted walls. The grey boxes needed to have lots of fresh air to do what they do best. So some more walls were out of the question. What about a fence? A fence that would still let the grey boxes breathe in the outdoor air and cool it down before exhaling inside the new station by the tracks. Remember though, a quick fence it needed to be. So a quick fence it was. One small roll of spun wire for keeping chickens in place and a few rods of wood from the station builder’s workshop was all that was needed to build that rapid little hedge. So with wooden stakes in place and wrapped with the wire fencing, the grey boxes and their important pipes with black cloaks should now be safe from the mouths of the many bold and chattering gophers too brave for their own good.

Older stations may have laughed at the grey boxes now sitting proudly beside the walls of that new station, fences and all. But I’m sure they couldn’t have made their dwellers as happy as that new red train station by the tracks was pleasantly doing for its new owners.

This one's for you Heather!

Here's another pic for you Heather! Yes, Peter is up in high places again!

Somehow those trim boards needed another coat of stain. So after getting a 24' extension ladder, last night Peter climbed up and gave them that final coat. He had to make use of the truck box, mind you, along with the painter's extension pole and small roller to reach the top of the tallest trim board. But it worked! Most of the boards were reachable by him standing on the lower overhang roof. My only task in all of this (besides praying of course) was to stand in the truck box and hold the ladder steady. The things we find ourselves doing - and at our age yet!

This morning is was a real treat to come to work and see the building look finished on the outside. One more little thing. Sorry Heather - that's up high too! There needs to be a trim board added to the top of the windows upstairs outside to create a bit of a crown mold effect. This will be fully stained before being installed!

We also got our "gopher fence" built. Hopefully this will be a very temporary thing. Otherwise we will need to build something a bit more permanent. We will cross that track when we get to it!

Stucco - Finally!

We finally have our finish coat of stucco! We are quite happy with the color, even though we know as it cures it will change somewhat. The tone of gold is just what we want though.

In the pic you can also see the scaffolding that Lonnie is using as she paints the siding. All the brackets, soffit, window/door trims, ledger and beam are done. Just the siding now. She is doing two coats as she goes. Our weather right now is so warm she can go back up to the top after reaching the bottom in each section where her scaffolding is. Plus too the siding is being painted in latex which makes for quick dry and easy cleanup! I can relate to that one! She is doing a superb job!

In the pic you can also sort of peek and see the junipers planted in front of the towering poplars. On Monday Brent and Kirstin were over and we did a "greenhouse hop" and picked up a dozen variety of junipers to plant. These all ended up coming from a greenhouse just a block down the road from the station, but it was fun to spend a bit of time wandering around and checking out what was left at the greenhouses. It was a warm day again, but we managed to get them planted with a bit of extra top soil hauled in from behind the building.

As well in the pic you can see our parking lot now sporting not just one red mustang - but TWO! Our parking lot has definitely filled up! That's a good indication of just how far things have come in the last number of months. It's a good thing to see!

Tonight we have to go and fence in our air-conditioning condensors out back! Not to keep them from running away, but to keep the gophers from chewing away at the protective foam around the lines. Little stinkers are chewing away at this very important covering and then have the nerve to leave behind "little calling cards". Not anymore after tonight - hopefully!! Maybe it won't be too many more years and the lots south of us will develop and that will take care of some of the gopher infestation! Saucy little things have taken up chattering at us when we walk back there now! This won't last.

Soon we have to get moving on the board room and get it finished up. We have just about everything purchased or picked out - just to do the work. Then we can have a grand opening!