Ian's Switch in Summertime Activities

Okay, so for the past few years I have been all about racing my bike in the local road racing series through Bicycles Nova Scotia. Due to many factors this year I have decided to take on a new challenge. That being Duathlons. So for those that don't know that is a run - bike - run race. Normally hosted by the same people that do triathlons, but without the swimming (which I am horrible at). Anyway, I did one of these last year and fell in love with the sport and the organization that hosted the race ( I think there was an older post about that in the archives).

So that is my plan, along with maybe some running races as well (I did enter the 10K Bluenose Race this May in Halifax). I will keep you updated on results and my impressions of the sport as I go along. Here's hoping for a fun summer of run - bike - run for me.

Breeding Fish

Well I bought some new Neon Dwarf Rainbow's last weekend (those being tropical by the way). 1 male and 1 female to ad to my already nice group of 1 male and 2 females.

I try never to put new fish right into my main tanks in case they have illness or parasites, so I set up a small quarantine tank in which I can watch them. Well it is a few days later, I come home from work and those little fish are getting very frisky. I notice some freshly laid eggs on various areas of my fish tank. So I guess they are healthy. But I will still wait to see if any parasites show up in that tank.

I am not too worried about the eggs hatching, the Rainbows are supposed to be very good at eating their own eggs, and I have no where else to put them at teh moment. Still it is nice to see the act of breeding in process. Adn who knows a few little guys might survive.

Last photo of Reno

Just a quick last closeup of the tile. I have added the sealer and caulking in this picture. I was really impressed with the lack of shine from the sealer and the fact that the caulking matched the grout so well.

Kitchen Reno Project Done

So there it is. I have waited as per all directions and now I have
been able to get the caulking done on my kitech tile back splash. I
bought the crazy expensive (oh alright $9) caulk that matches the
grout I used for the tiles. I didn't think it would be that close of a
colour and texture match but low and behold, it did. They even add a
grit to the caulk so the texture is right. I was impressed.

So now that the tiles are done and ready for use it is time to look
at more home projects to complete. At this point we still have our
ideas for built in's in the living room, plus we have our outdoor
gardening to think about.

--
Ian Loughead

Phase 3 of the Kitchen Project Complete.

Okay so no photos this time. Nothing really to see in fact. I sealed the grout last night. At first I assumed it would darken things slightly, but in the end the colour reverted back to light once dry. That is nice. All that is left is to caulk around the edges and I am really looking forward to that. I will wait until tomorrow so that I can di things in the light of day and not at night, when I am generally sleepier.

The worst part about the sealing process? Cracking my head on the sharp corner of the range hood. Ahhhh. And I did it right at the start, so I had to just slap a bandage on my head and carry on.

I will now have to start thinkg of new projects for the house.

Kitchen Reno Phase 2 - Grout

 

 

So the grout is in. I am very glad that I don't have to grout walls often. Ouch. My arms and hands are sore and it was just a tiny area. Anyway, it is done and now just needs to dry before I caulk the edges. And after 3 days I can seal it. Then the project will be totally complete.

Kitchen Reno Project Phase 1

 

 

So I started the day with no tiles on the wall behind my stove. Now I have tiles. This was my first attempt and I must say I like the results so far. Now i have to wait 24 hours until I can add the grout. Then 3 days before I can seal the grout and tiles. Until then the kitchen is on simple food prep only. No splashy food mess for now.

I would like to thank my friend Rick for loaning me the tools to do this project adn to the guy at Home Depot who helped us pick out our products.

Phase 2 pics to follow. Check out the complete set of photos in my web album.

Home Reno Time

Well it is finally time to start looking at some of those little projects around the house. I just installed hooks on all the bathroom doors which I am proud of, but the big test should be this weekend. Time for some tiling.

This will be my first tiling project, though it will be a small one. I am going to be tiling the back splash / wall behind the stove. Enough uncleanable splatters on the wall I say. And time to add a littel character to that area.

We decided on 2x2 tiles on a sheet. Ceramic with a faux stone look, which should go with the flooring really well I think. Only 10 sheets of tiles will be needed so hopefully it should be too hard to accomplish, and there are only a few cuts to make, which is also great.

I will post some pictures of the process as I get it done.