First snow

The search for warm light.

If anyone remembers, Shawn and I have a trap door that closes off our basement from the main floor of our house. For the door to sit flat, it has to be slammed for full closure- imagine the sound of a 2m by 1m, 2cm thick sheet of MDF being dropped. Jarring to say the least. This is nothing compared to the effect it has on the poor incandescent bulb and light housing that lights the stairwell. Without fail, we lose a bulb every 2 weeks or so. Poor little rattled filaments.

The house was almost fully decked out in CFLs when we moved in, but they were all changed out within days. I cannot- CANNOT- deal with the putrid greeny tinged light that comes out of those bulbs. I have passed apartments up in the past due to a sickly lit entrance way, or exterior lights.

Now, considering there are plans in the works to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2012- not to mention CFLs use less energy, and burn longer- I'm going to have to make the switch, and yes, would probably feel better about it.

However, my question is this- is there such thing as a CFL that gives off an incandescent glow? When I walk by houses with those greeny little things burning at night, I wrinkle up my nose- are those just the older models?. I know that CFL light colour is based on a lower K rating, but is it true? I'm looking for testimonials. One thing I don't want during the long, cold winter is a coldly lit home.

Congratulations!

Proof that the voting public CAN make a difference. Way to go, USA.

If only I could get as excited about Canadian politics...

My new favourite time-waster.

This is sand.

Neco z Alenky (Alice)

A while ago, April mentioned the upcoming Burton version of Alice In Wonderland. Shawn and I were discussing this today, and he asked if I had ever seen the extraordinarily weird Czechoslovakian version of the movie by Jan Svankmajer.

"The WHAT?!" I exclaimed. After some imdb-ing, and perusing viewer comments with titles like "Want to give your kids nightmares for the rest of their lives?" I knew it would be right up my alley.

The taxidermied white rabbit escaping from his glass box!

The skeletal menagerie, and the cabinet (or broom closet) of curiosities!

Why have I never seen this movie before?!?

Pumpkins!

Just add it to the list....

This morning, Shawn eagerly awoke to watch some new snowboarding videos. Gigi Ruf was dropping into his first line of the first show when "SCRWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"- the television suffers a massive heart attack, and dies. Granted, he was an obese fifty pound tube television more than a decade old, but his passing was sudden and unexpected.

I know it's nothing to with our poor little house in and of itself, but it's just one. more. thing.

Double boo.

Things that have broken in our house in the last 2 weeks:

-sewer blockage causing massive outpouring of shit etc. onto our basement floor. Tonnes of fun to clean up at 11:30 on a Sunday night. The guys from the city were awesome, though.

-hot water knob falling off bathtub, preventing hot water from being shut off.

-resultant leaking faucet from the above encounter. (calling plumber tomorrow)

-washing machine (still not fixed- actually was the first in this list to break.) Shawn spent his day off at the laundromat. The repairman is finally showing up tomorrow afternoon to assess the situation- though if repairs are more than $200, landlord has advised us against fixage, and she will buy new machines. Even though it could mean further weeks without a washer, I'm kind of hoping for this option. Go stacking HE models!

-and today's event: front door deadbolt breaking TWO keys in half! My own, and the acting landlord's, who I had to disturb so I could get spares, and try and get into my house. Good thing he also gave me the side door keys- which we never received when we moved in- or I would have been sitting very sadly on the front porch with my eggs.


Things of note that should probably have been replaced long ago:

-front door in its entirety- deadbolt especially.

-cracked airflow vents

-bathroom window (that OPENS to prevent mildew and rot)

-bedroom window (that OPENS, allowing inhabitants to breathe during the summer, or escape in the event of a disaster- is this a fire code hazard? anyone know?)

-inside front door (cracked panels, tricky door knob, single pane glass allowing for cold drafts to flow freely from uninsulated boot room into living room.)

-water damage to roof and ceramic tiles in boot room.

-weather stripping


I keep saying "It's all good practice for when we own our own house...", but generally I'm getting fed up with something breaking every 2 days here, and living in fear of what's going to break next.

It's too bad, too. Because I really do like this house.

Boo.

Belated Penticton!

We actually got to go on a real summer vacation this year! We had so much fun that it has already led to plans for next year's Penticton vacation, and eventually, we hope it will lead to a down-the-road move with a full descent into a hippie Okanagan craftspeople kind of lifestyle.

Belated mountains!

We went to the mountains last week. We had a lot of fun.

It's seems to be a fertile year in the mountains- we saw more wildlife than either of us ever had in one day. Alas, my photography skills were rarely quick enough to capture them! We saw a herd of lady and baby elk, a manly lone elk, a mama black bear and her two babies, bighorn sheep, loons, a grey fox, white-tailed deer, and a beaver lodge!

Location: Lake Louise, Jasper, Icefields Parkway, Mount Edith Cavell, bear country, Columbia Glacier.