Awn til dusk

I got up at the crack of dawn to do the second half of this project.
I cleaned it on the evening before with TSP and scrubbed and power washed the awning before painting it.

I started painting early, cause once the sun came to the front side of the house, painting would be even tougher and it would dry on the brush in my hand. The hammered paint I was using was a different formula to give it a simulated hammered metal finish. Same paint I used on the range hood. Except it was in a can and I had to apply it on with a brush and roller.

I was half done at 11am and finished by 2pm. The second half was tough. The sun was warm today and the silver paint was like a mirror reflecting the rays at me. The awkwardness of the awning was making it slow going, but I just had to be patient and not rush. I was going to finish and I'd still have the rest of the day to relax.

Tresa wanted to change the colour of the awning so it wasn't such a stark contrast between it and the windows. Besides everyone on the street has this white with brown striped awnings. And the old aluminum windows to boot. The guy hit the jackpot on this street.


It was a case of keeping up with the Jovanovicz's. Lots of Euros in this area. You can tell which ones are the Euros by looking at how clean their yards are. Everything is manicured and square like it was cut with a laser.

This was our house when we got first got it. Flag pole and all.
One tree, too close to the house, came down a few years later.
The tree in the white barrel came down the next year because it died.
Flag pole came down a few years ago.




Slowly, bit by bit, we have been changing the elevation of our house.
The two trees are gone, the flag pole gone.
Lawn was resodded. It was full of grubs and weeds. It was a losing battle of me vs. the weeds and grubs.



Those drafty and crappy aluminum windows that were only 14 years old, were replaced by a more modern and way more energy efficient aluminum clad wood ones.

We blacked out the railings in addition to the awning. And I finally put up the house numbers we got last year and mounted it to a nice piece of wood stock we got from Etsuko.



Projects to date this year:
[x] Garage
[x] Awning
[x] basement windows
[ ] upstairs bedroom - insulation
[ ] front basement - kitchen removal
[ ] laundry room - insulation



I deserve a treat.
Wagon rides!
We just had dinner and what better way to tire out a kid that doesn't get tired?
Have him pull the other kids on the street around.

Click me for more awning photos
Click me for more wagon ride photos

Fit4It garage is moving on

After 3+ years, it's come to and end? We had to wish the Fit4It garage a fond farewell.

It was great while it lasted and Lisa, Alicia and the gang are moving past the snow belt.

So after the last official class we all helped them pack up the stuff in the garage. And slowed them down by bringing beer and wine.

But the kids were helping out because of the sugar rush from the cupcake icing.

I took a bunch of photos, to remember, but I was transforming a car back and forth into a robot and eating the cake portions of cupcakes.

We're gonna miss you guys. But hopefully the group that has come together because of Lisa and Alicia, will continue what has been started. There's a huge sense of community here and fitness was the center of it and the desire to continue it, is very much there.

We'll see how everything pans out.

But in the meantime....cheers.

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Ride on Father's day

It was father's day and we were heading to Oshawa to hang out with Dedek and Baka. And mow their lawn and some other heavy stuff until he gets his strength back. I asked if I could ride my bike a few days before and Tresa said 'ok'. I thought she'd say no.
WOO HOO! So I planned out my route. Trying to avoid the busy roads as much as possible.



View google map

It's not the distance. I've done this distance many times before, but the roads would be busy with cars. I'd be taking a route through the city and crossing under the 401 (which is the halfway point).

It was a perfect day. Not too warm, but there was a headwind I was battling almost the entire way.
I had my camel back so I had enough water and I had some left over power gel packs so I had food to get me there. The only thing I was worried about were the drivers in Scarborough. There's lots of Asians in Scarborough. You know what they say - "Asian drivers, no survivors." But they all drive Honda Civics, so there's plenty of room in the lanes.
Once I got past Scarborough it was easier sailing. It's like crossing over the border with lots of undeclared stuff. Now the only thing I had to contend with were all the large GM pickup trucks and SUVs.

It was pretty flat until I got to Harwood and Rossland, then it was rolling hills from there till I got to the Kranjec's. I took a little food break before I tackled the last leg to my destination.

So I made it . In 2hrs 39mins. Dist: 67.8km. Avg: 25km/h

I felt pretty good. More relieved than anything. When I got there Tresa's parents gave me a beer and some puticsa. Then the bar-b-que was fired up and they cooked these massive steaks and ribs, it was a meat lovers dream.
That was the main reason I wanted to ride. I needed to get my body ready to eat. And I was ready to eat. I ate everything they gave me. Plus Kieran's leftovers. It's what I have to do to not waste food.

The one other reason I wanted to do it was to say I did it. Not sure if I would do it again because of the traffic. I left a little late in the morning (around 8:40am, I arrived at 11:20am). Maybe it would be a lot better. Less cars.

It was a great father's day. I got to ride, I got to eat, I even got to nap. And the weather was beautiful.

I need a shave and a hair cut.

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Garage for Sale

This project started back in April. Our garage was so packed. We could barely move around in it. I couldn't even get to my workbench. Stuff was everywhere. We could barely fit a car in here. We needed to do something.

I had bought all the Rustoleum Epoxy Garage floor coating stuff on April 27. I know because Canadian Tire had it on sale less than a month later and I returned it and they gave me a price match on the lower price plus an additional 10%. Saved me a almost 80 bucks.

Because we have a car and a half garage (308 sq ft). I had to get two kits, plus two etcher kits, 1 degreaser, a acid resistant brush, and a squeegee (plus 1 - 4 gallon plastic watering can that I returned the next day).
We went with the clear because 1. it's supposed to be more durable than the gray or the tan coloured kits, and 2. because that's what Tresa wanted (I wanted the gray but I got vetoed).

So here's the shopping list:
1x (depends on spots) Heavy duty degreaser $10.79
- Clean grease areas
2x Epoxy-shield contrete etch : citric etching solution $12.99
- clean entire floor
2x premium clear coat product - apply product $119.00

= 10.79 + 2x12.99 + 2x119.00
= 274.77 + tax
= $310.49 - 77.98 (PM + 10% + taxes)
= $222.37

plus these things since I didn't have them:
1x squeegee
1x scrub brush
1x square broom
2x tray liners
2x rollers
1x paint brush

The coloured kit is slightly different from the clear. The coloured kit comes with the acid etcher but not the anti-skid additive. The clear kit includes the anti-skid, but not the acid etch.

So this product is temperature sensitive. They recommend waiting till after the May 24 weekend. Why...cause the temps are usually above 13 deg C. It's better for the product to cure properly. Otherwise if it rains or is cold. It won't set right and later on, you'll find it'll start to flake off.

But you can do the prep work any time before, and you need to make sure the floor is bone dry before you apply this stuff otherwise you'll trap moisture and the epoxy won't adhere properly. So lots of watching the weather network and patience and planning.

It was a lot of work this project. It started with just the floor, then we purged a bunch of junk in the garage. We found all this stuff that belonged to the previous owner that we had never used and gotten rid of all this scavenged junk that he had, and after 7 years of living in this house we finally dumped it.
Little by little this project grew in scope.
After the floor prep and the purging, we took the cabinets down and some shelving and a metal table.

The hardest part was moving all of our stuff out of the garage. Every time I had to do something major. I had to get everything out and it took me hours.
This weekend we had a garage sale with our friends. So while Tresa and Kieran were over at our Daycare ladies house trying to unload our junk for some hard earned coin. I began the monumental task of unloading the garage for the second time. This time to paint the garage and apply the floor coating. I had been waiting for weeks. But last week I had my triathlon race, so this weekend I was really hoping the weather would warm up and be good. There was a 40% chance of rain, but I played the odds and won. It was a beautiful day, which I spent getting pizza for the Garage Sale clerks, doing some laundry, mowed the lawn and then had to repair the extension cord after I chewed it up with the mower by accident. And it was Hela and Ola's mower and cord. Man...delays. Then I got to the garage.
But little by little we got it done.

Painting was a pain. I was trying to be careful not to spill any paint on the floor otherwise it could affect how the epoxy adheres to the floor. And it took so long. I started at the bench since it was going to be the most work then did the rest of the garage.
I got this concrete paint and waterproof basement paint since we were getting some paint flaking off the walls about 2-3 bricks from the floor. So the upper half is regular concrete paint and the bottom half is the waterproof stuff. And it's so thick almost like pancake mix. It took me forever to paint the bottom 3 bricks. It would have taken me till past midnight to finish painting the first coat if it weren't for Tresa coming home and helping me.
But we got it done. It took about 2 coats to do

I was hoping to do the garage floor as well. But it was too late and I was exhausted. So I called it a day.

The next day I painted another coat while waiting for the temp to climb to about 20 deg C. And then marked off 4ft squares on the floor. The epoxy becomes unusable in 90 minutes, so I had to work fast. I used up the first kit in 45 mins. The fastest part of the whole process was applying the floor coating. I was done in no time. When I started applying the stuff, I noticed that the stuff gives off pretty strong fumes, so good thing Tresa brought home those N95 masks from the SARS days. It came in handy. My head would be spinning right now.

So it's lunch time. And I deserve a treat. I'm done.
Except for putting the stuff back in the garage.

It's like we're putting up this Garage for sale. Like when people want to sell their homes they paint and fix up their house to ready it for potential buyers and tire kickers.

I think we'll keep it or I'll move in there. We're hoping that we can make enough room to work out in the garage too. Even in the winter time. But I may have to install a heater and maybe insulate the garage door. We'll see. The hard part is now done. The things you do as a home owner.




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Life is a bypass

It's supposed to be "life is a highway".
But in this case it was a scraping of 95% blocked arteries.
A mild heart attack on Thursday prompted a series of events that took him to St. Michael's for an echo and whatever procedure that needed to be done.

In this situation, Dedek was lucky. He didn't need a bypass.

We visited Dedek in the hospital on Monday after he had his procedure. Kieran got to ride the subway and a streetcar and we came with food he can no longer eat (too much of).

It's a wake up call for all of us that foods we love to eat can potentially shorten our lifespan. It doesn't matter if you are active, the choice of food is more often than not the silent culprit.
You gotta do both. Lead an active lifestyle and eat right.

As I left the hospital to go for a walk because they only had one chair per bed. And my quads were a little stiff from the weekend warrior thing.
What do I see?

There's 3 chip trucks all in a row not far from the hospital.
Guess that's a strategic decision. Got heart troubles from eating this junk. The hospital down the street will provide the remedy.



Gotta love processed foods.
When you can't read or pronounce the ingredients because they are 5 syllables long.
It can't be good for you.

Choose your foods smartly. Avoid the processed stuff. You know the ones that have a shelf life of 2 years or more. If you're hungry grab an apple or a banana. Drink some water instead of that can of pop.
For anyone that's done any home renos like plumbing. When you are eating junk food, just imagine what your internal plumbing looks like with the crap you put in.
You've got one body - you are what you eat and do. It's like a car - give it good fuel and maintain it well - and it will not only last you a long time, but you should have fewer problems.
And if you don't, expect to be in the shop more often or being left on the side of the road waiting for the towtruck to take you to the hospital.

It's a lifestyle change. And it's a change for the better.
It's ironic we did the ride for heart, the same weekend that Dedek had a heart attack.
We are glad he's on the recovery and didn't leave us too soon.

Busy busy as a beaver

But this was a good busy. Nothing was work related.
You work so hard during the week. And the weekends you play hard.
It was Miller Time.

Man are we tired.






After my race on Saturday, we had a school fun fair going on for the kids at Kieran's school.
It was nice to be able to let the kids run loose in a contained area where they can have a safe fun time. Eat food and make the school feel like it's a fun place to be and not just be all work and no play.





His friends were there and once he realized he was in a safe place, he was off with his friends and we could socialize with the other parents. They even had 4-Squared live band from Treehouse.






Sunday was an event filled day for us too.
I took my cocktail of vitamins with a side order or Advil.
We did the Ride for Heart (this year we did it as the Ride for Dedek).
And I was feeling slightly fatigued from my race on Saturday but I felt pretty good. And we were only doing the 25K but of course I was pulling Kieran in the trailer again.

It was uneventful except on the downhill from the Gardiner to the DVP when I heard a noise and then the scraping of the trailer on the ground, I thought a tire had blown. But I slowed down and discovered the left wheel of our trailer came off, but was just hanging there. I don't think I had installed it properly after looking at my photos from the parking lot. Luckily nothing major happened.

Anyways we took our time from there. And as always we stocked up at the turnaround point and doubled the weight of the trailer. Kieran got out and checked the goodies at this point. One good thing about doing 25k vs the 50k is that if you ride fast enough, you get first crack at the goodies. You know Kieran is Asian because he naturally gravitates to this position (almost like the fetal position). He'd fit right at home in the Philippines. I tried it, but it was not so comfortable, maybe because I've been in Canada so long that I have lost this ability to squat. So it must be something you are born with if you are truly asian and lose once you become westernized.

It's a good thing the return hill from the DVP to the Gardiner Expressway isn't as high as the northbound way. But was gets me are the macho guys that aren't pulling a load and struggling up the hill going so slow and blocking the way. Man...move to the right so people can pass.

We were taking it easy, as I was feeling the fatigue in my legs on the return ride, we took it easy, but the big DVP-Gardiner hill and some sections afterward are long gradual uphills. I wanted to stop and take a few more pictures, like Union Station with an idle GO-train. You don't get these vantage points too often, but I had momentum and didn't want to stop this loco-motive.

The finishing area was packed with goodies. I was kind of tired to walk around so Tresa scouted the area and brought us back some food and stuff. And some of the volunteers were kind enough to bring some of the bagels with becel spread on it for me. Kieran was lights out and so I stayed with him and the bikes.

Once he got up we tried to get a balloon for him but you had to guess a number and if you got it right you got a balloon. But our luck was lousy, we waited at least 30mins and never got it right. He was the last little kid and finally we just had to go. I was trying to explain that sometimes this just happens, but the balloon lady was kind enough to make him a quick balloon, telling everyone we'd been there a long time. Then as we headed home, the balloon popped in the trailer. Oh well...these things happen. He didn't cry, but I felt bad for him for being so patient and not freaking out.

We had to get going to Anna's 11th birthday bowling party.
It was glow in the dark bowling.
And it was so much fun. I couldn't believe nothing was going in the gutters. But then I notices that the gutters were blocked, otherwise it's no fun for the kiddies. I was wondering how they were doing it. I was amazed for a while.
Busted my bubble.




Tresa pointed this out to me because I didn't even noticed, But the ratio was 10 boys to every girl. Most I recognized from daycare (so Kieran knew them), but they all went to St Cecilia's.
But everyone had a blast...the kids were hilarious, that's all that mattered.






And then it was pinata time!






Click me for more School Fair photos

Click me for more Ride for Dedek photos

Click me for more Anna's boys only except for my cousin Stephanie birthday bowl.





Videos:

First time bowler
Anna the bowler
Marika the bowler
11 Candles
Junior Mob in training
Pinata time

I tried a tri and finished!

I did a triathlon today. I can now call myself a triathlete.
I think it's the second race of the season. The first was Milton, last weekend, when it was freezing.
Glad I didn't do that one. Weather hasn't been exactly what I was expecting.

I did this race near Woodstock, called Lakeside. They have a Kids of Steel (KOS) race here too.
I had Kieran signed up but Dedek had an emergency and so Tresa and Kieran stayed behind.
There was a chance they weren't going to do it anyways if it was too cold. We didn't want Kieran to get sick with another cold.

But the weather was perfect - not too cool and not too warm. The water was like the pool. It wasn't bath water but it was pleasant and refreshing. Having a wetsuit helps.
This would be my first open water swim in a long time. And the last time was at the cottage and it freaked me out.
I was in the 3rd wave of athletes to start. I did a few strokes before the race start and I was having problems breathing in the wetsuit.
I tried to loosen it a bit but it was stressing me out.
I tried to not focus on it so much so I struck up a conversation with a pair of other swimmers. One was a first timer too. And she too was stressed. I think she did ok though in her swim.
As for me. Man, did I ever get an anxiety attack during this leg. It's not the distance that's challenging because I can easily do double the distance - it's the open water. It's just so different from being in the pool, it felt like I was learning to swim all over again.

It took me a long time to get to the first buoy. And then I ended up swimming on my back the whole time cause I had a hard time breathing. It was certainly an adventure. But the important thing was I did it. It took me a long time, but I did it. Now I just have to get used to it.
There was a point where I contemplating on calling it quits. But I thought about what Tresa said - 'if you feel like you are struggling, go on your back and do the backstroke'. And that's what I did. Besides I had traveled all this way to do this race and I wasn't going to leave before I did my two stronger disciplines.

Swimming with the wetsuit felt a tad constricting and that's what I wasn't used to. Sure it helps to keep you buoyant and glide through the water, but it hampered my breathing.

This is the transition area. It's sectioned by your bib number.
This race is pretty well organized, I must say. And it's really scenic. When I finished the swim I noticed I could stand up pretty far from the shore. It's like a big huge rock was in the water.
I felt pretty woozy, probably from all my hyperventilating. After I got my wetsuit off and got ready for the bike I felt like I was so far behind. And I was determined to push as hard as I could on the bike. As I was leaving the transition area one of the volunteers said - 'now for the fun part'. I was thinking...thank god the swim part was over. It was a long 14 minutes.

Anyways I got warmed up and began to push as hard as I could maintain for the next 18km.
I was happy with my bike. I made up a lot of places.

I quickly tore open a powergel and tried to get it down into me for energy for the run. And then hit the road.
I kept a pace I could sustain. And when I saw I had less than 1k to go I picked up the pace and headed for the finish.I like this format. I finished in 1hr 14:14 mins. It's a sprint. And your done. I don't think I would anything much longer. It's just too much right now.
But this is cool and it was fun. Too bad Tresa and Kieran weren't around. They would have liked this venue. I missed having them there with me.

I placed 23rd in my age group. Which was the largest wave and I think I was the last one out of the water from that group.

Swim: place 256 time: 14:25 mins pace: 2:53 mins/100m
T01: 3:11 mins
Bike: place 94 time: 35:26 mins speed: 30.5 km/hr
T02: 1:10 mins
Run: place 85 time: 20:03 mins pace: 5:01 min/km
Overall: place 154 time: 1:14:14 Age group rank: 23rd
ChipTimeResults - Lakeside Sat June 6-09 race Sprint Triathlon

I figured I'd have a tough swim. I'll work on it over the summer.