a peek inside the fishbowl

06 Oct, 2012

Saturday

By andrea tomkins in Misc. life

Lesseee, what’s on the agenda today?

> Grocery shopping. The dinner menu tomorrow will included bacon-wrapped green beans for one thing, mashed potatoes, and maybe a few other things. Question for you… do you make your own cranberry sauce or buy the canned stuff? It’s pretty easy to make it yourself (there’s a recipe here) but somehow I never bother.

> Couch shopping. Nicole Duguay from Solace Interiors sent us three different floor plans for our new family room and made some recommendations. I am THRILLED. (More about this later!) Mark is now thinking about buying a TV for the basement. Sigh. This would require a second couch as well.

> Obsessive checking of our apartment rental ad to see how many times it’s been viewed. Still no nibbles. Gah!

> A walk in the park, because it’s so pretty:

Walking the dog

> A walk to the house, to see what’s new.The painter will be there today. Seeing everything painted is making a huge difference. By the way, some new photos have been uploaded to my Flickr set.

> A viewing of Twilight – New Moon. Emma and I found a copy of the movie at the library yesterday, so when the day is done I predict some happy snuggling on the couch.

Sounds like a good Saturday to me!

Psst. There’s still time to vote for my bacon and enter the Saunders Farm giveaway!

We’ve booked our movers and are now looking for someone to take over the lease of our apartment. If you know of anyone who’s looking for a recently renovated 2 bedroom apartment that’s walking distance to Westboro and all kinds of amenities (groceries, LCBO, bank, AMAZING dog park, bus route etc) please let me know! It is a very nice apartment. Truly. There is a floorplan and more info on the District Realty website if you’d like more details.

So, yes. The reno! It’s slowly winding down. The fellows are at the finishing stage more or less: painting, patching, working on the closets. Appliances are coming on Friday, and some light fixtures were hung today – like our gorgeous ceiling fan – which we bought at Northern Fan.

I am glad it’s all coming to a close because I’ve just about had it. (Related: How is it that some people ENJOY THIS STUFF?)

I had a bit of an episode last week. Shall I set the scene?

It was lunchtime and I was already weary, both physically and mentally. I’d driven halfway across the city to Lowes for the express purpose of picking out our cabinet pulls and knobs.

The selection was dizzying yet I wasn’t able to find The Perfect Pull at first. My head was starting to spin.

pulls

Sidebar: Mark and I had grand illusions of going to secondhand shops to buy vintage knobs and pulls, but as I stood there, looking, drowning, I knew there was no frickin’ way I was going to do that to myself.

I knew what I wanted. The kitchen hardware had to be dark, but not too dark. It couldn’t be too busy or fussy or ornamental, but not too simple or modern or contemporary. The questions in my head were many: Should the pulls in the kitchen match the interior door knobs and hinges we have everywhere else? How will the black look against our white cabinets and dark counters? Should I get a different colour or style for the dark island? Should I get different ones for the bathroom cabinets even though they’re the same colour… but wait, the floor is different so maybe…

Gah. I counted out the right amount of knobs and pulls and placed them in my cart. And then I went back to look at the display again – had a change of heart – and put them all back. And then I picked different knobs and pulls and counted them out again into the cart.

I agonized over geedee drawer pulls for much too long. An hour? More? Regardless, that time is forever lost to me and I don’t know if anyone will notice or care what I picked out.

THEN I went into the bathroom decor aisle where I lost the will to pick out toilet paper holders. (Satin? Chrome?)

I drove to the house and carried my bags of pulls into the unfinished kitchen. The place was full of workmen; painters, carpenters, kitchen guys. The floor was getting prepped. I was going to put the bags down somewhere and just leave but I thought better of it. I returned to the car, popped open the back, and dumped the bags out and spread them all out. I wanted to count them, again, to make sure.

Guess what, the numbers were off. I almost cried, thinking about how I’d have to go all the way back to Lowes to return the extra pulls I managed to grab by accident and buy a couple extra knobs that I somehow managed to miss.

I stared at the sorted piles in a kind of depressive paralysis/horror, and it wasn’t until a few deep breaths were inhaled and a few more were exhaled that I realized that my tally was actually correct. I had momentarily forgotten that I had indeed picked out slightly different pulls and knobs for the upstairs vanity.

Sadly, this process is revealing to all (including myself) that this whole process has turned my brain into a sieve. Will I ever recover my mental faculties?

Yesterday morning, for example, I received a phone call from our site manager asking us about lightbulbs. It seems we purchased and delivered 90% of our fixtures but FORGOT to buy bulbs.

I can’t believe it either. See? Brain. Sieve.

Lor’ help me. I can survive this. I know I can.

Tags: ,

Thanks for your entries. We have a winner!

* and fab fall fun for the wee ones!

You guys already know how much I love Saunders Farm, right? We like going there in the summer, but visiting in the month of October has been a family tradition since Sarah was a baby. There’s something for everyone, and every year there’s something new to experience.

The daytime scene at Saunders is very kid-friendly and the spook-factor is kept to a minimum. Nighttime (er, and the Barn of Terror) is where the scary stuff happens.

The 2012 Haunting Season begins THIS WEEKEND. And guess what:

  • Saunders has implemented the latest in sound, lighting and animatronics, thus upping the scare factor in the Barn of Terror and the Haunted Hayride, making it even more frightening for even the bravest of souls.
  • Saunders has also added two brand new amusements: the Zombie Paintball Shooting Gallery and something called The Last Ride, which is described as “a super spooky simulation of the “ride” from the coffin to the grave.”
  • The food is better than ever. (And I really liked it to begin with so that’s got to tell you something. And do NOT leave without picking up some kettle corn. I forbid it.)

And let’s not forget the jumping pillows, and the mazes!

maze at Saunders Farm

Anyway, yes, there’s so much to do at Saunders Farm! I’m thrilled that they’re giving me FOUR admissions to the 2012 Haunting Season to give to you, and one lucky family can win all four. The tickets cover admission for a daytime visit or a night-time visit (recommended for kids 10 and over).

  • Leave a comment below and tell me whether you’d use the tickets to visit during the day for some fall fun with your family, or whether you would prefer to scare the pants off yourself during the night-time ghoulishness. I’d love to hear about a happy Saunders memory if you care to share!
  • One entry per family please.
  • This giveaway is void in Quebec, sorry.
  • If you can’t post your comment for whatever reason you can email it to me for posting at andrea at quietfish dot com. Please note, I cannot be responsible if your entry is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder!
  • This is not a requirement of this giveaway, but I do urge you to become a fan of Saunders Farm on Facebook. Check them out here. Seriously, this is a great way to keep tabs on special events and deals at Saunders, all year long.

That’s it! Entries must be in by noon on October 5 2012, at which point I’ll do a random draw of all qualifying entries. The winner will be contacted by email, so make sure you leave a valid address.

Thank you Saunders Farm! And good luck to you all!

Psst. Don’t forget to vote for my bacon!

Archives


  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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