What We’re Working On – Nov 21

What a week! Snowstorms, parkas, winter boots. It feels like mid December, not November. For any of you in Buffalo, I hope you’re digging out, that you don’t get rain and flooding this weekend, and that the Bills stadium will be rid of its snow so they can get back to playing there sometime soon.

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Enough about snow! Here is what we’ve been working on this past week.

Progress has continued on Project Nelson. The bench frames were assembled (using lots of clamps!)

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While El Granto was working on cutting the frames, I was outside sanding the bench tops. It got a wee bit cold last weekend in Canada, so I was sporting a parka & snow mitts while sanding away.

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Boy I wish we had a bigger workshop! There just is not enough room for a motorcycle, woodworking tools & me sanding two 7 foot long benches.

We also learned that our new shop heater could not be run at the same time as say the miter saw or the table saw… guess 200 amp service to the garage is on the wish list. Cause you know, turning the heater off every time you need to use a tool is not my idea of practical. The wee little heater does a good job of warming the air, but the cold concrete floor in the garage is still a load of trouble. We need to get some sort of flooring in there to keep the cold from transferring up through our feet. Any recommendations? Do those rubber puzzle piece flooring mats do anything? Does such a thing as insulated flooring exist?

Last weekend we also celebrated our good friend Josh’s birthday. It was a heck of a good time, that included some beers at Steam Whistle Brewery, and a trip to the Gentleman’s Expo.

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You may notice most of the boys are sporting moustaches. They are raising funds for mens health as part of Movember. You can see their team the Lip Wigs here, and if you’d like to contribute, check out El Granto’s fundraising page.

When the weather turned super cold & snowy, I moved down to the basement and got started on a couple small concrete projects using the new 10lb mix from Buddy Rhodes. I’m super stoked with how they turned out, and hope to have something to show you early next week.

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This is going to be epic, it just doesn’t look that way right now. You will never guess what I’m making with a dollar store Christmas cookie tray,  an old plastic screw box, and a jar of Vaseline.

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The Vaseline was something I had on hand and is just there for weight purposes. Before you ask me why I have Vaseline in my basement,  you use Vaseline as a mold release. I just don’t randomly keep a jar of Vaseline in my workshop. I’m not that weird.

Wednesday night out of nowhere the city got hit with a snowstorm, that made commuting a nightmare. I braved the weather and headed to my local Target (Stockyards) for a Red Card event.

A Target Red Card chocolate. I only wish I could shop with it AND eat it.

They had a bunch of cool activities set up, such as a makeup consultations, a nice gentleman making ice cream in a Vitamix (seriously), a fashion designer who would do a sketch of you etc.

The fabulous Jen from Rambling Renovators was giving out styling advice. I even caught this behind the scenes shot while she was about to give an interview.

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Oh and loved this Holiday table setting! Those candlesticks are fab, and who can resist that dapper deer sporting a mink stole.

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The highlight of the evening however was a book signing with Sarah Richardson for hew new book Sarah Style. Sarah is one of my design idols, and I was super excited to meet her and get my book signed! Such a fangirl!

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So that’s our week in review. What have you been working on?

We have a bunch of work on the docket for this weekend, and I will be sharing a great handmade gift idea for you on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Author: Kristen

Kristen & her husband El Granto & their Vizsla Odin live in a converted Storefront in downtown Toronto.

3 thoughts on “What We’re Working On – Nov 21”

  1. These are not cheap but I wonder if they would add some warmth to the floor? I also have no idea how they’d hold up to workshop wear and tear but the idea popped into my head so I figured I’d share.
    http://www.homedepot.ca/product/dricore-r-insulated-panel/863431

    I also have those rubber puzzle pieces on the floor in my unfinished Alberta basement and they do take the edge off the cold but I’m not sure how well they would fare in colder spaces.

    1. I had completely forgotten about those insulated Dricore panels Ellen! We used the regular Dricore subfloor in our basement. I will look into them, and see if they can be used in a garage. We don’t put cars in our garage (just the motorcycle) so it might work. The transition by the garage door is one obstacle I see in the way, but I’m sure there’s a workaround there. Awesome idea!

      1. While my brain is still tossing this idea around, how about just sheets of high density foam insulation with plywood over top, cut to fit. I suppose that wouldn’t have the handy drycore click-together seam though…

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