Kitchen Counter Template

 

This guy with the cool sunglasses came this morning to measure the countertop area for the installation of the Silestone Quartz. He only had on his glasses while using the laser measurement device. 

His computer was indispensable to his work. He used his laptop to get the measurements for the job, input data about the replacement sink size for the cutout, and place the order for the material. He even used it to produce the final bill for Home Depot and enter my credit card details. 

Now, we have to wait to hear when we can schedule the installation.

Happy New Year!

This was breakfast today. It is traditional milk rice but created with a variety of different types of rice and regular green gram. This is the first meal of the New Year in Jay's culture.  This is a link to information about Sri Lankan New Year on Wikipedia.   Sinhalese New Year

 

January did not become an official "New Year" until the creation of the the Julian calendar in 45 BC. 

It certainly makes more sense to start a year with spring's birth and renewal. There are many different cultures and religions represented in Asian New Year festivals most going back to agricultural rituals. They all occur at around the same time but are celebrated uniquely. In Thailand it is Songkran and water guns are now required! Jay's culture involves a lot of food but they do in most aspects of life. 

Spring Weather

 

We got back less than a month ago. However it's been long enough to feel like we experienced the local winter. So today, even if just shopping, we felt the joy of the arrival of spring.

A Blood Glucose Test Before Lunch

From a young age, I was told to continue checking for diabetes. My mother had a childhood-onset of the disease. Nowadays, it easy for anyone to check. A couple of years ago, I bought a blood glucose meter because I like gadgets. I regularly have A1C lab tests that are always on the high side of normal.  So, I only check myself with the Contour Next once in a while.

  

My mother would be amazed at how one can quickly get a glucose reading within seconds anywhere!  She had to rely on guesses and portable urine tests.   She died during my last year of college from heart complications due to diabetes.  A few years later, home monitoring technology first became available. I think it is really great that I can get an accurate reading with a little finger prick. Now, however, there are also amazing implant devices that can continuously monitor levels.

Everything Including the ...

If folks stay long enough in one place, they may get a chance to renovate their previous renos. 

In January of 2010, we finally got around to replacing our white laminate countertops. They were original from the buildings' 1990 construction making them at least eight years old when we bought the apartment in 1998.  

We replaced that 20-year-old laminate with a more colorful, but equally cheap laminate. We made the mistake of ordering a style with a backsplash. The original didn't have one, so the installer just butted it against the bottom of the existing tiles. We also reinstalled the same cheap, aluminum sink at that time.

   

Let's fast forward to the present. Only fourteen years have passed.  However, it was past time for a new faucet and we decided to put in a new sink at the same time. The Home Depot installers arrived at 7:00 am today  They were going to replace the old sink and faucet and replumb without a garburator (the term for a garbage disposal in Canada.)

   

Once the old sink was out, we discovered the old faucet had been dripping into the particleboard. It didn't leak enough to drip into the cupboard below, just enough to rot out the fiberboard of the laminate.  We didn't know it was deteriorating.  How interestingly gross!

 

As the contractor said, "This isn't going to work."  Now it has, rather unexpectedly, become time to replace 25 sq feet of kitchen counter..  The old sink is history and we have a rather obvious hole where it had been.  We rushed to the Home Depot this morning and decided to go with Silestone Quartz.  I'd just as soon this be the final time we buy countertop for this apartment.

I hope we can arrange for the installation within a few weeks.  It's not going to be easy living without a kitchen sink!  

Scenic Charging

 

I plugged in my car at the DC fast chargers in Queen's Park this morning. It is the first time I've done so since getting back from winter. I charged once since our return while we were getting groceries at the Coquitlam Canadian Superstore. However, I drove to the park today because I like using those. It's in an ideal place to spend a half hour.

I walked out to the pedestrian overpass. It was not a very exciting view of the Pattullo Bridge replacement.  So I walked to the other side and the opposite direction.  The result is a zoomed photo of Vancouver's North Shore mountains and the Lions.  Also, I strolled in the Queen's Park rose garden, but of course it was entirely cut back at this time of year.  It's hard to believe the plants will become amazingly prolific in a few months.  

Getting the EV topped up was a half an hour well spent.

 

Improved and More Cheerful Weather

In contrast to the photograph from yesterday's blog post, this one does not appear dark and dreary.  Yesterday was so much of a washout, in fact, I didn't notice there was an eclipse. In this part of British Columbia the sun would've only been about 20% blocked at best. So, we didn't miss much due to the rainy day.

Things seem to have perked up today.  I was able to put out a load of laundry to dry in the sun and breeze.  Earlier on a trip uptown, we first stepped foot into our new bank.  We were switched over to RBC when HSBC sold off its Canadian holdings effective this month.  It was a fairly painless process even though it sounded absurdly complicated.  We stopped in in order to use ATMs to change our card PINs to our former choices.  Jay also bought some some grains and whatnot at our health food store.  We bought a few things at the Walmart too as we were so close to the mall.