I decided to laminate the entrance and living room. I got my daughter, SIL, their friend from work and two grandkids involved.

What are you doing?



My youngest grandson (above) is the foreman and senior flooring specialist.



They finished the front hall yesterday, and are now in the living room. Here is my oldest grandson and John, his dad's friend, bringing the laminate into the living room



The floor was long overdue for a refresh. This is what happens when carpet underlay is left on linoleum for too long.

This is an older home, a farmhouse, that was built in the 1940s. It has plaster walls and hardwood floors. I have been here for 20 years, but sometime between WWII and when we bought it, someone covered the hardwood and put linoleum down. (No, I don't know either) It is cheaper to put down new floor rather than restore what was there.



It's noon at Long Branch Manor. The living room is about half done. The baseboards will be going on soon, area rugs going in, etc. Big supper planned.

Unless they all live with you that is not much of an isolation plan, just saying!

They live three minutes away and were laid off weeks ago.

Here's my 10 year old grandson helping with the floor. He has had a strong interest in building and outdoor work. I realize he has a few years to go before he has to think of the working wrld, but if his mindset doesn't change, he'll make a fine tradesman or a farmer.

Very nice job, Steve. You're making the best of this situation. Here in New Jersey, we're much more limited in what we can do.

Isolated in the middle of a field with a John Deere tractor and a set of harrows, getting ready to sow some grass seed. I can't get within 6 feet of the gophers so I think I'm safe.

Yes, I live in the country. My daughter is one road over. They were laid off at least a month ago. We don't suffer the feeling of claustrophobia that folks living in the city no doubt feel right now. Renos are a good way of getting overdue repairs and changes finished.



Around here, the coyotes are on the down curve. The bunny numbers are up. That will change pretty quick. Mother Nature likes a balance.

Did that chore for the home about 6 years ago. Didn’t have the kids around ‘cause it would have crimped my cussin’.

You know what women say about linoleum.

I really like the looks of the new floor, Steve.

Great to see pictures of your grandsons!

Hope your daughter gets back to work soon.... the unemployment in this downturn is a real bummer!

I am doing what I always do. Building flintlocks.

I have been isolated, but not isolating myself. My truck did it to me. Engine needs a new cam. So we pulled it out, took it apart and the block is at the machine shop for line boring and honing. All this (Of course) in the late winter and spring thaw, so living where I do, and having no way in or out, I am isolated, and I have been since late January. I can walk to the highway and have friends pick me up, but if I buy anything in town that won't fit in aback-pack they need to have a good 4WD to help me get it to the house, so walking for the most part made no sense.

The phone rings a lot, but no one "drops by" when the mus is deep or when the snow drifts are up to mid grill or over the hood.
So it's a mixed blessing.

But it has NOTHING to do with the King Flu.

But I also have to say that's a good looking job you did on the floor. Excellent.

Friends of ours the wife ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks (non-Covid). Started the day the lockdown was put in place.

We’ve been there 4-5 days a week helping dad with 3 boys, 6, 5 and 1 year old. He managed to hire a nanny 2 weeks ago. He’s a chicken farmer and can’t just leave the kids alone while he goes and works.

So, given that we’ve spent so much time in the middle of this mess, no we don’t SD with them. They’re coming here for dinner again tomorrow night. Shashlik, Ukrainian-style.

Thanks, everyone.

With the beer virus posing a slight problem around the world, moments like the following made some chuckle. Others shook their heads. With my twisted sense of humör, it made me laugh out loud. There are funny moments everywhere! Today, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, the province's associate chief medical officer of health, said, "...officials won't really know that COVID-19 cases have peaked until numbers start to drop." Really?

It was an incredibly dim-witted thing to say. Something that I would have expected Doug Ford to utter, not a medical doctor. It was a "stating the obvious" moment. A "ya figure?" moment. A "well, dah" moment. As soon as I saw this, I thought of the Monty Python skit, the Mouse Problem, where Graham Chapman says,

"The only way to bring the crime figures down is to reduce the number of offenses..."

"Well, dah!" Dr. Yaffee! Indeed, the number of case will have peaked, when the numbers of sick and dead start dropping.

I am glad that most of you are keeping busy.

I got another good deal on flooring from Rona - 99 sq/ft. It wasn't as good as the first lot though. I bought another two rooms worth and we'll be starting either today or tomorrow. Once we're done, I will have put new flooring in four rooms, about 730 sq ft, for a little less than $600 all in.

Last 3 days playing with the table saw. Before that a week with the chainsaw and tractor. And feeding the burn pit. Little bit of shooting, and plotting other mayhem.

I'm re-stocking a 1893/30-30 Marlin now that I have time. I bought the wood from Wenigs 20 years ago which was a bit of a mix up. Ordered semi-fancy for a 1894 Marlin and was sent one for a Winchester. Explained the won't fit to them and sent it back, then I received an extra-fancy for a 1893. Wood was so nice for what I paid back then that I couldn't return it.

Then work got in the way, then marital problems and a couple of moves and here I am now with nothing but time to get er' done.

Honestly, the only effect this has on my lifestyle is that I don't get to prepare for any matches because all are cancelled. Otherwise, life goes on as always. I work inside, I work outside, I go for long walks with the dog, while carrying a rifle. Same old. GD

Hey Dan, I hope you were wearing leather gloves. It makes fingers easier to find, if you have an accident. We used to say the same thing about our bomb suits.

Do a good job on that Marlin. And post pix when it's done.

Bill, I am much in the same boat. I am not affected too much. My biggest trouble is not having access to the range. I can use a provincial forest, but the range is easier.

I decided to redo the office floor and rearrange some of my equipment. It will make things easier when I am writing and reloading. I will post aome pix later.

What isolation?

I was designated as essential services so life continues as normal.
They keep telling us don't get sick, you'll be sent home without pay, there is someone else ready step in. EI/CERB won't help as I have
have a military pension.
Wife was laid off for the first couple weeks then got called back as someone got sick, non-COVID fortunately but still had to do quarantine till it was
ruled out. Wife is still working although reduced hours.

Other than staying away from people while shopping, life goes on. I wish I could get some time off, catch up on a few things. There are gophers to shoot darn it
and I have brand new .22-250 to break-in on them!

Getting the new place in Lethbridge sorted, babysitting my granddaughter, reloading, playing cribbage with the boss lady, staying fit, hiking in the coulees and picking up ticks, shooting gophers, working on a old push feed model 70 that was dump bound.

I will hopefully take the old M70 and turn it into something useful, perhaps even something useful and accurate.

Take care all.


GRF

Steve, chainsaws and gloves are like lawyers and matrimony. Table saws are a different deal. Fist is crude and barbaric, the latter is precision surgery. I do stuff with a table saw they don't teach in school.

Interesting thread. Thanks for starting this Steve and nice job on the floor.

I have a routine down -- start the day by putting up pictures of travel, wildlife, flowers etc for a group of FB friends to keep them cheered up and seeing something different to start the day. Typically they would be theme based which means I get to sort through the digital albums and relieve some great days in the field or trips with my wife. I find this one little add helping a number of friends that suffer depression -- so it is a way of helping others.

Then I try to get a 10 Km walk in with my dogs before starting on some type of home project. Pressure wash the house, build planters, wash the cars --- anything to keep me busy as our gun ranges and fishing access has been shut down (announced this week as soon to open). The weather has improved so some retriever training (maintenance) is on-going but I have to be careful as we have no access areas and dogs mandatory on leash due to Covid. Generally time does not drag on.

Floor looks good. I built a new BBQ pit, I’m working on deer lease things now. Wifey is working from home, so I’m stepping light, trying to stay out of the way.