Busy week, busier weekend

Wow! That was one busy week and it looks like it will be even busier next week.

Parker's first broken stick

We started off with Parker's semi-final hockey game that could have been the last of his season. We were wrong... they now are in the finals in a few weeks.  And Parker needs a new stick. He's never broken one before, so he does it at the end of the season - before he grows out of it over the summer! Another $100 piece of hockey equipment that might end up playing on the driveway.

[Parker - if you are reading this, please note that we have a NEW garage door. NO driveway hockey.  Well, at least until your brother runs into it...]

We got more snow this week. Surprise! Only came down two or three days this week. It looks like it will melt just in time to be sloppy when the weather is warm enough to go out hiking. No big deal. It's all good. I'm not bitter.  

Snow sliding off the patio table

Our student, Stanley, is really starting to warm up to Maddy.  He and she are frequently seen sort of cuddling on the couch.  Don't tell him that she likes to stay close because he eats food, and she knows it.

Maddy's new friend

Today, Adam went for his final driving test and he passed with flying colours! He now has his full G licence and doesn't have to deal with these driving test things for another 50 or 60 years. Now we have the task of trying to pry Wendy's car out of his hands so she can drive it.  He can't use the practice excuse on us any more.

This weekend we are cleaning the house, going out to dinner, hosting Stanley's cousin overnight, then going to the airport to pick up my's parents, brother, and his spouse.  They are from Manitoba, but are flying back from a vacation in Italy via Toronto. They had not been to Italy since about 1964 or so (around the time I popped out... let's forget that looming landmark for now). Must be quite a few changes in the last 50 years! 

We twisted their arms and told them there was no use staying at a hotel then catching the next flight home the next morning!  Adam (the G driver) and I will pick them up in the evening and they will stay to recover until Wednesday morning before heading back to Winnipeg - where their weather has been worse than ours! My parents haven't visited our house for many years, so there are a few changes they will see. Even better, it is March break for the kids (starting today), so we all are going to be home for the entire time they are here. Glad we have 3 bathrooms.  Another good thing as that their jet lag will be not as bad as it could have been - TIME CHANGE time again!

Wendy and I expect to be driving to Stouffville to have dinner with her friend from Ottawa.  Traffic going north should be less intense by tomorrow, right? The only places you don't want to be this weekend is on the highway or at the airport. 

Wait.

Oh cr#p...!

We have a new door and can actually open it!

We got our brand new garage door installed today (www.hamiltondoorsystems.com/).  It doesn't appreciably change the look of the house (same colour, slightly different style), but it will make the garage a warmer place in the winter. It is a sectional door that slides up to open, while the old one was a solid one-piece steel door that swung out to open.

Our new garage door

The old door was bent from Adam's previous interaction with it, and this bend created huge gaps all around the door where the cold could come in.  It was also not insulated. The new door fixed both problems at once and is both insulated and seals out the weather.

This is the old door in the closed position - notice the gap all around.

This is the new door - look, no gaps!

We also got a new garage door opener, and this one is actually much quieter than the Chamberlain Whisper Drive that we had previously... the one that stopped working just after the 3-year warranty was up. Grrrr!

A feature that I think I will really be able to enjoy is the self closing timer - after a set amount of time with no activity, the door will close on its own.  No more forgetting to close the door, and no more waking up in the middle of the night and wondering if it is still open. 

No more texting the kids to open the door for us as we come home. Best of all, we can now drive into the garage without: 

1. getting out of the car
2. unlocking the front door
3. walking through the house
4. going into the garage
5. pushing the wall button
6. getting back in the car
7. driving into the garage
8. getting out of the car
9. pushing the wall button to close the door. 

Phew!  I'm exhausted just writing about it!

Adam had an ooops!

On heading out to school this morning with Wendy's car (which he wasn't really supposed to take), Adam little accident. As he was backing out of the garage, the door came down and crunched the rear spoiler.  Quite the noise!

Since the spoiler is made out of plastic, it kind of crumbled.  We've looked to get a replacement and the best price so far is about $750.  Not going to happen...

We will have to look at repairing it some how, as removing it isn't an option.  There are two large holes with bolts that hold the thing on, and it would likely cause a lot of rusting if we removed the whole piece.