I met Ryan at the club at 6:45 this morning to go for a paddle. It was humid but sunny. Lots of debris in the harbour from the heavy rainstorms. We did about 4 km on the lake, came in to see if Chris' group was there yet, then did 2km more on the river.



Afterwards, we went to Helen's for breakfast. Ran into Eve on her way to Starbucks - so pleased to see her wearing the Stonehookers t-shirt I made! It looks really great. She's writing a paper for a course she's taking so couldn't sit with us for very long.

Since Jared's coming by to install a NEW GARAGE DOOR OPENER (hooray!) we're just hanging out at my place going through some photos I found in that closet I cleaned out yesterday. So fun since most of them date from when Ryan was born. I also struck geek gold when I opened up a box containing original Star Wars figures plus a G.I. Joe plus E.T. with extendable neck. I tried to hold them hostage for cash but it was too cruel teasing the nerd my son instantly turned into when he saw them.

We definitely got the best of the day by hitting the water early! From then on it was fractured by rolling thunderstorms. Jared arrived during a break in one. He said that those light blinking on the back of the motor wasn't a reliable diagnostic tool so he wanted to take a look inside before replacing the unit. He opened it up and pulled out the plastic gear. It was split in half. I wouldn't be needing a new motor after all. On the one hand, I would be saving a couple hundred dollars but on the other, a new motor would have meant a keypad outside of the garage. That would've been handy for running or biking - I wouldn't have to take house keys.

Jared had the unit apart and repaired in minutes. And the door mechanism is so quiet now, I can't believe it! If you ever need an automatic garage door opener or repairs, let me know and I'll give you Jared's number.

I took the boys out to the Pump for lunch and then they both headed home (Jared with a pair of TFC tix in his pocket and Ryan with a carload of furniture, photos and action figures). I carried on with "operation clean-sweep" - my plan to remove anything from my house that I no longer need/use. I've decided to tackle it one floor at a time. Once everything's perfect on the top floor, I'll move to the main one. All that really needs doing there is hanging some pictures and maybe getting some more plants. Oh, and cleaning out the dreaded Tupperware cupboard - containers without lids, lids without containers, old margarine tubs and empty Classico sauce jars. I just need one or two containers and have hundreds! I'm looking forward to that!

The basement is the real nightmare. The spare bedroom down there is filled with old furniture, both mine, Adele's and my parent's. Actually, more space is taken up by boxes of photos than anything - several generations of Currys obsessed with cameras and photography! There are even Daguerreotypes in there. Exciting!

That's one of the reasons I don't want to just arbitrarily throw out these boxes. There's some pretty interesting stuff. I found an 1800-something deed to some land in Apsley, Ontario in one box and some really old photos of Mooneys Bay in Ottawa. You never know - there may be more with some canoeing going on.

Anyway, there's that room and then the laundry room. I want to set that area up as a silk screen studio so will need to get rid of the dismembered kitchen cabinets that the last owner installed and create a darkroom in the cold storage at the back. Those have been my hiding places for all kinds of junk, "out of sight...". Oh and then there's the crawl space. I completely forgot about that. It's full of boxes. Ugh. That floor is a whole winter project!