The Office

This is my new home office.

I thought I'd share the story with you of how it came to be for several reasons...

1. I'm extremely proud of it! In fact I feel like a new parent, it makes me smile every time I look at it :-)
2. I should have done it years ago. For the last couple of years when working at home I've either worked in the kitchen, sitting at the dining table which is 99.999% of the time piled high with 'stuff', or else I've worked in the conservatory, which with the general weather in Burscough for 11.75 months of the year, has the rain/hail battering down on to the plastic roof and has singularly resulted in my considerable loss of hearing, my reduced sanity, and many abandoned conference calls.
3. Ok... I may have been a little obsessed with this project for the last month... perhaps
   
4. Everyone thinks I'm mad... and this is why...

Yep! It's a shed.

I took delivery of the new shed and immediately started by putting 2x2 runners on the floor. This was to allow for insulating and 'floating' the floor for comfort, stability and warmth.

Next I laid rockwool insulation on the floor, I just happened to have a few rolls spare in the loft.

When the floor was done I had to use the floor boarding temporarily to allow me to insulate the walls. Seems a little back to front but the purpose for doing it this way was to be able to lay a single vapour barrier covering the floor in one piece and halfway up the walls.

With the walls mostly done, it was time to lay the polythene vapour/moisture barrier. This allows the shed and insulation to breath on the 'cold side' and prevents any moisture from seeping inwards to the inner lining. I can't tell you how hot this particular job was!

Now I could lay the floor properly and this would be helpful for the rest of the fit out. The boards are 12mm ply wood, glued and screwed to the battens I laid at the start.

Insulating the ceiling was by far the toughest job. Again, I ideally wanted a single membrane which would drape down the walls and meet the opposite sheet coming up from the floor. For the sake of fastening it all up, I had to work across the roof struts rather than in between and then overlay the polythene as I did each piece.

Once that was done it became a lot less taxing and a little cooler.

Katie helped me with the plasterboard on the ceiling, she held the pieces in place whilst I hammered them into place.

I added extra 'glazing'. With some 3mm plastic sheeting. Sealed the existing windows on both sides, and the new glazing with silicone and then put in a frame to make it all neat.

Linda kindly kept me fed and watered throughout!

During the plaster boarding, it became apparent that nothing was exactly straight. Ok... it's a shed after all! At this point, I ceased to be a perfectionist.

The plasterboard was sealed with caulk and the flooring and windows etc sealed with silicone to allow for any movement.


I put the wiring in before boarding out, taking careful note about the path of the cables.

The opening window had a slight leak so I fitted a weather board over it and sealed it with silicone. That fixed it. I also fitted a deadlock before boarding the inside of the door, which I did with 6mm ply wood rather than plasterboard.

The finishing touches to the door, floor and windows was some architrave. I did this for aesthetic purposes so that it looked better and so that no plasterboard edges were visible at all.

For added security, I put steel lugs in the hinge side of the door/frame and a window lock.

When all of that was finished it was time to paint. Linda suggested some 'Light Space' paint which reflects twice as much light as normal paint. It works!


The dark blue finishes it all off nicely.

Next was somewhere to work. I looked at desks and my major concern was the legs. In such a tight space, I needed a work surface with no legs in the way and I wanted make the most of the available space. I built a frame out of 2x2 timber and braced it in the corner. The wood was fastened right through the plasterboard in to the 3x2 timbers of the shed itself.
I used 18mm MDF sheets as the desktop, fastened together with dowels and screwed to the batons from above and the brackets from underneath. The result is a very strong desk :-)

I took the edges off all around and sanded the joint down to ensure an even work surface. I used a primer and 'Paint and Grain' to finish the look. 3 coats of satin varnish ensured a permanent finish for me. Finally, I cut 80mm holes in the desktop and fitted cabling grommets and an under desk cable tray to keep it all safe and tidy.

Finally... the electrician came and terminated my electrical work to ensure that it is all safe and sound. Katie and I found a blind in the sale at Focus, the carpet tiles are down, I've got some plants, a DAB radio, a mains fed wireless doorbell extension, a mains fed Ethernet network extension, a bluetooth speakerphone, an oil filled radiator on a thermostat and timer, some family pictures, a coffee and my sandwich.... what more could I need?


Home Sweet Home :-)

Trains and Boats and Plains

You know that all-excited feeling that you get when you arrive somewhere for the first time, and you feel the heat on your back or the cold on your face, you smell the different air and you lie awake in bed as your body and mind adjust and you listen to the strange sounds such as the sea, the wind, the birds, or the traffic, or the gun shots. Well... on our first night in Canada all I heard all bloody night long were train hooters. It was so exciting at first hearing that whistle blow but after several hours of it combined with our jet-lag, it became a little tiresome :-) I loved it really and I'd give anything right now to hear those horns as I sit here in Burscough, in the rain, again.

All throughout our journey up through the Rockies we encountered these wonderful freight trains again and again. We could drive along side them for an hour until they disappeared into a mountain and then we'd see him again as he emerged some miles later. They are so long! I've tried to find out just how long but facts out there are few and far between. I know that they can take up tp 15 mins to pass you by at a level crossing as we sat or stood and watched many. I believe that they can be as much as 2km long and when you consider that they are mostly double stacked, that's a very big train indeed. This one above was just leaving Jasper station and the driver gave us a wave as we stood and filmed him go by.

Our first boat adventure took place right behind Janet and Eamonn's house in Okotoks. This is the community lake and beach, yes... beach! Complete with a beach house which all of the residents can share. One can help oneself to pedalos and kayaks, so we did just that.

It was such hard work! Great fun though :-) Katie and I were pedalling like mad while Linda sat with her toes in the water and soaked up the sun. These pictures are taken with a disposable, waterproof camera and then scanned so the quality is not that good, but enough to enjoy the moments on the water.

We took this shot of the house from the lake and I've painted in a bright yellow sun so you can spot which one is theirs.

The houses surrounding the lake all have their own signature, be it a pier, a boat, an inflatable or even a private beach. It's a lovely facility and this would be the first of a couple of visits during our stay.

Another boat trip was on the beautiful Lake Minnewanka (pronounced Minner Wonker). The name means Water Of The Spirits and all along our tour the guide explained the legends that gave it that name. The lake is 17 miles long and has been made wider and deeper on several occasions with dams being added. There are even abandoned villages beneath the waves and divers come from all over the world to sit on the infamous toilet and cistern which still stands many meters below.

This was a lovely trip which took around 2 hours. The scenery is magnificent with everything from bare rocks to luscious pine trees. Wildlife can be spotted all along and we were lucky enough to see this chap sitting up in a lakeside tree.

Did you know that Canada actually has more Bald Eagles than America? and that America has more Canada Geese than Canada! Is it me?

After the cruise we drove back along part of the Minnewanka loop and we saw some Bighorn Sheep. We encountered these cheeky little beasts many times during our holiday but this was by far the closest.

The sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs all over the mountains and plains and they lick salt and minerals from the rocks, at what are called Salt Licks.

I say cheeky because they just stand in front of your car and refuse to move and if it's been raining or snowing they'll surround the car and lick from it too! The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta.

Our next boating adventure was one of the most exhilarating and beautiful experiences I've ever had. Our Athabasca River rafting trip!

We'd booked this before we left the UK and I'm so glad we did. It was a gloriously hot and sunny day and we were picked up at the Jasper Park Lodge hotel in an old school bus. During the trip to the starting point we saw Coyote, Gopher and Elk.

The mountains and the river look stunning from the road of course but from the water, they take on a whole new perspective and seem to have more symmetry about them, you can see the shapes of the mountains and the trees as they have been carved out by the ice and water and winds.


The raft holds 24 people and the guides were complete nuts! Taking every possible opportunity to scare us, and to soak us.

This water is 4 degrees and under the hot sun, when you get a bucket full in your lap or over your head or down your shorts you know about it!

The guy behind Linda got soaked within the first 2 mins as a wave came aboard and went in the back of his shorts, as he put it, "Oh my Goard!! Straight down the freakin shoot!"

The ride was filled with every possible emotion. It was thrilling as it bounced along the river, it was scary as it spun around in the rapids,
it was peaceful as it bobbed along in the sunshine,
it was tiring as it took around 2 hours and we had to keep hold of the ropes and bend inwards over the really choppy bits and as we screamed and winced,
it was very funny with our guides trying to out-do each other and raconteuring all the way about bears, big cats, big birds, dumb tourists, dumber tour operators, and more...
it was educational as they explained rock formations and tree patterns, it was absolutely fantastic!! Somehow... and I'm not quite sure how.... it was also very relaxing :-)

We saw Osprey along the way too and then right at the very end as we arrived at the destination site they took this super photograph as a memento of the day.

Ice Ice Babies...

So there we were in our tee shirts and shorts, sunglasses on, sitting on the porch of our log cabin in Jasper National Park enjoying the evening sounds and views and a glass of something... when she who knows stuff declared that we'd need to wrap up warm for the next day. “Wrap up warm!?”... “I'm on the verge of taking off me shirt and it's 10 o'clock at night... I'm radiating heat from me cheeks that you could fry an egg on! Wrap up warm!!??....”

Of course She was right... because we were going here

No visit to Alberta would be complete without visiting the Columbia Ice Field, that's what everyone who knows stuff told me, and no trip to the Columbia Icefield would be complete without getting ones picture taken in front of the wheel of the ice bus. So, let's do that first....

These things are huge! 66 (that's taller than Linda!) x 43 inches of Goodyear that's hardly inflated.

and not wanting to be left out, here I am doing a very good impression of Mr. Benn, just as he was about to change into one of his adventure outfits having left his house at 52 Festive Road. Those of you as old as me will know what I'm talking about ;-)

“As if by magic... the Shopkeeper appeared...” No? Oh well...

Back to the ice then.

We left the warmth of our log cabin and log fire and sunshine in Jasper and I confess to wondering why on earth I was trussed up like Sir Ranulph. Then, as we approached our destination, the clouds came down, it rained like we were back in Burscough on a Saturday and Oh My God... was it cold! Then as we got out of the car the hail started and I wished now that I was wearing a welders mask to protect my eyes as it came in sideways, no really... sideways!

We checked in having already booked our tickets from back home. Then there was time to look at the gift shop where I confess... the first thing that I did was buy myself a hat. A very thick and very warm hat! The bear above would have lost at least one of his arse cheeks if I hadn't been able to get a hat I can tell you. Did I mention that it was cold?


The ride up was exciting and very interesting. The bus drivers/guides were good raconteurs and explained everything from the weather to the gearing ratios of the buses.

Here's our babies looking a bit chilly up on the glacier.

The water up there is possibly the freshest water that one could ever get. The ice is constantly melting and this little trickle here, is actually the start of the Athabasca River. A lot of people actually knelt down, took off their gloves, and put in a bottle or a cup to try it. As much as I would have loved to taste the freshness, they must be mad!!

did I mention that it was cold?

Some individuals did provide good entertainment as they slid around in their leather soled sandals and chattered in their shirts and one even stepped into the stream as he tried to cross it. He was later seen in the restaurant dipping his foot into a bowl of soup to thaw it out... so he could have it sewn back on... Here is that stream. Sadly Linda couldn't cross because it was too wide.

What we can see here is the 'toe' of the Athabasca Glacier which is just one of the feeds from the Columbia Icefield. The “Icefield” is the largest sub-polar body of ice in the whole of North America covering 325 square kilometres. In places, the ice can be up to 365 metres (that's 1200 feet for most of us) deep.

It's incredible to stand on this moving surface and consider to oneself that it's equivalent to standing on a snow ball, that's as tall as the Eiffel Tower. The surrounding views as the cloud lifted were stunning.

This was the first Ice Explorer from the 1950's. Although there were some pictures of early tourists going by horse and cart.

and at the first base station there is this exibit from later in the last century.

The current fleet.

It was a fantastic experience, VERY educational and thought provoking and afterwards we fled back to Sunwapta for a very welcome bowl of the local stew. It was SO COLD!!