Brackers Home (Weekend Blogger)

New adventures with Beechwood Handyman

2014-12-18T00:06:00.001-05:00

We are very excited to announce that after 30+ years of doing serious DIY work we are looking to extend our services to the neighbourhood, as of the Summer we are providing services in Waterloo as the "Beechwood Handyman" so far it has been a truly rewarding time, helping home owners get jobs done which have been hanging around gives a real sense of achievement and self worth.

check out our brand new website and logo - still under a little development, as always we welcome any comments.

www.beechwoodhandyman.com

Paris Ancaster - P2A - 2014 update 4 - Finally a break!

2014-03-30T20:35:00.001-04:00

Had a bit of change in the weather this week, its been what feels like tropical weather.
As a count down we are now 4 weeks until the P2A reality is starting to set in a little.

I have forced myself to get out as much as I can, its been pretty good this week putting in, for me, some serious Km's I've almost hit 100Km's in the last few days.
I went out Thursday and got in a very snowy 23Km's and yesterday almost 32 with a training partner. As the weather seemed perfect today I thought why not have another go today, I thought lets get over the physiological barrier and do 40Km, the weather was great, 4c and sunny but the wind was tough. After 32Km my kegs were pretty much jelly but I forced myself to push on, either that or walk I guess!
I thought I had managed the route to perfection but disaster, my GPS only logged 39.9 Km's I was happy I managed to get that distance but still didn't manage to hit the 40Km mark!!

One thing I did learn is that in need to do a lot more training, the P2A is 40Km but its a hard 40Km with a tough climb at the end. Today I wouldn't have managed a climb of any sort at the end.

Care of Endomondo below you can see my progress over the last week, what is encouraging is my speed, even though its mostly all road I'm happy that I'm kicking around 20Km/hr mark.

Paris Ancaster - P2A - 2014 update 3 - The limitations of man and machines.

2014-03-16T19:30:00.001-04:00

For those who know me I am reasonably competitive and hate failing.

The P2A is in 6 weeks time and I really don't think I am anywhere close enough to do myself justice.

Our weather this year in South Ontario has been truly brutal, its very difficult to get any outside training in and I hate working out in a gym. I have steered away from cycling in really cold weather but armed with new padded pants and a new cycling shirt I thought nothing could stop me today.

I have cycled regularly in sub zero temperatures on many occasions so what could the problem in cycling in -12 with -21 wind chill, a piece of cake.

Sadly not as easy as I was hoping, I have now come one step closer to determining my limit, and it doesn't go down to -12!!!

I almost turned back after 1Km but stuck at it for about 10 Km, my feet and fingers felt like they were falling off and even worse was my chin and cheeks. add to that my rear gears wouldn't select it was a miserable 40 mins.

But at least I managed to get out and now I know my threshold is not -12c

.. and if your wondering, I'm not sure if the new padded pants worked as it was to cold to feel anything down there!

Paris Ancaster - P2A - 2014 Update 2

2014-03-10T21:01:00.002-04:00

Finally the weather has broken enough to get out on the road, this winter has been particularly tough, very cold and tons of snow.

Race day for the Paris Ancaster spring classic will be here before we know it its only about 6 weeks to go, yikes!!!

I have been watching several YouTube videos to get a better idea of what to expect and also a great account in the blog ill advised racing this is one of the best accounts of what to expect and it looks much tougher than I originally thought.

I have managed to get out twice in the last few days, its so good to get out on the road, I decided to take a local route which included a really tough hill and included some mud, well I found the mud!!

The image below doesn't do it justice.

I managed two runs on the same route and good news I did the 17km's in just under an hour, my goal for the Paris Ancaster spring classic is 2.5 hours which will be around 17km / hour. All I need to do is keep up this pace, bad news I that I have only managed one hour and I need to do it for 2.5 hours.

So looking at the weather forecast we have a few more days well below zero Celsius and another few inches of snow, fingers crossed I can get out pretty soon.

I mentioned in my last post and feel its worthy to mention it again a great free app I have downloaded on my Blackberry, Endomondo is a fantastic, and free. It logs all my work outs and allows me to measure distance, time and a multitude of other items, check it out!!

Paris Ancaster - P2A - 2014

2014-02-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

Where have you been?

Well the winter has been long, cold and loads of snow. I can't recall a year as bad since we have been in Canada, every week it seems we have had at least one major snow storm.

Last year I managed to get myself moving and started cycling whenever I could, it started as something to get me a little fitter and ended up where I couldn't stop whenever I had chance.

The winter has been cruel and I barely get out once every few weeks.

This year to make sure I keep going I have set myself an early goal, I have with a few friends signed up for the Paris - Ancaster spring race. its a 40 or 70km race over road, trail, mud and fields. We are attempting the 40km this year, details can be found at the link below.
http://www.parisancaster.com/index.html

So far this year I have just about managed a few short 10km rides on the very slippery and wet roads and maybe 5 or 6 short sessions in the gym, there is a great app which records progress I really encourage anyone who works out to use it, Endomodo is a free app and has kept my interest in fitness by tracking a multitude of information, try it out.
https://www.endomondo.com

And what will I be riding?
Below is my ride, I invested in a decent bike last year after struggling with a cheap mountain bike, the Specialized Crosstrail sorts disc, is a fantastic ride and has helped me keep interest and allowed my speed, distance and duration to move in the right direction.
http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bikes/fitness/crosstrail/crosstrail-sport-disc

wish me luck!!

Ice storm, tree causalities

2013-04-13T13:15:00.000-04:00

We have lived in Canada for almost 12 years and this is the first real ice storm. Cant believe how much damage it could cause.

The saddest part for us personally is the possible loss of our Ash tree at the front of the house.

At this point the tree is still standing but when the city comes I have a feeling it may have to come down.

I took a walk around the subdivision and it looked like a giant had been stomping around with all the devastation, a small sample can been seen below.
To look on the bright side I'm not aware that anyone was injured.

Its been how long!!

2012-12-16T16:45:00.001-05:00

Before you know it almost a year has gone by.
I spent a few minutes trolling through some of my older posts and you don't realise what you get up to, all those renovations, all that running around with sports for the boys.
This year was somewhat different, reno's have been a little less intense, still doing some but its been almost part time. Running around with sport has been almost non-existent with Jamie now in University.
Oh there was one thing, I changed my job, after over 10 exhilarating years at RIM an opportunity came up with a local insurance company (Economical Insurance) and I thought what the hell, doesn't hurt to speculate. I got the job and haven't looked back, new challenges and a fresh start, its been a great 10 months with hopefully many more to go.

The Book, The final chapter - my all time favourites.

2012-02-14T20:39:00.000-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed the series it was a great walk down memory lane.

As promised below is a list of my all time favourites quotes.
It was a really difficult choice to cut them down to my top 14 from the 150 + which were published, there were probably another 150 which didnt even get to print. A thoroughly enjoyable task.

As mentioned, for those who haven't read this series, the quotes below were made in innocence during day to day conversation during my times at British Telecom in the 80's and 90's. Some may not make sense but you really had to be there.

"Frogs are harmless they wouldn't hurt a fly" - John
"I can only wink with one eye" - Nigel
"I've got two girls on my production line pregnant" - Terry
"The new Datsun's got a 100,000 year warranty" - Fred
"You never see a bald ginger haired person" - Phil
"I don't know what I said because I wasn't there" - Fred
"I got stopped the other day by a plain clothed police car" - Nigel
"My friend grows turkeys" - Mike
"There are some Peregrine Falcons camping in the quarry" - Bob
"These verbal promises are not worth the paper they are written on" - Ken
"When your in a plane your so high you can see the sun rise" - Alan
There's no need to worry, life will get you in the end" - John
"I have never been unfaithful to my wife or any of my girlfriends" - Rob
"It will only take 1/2 hour, well 30 mins at the most" - Bug

I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I have.
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Why you should always carry a camera!!

2012-01-29T10:24:00.000-05:00

Not the best winter photo but worth adding, taken in the middle of an Alberta Clipper.

Finally we have a little winter.

The Book!! Chapter twelve.

2012-01-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

This is a sad post in some ways, its the last chapter in "the book".

For those who are new to this series, the quotes below were made in innocence during day to day conversation during my times at British Telecom in the 80's and 90's. Some may not make sense but you really had to be there.

"When your in a plane your so high you can see the sun rise" - Alan
"Did you tell Alan?" "Yes I did, but he wasn't there" - Gavin
"What is Terry's name?" - Alan
"When they are in the boat race, they do about 4 knots standing still" - Terry
"The more you earn the more tax you pay, its illogical" - Merick
"They are exactly the same component but they are different" - Anon
"They are so cruel to their animals, they kill them while they are still living" - Claire
"All smoking should be banned, even passive smoking kills" "Yeah it even kills non smokers" - Nigel
"I worked all day Saturday night" - Barry
"I'm going to but a burglar alarm for the house because they have started breaking into cars up our place" - Nigel
"He was smaller than me but he was huge" - Ken
"Its pick on me fortnight this week" - Nigel
"Anyone who's name begins with B should be fired" "First name or Christian name?" - Nigel
"Some people still couldn't hear if they were blindfolded" - Claire

That's it, I will continue to look out for more mishaps in my day to day ongoings.

I have really enjoyed this trip down memory lane, it has brought back some great memories.
I will add one more chapter with my all time favourites soon.
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Why you should always carry a camera!!

2012-01-09T22:36:00.000-05:00

I just like this photo, beautiful blue sky, fall colours in the trees and me sat "in" the roof!!

Rather him than me, this was the nimble arborist taking down some dyeing trees in our neighbours garden, he is approx 40ft in the air at this point.

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Why you should always carry a camera!!

2012-01-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

I thought these two images sum up both the DIY trend and the "why you should always carry a camera" themes of my blog.

The sudden realisation that you have a huge hole in your roof!! No going back it this point.

Its always good to have some help from willing assistants!!

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Addition of loft bedroom - Post #4 (Installing the two Velux Skylights)

2011-12-30T22:16:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that its been almost 8 months since my last update on the loft / bedroom reno.

That being said work and soccer were very busy this year and we did go back to the UK for a holiday. Working in the loft during the Summer is unbearably hot (Until the skylights were installed in the fall) and unbearably cold in the Winter (Until the insulation is installed, ongoing!!).

In this post I will update on the installation of the two skylights, I wasn't looking forward to this but it all worked out in the end. Most of the post will be photo's its much easier to see rather than explain.

First stage is working out where the skylights will go, I used a few odd pieces of insulation to ensure that they looked right in the room before I stated.

Once your happy with the location, the one truss needs to be removed, make sure that its cut as square as you can.

Sorry can't easily rotate the image in my Blog editor, any suggestions?
Once the truss has been removed you need to add support for the missing truss and also add additional support for the skylight, take extra and make sure the 4 sides are square and the right size.

This is the moment of truth, once you cut a hole in your roof your committed!! I double checked all my measurements before I got my recip saw out.
As I spent time making sure the opening was square and the right size, cutting the hole only takes a few minutes.

Next step is to cut the shingles approx 2 1/2 inches around the perimeter so the skylight can sit flush on the roof.

Rather than using the galvanised nails supplied I used deck screws to secure the skylight, make sure the skylight is square before you start nailing / screwing. You can see the blue marks I scribed on the roof before the skylight went in place, makes it much easier to centralise the unit. The blue marks show the corners of the cut out.

Image from inside the loft room with the two skylights fully installed, sorry I didn't show any details of the flashing install, once I was on the roof I wanted to get the job done and my camera was on the inside.

In the next post, and I promise it won't be 8 months I will go over the insulation for the room.

Cheers

B...

Why you should always carry a camera!!

2011-12-21T22:48:00.000-05:00

I hope you like the two images, the first was taken a year ago while visiting Toronto. We decided to get a free peek at a Blue Jays Home game. With Pizza on the menu life was good for this little guy.

Life doesn't get any better!

I have been fortunate to see some great views in my time, but a camera rarely captures its true beauty.
This photo was taken near the Brock's Monument a few Km's North of the Niagara Falls.
Truly Stunning.

If you could build a house anywhere, what a view.

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The Book!! Chapter eleven.

2011-11-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

I have really enjoyed writing this series it has brought back some fond memories with only two chapters to go.

For those who are new to this series, the quotes below were made in innocence during day to day conversation during my times at British Telecom in the 80's and 90's. Some may not make sense but you really had to be there.

"My take home pay before tax is $267" - Andrew
"Hey I've got grass growing in my garden! - There's almost as much grass growing in my garden as on my head" - Nigel
"It's enough to make your eye's curl" - Joe
"I went outside earlier and it was so hot I couldn't see" - Tony
"Frogs are harmless they wouldn't hurt a fly" - John
"We are running off to John O Groats to get married" - Gavin
"I expected an easy week today" - Moony
"The machine is running bad, to say it's bad is an under exaggeration" - Alan
"I've got an oil leak on my exhaust pipe" - Wallace
"The thought of death frightens the life out of me" - Rob

I hoped you enjoyed the penultimate chapter, one left to follow.
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Why you should always carry a camera!!

2011-11-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

I thought it may be a good idea to start a new theme, the title should say it all.

Below are two images which hopefully explain what I mean.

Image #1
The first is a rather amusing image showing that some people have not mastered walking on water quite yet. Taken on holidays a few years ago.

Some people can't walk on water!!

Image #2
One thing which really frustrates me, having a dog on your lap while your driving, surely this should be outlawed. For the record, I did take to image from the driving seat but we were stopped at a red light.

One of my real "Pet" hates

If you have any images which justifies "always carry a camera" let me know?

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The Book!! Chapter ten

2011-11-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

The Summer has been spent full of soccer with a rare vacation thrown in.
Time to get back to some other subjects, below is the latest chapter of "The Book".

For those who are new to this series, the quotes below were made in innocence during day to day conversation during my times at British Telecom in the 80's and 90's. Some may not make sense but you really had to be there.

"There's no need to worry, life will get you in the end" - John
"The more dimples on a golf a golf ball the further it goes, sometimes" - Fred
"How can he speak English if he can't speak French?" - Tucker
"There's a good article in the newspaper today, I havent read it yet though" - Fred
"Either that or he was deaf and dumb just singing" - Chris
"Are Eskimo's human?" - Angela
"It will only take 1/2 hour, well 30 mins at the most" - Bug
"Can you see any alterations on there that aren't on there?" - Rob
"Go and see him on the phone" - Ceri
"He was wound up like a key" - Bob Mosley
"This morning when I went to start my car the battery was as dead as a pancake" - Nigel
"He's on his own, just the two of them, all by himself" - Phil
"I am going to rub my teak table down to the bare metal" - Angela
"Good job its plastic glass" - Fred Jinks
"This is supposed to be a new series but I havent seen it before" - Ceri's Mum.

Keep on following, there are one or two chapters left.
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The best saves as voted by you.

2011-11-01T21:16:00.000-04:00

As with the previous post, the votes are in and counted.

Thanks again for all the feedback, it makes all the effort worth while.

The top 4 saves as voted by you can be seen at the link below. Again some great saves.

Top 4 saves

Cheers

B...

The best goals as voted by you.

2011-11-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

The votes are in and counted.

Many thanks to all the people from the UK and Canada who voted for the best Goals.

The top 4 can be found at the link below, well done to the scorers, they were all great goals.

The top 4 goals as voted by you

Also a huge thank you to all the people who have viewed my video's on U-Tube, I have just surpassed 5,000 views. Its great to see people are looking at the videos.

Cheers

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U17 Soccer - Guelph best saves of the year 2011

2011-10-16T22:55:00.001-04:00

As promised I have also compiled the best 10 goals from last years season in no particular order.

I know which ones I think are the best but for a bit of fun please vote on who you think should be ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

You can see all the goals in the linked video below,

2011 best goals

As with the best goals, to vote either leave a comment in the Blog, below, or on the U-tube channel.
I will tally up the votes and then add an updated video with the top three saves as voted by you.

Save - A - Jamie
Save - B - Ajax
Save - C - Jamie
Save - D - Steph
Save - E - Steph
Save - F - Jamie
Save - G - Woodbridge
Save - H - Panthers
Save - I - Steph
Save - J - Jamie

Enjoy

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U17 Soccer - Guelph Best goals of the year 2011

2011-10-13T07:13:00.001-04:00

OK I have looked through the highlights over the last year and chosen in my opinion the best 10 goals in no particular order.

I know which ones I think are the best but for a bit of fun please vote on who you think should be ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

You can see all the goals in the linked video below,

Best goals 2011

To vote either leave a comment in the Blog, below, or on the U-tube channel.

I will tally up the votes and then add an updated video with the top three goals as voted by you.

Goal - A - Ethan
Goal - B - Kevin
Goal - C - Pablo
Goal - D - Justin
Goal - E - Emilio
Goal - F - Emilio
Goal - G - AJ
Goal - H - Ethan
Goal - I - Emilio
Goal - J - Josh

Coming soon, the ten top saves.

Cheers

B...

U17 Soccer - Guelph 94 Boys, 2011 summary

2011-10-09T20:58:00.000-04:00

I hope you like this compilation of some of the highlights of the year, I will be adding the top few goals in another post hopefully next week. These "best of" will be my opinion but happy to hear any feedback.

Enjoy: -

U17 Guelph soccer 2011 highlights

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U17 Soccer - Guelph v Oakville "B" (Highlights) Wed 14th Sept 2011

2011-09-27T06:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay, the final game of the year with another win.

Congratulations to the whole team.

Guelph v Oakville B 14 Sept 2011

Thanks for a good season.

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U17 Soccer - Guelph v Brampton Wed 7th Sept 2011 - Highlights

2011-09-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

A good battle between the teams, lots of unnecessary yellows and in my honest opinion a game we should have won. But well battled by Brampton.

Guelph v Brampton

Cheers

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U17 Soccer - Guelph v Brampton Sat 13th Aug 2011 - Highlights

2011-08-21T03:55:00.000-04:00

Very well done Guelph, another good win.
There was so much good footage in this game it was really tough to edit down to 4 and a half minutes!

Guelph v Brampton

Regards

B...