realcondolife

I started the day  by making sure that everyone had early baths and/or showers. Relatively simple when you have early risers. I also managed to do a load of laundry and toss it into the dryer before the water shut off at 8 am. I boiled the kettle, filled up the boys water bottles, topped up the dogs water bowl and filled the bathtub just in case extra water was needed at all throughout the day. I think that was all the prep that was needed. Easy enough.

As mentioned, I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the water supply or pressure so I did a little research of my own.  Here’s what I found out.  Our default thinking when we consider balancing water supply and water pressure, is to think of pressure that’s weak. Let’s face it, water pressure that doesn’t rinse your hair properly or trickles out, seems to capture everyone’s attention. But the reverse problem of too much pressure, can also be a problem. And it’s one that often goes unnoticed. If the water supply and pressure isn’t maintained properly and regularly, whether it be to detect too much or too little water running thought the pipes, it can have an impact not only on your in suite experience, but also on the overall value of your investment. The reality of plumbing in a multi story building is that it’s an integral part of the design and construction. Ignoring the details can result in leaks, broken pipes and worst case scenario, a real disaster due to a flood. So despite the minor interruption, it’s clearly well worth it in the long run.

“Mattress Madness” would be the name that I’d give to the morning fun the boys made for themselves, as they dragged the mattress from the lower bunk in their bedroom into the family room. Hey, at least there was always going to be a guaranteed soft landing.

Good News! When we headed downstairs this morning we realized we were in Elevator number 4. The one that’s been out of service. All elevators are now working once again. While it hasn’t been a significant disruption, it’s a good thing to be running on all  cylinders when you’ve got such a large number of people sharing a space. I  noticed one of the elevator cabs on “service” yesterday, due to someone moving in on our floor. The pile of boxes in the corridor were a clear give away.

More real condo life as I got into the elevator. Fire Alarm Testing. Again, I was likely the only one that was excited by this. Sadly, I would be at work during the hours of testing.

I was also disappointed to see the notice regarding the upcoming community bbq. There weren’t enough volunteers to hold the event. I’ll cross my fingers and hope this takes a turn for the better.

I’ve noticed that there are a couple of small kitchenware items I’ve missed (and want to recommend they add to the list of in-suite supplies). One, a simple paper towel holder, (this was an oversight – as soon as I mentioned it to the team, one magically landed on my doorstep the next day). Secondly, a heat resistant oven mitt and thirdly, a sturdy frying pan.  These two go hand in hand. Here’s why. The handle fell off of my pan tonight while cooking four fillets. The weight of them was too much for the pan. When I tried to lift the pan with the small oven cloth, I learned it’s not very heat resistant. Ouch!

Lesson learned that I’ll bring forward to the team.

Finally, I’d like to add a toilet brush cleaner to the list. Although the suite is cleaned once a week, with a family of five, you sometimes need to supplement in the interim.  And without getting too graphic, particularly when you’re dealing with low flush toilets.

The evening ended with some field fun for the boys…

and the meeting of a new friend for the dog…

followed by more crane activity.  It even inspired my boys to make a small documentary on all that they’d learned the day before about fly forms. (Shaky footage courtesy of the seven year old cameraman, script courtesy of the 6 year old).

Sadly, the last sight we saw before going to bed was kids on the field… presumably high school aged, that didn’t show much  respect, if any at all, for their environment, their community, their city.  They were smoking, drinking and in some way, I suppose doing things that are normal for teenagers at the beginning of the summer.  But from what I can remember being that age, we at least picked up after ourselves. It was like the gruesome sight you can’t not look at, and I kept watching them, waiting to see how this would turn out (and hoping for a happy ending). Sadly, they walked away and left it as is. Not what I’d expect from a generation that supposedly cares about our planet.