Bird is the Word

One of the things I like to do besides garden is to make stuff.  I have a bit of a creative side that needs to get out now and again, so I find different projects to make.  When I was on a garden tour this year I saw a concrete leaf one of the home owners made and I thought I can do that!

So I went and bought some concrete at Home Depot and looked for just the right rhubarb leaf for the task.  My friend Steve and his wife just bought a lovely home and he mentioned he would like to get a bird bath for his yard.  I thought I can try and make him one...if it fails well we aren't out much. 

I got a board and mounded a bunch of dirt on it and then put the leaf down on the dirt face down.  Mounding the dirt helps to achieve the shape of the leaf you want.  Then I sprayed cooking oil on the back of the leaf to help the leaf come off later.  I mixed up the concrete and patted it onto the back of the leaf...you need to make it fairly thick.  I covered it with plastic and let it dry, then peeled the leaf off and wala! 

One thing I didn't realize at the time was that the back of the leaf has a split shape which cut into the water holding capabilities.  So to resolve this I made a little decorative ball of concrete and cemented it in place.  I glued a little dragon fly pin to the ball for effect as well.  I sprayed the concrete with a sealer and here it is holding water.  I am giving it a final test before I take it to Steve tomorrow.

Hope Steve and his birdies like it!

(Challenge Post Day #22)

Sunday

Today was a great day, nothing special but just a nice day to hang at home before starting another busy work week.  We had to go for groceries today as we seemed to be out of most everything.  We took the opportunity of having an empty fridge to clean it out.  There are always those few things that get pushed to the back that need a swift heave ho into the garboge!

We washed all the shelves and bins in the fridge and put away all the food.  It looks so shiney and organized! 

Then I went outside and finally cleaned out the shed that sits behind our garage.  I forget about it most of the time but decided its time to sort it out.  I have so many plastic pots in there from all my flower purchases.  I washed most of them up and threw them into the blue bag to be recycled.  I kept a few but most I know I will never use.  I am the opposite of a hoarder...I hate crap lying around that I will never use.  I also made a fire in the pit and burnt a bunch of wood from the garage and dead branches from the big trees. 

After hours in the yard, I hobbled with sore feet into the house and had a hot bath.  When you feel gross and smell like old smokey a bath is wonderful!  So here I am...its only after 6:00 p.m. and I am already in my Jammies and having a cup of tea.

 I still have some putzing to do.  I just made a batch of Quinoa so we have a side ready for dinners during the week.  I also did up a batch of Roasted Chickpeas.  These make really yummy snacks that are actually pretty good for you.

Well that's it for my day, time to go and enjoy the evening before the dreaded alarm tomorrow.  Have a great evening all!



(Challenge Post Day #21)

Debt

When I was 18 I moved out of my parents house and couldn't wait to get my first place.  It was a very plain jane ground floor apartment by Westmount, but I couldn't be happier.  I was so excited to move in my old crappy hand me down furniture.  I set up my cinder block bookshelves and put my "stereo" on it.  It was all sooo exciting.

I had an old car that I bought with money I earned from working part time at Agnew shoes.  It wasn't very fancy but it was mine. Once on my own I needed/wanted some new things like furniture, so just as most young people do I went to the Brick and got some with a don't pay a cent event.  I remember having good intentions of paying it off before the date the payments were due..but of course did not. 

As I went through my 20's I purchased a few other things here and there with credit.  I was never one to use credit cards much but I did get loans for various household items.  Over time I realized that it was better to put money away for things rather than use credit.  I started taking some of my money every month and having it directed to money market account (after tax fund).  It was only about $25 taken off my cheque each time but eventually it added up.  Now if the fridge went and a new one was needed I could dip into my fund and pay cash for it. 

Since then I have gotten into this habit for almost all things I purchase with the exception of the mortgage or a vehicle.  Once you get into the mode of saving first, buying later it becomes pretty easy.  Mind you as you get older you also should get to the point where you don't need to keep buying so much stuff.

Having said that, some people never get that message.  They keep spending and spending and spending.  I am not sure at what point they will be happy with what they have.  I believe there are many who just get a thrill out of acquiring stuff.  I see families with boats and quads and campers and bikes and, and, and.  You rarely see them using or enjoying what they have, they are just getting more stuff.  The "more" they get is purchased with credit.  Now money that you haven't even earned yet has been spoken for. 

In IT I work with people that make really good money but save none.  They tell me they will just work till they are 75.  First of all, who the hell wants to do that? Secondly, how do you know you will be healthy enough to work then even if you want to?  That's not a chance I want to take. 

I absolutely don't want to work forever and I don't want to have any debt as I get older.  We now just have our mortgage and we are very focused on paying that in the next 5 years.   Canadians are racking up record debts and we need to take some lessons from the United States.  Just because things are rosey at the moment (in Alberta) they may not always be and if you are in a precarious situation already, it will only get worse. 

We all need to do a better job living within our means and using cash rather than so much credit.

Wellington Garden Centre

I love greenhouses.  One day on my vacation I dropped into the Wellington Garden Centre.  You would hardly know it is there, all tucked in behind the North Edmonton Theatres. 

Once you get inside it is like you are not in the city anymore.  There are perennials, trees, shrubs, flowers and fountains.  They have incredible fountains all running and making soothing sounds.   Some are large and beautiful like the ones you see in Europe in the center of a traffic circle.  They also have nice statuary like gargoyles and pagodas.  I often go for the perennials but also like to just walk around and enjoy the scenery. 

Inside the walls of the garden centre the birds are always chirping and you don't even hear the noise from the busy streets around.  This is really a lovely place to check out.

The Front Yard

Anyone who knows me knows I love gardening.  Our yard is always a work in progress and I am glad for that as it gives me a reason to go outside.  I love to putz in the yard, my head just clears and I can focus on whatever I am doing rather than thinking about the stresses of work. 

Since moving to this house I have been gradually changing things up and keep trying to add more flowers.  I love flowers and color and flowers : )  I have a number of junipers that were put in by the original owners.  They didn't like yard work so put in low maintenance options.  These are nice and green but eventually they get massive.  I prefer more perennials and showy plants.  It is hard work and costly to replace all at once so I have gradually been ripping things out and putting a new plant here and there.  One thing that is great about our front yard is the rock that covers part of the lawn.  Not that I am a huge fan of the red rock but it was here already.  It does however reduce the amount of lawn to cut and the amount of water needed to maintain the yard.  I have started to put perennials and grasses within the rock here and there. 

We don't live in a fancy neighborhood but it does have lots of big trees which we love.  Our house was built in the 70's and those across the street from us our from the 1950's.  All of the houses are at that age where they need some love.  Some have been updated and some not. It makes for a interesting neighborhood with a variety of yards and landscapes.  We often get comments on our yard which is great and I hope to keep making it nicer. 
Today I was in the living room and a very old couple came down the street.  The man was pushing his wife in a wheel chair, she looked fairly frail.  They stopped for a bit and enjoyed the yard before continuing their outing.  That's the thing when you take some time to make things look nice, it gives other people pleasure as well.  That makes me feel good that all the effort is worth it : )

(Challenge Post Day #18)

Humpday

Today was just a frustrating day.  We have recently delved in head deep into Microsoft Project Server for all our timesheets and project management.  I do see some of the benefits for the company but as a user I have not been impressed.  I understand it's here to stay so I need to get over it, but today the performance was unacceptable.  The "must be a network" issue excuse gets kind of old after a while when the person next to you on the same network is smoking along and you can't open a screen.  Well thanks to my incessant whining and some smart cookies around me that desperately hate whiny women (I don't blame them), they figured out a solution to the problem.  It turned out that the issues were only with Windows 7 desktops, of which I have.  A simple config and the months of  "f" bombs is over. 
Anyway, at the end of the day I was bitter that my entire day was spent accomplishing nothing and watching "loading" icons.  Well I digress...

My BFF has had a similar week so we decided to meet for a coffee and vent and chill a bit.  We met half way between our places at the Enjoy Centre.  It's getting better, I won't rant like in a previous post, but it has restaurant/bistro that we can meet at and have a wine or a coffee.  Tonight we had a coffee and shared a dessert for our dinner  : )  We walked around the enjoy centre for a bit and then went our separate ways.  It was a nice little break to end day.  Tomorrow I have my annual physical so I decided to make a vacation day out of it so I get to take the day off.

Well that's all I have for tonight.  I have finished my "Eye of the World" book, it was most excellent!  I want to be an Aes Sedai except the training part would suck..ha ha  Now I have downloaded the next one which is called The Great Hunt.  It's a lot of pages, but if I finish before this challenge is over I will tell you about it.

(Challenge Post Day #17)

Project Management

I never set out to become a Project Manager, yet through my career it has kind of ended up on my doorstep.  Our account team provides IT development and support for our government client.  My focus used to be more on the day to day management of team members who did mostly maintenance on our portfolio of over 30 applications. 

But more and more our clients are needing new systems built to handle their many initiatives.  This is good stuff as it gives us the opportunity to design and construct new sophisticated applications from the ground up.  I used to be the one who did the design and prototypes, but now that gauntlet has been passed on.  Instead of working in Macromedia and Photoshop, my tools are Project Server and Word....oooo exciting!!

It's not all bad but certainly doesn't float my boat like the design part did.  However, it has to be done and it helps our company generate a lot of revenue for which we all benefit from in the end.  Like most everything I do, I use the fly by the seat of my pantelonies method of learning the art of project management.  I have had the odd course here and there but really learn a lot by doing.  Every project I manage I learn from.  Each time I sit back and think what would I do differently next time?  What worked and what didn't?  Here is what I have learned:

Just because the spreadsheet says this is the plan...plans change on a daily basis.  Spreadsheet Project Managers often fail in my opinion.  Sitting at your desk, ignoring your team and clients and stroking MS project on a daily basis helps no one.

Just because a Developer tells you he is done does not mean he is done.  He may not be trying to deceiver you but likely his definition of "done" and yours are two totally different things.

Client's need to be managed.  You need to be perceptive and see the shit flying out of the fan before it hits the wall.  You are the PM, its your job to stop it from hitting the wall. 

You need to identify potential problems early on.  This one has been a challenge for me as sometimes it is hard to tell clients the truth...(YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!)  You have to find a way to nicely but firmly say this project won't finish on time because your Tester is never in the office even though they agreed to the project schedule.  I now say this is not a problem however a Change Request will be forthcoming that will adjust the project end date and add additional costs.  The threat of additional costs often gets their attention.

Milestones can be effective.  Many people can't seem to absorb a giant project schedule but if they have specific objectives and milestones to work towards then it seems to help.  Also going back to the "I am done" thing...I have milestone show and tells along the way.  This really helps to see just how well things are going and also catch that someone is struggling or misinterpreted a spec.

Pre-schedule meetings.  We often have to discuss important decisions along the project life cycle which often requires meeting with a large group of clients together for consensus.  If you leave the planning of these key meetings too late you can't get them together and your schedule gets impacted.  I book way in advance to get their time committed and then forward documents and agendas closer to the meeting date.

Projects always require some give and take.  You need to find the line between managing your scope and being clear about expectations and throwing in things that come along that are no biggie.  The PM can really set the tone for the project, so you need to always try and keep your composure and learn the art of negotiation.  This is probably one of the main areas I have grown in over the years.  I have gotten a bit tougher and more direct, but also realize I have to make sure everyone understands what is expected of them up front as well.

Food can lighten things up.  If you have a contentious meeting sometimes bringing some treats can break the ice and remind people we are really all on the same team working towards the same objective.  It is in everyone's best interest to come up with resolutions to issues and keep things moving forward.

Well I am sure I have a ton more things I have learned but that is my list for tonight. I never stop trying to learn and improving my methods and communication skills.  PM courses can give you some great ideas and a good foundation, but nothing is as good as experience.