First Camping for Summer

I know, summer is almost over and we didn't go up Byron this year like we used to for the past 5 years. I was caught up in something around here doing some work and renovations here and there.

All camped-out.

Anyway, last weekend I finally brought my Sweetie camping but not in Byron. We just camped out at my friend's property in Newfield. My son B went with us but he got bored so I had to bring him to his Grammy's before supper.

Dinner on a hotplate.

It' was not really what we expect of camping but the fact the we can get out of the house and just hanged out with another friend and lazed around just drinking some beer and target shooting was relaxing enough.

My Sweetie practicing some target shooting. She did good for a first-timer.

Today... I'm back to work.

My Blue Cake

My girls [My Sweetie and 2 daughters] threw me a birthday party last June. Well, my birthday month is actually May but they gave me the birthday party on June because we were all too busy with out work.

Anyway, my daughters did a good job with my blue fondant [they said it was fondant, though I really don't have any idea what fondant is] cake. As always, it was yummy and I love it.


Just want to share this for Thursday Challenge.

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For more Thursday Challenge... visit HERE.

Raw

In life... we got the vantage point on everything we built. We only need to get different perspective on things.

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Last Weekend

Last weekend my boy finally agreed to go camping with us. I was indeed thrilled because last year he had a huge fit and I wasn't able to make him change his mind no matter how hard I tried.

Last weekend we spent quality time at the camp. We went fishing. We went gold panning. We watched movie inside the tent. It was simply awesome.

Last weekend I was able to do what I love doing during this time of the year - gold panning. And my sweetie and my boy did a great job in making that weekend awesome, despite the fact that I didn't get a huge nugget.

Better luck next weekend.

Gold Panning is Over

I's been a while since I last wrote here. Aside from a few "guest posts" every not too often, my blogging really took a back seat because My Sweetie is now working on weekends too. Well, if she is not home on weekends I rather not be home too and blogging [I took a weekend job too and I hang out with some friends when I was not working]. And besides I really spent the whole summer gold panning which reminds me that I should have posted a lot of interesting blogs if I wasn't too lazy to do so. Well, what else is new? [I can hear My Sweetie saying]

Okay, so gold panning is over folks because the river is too cold to dredge now. I will not brave it for hypothermia's sake because I have big plans for next summer.

Summer is long gone and it is now fall... it's time for Deer Hunting season... which starts TODAY!

Work Experience... Do you have it?

Work Experience: It is what home owners are looking for when they are going to hire someone to build their homes. It's either you have it or you don't. Homeowners hire builders based on work experience.

Our trade is not just like any trade that you can learn by reading manuals. It is not like an art project that you can make by creating splashes of colors and come-what-may or like making wedding invitations that you only need to come up with color motif, design, theme, and special paper and you are good to go. It is not like playing monopoly that you need luck hoping that when you role the dice you will end up in “parking” and get awarded with the sum of money in the collection spot.

It is all about the length of years you have acquired to build that experience. It's all about the kind of experience you gained in that length of years. And it's all about the years of experience that you put in perfecting your trade.

Work experience is not just about work qualification... it is about us... as builders. It is the very basic foundation of any building that we build. And we take pride in that because with my years of experience... I am confident that I can deliver my homeowners' expectations.

DIY in the CES

With the current economic situation... [Oh yeah, You must have already noticed by now that I usually have the phrase... "with the current or present economic situation or crisis" in most of my posts here. Sorry, can't help it.] people are looking for more ways to save without sacrificing their lifestyle. The economic situation dictates the people lifestyle and if the economy is down, lifestyle spiral down as well.

But with the [again] current economic situation (CES) there are things that we need to address no matter what or problems that need immediate solution irregardless if we have the resources or not. And in that case we need to come up with bright new ideas or alternative and effective solutions to address such needs.

In the field of construction, I have known for a long while now how hard it is to get new projects because more and more houses are being foreclosed and in that case, less and less new houses are being built. For a builder like me, in this CES we could have other alternative source of income through house renovations or additions. But honestly speaking, even that is getting very limited too.

In this CES the DIY or Do It Yourself - is getting more and more popular nowadays. More people are getting their hands dirty... renovating their own garages, porches, rooms, roof... almost all parts of their house. More people are doing their own house painting, landscaping, and even additions. Why not? It will save them more money on "labor". Hiring a carpenter will cost half of the budget.

Nowadays, I believe you don't need to have years of experience in carpentry to be able to build something simple because DIY is easy and readily available. All you need is some basic practical knowledge that you already learned from childhood [play], some skills from school [Math for measurement, Reading and Comprehension for following the instruction in the box, Science for mixing and stirring], a little determination to finish a project, a little inspiration or in my case "pushing and nagging" from loved ones, and a little sense of humor.

My first work resume

I am an only child so I practically grew up alone and played horsey-horsey or cowboy or a builder all by myself. I grew up building sandcastles in the beach in summer, piled up a few wooden planks up the tree branches to make tree-houses in fall, dug up some cave in the snowbank in winter, and gathered some sticks in the woods to build Indian tepees in spring. Those were just my childhood wayward adventures.

Now that I am indeed a builder I can put credit on those childhood play that some adults think are nonsense. Play gave me the opportunity to think and build a certain skill and perhaps hone a certain interest in me. But as a builder my trade is no play anymore. I take everything seriously and with passion. And I do take pride in what I do. But still I know that... childhood play is my first work experience.



Now, that I do have a little boy of my own, who I can say practically picked up same playful thing from me... except the robots and aliens and all sorts of super hero thingy that were not available during my childhood... I wonder what would he become when he grows up. As a father I want him to be like me or shall I say I should want him to be like me. But with his wild imagination, I have a feeling that he can make movie that will make millions of dollars. No kidding! Then, I will be happy and retire a rich old man. [I wish.]

The Carpenter is a Caregiver too

I'm playing Doctor today. No, I was playing Doctor since last weekends. Wifey was down with a flu so I was her caregiver. But I think she feels a lot better now. Thanks God!

She is a whiner! Shhhhhhhhhhhh! [Hope she won't take a peek of my blog and read about this.] wink* Yes, she was constantly whining because she was not feeling good. Well she does whine even if she is not sick anyway so it doesn't make a lot of difference too. LOL. But even if she is a whiner, I still love her to death!

I'm playing Doctor now because Wifey always plays Doctor to me every night when I come home from work. Working all day on the roof take a big toll on my back and climbing the ladder more than a hundred times would worn my legs down at night. So I will be whining about my sore body every time I come home. And I will ask Wifey to rub my back with that magic ointment that she brought from the Philippines and that will instantly calmed the tight muscles down. Well, she would whine a bit when I asked her to do that especially if she is busy working online but nevertheless, she will take a break and give me her loving touch.

So now that she is the one sick, it's my turn to return the favor. And I tell you, I am not so happy that she is sick. She is not grumpy or anything, it's just that I want her to the her old bubbly self even if she is constantly whining like a baby.

Raise the Roof

Roofing is a labor-intensive job. As an experienced carpenter, roofing is hard work and a back-breaking job. But I take pride in my roofing expertise. In my more than 15 years of experience in carpentry, I did a lot of roofing jobs here in Maine most specifically in the York and Cumberland counties.

I use all kinds of materials available as per owner's request. And most of the time as per my recommendation, of course.

There are different kinds of roofing materials and shingles available here in Maine. Choices are varied but not limited to color, design,and price. However, there are also lots of factors to consider in choosing the right roofing materials like climate or weather, style, quality, house and roof design and of course owner's preference.

Roofing is basic but a significant part of any building construction because it tops off the entire building literally and figuratively. A nicely and expertly built roofing is important for the safety, aesthetic value and total physical makeup of the entire building.

Holidays Hoopla

Finally, the Holiday season is almost over.In this line of work, the Holidays always get in the way... weather you are a home owner or a builder. Oh well, in any line of work, the Holidays always get in the way, financially speaking, hehehehe. And just thinking of the presents to give your loved ones gives everyone on the face of the planet a point of consideration, especially if your budget is so tight.

And with the winter season just starting... it is also unbeatable for the industry to slowdown aside from the fact that the economy is already messed up.

Well, the year will soon be over and another year is looming ahead. This is the time to be thankful for all the blessings we have received for this year. This is also the time to pray and hope for the best in the coming year. And most importantly, this is indeed the time to give way for "room improvement", quite literally and figuratively.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Whether the Weather is... good or bad

Weather is one of the factors that could slow down construction.

With our line of work, no matter how badly we want to finish the job it is always a drawback if weather is not on your side. And here in Maine where weather changes every 5 minutes, the unpredictability of the season dictates the outcome of our job. But it doesn't necessarily mean that when the weather is not good... our job is too.

The quality of job remains the same whether the weather is good or bad. The quality of our work remains high, efficient and reliable. And the quality of our experience still drives us to build even in this tough economy.

Our Qualifications

GREGOIRE Builders is...
SKILLED, QUALIFIED, INSURED, and EXPERIENCED.

It is SKILLED in all areas of residential building and construction projects.

It is QUALIFIED to do new, addition or remodeling projects for your specific construction needs.
It is INSURED which gives homeowners security and the peace of mind they need in dealing with their construction projects.

It has 15 years of working EXPERIENCE in roofings, sidings, framing, decks and porches construction or additions, remodeling and other small projects you need in your homes construction and improvements.