Ukrainian student finds support at Winnipeg school

Decorative coverings solve exterior problem

After completing a massive feature wall that includes a beautiful, floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace structure with a large flat-screen TV above the mantel and an electric fireplace below — and a symmetrical array of shelving and cupboards on either side — all that remained was the finishing touches on the exterior side of the wall.

Before the project began, three windows had been filled in to accommodate the continuous vertical surface required to complete the interior project. Early this summer, I had occasion to finally address the final steps.

Unlike breaching an exterior wall for the introduction of a window, filling in an opening is far less complicated. With the lintel already in place, framing within the opening is not structural — it simply serves to provide a nailing surface upon which the drywall can be mounted along the interior side, and the exterior sheathing (in this case, three-quarter-inch plywood) can be fastened outside.

Once the stud cavities were filled with insulation and the separate areas were sealed with vapour barrier inside and Tyvek on the outside, the interior processes continued with coats of mud, the required sanding and two coats of matching paint.

Ukrainian student finds support at Winnipeg school

Being a full-time university student is hard enough, with classes, assignments, exams and late-night studies.

Anastasiia Seleznova has the added anxiety of fearing for the safety of her family who are in Ukraine as a Russian invasion force wages battle for control of the eastern European country.

Seleznova, 25, is in her third year of media and communication studies at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg.

“It’s hard to keep my mind on my studies,” because of the war, she said, noting it is a special challenge for her as a “super perfectionist.”

Fringe reviews #6: Side quests highly recommended

The Golden Boys, A Magician, Our Father, The Power of Ignorance, Surprise!, Strange Things, Sweat, Tony Wrestles a Stranger, La Vie Parisienne, A Woman's Guide to Romance Novels.

Fringe reviews #7: Quicksave before the next show

50% Nonverbal, Brilliantly Awkward, A Curated Exit, Four Hearts, A Kid Napping, A Life in 60 Minutes, Love is Blank, Lover Girl, Somewhere Up There, Tango After Midnight.

Animal rescue worker reportedly killed in dog attack

Police are investigating after a woman died on the Sandy Bay First Nation, reportedly after being attacked by dogs.

The woman was identified by family as 37-year-old Amanda Nobiss.

“It’s just disbelief,” said Sherri Nobiss, her mother, in a phone call. Her family is devastated by the loss. “You just want to know what has happened.”

She said Amanda was a dedicated animal advocate who was volunteering with K9 Advocacy Manitoba in the community at the time. Amanda, who was from Winnipeg, is pictured with a dog in almost all of her photos on social media.

Spacious rural garden makes smooth transition to urban space

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to dig up some of their beloved plants when they sell their home and move to another property. But relocating hundreds of prized plants from an established and spacious rural garden to a blank slate is a whole other matter.

In 2023, Sandra Gessner Eggertson and her husband decided it was time to sell their three-acre rural property near St. Andrews. They purchased a home on a quiet street in Winnipeg where Eggertson planned to make a new garden. Their rural property was listed that fall and sold immediately. Eggertson moved in December, but first, hundreds of treasured perennials, including hostas and specialty lilies and iris plants, needed to be transplanted into pots.

With the assistance of a good friend — a fellow lily and iris enthusiast — the enormous task of digging and dividing took three months. The plant divisions were loaded into a truck and transported to her friend’s farmyard, where they spent the winter in a protected location with ample snow cover.

“First we placed bales of straw in the shape of a big square to act as a catch-all for snow,” says Eggertson. “The pots were placed close together inside the square and then covered with mulch. I had very few plant losses.”