A week on

A week after the reno finished, I'm starting to feel "normal" again.

Morning sky on November 1st.

Nope, I haven't yet painted the one remaining upstairs door. But I have been on the hunt for replacement covers for the floor heating vents. Some of the Home Depot ones I found in taupe are fine, but the others don't fit. (The old ones are brown and no longer look good with the new floor.)

Technically, my floor vents are supposed to be the same size, and the old registers are all 4x10, but it seems that in the intervening decades, sizes (of the inner vent part, not the "frame") have changed. So I have a few on order from Rona; I think they'll work. Weird that even "standard" sizes aren't actually standard. Heaven forbid manufacturers make it straightforward for customers. (And heaven forbid that tradespeople actually do a decent job and cut the subfloor properly for each vent.)

Our fall colours have passed their prime and many trees are bare now.

I bought an inexpensive 4x6 cream area rug from Home Depot (bound remnant) for under the dining table, to replace the old brown one that also no longer goes with the colour of the floor. I also had found a 4x6 high pile (not shag) rug for a great price on Wayfair. It's currently in the guest/former master bedroom and looks good there.

So things are coming along, and as always with renovations, it's never just the renovation work itself. There's always more to take care of, replace, repaint, whatever.

Oh, that reminds me that I did buy some spray paint primer and spray paint (taupe) for the two cold air returns in the house, because I don't think I'll find replacements in taupe for those. They seem to be weird sizes too. Painting the old ones might be a project for next spring, though; it just depends on my motivation, and the weather (it's an outdoor project for sure).

I have a bunch of stuff rounded up for donation (again!), and a few days ago I paid someone I found on kijiji to remove some junk and still-serviceable furniture from the garage.

It turned out he was a retired cop (13 years) who fell into the business. $95 flat rate for a truck-load, which beats (by FAR) the price of using Just Junk or 1-800 Got Junk, both of which I've used in the past. This fellow even took all the old paint cans (about 15 years' worth) that no one else would touch. And yes, I did let go of the lawn chair that Derry had used, at last. It was time. Without the tree behind my fence anymore (came down in a storm a few years ago) and without the addition on the fence to give it extra height for privacy, I will never sit out back again. There was no point in keeping a cheap folding chair anymore.

At Rona this morning. I love the tree in the middle with
the faux berries, but I wouldn't pay $399 plus tax for it!

So that's the week's excitement. The usual work stuff during the week and lots of running around this weekend, with a much-needed haircut thrown in for good measure, to make me feel halfway human again. Plus WhatsApp chats with my uncle, as well as my dad and wife. I wish I could do a WhatsApp chat with my mom....

Take care, all.