Musings on a Small Life

Backing up from the events of Friday night, I had the master bedroom window replaced, at last: The room prepped, prior to the installer's arrival   The old window out...amazing how much larger the hole in the wall seems!   The new window in place, after some struggle on the part of the installer and his assistant.   He actually had to pry the window into place and damaged a bit of the vinyl frame.   With the trim on, however, it's covered up. Bonus: There's lots of spray foam around the window now! (None at all before.) I won't describe the three hours in total that I spent trying to put up the new curtain rod I had purchased. Suffice to say it was disastrous, with many holes in the mushy drywall. No anchor would hold and I made huge holes in the wall. However, friends Robin and Chuck came up (or maybe it's down) today and Chuck was able to install the rod, minus any anchors at all. Having done it so much, he knew just where to place the sc...

Thank goodness we dodged this latest winter bullet. We got only a bit of freezing rain, or maybe ice pellets, then a dusting of snow, no real accumulation at all. Not even worth scraping the driveway for, as far as I'm concerned. (My driveway faces south anyway, so the sun will melt whatever is there quickly enough.) Both boys outside yesterday after work, then Derry perched on a bit of bare stone. The contracting company called me this morning to tell me that the window installer's gall bladder surgery has been put off until April and that the window can be installed this week. So I've okayed Friday as a vacation day and it will be done that morning. I have an early morning appointment on Saturday, so it couldn't be that day. I'll be glad to have it done, and it's the last window replacement needed for the unit. Also, my upper hall laminate will be installed on Saturday the 12th and I'm quite excited about it. Things are moving along! Da...

We were off-line (the whole building) for the entire morning, didn't get back on till about 11:30. So for that reason and because I hate (with a passion) work get-togethers, I skipped the "pizza in the park" today. Caught up on some stuff while eating leftovers at my desk. A coworker just laughingly asked me if I missed them. I responded in politically correct fashion. But frankly, no, I didn't miss them at all. And I wouldn't miss any of them if I never saw them again. There's my baldly honest answer. The one I can't voice out loud. Jeezus, how many years till retirement or the lottery win, whichever comes first? *** My window replacement yesterday went well. Turned out he did it first, because they were unable to get in touch with the owner of the (rental) unit across the street from me. So the installer (the usual guy) showed up just after 8AM and was done before 9:30AM. (Small window.) Old window below. Apparently the panes of...

The window guy showed up at 8AM, finished around 10:45AM. Quick snap of one of the old windows. I should have used the flash, but you can see how drafty the old one was (both were). Not nearly as bad as it could get. Mind you, it was only minus 11C today.  I'm surprised the entire frame wasn't rotten through.      New window #1  New window #2 How to caulk from the inside. :-) The new windows in. The only disappointment for me is that they were a "retrofit" and so the inside frames were not replaced. They're in crappy shape and dirty too from cat hair sticking to the double-sided sticky tape I've had around them over various winters (for the plastic film that you can put over your windows to keep drafts out.) So, eventually, the frames will have to be sanded down and painted. Sigh. Another chore I'll never get to. BTW, the installer asked me who laid the floors upstairs, wanted to know what the "funny gaps" were (pre...

I've been keeping the contractor in the loop re: my icy back space, not accessible via the frozen gate right now. Apparently, however, the window installer just did townhouse (upper floor) windows yesterday and was able to access everything from inside the house. Not sure how he can caulk from inside, but I guess I'll find out. So now we're scheduled for Friday morning. As it turns out, I'll be off on Friday anyway, as Nicki's vet appointment (usual anal glands and an x-ray re: his lifelong, chronic cough) are for 1:15PM that day. (Had been the AM, but I just called to change it, as I prefer to be home while the installer is there.) I'm not putting yet another note on the neighbours' mailbox, but I did email the property management company's admin person and give her a heads up, just in case anyone from next door wants to complain about the noise. I almost would enjoy that--go ahead and give me a reason to send all those audio files off to F...

So tomorrow's installation has had to be rescheduled to next week (installer's truck in for major repairs). We're tentatively booked for next Tuesday, weather-permitting. That means another sign on the neighbours' mailbox. Today's will be more general though, letting them know the installation has been rescheduled for the 21st, and if not then, to expect the noise and disruption either later in the week or the following week. I'm NOT putting yet another sign on their mailbox, I'm already doing more than I should need to, IMO. However, I am completely bummed out (blue, despondent, low--in case that's specifically a North American expression) about having to come to the office tomorrow. Seriously.  My reaction to having to be here: knee-jerk emotional eating, chocolate and other unhealthy sweets. I'm so going to crash by the time I'm heading home in a couple of hours. I've noticed that my stress/emotional eating has kicked int...

Just a few things to catch up on:  Obviously work is busy and I've not had the time to blog for either myself or the cats. I have a pre-scheduled post for tomorrow on the Fuzzy Tales blog, just with some snapshots from the weekend, hope to find time tomorrow or perhaps Friday to visit anyone I haven't for a while. I'm so-so on this working 8AM to 4PM deal. (How spoiled have I been with my former boss? LOL.) Going in for 8AM is easy, it's the hanging around till 4PM that's hard. The extra half-hour makes a world of difference, as I don't get home till 5PM or later. When I got home on Monday,  Nicki (who's always first to greet me, Mr. Alpha Cat that he is), wasn't around. He didn't come when I called (and called and called) and I yanked off my boots and coat, heart in mouth, thinking he'd died in the basement or was in the throes of death. I went downstairs and he was meat-loafing on one of the old area mats (the mats all migrate down...

The drywall guy came to the house at 7:15AM yesterday, but the mud had not dried sufficiently. So coat #3 will be today, and the sanding will be Monday after all. Arggghh, a weekend of continued plastic! Bless my cubicle-mate (the one who does renos with her hubby) for being so level-headed and letting me have a meltdown when I got to the office on Thursday. As most of you have stated, it's too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of the QuietRock, because I'm in the middle of the chaos and it's only adding to my stress. And the reality is that as long as those "humans" are in proximity to me, I will be on edge. It's too late to put the worms back in the can, as it were. Everyday noises that I really wouldn't have noticed with previous owners are a source of huge irritation to me with the current ones, because they've been so over-the-top vile and obnoxious since they moved in. So...On we plod. BTW, it looks like my two back bedroom wind...

When I took my curtains down yesterday, along with the rod, etc., I thought it would be a great idea to throw them in the washer. They had been put up new out of the package, back in the spring, I think.  Anyway, I threw them into the dryer afterward, on delicate...and they shrunk 7 inches! They used to sit on the floor and now look at them! Argghh! I'm not that fond of the traditional look of them, but they're hidden tab panels, well made and were about $6 per panel some years ago (never opened, just tucked away for later use). And I had to go and shrink them. LOL. Anyway, here are some before pics of the window and patio door:   Very early yesterday, getting ready for the replacement:  There might be a cat behind the sheet....  Derry's hiding under the table. He and Nicki had fun, before I locked them up (separately). During the process: The first old door pane is out.  There goes the second pane.  Empty hole ...