Musings on a Small Life

These pics were snapped off my back step yesterday evening. Incredible sky and clouds. We'd had thunder and lightning earlier and the system was clearing out as the sun was setting. Amazing! Have a good day, everyone, and take care. Peace .

In front of the neighbours' unit when I got home from work today: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in shock, this is completely unexpected. Was it my calling the police, in effect saying that enough is enough? The belt sander/renos? (LOL) I don't quite know how to react (still the shock). I'm quite well aware that things could get worse, but I can promise you this: If any new owners or tenants are as disruptive, as abusive, as hellish, I will not wait four years to call the police. Of course, the irony is that they likely are moving to a detached home...while I'm still here in adjoining housing. Still filled with determination to fix this place up, sell and move to my own small home: somewhere, somehow, some way -- no matter who my new neighbours turn out to be.

The floor guy is returning on Friday to do the entryway and kitchen vinyl, plus install the carpet on the stairs. I have the day off -- seems like all my vacation days are going for house renos this year.  :-/ I still haven't recovered from the time change or the weekend's labours. I was so tired yesterday that I totally forgot about D (floor guy) stopping by after work to measure the width of the stairs. My doorbell works only intermittently, so apparently he sat out in his van for 40 minutes until the last try at ringing actually worked. I apologized profusely and repeatedly, but why he didn't knock or call my home number on his cell phone is beyond me. I felt really badly for him, because he only wanted to get home after a long day, but part of me thought it was cosmic payback for marking up my new carpet. Ha. Speaking of which, I mixed up the OxlClean last evening, per the instructions, and had a go at the stains. It was too dark, though, to really tell if ...

The floor guy arrived around 9:15 and started work. It was extremely time-consuming and finicky, with all the doors and small spaces. Derry had hidden under the futon on the guest room, so there he had to stay, through all the banging, noise from the jigsaw, etc. Poor little bear. Nicki spent the time in the basement and managed to escape twice--the first time the door just opened on its own and though I didn't hear it, I turned my head to see it open and Nicki out. The second time I had taken food down to him and left him eating at the back of the basement, but that sneaky little cat zoomed right up behind me and was out the door before I could close it. I corralled him again and put him back.       I wasn't idle, either. I actually pulled up all the old laminate and cheap underlay. What a mess that was!     I didn't intend to do it all today, but after finishing the dining area and taking a break, it just made sense to continue. And I h...

The floor guy will return tomorrow at 9:30 EDT to actually lay the floor. Turns out the sub-floor was so bad (big hump) in one spot (and not level at all, obviously) that he had to go get his belt sander and have at it, then trowel on levelling compound (last thing he did before he left, and it's taking forever to dry).   Then he had to use his angle grinder on all the metal door frames (four out of five doorways, so eight pieces) so that he'll be able to slide the flooring underneath. It's a toss up as to which noise is worse: that of the belt sander on the sub-floor or that of the angle grinder. I have to say that I think the belt sander edges out the angle grinder. But both made truly horrendous noise. Your reno tip for the day : Don't be home (either you or your pets) while anything like this is taking place. The boys still are in the basement; they've been there since 7:45 AM and it's 3 PM now. I did let Nicki out a couple of times, the se...

 Carpet. For the next step(s), i.e. stairs.  :-p It's the one in the middle, missing its tag. Very similar to the bedroom carpet, slightly darker in tone, but I think the same density/quality. I had my sample of the laminate and the vinyl floor with me and it should go quite nicely with the warm neutral colour scheme. I hope it will wear well, but then it's only me and the boys, and when we're out of here I won't care how the carpet holds up. I bought the mid-level underlay, no need for the moisture barrier of the top end underlay. (They have only three grades of underlay from which to choose anyway.) I'll talk to the floor guy tomorrow when he comes to do the upper hall laminate, find out how long it will take to do the carpet. If only a few hours, it might make sense to have him do the entry and kitchen vinyl at the same time. It'll be this month, at any rate. Next month for the main level laminate, or so I intend. Anyway, that's my "next...

Between 6:30 and 6:45 AM, five large flocks of geese flew overhead, heading north. They're early this year...I hope I won't seem them turning around and coming back tomorrow.  :-) Yes, those black specks are geese. I was lucky to even snap anything that quickly. The sky with its cloud cover was lovely this morning anyway, even without the geese.   On a house reno note, the floor guy had arranged to stop by today around 5:30 PM to deliver all the laminate, but he already was waiting in his truck when I got home around 4:45. I had paid for 22 boxes, realized only after the fact that I got 21. I called the store to let them know, I'm sure it was a simple and honest mistake. He can bring the missing box when he comes on Saturday to do the upper hall. In the meantime, I'll have three piles of laminate "decorating" my main level until I can get it installed, hopefully next month (14 boxes are downstairs, 7 are upstairs). Tomorrow is my "F...

I find it interesting that for the past couple of days I've been feeling deep and sincere gratitude for the current challenges (house-related). Not that I want to be having this experience, but rather that by having it, I've become motivated to make changes that will bring more of what my soul needs into my life. Does that make sense? I think that when life is "okay," we're less inclined to grow, to expand our consciousness. I don't believe that all positive change has to come about through adversity, but it does seem that most of us need that boot in the butt, at least at certain times in our lives. The other thing I've just realized within the past few minutes is that the Universe/Life has been trying to teach me to "stand in power" for decades, and that if I'd learned that lesson long ago (oh, say, when first with my ex), when those lessons were more subtle, I probably wouldn't have had to be hit over the head now, figurat...

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...

Most of you already know from FB that I called the police last night, because of the neighbours. I woke from a sound sleep around 9:30 pm (you all know I go to bed super-early) because the girl was screaming bloody murder (to use a phrase). I was so scared/upset that it took three tries to get the correct number, but finally I did and got through. Then I huddled under the covers with Derry, heart pounding out of my chest, awake until midnight. I didn't look out the window, though I know the police came and checked things out.  I did my usual running around this morning, and when I got back there was a note in the mailbox from the mother, of which I took a snapshot and then left as it was, not wanting to look at it, until several people commented that if it was a threat the police needed to know. So finally I got it and read it, and it was an apology and an invitation to communicate. She left her phone number and email address. Then I felt in a quandary: I don't want an...

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...