Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024 11:48 am
Saturdays
Last weekend also seemed to all be in anticipation of the cold coming. It didn't really get here until Sunday (late in the day, I think). I cooked a big nice roast and had some sandwiches from it and then made beef stew for the week. It was very good and very warming. I haven't made one in years.
And I guess I'll record this for posterity... The Cowboys played like sixth graders against the professional Packers on Sunday and their playoff hopes are dead again. I wish I could turn a switch and just not care about pro football anymore (and maybe all football). But I won't. I'll be back in September hoping that this will be THE YEAR.
My porch project is bringing me down. My handyman/builder applied for a permit from the city. They returned it to him because they needed more details. And they said it has to be on a concrete slab, not on piers/pillars. He has a friend that is going to help him get them the information they need. I have no doubt he knows how to build and could build this, but I'm afraid he is overwhelmed by "the man" and the system. I will see where he is this week and if he's still a bit stymied and hasn't reapplied, I will have to let him go. Part of the trouble is I paid him for that first work they did, the tearing up of the slab that was there, and some money for supplies to get started. Not a ton, but I would want him to return money. I hope he didn't spend it on Christmas for his family. I probably was too eager to get all this started and happy I made the one phone call to him. I could have found someone with more experience, but I hoped to help give this kid a start.
Another project that is making me blue and costing money is the shower that doesn't work. I had this new service I hired to maintain the house come over. He replaced the cartridge in the handle of the shower, but that didn't solve the problem. And he got into the diverter but discovered it's almost like the diverter was there first and they fitted this huge hunk of marble tile over it, never to be removed again. It's not like 6x6 tiles where you can remove a few and then patch it. This is a marble piece that is 4 feet by 2 feet at least. I've got a call into a plumber to see if he can come and figure it out and fix it, but they are swamped right now with all the people who had pipes freeze this week. It may be a while before plumbers have free time.
Mostly this week has just been hunkered down in the cold. We got a tiny bit of snow, but it wasn't an issue. Mostly just bitter cold and I was wearing three layers in the house. I have an air thermometer and it is fascinating to see where the cold air is in my house. I still need to get my doors weatherstripped better. I did buy insulated curtains for the front room with a big picture window that doesn't fit right. It seemed to keep the cold air between the curtain and the window. I need another like that for the window at the head of my bed. Air there is 40 degrees and may have been even colder on the windy nights. That's where my head is! I don't even have a toboggan to wear to bed. The cold weather made me a poorer employee (if that is possible). It should make no difference, but my mind was a bit frozen, too.
Work did have some bits of actual work this week so I was focused for some of it. I like being focused and productive, but it is hard for me to find that focus for myself. We were running into an issue and I made spreadsheets and learned new formulas for them and actually tracked down a couple of tiny little errors that were screwing things up. The kind of error you might find with the naked eye, but it would be a lot harder to know that was the one and only problem.
My Saturday has already had a change for today. I was truly looking forward to concentrating on genealogy and maybe just what I wanted to do today (with a few "have to's" like changing the sheets. But before I even got coffee my nephew texted. He's coming my direction and going to stop by for a visit and to fix two things for me!! What an angel he is. He'll have 3 of the 4 girls, too, so that will be fun. He is having lunch with my sister and brother-in-law. He invited me to come and I was ready to accept, but declined. Mainly because it would mean I'd have to get dressed and ready and out of the house and eat more than I want to, but also because I know my sister and b-i-l LOVE that time they get with him alone without his wife. And time with the girls without her (sometime) disapproval. She's a wonderful woman, but there are some things... I'll let them have him and focus on him. That is rare. They see the other nephew for breakfast almost every week and I know that is incredibly special for them.
When I grew up we had a kitchen table where we ate every meal. Mother sat there with her coffee and wrote her letters and paid bills. If my sister or I had a date or friends over we often ended up around the table. It was a good place to play cards. I want that again! The table I bought when I moved here is absolutely beautiful and sort of mid-century modern. But it feels too high with the chairs. I feel like my arms are even with the shoulder. I've measured it and compared it to "normal" tables and they are the same. My chairs seem normal and measure the same. But I feel like I kid that needs a phone book to sit on to make the table feel right. That is one of my goals in the near future... first, clean the thing off. Right now it is covered with Christmas stuff. Then find a good position for it and if these chairs don't work, see if they feel better on a block of wood or something. What would make them suitable? I know there are probably little feet you can nail on the bottom of a chair to make it a bit taller. Maybe that is what I need. I'll start with cleaning off Christmas.