Thursday, July 22, 2010

Stuff that probably only Mom will be interested in

We ran the AC earlier this week for two days. Apparently the hose was plugged. Yesterday morning I found water on the basement floor, wetting a small portion of the carpet, puddling under the laundry baskets, and being soaked up by the cardboard box that holds the Schranzes' old pin-bowling game. Shoot. We moved a lot of stuff around, got things off the floor, kept the dehumidifier going, and the problem looks to be resolved.

Yesterday were the American Idol try-outs in Milwaukee. This is Rachel's last year eligible to be a contestant. Gary had asked for the day off, thinking that Rachel and Maggie would go as contestants, and he would accompany Maggie to sign the permission slips. But he hurt his knee on Saturday. After many mega-doses of Motrin and lots of icing it, he's functioning without too many grimaces. But it would have been foolish to spend a long day at auditions. So they canceled their plans, and he had the day off yesterday for no good reason. That's a nice, comfortable, refreshing thing!

I'm making good headway on filling in around the edges of my driving patching. As I've worked with the different materials, I have been discovering that the instructions on the label are not necessarily accurate. I'm muddling through a way to patch depressions in the asphalt -- something that you're not really supposed to be able to do. Another week or so before my patches will be cured enough to begin covering them and blending them into the rest of the driveway. I'm sure this is boring-as-all-get-out to everybody else, but I'm tickled about it!

The drain-plugs in the bathrooms have been driving me bonkers since we moved in. I was ready to rip them out and go buy old-fashioned little cuppy-strainer thingies and rubber plugs. Gary said it would be too easy to lose items down the drain that way; he said we should fix the mechanics of the sliding plug. So Andrew (with a bit of help from Gary) repaired/replaced the first one. Then he did the second drain on his own. I'm so proud of him!

It's middle of summer. Why are we still needing to mow every 4 or 5 days? Wait -- that means the rain is good for the garden, right? Okay, I guess we'll try to keep a cheerful attitude about all that mowing and hay-raking.

Some friends and I were talking at a baby shower this weekend about painting. I would like to lighten up the living room and get rid of my red walls, especially now that I got this couch that will **CLASH** when I get it shampooed and brought indoors. (Shampooing it was yesterday's main goal. Didn't get done. Kinda rainy and wet outside, so may not tackle it today either.) When Julie dropped by this week, she saw the couch. She confirmed my suspicions: it is UGLY ugly UGLY beyond any hope -- like, burn-your-retinas ugly. But it's comfortable!

2 comments:

  1. I have no idea what the power bill will be this month with the AC on so much - but it sure feels good when the dew point is 80. I planned to mow this evening, but heat index is still 105. Thank God for AC. Did you get your hose unstopped?

    What had Maggie and Rachel planned to do for American Idol. Hope Gary's knee is feeling better. Rest was probably best thing for it.

    Congratulations on the driveway undertaking. You may be on hold for a while due to weather. I heard that you had 7 inches in 2 hours. Did you think we were back in the days of Noah? Had I told you what a mess the shed and patio were/are? I looked on-line to find something safe to clean off the moss/algae stuff. Found out water and a brush did a fair job. After the gutters go up on Mon or Tues, I'd like to do some windows. They are HORRIBLE. Don't know when I last washed any.

    If you do paint the living room, remember to use Kilz so the red doesn't bleed through. Some people paint often and, seemingly, without much trouble. When I paint the entire house is a mess for a week. Could you put a picture of your couch on your blog or FB. I simply can't picture something as ugly as you say.

    They filled my hole today so I can get into the garage for the first time in 4 weeks. Say they will pour sidewalks sometime next week. Yea.

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  2. It was no problem to fix the AC hose. Just had to blow into it hard enough to eject the gunk. Don't know what it was or how it got in there; maybe just dust bunnies that became soggy.

    You've been parking on the street this whole time? Sheesh.

    I think we'll need two coats of Kilz on the red walls. Not sure if I want to tackle that project in the next week, or wait until later (when there's a little mess-maker around).

    I never heard what Rachel planned to sing. Maggie was just going to sing anything. She didn't want to audition, but she did want to spend the day with Rachel, and the only way to do that would have been to audition too.

    I don't know if it was 7", but it was more than 5". You know how scabs look when they are soaked? My driveway patching sort of had that look to it with all the water. The asphalt patching does need to be completely dry before I continue. It was interesting, though, to have the puddles and see where I still have low spots to fill in around my asphalt patches.

    When we bring the couch in, I think I'll post a "before" picture as it is now, and an "after" picture with it partially covered by a quilt or sheets or something. Jenny's slip-cover might be just what we need. Maggie and I have been doing our read-alouds on the couch in the garage. We're looking forward to having it in the living room soon.

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