Now For The "Easy Go" Part

It's gonna be close to $20,800 or more, but I now have a new boiler and a new faucet and taps in the kitchen sink. Better last a good long time. The old boiler was about 60 years old so I suppose it had to die sometime.

ARRRRRRG

I went outside this morning to bring the garbage can in from the street (garbage pickup was yesterday morning, but it was too damned cold to step outside and retrieve it later in the day yesterday, and besides, conveniently, I had completely forgotten about it). Immediately upon stepping outside I realized I had closed the door but forgotten to unlock it first - so there I was stuck outside without the key. Thank God my sister lives in town and only 2 1/2 blocks away and thank God she has a spare key. So, off I went, trudging over to her place at 8:00 - 8:30 AM, on very, very slippery streets. It was like walking on smooth ice.

I managed to remain in an upright position, and, thankfully, found my brother-in-law at home when I got there. He gave me a much appreciated cup of java and the spare key and a ride back home. Anyway, I keep telling myself - spring is on the way, spring is on the way.

Thankfully, it's a bit warmer today.

Be Back Soon

Had a minor emergency which had to be fixed.

I.E. - my fridge died (may it rest in peace). Had to throw some moldy food out, but that was it. Had to buy ice and fill every possible container that was big enough with ice cubes to store the food while I was waiting for the new one to be delivered. And I was planning on buying new kitchen appliances anyway.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to arrange all the stuff in the frig, and the number of "options" for which there is a setting on the oven is waaay overboard. I feel like I'm trying to navigate the Space Shuttle. What ever happened to simplicity?

Joys of Home Ownership

The past several days I've been hanging pictures on my walls and, of course, have been having a hard time finding the studs. Just now I was reading up on how to find studs. There were several websites that mention that stud finder gismos don't work very well, but I can attest to the fact that the old fashioned method doesn't work too well, either.

And don't get me going on the other kind of studs. I wonder if that's what the gismos were designed to find?

All of which reminds me of Red Green's immortal advice to men: "If they don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."

The Joys of Home Ownership

Although I've been living in this little house since early June, 2011, just yesterday I noticed there is a smoke detector on the ceiling just outside the laundry room in the basement. I have no idea how long it has been since the battery was changed, so I have bought the correct sized battery, but try as I may, I can't get the lid on the little compartment where the battery goes to close properly. The instructions on the lid are barely readable, but they do refer to a manual.

So, off I go, searching various nooks and crannies in the house for manuals. What I found were manuals to things like the washer and dryer, the water heater, etc., all of which were dated in the 1950s, '60s and early '70s. Heavy sigh. The house was built in the '50s. Some of the stuff in it is really, really old. But it looks like I will have to buy a new smoke detector for the lower floor. If it isn't one thing, it's another....

I'm tempted to buy a lottery ticket...