Saturday, September 9, 2017

Busy Busy Busy

Huzzah! My painter finished the last two walls of the living room yesterday! I've been slow-rolling through repainting much of the condo, doing it in stages because of all the books and other crap I have to move for every wall. But now it is DONE and I am happy with the results.

It's been a busy last couple of years for this 30-plus-year-old dwelling (I've been in it since fall 1996). Over the two-decade span I've replaced all major appliances, including the furnace and hot water heater, but so far in this recent two-year stretch I've replaced:

- the windows

- the front door

- the central air conditioning compressor

- the outside electrical outlet for the compressor

- most of the carpeting

- the overhead light fixtures (now all LED)

- the washing machine

- the smoke alarms

- the toilets

- the bathroom cabinet

- the bath and half-bath faucets

- the over-kitchen-sink light fixture

I've also had an additional handrail installed for the first to second floor stairs so now there's continuous rails on both sides all the way up, and had a leaky old garbage disposal removed and plain piping installed, since I now compost food waste. My recliner is scheduled for pickup on Thursday to go be reupholstered.

With the new carpeting and repainting there, plus attractive new shelving, new larger laundry folding table, colorful area rugs pulled from storage, and some pictures hung on the walls, the basement has gone from a, well, basement to a real room.

Oh, and I've had a junk man come and take away some stuff that had been cluttering the place, also gave away a lot of stuff via Freecycle, donation bins, etc.

So what's left for a project-mad homeowner to do? Well, the first and second floor decks desperately need repainting (including power washing and heavy sanding prep), but that's not happening this year; my rehab budget is tapped out. I'm also eyeing one patch of flooring in the entry I'd like to change....

Being a homeowner is so much fun!

Monday, September 4, 2017

A Litter Box Surprise

When you've got indoor cats, you've got litter boxes. When you've got litter boxes, you've got to clean them. When you've got to clean them, you find poop.

But....

How often do you find a poop tower? Not several discrete turdlets piled more or less neatly into a pyramid, no, no. Not even one long turd spiraling up like so much soft-serve ice cream (sorry...).

Nope. I'm talking vertical turditude. One solid giant excremental deposit, at least three inches long, nearly an inch wide at its base and tapering only slightly to its blunt-cone tip, lodged an inch deep in the level expanse of litter, standing up straight and proud.

I gazed at the collection of possible culprits gathered around me for breakfast, eyebrow raised in inquiry. They ignored the eyebrow and continued insisting they were about to expire RIGHT NOW of starvation and neglect, then waddled joyfully after me as I sighed and went on to the kitchen.

I never did find out whodunit.



P.S. Yes, I did think of photographing it and sharing its glory, but TMI, folks....