marcicat | Entries tagged with home is home

Since the previous news was: microwave that doesn't work, having no microwave at all is indeed an improvement! A very helpful person was paid to uninstall this non-working appliance and remove it yesterday afternoon.

Questions I asked:

*do you want a stepladder? (they assured me that they had their own stepladder in their truck, to which I replied that it was Very Hot outside, and our stepladder was already inside, where it was Relatively Cooler, and this -- somewhat to my surprise -- led to our stepladder being used)

*do you want some help? (they probably did want help, but also probably recognized that it was uncertain whether my help would reduce or increase the chances of the microwave falling on top of the stove; my help was declined, but politely!)

*do you get paid extra if you do a job where there's no AC? (they do not)

*could we hire you to fix our screen door? (they estimated that perhaps even I could fix the screen door, but they said it more politely than that)

*weren't you supposed to charge us the disposal fee for the microwave? (they were; this likely got us much more goodwill than my offer of help, or even the use of our stepladder)

ANYWAY, I think we were all reminded that I am Extremely Awkward when talking with human beings, but we also learned that our microwave was vented (who knew?), and then I got reminded of the True Powers of magic erasers when I used one on the tiles that we could never reach before when the microwave was installed. Call that a day of learning!

We are now the proud owners of a FULLY INSTALLED CEILING FAN! (This may seem like a small thing, but it was not a small thing. Well, the fan itself is pretty small.)

This epic adventure required RESEARCH! It required TALKING ON THE PHONE! (More than once, even! Multiple phone calls!) It required a NOT INSIGNIFICANT investment of time and money!

But victory is now ours! One (1) day before the Big Heat Wave (aka we're being alerted with an EXCESSIVE HEAT ADVISORY, which is something I would much prefer to avoid, thanks), the electrician has come through for us and arrived to install the fan.

Also a new light in the laundry area. With a pull cord!

So now we have the following powers:

*The fan light and the laundry room light can be operated separately. (They are on the same light switch, why??? The pull cord for the light and the fan remote resolve this issue nicely, with no need for rewiring.)

*The fan will, presumably, help move air through the upstairs. (It will certainly do more than the not-a-fan that was there before.) How much help this provides is yet to be seen, but I am VERY HAPPY to do this science.

*The fan has a colored LED backlight that can be set to rotate through colors. It's a party!

We had an electrician here last week (okay, there were two of them, but that looked weird when I wrote it out -- it was one visit, with two people) and one of the things we asked about was putting a ceiling fan in our upstairs hallway.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, they 'didn't love' the idea. We have low(ish) ceilings, and it's not a huge space. 'Maybe if it was an enclosed ceiling fan,' they said, and I nodded as if I had any idea what they were talking about.

But APPARENTLY that is a thing! Enclosed ceiling fans -- small, low profile, designed to fit in small spaces with low ceilings. I NEVER KNEW. Anyway, I'm going to try to get them to confirm they'll install the one we're looking at, and then we'll see how well it works. (I mean, I feel pretty confident in saying it will move more air than not having a ceiling fan at all, which is the current situation. So hopefully improvement is guaranteed!)

Even though our trip was only a few days, there was a lot of prep beforehand (people staying here overnight! a cat sitter for Cagney! so much to figure out and make plans for). Also the weather has been super unpredictable, so I've spent more time than usual worrying about it (and its potential impact on various aspects of the trip).

So today it feels extra nice to not have those things going on! Just a nice day at home, settling back in to home things.

*Good news: the wall is not cement. (It's cement on the other side! I got confused!) By using Feats of Strength (or possibly magic? idk I didn't see it happening)

starandrea separated the shelving units from the walls.

*And from each other, because OF COURSE they were also attached to each other. Why not?

*Turns out shelves that look kind of fall-apart-y in the utility room actually look surprisingly good in the garage! Re-use activated! (Note: We did NOT attach them back to the walls, or each other. But, to be fair, we did consider it for a hot second.)

*So basically, we moved a bunch of stuff to the garage, which took hours, and then a company came in and moved it OUT of the garage, which took about 15 minutes. Their fee was absolutely worth it.

*In conclusion, the project started with "we should maybe replace these shelves" and grew into "also we should maybe move this legacy furniture out of the room," and then wound up checking TWO projects off the list, since it also added shelving to the garage! Bonus win!

Yesterday's paddling with Extra Adventure turned out to be a little more Extra than we'd anticipated, but it was definitely an adventure! If you've ever thought to yourself 'I wonder what happens if an inflatable paddleboard experiences rapid de-inflation while someone is using it,' we can now answer that question!

(Answer: it makes an alarming noise, then drops you in the water. It *does* stay inflated enough to float on its own, which was a big plus! Massive kudos to

starandrea for impressive swimming skills!)

Anyway, we made it! Yay! And then we dove into another adventure (luckily the diving was more metaphorical that time) and started working on getting the legacy furniture (aka stuff that was left to us by the previous owners, which may or may not have been left to them by the *original* owner) moved out of the utility room. My arms are so sore today!

Today: THE SHELVES. Turns out they are bolted to the cement walls! Surprise! Will report back tomorrow with updates.

Soooooo.... work. It sure is something.

But!

*yesterday I was able to work on a paracord bracelet while I was talking with a coworker via chat (about an official work project and everything!)

*and I got to pat the cat during my morning meeting, which always helps me feel better

*I got approved for a few days off at the end of the month, so our Utility Room Reshelvening Project is a go! (The room has shelves, but they are Not Great. We have new shelves that should be better! But we still need to remove the old shelves, put together the new shelves, and get everything either back into the room or hauled away, and that means A Project.)

Yesterday I took some boxes to the garage. Wait, backstory:

We have a garage! Yes, it feels wildly luxurious. It's a freestanding structure separate from the house, and connected to several other garages. Most importantly, it shares a wall and a teeny-tiny vestibule with our neighbor's garage.

Also for VARIOUS REASONS the easiest way to get the big door open is to crack open the little door, reach in, and push the button.

SO! Yesterday. I'm at the garage, in the teeny-tiny vestibule, and I opened the little door and IMMEDIATELY I heard the sound of the big door going up. But I hadn't pushed the button! My mind boggled. Was the electricity working TOO WELL? Did the door just up and down on its own whenever? Was the garage reading my mind? Time travel? I pushed the button and then forgot? AMNESIA?!?!

I reversed course out of the teeny tiny vestibule to put eyes on the big door. Which was, of course, still closed. Because the absolute MOST LOGICAL explanation for the situation (aka our neighbor had just arrived and opened their garage door from their vehicle) had not occurred to me at all. (I laughed a lot, then tried to explain it to the neighbor, who possibly did not understand exactly why this was so humorous.)

In conclusion: gold star for my brain for coming up with a half a dozen hilariously improbably explanations for something so simple.

*Good news! The characters have arrived on the moon! Now they just need to talk about it for ::checks notes:: a LONG TIME, wow.

*The second half of nanowrimo begins today! We just need to take all that writing and words we did in the first half of the month, and do it again, except now we're more tired and there's a major US holiday to deal with! It'll be fun!

*I'm back to work today after taking yesterday off to wait for the plumber who was scheduled to fix our boiler. The problem is somewhat ongoing, despite their visit. (tl;dr home maintenance is a constant source of stress, yes/yes?)

I attended my first ever Annual Meeting for the condo association last night, and wow, that sure was a thing. I'm glad I went and also glad it's done for another year.

Of note:

*I met the newest neighbors who are in the process of moving in way down in the farthest building from us. One of them looked familiar, but I think they may just have one of those faces. (Also, I think a lot of people look familiar, because a lot of people look sort of the same to me?)

*No refreshments! I wasn't actually expecting refreshments, but I think it would have improved the whole experience.

*Chimneys have both a "chimney cap" AND a "chase cover," as it turns out. Honestly I'm still confused about them, but the key takeaway was that when the condo association says they want to replace chimney caps, they actually mean chase covers. Which are completely different than chimney caps.

I spent much of the day rearranging furniture in my room, which I enjoyed very much, and all of the day trying not to be overwhelmed by the absolutely fierce heat and humidity right now. We started with a heat advisory warning on Thursday, and each day it keeps getting extended one more day. Right now it's set to run through 8 pm Sunday night, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they extended it again into Monday.

Anyway, today's project was the bedroom furniture, and also taking off some closet doors. Tomorrow's project is setting up the cat's new litterbox area, which is the same as her old litterbox area, but hopefully with improvements.

(I have declared it home spaces improvement month, so each day I'm trying to do a little something. So far it's been fun, so that's ::checks calendar:: about 20% of the month, right? I'm happy to declare it a success now, and anything else I do after this is a fantastic bonus.)

It was one year ago today that we signed the papers and started moving into our home -- it feels like it was forever ago, and also like it just happened.

Happy one year house-aversary!

I like changing things in my environment, but easy things -- things that make it more interesting without requiring a lot of adaptation. Basically zoo enrichment, but you know, for me. Also, I have So Many Blankets. Combined, these two things mean I get to change how my bed looks every month!

It's surprisingly great. Making the bed is one of those 'oh, I guess, sure' things for me -- I like it once it's done, but mostly I do it for the cat. And because I often eat dinner sitting on the bed so the cat can sit in my lap, and it feels weird to do that if the bed isn't made.

But it's much more fun when it's not the same blankets / comforter / whatever all the time! Also, the Secret Hidden Benefit of not having carpeted floors is that you can just -- pull the bed away from the wall a bit when you're making it, and suddenly it is 10,000x easier! I NEVER KNEW!

We have successfully stormed the barricades of our own home! Okay, that's an exaggeration. After strategy #1 (maybe the ice will melt on its own before the birds empty the feeder) failed, strategy #2 was developed: use the ladder to climb up to the balcony and over the railing. (It's not that high up -- too high to jump for it and scramble over, but not like 'I'm questioning my life choices' high.)

The bad news was that the ice was, if anything, even more impressive from the outside. Definitely did not get the door open still. The good news was that it was super fun! Also that we were able to refill the bird feeder, so now the birds can have their snacks again!

(I think it would be nice to have access to the ground from the balcony, and have considered whether we could get away with a permanent ladder. What if it was one of those fire escape ladders? Inquiring minds want to know!)

When we moved into our new house last summer, we asked the previous owners if the river freezes enough to walk on in the winter. (The answer was a resounding 'sometimes.') I immediately thought it would be Super Great to walk across from one side to the other. (Why? I have no idea; it's just one of those things.)

And *this* winter, the answer is YES. The river is frozen enough that people are out on it, and I can confirm that it is indeed Super Great to walk across.

Other Super Great discoveries:

*You can just stop and take a picture! So easily! (Nothing like your kayak slowly rotating in the wrong direction to make picture taking a challenge.)

*The boundary between water and land is just not (as much) a thing. I was delighted to be able to climb off the ice onto a point of land, cross over the point, and pop back onto the ice on the other side.

*Unlike an ice skating rink, nobody yells at you for wearing shoes on the ice. You can just do it! And slide around!

In conclusion: Super Great.

Went downstairs this morning as usual, chores as usual, pretended not to notice the spider (also as usual), and as I was headed back to the computer, thought 'hm, it smells like someone has their heat on this morning!'

Then I thought, 'no, it smells like OUR heat is on.' To which my brain responded AHHHHHHHH WHAT DO!?!?!

(Obviously we do not want the heat on. I mean, someday we do, just not today.)

Anyway, I confirmed that the heat was indeed on (heaters felt warm), then quickly tried to pull furniture away from in front of them. Then I looked at the thermostat, which required getting a flashlight and finagling the tv screen which awkwardly blocks said thermostat.

Hahaha I have never used a digital thermostat before! The good news: I am very confident that I managed to correctly identify the TINY toggle lever on the FARTHEST side and turn it from 'heat' to 'off.' Also, I think I set the time?

The less ideal news: confirmed that I have no idea how to use a digital thermostat, and that apparently there's a learning curve.

Okay, so when we FIRST saw the new house (on open house day), I thought to myself, 'hm, they put a huge mirror in the living room, that sure is... a choice.'

[NOTE: Having now seen the wall o' mirrors in the condo next to ours, I will admit that 'huge' was not the correct way to describe this mirror. It's large -- about five feet wide, which I really feel is more mirror than necessary, and it's split into three panels.]

When we actually moved in, the mirror was still there. None of us could figure out how exactly it was attached to the wall. Since we're on good terms with the previous owners, we (tactfully!) asked them about it.

'Oh,' they said. 'Yes, it was there when we moved in.'

(!!!)

Apparently they made some effort at removing it, but couldn't wrangle it down, and decided to just leave it. So the mirror has been on the wall for AT LEAST 17 years, and all methods to remove it seem likely to cause anywhere from mild to severe damage to the wall behind it. (Also, we'd probably need to break the mirror. Which would be a pain to clean up.)

Still, I don't love the mirror. BUT! Today I hung a curtain over it, which was a huge improvement (I think), and this made me realize -- what's something that's wide, tall, and comes in an enormous variety of patterns for not a huge amount of money? SHOWER CURTAINS.

I feel this idea has some potential.

I think it is fair to say that June was A Challenging Month. But now it is JULY! (Also the heat wave is diminished today, so my optimism has increased.)

Things I am looking forward to in July:

*decorating in the new house!

*work is doing a virtual walking challenge (well, it's a walk/run/bike challenge, so for me: walking)

*really, really hoping the cat can become more comfortable with the new place and her new housemates

*Short walk at local park went well yesterday. Parking was easy (often the most challenging aspect), the trail was well-maintained, and I was there early enough that it was not crowded or too hot. Overall, a win!

*Today's challenge adventure: cooking some food! Also with the goal of doing it before it gets 'too hot,' although that's a moving target for sure.

THE DAILY DISTRACTION
Got completely sidetracked researching 'can I turn off the ice maker in the freezer and leave it off,' with a side of 'if yes, can the ice bin be repurposed for other freezer storage.' The answers appear to be yes and yes? I did manage to find the legit instruction manual online, which was -- surprise, surprise -- not very helpful. Various other sites online indicated that these questions were common, and in general the advice seemed to come down on the side of 'if you're not using the ice, you SHOULD turn off the ice maker.' (Both for energy-saving purposes, and because having the ice sit around for long periods of time as the freezer cycles can make it turn into a solid block (not ideal).'

So far, I have not cooked anything, but I HAVE emptied the ice bin and manually turned off the ice maker. I think. We'll see! (The ice bin is SO BIG! WHO NEEDS THAT MUCH ICE!?!?) Very excited to potentially increase our freezer space by 20% or so.

ACHIEVEMENT #1:
When we moved in, three of the windows that didn't have screens. The screens were in the utility room (helpfully labeled and everything!). Since screens make it easier to welcome in cool morning air without feeling like you're also asking the brazen neighborhood squirrels to just come on in and help themselves, it seemed like a good idea to put them in. (The screens, not the squirrels.)

So I did! One went great -- it was on the ground floor, so I could go outside and bang on the corners to get them to pop into place. The other two were upstairs, and they... went. They haven't fallen out yet, so I feel that the minimum level of screen adequacy has been achieved.

ACHIEVEMENT #2:
There is a balcony that has a sliding glass door and (in theory) a sliding screen door. In reality it was more like a 'pry it open and then use a combination of luck and pleading to move it' screen door. The internet suggested cleaning the track (the person in the video used lysol, which made me laugh and yet was also reassuring, in the sense that I was *also* planning to just grab whatever was handy), and then applying a magical product called WD 40 Spray & Stay Gel. (Note: it is NOT a gel. More like a foaming spray? I may not know much, but I do know what gel looks like, and that was not gel.) I did both of those steps, and voila! The door opens in a (somewhat) more graceful way now! Very exciting!

ACHIEVEMENT #3:
Not a DIY project, but I really felt like the list should have three things on it. So here's my third achievement for this week: I made it to Thursday! Not only is it the day before Friday, it's also PAYDAY!

Profile

marciratingsystem

June 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

Syndicate

Page Summary

Active Entries

Style Credit

Base style: Practicality by timeasmymeasure
Theme: Citrusy by krja

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jun. 28th, 2025 05:19 pm

The Marci Rating System

Entries tagged with home is home

good news: no microwave!

SUCCESS

I have learned a thing

a re-settling-in day

shelving update, as promised!

maybe less adventure today?

workaday Tuesday

it still could have been time travel

day 16

so THAT's what they're like

better late than never

one year!

"yay, I'm a llama again!"

I'm sure our neighbors have seen weirder things

goal: achieved

ahahaha

THE MIRROR

JULY!

it's our two-week house-aversary!

DIY time