Windows and Doors

I am the third owner of this house.  The previous owners were here for seven years, and I have been here almost six.  That's 14 years from the initial owner.  I am going out on a limb and will suggest the house was built between 16 and 17 years ago, and I have been told that it was empty for almost one year between the first owner and the second.  That is the history and why the windows, which were made of wood in painted wood frames, had come to the end of their useful life.

My venture began last March when I gave up on the desire to hire local, Amish craftsmen and faced the reality I needed a reliable company.  I went to the "sort of" local Home Depot and put the process in motion.  I ordered Anderson windows clad on the outside and wooden on the interior. 

The original installation was targeted for August, but in the end it started on September 13.  At approximately 10 AM two guys in two trucks arrived.  The set to work (speaking in what I imagine was Polish) and began taking out the window in the kitchen.  They worked non-stop until 5 PM.  With only three sets of windows installed they were finished for the day.  They explained they had two stops in Effingham to make confirming measurements, but would return the next morning about 8 AM. 

They arrived at 8:15 AM and started again.  It was mid-day before the windows were installed and the two doors were removed. 

First the bedroom and then the living room.  I must admit that the removal of the bedroom door was daunting, but soon both rooms were void of a solid surface on the East Side of the house.  The afternoon clock continued ticking and I was getting rather nervous.  Would the doors be installed in time?

The workers continued without stopping.  Very little discussion, except about the doors.  Again, I was getting nervous.  What were they saying?  Were they worried that the wrong doors had been supplied?  Would they have to board the holes over with plywood and leave at 5 PM? 

 But they continued to work.  I checked on the installation.  There was daylight between the frame and the house.  The workers continued discussions in Polish.  The kitties were shut in the bathroom.  I couldn't let them escape through the openings. 

 

On the first day I had made the mistake of putting the kitties in the former woodworking shop.  Buddy had panicked and attempted to escape.  In so doing, he managed to scratch my wrist, causing home first aid to be implemented.  I took better caution on the second day.  The bathroom/closet was a much better choice.  They weren't happy, but I was not endangered in creating a safe haven for them.

The workers continued.  It was 5 PM, then 6, then 7 - daylight was failing.  They started cleaning up as the final sun rays dropped below the horizon.  Then, at 8 PM, the workers declared they were finished.  They handed me paperwork to sign off on the installation.  Told me a replacement screen had been ordered (one arrived slightly damaged).  They returned to their trucks for a 3-hour (minimum) drive home.  Their work was done.

 

The kitties were released from their temporary confinement.  The installation was complete.  The doors have special security features beyond mere locks.  We are happy.  Now the final finishes are required.  Yesterday I went an purchased the stain to make the windows and doors blend in with the rest of the interior. 

The purpose of the new windows is to reduce the amount of fuel required to keep this place warm in the winter.  Of course, they may even help reduce the energy draw should air conditioning be used during the summer months.  But in the short-term I am excited the project is 90% complete.  I can live with it now.  Hopefully, no more "fungi" growing in the sills, and no external maintenance should be required. 

 

Next I will discuss the saga of the screened front porch (and the battle against the indigenous critters).  But that will have to wait.  I need to enjoy the final bit of daylight seen through the new panes.

 

 

"Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms." ~William J. Bennett

 



 

 

 

 

 



Freedom

July 4th - the day that Americans celebrate their independence, their freedom.  Just what does that mean?

Freedom and independence do not mean that one can do whatever one pleases at any time.  If that were true, most of us would select not to work and live some place different than we currently abide (with hired help to keep the place up), travel to interesting destinations (if not hedonistic), and eat as much as we could tolerate. 

Freedom and independence more likely mean the opportunity to make decisions about the direction of our life and then take responsibility for the choices made - good or bad.  Perhaps that is why we get so frustrated by the political aspects that direct the society in which we live. 

Our personal experience of freedom and independence frequently contains irritation related to the lack of employment opportunities, and the high price of goods, services, and taxes.  The apparent lack of appreciation from certain sectors that we, as tax payers, believe we are supporting in their freedom without the attendant responsibility increases our disquiet over the price of freedom.

We are but visitors during our short lives.  We should take careful account of the time we have and attempt to make the most of the experience.  Perhaps freedom should include our personal committment to "make things better" for those around us, those yet to come, and the land that we inhabit.  Perhaps that is part of the reason we have been granted freedom.

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err." ~Mahatma Gandhi



Redneck Neighbor

 

Lately I have been "blessed" with traveling many, many miles a week.  One of my coworkers has lent me several books on CD to pass the time.  The current selection is "The Glass Castle" and it has brought back flashes from my 5th grade friendship (Rosetta Ashby).  We had so much fun with very little.

Yesterday when I finally was able to see the recent "state of affairs" on my screened in porch I contemplated a "quick fix" so my kitties could enjoy the outside without escaping into the night. The original construction, I admit, was not the best (but at least the porch was secured).  Over time the cheap door has left its hinges twice, most recently causing unrepairable damage. 

I purchased a new door, and have painted it to match the green trim on the house.  Unfortunately, the door has yet to be mounted (it is at least a two-person job).  Two nights ago I was sure damage had been done, but in the daylight it became painfully obvious.

Not only had the door screen been chewed and seperated for critter entry, but the dang visitors had taken it upon themselves to create a second "escape" hatch!  So cardboard and duct tape were enlisted to "secure" the area on a temporary basis (until such time as other able-bodied folks can be enlisted in the door project). 

I suppose it is a good thing that the grass between the road and the front of the house is tall and unmowed.  At least the passing boaters can't see the redneck repairs.  Only one of my neighbors ventures up my overgrown driveway these days, and that is at dusk so perhaps he won't notice either.

Homeownership isn't all that some people believe it is. I think it is over-rated.  But perhaps that is a reflection of my current travel schedule and inability to get stuff done around the homestead.

Sometimes, however, I daydream of a simpler housing situation.  The one at work is satisfactory (at least for now).  Rent the house, pay for utilities, someone else sees to the necessary repairs and mows the grass.  Few adornments and marginal furnishings. 

The kitties are learning to adapt the simpler style as well.  Perhaps my next venture will be a small house in the country, tucked inside some trees.  I need to declutter my life.  Then perhaps I can deal with the country critters in real time.

 

"How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you - you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences - like rags and shreds of your very life." ~Katherine Mansfield

Groundhog Day 2013

  Groundhog Day every year presents mixed feelings for me.  Of course, it is a happy day because my nephew was born on that day (today he is 34 - and counting). 

On the other hand in 2002, while training for our first half marathon, the love of my life left to "go home" during a training run with the running club.  So on the anniversary day, I have conflicted emotions.

Of course, I am not alone in missing someone.  Look at poor little Beavis.  Mom went and broke her hip on December 5 and has been MIA ever since.  He is alone in the house waiting to hear the key in the lock and then her foot steps coming in.  I am sad for him as well.



I suppose that is the "softy" in me.  I am always empathetic to the animals.  Their nature could be as a lone hunter, such as the morning visitor today in my backyard.  Some are more suited to that form of existence than others. 

Winter (at least in the Midwest) tends to force most of us to spend time inside rather than out.  The cold and snow puts all into the annual rest period - a time of rejuvenation for the coming Spring.  Still, it can be a lonely time.  Slick roads limit travel and visits with others are few and far between.

 

We look out across the landscape and wonder will the weather turn to warmth and when will we be free to roam the outside.  The predators are out there - waiting. 

Foot prints on the deck the morning and in the snow on the front steps, however, reminded me that kitties are outside as well.  I put out food just in case the hunting is not as productive as they need.  I wonder why kitties don't have homes.

It is my annual day of contemplation.  Groundhog day ... I wonder when the winter cloak will be tossed aside and bright colors reappear.

 

"Alas! must it ever be so?
Do we stand in our own light, wherever we go,
And fight our own shadows forever?"~Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton