March 08, 2004 - 11:10 a.m.
The event was lovely, and easier to get around on crutches than I had feared it might be. Of course I had really hoped to be single crutching it (and dreamed of no crutching it). But, due to the desperate inconsideration of others without regard I was on my feet far far far too long on Friday. *sigh* I am NOT putting that rant here, but I will tell you all that I finally pushed back and pushed hard. That is right southern girl put her foot down to the point of deliberate rudeness with FAMILY.
Anyhow, the event. Other than getting up at 0500 is was an uneventful and good trip down. Went via Richmond to get Narr so we could pre-plan things. Good idea! There were so very many things I wanted to do and look at and see and people to talk with � that I just never made it back to. To all of you that I said I will be back around later � I am so very sorry. Moving on crutches is desperately slow and hopelessly inefficient.
The day ended and we got on the road. Back via Richmond for a lightening quick stop there and then continued on up the road. Thank goodness for books on tape � something diverting and interesting is a very good thing to have when you are on the road alone after 2300 and really don�t add much in the way of caffeine to your life. It was late late when I got home. Too late to unload the car or remember to set an alarm. I slept in until noon!
Yesterday really started out to be a good day. Out to lunch with a friend, got some work done that I had taken home (hate needing to bring work home on weekends, somehow that is much more evil than working evenings). Bought a pair (well not a pair, but quantity 2) of new lamps by Quiozel. Prrr. Swung by Home Despot to get more paint chips � this time for the living room and dining room. I had been looking in the brown and gold family of colors for those rooms but now I am musing with greens painting on that level remains some time off �must conquer the bathroom of doom, and the upstairs hallway first � perhaps by fall?
Then I entered window hell. First some history � I have these windows in my house that leak. Not the windows themselves but around the windows. They are crummy windows and were put in badly � I have been fighting this fight for a year or more now *sigh*. The short version is that there is this part called a flashing strip that is all wrong and the original caulking looked more like Morse code than a solid bead line to prevent water damage. Yeah been slowly working through the house to repair that � been making good progress. Have I mentioned that my house is a whopping 7 years old? I thought I was making progress. Au contraire.
So here I am in the living room shooting the breeze with Matt and Trevor and trying to assemble the new lamp while they discuss why the wiring is all screwed up. Translates to I have switched outlet that wasn�t switching on, it was a simple fix of tightening some screws but did involve removing faceplate and testing various wires. There we are working, chatting and waiting on Chinese food to arrive as the rain and wind comes in. and THUD. A �not good noise� from upstairs. They go check it out. The �NOT GOOD NOISE� was the sound of the lower half of one of my bedroom windows falling out!!! As in the window, vinyl and all ripping out of the track and falling to the floor. Of course in this process the metal pins at the bottom (tilt out windows) tore themselves out of the vinyl.
I just sat there and about cried. I hate my windows. I really passionately hate them. The guys rigged a temp fix with the window set into the frame again, padded with pillows and my dresser pushed up to it holding it all together so I didn�t get a monsoon blowing into my bedroom while I dug around and found my 25-year limited warrantee that came with the windows. Today started with many phone calls to various places. I can not express the frustration at the cheap crappy construction used with my home. I would say it is me but well frankly talk to an A-R detailed oriented freak that has a recently built non-custom home that has cropped up so much in this area � the horror stories don�t end. At least I don�t have plumbing leaking through my light fixtures (no joke real story) or a cracked foundation slab, or a foundation that is 2 inches higher on one side than the other?
I will overcome this. I will conquer the evil windows of doom.
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