Tag Archives: home

HousekeepingI

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My sister and I helped our mother clean on Saturdays. That included dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping and scrubbing the kitchen floor. There might have been more but I just don’t remember. And we might not have done those things each week. Again, I just don’t remember.

I do remember that our mother had a system on whether to dust first or vacuum first. But which?

Dusting first would cause any dust to fall to the floor and then be vacuumed.

Or did vacuuming first cause more dust to settle on the furniture so dusting was done after?

Or does it matter as long as both get done?

Or is the real question: what is this chore called “dusting” and why should I care?

I dust and vacuum (occasionally…don’t judge) but not always on the same day. However, we are having people come for a few days and I really need to clean!

Not a knitting project

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Two years ago we had our old wooden deck replaced with composite decking. We have two levels of deck and the lower section is about 12 x 15 feet. For some reason, I never posted about it. Anyway, the contractor used the existing framing to save on the costs. Unfortunately, the framing wasn’t what it should have been so the decking sagged under the weight of our wooden picnic table and grill that we use on that lower section. Not a lot but enough to be concerned about.

The old wooden deck

I had been thinking of how to fix the sagginess since last summer. So last week, I decided I would beef up the framing on the lower deck before it got too hot out.

New joists are on the left, and two more are needed on the right.

I removed the decking in one afternoon. Then I added joist hangers and new 2 x 6 lumber in between the existing joists so the support would be every 12 inches instead of every 24 inches.

Section 1 finished. That’s a root on the right, not a snake!
Section 2 joists finished!

The part that took the longest was putting the decking back on. There are special (and of course pricy) brackets that fit into the grooves on the sides of the decking boards so no screws or nails are visible on the top. It’s really neat and clean-looking. The issue was getting the brackets (I added more) and the grooves to line up so the boards would just slide in.

By the time I got to the last board, I discovered that it was too wide. Not getting the boards snugged up as tightly as the original installation was the problem. A fraction of an inch over the span of 30 boards added up. I managed to rip the last board down and get it in place.

I think this will hold an elephant!

I had some uneven stones as a kind of step off the one side but will find* someone (who knows what they are doing) to redo that area with some leftover pavers from another project to make a transition from the grass to the deck.

All in all, this took twice as long to do as I originally planned thought. Plus I was still recovering from that nasty virus. More clean-up is needed but the heavy labor part for me is done…for now.

*I don’t know what it’s like in your neck of the woods but trying to find someone, anyone around here to do work is next to impossible. I know most of the projects/jobs aren’t huge but does no one need money or to work anymore?

Patti

What’s up?

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I hope you’re enjoying your Memorial Day 🇺🇸 celebrations in the USA today.  Or it’s just another Monday where you live and you can enjoy it as well.

Too much time and not enough motivation.

We are getting our deck boards replaced…hopefully this project will begin this week.  If the contractor doesn’t call this week, I will raise some 💩!

I had to rip back 12 rows of the Luminary socks I started as I screwed up the pattern.  Back on track now.

I need to replace the cushion covers on our porch furniture.  The closest IKEA is not opened yet and I’m NOT paying $200 for shipping!  I also don’t want to make new covers.

So I’m just not motivated to do much.

How about you?  Motivated?

Explosive weekend

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At 6:44 Saturday morning Mr. Aitch and I were sound asleep in our bed when all of a sudden we were awakened by what sounded like an explosion and I swear that I saw a bright flash through my closed eyes. The sound was a tremendous clap of thunder and the bright light was a lightning strike. Close by.

Other than some thunder rumbles, the house was eerily quiet.  No aquarium gurgling.  No CPAP machine running. Nothing.  No electricity.  Fortunately, it was getting light outside and we could see.  I called the power company and about 45 minutes later the power was restored.  It took till 12:30 for the internet to return.

Then yesterday afternoon I heard another explosion.  It wasn’t real loud but it got my attention.  Mr. Aitch was in the garage and I thought something fell and shattered.  On my way out to the garage to check on him, I saw what exploded out on the deck.shattered tabletop

We didn’t see anything that might have hit the glass table.  The sun was shining and there was a puddle of water on a part of the tabletop.  I don’t know if the sudden warmth (it was 77 degrees) and the cool water caused the glass to shatter or what happened.  We did get some information several years ago that this particular tabletop could self-destruct.shattered glass tabletop

Some winters we cover the table to protect it and some we don’t.  This time we didn’t and we lucked out as it was a mild winter.shattered glass tabletop

The safety glass shatters into small pieces and looks like tiny ice cubes.shattered glass tabletop

And it is a royal pain in the backside to clean up!

We wanted to replace the deck this year and now that tiny pieces of glass are imbedded between the boards, that project has moved up the list to the number 1 spot.  I just wonder if I can get anyone to come and do the work…

Any excitement for you this past weekend?

 

A special shoutout to our son and son-in-law who both celebrated their birthdays yesterday and to our step-grandson who is celebrating his today!  Love you guys!!