Yes, Cat Dreams Do Come True

Especially if your name is Alfie.

As you may or may not remember, a few years back (prior to the pandemic), we took down the door that leads to our garden in our outside entryway. It was already in place when we moved in, and had simply rotted to the point that there wasn't much left of it.

Now this wasn't really a huge problem in the grand scheme of things. It did mean there was slightly less privacy if we were in that area of the garden, but the biggest issue was that if the cats were outside in the garden with us, they could just stroll out onto the street, which is less than an optimal situation. So we knew we needed to replace it, but at the time funding was extremely low. And the garden was seriously full of mosquitoes, so we didn't spend any time out there unless we had to. 

Over the past few years, we've been able to make some headway cleaning things up, and though the mosquitoes were still in force, at least the garden wasn't a complete mess and eyesore anymore. And once our mortgage was paid, we suddenly had some available cash to make some of the repairs and improvements we'd had to delay.

The first few things that were the most necessary were taken care of, and so now we could move on to thinking about other projects that had been waiting. I was "assigned" by The Tim the project of getting the garden door replaced.

Of all of our most recent cats, Alfie was the one who insisted - no, NEEDED - to go out into the garden whenever we went outside, even if for just 5 minutes. And then he would immediately run out onto the street as part of his routine. That is of course dangerous for any cat, but Alfie has only three paws, and is declawed. And let's just say his reaction times to things are not in the top 5 percent. It drove him crazy that he could not go out, because as far as he is concerned, he is a Nature Cat. I kept promising him that we would get a new garden door, and his dream has finally come true.

I was finally able to find someone to come and give us an estimate, in the first place, which was no easy feat. The person was just one of those people you can tell are the real deal when you meet them, you know what I mean? And he was very fond of Alfie, which of course Alfie assumes everyone is. And so this past Monday, one of the guys who works in the company came and both built and installed a new garden door!

Going into the garden (yeah, a weird angle because the entryway is very narrow and this is the best way I could take a photo):

And then if you are leaving the garden to go out onto the street:

It's a nice, solid, cedar wood door and it took the person about 5 hours from start to finish to get it all accomplished. The handle is a simple latch, which is nice. Now you may be saying, "Aren't you going to install a lock on it?" and yes, we could, but in order to get into the entryway where you could then open the door into the garden, you would have to get through a wrought-iron gate. And frankly, if you can figure that out, a simple lock isn't gonna hold you back. So for now, we're leaving it alone. This coming weekend, The Tim is going to put a cedar finish on it, for weather protection and aesthetics. But it's finally in place, and Alfie and I ventured into the garden yesterday, and he was the happiest cat in Philadelphia, I'm pretty sure. 

As soon as I finish this post, I'm heading downstairs to go into to the garden - with Alfie, of course - to water the plants, replenish the birdbath, and fill the bird feeder. I have found a mosquito repellent "system" that seems to be working pretty well for us, so now I don't need to put on long pants and long sleeves for those activities, which is nice. So it's actually nice to be out there. I'm hoping that we can spend some time there this weekend and into the fall, since during the heat and humidity of the summer, none of us has much interest in being out there unless we have to.

But Alfie would like you to know that after waiting SO long and hearing promise after promise, his fondest wish is now a reality. He can truly enjoy his role as Nature Cat of the Outdoors. So remember that if you just wait and hope long enough, perhaps your dreams can come true as well! 😊

*****

No major plans here for Labor Day weekend. As I said, The Tim is planning to work on putting the finish on the new door. In a pleasant turn of events, he may not have to work on Labor Day like he usually does. So it would be nice if the long weekend would be a long weekend for him for a change. I'm on a bit of a decluttering spree, so I'll likely spend at least some of the time working on that. But it sounds like it will be a good few days for walking, bike riding, and just generally being outside, so I'm sure we'll find a way to take advantage of that.

Here's hoping that your Labor Day weekend, or just your weekend in general since - GASP! Everyone doesn't live in the U.S. - is a good one, and that you can enjoy it however you like. 

As the song says, "See You In September." 

Almost There!

The puppy I'm knitting has a body now! It just keeps getting cuter, if you ask me. Now I have the front paws and back paws, and finally the tail to knit, and then he will be complete. As you can imagine, I talk to him a lot as I'm knitting him, so he's become a therapy dog of sorts. 😊

I haven't been around this week because I've been getting used to being uncomfortable from an outpatient procedure I had last Friday. A visit to the dermatologist a few weeks ago led to her finding something suspicious on my back. It turned out to be a basal cell carcinoma, and she scheduled me for August 1 to have it removed. The procedure itself was completely uneventful, but boy does having a line of stitches on your back make for being uncomfortable! I think it's because most of us don't have a lot of padding on our backs. The doctor told me it would be unpleasant for at least a couple of weeks, because there are internal stitches as well as the ones I can see (though not that well, based on where they are located) on my back. I was very happy to hear from her yesterday to learn that they got clear margins on the area they removed. So unless another one pops up again, I should be OK. Though she warned me that with my - as she calls it  - "pale Irish skin" and being of a generation that grew up before sunscreen was invented, it may not be the last time a carcinoma shows up. Ugh. Even after a childhood spent avoiding the sun because I sunburned in record time, I'm paying for it now. 

At least I have a dermatologist who is paying close attention.

So what have I been doing? Well, I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get comfortable, or at least less uncomfortable. I know it could be lots worse, but after a summer of ridiculous heat and humidity, I have little patience left for anything. The doctor told me to take it easy for two weeks, and not do anything very vigorous. I've done some reading and a little bit of knitting, but have a hard time really concentrating. I haven't been able to sleep well, so I feel very tired most of the time, which does not help with my attention span.

OK, enough whining, let's just talk about something else.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned the ongoing saga of our garden door. The short version is that we had a door - really more of a panel - that had a padlock on it that closed off the entryway to our front door from the garden. (I'm not explaining this very well, but just go with it.) It was neither attractive nor durable, but it came with the house, and it did what it needed to do. About two years ago, it finally just fell apart, and we took it down. Which is not a big deal, but we agreed that at some point, we wanted to replace it, for two reasons at least: 1) so if the cats were in the garden with us, they could not leave and go out onto the street; and, 2) for privacy and a fake appearance of security (because if someone wants to get in, they can figure out a way). 

When I said something about it earlier this summer, The Tim informed me that it could be "my" project. So I've been looking for someone to give me an estimate on the cost. I finally asked local friends for a recommendation on Facebook, and a friend who I know has high standards recommended someone who had done some work in her house.

He came yesterday, and took all kinds of measurements. Once again, nothing is standard about the measurements, so it requires a bit of finagling on his part. But he had a couple of good-sounding ideas, and he is going to see what kinds of things would be involved and send me an estimate. If it seems reasonable at all, I'm gonna go with it because most people I contacted either wouldn't come into the city to do the work, or weren't interested in such a small project. The thing I didn't tell them, since they were being kind of rude about it, is that we have some internal door-type and other projects that, if the garden door project would turn out well, we would consider asking for estimates for those as well. So we'll see how it goes, but I would love to have a garden door again. And the cats would be thrilled, because then they could explore when one or both of us are out there. And at a minimum, Alfie MUST be allowed to do that!

And that's the excitement around here lately. I just realized that this post is brought to you be the letter P:

Puppy

Pitiful me

Property improvement

But somehow, "Tryon Street" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Sesame Street," does it?

Take care, and I'll be back soon!

🌷🌹🌻

A Long Weekend That Wasn't A Long Weekend

Hello and I hope your week has started out well. This past weekend was a long weekend here in the U.S., in honor of Veteran's Day, which was yesterday. A lot of people had an extra day off work. Since I do not have a job, I was "off" anyway; The Tim had to work. So I headed out to a doctor's appointment, and then came home and did some projects around the house. 

Our weekend was quiet, but the best thing was that our new stove arrived. Finally, we can use the whole thing, not just the stovetop! It's funny when something is not available, how you realize you use it all the time. When I would go to start making dinner, I'd be rudely reminded that I couldn't use the oven because it was no longer working. And a couple of times, I thought, "Oh maybe I'll make muffins for breakfast on the weekend," and then ... NOPE.  So Saturday night I used the oven for dinner, and on Sunday, The Tim made some bread. That was our big excitement.

I also started another new knitting project. I'm trying a yoked sweater with two colors. Here are the beginnings of my efforts:

Let's just say that I'm not certain this will work at all. But I've been wanting to try this type of project, and if you don't ever start, you'll never know. I did make a two-color hat as you may recall, back in February, so I thought it would be worth the attempt at another level. So this could possibly be the last you ever see of this project, OR I will be hoping that blocking will solve a lot of problems ... 

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you've already seen the photo below. I posted this with a caption saying I was glad to get one of these before they sold out at Sephora:

I opened my package, and then put the box in front to the door to the basement so I could take it downstairs to add to things going to be recycled. But apparently Pip decided it was a nice cozy place to hang, and spent most of Sunday happily just curled up in the box. Cats and boxes you know. 😊

Today I'm headed to my volunteer gig for the morning, and then I'll work on some things around the house in the afternoon before I sit down to read and/or knit. I have to also be sure to eat and drink whatever I want for the rest of the day and evening, because after today, I am doing a prep for a colonoscopy on Friday afternoon. Ugh. I hate it in the first place, but having to do a two-day prep just makes something bad even worse. 

So I may be MIA until next week because of that, or I may be here every single day to give me something to think about other than how hungry I am, or how much my head is hurting, etc. We'll see. 

In any case, I hope *your* week goes well. I told The Tim that even with the prep and colonoscopy, this week will still be better that last week was ... 😢

OK, time to clean up my breakfast stuff, brush my teeth, and leave to go and take care of some kitties - have a good one!

It Has Finally Happened

Yesterday morning, two very nice and very capable young men arrived as scheduled, and they moved the now new-ish refrigerator from the dining area to its permanent home in the kitchen!

Seldom have I been so happy and relieved about something. 

Of course, then yesterday our stove died, after being only about 4 years old. So my new goal is to have a new stove before Thanksgiving. And my goal after that is for nothing else much to happen until after the holidays, if something has to happen at all!

To quote Roseanne Roseannadanna, "It's always something." 

Well Here We Are

Today is attempt #2 at having our kitchen and bathroom floors replaced. I am hoping that it means that later this week or early next week, I can share a post about the project being successfully finished. Working with this group is already head and shoulders above the first guy, so I'm feeling hopeful.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed, OK?

We'll See What Happens Next Spring

Remember my story about Paulie Walnuts, Jr. and the gang coming to demolish our collapsed planter in front of our house? Well, they showed up a short while back and got the job done in only a few hours, and they did it very well! But I swear that it was like living in a local version of "The Sopranos" because the work crew could have all been related to some of those characters!

Guess what though? Even if they were, I don't care because they did a great job!  I think I'd posted a photo of the collapsed planter, but anyway here is what it looked like: 

Now granted, after it collapsed, I made no effort to pull the weeds there, etc., since I knew that before long it was all going to come out. But if you look on the far left of that photo, the first two areas of the planter actually had plants in them - asters, that were getting ready to return. I'd planted them about three years or more ago, and they loved it there! When they were in full force, they looked wonderful.

So before the workers came, I pulled up as many as I could with the roots attached, so that hopefully I could save at least a few. I planted them in one of the empty huge plant pots in the garden, hoping that if any survived, I could re-plant them next spring. So far, they seem to be doing OK so I have my fingers crossed.

Anyway, this is how it all looked after the work was done - we are really pleased with it!

It's also good because we know that sooner rather than later, we'll need to get the bricks pointed, so this way, nothing will be blocking anything else.

Our plan is that next spring, we'll get some planters/large pots/whatever, and put some flowers and plants in there, so we still have something nice in front of the house, and also so our new tree doesn't get too lonely. A lot of houses in our neighborhood have that kind of set up and it looks really good. Of course, I'm so picky, The Tim told me to start looking at things now, so that I might find something I like by next spring ... he's not wrong! 😊

So we're moving along slowly but surely with getting everything fixed up, repaired, replaced, etc. This wasn't really something we had planned to do or have to do, but at least it wasn't another major project.

We have even found a new guy and his crew to replace the kitchen and the bathroom floors - I *really* hope the second time works! This person seemed much more together than Floor Guy #1, and I had created a document with specific requests and questions, and he addressed all of them in great detail. Of course, it's costing a lot more, since the kitchen floor put in partially and poorly by the first guy has to be redone, but if we end up with what we wanted, it's all worthwhile. They are supposed to start a week from tomorrow, and he said that there will be three of them and they will likely need most of the rest of that week. I'm feeling good about this and hope that Floor Guy #1 was just a fluke for us. And yes, it's a pain in the neck to have workers in the house for a week, but if after that week the floors are really and truly finished and we are happy with them, a week is no big deal.

******

The weather has been so lovely here, and yesterday was the first No-Car-Sunday of this month in Center City Philadelphia. For yesterday and the rest of September, the city is closing off a group of streets in Center City to cars on Sundays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There are all kinds of special events, offers from stores and restaurants, etc., but mostly there are just no cars and no traffic so you can walk around and just enjoy it! We went out, in the afternoon for a nice stroll, and there were a lot of people out and about, but it wasn't crowded anywhere, so it was just a nice way to spend time and people watch. 

That's about it from here. This should be a relatively quiet week for me, since the only specific thing going on is my volunteer shift tomorrow morning. So I've made a list of some other things I'd like to do, and have told myself that even if I just manage a couple of them, that's OK.

Right now, it's time to spend time paying some bills. Not my most favorite thing, but necessary and if I do it now, it's over with for a while. So I'll check in again soon, take care.

Cats, Fall Decorations, and Workers

Well, I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy my post about my volunteer job - I'm enjoying it, and that is really the most important thing.  Yesterday there was only one kitty, a 4-month-old calico, called Gabby.

Unfortunately, Gabby had a pretty bad kitty cold, so in the afternoon she returned to the main clinic to get some medicine and TLC. She was so cuddly and sweet while I was with her. She *loved* all the stupid songs I made up to sing to her. ❤

Over this past weekend, when the weather was still lovely, I was folding some laundry and saw something I had never witnessed before:

Will you look at that! Miss Esme enjoying sitting in the sunshine in the guest bedroom window! Maybe she does it a lot when I don't see her, but this was the first time I'd ever seen it happen. Of course, the Koodle chased her out of the window and downstairs within about 10 minutes, because he is a brat. But she seemed to enjoy it while it lasted ... 

Even though she is still pretty much scared of everything and everyone, she has made a LOT of progress compared to the kitty who came home with us originally. I'm hoping the progress will continue as she sees that we have not yet beat up or killed any of the other cats who live here (and trust me, the Koodle challenges us 24/7 on that front).

For specific reasons that currently escape me, last week I decided that we needed some nice and new fall and Halloween decorations. So I was poking around and found some at Target online, and even better they were on sale. So I ordered two Halloween decorations and a fall wreath. Since Target is good about returning things, I figured if they didn't live up to their online appearance, I would return them.

When I opened the box, I was happily surprised! All three things were exactly what I was hoping they would be, especially the fall wreath - as a matter of fact, it might even be nicer than I was expecting! Here it is still in the box, since it's not time to display it yet. But isn't it pretty?

The Halloween things are tucked away, but I'll try to remember to show them to you when I get them out to decorate.

As I am writing this, there is a work crew in front of our house, demolishing the brick planter that partially collapsed about a month ago. Two different people gave me estimates, and both agreed that rather than fix it, it would make more sense to remove it and cement over where it had been. Apparently when it was first added, it was not connected to the house - so it would only fall apart again down the road. I liked it well enough, but it had started looking sad over the past couple of years, and then the collapse was just the end. We're just planning to buy some nice planters to fill with flowers, etc. next spring. Quite a few people around here do that, and it looks really lovely, and still gives some outside the house pretties to see.

The guy who is heading the crew doing the work looks like he would be the son of "The Sopranos" character called Paulie Walnuts. 

So I've been calling him Paulie Walnuts, Jr. (obviously not to his face, his actual name is Joe). He's really nice, but he embodies the whole Italian-American stereotype, and it cracks me up. Also, from the get-go he called me "Bridge," and it amuses me so much when people I either don't know at all, or barely know, call me that. No one in my family or among my close friends has ever called me that, but so many random people go there automatically! 😂

But you know what? God bless them for doing the work on a day like today, when the temperatures are supposed to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit with the ever-popular "feels like" temperature being 107 degrees. I would already be passed out, so I am thankful for anyone who does outside physical hard work when it feels like you've entered the gates of hell when you step outside.

And that's it for today. I'm off to work on a few projects inside, so I can get them finished and check them off the to-do list. I hope your day is a good one!

And Now We Start Over

 

Well. Welcome to the sh**show. Since we last "talked," things have gone downhill fast. Long story short (and it is a VERY long story!), Floor Guy turned out to be a) unreliable, b) unskilled, and c) a disaster. The last time he showed up, he said hi to Alfie, and Alfie growled at him and ran upstairs! As The Tim says, when Alfie turns on you, you're done.

So we are not only back to square one as far as finding another person for the floors project, the kitchen floor will have to be completely re-done. Which means something that we originally thought was not going to cost a huge chunk of money probably will. Sigh. But live and learn. And as The Tim says, this is the first time we've been left in the lurch, and we know a lot of people who have faced nothing but the lurch with their home projects. So we're moving on and hoping for the best. I already have another person coming on Monday to give us estimates, and another one on Wednesday. Please keep your fingers crossed we have success this time around. 

Needless to say, I've been in a tizzy lately, with anxiety ramping up, and I haven't really done much knitting at all. I've done a lot of reading, so all is not completely lost. And after much emotional eventage (not a word, but I'm using it), The Tim has convinced me that this is a part of life, and none of it means that our lives are ruined, or even that our house is ruined. So I'm talked down off the ledge and ready to see what's next.

*****

In other news, the plants that I have had in large pots in our garden since last year have done really well this year, even with the terrible heat. But since I have been conscientious about watering them, they have thrived. It makes me so happy, especially since in order to water them, I have go put on long pants, long sleeves, socks and shoes to go out into the garden, since there are so many mosquitoes I would otherwise seriously be covered in bites. It's been a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts though, since dressing in such hot clothes to water the plants has helped them thrive, so I dress in hot clothes to water the plants, etc. I'm looking forward to weather where I would be wearing long pants anyway, and won't have to change just to go into the garden!

I have been watching parts for the Democratic Convention and really enjoying it. I'm sure you can imagine how happy I was to hear the Obamas the other night, and you can also imagine that once again, it made me wish we were friends with them. 😂 After feeling so despondent for so long, I'm actually feeling hopeful that the Evil Orange One may be conquered. 

This past week we have had lovely weather, so my morning walks have been the best! I love coming back home and not being covered in sweat. And having the windows open with a breeze blowing through the house. Oh summer, why can't you be like this? We could be *such* friends!

I've been reading your blogs, but admittedly not been in the frame of mind to comment much. But it has helped me stay sane, so thank you for posting. 

Yesterday was my dad's, my father-in-law's, and our late kitty Tess' birthdays. Today is my sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Pat's 54th wedding anniversary. So there are things to celebrate during this time that has been otherwise stressful, and that is always a good thing. Though I realized the other day that the weekend after this one is already Labor Day weekend! That's always a reset for me, so I'm thinking of what I want to include in that, and since I enjoy making lists and then lists of the lists I make, that's pleasing me too. 

This is the first day in a long time that I haven't had a feeling of dread first thing on waking up. Getting rid of Floor Guy was one of the best decisions we have ever made. 

Onward!

Snooper-vision

Well, the guy showed up yesterday to start working on the floors, and Alfie was right there. I left the cats alone, rather than closing them up in a room, because I knew that three out of four of them would hide. I told the guy that if Alfie was becoming a pest, to let me know and I would remove him. The guy assured me that he loves cats, and it wouldn't be a problem.

The whole time he was here, Alfie hung out with him - snooper-vising, I guess, since I didn't see him do any actual physical work. To Dan's (floor guy) credit, he kept up a conversation with Alfie most of the day. Covering a variety of topics. (And proving that we're not the only weirdos who have entire conversations with our cats. 😊) Alfie is not much of a "talker," but he does make sounds that sound either approving or disapproving, and he never takes his eyes off of you if you are talking to him.

After the work day was finished, Alfie sacked out until this morning. Because today is another day of floor work, as is tomorrow. And if you never realized it before, snooper-vising is exhausting work. 

Fortunately, he gives us a discount on his rates.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Resurfacing After Being MIA

Well here we are, almost in the middle of the month, and I'm finally checking back in with all of you. The past couple of weeks have been difficult, but things are looking up, so fingers crossed that it stays that way.

At the end of July/beginning of August, my Reverse SAD finally got me and got me good. It was so hot and so humid for so long that I got to the point where I could barely function. I was tired and miserable all of the time, and my depression and anxiety ramped up like it has not for a while. I was in pretty bad shape to be honest.

I did manage to get myself together enough to enjoy a weekend visit to NYC to see a lot of family, which was really nice and I'm glad we went, but then we came home to the same slop and that caused me to crash big-time. Fortunately, last week, even though it was still humid, it wasn't as hot and the rain did a lot to make the flowers, trees, etc. look and obviously feel better.

This week has felt so good! It's so nice to be able to have the windows open, especially at night, and to take walks without being soaked in sweat after a block and a half. And considering that it's August, it's a nice surprise that it's feeling that way now.

As mentioned above, we were in New York to see a lot of family for a weekend overnight. My sister Nancy and her husband live in Southern California, but they come to NYC usually every summer to visit with a lot of his family who live in the area. This year, their kids and families joined them. My nephew and his wife in Arizona have four kids, and the last time we saw them was 11 years ago. Three of them were able to make the trip, so it was nice to see them as young adults now. My niece and her husband who live in Northern California have two kids that we have never met, so we got to meet them in person, which was nice. Then my other sister and her husband from WV came for the weekend also, and one of their daughters and her family live in Brooklyn, so it was really great to get to see nearly everyone! It was loud and funny and frustrating (none of them are planners, ugh!), and of course, we always enjoy the train ride to and from there. It would have all been perfection if it hadn't been in the high 90s Fahrenheit with the ever-popular "feels like" temperature of 108 degrees. 😡

Only for family would I even consider braving it!

Then, we had found someone who could do our bathroom and kitchen floors - meaning that sooner rather than later, the new refrigerator would be in the kitchen where it should be! There were a couple of blips - the original date they said they'd start had to be pushed back, because the person they dealt with at Home Depot/Lowe's (I forgot which one) ordered the wrong bathroom tiles. 

The guy who was the head of the crew then said they would show up "early afternoon" on this past Saturday to get started on one of the bathrooms, after they finished another job. Which was fine with me. So I was going along in my day, and about 1:15 in the afternoon, The Tim informs me that he called and told the guy not to come, because it was "way past early afternoon." WHAT? I consider early afternoon  to be until around 3 p.m. Then he went on about how he told him it wasn't professional to treat people this way, etc. All I could think of - and I really don't think this very often - was WTF??

This, from the person who weeks ago explained to me (even though I already knew it) that contractors are usually working on several jobs at once, so they seldom devote all of their time at once to your project only. So I don't know what kind of needle ended up in his butt to cause him to do that, but I was really afraid that the guy would say, here's your down payment back, find someone else.

So currently, they are supposed to come tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday to get all three floors replaced. The lead guy texted me yesterday and told me he would text me again today to let me know what time tomorrow to expect them, and where they were starting, so I could have things ready. I hope it all works out this time. Otherwise, The Tim better have something else lined up.

In the meantime, Alfie will be in heaven when they finally arrive. I told a friend that it wouldn't surprise me if he has been watching floor repair videos on YouTube so that they have no excuse to not let him "assist" ... 😄

And now you are all caught up on the high-/lowlights. Cross your fingers that the next time I post, the floors are at least underway!

Watch ... Then Read

 

I hope you can see/hear the video OK - it's me on my phone, attempting to bring something different into my blog posting.

For those of you who can't watch for whatever reason (technology is not my forte I'm afraid), this starts with me in our kitchen, showing a disgusting floor and filthy wall where our old refrigerator used to be. And then I head down the hallway to show you where our new refrigerator is.

Yes, last Friday, we got a new refrigerator. We had our old one for 30+ years, and fortunately, we'd never had to have it serviced or had any problems at all with it. Over the last month, the door started to do that kind of thing where you needed to check to make sure that it actually closed. The Tim (referred to simply as Tim in said video), thought we should be proactive and get a new one, and I had to agree. Why tempt fate, you know?

But you may ask, why is there an empty space in the kitchen, and why is the new fridge in the dining area? Well, The Tim decided this was a great idea, because that way when we replaced the kitchen floor, we wouldn't need to move the refrigerator out and then back in again. I tell ya, the guy is a regular Einstein.

Actually, that's good except ... up until that time, there had been no serious discussion about replacing the kitchen floor! As in nothing said at all about it. But apparently, through osmosis or mindmelding or some other process, I was supposed to be not just aware of it, but trying to find people to do it for us! 

To recap:

1. Old fridge = gone.

2. New fridge = here but in the living/dining room.

3. We are getting a new kitchen floor.

4. I was apparently in the process of finding someone to do this for us.

5. I have just been made aware of #3 and #4 over the past couple of days.

6. I have discovered that I am not in fact telepathic.

7. I am however determined that this will happen BEFORE the holiday season.

8. I am not involving myself in any way, shape, or form in the process of later moving the new refrigerator into the kitchen with the newly-installed floor, whenever that time comes.

9. I have informed The Tim of #8.

10. Should things go south in some way, one of us will pay. It will not be me.

Fun times, amirite?

Thursday Flora Update

I thought I'd show you some "flora" (as in fauna and flora) we are enjoying lately. First up, our clematis, which is blooming like crazy in the garden and giving us something so pretty and splashy to see out the window!

There's a lot of dead leaves on it that I didn't get to trim before it started blooming, and I didn't want to interrupt things then, so I'll wait until its season is over to trim them. But this year it had ten blossoms altogether, which is a record. One of them was even on the ground, in the middle of some ground cover.

Of course since it's been raining so much this week, a lot of the blooms are gone, but they were sure nice while they lasted. Especially considering that about three years ago, I thought I'd killed the plant altogether when I got a bit carried away trimming out the ground cover. It just makes me so happy that it survived and seems to be thriving.

You may recall in the post where I regaled you with tales of our new door - which we are still loving, btw - I mentioned that the day after we got our new door, that we got a new tree, and I promised a photo. 

Behold, our new tree:

It's a honey locust tree, and since I took this photo about two weeks ago, it's gotten even taller and fuller! We used to have a crabapple tree in the spot that became diseased and had to be removed. The City of Philadephia has a program where they will provide you with a free tree, but needless to say, you get added to a list, they check the location, and then you wait until your turn comes around. They check the location because sometimes in the past, people have planted trees in places that are not not optimum for either the tree or for foot/car traffic. So your space has to get approval before anything else moves forward. And then you wait. But the bonus is, you don't get charged for the tree and volunteers in the program do all of the planting (which would currently be completely exhausting for the two of us to attempt).

There's also a list of approved trees for city streets. This is important because not all kinds of trees will do well in this kind of environment. Also, years ago many many gingko trees were planted everywhere in the city, and though they are lovely to see, those that fruit then drop the fruit, which gets trampled or driven over, and the permeating vomit-like smell is really disgusting. Needless to say, gingko trees are not on the list of choices! We chose the honey locust because it the particular one listed is a smaller variety that would not split the sidewalk or cause other problems. And as I mentioned before, at least right now, it seems to be pretty darn happy and growing like crazy.

And you know what? When you walk out of our new front door, our new tree is about 2 feet to the left of it. So our new tree and our new door are so pretty together when you walk up towards the house!

We were feeling pretty good about things on this side of the house on this particular street, thinking the only thing that was the next project was replacement of the carport, which has been out of commission now for a few years. But lest we start to think we are ahead of things for once, we awoke last Friday to find that part of the brick planter in front had completely collapsed. Either someone tried to sit on it, or ran into it with a car or a bicycle. So now we have that to deal with as well. It's a good thing we budgeted a little bit more than we thought we would need for all of these repairs and projects. But you know - yet another thing. Ugh.

It will of course all be worth it in the end, but finding the right people, scheduling everything, and then making sure you can be here when they are doing the work has a lot of moving parts to consider. And then of course trying to get Alfie to understand that 99% of the time, he just cannot be involved is a whole 'nother story! 😊

"You don't understand - workers need to have me there to snoopervise and help with the work. But my TERRIBLE parents refuse to allow me to be included. Just wait until someone reports them to PETA, that'll teach them!"

New Door!

Last Friday was finally the day they delivered and installed our new door! For anyone not familiar with the story, when we first moved into our house 30+ years ago, we already thought the door was ugly. It was perfectly functional - which was a good thing, because until now we couldn't have afforded a new one - but it was just, well, ugly. Plus, it was a steel door, so it was heavy, and also provided very little insulation.

Note: For anyone who has ever sent me something in the mail, you may be wondering why the house number is "2127" instead of the number that you have for my address. That's because door is on a different street. Long story, which I'll explain sometime. But rest assured, the address you have is our official address! 😊

You may also remember that I had originally hoped that our new door could have some small windows at the top, to let in some light, since our house can be very dark. But due to the fact that our door opening was extremely small (Philadelphia rowhouses, I tell ya!), it wouldn't be possible to have the windows. I was truly disappointed at first, but I told The Tim that I wanted to make up for it by finding a good door knocker.

In any case, the two workers arrived Friday morning ready to tear out the old door and install the new one. Originally, they said it would likely take until around 4 pm, but they were finished and on their way by shortly after 2 pm. And best of all, we now have a door that we just love! (And a new outdoor light installed a few weeks ago when the electricians were here!)

And I'm not sure if you can really see it, but we did get a good door knocker - it's a bumblebee! We are beyond pleased with how nice it all looks, and what a HUGE improvement it is. Originally, we were floored at the cost of new doors, but we agreed over the weekend that it was worth every penny.

One funny thing is how many neighbors have gone way out of their way to tell us how nice it looks. The Tim said that now that he thinks of it, he's betting that all of them were saying, "Thank GOD they finally got rid of that eyesore!"😂

And the thing that cracks us up the most is our one set of next-door neighbors and their reaction. This couple moved in about five years after we did. They are great neighbors and really wonderful people and we love them dearly.* But they are also the kinds of people who, regardless of what they do, wear, have, etc., it is always just right. For instance, the woman in the couple is one of those people who looks nicer after she has done her morning run than most people look on their wedding day. I'm sure we all know at least one person like this. 

Anyhow, last fall, they completely renovated their house, inside and out. And in a major way, top to bottom. It looks great, and as you can imagine, every single thing is best quality, etc., being that they are not just really well-to-do, but the guy is an architect, so he has all of the right contacts for home improvements. 

Well, she was out of town on Friday at the vacation house they are having built (did I mention they were well-to-do?), and when he got home from work on Friday, he saw the door. He sent her a photo, and apparently also sent her a very specific photo of the bumblebee door knocker, which he specifically liked. She texted me saying how great it looked, etc., and said "now we just HAVE to find a good door knocker, too!" On Saturday morning, I went out and he was out there, and he said, "You would not believe how many door knockers we are looking at! We saw yours, and now we absolutely have to find one we like!" 

So now, for once and quite possibly the ONLY time in our lives, the next door neighbors are trying to keep up with US! 

In any case, we could not be happier with our new door. Every time we go in or out, we comment on how perfect it is. And then we say how it's now worthy of being part of the pair of front doors we have (see Note earlier in this post).

But that's not all - on Saturday, we got a new tree! You'll have to wait for another post for that story. But a new tree, right outside of our new door - as I said to The Tim - "Everything's coming up Milhous!" (That's a reference from the TV show "The Simpsons," in case you're wondering what the ___ I'm talking about.)

*We always say that it's good that they are wonderful people and good neighbors, because they are so perfect, it would be easy - and possibly quite enjoyable - to hate them. 😂😂