Thursday - July 14, 2011

whistle while you work

Alive. Just. In a manner of speaking.

This pix hasn’t anything at all to do with what I’m writing. I just thought I might inject some excitement in what might be a boring tale.

Once the electrician was done and gone I couldn’t put off a project delayed by at least a year. So now I am exhausted and wondering what the heck I’m still doing here, in a house that will never be restored because it’s beyond that, and even if it wasn’t, we couldn’t afford to do it.

Our windows are very old. They date from the time they were first installed. 1924. They are iron and they are seriously rusted.  In some cases the smaller windows are frozen, no, fused is the better description.  So every year I do what I can, scrape, sand paint etc.

But not last year. So things get worse and the work gets harder.  Actually, I don’t mind the work so much. What else am I gonna do?  And besides, I can feel like I’m accomplishing something.  Started on one of the two kitchen windows yesterday morning, and still not done.  Lets not even talk about the two rooms upstairs or the really larger one here in what doubles as dining and computer room.

When the mil was alive and kicking, I guess she didn’t have much to spend on upkeep. When it was done, it was really a matter of applying one coat of paint on top of another and I guess she thought that was all it needed. But she also had a bad habit of not seeing those things she wanted to avoid.  She didn’t trust workmen and always tried to get things on the cheap.  Well, she got that alright.  Maybe I’m unfair in that assessment. After all, I wasn’t here at the time things were falling apart. Now, about all we can do it stick our finger in the dyke and try and hold back the flood. 

I’ve pretty well scraped away what I could but in many places the rust on the frame is total. That is, you can not sand to bare metal because there is no longer any bare metal.  I’ve also replaced the grouting around the one I’m working on.

Hopefully if I can get an early start tomorrow morning, get a ride to the paint store having discovered I have no primer or oil base for the wood parts inside and outside the house, I can finish that window and start on another easier one, before moving on to the next worst.

This is gonna take some time, and at the end of the day it’s about all I can do to stand up.  And that damn knee isn’t helping matters any.  Neither is the dog next door.

I read about bread soaked in anti-freeze being used. Might have to resort to that, because some folks just don’t give a damn if their actions and attitudes or their dogs disturb others.

It’s the same thing when people have outdoor parties late at night, and just can not enjoy themselves unless they have music amped at decibels that will be heard between here and Germany.

People really are not very considerate anymore.  Have you noticed that?

Posted by peiper     on 07/14/2011 at 01:25 PM   
Filed Under: • Personal •  
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