Major Work Week

Thanks to better weather – lower temps and humidity – this past week was filled with work on major projects. Painting continued and we accomplished a milestone by removing the guest bedroom window AC and old windows in preparation for installation of new windows. Follow us!

Beginning on Monday we began painting more portions of the west wall. The pressure washer was called in to remove the worst of the old paint. In the photo below, take note of the AC cover on the upper left-hand window.

Working from the 10-foot ladder, I cleaned, scraped, and painted large portions of the wall as far up as could be reached.

Note the AC cover is now on the ground. There is a story behind that. A neighbor had rented a bucket lift to do some work on his chimney. He had the lift for a day (Thursday) and his work would only take a few hours. He offered to let us use the lift if I would return it to the rental yard on Friday before its due time. We appreciated this offer and quickly accepted it. Our thanks to Calvin and Sherri!

Rain was forecast for Friday morning so we had to get our work done by Thursday night. We knew removal would be a big job as it included removing the old windows so new windows, which we were storing in the upstairs bathroom, could be installed. (The install fell though so we are still waiting on that.)

I began by removing the old windows, a difficult and time-consuming job. I had to make a lot of use of my carpet knife, putty knife, and a screwdriver to cut though and remove old paint and calk. Trim around the inside of the windows had to be removed – carefully – so as to not damage them. Here are a couple photos of the windows removed:

We left the storm windows in place to help keep “stuff” from entering the room. One had been in place and Pam reminded me we had the one from an upstairs bedroom in storage. I retrieved it and, thankfully, it fit the other window opening. At least we have both second floor window openings protected from the elements until such time as the new windows can be installed. All progress is incremental!

The photos above were taken after the AC unit was removed, a job that took about 2 1/2 hours and could not have been done without the lift. To get started I had to remove part of the dog run fencing and fence posts so I could back the lift up to the wall. The AC cover had to be unbolted from the wall and lowered to the ground. We had to wrap a rope around the “ears” of the cover to safely perform this task. Then the big job – removing the AC unit.

The AC is not your typical item. A commercial 240-volt unit, the window sill had been cut for a custom fit. The insides could be removed from inside the house – after removing 4 screws – but the outer shell, shown above, had to be removed from the outside. The unit itself is very heavy. We managed to get it on an old rug and Pam dragged it down the hallway. I was able to drag it over the sill plate and into the bathroom where it now sits until we get the energy to move it down the steps.

I had not found my little Panasonic camera so did not take photos of the work in progress. I wish I had. Here are a couple photos of the lift in place.

Bob the Builder had originally indicated he could be out Friday morning to install the new windows, but later indicated Friday was out. He thought he could get here Thursday night but never arrived. We are hoping he gets us on his schedule soon as we would like to complete this particular job with the installation of the new windows.

I will need to take some time off after the Monday – Thursday action. Additionally, I drove the lift back to Decorah on Friday, did some shopping at the Decorah Walmart, stopped for a few groceries, and made it home by around 4:30 PM. Today I need to restore the dog run by putting the fence post/wire fencing back in place. I think tomorrow will be that rest day!

Around the yard I am enjoying some hostas starting to bloom.

It was a very busy week with a lot of ladder work for both of us. We can feel the strain in our legs from stepping up and down the rungs, and in our shoulders from scraping and painting. The upcoming week is supposed to be quite warm and humid so we may not get a lot more painting done, but we shall see. I am hoping to get out to Colorado later this month and maybe celebrate my #70 birthday with a Colorado ATV ride.

Photo Archive

Family and Fun. Fireworks in black and white, Pam and the kids from the late ’80s.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER WALL. Now we know how huge that lift is, and the side-to-side space the outrigger stabilizers need, so we can open sufficient pathways for “the monster” to enter the yard and park near the house. I personally was not desirous of seeing that machine again so soon, but one does not pass up a “lift gift” such as the one the neighbors offered. Plus I have been on something of a campaign to get that set of windows installed on the second floor. We’re halfway there with the removal of that freaking awful AC unit and cover. (There must have been over 1,000 lady beetle carcasses in that thing. Ugh.)

Himself is hell-bent on painting the west side of Heart House ASAP. People – the coming week is statistically the hottest and most humid of the year in NE Iowa. Why exactly should retired elders be hanging off the side of a building under those conditions??? I ask you.

A portent of winter to come arrived in the mail, in the form off our contract with the local ag services co-op for propane purchases into 2023. The price per gallon for LP increased another 40 cents since last contract period — it is now almost twice as expensive per gallon as when we first ordered LP locally in 2019. Jer’s chat with a neighbor, who uses another LP supplier, confirmed all companies in the area are in the same ballpark on price point. Our inclination is to think the LP price is not being manipulated by supply, but rather by demand (and stockholder dividends). Don’t think we will “blame the President” on this energy source, as seems to be the popular pastime. If we use the summer fill service before August 31, we can save a few cents to tide us over until [maybe] December.

There you have it – in the hottest week of the year, we contemplate winter heating bills. Crazy place, The Universe.

Happy Trails.