Procrastination with a capital 'P'

 

 The "easy" part was puting the acutal sink in.  I replaced the drain as well.  After the drain was installed I realized I couldn't get the old faucet off so I bought another.  Come to find out it included a drain piece as well.  Too late.  Oh well.  I replaced the valve hoses - another easy step.

When I go to turn the water valves back on the hot leaks - drip.. drip... drip... dripdripdripdrip...  What else leaks?  The p joint.  I take it off, put more tape on, put it on, tighten it to an inch of it's life.  Turn on the water (cold of course) and it leaks.  I repeat the above steps several times.  I'm not giving up on this bad boy.

I'm cramped up under the sink and I'm tired of the smell of pipes and the things that are in pipes.

Long story short, I put off calling someone because I CAN DO THIS!  After a month... yes, you read right (but it gets better so hold on) I give it another go.  Good grief.  How hard can this be?  I finally do a thoughrough inspection and see that the rubber washer are dried up and peterfied.  The crumble as I pry them out.  Ahhh, now we're getting somewhere.  I spend the $1.18 at the hardware store to replace the washers and  AHHHHH (heavenly music plays from above) no leaks!   I don't trust it so I leave the bucket underneath the sink and obsessively check it for the next month (yes, your addition is correct.  We are at two months now and the hot water valve is still kaput).

At this point, who cares when the hot water valve is fixed.  So I give it another go but still nothing.  That thing is set on leaking. Stubborn.

Let's speed up to last Thursday when I finally make "that" call.  It's the call that says, "I'm no flippin' plumber and I better quit actin' like one."

I have hot water pouring from my bathroom sink faucet... four months later.  I hardly know what to do with myself.

In with the new, out with the old... In that order

 A couple of months ago I bought a dresser from Ikea that I've had my eye on for a while.  I've had my old dresser all my life and it was my mom's growing up.  With her permission I replaced it and gave it away.  It stood empty beside my new dresser for over a month before I found it a home.  It was kind of sad in a weird way, seeing it go... but I'm over it now.  I'm glad it found a home with a friend.

If you've never put together something from Ikea it can seem overwhelming at first because there are no written instructions, only pictures.  Surprisingly it's actually easier than something that says, "put bolt A-1 into piece G-5 and attach to back of board 9 wrong side down on your head while chanting "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey".

It really isn't a difficult task but I have a "helper" that I have to deal with the entire time.  Whether it's keeping him from laying on the instructions, batting around the screws or getting into the packaging (he likes to eat packing tape then puke it up in the middle of the night) it seems to take longer than necessary.  Of course sometimes there's belly rub breaks (him - not me).

I love my new dresser.  It goes so much better with my decor and it warms the room up a bit.  Now I need some accessories to place on top.  Heavy ones that can't be knocked off by the critters living with me.  Like a decorative anvil.

The Adirondacks - Upstate New York

I've been back form my trip to the Adirondacks for a week now.

It wasn't one of my usual trips.  It was much slower paced but we still did a lot and saw a lot.  It was hot and muggy and I think I only peed twice a day because of how much I was sweating.

The first night there we rode into town on a buggy.  I'm not sure how fun it was because I was so concerned with the horses (Harley) ability to take us down the hills.  It's a lot of work for the lil' buggers.

The first night I was introduced to Stewarts ice cream and I became a mild addict.  The little stores sell them by the cone and they're everywhere!  There was no going wrong with all the flavors.  I had plenty of Adirondack Bear Paw, Death by Chocolate and Chocolate Raspberry Ripple

We went on a couple small hikes that were in the "backyard".  Both lead to pretty great views.

One day we met up with my brother's ex whom we were all pretty close to.  I loved seeing her and it just reminded me how much I love her and miss her.  She's doing really well and I'm really happy for her.

My dad and I went to tour Fort Ticonderoga which I'm embarrassed to say I knew nothing about but was a huge part of US history.  I loved going there and having my dad to myself.  We ate at the Hot Biscuit Diner on the way home and he had a "pretty good" hamburger for only the second time since his heart attack in December... he followed that up with another hamburger three days later.

One evening we enjoyed strolling through the Essex County Fair.  Very small.  Great people watching.  Limited food selection but the there is a riding lawn mower pulling competition.

There was some trick the the leaning that made them go a little further.

We climbed to the top of Mount Jo one day.  I was quite a hike and the view was incredible.  As was the view from the top of Whiteface Mountain (missing the $18/ea gondola ride to the top we paid $22 for all of us to drive to the top and take an elevator up to the summit that is inside the mountain).  I couldn't stop looking at the view of Lake Placid.

Zelda's a mountain climber too.  12 yrs old and practically ran up the whole thing!

My dad bestowed unto me his 40 year old bandanna

And in the end, I got on a horse and rode it bareback around the pen thingy (I believe that is the correct term but don't quote me).  I have been terrified of horses since I was about nine.  Although I'm hating that I look like a blob of fat sitting on a horse, I was quite impressed with myself for doing it and not crapping my pants in the process.

My dad entertained himself while I rode.  He may or may not be singing.

On the way to the airport home we stopped and had lunch at Betty Beaver's Truck Stop and when I got home I reactivated my gym membership.

20 years in the making

Yesterday I RSVPd to go to my 20 year high school reunion.
There will be a dinner and a DJ.  It's nearby and the tickets are cheap - so what the heck!
I'm not looking forward to seeing an ex but it is what it is.
So, I have two months to lift my arse and firm my gut.