Month: March 2019

First Ride 2019, last ride…

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I pick up the new bike tomorrow, but since it’s the first day of 2019 that it’s above 70* and I need to get a ride in. Kanicki set this ride into motion and I put it out on facebook (side note: make a biking facebook list). No one else is joining us. We are meeting at the 420 parking lot at the heinz refuge (Kanicki got there before I did)

Everyone else in the tri-state area had the same itch…there was only a couple parking spots left and when we were coming back, there were cars/trucks parked on 420.

I was telling Kanicki about Death Valley (it’s about a 1/2 mile strip that is closest to the sun…and the biggest Thistle I have ever seen)…she stopped to take off a layer and I kept going…way slow….a doe jumped in the path and I watched her move through the brush and jump the path right in front of Kanicki…then I saw the buck, but he decided to go in the opposite direction of the path. Kanicki said that she learned in horseback riding on trails, she was taught that the first deer doesn’t get you…the second one always does!

It was a quick, really nice ride…the last for my old bike…but a new beginning…

Categories: City to Shore – MS Bike Ride

ToDoList for today

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

It’s only Sunday…we have until Tuesday morning to empty the 3 rooms…but we also need to work Monday (and I am on-call, until Tuesday morning)…so today, we need to move as much as we can. I have already moved mostly everything that is not critical…especially the bedroom, since we painted it last weekend and left everything out knowing that if we moved it back in, we would need to move it all back out again.

Leaving everything out sounded like a good idea, but it made for a tense week…I don’t like clutter…and having everything crammed in to every corner/open space in the living room made everything feel like chaos and confinement.

Jen has off on Tuesday to help deal with any chaos or last minute moves. Home Depot installing company has a standard furniture move but what they really mean is, empty all of the dressers, take the bed frame down, 4′ from the floor access to the floor in the closets.

Our dressers don’t easily let go of the drawers, so removing the drawers and moving them doesn’t work…and if we were to empty the drawers into boxes or bags, now we have to find room to put them as well as the ‘furniture’…they will charge $75 to take the bed apart, but move the taken down bed for free as part of the standard package. If I take apart the bed, then I also need to move the mattress, box spring and frame to do that…so I call BULLSHIT!

Yesterday, we stopped at PetKraze to get a stuffed animal for Raz…I have never seen a dog get SO happy when she sees a stuffed animal…or the saddest when it’s not for her. But anyway…there is stuffed animal inners and carcass all over the living room, that should be a fun clean up!

Just did a walk through with Jen on what’s going where…and my biggest project of the day will be running and making an ethernet cable so I can put my PC anywhere and it not be in the way.

Categories: Around the House

Still too damn cold

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It is 30* right now, so I am glad that we called off the first bike ride of the year. Jen was planning on riding with me and Kanicki was wanting to ride too, but she had places to be in the afternoon, so she would have had to ride early…

A few years ago, Jen and I went out for a ride when it was 55*…I was thinking that would be a nice temp, but I knew Jen would be cold, so she under-armored up with sweatshirt layers…yeah, no…we rode until we were warm but the noses running constantly made for a lousy ride…so we decided to not ride unless it’s over 60*

I am still on the fence about buying a new bike, but Jimmy is working at CycleFit today, so we are going to stop in and see if there is a ‘perfect fit’ bike…

found it!! Trek Verve 2…Jen says that it was made for me

My Birthday Present

Categories: City to Shore – MS Bike Ride

Getting the Itch

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I miss riding my bike!! This Sunday, it’s supposed to be 65*, perfect temperature for a first ride of the season…(it may be too cold for Jen)…I wonder if Kanicki would be interested? My bike also needs some love…do I want to invest in new cables or is it time to replace my 20 year old bike? I love my bike…love the color, love the ride, love the memories behind it…but a new bike would be lighter and a faster ride, maybe even ?safer?….decisions, decisions

Categories: City to Shore – MS Bike Ride

Bedroom PAINT

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

Wake Up Jennifer!! Get out the way!! Bobbie should be here any minute…I removed everything but the bed, the shelves on the wall, the tv rack and the curtain rod holders…I even remembered to remove the outlet covers. Let’s get this started!

It took all day, a trip to the paint store (yep, we needed a second gallon)…Shirley B came over to help…she ended up painting the closet…aint that some shit…back in the closet!

I ended up trying to stay out of the way…the room is not big enough for 3 people and a queen size bed.

Let me tell you about my trip to the paint store…I got Bobbie’s business discount but it was still $45 for the gallon…$72 off the shelf…wtf??? at that price it should throw it self up on the wall…filled with gold dust, $72 for a gallon of paint!! and it needed a second coat (it was white before, so we didnt need to primer or cover a dark color)…I just don’t get it.

Categories: Around the House Spring Wish List

Installing call

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

I got the call for the install first thing…they said’ how about Tuesday the 26th…and in my head, that was within 7 days, so I said, sounds good to me, go ahead and schedule it!

I started moving furniture out of the rooms (the bedroom first, since we are painting it tomorrow…

When I told Jen that it would be on the 26th is when I had the ‘oh shit’ moment and realized that was more like 10 days away. 2 weekends to prepare.

Categories: Around the House

Rapid Install part 2

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

Jen is in the middle of a project and has very little time to be farting around with Rapid Install, so I had to corner her to pick a color for the bedroom. We really thought we had 3 weeks to do this at our own pace…and now it’s happening in a couple days. Sister’s Painting to the rescue! BobbieAnn told me to go to SherwinWilliams webpage, pick a color and she would grab a gallon…and if we needed a second one, we could do a paint run during the day. Vast Sky…this is the color we are going with!

Categories: Around the House

Rapid Install

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

When I got the call from home depot with the estimate, I was told that the carpet we had chosen qualified us for the “7 day rapid install”…well, shit! We wanted to paint the bedroom first…but then I had an AH HA moment, I would call BobbieAnn and see if she could paint this weekend. This wasn’t the original plan in my head, but I certainly wouldn’t mind a professional coming in and getting it done! Once I got off the phone with Home Depot with that info, I called BobbieAnn and set things into motion to paint the bedroom on Saturday….

Categories: Around the House

Measuring

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Carpeting Project 2019-02

I got the call on Saturday to make the appointment for Tuesday. I will get a call on Tuesday morning between 7-8 to tell me the window of time they will be here…2pm, which ended up being 12:30. Good thing I work from home and was able to be here!

The guy gets here…he was barely old enough to drive legally…but he had a laser measuring device…I was fascinated…I had to talk myself out of getting one of them. I mean, what the hell would I use it for? (more than once)…he plugged the numbers into an APP on his iPad and it drew up the room, closets, doorways and baseboards.

I should receive a call from the installers next…

I have 3 weeks to clear out the rooms…

Categories: Around the House

HomeDepot browse

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Carpeting Project 2019-02


You have to remember, we have renovated all of the living space except for our bedroom. Having 3 dogs and knowing that no one ever had to see our bedroom, there was no hurry in getting anything done in there. And we were so tired of “construction” that it was ok with us to not do anything. But once this project had taken on life, we started discussing what colors we would like to have. Jen was about to go to karate and we decided to swing by Home Depot just to see what they had in “life proof/pet proof’ carpet…

We had made a decision right there, PetProof Collinger II-Color Meandering Textured Carpet…so we sat down with the carpeting expert and set up a “professional measure” of the 3 rooms. She told us that the process would be, I would get a call for that appointment, then after a day or so, we would get a call about pricing estimates for any carpet we want, that we can change everything right up until the day of installation. Once there was a decision on which carpet, I would get a call from the installer. She told us that from the day they measure until install is normally 3 weeks…that’s perfect amount of time for me to get as much out of the rooms and still be organized about it…

Categories: Around the House Spring Wish List