<p>The excitement of my week was that I finally had my leaky plumbing fixed (after like one year). It is between that and sorting out old clothing for donations. Woo-hoo! This is the life! :D</p>
<p>nymom2sons,
(Just saw your post since this thread hasn’t been active in a while…) DS2 also wears size 15 shoes. I couldn’t believe it when the football team couldn’t get matching cleats for him – they didn’t carry that size! I hear you about not knowing how to position one’s rapidly-growing body…DS2 is not a big fan of the all-in-one desks, either.</p>
<p>The plumber came to fix the toilet the other day. I think he was embarrassed for us that he had to charge for such a simple repair. </p>
<p>Now I think we need to get the air ducts cleaned out – the dust around here is getting really bad. (Before my cataract surgery, I didn’t see the dust. Now…OMG!!) Is the difference after cleaning the ducts worth it??</p>
<p>Also cleaning out closets for donations…you guys are the replacement to the FlyLady! :)</p>
<p>northeastmom–if mere washing machine water is not moving through your lateral line, you may want to have it looked at with a little tiny camera (they can do that now!) In our case, it was a root problem–multiple roots that had grown in and widened the cracks until now we need a new line. Fortunately they can do it from the inside without digging up your yard (“trenchless repair!”–“as seen on This Old House!”) It’s only money.</p>
<p>I wondered why our yew bushes didn’t need watering during the summer drought. They were doing just fine, thanks! :eek:</p>
<p>And guess what I just did that is making me happy? I replaced the door knob on the door from the garage to the house with a lever-type handle, so I can stop barking my knuckles on the annoying little knob set too close to the doorframe. When my arms are full of groceries. Did I say it was annoying? </p>
<p>Now I can’t decide whether to brag to DH what I did (he’s out of town) or wait and see if he notices. 
“Um, did we always have that sort of door handle?” :D</p>
<p>Our big accomplishment was to get all the “girls” – maniac Chocolate lab, and 2 7-yr-old cats to the vet. We adopted the kitties (sisters) when they were 7-mo old, and knew they were feral. Silly us, we thought they’d be regular old cats. One is a total spazz—completely and totally afraid of everyone and everything (except me)…altho several years ago, I ended up at an ER after a vet trip with her—she totally freaked out and I ended up with about 8 significant puncture wounds. Needless to say, if she starts hissing, I’m all ready to give up these days. </p>
<p>Anyway, H was convinced that we’d get her into the cat carrier, “no d*** cat is going to run this house!” ha! Just do a mental picture of 2 middle-agers chasing this tiny little black cat all over our house–up and down the stairs, under beds, under the dining room table. (edit: WE didn’t run under the beds!) We have 2 staircases and had more than one occasion of chasing her down one staircase and back up the other. We finally got our plan of attack coordinated–once we got her to run upstairs, we each manned a staircase, then I ran and shut all the bedroom doors, and herded her under the bed in the guest room. </p>
<p>H opened the door to the guest bathroom, and I chased her out from under a bed by sticking a yardstick under it. Then we are all happily together in a 2-room bathroom. (one of the 3 of us was hissing wildly and showing all her teeth each time—alternating with satanic growls). We had to chase her from out behind the toilet with a plunger, then got her to run into the other room where the sink is. She jumps in the sink and continues vicious hissing and scary growling noises. Now, both H and I are out of breath and sweating profusely(and swearing at the cat)…I grabbed a towel for him, and then held the carrier up to the sinktop, and he put the towel over her and pushed her into the box. Then we both practically fell on top of the cat carrier to keep all the parts held down until we could get it safely latched up. She was NOT a happy camper. </p>
<p>I’d warned the vet ahead of time that she was Psycho-cat. (She missed the first/last appt at this vet because I didn’t have H around to corral her). Exhausted, sweating, and smelling like the dog (who lives permanently outside), we struggled into the vet’s office. Everyone got a clean bill of health, and their required shots, etc. Amazingly, with a “cat wrangler” covering her up with a blanket, the-cat-from-hell did OK (back in another room, thank God!) H and I were ready to stop at a bar on the way home, but we’d spent $389 at the vets offices for 3 animals who weren’t sick. Man!</p>
<p>I also replaced our old porch light with a NEW Energy Star lamp. It took 15 minutes and really spruces up the front door area. Actually, it makes the old door look crummy by comparison. I can see this home improvement stuff really getting out of control…</p>
<p>EDITED: In case you care, it’s this one: [Outdoor</a> Lighting - Delancy ENERGY STAR® 17 1/2" High Outdoor Wall Lantern (37161) - LAMPS PLUS](<a href=“http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Outdoor-Lighting/37161/]Outdoor”>http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Outdoor-Lighting/37161/)</p>
<p>momusic, thanks, but it is not necessary. I just had the pipe snaked out. He said it was probably soap build up.</p>
<p>astrophysicsmom–LOL! </p>
<p>Herding cats is bad enough, but WILD cats! :D</p>
<p>Yes! I finally fixed them! One wasn’t so bad - easy to step over. But TWO! That was quite a leap!</p>
<p>So! Found some nails and finally found the hammer and started hitting those suckers right through the side of the stairs (that long board that hold everything together) and into the step! Easy!</p>
<p>I think I felt so guilty that it was so quick, that I went to the hardware store for some right angles so a 300 lb workman bounding down the steps would be ok.</p>
<p>Whew!</p>
<p>Countingdown, in our old house we had the air ducts cleaned, and then when we moved I read somewhere that that should NEVER be done because it just causes it all to come into the house?? and make everything worse. I’d do some research, first. If the air quality in your house isn’t good check for moldy coils (A/C?) and there’s something called a blue light or Aprilaire that you can get installed which is microbial and really helps the house air quality. We had a terrible mold issue and had to take the walls down in our son’s room and start over, plus complete new A/C system, ductwork, etc. A nightmare, but we can all breathe now with no asthma or SNORING which is very pleasant!</p>
<p>dke- do you mean an electrostatic air fiilter?</p>
<p>GreyDad, that long board is called a stringer. :)</p>
<p>Washdad, those outdoor lanterns look great! We keep saying we want to do something similar, but never get around to it.</p>
<p>The cat-catching story made me howl with empathy. I have two who hate the vet (one is a 20 lb. Maine coon who REALLY hates the vet). Tips I have from experience thus far:<br>
Make early a.m. appt.
Stand cat carrier up on end with door open at top so you drop the cat in. (Out of sight of CAT, of course)</p>
<p>Feed cat on counter.
Come up behind with towel, grab cat, stagger to carrier and insert cat.
Admit you are ashamed.
Put cat in carrier in car so you do not have to listen to howls and feline epitaphs while you have your coffee and wait for vet to open.</p>
<p>Try not to howl epitaphs yourself when you get to vet and they say he is sick can you reschedule and you say No and so you have to see the one vet in the office who is icky but you do it anyway because No Way will you want to catch the cat again…</p>
<p>stickershock - i like this thread. thanks for starting it.
mmaah and astropmom, glad you both survivied.
basement cleaning…we have started 
painting of the basement walls still lies ahead and flooring to be installed. it’s amazing how much bigger the room looks when it isn’t filled with clutter.<br>
washdad - we bought a fixer upper several years ago so your home improvement projects always hit home w/me. those are some nice lights.</p>
<p>Condor, old houses have so much “charm,” don’t they? I was cleaning the kitchen ceiling fan this weekend & the light unit came off in my hands. Thank God it hadn’t fallen during a meal. Luckily tall brother was over & he held the unit up so it wouldn’t be dangling from live wires while I made my way to the electrical service. (The clutter in that room is beyond belief. It was like clearing a path through the jungle.) And we had a new service installed last year, but the electrician’s handwriting is so bad, I wound up shutting off every circuit one by ine until I came across the correct one. I’m perfectly capable of rewiring a light, but I’ve grown lazy over the years & waited for H to take care of it. </p>
<p>As to the clutter: It is so overwhelming that I just want to shut the door. But I made a promise to myself to get rid of five things every day. I have a pick-up appointment with the Vets for our discards, so between the Five-A-Day plan & the pressure to gather a good bunch of donations, I may even be able to move about freely in that room by Christmas.</p>
<p>WashDad, nice lights!</p>
<p>The cat-catching stories made me laugh! I have a vet-hater, too. Her big problem (actually, my problem) is that any time she sees the carrier, she does not run away, she just “ahem” downloads. And while we run around looking for paper towels, carpet cleaner and whatnot, she pulls a Houdini on us.</p>
<p>Well, I’m making progress in my nanny bedroom: Still haven’t called the handyman to fix the trim around the window, but I did buy some inexpensive comforter/toss pillow things on overstock.com. Now that I have these, I know what color to paint the room.</p>
<p>And I took to Goodwill a tent, a sleeping bag, and two ladders that I bought when we moved into the house – fire ladders, so we can escape from the house as it burns to the ground. Thankfully we never had to use them.</p>
<p>Also removed some hardware from a doorframe where there used to be a door and now there is none. Now I have to figure out whether I need to totally replace the wooden trim or whether I can patch the places where the hardware lived with wood putty. Then sand it. And stain it.</p>
<p>I love my life. I love my life. I love my life.</p>
<p>stickershock…believe it or not, i actually did have a ceiling fan fall and hit my head once…but not in this house. we had electrical service upgraded last year and not a moment too soon according to the serviceman. </p>
<p>greydad…trust me…you’ll be glad you fixed the toilet…it’s much too exciting when a toilet explodes…i know…water shoots up to the ceiling ! and don’t even ask how many people it takes to bring that situation under control…!</p>
<p>I just found another dead mouse in our basement. I guess it’s better than a rat.</p>
<p>Finding a dead mouse is better than not finding it, if you get my drift…</p>