Tag Archives: marriage

But what do I know?

June 3, 2021 Rivergirl 22 Comments

I don’t claim to know everything, but I do know if you’re going to strip a roof for repairs during a weekend when rain is predicted? You postpone or make damn sure you cover that sucker completely.

My husband on the other hand, likes to gamble.

And as you can see by what I woke up to Saturday morning…

He lost. ( Unplug the tv and move the table? Why… when you can just cover it with trash bags? It’s times like these I question my love for that man.)

And while I would normally enjoy a good I told you so and being right….

The utter disaster that is our ceiling took the joy right out of it.

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Roof repair day one, the finale.

June 2, 2021 Rivergirl 39 Comments

Roof section stripped, ice and water shield in place, drip edge nailed down.

The problem corner was recognized and discussed.

I checked periodically and enjoyed the view from up high.

You’d think all the hammering and noise would scare off the wildlife…

But it didn’t stop Chuck from having a little nosh.

No, the husband wasn’t asleep… but they’d been on the roof since 8:00am and apparently he can strategize just as well lying down.

I repeatedly asked what he was going to do with the bad corner…. and I was repeatedly ignored. Please refer to the complicated diagram below to understand how and where the water was getting in.

They finished for the day at 7:00pm and the tarp was redeployed. But when I went back out and found the section over the door (you know.. where it was leaking!) hadn’t been covered, I suggested something might need to be done due to the forecast of imminent rain. But once again, I was ignored. Because really, what do I know?

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Let there be (no) light.

May 29, 2021 Rivergirl 30 Comments

Next up in the man cave? Blinds. Which were really fun to shop for considering all the windows are different sizes and thanks to my do it yourself ~~I’m too cheap to pay a carpenter to do the finish work~~ husband.

The price of custom blinds that would have fit perfectly was ridiculous.

That window, the smallest ( not to mention crookedest ) was quoted at $310. For one blind! I bought all 6 of these light filtering cellular linen shades for $272. That’s a no brainer.

Working his way around the room, I followed and tried my hardest to get right in his way.

At least that’s what he’d tell you. I prefer to think of it as active assistance.

Which is why I was banished to the other side of the room…. where I sat quietly and read a few blogs.

But when it came to the final window behind the bar I had to speak up.

Because after he installed this one, which had the best fit… only 3/8ths of an inch off… he plopped his big bullet back on the sill.

( I know it’s a round and not a bullet, I just say that to get a rise out of my husband. Did it aggravate you as well? Then yay for me. . )

The problem? The blind won’t go all the way down because the bullet is too fat.

When I told him this was unacceptable (the main reason for putting up blinds in the first place was to keep the sun from fading the bar) and suggested alternate placements for the big bullet, he forbade me to move it ( as if I could, it’s live and weighs a ton and a half ). When I stressed the need for it’s relocation due to the sun baking on the glass door of the mini fridge causing it to work harder, he told me he’d “think about it”. FFS, what is there to think about? Bullet too big, blind doesn’t close, move big bullet. It isn’t rocket science.

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When everything that can go wrong…. does. Part 2

May 25, 2021 Rivergirl 35 Comments

We woke Saturday morning trying to laugh at how horrible the day before had been. It was a definite nightmare, but the sun was shining, the birds were singing and we had new leather chairs to unpack!

We also had large tracks torn in our lawn from our friend’s giant diesel truck. Of course it had to rain while we were gone the night before, making the ground nice and slippery when he backed up to the porch. 😬

Oh well, out to the barn we went to unwrap the chairs. These chairs… the pretty caramel colored ones we picked out at the store.

And when we unwrapped the first one?

It was the wrong color. And had no legs. WTF??? I was livid. After all we went through to get the damn things! I was even pissed off at the tag…

Real natural? As opposed to what…. fake natural, or real pleather?

I was sputtering and reaching for my phone to call the store and pitch a fit when the husband decided he liked the wrong color and wanted to keep them. Which meant one of two things… he didn’t want to hear me bitch and rant or the thought of waiting another 2 months for replacements and going through the whole warehouse trip again was simply too much.

Either way, he wanted them. And though I wasn’t happy with the much darker color, sometimes I have to remember it’s his man cave and he should be allowed to choose something every now and then. (not that I’ll make a habit of that mind you) But we still had to deal with the no legs issue. We searched the boxes and the wrappings and under the cushions. Nothing. I was getting ready to call the store again and pitch a fit when the husband noticed a string hanging under the second chair.

There was a zippered compartment under each chair with a box of legs. Clever. But I have to wonder how many other clueless customers search in vain.

Pieces and parts. And a few hammer shots later…

I read another tag.

Our leather chairs are going to have zits and mosquito bites? WTH.

So there they are. In all their ~~too damned dark~~ glory.

Husband is happy, and I have to admit they’re very comfortable. But I’m thinking a few strategically placed throw pillows will go a long way to pull it altogether.

😉

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And to think it only took 9 years.

April 30, 2021 Rivergirl 20 Comments

Today we can finally say the barn construction is complete. After breaking ground (not to mention our backs) in April 2012, the last pieces were just put into place.

Said pieces being soffit under the eaves. For years they had been open…

But now they’re boxed in, vented and painted.

And also impossible to photograph without massive sun reflections.

If I had my druthers, I’d finish off the porch ceiling as well….

But for some reason the husband draws the line there.

I think it’s because people compliment us on the new paint job… the one I wanted and he didn’t. It ticks him off everyone loves it and he has to take his revenge where he can.

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Out of state searching.

April 25, 2021 Rivergirl 30 Comments

I thought we’d decided on the leather chairs for the barn we’d seen the day before and were heading down to NH to purchase them, but I was wrong. For a man who claims to hate shopping, it amazed me how many different furniture stores my husband wanted to visit. Day 2? We spent 5 hours driving and 5 hours fruitlessly searching. Granted there were some truly horrible choices.

White pleather power recliner with LED lighted cup holders?

That’s a hard no.

As were these fake snake skin monstrosities. We spent over an hour wandering around one store only to have my husband give up on chairs and focus on the handmade tables crafted entirely from reclaimed wine barrels on the way out.

And yes, of course he bought one.

This chair? Goldilocks deemed it too shiny.

This chair? God help me, he said it was too “crunchy”. I was ready to throw in the towel and live with an empty man cave corner when… after 11 hours of plunking his posterior in at least 40 chairs over the course of 2 days…. he decided he wanted to go back to Jordans and buy the very first chair we saw.

So that’s what we did. But the first salesman in Maine had neglected to tell us was the New Hampshire warehouse didn’t stock them and we’d have to wait a month or so for them to come in. Grrr. But order them we did, from the NH store (no tax!) and we received a 10% military discount. We also removed the delivery fee by agreeing to pick them up ourselves. Total savings? $630. Was it worth the aggravation? The jury’s still out on that one.

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The search begins.

April 23, 2021 Rivergirl 24 Comments

The weather is getting warmer and that means the barn porch furniture needs to migrate from the man cave to its outdoor home.

Which is going to leave a big hole in the room. Solution? Two manly leather club chairs and a table. Unfortunately this meant prolonged shopping excursions with the husband. And trust me… when it comes to picky, women have nothing on my other half. When we need new furniture, I usually do the scouting and narrow it down to 3 choices. Anything more than that overloads his senses. So imagine my ~~unmitigated horror~~ surprise when he suggested we make a day of it.

Yes, that’s close.

Off we went down to Portland. First stop was Jordan’s furniture which is a truly massive multi level store. They had a nice selection of leather but nothing pleased the husband.

This was the first chair we saw and I thought it was perfect.

The husband liked it, but wanted to keep looking.

This chair? Too saggy.

This chair? Too deep.

This chair? Too small. Store after store after store and he didn’t like anything.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a big purchase and I want him to be happy but after visiting 8 stores over the course of 6 hours, Goldilocks still wasn’t satisfied.

The first chair had my vote and I lobbied hard. Nice grade of leather, perfect size, good color, and firm cushions. Husband wanted another look, so back to Jordan’s we went. He gave it a second test drive and agreed it was the best we’d found. I thought we were done and gave silent thanks to all the Gods I don’t believe in. Shiva, you rock!

I positively swooned when the husband had a salesman print out an estimate thinking the ordeal was over…. but when my spouse found out their warehouse was in NH and there would be a $150 charge to deliver the chairs to Maine? He said we would drive to NH the following day. Five hours on the road, in his old 8 foot bed Ford pickup just to save $150. It will probably cost us that in gas.

To be continued.

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Love was in the air.

March 2, 2021 Rivergirl 22 Comments

A rather tardy Valentines Day post.

A bouquet of flowers was delivered that morning….

And while I don’t think it was our local florist’s best work, the sentiment remained steadfast.

Early afternoon found us out in the barn and back at the Scrabble board.

Although the way it started reminded me a little too much of Bill and Monica.

Did I win?

Such a silly question.

Unbeknownst to my husband, I’d made early evening reservations at one of his favorite restaurants and before the place got too crowded, we slipped in for a glorious meal.

Long stemmed red roses were given to ladies upon entry… and petals were scattered everywhere. On the floor, on the window sills, on the chairs…..

Even under the beer taps.

We settled happily at the bar (the husband’s preferred spot because one of the bartenders was a Marine which can lead to hours long conversations) and I tucked into a few delightful Rum Punches. We had appetizers that I forgot to photograph… garlic Parmesan wings for the husband, creamy clam chowder for me… and were awaiting our meals when this older couple sat down across from us.

In case you can’t see it, the man was wearing a Marine Corps tee shirt. It was at that moment I knew I was doomed.

Like recognizes like… and within minutes the gentleman uttered the words I never want to hear on Valentines Day.

Semper Fi.

My husband bought them a round of drinks. They bought us a round of drinks. Military stories were traded across the bar….and by the time our lovely meals arrived?