Tag Archives: windows

Let there be (no) light.

.

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.

.

.

A breath of fresh air.

.

We had some lovely weather this weekend and it felt good to open the windows for the first time this year.

.

.

As you can see….

.

.

We weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the sunshine and warm breezes.

.

.

Dudley, who so far has been an indoor only cat, got his first whiff of spring.

.

.

And I do believe he’s hooked.

.

.

He went from window to window and totally flipped out when he heard the birds he’s always cackling about.

.

.

In our backyard, in April?

.

.

That can get pretty noisy.

.

Someone has discovered the great outdoors.

.

After a few weeks of totally avoiding the windows….

.

.

Our little guy has discovered the joy of squirrels.

.

.

And since it wasn’t the resident red bitch, I didn’t even wish it ill.

.

.

This brave grey fellow was positively taunting Lord Dudley.

.

.

And manic cackling ensued.

.

.

The afternoon ended with a flock of wild turkeys….

.

.

And I think it’s safe to say the great outdoors will now be providing hours of feline entertainment.

.

Thank goodness for friends.

.

When your ceiling looks like this?

.

.

And your fireplace looks like this?

.

.

You call in the cavalry.

.

.

Or rather two friends who aren’t afraid of heights.

.

.

Then you buy lots of this…

.

.

And hope they can find the source of the leaks.

.

.

A full day was spent searching, stripping, caulking and replacing shingles….

.

.

In less than balmy weather.

.

.

The view out my window was interesting at times :

.

.

And 7 chilly hours plus one large spaghetti lunch later? They think they solved the problem…. but I guess time will tell.

.

The end is in sight. I think…

.

A few more windows needed trimming…

.

.

Which meant a lot more measuring, cutting and cursing…

.

.

Why the cursing?

.

.

Because the last window was not what you… or any semi sober person… would call square.

.

.

Oops.

.

.

Cover the gap with quarter round, trim…. then call it good and move on to the porch door.

.

.

Yes, the porch is my domain … so the porch door has a seasonally appropriate wreath. Man cave be damned.

.

.

Trimming this slapped together frame for a door that came from the dump proved challenging.

.

.

And yes, the language got as colorful as the wreath.

.

.

But it was only when the husband looked down…

.

.

And realized the floor moulding should meet the vertical door trim… not the other way around… that he knew he had some tinkering to do.

.

.

But viola!

Adjustments were made and everything that needed to be trimmed was finally trimmed.

Is this the end of the Barn Mahal interior construction?

Only time will tell.

.

Winter blues….

 

No, not the depression.

 

unnamed

 

Sorry, not the brothers either.

I’m talking about the colors.

Living in Maine, most of our winters are white. But there’s also a lot of beautiful blue…

 

IMG_2795

 

And when a storm is moving in?

 

IMG_2796

 

It’s really quite lovely.

 

IMG_2798

 

These were all taken through my dirty winter windows last month, so be kind.

 

IMG_2800

 

But spots and all..

 

IMG_2805

 

You have to admit winter blues are pretty.

 

IMG_2803

 

Even the ones that turn out kind of weird.

 

IMG_2756

 

 

Window – 1. Bird – 0.

 

We live in the country with a large back yard…

 

IMG_3398 (480x640)

 

A field….

 

IMG_9289

 

and some woods.

 

IMG_7941

 

This leads to a lot of avian visitors.

Some of whom sadly commit suicide on our windows.

I wasn’t here when this particular bird went splat, but it did leave me a rather prominently placed clue in our bedroom.

 

IMG_6053

 

A perfect dead bird body print.

 

IMG_6054

 

Complete with wings.

 

IMG_6055

 

RIP little one.

 

IMG_1427