What did you do today?

[zannej]

Rusty, I'm glad to hear it was benign! Interesting way to celebrate. LOL.

Been taking care of my mother but she's improved. She's eating solid food, hasn't been throwing up, and hasn't fallen down again. Her back is feeling better but she's still a bit wobbly on her feet. We made two trips to Alexandria this week & tomorrow she has a doctor's appointment. The pantry cabinet my friend wanted for his kitchen was back in stock & 50% off so we went to get it. With her there we got an additional 10% discount. We also snagged a 30x24 cabinet to go above his range. He did the measurements & factored it in for a range hood we saw at a liquidation store in Alexandria. Went up today & got the range hood for $79 (it retails for $189). While we were leaving we saw some kitchen trash cans. His fiance had just broken his new one by falling on it. The one in the store was $35 but retails for over $120 & it's stainless steel. It opens automatically with a sensor & closes automatically as well. We also got some toekick trim & shelf kit for the pantry for the 10% discount. Grabbed some shelf liners for the pantry & batteries for the trash can from Walmart. Meanwhile, we grabbed a vanity light for our guest bathroom for 50% plus an additional 10% discount at Lowes. Grabbed some wire for the range hood as well. My friend saw a ceiling fan he really like at the liquidation place but he wants to save up for that one.

I still need to stain the new cabinets. I thought it was Minwax but I pulled out the can to show the neighbor from across the street because she loved the color. It's Rustoleum weathered gray. My friend is very excited about how his kitchen is coming together & he bragged to the neighbor that anytime he needs a big ticket item, he tells me & I can find a discount for him. I forgot that I found his stove for $200 (it's a $1k stove but needed a touchscreen panel replaced- not hard to do bc he repairs stuff like that all the time). He also had to admit I was right when we were discussing how to fit the range hood to the cabinet. He wanted the hood to go back more but I pointed out that it would cover the top vent (since he's using the ductless application).

The neighbor gave us some more info about the brat who attacked my friend's fiance-- or rather, about the girl she got to lie to the cops about a local man. She got the other girl to say the guy raped her & claimed that the guy tried to rape her (despite not having a mark on her-- when she claimed he tied her up). That guy is in prison with bail so high no one can bail him out & the other girl admitted that she made it all up. I told the neighbor she needs to tell the parish cops about it. We were also encouraged to get the witness who saw the brat trip and fall to tell the parish cops what he saw bc the local cops are morons. He did tell us that he saw the brat getting her a$$ kicked bigtime by his niece. She picked a fight with the wrong girl. He said "Well, she deserves it" and kept driving & laughed rather than stopping to help. Both girls are underage. He said it's the 2nd time this week that the brat has started a fight & gotten her butt kicked. I really shouldn't find a 14-yr-old getting beat up funny, but she needs to learn her lesson-- she needs to stop attacking people & needs to stop lying to the cops.

Meanwhile, my sister just "closed" on what she called her "dream house". She'll be moving in this week. If my mother is feeling well enough we'll try to go out there on the 10th or so. I'll have to make sure my prescriptions are all stocked up, although we're only planning to stay for about a week. The drive there and back sucks but it should be slightly easier with better gps now.

My friend's new trash can:

The range hood (with my brother photobombing)

The pantry cabinet (again with my brother photobombing- he's wearing a shirt I got him plus some hakama pants)

 

[Floorist]

Cut two yards. Unloaded mower and unhooked trailer. Cleaned up and got a flu shot. Fixed the brake lights on my car. Went grocery shopping and that was all before noon.

 

[zannej]

I was going to stain some cabinets but got a flat tire. My rear passenger side tire is almost bald on the outside but the opposite tire is fine. I can only assume that when the alignment was done they only did the front alignment & not the back. I took it to Walmart (where I bought the tires and paid an additional $12 per tire for road hazard warranty). After waiting 10 minutes for the clerk to even show up, she told me that being out of alignment voided the warranty (there was absolutely NOTHING in the documentation about the road hazard warranty about it & they never told me that- so I'm going to see if I can get my $12 per tire back due to their BS). I was in a hurry so I couldn't stick around. I went to the other tire repair place in town & they said to park at a specific spot & someone would be right over to check on me. 15 minutes later no one had come out so I went back in & told them I'd have to come back tomorrow bc I had other stuff to do. I put air in the tire about 4 times. Took my friend to Alexandria to pick up a piece of furniture that we got for half the original asking price. My friend is happy.

My old laptop is dying so my mother ordered me a gaming laptop for my birthday. It cost more than my desktop but I still got some good discounts and a free $50 Amex gift card. I hope it works at amazon. My friend is trying to help me find a good mouse for it. I want something simple & comfortable that has darkfield laser so it can be used on almost any surface. I want something with the rubberized comfort grip bc the regular plastic stuff makes my hand sweat.

Tomorrow I have to get the tire fixed & my mother wants me to take her to city hall to see if we can do early voting (but I suspect we'll have to go to Oberlin for that). I'm also going to bring my friend out to try to run the coax for the antenna inside for an amplifier box so we can get cell signal inside. Didn't have the right drill bit for it & had to get one. I'll probably snag some more electrical tape as well.

I'll probably make beef stroganoff for dinner but this time I won't tell my brother & I will hide it bc last time he ate all of what was left in the pan (and it was a lot). He's been bad about eating all of the food lately.

Mom's doctor appointment the other day went well. She got her flu shot. Her kidneys were a bit dry & her blood sugar was high but it was bc she'd been sick. The doctor was upset that the hospital had just sent her home without running tests the day she fell. He went over there to check on her after the fall & found she wasn't there. I mentioned to him that I personally brought back the wheelchair from his office to make sure it was returned & he thanked me & said sometimes they really had to chase it down if it was taken over there. I also told him about the Source Plus Liquidation place where my friend got the range hood & automatic trash can. It's such a nice trash can but far too small for my house & my cats would probably sit on it & mess up the sensor. But it looks good in his kitchen. The doctor said he'd look for the place because he likes finding deals.

If we have time tomorrow I will see about staining the cabinets. But I'll have to move the pantry to do it even though my friend shimmed it already. The cabinets all need to be adjusted anyway.

I'm still a bit pissed off about the warranty on the tires being "voided" when they never said anything about it to me before. I'm also pissed off that I paid to have my tires aligned & they didn't align the front. The walmart people wouldn't even touch my tire even if I offered to pay for the repair. So eff them. I won't buy tires from them again. The other 3 tires are all in good shape though. I still need to take the truck to the honda dealership for maintenance & need to get the new bulbs for the DRL & fog lights. I'm really hoping the bumper won't have to be pulled to fix the wiring for the DRL. The fog light compartment wasn't sealed properly by the repair guy so water got it in.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Got to have a little chat with HI today. It was about seaming some woven Stanton. Said the directions they have posted on line that they are out dated according to Stanton. No longer has to be handsewn. Nice talking to him. Enjoyed it.

 

[Floorist]

Got to have a little chat with HI today. It was about seaming some woven Stanton. Said the directions they have posted on line that they are out dated according to Stanton. No longer has to be handsewn. Nice talking to him. Enjoyed it.

I talked to him a couple weeks ago. Nice guy. Knows a lot more about some carpet than I do for sure.

 

[Floorist]

 

[Floorist]

I was going to stain some cabinets but got a flat tire. My rear passenger side tire is almost bald on the outside but the opposite tire is fine. I can only assume that when the alignment was done they only did the front alignment & not the back. I took it to Walmart (where I bought the tires and paid an additional $12 per tire for road hazard warranty). After waiting 10 minutes for the clerk to even show up, she told me that being out of alignment voided the warranty (there was absolutely NOTHING in the documentation about the road hazard warranty about it & they never told me that- so I'm going to see if I can get my $12 per tire back due to their BS). I was in a hurry so I couldn't stick around. I went to the other tire repair place in town & they said to park at a specific spot & someone would be right over to check on me. 15 minutes later no one had come out so I went back in & told them I'd have to come back tomorrow bc I had other stuff to do. I put air in the tire about 4 times. Took my friend to Alexandria to pick up a piece of furniture that we got for half the original asking price. My friend is happy.

My old laptop is dying so my mother ordered me a gaming laptop for my birthday. It cost more than my desktop but I still got some good discounts and a free $50 Amex gift card. I hope it works at amazon. My friend is trying to help me find a good mouse for it. I want something simple & comfortable that has darkfield laser so it can be used on almost any surface. I want something with the rubberized comfort grip bc the regular plastic stuff makes my hand sweat.

Tomorrow I have to get the tire fixed & my mother wants me to take her to city hall to see if we can do early voting (but I suspect we'll have to go to Oberlin for that). I'm also going to bring my friend out to try to run the coax for the antenna inside for an amplifier box so we can get cell signal inside. Didn't have the right drill bit for it & had to get one. I'll probably snag some more electrical tape as well.

I'll probably make beef stroganoff for dinner but this time I won't tell my brother & I will hide it bc last time he ate all of what was left in the pan (and it was a lot). He's been bad about eating all of the food lately.

Mom's doctor appointment the other day went well. She got her flu shot. Her kidneys were a bit dry & her blood sugar was high but it was bc she'd been sick. The doctor was upset that the hospital had just sent her home without running tests the day she fell. He went over there to check on her after the fall & found she wasn't there. I mentioned to him that I personally brought back the wheelchair from his office to make sure it was returned & he thanked me & said sometimes they really had to chase it down if it was taken over there. I also told him about the Source Plus Liquidation place where my friend got the range hood & automatic trash can. It's such a nice trash can but far too small for my house & my cats would probably sit on it & mess up the sensor. But it looks good in his kitchen. The doctor said he'd look for the place because he likes finding deals.

If we have time tomorrow I will see about staining the cabinets. But I'll have to move the pantry to do it even though my friend shimmed it already. The cabinets all need to be adjusted anyway.

I'm still a bit pissed off about the warranty on the tires being "voided" when they never said anything about it to me before. I'm also pissed off that I paid to have my tires aligned & they didn't align the front. The walmart people wouldn't even touch my tire even if I offered to pay for the repair. So eff them. I won't buy tires from them again. The other 3 tires are all in good shape though. I still need to take the truck to the honda dealership for maintenance & need to get the new bulbs for the DRL & fog lights. I'm really hoping the bumper won't have to be pulled to fix the wiring for the DRL. The fog light compartment wasn't sealed properly by the repair guy so water got it in.

My daughter hit a rock and broke a tire and Walmart refused to honor the road hazard warranty. They are crooks.

 

[zannej]

I know I'm not going to get the road hazard warranty from them again. It's frickin' useless. The fact that they wouldn't even look at my tire to see if it could be repaired really pissed me off. Turns out the tire had a nail in it but also had a bubble so it wasn't safe to repair. The employee at the other tire place spent a significant time looking around outside in the 93 degree heat to find me a used 245 60R18 tire. The one he got has about the same tread wear as the rest of my tires & it was only $20 (until I can pick new tires). I'm still going to need a rear alignment & tire balancing though. Apparently when I paid to have my alignment done at the Honda dealership, they only did the front. My truck has independent suspension for front & rear so both need to be aligned.

I mentioned in another thread that I found out that the girl who accused a local man of rape admitted to her mother that she lied & the claims that a doctor corroborated an assault were also lies. Turns out the brat who attacked my friend was the one who came up with the idea of falsely accusing him because she was mad at him for some reason. Then she threatened to falsely accuse the witness who saw her fall & hit her head. I'm trying to figure out who to go to with the information to clear the guy who was falsely accused. He's a black man in rural Louisiana being accused of sexual battery & sexual assault of two teenage white girls-- he's looking at life in prison for it. The local cops won't even do the bare minimum in terms of investigating- they are poorly trained & many just don't care. They won't even pass info along to the parish police most of the time. It's just so frustrating. I generally respect police but these clowns are corrupt, inept, &/or lazy.

Meanwhile, my friend was finally able to come over & run the cable from the antenna through the wall into my house. Ended up putting the amplifier in the bathroom because it was the nearest spot-- up on a wall away from any water though. My mother called me on her cellphone from her bedroom so it's working. Before we couldn't even receive text messages inside much less make calls. Mom wants to do early voting today (she decided not to do it yesterday). I made stroganoff for dinner and hid the leftovers in hopes my brother won't find them & eat them all this time.

Also, I got a nasty papercut on my thumb from some sharp almost cardboard thick paper in the mailbox- it actually bled. It turned out to be some political flyer against the incumbent governor. 'Tis just a flesh wound though. Still annoying.

I'm going to try to nap until it's time to go do early voting. It's open until 6pm but I want to go in probably early afternoon.

 

[Floorist]

Ugh, need to split some wood for the pit fire. Thought I was done with that after we moved and no longer have a wood stove.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Got to mow my lawn , one of the last times for this year. Had frost this morning so everything will slow down a bit except the leaves falling.

 

[Floorist]

Got to mow my lawn , one of the last times for this year. Had frost this morning so everything will slow down a bit except the leaves falling.

30s here this weekend. No fall this year. summer to winter.

 

[zannej]

It was at 69 degrees early this morning but warmed up to about 80- although it felt hotter. Took my friend around looking at vehicles bc the engine in his Colorado is about to go & a replacement engine costs about $4400 (which is more than half what he paid for the truck). He's hoping thicker oil will help but we'll see. He can't get financing bc of what happened with the vehicle he got for his fiance (where they changed how much the monthly payments were to the point he couldn't afford them). He already got rid of that car-- passed it off to an uncle who is going to pay the insurance & make payments on it, but the damage to his credit is already done.

I went over to his house on my birthday to stain the newer cabinets & touch-up the old ones. I stained the side of the older base cabinets, the front & sides of the over-the-range cabinet, and the front and trim edges of the pantry cabinet. Still trying to decide if I should paint the sides of the pantry (I'll need a stepstool to get high enough bc I'm just a little too short to reach easily). He's thinking of using some sort of faux stainless steel peel-and-stick vinyl or something on the sides of the pantry & I'm not sure if it will stick better to unfinished wood or over the stain-- anyone know?

I took pics while stuff was still wet.

 

[Floorist]

Looks good

 

[zannej]

Thanks. The bare sides bugged me & I read that the peel & stick faux stainless stuff wouldn't adhere to just the unfinished wood so I stained it. I did a bit more touch-ups on previously stained cabinets & then finished off the can on the outer side of the pantry. Opened a new can to start on the other side so it applied much thinner. I'm going to do another coat & maybe add some poly to try to make it as smooth as possible so the sticker will adhere better.

 

[Floorist]

Total waste of a day. Left my wife's car at the shop all day, they never got to it. HVAC guy never showed

 

[havasu]

Went to start my truck and the 9 month old Interstate battery was dead as a doornail. I took it back to Costco for an exchange, but they charged me an additional $4.85 because the battery prices went up. Anyone else think this is unreasonable?

 

[Floorist]

Sounds crazy to me.

 

[zannej]

Rusty, I hate days like that. It's especially aggravating when you are waiting on other people to do their jobs & they don't. I've had both of those things happen (well, not an HVAC person, but a plumber-- which is why I try to fix the plumbing myself now whenever I can) but not on the same day.
I hope today goes better for you.

Havasu, that sounds crazy to me as well. If it was under warranty & less than a year old they should have honored it & not charged you more. It's not like it's a tire where the tread gets torn up over time. It's a battery that is supposed to last a certain amount of time but it failed.

Speaking of tires, I've been searching for new ones for the CR-V because at least one of the tires on it is completely bald at this point. Gonna get some deep thread all terrain tires this time. And I'm not going through Walmart. I'll have the smaller local tire shop that does balancing & alignment do it.

I'm going to rest a bit before I go to the store to get more meat so I can cook tonight. I was up late brainstorming on the layout for my friend's upper cabinets. The cabinets that are available have limited sizes so the idea of having 18" tall uppers that went up to the same height as the pantry got nixed. The ceiling is only about 10" above the pantry which makes it so the 30" height ones (which are pretty much all that's available in the right width) will come down 20" instead of 18". I did a mockup in Sketchup with some guesstimates on the measurements as well as what I did remember on the base cabinet sizes we ordered & the countertop. With a 24"x30" corner cabinet that leaves room for two 24"x30" cabinets between the corner & the pantry. On the shorter counter end it's about 29" left. A 30" wide one would butt into the doorway so we'd have to go with a 27"x30" cabinet. We'll just have to see for certain how much room we have to work with once I get my measuring tape over there. I extrapolated the ceiling height from when we were figuring out what size upper cabinet would be needed above the stove. Figured out what height cabinet plus height of the range hood plus space in between & height of the stove. Came out to about 94".

I hope I'm not forgetting anything important on the measurements side. We're going to need more shims for the uppers against the walls since both walls lean back and the floor slopes all over the place. But here's the sketch I came up with (drawing in doors & drawers). I applied stainless steel texture to the sides of the pantry.

Adding another picture because I realized too late that I forgot to add the little backsplash for the countertop.

 

[havasu]

The height of the upright tall pantry seems very awkward to me. Can you order a small box to raise the lever with the wall cabinets?

 

[Ernesto]

Just got back from Maui.