The door is within minutes of being finished. I'm going to check soon if the detailing around the panels and window needs another coat of paint. I started painting the baseboards and door frame yesterday. Holy Cow! They look better!
I spent all evening in my sitting room looking around & wondering if I had the energy to repaint the room and replace the artwork with current work. I'm in a redo mood but it's hard because my house is small and I have lots of artwork I love. I think I need something a bit more restrained for awhile. Or maybe I need to be restrained; like in a straight jacket.
We had a brief rain yesterday afternoon. It was so welcome. I just about cried. Of course it was followed by several hours of scorching sun. If we could have a few more days of rain I think my new garden would have a chance of making it to the fall season.
I expect to walk out every morning & see my garden dead. This morning I was surprised to see some new blooms! I think I'll go to the garden center this evening and get some mulch. I'm sure it would help the soil retain moisture.
So here's the saga of my air conditioner:
About 2 weeks ago (or maybe 3-who's counting?) it stopped working. I called a service company to check it. A young man came out & I showed him where the air conditioner was on the side of the house. As I am walking back to the front of the house, I heard a little scream. I walked back around and asked: was that you? Are you OK?
He came out from the area sweating and visibly shaken. He'd encountered a big rat who was none too happy to be disturbed. (I now know the noise in my attic all winter was not an opossum or raccoon.)
Then he got very defensive and a bit abrupt with me. He looked in the attic to assess the furnace's condition.
My system is 20+ years old. Truth be told, it needs to be replaced.
He proceeded to give me a quote and refused to go back out and look at the air conditioner. I don't blame him. It's hot & there's an angry rat. The quoted price told me I would need to do some comparison shopping.
When talking to my son he suggested I get rid of the rat situation before asking anyone else to come out. I've put out poison (that turned to mush in the rain) & I'm waiting.
I spent all evening in my sitting room looking around & wondering if I had the energy to repaint the room and replace the artwork with current work. I'm in a redo mood but it's hard because my house is small and I have lots of artwork I love. I think I need something a bit more restrained for awhile. Or maybe I need to be restrained; like in a straight jacket.
We had a brief rain yesterday afternoon. It was so welcome. I just about cried. Of course it was followed by several hours of scorching sun. If we could have a few more days of rain I think my new garden would have a chance of making it to the fall season.
I expect to walk out every morning & see my garden dead. This morning I was surprised to see some new blooms! I think I'll go to the garden center this evening and get some mulch. I'm sure it would help the soil retain moisture.
So here's the saga of my air conditioner:
About 2 weeks ago (or maybe 3-who's counting?) it stopped working. I called a service company to check it. A young man came out & I showed him where the air conditioner was on the side of the house. As I am walking back to the front of the house, I heard a little scream. I walked back around and asked: was that you? Are you OK?
He came out from the area sweating and visibly shaken. He'd encountered a big rat who was none too happy to be disturbed. (I now know the noise in my attic all winter was not an opossum or raccoon.)
Then he got very defensive and a bit abrupt with me. He looked in the attic to assess the furnace's condition.
My system is 20+ years old. Truth be told, it needs to be replaced.
He proceeded to give me a quote and refused to go back out and look at the air conditioner. I don't blame him. It's hot & there's an angry rat. The quoted price told me I would need to do some comparison shopping.
When talking to my son he suggested I get rid of the rat situation before asking anyone else to come out. I've put out poison (that turned to mush in the rain) & I'm waiting.
Brent suggested it could be an easy fix (he has experience babying this system into working) & I might be able to buy some time with the old system. Surely, the AC companies add $1000 to the estimate in 95° weather.
So in the meantime I've been relatively comfortable with the ceiling and room fans blowing. At least I won't be staring at a $200 electric bill; although, it's possible that could be my water bill.
It all works out in the end.
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Oh dear, it seems the “joys” of home ownership are really abundant these days. I hope Brent can help you with your system, and of course, you should be able to get some more competitive estimates. Your flowers look so nice, yes mulch will help them survive the hot weather.
ReplyDeleteGeez, one thing after another! It's time to replace that with a more efficient system, but you probably can figure out a way to extend its life. If it uses the older freon type, then it's worth replacing, too. It depends on what you have inside.
ReplyDeleteI had a choice between a $1700 fix and a $4500 replacement, and I chose to replace the outside unit. It was probably older than yours, and less efficient than the new one. Plus it was the older freon that is no longer used. I didn't have to replace the heat pump itself, thank goodness.
How are you going to know that the rat died?