Whoa! Didja get the numbers off that truck?!?

November 17, 2004 - 6:45 a.m.

OK, real quick like...

I'm shrink-wrapping the windows. It's a bizarre process involving plastic wrap, 3M double stick tape and a heat gun. They recommend a hair dryer, but the amount of hair I have doesn't involve "styling". I have an elderly hair dryer left over from a previous lifetime and it's not very effective. You can peel paint with a heat gun and I have on occasions too numerous to recount. It works well on this stuff.

So like the box says, you stretch the film over the windows and re-position to get it straight. Then you hit it with the hair dryer, er, heat gun, and it sucks it in all nice and tight. The effect is strange because you can see through the clear film as if it's not there, but you can see the reflection of light in it. I even poked a little hole in one so I can get the wand from the blinds through, so they still work. Go me.

I re-roofed the balcony about a month ago. Again. I had the able assistance of Son1 and his friend Todd. I did it the right way this time. Son1 and Todd had the old roof off in about two hours, and in the dumpster. Then we re-nailed all the planks as the rusted out nails were only a suggestion of integrity. Then we stuck down this miracle ice dam plastic stuff. I think it's polypropylene, the holes we make it in re-seal themselves. Great stuff. Then a layer of roofing felt, and a layer of rolled roofing with lots-o-tar, the stuff that gets on everything you don't want it to. The effort reminded me of two things: 1- I hate roofing, and 2- I don't recover from these activities as quickly as I used to. (And yes I know, I just ended two sentences with prepositions. We're grading on a curve.) As a further testament to my confidence that it won't leak, I sealed the balcony door shut with shrink wrap. No more air or water leaks.

Things that were explained to me last May are happening now. It's good and bad and all of it is amazing. We learn more if we keep our minds open.

Time to drive north again.

the last one -*- the next one