October 28, 2022

Friday Night Photos #89

I had another very long day of working on the bathroom, but I at least made some good progress! I had been stumped about how to drywall around the shower surround because the surround material is 1/8 inch thick--and that 1/8-inch sticks out from the stud that I would screw the drywall into. So if I tried to screw the drywall into the stud, it would likely crack and even if it didn't, there would be a bump in it. I stared at it for DAYS trying to figure out a solution.

Finally, I ripped some 2x4's to 1/8's thickness (the same as the surround thickness) and glued them to the studs to make the studs flush with the edge of the tub surround. It took forever, but I was finally able to hang the drywall (it's blue instead of green this time, for some reason, but it's meant for high moisture areas). I obviously still have to tape and mud it, but at least it is screwed in and ready for the finishing work.

 


And the water works! I don't want to use it until everything is totally done, but things should move much more quickly now. Tomorrow, I plan to do the taping and mudding of the drywall. In a couple of days, I'll put the trim on, and the shower head, and it should be good to go. Jerry finished putting the Luon on the floor (it's like a very thin plywood that will make the floor smooth before he lays the planking). He'll probably lay the planking on his next day off work.

Anyway, here are some more photos from this week:

These roasted potatoes were SO GOOD. I bought them from Whole Foods when Jerry and I stopped in while we were in Detroit, and they were the tiniest potatoes I'd ever seen. I just had to buy them. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them for about 25 minutes. I'm tempted to go back to Whole Foods just for these alone.



This broccoli just looked so pretty after I cut it into florets, I had to take a picture. I roasted this, too; and after eating about half of it, I forgot to put it away and I left it sitting on the stove all night--bummer!



I drove my parents to the Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield--it was seriously like a fancy resort, it was so nice inside!--and their gift shop was absolutely amazing. I could have spent all day in there. Check out this cafeteria:


The whole hospital was that nice! I had brought my computer to work on transferring my photos (yes, I'm still working on it), so I was sitting in a (very nice) waiting room when my mom came back from a walk with a gift for me from the gift shop. How cute is this purse?! It was so perfect for me. 


My first concern was that it was leather, but then she pointed out that the card said it was vegan. And they even donate 5% of their annual profits to an animal rescue foundation. I thought it was super thoughtful of my mom to think of that when she bought it. 


Here is my dad before surgery. We got to sit in the room with him for a little bit while he waited, and we had a good chat. Even though he was under general anesthesia for the procedure, the surgery wasn't a huge deal--he has an enlarged prostrate, so they did something with it it to help shrink it. Everything went well and he's recovering just fine. His surgery was at 7:00 AM and we left for home by noon. 



I love how cat siblings cuddle with each other. It's rare that my cats have done that. Chick sleeps with Joey sometimes, and Chandler used to cuddle with Phoebe once in a while, but now it's just Chick and Duck. They like to groom each other too.



A few days ago, I had some time in the morning and I was sick of working on the bathroom, so I decided to alter some of my jeans. A lot of them are size 27, 28, or even 29 waist and they're just too big. And ever since I tried using elastic instead of darts to tighten the waist, I'm obsessed! It's SO fast and easy, and you can take about two sizes off. I just use a seam ripper to cut a small hole on the side of the waist band about three and a half inches from the button hole (on each side), then slide a piece of elastic through, and sew the ends shut where the hole is. They look a little puckered from the elastic, but once you put them on, you can't even tell.


The only jeans I can find at thrift stores right now are skinny jeans, and it's driving me crazy! I hate skinny jeans and now that they are pretty much out of style, everyone is getting rid of them. So, I'm just altering all of my too-big jeans down to size 25 or 26 waist. Even sizing down from a size 29, they still look fine.


I was SO excited to hear from my friend Jessica last week--it had been several years since we got together (or even talked, really). We made plans to go to the State Park for a walk. It was a gorgeous day out and we spent an hour and a half or so walking and catching up. I'm so glad to be back in touch with her! (She is the one that I trained for and ran my first marathon with, back in 2012)



The very next day, I had plans to meet up with Jen, my reader-turned-friend who I'd met up with a few years ago (pre-COVID) and I hadn't seen her since. So we made plans to go for a walk at one of the Metroparks. I wore my Garmin just for the heck of it, and I was not at all prepare for the long walk--we talked the entire time, so I wasn't really paying attention to our distance. When we finished, I saw that we had walked EIGHT MILES. I haven't walked that far since probably 2018! My calves were killing me for the next two days. Clearly, I am out of shape--let's hope that 75 Hard will get me back in good shape again.



I thought this was so funny, but I *loved* that Noah asked me this. He has been wanting to grow out his hair forever (I have no idea how long he wants to let it grow) but he hates how it looks when it's frizzy and sticks out all over. He asked if I knew how to straighten it, and I said sure--I have a straightener, so I got that out (I never use it) and I taught him how to straighten his hair. He's been doing it for the last few days, and I think it looks so much better! (He wasn't as pissed off as he looks in the photos--he just has resting bitch face). He really liked it when it was done.



This was when Riley came over yesterday. She helped me feed the squirrels by scooping peanuts into the squirrel lunchbox. (I have to remove them at night because the raccoons will eat them, so I replace them every morning, and she helped me).



Brian showed me how to solder a pipe. I like learning how to do new things, and this was really interesting to me. Also, he made sure to tell me that you pronounce it like "sodder"--without the L--because I always say "caulk" with the L and it drives him crazy. (I looked it up one time to fact check him, and he's right--it's pronounced "cawk" and not like it rhymes with "walk".)



I got so tired of searching for spices when cooking that I finally organized them in alphabetical order. I'd avoided doing it because I thought it would be SO nerdy, but instead it's just convenient. 



I just finished eating this cookie while writing this. Noah's girlfriend, Claire, came to visit from Eastern Michigan University (where she goes to school) and she brought one for me and one for Jerry. So nice of her! She and Noah frequently get cookies from Crumbl and unfortunately, Crumbl doesn't have any vegan ones. So I was super excited to try this. And it was one of the best cookies I've ever eaten. You would never know that it's vegan!



Finally, I just took this picture of my parents' tree because I love the fall colors this time of year. My favorite is is super bright yellow that is just starting to turn orange in spots. The colors don't last super long, but Michigan is truly gorgeous on the fall.


And that's all I've got this week. Have a great weekend! xo

7 comments:

  1. Yes, it's true. We say "sodder" here in the USA. But if you went to the UK, they pronounce it Sol-der. So technically it could be correct depending on where you live. Same thing with Caulk. Brits pronounce the L. Great job on the sheetrock too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the cheery photos. I hope getting so much done means you're feeling a little less anxious and stressed. And sending all the healing vibes to your dad. I'm so grateful hospitals are becoming more inviting for both patients and families. The emotional element of health care is getting some much-needed love. Hugs and mushy stuff to you and yours. Oh, and we need after photos on the hair straightening!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was totally second guessing myself because I pronounce it sol-der and caul-k (both with the L).

    But it makes sense since I'm Canadian so our English is closer to British.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don’t caulk and walk rhyme? The l is silent in both…?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the exact same thought lol (I'm from CA if it's a regional thing). They rhyme (to me!)

      Delete
    2. I’m from Wisconsin, so I’m not sure? I Googled it to see if I’m going crazy and Google pronunciations say they rhyme…?

      Delete
  5. The problem with your shower is you should have removed all the existing drywall behind it down to the studs. Then you screw the shower flanges directly to the studs. So when you go to screw in the drywall you're not screwing drywall through drywall into studs. You also could have gained yourself at least 4 inches where your toilet is, as there would have been no 4" wall on the right. Also not sure why you didn't put plumbing on right side of tub. Then you screw screw luon on the back and right side wall above tub walls, and screw sheetrock to that. In a situation like yours, we would have framed that left wall where you have your plumbing up to the ceiling to get rid of the 4" water/dust collector. On showers that aren't one-piece enclosed, we usually put subway tile between the top of the shower and the ceiling to get rid of that small ledge you are left with. You have a huge ledge up there. Make sure you keep up with your calking and painting or that will turn into a big mess up there.

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive