Friday Night Photos #106

I have been busy busy busy over the last couple of days getting some spring cleaning done--even though it's still technically winter. When it was SO COLD over Christmas (wind chill of -30℉) I could feel draughts coming from the windows and doors. That's when I knew I had to figure out how to reseal the windows; but I wasn't about to do it when it was so cold outside.

Instead, I went into full-on Dad-mode and used duct tape to seal around all the windows for that weekend. It was not at all attractive, but it worked. No draughts.

We've had such nice weather lately (it's been in the high-40's and even in the 50's!) I decided to give the resealing a go. I didn't know this, but you're apparently supposed to weather-proof your windows every few years. Well, we've been living here 20 years and not once have we replaced the weather seals. Yikes.

The ones we have are a pile material (like a long strip of soft bristle). After reading tons of reviews, I decided I didn't want to to switch to the sticky tape; a lot of people complained that the adhesive wore off quickly. So I bought the same stuff we already had (which had been smashed down from years of use, making them pretty ineffective).

I was kind of nervous to do this--it involved removing strips of the pile from each edge of the window--and then cutting a new strip and inserting it into the T-slot from before. It was tedious, but it worked perfectly.

Left to right: Duct tape to block the drafts; then peeling out the old pile strip; then inserting the new strip (I had to push each little tab down into the T-slot with a tiny screwdriver, and then the last photo is what it looks like after it's all pushed in.

It takes a while to do each window (they each have EIGHT strips that have to be replaced) but I managed to do four windows so far. When I'm done with replacing the pile strips, I need to replace the putty that holds the window in the frame.. I made a whole to-do list for this spring and I want to get a head start!

Anyway, for Friday Night Photos...

I went to Goodwill yesterday and had no intention of buying clothes, but like I said, I was in a bad mood. Thrift shopping always makes me feel better, especially if I get a good deal. Even if I don't buy anything at all, it's still fun! Here are a few things I tried on...

I was undecided about this jacket. I liked it, but I ultimately decided not to get it. I would have liked it to be a touch longer.

I really liked this running jacket, but I have too many running jackets, so I skipped it.

I loved this shirt, but it was a size large--I figured I'd try it on anyway, hoping it would just look naturally meant to fit on the large side. It actually looked kind of ridiculous. So it was a no-go as well.

I was going to post the things that I actually bought, but I think I'll save that for a separate post. That will be a fun one to put together--I love thrift store deals! :)

In fair warning, I have a lot of cat pictures this week...

I thought this was a really cool idea for old tires. We have a tire that we've been waiting to dispose of, but I think I'd like to use it to make a shelter for a cat. I guess I'll report how it goes!

Me, all the time, and I just CAN'T find it in my heart to disappoint the cats and make them move from my lap. Right now, as I type this, Duck is lying on my shins. I have to pee but I'll just hold it until the end of time.

Another thing I worked on over the last couple of days is painting some spots that need to be touched up. There is a piece of trim along the entire top of the cabinets that I'd nailed in, but never painted. It bugged me all the time when I would look at it, so I finally painted it! I had the ladder in the kitchen so I could reach, and of course, Duck and Chick were all over it.

How do you catch a cat? Just set out a box. It works every. single. time.

I was prepping dinner and I made a dressing that called for hummus. I left the dirty spoon with a little hummus on it on the counter while I was cooking and then I looked over and Duck was sitting on one of the bar stools with just his head sticking up. I could see his pink tongue reaching up over the counter to lick the hummus off the spoon. I love this mid-lick picture!

Again, a cat in a box. This time it's Chick.

Eli was watching a show with Jerry and both Duck and Estelle were on his lap. Usually they are drawn to me! It was cute seeing them cuddle with Eli.

Jerry was looking through some stuff that he saved on Instagram and this one popped up. This was a note that Eli made when he was mad at me because I wouldn't let him play Minecraft before school 🤣

It says, "Where's my gift?" (from me). And Eli wrote, "Ha ha you don't get one" And on the bottom: "Mom does not deserve presents but dad does." I'm so glad I saved this! I love the angry eyebrows, hahaha.

This is one of the things I bought from Goodwill. A Clark Griswold-sized ball of Christmas lights. It was good timing because earlier that morning, Noah said he wanted some Christmas lights for his bedroom. I asked the man who was working there if I could return them if they don't work, and he said no--they test all of the electronics in the back before they shelf them. Well, I got home and they didn't work! In three different outlets. Jerry brought them back to the store and the guy plugged them in--apparently, they worked. Brought them back home, tried about five different outlets and they just wouldn't turn on. Jerry and I inspected the bulbs, swapping out bulbs and fuses in all different combinations, but we couldn't figure it out. 

These are the polarized sunglasses that I got for Riley--"magic" glasses so that she can see underwater like she did at the park with my glasses. Luke didn't want to pose for a picture with his ;)

Okay, that's all I've got. I'm actually looking forward to watching this ice storm that is happening outside right now! Have a great weekend. xo