Can you tell I am killing time today? Well - not really killing it. Trying to fill it up.
The kids went back to school today and without Jordan needing near constant attention, the house is quiet and empty. Maddie, while an attention hound in her own right, is depressed and quiet. Everything feels "off" so I am keeping my mind busy to keep the tears and sadness at bay. I had no idea I would miss him as much as I do. I guess I was just fooling myself.
So - after the kids left for school, and Stephanie headed to work, I got busy. I had a ton of laundry to do (two loads of clothes, one load of Jordan's bedding, and Kelton's bedding. I need to wash Kaylen's bedding, too, but she has made me promise to "never ever wash them again" or...as I actually promised, to not wash them...yet. They smell like dog and need to be washed but Kaylen is grieving for her "bedtime buddy" so I will give her a couple more days.). The laundry amount isn't the overwhelming part - it's the time involved in drying each load. The dryer vent runs half the length of the house and isn't very effective (even after having the line replaced a few years back) so each load takes about 140 minutes to dry. It's a lot. But that's life.
After getting laundry started, I cleaned the kitchen and then started cleaning out the puzzles and games that the kids have outgrown to make room for their new Christmas gifts. That, of course, led to straightening up a bit of the garage and filling my trunk with a ton of stuff to take to Goodwill. Just as well though, I had decided the house was just too weird feeling and I needed to get out for a bit.
I needed to replace the front door locks since they started freezing up (unbeknowst to me. The pet sitter and my neighbor had a terrible time while the kids and I were in Seattle. When I got back, I tried to unlock the door and it took almost 5 minutes before the lock gave and let me in. WOW!) so I headed first to Goodwill and then to Home Depot.
In the row with the very cool address signs, I find the door locks. The fancy ones called my name but the checkbook slapped reality into me and I settled for the basic style but I did step it up and bought the brushed stainless. I tried hard to convince myself that with my weakening hand muscles, the new ADA approved handle would be a better option but...the reality of saving $13 won out. Oh well...not like I use the front door all that much anyway since I park in the garage. :)
After Home Depot, I ran into the grocery store and picked up milk and then headed home. I got to work quickly on the locks and within an hour, they were installed and I had rekeyed them to fit my current key. Yes, I said *I* rekeyed them. My brother told me about Kwiklock locks that come with a master key so that you can rekey the lock without changing the lock any time you want. FANCY! Once I figured it out, it was quick and easy. No sense incurring the cost of new keys when I don't have to.
I have to say, I am VERY proud of myself for my new found lock changing ability. Yay me!!!
Just call me Casey the Locksmith. If you need your locks changed...I will be happy to help you for a reasonable fee. :)
2 comments:
Was that really suppose to say 140 minutes? Perhaps it's not the dryer vent, but the dryer itself. Ouch. Or even the washer not getting enough water out of the clothes before you put them in the dryer. If it was suppose to say 40min, then I'd say that's normal. Good job on the locks. :)
Oh no. I meant 140 minutes. Really though....to be accurate, it's 70 minutes and then reset to 40 so that's really 110 minutes.
The dryer has been like this since we moved it here and it was only a couple years old when we moved here. The washer spin is fine. It's the venting issue and I've had that confirmed a few times over by techs who have been out to work on the dryer for various reasons. :)
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