Sunday, August 5, 2018

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Alison Henderson

I've just returned from a week without internet or television. You might assume I was camping in in the wilderness or visiting a Tibetan monastery, but you would be wrong. OG and I were in the heart of America's second largest city, working (in his parlance) like rented mules getting our daughter's new condo ready for her to move in. In fact, he's still there, bless him. She helped as much as she could, mostly driving us around to pick up tools and supplies, but she had to work, so it was mostly just me and OG.

She had expected to have all the tech services up and running for us, but nothing is ever as easy as it should be. All I'll say is there's a reason Comcast is the most hated corporation in the country. They're supposed to be coming back Monday, but I'm not holding my breath.

The week was marked by multiple frustrations interspersed with occasional successes. First, OG began to install a new kitchen faucet, only to discover that the water shut-off valve wouldn't shut off all the way. He persevered through a minor flood and being sprayed in the face multiple times while lying on his back under the sink--not a comfortable position for anyone, but especially a man approaching seventy. The faucet is in and works perfectly, but his back looks like I beat him with a fireplace poker. Even worse, he had to go back under there to run new wiring and install a garbage disposal. Both projects were successes, but he swears he is never getting under another sink in this century.



While he was busy doing that, I scrubbed twenty years' of accumulated grease and filth off the kitchen cabinets and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floor tile grout with a toothbrush. Now that's love!

On a more fun note, PO&O and I put together this new pantry cabinet with only a little help from Dad because I couldn't reach high enough to put the top section in place.



OG plans to spend the next week replacing cruddy old electrical outlets and switches and painting, so we devoted quite a bit of time to color selection. Here's the test swatch of the lovely blue she chose for her bedroom.



The condo has wonderful space and an excellent location, but it has been rented out for the past eight years, and the condition shows it. OG assures PO&O it will be a palace by the time he's finished, but God only knows when that will be. He's already planning to go back in a couple of months for the next installment of the home improvement marathon. He wants to do a stacked-stone fireplace surround, among other things. He was getting bored because he ran out of projects around here. LOL



15 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

Sounds like you were definitely working like mules! Pat also recently discovered our water shutoff valve beneath the house is stuck on. He was trying to fix a faucet, too. Best of luck getting all those little projects finished. I like the bedroom color!

Diane Burton said...

One of the best things about moving into a brand new house is the lack of home improvement projects. Or so I thought. After getting his workshop organized, Hubs designed and finished the lower level (a daylight basement). Then Daughter had projects she wanted him to help her with. Now that Son is close by, he asks Hubs for advice more than physical help. It's always something, though. It keeps him busy. LOL The bedroom color is lovely.

Alison Henderson said...

It was quite a week, Jannine. I hope this coming work is easier on him. I love the bedroom color, too. The two of them are planning to start painting it today.

Alison Henderson said...

We basically rebuilt our house from scratch when we bought it five years ago. OG set up his workshop and built himself a spectacular storage shed that looks like a little cottage, but since then he's struggled to find projects. This new condo has an almost endless stream of potential projects--too bad it's an all-day, $700 plane ride away.

Brenda Whiteside said...

OG is amazing. FDW does NOT like remodeling. He'll fix the occasional faucet or nail something back in place, but that's about the extent. You two are great!

remullins said...

I absolutely love doing that kind of work. Unfortunately, my body no longer enjoys it as much as my brain.

Alison Henderson said...

OG may be the last of a dying breed. I'm not sure any young men know how to do all the things he does. I'm under orders to keep him in good shape so he can train any future son-in-law.

Alison Henderson said...

Robin, we're in the same boat. We both decided that bending at the waist for prolonged period and getting up from the floor become infinitely more painful after sixty.

Leah St. James said...

Poor OG! What a great dad. Hey, if he's looking for projects, I have plenty that needs to be done. Southeastern Virginia is beautiful in the fall! :-) TPM used to be handy around the house, but after a 10-year stint as apartment dwellers, he seems to have lost it! I love the bedroom color, too.

Alison Henderson said...

OG is a champ in all ways, although it will probably take him a month to recover. Everyone seems to love the bedroom color, which is great!

Margo Hoornstra said...

What a gem OG is. I can certainly relate. We just, rather my super talented son in law, just installed a new floor in our kitchen/dining room. It’s beautiful, but when I had the china cabinet emptied to be temporarily moved, of course, I figured this was the best time to paint. (Something I’d been wanting to do for a couple of years, but never wanted to go through emptying and moving the china cabinet.) See how that works? Then the living room looked dingy, so.... My OG and I are exhausted and, ahem, sore, but it looks great. Now to get him interesting in paneling the laundry room.... Love that bedroom color. Nice choice.

Phyllis E said...

I'm exhausted just reading about all the activities. I hope OG doesn't OD on these projects.

Alison Henderson said...

I know exactly what you mean, Margo. One thing always leads to another. I don't think I've ever done that much physical labor per day for a week in my life, and I had the aches and pains to prove it. OG will probably need at least a month to recover.

Alison Henderson said...

Ne, too, Phyllis. Just wait until I tell you about the washer/dryer incident!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Getting to this late, Alison. I think your daughter is one lucky lady. I'm trying to get to used to watching people do the work and paying them for their expertise/time. Killin' me...but I'm determined to let go of some of these time-suck activities. Lovely blue paint color!