I Delcare This Bathroom Open!

 Yet another long gap between posts. As usual, I think about writing all the time, but never do it. But today seems a good day to mark time.

Our upstairs bathroom renovation is, at long last, finished. It only took five months (literally). The project was started on 23 September 2022 and went through delay after delay, including replacing two (out of three) damaged surround panels, which meant contacting the company not once, but twice, to send replacement panels. Then waiting for the contractor to come back and install them. 

Then we waited for a contractor to put in the flooring. 

Finally we waited for a contractor to drywall around the new shower. First, he was finishing a larger project (which took more than a month), then he was delayed for a month due to illness.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

Finally this weekend I put the finishing touches on the project on my own, including caulking, recutting floorboards that no longer fit, and cutting and fitting quarter round molding around the vanity (first time using a miter box and it actually looks nice). 

New flooring replaced crappy linoleum.

Partial picture of the surround. Only one panel was undamaged when we opened the original box.

My very first attempt at cutting a 45 degree angle using a miter box. The molding was $17 so there was a little pressure to get it right the first time.

After the new tub went in, waiting for undamaged panels. We looked at this for two months. You can see the old linoleum floor in the lower part of the picture. 

I also completed our taxes today. So, it's been a productive weekend. On top of that, I took a major fall in my driveway today--slipped on the ice. Luckily my bones are pretty strong, but my hip, elbow and wrist are going to be black and blue for a while. How dumb. 

Speaking of breaking shit, our garage door broke last week as well (it has been exciting around here). The spring above the garage door broke in two which meant there was not way on God's green earth I was fixing anything (oh, and it was 20 degrees below zero). It also happened on the day the drywall guy was finishing our bathroom. It was like we were being challenged to the very end.

I've been listening to the band Bowling For Soup lately. My own band has learned their hit "1985" and I just couldn't get the song out of my head (this happens frequently to me), so the way I exorcise that demon is by listening to the culprit song really loudly wearing headphones. 

Once I listened to "1985" a couple times, I started exploring their catalogue (they've been together since 1994 so I'm a little late to the party), and they've got a bunch of fun, tongue-in-cheek, power punk songs. Nothing complicated, nothing earth-shattering. Just fun party music. I needed to find a new band to dig and I have.

I'm currently reading The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch and I'm loving it. Last year I read The Lincoln Conspiracy by the same authors and it was excellent. Both are well researched non-fiction history, but they read like a suspense novels. Not an easy task.

These days I am spending my free time (when I have it) watching college basketball and, on occasion, hockey. I'm a football guy to the core, so I just take a passing interest in sports during these winter months. Obviously I am looking forward to the Super Bowl next week. Then the long offseason.... maybe I should write more since I'm not distracted by football every weekend?