cincinnatus_c | Reading

I called the engineer back and they haven't heard from the contractor because "he's going through a medical procedure". This was his excuse for ghosting me back in March as well. Engineer also said they will not send me any reports - will not even say for sure that the reports exist - without going through the contractor because they work for the contractor and not for me.

So now I guess I commence hassling the contractor. In the meantime I will reach out to the city inspector and find out what my options are.

I am definitely talking to a fucking lawyer.

***

'Tis the season when restaurant work starts to ramp up, and so I have to figure out what jobs absolutely need a second person and get them done while daughter still has time. (Also we are starting to get closer into not-having-windows-open season and since daughter takes zero infection precautions that is an absolute deal-breaker for having her in the house.)

I think getting the new lights hung is number one and then I have a sideboard that needs to be partially reassembled and it's way too heavy to wrangle by myself, and then that's it.

( to-do list under cut )

There are ants in the new kitchen. There were ants in the old kitchen, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I keep finding them in the kitchen sink though, which is... weird.

the_siobhan

Current Mood: sisyphus

Weekend was less productive than hoped, or at least less productive at the specific things I wanted to finish. Daughter ended up only being able to come on Thursday and I got stuck in a meeting until late. There's always stuff for her to pick away at, but the This-Needs-More-Than-Two-Hands jobs only got a couple of hours of dedicated time.

That was enough time to take off the old light fixtures and find out that the new ones I bought fit perfectly into the short narrow spaces available. Unfortunately the base of the new lights is a couple of centimetres smaller than that of the old ones - and the original installation was done by cutting holes in the walls that were of a size just barely able to be covered by the old fixtures. So once again I am fixing holes in plaster because apparently this is my life now.

This is mostly annoying because I have to turn the power off to the room because I'm working around dangling wires. So I'm plastering & painting with one hand and holding my phone up for light with the other. Somewhere around here I know I have some flashlights that are small enough I can hold it in my mouth so I can use both hands - but you think I can find them?

Then I looked at the bathroom and decided it looked really patchy so I slapped another layer of paint on it. Looks much better. The only thing left to paint is the doors.

To Do List: Tomorrow I will follow up with the engineer (AGAIN), and hit the hardware store. (Maybe I'll see if they have one of those headlamp deals.)

I should also call an electrician to install the two exterior lights, one was missed completely and the second was set up with an interior box instead of an outdoor one. I might also call the guy who installed the storm door for the kitchen and see if he can get one on the basement door because I am tired of flies and mosquitos coming in every time I open the door. It's a weird size, but he might be able to special order something.

And then I have a cancer screen that's way overdue, and my doctor sent me the name of a therapist she recommends that I should follow up on, and I started cleaning out my closet this weekend so I can start going through the stacks of boxes out of the top floor and finding homes for things. (So far I found two big bags of Darrell's old clothing and a whole-ass guitar I didn't know about.)

the_siobhan

I went to Montreal for a long weekend of hanging out with friends I haven't seen for a few years. Man, I had no idea how much I needed that, just being out with my people and cracking jokes and being stupid. I came home feeling a million times better about my life.

The entire trip was a much higher risk level than I'm usually comfortable with and it didn't help that we're in an infection spike. (OR that Ontario doesn't have the latest boosters out yet.) But I loaded myself up on mouthwash and Profi and the weather was nice enough that we did most of our drinking on patios and eating in restaurants with big open windows. I feel fine and I'll wait a couple of weeks before I'm around my vulnerable father and I'll test in the meantime.

Yesterday was my first day back. I took Lord Brock to the groomers because he's been developing mats in his fur again and they had to shave most of his hindquarters. (Mental note: Start taking him in for a lion cut every spring going forward, because it will be easier on him than trying to get the mats out after the fact.) Then I picked up my new orthotics, emptied my suitcase, and did laundry.

Today I put away laundry, took Lord Brock to the vet for his follow-up bloodwork, got groceries and broke down a huge stack of cardboard boxes and moved them out of my house. Then I went to the big hardware store across town with a tape measure and I think I've found some lights that will fit in the basement. I also picked up some trim to put under the doors because the contractor just left the big flooring gaps between rooms uncovered.

Tomorrow I'm back to work. The daughter is coming over in the afternoon tomorrow and Friday, so we'll work on getting the light fixtures in and fixing the wonky electrical boxes. If we can get that finished I can do the last bit of cleaning in the basement on Saturday and Sunday.

Am I forgetting something? I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something.

I think taking the weekend off was a good idea. I feel like I've gotten a lot of my drive back.

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Friends, Romans, Countrymen

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That Didn't Go As Planned: Title of my biography

peeling off my boots and chaps

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April 2025

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