A Two-Legged Roof Rat, A Ladder Too Far

 [Note -- this is another in my series of blogs based on weekly emails I send to my family on the mainland.]   

11/7/20

Aloha All –

This has been an “interesting” week. Well, “interesting” if you think watching dangerous social manipulation at its most extreme is interesting.  I’m trying hard to filter out the election mayhem and wait.  My life is too short and potentially enjoyable to allow it to be hijacked by this stuff.  I like the way columnist Michael Gerson put it recently: “In a divided nation, Americans need to defend a space in their lives where cable news does not reach, where social media does not incite, and where the basic, natural tendency is to treat other people like human beings. This offers not just the prospect of greater tolerance, but the hope of healing.”
                           
Ok, now let’s talk about ME. I spent quite a bit of time this week on my roof.  Far more than I planned, dealing with one of those one-thing-leads to another house projects.  This started out as a simple matter of removing the vent screens in the high gable of our bedroom so that I could wash them. Turns out these (2 of them) were custom made to fit the triangular openings in the gable.  The screws holding them on were on the outside, so I had to reach them via the roof.  Thankfully the screws were not too rusted and I was able to get them loose.  This was progressing nicely (well, after several trips up and down to get more tools) when I discovered extensive termite damage in one of the screen frames. This will require completely remaking the wooden frame, then re-painting and re-screening it before putting it back. I  have assigned the skilled carpentry part to my trusty handyman and I’ll do the painting, screening, and remounting.  Estimated time for this 20-minute job is now about a week and considerably more expensive than a bit of water. Oh, and working under the cramped gable led to a dramatic demonstration the next day that the most wonderful workout machines in the world don’t necessarily use the muscles employed in house projects.
                           
All this started when I decided to wash the ceiling fan blades in our bedroom and I happened to get a closer look at how filthy the nearby screens were.  I also got a close look at the rust on the fan and decided to get it down and repaint it, like I recently did to the other two a few weeks ago. However, this one hangs above the middle of our bed, suspended from a beam that turns out to be the highest in the entire house.  My ladder just wouldn’t reach – at least not without the possibility of a trip to the hospital in the attempt –  and so I got my handy man to bring over his extension ladder and get it down for me.  I’ll now sand it down and refurbish it like the other two, then I’ll have him put it back up.  I love this guy – he’s been working with us since we moved here and he is very, very, good at all kinds of things.  Unfortunately, he’s now making noises about his own retirement in the not-too-distant future.  

Planet Fitness yesterday was again not crowded. No post-exercise lunch outing this time, though. We had to get home so Karen could get ready for a book club meeting.

Ok, off for our usual routine.  Hang in there everyone.