It is fitting that we honor the dead during the month of October, as our old Frigidaire dishwasher gave up the ghost and has been hauled away to the appliance cemetery. In its place is a new Whirlpool model that among other things features a handy top rack for washing utensils. Roni checks it out on delivery day. Photo by Glenn.
October 31, 2021: We recently discovered that we possess amazing powers over nature. Specifically, we have the ability to control the weather. We learned that we can take a sunny day and instantly conjure up an epic rainstorm — a skill that no doubt would be beneficial to our thirsty state of California, now immersed in one of the worst droughts in its history. And just how did we come by this incredible talent? Quite simple: we ordered new windows and doors.
If at first you don't succeed... try a different model. Our desk solution in the den wasn't quite up to snuff for Roni, so we bought an adjustable frame that raises and lowers at the touch of a button. As you can see, it adjusts pretty low to the gound if you want it that way. Photo by Glenn.
Phyre has discovered yet another secret hideaway. This is one of the cabinets that supported the desktop before we ditched them for the adjustable frame. Photo by Glenn.
Roni shows off the inside of our new Whirlpool dishwasher minutes after its delivery and installation from Best Buy. It is so quiet that we almost can't hear it when it is on. Photo by Glenn.
Time for the first load of dishes. Three hours later they emerged sparkly clean. Photo by Glenn.
Phyre is bound and determined to find a way out of the house and into the backyard, even if it means wedging his giant cat-sized body between the glass and screen of our patio door. This won't be a problem soon, because in a couple of days we will be getting new doors and windows installed to replace the original ones that came with the house 34 years ago. Photo by Glenn.
We haven't had a drop of rain in months, and now the day before our windows are scheduled to arrive, everything is soaked. Photo by Glenn.
Monday morning, Oct. 25. Does this look like our windows and doors are getting installed today? We are in the midst of what weather forecasters are calling an atmospheric river — the wettest possible condition that we'd hoped to avoid. But our fingers are crossed that this will clear up soon. The old patio screen door that we took off in preparation for the workers can be seen leaning against the pergola. Photo by Glenn.
Well, somehow the sun emerged and the contractors have shown up to start changing out our windows and doors. First up, the living room window. They have already pried out the old glass, leaving behind the frame and sill. Photo by Glenn.
One of the installers fits the new Milgard double-hung into the empty window frame. Photo by Glenn.
All finished, except for some caulking and trim work. This is a radical departure from the old slider it replaces. The double-hung design allows us to open it from the top or bottom to let in air — something we couldn't do with the old window because the cats tore apart the screen. Photo by Glenn.
On to the the living room door. Our contractor David sizes up the job before removing the old glass.These guys were fast and efficient. Photo by Glenn.
Seeing it this way, without the door, almost makes us wish we could enjoy the open concept all the time. Well, almost. It makes the room and yard look bigger, but we'd soon grow tired of the draft in the winter. Photo by Glenn.
This is the finished door in the master bedroom. It looks so much nicer and cleaner than the old one, and it is really exciting to be able to open it easily to go outside; the old door was mostly immobilized by sand that had built up in the wheel track. Phoenix isn't sure what to make of it yet. Photo by Glenn.
Our old windows are stacked up in the front yard, ready for their journey to the scrapper. A few snowflake stickers cling to Ben's old window. Photo by Glenn.
Our Home Depot rep Mohamed came by at the end of the installation job and brought pizza for us and the workers. We like to joke that we bought a $13,000 pizza that came with free doors and windows. Photo by Glenn.
Sam's Club actually makes a darned good pizza. Or maybe we were just really hungry after six hours. There was a lot of leftovers. Photo by Glenn.
The cats have a new observation deck. We know that their little brains are already working overtime to figure out how they can defeat the new screens. But for now, they're content with the view. Photo by Glenn.
One of the perks of working for a grocery store is that occasionally they give away useful appliances. Ben jumped at the chance to take home this refrigerated energy drink display case to replace the tiny refrigerator in his bedroom. Unfortunately, the drinks weren't part of the deal, so those had to be transferred to a shopping cart. Photo by Glenn.
It's a good thing Dad was able to bring the truck. Ben and his coworker Nick lift the unit into the pickup bed. Photo by Glenn.
Did we mention that the energy drink display case is quite a bit bigger than Ben's old fridge? Hope no one needs to get through the hallway while this thing is being moved to his bedroom. Photo by Glenn.
The den has become a popular place again since we converted it into Roni's office. Ben is enjoying the reupholstered sofa while doing his artwork with his iPad on his portable desk. Photo by Glenn.
It was July 3, a Saturday, when we signed on the dotted line with Home Depot to replace a pair of patio doors and four windows in our home. We’d just been through weeks of research and shopping around before settling on the Milgard Tuscany series and installation services provided by the big box home improvement store. Our sales consultant, Mohamed, had told us that day after arranging our financing that we’d be looking at around 8-10 weeks for delivery, which put us just after Labor Day. Too late for summer breezes, but perhaps before the milder autumn days turned to winter chill.
We paid about half down and left the rest to ride on HD’s 24-month free financing offer, opting to conserve our cash reserves for other projects such as replacing our roof. Mohamed affixed a few identifying stickers to the windows we’d be replacing, set us up with an appointment with the window installers to get final measurements, then left us to dream about the day soon to come when our aging aluminum-framed clunkers would be replaced with crisp, modern vinyl windows and doors.
But “soon” is a relative term in the face of supply chain disruptions during the COVID pandemic. What we used to take for granted on the shelves of grocery stores and in Amazon mail order listings has been delayed by days and sometimes months. So too it was with our windows and doors. The eight weeks ultimately became about 15 weeks, and even though we had already made a couple of monthly payments there still were no new doors or windows in our home.
This frustrated Roni most of all. She feared she would have the entire order paid off before we’d ever hear from Home Depot again. But it wasn’t quite that bad, and finally we got the call that our install date had been set for Oct. 25.
* * * * *
W
E HAD ALMOST four weeks to prepare. Most of the details were already taken care of, but we still needed to do a bit of prep work outside to be ready for the installers. The main thing was cutting back the mock orange shrub that had overgrown the kitchen window. As much as we hated to lose the plant where birds often visited and that served as a natural screen between our window and the neighbor’s front porch, Glenn gave it a serious pruning. It took less than 20 years to get that way, so maybe in another 10 or so it will regrow itself.
We picked a sunny Sunday morning to do the yard work, raking weeds and clearing a walking path through the side yard, pulling furniture off the patio from in front of the doors, rolling aside the remaining section of our removed pine tree in the front yard for better access to the office window. “You know what’s going to happen,” Glenn said. “We’re going to have everything ready and it’s going to rain that day and they won’t be able to do the installation.” “Don’t jinx us,” Roni said.
But it was too late. Somewhere in the weather department, Mother Nature took notice and cooked up a rainstorm. Not just any old storm, but a mind-blowing doozy of a super soaker. An “atmospheric river,” the forecasters were calling it. The kind of weather pattern that bends the jet stream down from the Pacific Northwest and hits us with a fire hose of precipitation. Some went further, labeling it a “bomb cyclone.” By any other name, the storm was scheduled to strike the Bay Area starting Oct. 22, with the worst of it coming on Oct. 25 — the day of our window install.
So when the sprinkles began to fall, then turned to a steady drizzle that became a raging torrent with gusting wind accompaniment, we crossed our fingers and hoped against hope that it would all blow through by Monday morning. Somewhere the rain gods must have been listening, because after an initial flurry of rainfall that morning, the skies brightened and at just a few minutes past 9 a.m. the window installers were knocking at our front door.
* * * * *
H
AVING NEVER DONE a home improvement project as major as this one, we had little idea what to expect. We knew from talking with Mohamed that only the frames of our existing doors and windows would be used as a base to install the new ones, which was why he didn’t bat an eye when we expressed to him our concern that replacing the window over our freshly remodeled kitchen sink might damage our subway tiles. Originally we had ruled out a new window there, but he assured us it would be no problem, just as he’d told us the mock orange wouldn’t be in the way for the guys when they had to access the window from outside.
Now as we talked with David, the Russian-speaking leader of the three-man multilingual crew from Biba’s A2Z Home Improvement that did the installation, one member of his team was busily rolling out plastic and tarps across our living room carpet while the other was already at our living room window with a pry bar removing the old glass panels.
These guys were lightning quick, and as curious as we were about how they did what they did to transform the look of our house, we were careful not to get in the way. We locked the cats in our bedroom, then Roni went off to work in her office while Glenn parked himself on his tiny island at the dining room computer desk in a vain attempt to get some work done for his part-time job.
Meanwhile, the flurry of activity taking place around us was nothing short of amazing. The living room window was swapped out in about 15 minutes. They quickly removed the old glass, then brought the new window in pane by pane, first screwing in the new Tuscany frame and then squirting some expandable foam around the gaps, letting it cure while fitting the panes in place. Outside, they applied silicone caulk between the window frame and the stucco to prevent leaks. Once the foam had cured inside, they trimmed off the excess before applying strips of vinyl around the edges of the window to hide the gaps.
This was the same process they used for the doors, first in the living room and finally in the bedroom after we’d had a chance to corral the cats and relocate them to Ben’s room for the duration of the project. It was an odd feeling seeing the dining room without a door for the first time in all the years we’ve lived here. The old glass was covered in a gray-tinted thermal film and bore scratches from years of pets pawing at the windows. Now, for a few minutes anyway, we had an unobstructed view of the yard in all its weedy, post-storm grandeur. But it was a little chilly this day, so we were happy when David and one of his partners came in from the side yard with the heavy vinyl door between them.
“You ordered the security glass,” he said with a huff as he eased the door to the ground. “This is heavy, probably 140 pounds. Triple-paned. I installed these once for a customer near the San Francisco International Airport,” David said before we told him that we’d wanted the thicker doors to help with deadening sound from the nearby street and railroad. (We didn’t mention late-night karaoke concerts, but that certainly was a consideration.)
* * * * *
I
T WAS AROUND 3 o’clock when we got a knock at the front door and in walked our Home Depot consultant, Mohamed, carrying cans of soda and a pile of pizza boxes he’d brought for the crew. “Do you eat pizza?” he asked us. “We do,” Glenn said. And soon we were munching on cheese and pepperoni slices from Sam’s Club with the rest of the guys as they put the finishing touches on our job. Six hours from start to finish and we’d replaced every bit of glass in our home, with the exception of the front door sidelights, a decorative pane in the attic and one tiny ventilation window over the shower in our master bathroom.
Before they left, the guys gave us a demonstration of how to work the latches on our new slider doors and the operation of the double-hung window in the living room — the most radical departure from what we’d had before. With the double-hung, the window can be opened from bottom or top to allow for ventilation. We wanted that specifically for the cats, who are forever trying to claw through the screen to get outside. The front panel also slides out for easy cleaning.
Although we purchased our dining room door with a keyed lock because it seems to be the way we prefer to come and go whenever we make short walks over to the Raley’s market across the train tracks, we still need to make an extra key so that we can all have one. And we are still awaiting the screen doors that are part of the patio sliders but which didn’t show up because, as Mohamed explained, they have been delayed like so many other products caught up in supply chain mayhem.
Mohamed told us that had we ordered our doors today instead of when we did back in July, the expected wait time for delivery has ballooned to 18 weeks. Hopefully that won’t be the same for our missing screens, which he said will be shipped straight to our home for the installers to add on after they’ve arrived. We’re hopeful.
In the meantime, we are so far enjoying our new windows and doors. There has been no rain since the day they arrived, so we have yet to check them for leaks. We aren’t convinced they do anything special to deaden outside noise, unfortunately, although the ambient thrum of cars on the street seems a bit less. Trains, on the other hand, can still be heard loud and clear, but we weren’t expecting miracles. The glass is clean and clear, which makes everything in the room seem brighter. We almost hated to put the curtains back up, enjoying the fresh look the windows give our home.
And in Ben’s bedroom and the office den, where we decided to go without the old-school grids that had been part of the previous windows, the rooms feel more modern and open. Roni has ordered new curtains for the den as she continues to make it less of a temporary workplace for the pandemic and more of a regular spot to write and hold virtual meetings. (More on that in a moment.)
So was it worth the roughly $13,000 we spent to have the work done? Time will tell, although we do know if Glenn had done the job himself we might still be writing about this project next spring, so six hours for the use of three big, strong men and free pizza to boot seems a fair deal.
* * * * *
N
OW, ABOUT THAT den…
So a few months back, we did a major overhaul of what had been the Writing Sanctuary. The changes included replacing the carpet with vinyl plank flooring, reupholstering the sofa, tossing away some of the e-waste from the closet and reinventing the desk area.
Where once had been a 4-foot-wide computer desk and hutch, we purchased a couple of unfinished kitchen cabinets and a 6-foot formica countertop from the home improvement stores to serve as a much longer desktop workspace that would afford Roni lots of room to spread out. The main problem with that arrangement was that the cabinets raised the countertop to the height of a typical kitchen counter — impractical for a computer desk, which should be about 28 inches above the floor.
The solution was either to trim off the base of the cabinets, which is what we did to Glenn’s computer space in the dining room, or get a taller chair. We chose the latter approach and ordered a drafting stool online. For a few weeks this worked fine. But Roni eventually decided she didn’t like sitting so high off the floor and that the stool simply wasn’t comfortable enough to use for several hours a day. We needed a better solution.
Which brought us back to the desk itself. Short of taking a saw to the cabinets, we needed another way to lower the desktop. So we eventually came across adjustable desks that can be raised or lowered with a crank or, better yet, the touch of a button. These unfortunately tend to be expensive, plus it would mean wasted money we’d already spent on the cabinets and countertop. Then Roni discovered that you can purchase the steel frame and electronics separately from the work surface. That seemed like a great solution that would allow us to salvage the countertop we already owned — just screw it to the frame and you’re all set.
* * * * *
S
O WE ORDERED the frame with an electronic lift mechanism from Amazon. Glenn put it together in an evening and we were very pleased with the results. The frame expanded easily to accommodate our 6-foot counter surface, and it proved sturdy enough to support everything yet light enough to move if necessary, although we didn’t get the model with optional wheels. Our counter arrived from Lowe’s slightly warped, which wasn’t an issue at all once we’d screwed it down to the adjustable frame.
The electronic button system enables a broad range of heights to work at. We could stand at it if necessary, or try to limbo beneath it at the lowest setting just above floor level. But despite this, the drafting chair wasn’t making the cut anymore and had to go. So it was over to Office Depot in Antioch where Roni picked out a deluxe padded leather executive chair — the kind we probably would have purchased originally had the desk been at the proper level. We got it assembled, she tested it out, and we thought everything was finally perfect…
And then it happened. The next morning, Roni went back to the office to work, tried to sit down, and the chair promptly skittered away from her on the slippery vinyl floor. Instead of the plush leather seat, her butt made hard contact with the ground that left her bruised and too sore to sit for days. Not only in the office, but anywhere.
The doctor assured her over the phone that she likely hadn’t broken anything. While she pumped herself full of ibuprofen and tried to stay on her back for the next few days, Roni ordered a special foam cushion designed to put less pressure on one’s tailbone. And although she was much less sore by month’s end, she has yet to truly enjoy her new desk chair. Hopefully she’ll be fully mended before Thanksgiving.
Since that incident, she has purchased an area rug for under the desk to lessen the likelihood of having the chair fly out from under her.
* * * * *
O
CTOBER JUST SEEMS to be the month of new purchases. One we hadn’t planned on until it happened was a new dishwasher, thanks to the pump on our old Frigidaire finally giving up the ghost and Glenn’s unsuccessful try at repairing it. So the second weekend in October we went out appliance shopping.
After coming to grips with the reality that the $400 washer we wanted was more in the neighborhood of $700, we narrowed down our choices and list of must-have features and checked out the offerings at Best Buy. It had been a long time since our previous new appliance, and it occurred to us that there are few stores in our community anymore where you can buy them. Best Buy had a pretty good selection of models, and so it was that we picked out a Whirlpool unit with adjustable racks and a plastic upper tray ideal for holding ladles and large cooking utensils.
But there was another feature of the Whirlpool unit we especially liked: it was in stock, or soon would be. Such could not be said for several other units that were likely sitting on ships or, worse yet, on factory assembly lines somewhere, victims of pandemic-related supply chain problems. We bought the model we liked and got an install date of Wednesday, Oct. 13.
While Glenn had considered doing the installation himself, it wasn’t a task he looked forward to after his first bout of wrestling with the old dishwasher to get it out from its tight spot under the kitchen counter during the repair effort. It was because of that, and concerns about not tearing up the vinyl plank floor, that gave him the idea he didn’t want strangers messing around in the kitchen. Additionally, he had discovered that the hot water shutoff valve under the sink leaked, which would be problematic for an installation crew. But in the end, the offer of free delivery and installation persuaded him otherwise and we agreed to let the pros handle it.
Nonetheless, we wanted to make the delivery as painless as possible, so the weekend beforehand Glenn did the honors of disconnecting the old washer for the second time, careful to not scrape the floor, and temporarily capped off the leaky valve with a brass fitting. Then with Ben’s help, he carted it outside to the front porch, ready for disposal. Then Glenn used some premixed concrete to patch up the damaged foundation inside the empty cabinet, where time and water damage had eroded the surface.
When the guys came with the new washer and we informed them to be careful of the valve under the sink, they told us it was a good thing we hadn’t mentioned it beforehand or they wouldn’t have been able to install the new unit, as per company policy. But then they conceded that they quietly try to work with customers on such issues, and so they did with us. Aside from some cringeworthy seconds of metal screeching against the floor and a bit of hammering to get things to fit properly, the installation went rather quickly.
When they tested the hookup to make sure everything worked properly, it was so quiet that we didn’t even realize it was on. This was music to Roni’s ears, as she’d gravitated to this model precisely because it was rated around 47 decibels; she’d always hated the old machine because it was loud enough to drown out the TV and other sounds in the living room. But in case this wasn’t quiet enough, the new unit features a delay timer so it will run at night when everyone is asleep.
After two weeks with our new dishwasher, we are happy to report that it is meeting our expectations. It takes a bit longer to run a load than our old unit, but it is so quiet and the dishes appear to be coming out cleaner than before. Meanwhile we’ve told the refrigerator not to get any ideas about being the next thing to go.
* * * * *
R
ONI HAS BEEN busily learning her newfound hobby of resin crafting, adding to her collection of silicone molds and experimenting with layering of colors, objects and special effects. She has found that there are techniques to help eliminate bubbles — one of the main challenges of pouring two-part resins — and has her sights set on a different brand after seeing the differences demonstrated in a video. A heat gun she bought helps with the debubbling task.
She has made a few coasters, suncatchers and geometric objects with such things as flowers and shells embedded inside. A particular favorite of all of us is a pyramid mold that she has used to create mystical displays using glass marbles and beads that resemble a solar system. We can’t wait to see what she creates next.
Ben has begun considering the possibility of getting his own apartment as we all talk about changes in our neighborhood and our lives that could one day find us wanting to relocate. It’s not that we are in a rush to do so or that we are encouraging him to leave home, but he is fast approaching 30 and we our 60s. Change happens, and he’s starting to recognize that there might be benefits for him when the time is right.
He has talked with one of his coworkers about the possibility of sharing a place together, and as neither of them has ever lived away from home there are many uncertainties, not the least of which is affordability of rent. We aren’t in the heart of the Bay Area, but prices here are creeping above $1,600 a month now. That’s more than what our mortgage was when we were still paying one, and not a small obstacle to young people trying to get established on their own.
So for now, we’ve encouraged Ben to do his research and “practice” by setting aside would-be rent money from his paycheck to see how he manages it. We’re proud that he’s at least considering the possibilities and recognize it as another step on his journey to full adulthood.
October turned out to be our snooziest month of the year so far for our investments, with options premiums coming in below $3,000 while our accounts closed out the month at record highs. Corporate earnings haven’t been kind to some of the largest companies that make up the Dow index, and although they’ve been mostly beating earnings expectations the stocks have sold off afterward. We’ve been taking advantage of some of those dips to sell short-term puts for a few dollars here or there. But it is hard to do too often with stocks that trade in the mid-three figures because we don’t want to have to buy 100 shares of them if they are assigned to us.
Our lone purchases were 300 assigned shares of Invesco Mortgage Capital (IVR) in the taxable account to add to our dividend stocks, and 50 more shares of ChargePoint (CHPT) in Glenn’s IRA; the electric vehicle charging company has turned around sharply in recent days and is up more than 40 percent since bottoming out on Oct. 6. This has been the case for several EV and renewable energy stocks, largely because of ongoing negotiations in Congress over the president’s proposed infrastructure bill.
Halloween, one of our favorite days of the year, is looming and there are rituals to perform — not satanic ones, but those of decorating the porch and carving jack-o-lanterns for the trick-or-treaters, and baking spooky treats. So we’ll call this newsletter done and look forward to sharing with you again in late November.
