2010 — 26 June: Saturday
The bathroom is cleared and ready for the attentions of the vinyl fitter. I've even moved the car to make more room on the drive. It's 08:49 and already pretty warm.
Are funny people funny in "real" life? Discuss. Larry David seems to be.
Meanwhile, another hero of mine has crashed off Life's highway. (Obituary.)
Non-audio vinyl
The plumber's hardboard "coating" over the floorboards in the bathroom has been deemed satisfactory for the vinyl to be laid on top of, which is pleasing. I await the sounds of genteel banging (after the coffee has been drunk). Mr Vinyl has some nifty knee protectors. It's 10:09 and shows signs of turning into a bit of a scorcher. I've just turned away an opportunistic ("I'm in the area") tree-pruner — my bank balance needs a chance to recover before I go looking for any further places to fling my widower's mite :-)
In fact, I eagerly await my next pension payment!
To make the wait more tolerable, here's a recently-unearthed photo from the 1990s...
It's one generation of garage door paint ago, as the colour is now a dark green. Ironically, the blue here would have been a much better match for the Yaris. I've mentioned elsewhere the fact that it was Christa who taught1 me to smile. Quite why she was so happy to stick with such a miserable-looking curmudgeon is just one of Life's sweet mysteries :-) I long ago stopped worrying about it.
Coffee #2 has just been proffered and accepted. There's been no perceptible banging and I suspect the job is nearly complete. It's 10:55 and counting. Good morning, Mr Postie — thanks! (All will be revealed if I ever find my scanner again in the mess.) The silicone sealant is just being applied around the edges of what looks like a very neat job. Excellent.
Apart from the smell...
... of the silicone sealant as it cures, I now declare the bathroom fully refurbished. When the carpet is laid in the hallway, landing, stairs, and "library" I shall finally be able to start further refurbishment and tidying up. My study and Peter's room are going to be last on the list. What larks, Pip, ol' chum. It's 12:06 and my well-overdue cuppa is close at hand. Next task is to clear some sleeping space for the Young Master before he gets here sometime this evening. No rest for the wicked.
Lunch having been both bought and, now, assembled and eaten, I can turn my attention to other things. Such as where, exactly, do I now want network cables as the carpet renewal will give me a chance to rethink these things. Meanwhile, I won't say doing the dishes is fun, but having almost instant hot water on demand and knowing that you're not drawing it down from a wasteful tank upstairs is still giving me a child-like thrill.2 Christa would most definitely have approved. It's exactly 14:00 and hot outside.
And, at 16:25, feeling even hotter. The little wireless thermostat now fitted in the hall suggests it's 24C. Crikey.
Something else to worry about! And it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow, too. And here's a near-miss piece of nominative determinism. A psychologist called Charles Brainerd. So should we forget total recall?
Later
It's still 24C and Peter should be here within about an hour from now. It's 21:25 and I've been listening to one of the Jackson Heights albums from 1972. Takes me back, I have to admit. Odd stuff, music.