Closet Electrician & Plumber

Noodle hair!

Nothin' like morning coffee!

Almost a repeat of Monday, I heard Mindy's alarm blaring near 6am. I think it's tuned to Sunny 95. No thanks! But once again, I managed to rollover and fall back asleep. I didn't wake again until almost 715am. By then Mindy was already downstairs preparing to leave for school. I heard Bella up talking loud, I assumed talking to her mom from her
bedroom. I brushed my teeth then joined the family downstairs. Both Mindy & Bella were excited that it was Tuesday, their last day of school until next Monday.

As usual, Mindy left for school around 730am. Bella removed the braids Mindy put in her hair the night before to reap what she calls the 'noodle' effect (think wavy, curly hair). I did my typical Tuesday exercise routine then headed to the PC with a cup of coffee. And there I spent the next 30 minutes or so until bus stop time when we headed out the door along with the pug.

We met Kenny & Makayla at the bus stop. I asked Kenny if he was working. Yep, sort of. He was heading to his grandpa's house closing. Kenny reminded Kayla that he'd likely be picking her up at school around 1pm. Kayla, Lillian, Emily, Chrissy & Teri were leaving for the Justin Bieber concert in PA around 2pm. After the girls were on the bus, we joked briefly then headed our separate ways.

I walked Eiknarf until she took care of her business, which didn't take her too long at all. We headed back home where I enjoyed a second cup of coffee before heading off on my run. Left the house around 845am and ran only three miles. Again, a bit of a break for my tired, old bones. I felt good through the run's entirety. Back at the house I drug our emptied trash can back to its resting place at the side of the house then headed inside.

I spent perhaps another half hour online and writing in my blog before heading to the basement to work on the two small projects I originally intended to do on Monday. The first involved fixing an exterior lighting circuit that I installed 7 or 8 years ago. I used 14/2 direct bury exterior electric line, which is difficult to work with. And when I prepared the end for the interior junction box I accidentally skinned the protective sheath back too far, beyond the outside the entrance to the junction box. I didn't think I exposed the bare wire, but given that I'm about to drywall the ceiling, I felt it wise to re-do it if for no other reason than piece of mind. I bought the materials thinking I'd have to splice in a new piece by adding a second junction box., but as it turned out, I was able to free enough slack to avoid having to do that. On closer inspection, I had only skinned the sheath and not the white (neutral) or black (hot) insulation. Finished that task in all of about 20 minutes. It didn't take long at all.

Task number 2 involved moving/raising the 1-1/2" PVC drain run for the kitchen sink. In its current configuration, it was mounted below the floor joists against the block and somewhat interfering with a basement window. Not sure what M/I was thinking when they ran it. My plan was to cut a notch in the floor joist, then raise the run a couple inches into the notch so I could eventually drywall over it. To do so required cutting off the existing run where it ran up into the kitchen then also where it descended into the floor. While getting access (room) to make the flush cuts was a trick, I managed to do the move with relative ease. I used my reciprocating for the first time since cutting into the family room wall a few years back saw to notch out the joist. And while the new run isn't perfect, it looks good enough and more importantly is more functional that before and remains leak-free.

Sandwiched between the two basement projects, a UPS driver knocked on the door leaving my new 32" LED TV. Frankly, I was more than a little surprised that they would leave a TV on the porch like that without speaking to someone. After all, the box wasn't disguised in any way whatsoever. Of course the front door was opened so I guess she assume someone was home. I made it to the front door just as she was getting back in her truck. She acknowledged my presence then shared that she likely had another box for us too, but would stop back later once it was exposed in her full truck. And going from the two emails I received the day before, it was our two new kitchen table chairs. Sure enough, she brought those by mid-afternoon. Did the same two knocks on the door then quickly scooted away. Same as earlier, I rushed to the door and let her know that I had the large package.

I cleaned up the mess I'd made in the basement then made myself a meatloaf sandwich. I was starving, having eaten only a couple pieces of fruit all day. Not too much later, Jacob was home from school. He was more than excited to be on break. Dropped his stuff then headed out with his friends. Sometime between then and when Mindy got home, I showered. But instead of getting into jeans, I put on flannel pajama bottom and a t-shirt. I was all about comfort. Mindy called around 4pm to let me know that she was stopping at Kroger again, this time for TG fixins. Bella was home shortly thereafter. I quickly pointed out the two new kitchen table chairs since she was the biggest benefactor. Bella was even more excited about her the black light bulb I picked up the day before at Home Depot. She couldn't wait to install it in her room. Until Mindy got home, she hung in the family room sitting in the new 'extra' kitchen table chair watching TV. Too cute!

Jacob spent the entire evening down at the neighbors. I guessed that meant Evan's basketball goal got installed that day. We opted to have leftovers for dinner, meatloaf, wings, & risotto balls. Mindy reheated the wings and balls on the pizza stone and the rest in the microwave. We headed up to Bella's room to check out the new black light. Bella was excited to show her momma. While passing by our room she spotted our new LED TV. She let out a squeal. Her eyes told me that she thought the TV was for her. Instantly, I felt bad knowing she'd be let down. I carefully explained that it wasn't for her. Though she's been asking for a bigger TV, I didn't tell her that Mindy told me that she didn't want Bella to have a new one. Oh boy!

Soon dinner was ready. Mindy asked me to holler/whistle for Jacob. I whistled loud but he never showed. I whistled again. Still no Jacob. Finally, Bella went after him. He came running in a hurry. We ate dinner together. The plan was for me to deliver Bella to gymnastics and then Mindy would do the pick-up and then deliver her to her mom's where Bella planned to spend the night.

Bella and I left for gymnastics near 535pm. She was worried that we were gonna be late. Hardly, we got there with more than 10 minutes to spare. A major portion of the 270 south construction between I-70 & Georgesville Rd. is finally opened. That helped immensely. It's been in the works for more than a year. Expected to be another 18 months before its 100% completed. The return home was just as quick. Was back by 605pm. Mindy walked Eiknarf as soon as I got home. Said she was going to walk down and look at the O'Connell's new basketball hoop. She was gone for about 10 minutes. Later she shared that Jacob, Evan, Mike & Kenny all headed to BW-3s.

I spent the next 30-60 minutes writing in my blog. Before Mindy left to fetch Bella I poured a Jack & Coke. Near bottom of the half gallon I bought nearly six months ago. Maybe enough for three or four drinks, tops. After writing for a while I searched Google for ski goggles on Jacob's behalf. I found REI's site, which had hundreds of options as well as pretty decent prices. After looking online with Jacob a couple night's prior, I knew well what his preferences were. I highlighted a couple pair to show him later.

Mindy was gone until almost 815pm. Jacob still wasn't home. By then I was surfing through the Movies on Demand and stumbled on The Campaign, Will Ferrell's latest movie. As soon as Mindy walked in I asked if she wanted to watch it with me. She did. I didn't start the movie until she was downstairs in her PJs. Started the movie around 835pm. From the very beginning the dialogue was a bit trashier than I expected, though the rating was 'R'. But it was very funny. We laughed hard through several scenes. It reminded me much of Talladega Nights - the Legend of Ricky Bobby. Jacob got home around 915-930pm and watched the last 30-40 minutes with us. He found it humorous too. Like most Will Ferrell movies, it's stupid funny, and sometimes that's exactly what Mindy & I want to see.

Mindy headed for bed soon after the movie's end. I stayed up a while longer watching a program on the History Channel called Mankind - the history of us all. The episode picked up near the end of Constantine's life (mid 4th century) through the fall of the Roman empire, and then through the rise of the Viking empire. Prior, that period was a blank spot for me. I learned quite a bit. I must've fallen asleep around 1020pm. I woke on the sofa around 11pm and headed for bed. I looked around for Eiknarf but she was nowhere to be found. With Bella gone I assumed her with Jacob, but when I went upstairs there she was sitting just outside Bella's bedroom door waiting. How cute!

Not wanting to be bothered in the middle of the night, I first tried to lure her into Jacob's room where he was already sound asleep. But she would have none of it. Instead, she rushed into Bella's room then placed her paws on the side of the bed as if asking me to give her a boost up. That was cute too, but again, not wanting to be bothered through the night I picked her up and carried her to our room and bed. Good night moon!