Gradual Metamorphosis

The early days of April

The month of April began on a Wednesday, and the weather was gorgeous – sunny and in the mid-60s. No sight of winter anywhere in site. The 10 day forecast calling for highs in the 60s with rain on at least 50% of those days, which is expected this time of year.  I hope to wrap up the construction phase of the basement project by the end of the month, furnishing and decorating, of course,  will go on for a while after. As spring evolves and the weather warms, I really needed to turn my attention to outdoor projects.

Ran 4 miles. We spent our first date-night of the month at Milestone 229 along the river. Patio not opened. Enjoyed dinner and a beer. Before heading home, we stopped at Land-Grant Brewing for a 2^nd beer, a Stiff Arm IPA. Recognized a face from Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Justin.  He bartends at both venues.

Later that night, I finished reading Thomas Paine’s, Common Sense. Enjoyable read. He wrote with an obvious bent against the monarchism. To bed around 1030pm.

Thursday was again in the 60s but with the season’s first thunderstorm. Got my 4 mile run in ahead of any rain or storm. Mindy was off work for a modified spring break for the next 5 days including the weekend. I worked from the Hilliard office. It was storming as I headed in to the office.

Got an email from Home Depot informing me that my pick-up in store order was in (kitchen sink, vanity top, and side splash). Planned to pick it up on the way home after work.  Rained on and off most of the day, and very hard at times. Wasn’t 100% sure that I could get everything in the Accord but did. Mindy actually offered to meet me there with the Pilot but I declined.

Mindy’s mom was at the house. They spend most of the day together. We ate leftovers for dinner: tacos, pizza and salmon patties. I had two tacos. Mindy ran her mom home around 630pm. While she was away, I carried in the Home Depot stuff. The vanity top was the toughest carry.

I opened the vanity top and put it in place to get a feel for what it looked like. Nice! The kitchen was next. I cut my finger on the sharp edge of the drain hole and quickly determined that it was a little too big to allow me to do the cut-out with my jigsaw. Figured to return and order one slightly smaller. Opened the side splash next. What? Really?  Not the right color. The vanity top is black granite. Despite ordering a matching black, the side splash they sent was gray and white – Napoli. Dang it!

We agreed to watch the boys on Friday (Good Friday) and we both agreed that having them come over Thursday night would be better than early AM. Think it was near 730pm when Lindsey dropped them off. Both boys ended up sleeping on the sofa in the family room. Prior to that, Landon had a mini meltdown after Mindy refused to let him call his mom for a 2^nd time. Heck, he’d only been there for 30-40 minutes and was already asking to go home. J He calmed down and fell asleep within the next 30 minutes.

Later that night before I headed for bed,  I downloaded a book sample – Greek Mythology. Read just a few pages before falling asleep.

Since I was the only one having to work or school, I was the only one up for an hour or so. It was rainy and 60 but the forecast promised the rain would slowly move out well before noon.  Didn’t head out for a run until 930-10am, or shortly after Mindy was up. Ran just three miles. By then still cloudy but no rain. Nice run.

The evening before I exchanged emails with Home Depot regarding the incorrect shipment. Said I’d have to return it to the store and reorder. Ugh!  Asked Landon if he wanted to go with me to return the Home Depot stuff. He in turn asked if I would take him to McDs.  I agreed. Mindy took Bella to her root canal appointment while we were away. The return and reorder went about as smoothly as could be expected. Noticed neighbor Kenny’s mom is now working at the Hilliard Home Depot. Been at the Marysville branch for years.

As promised, we made a stop at the brand new McD’s on the way home. Landon specifically requested a plain cheese burger and 4-piece chicken nuggets. He was upset that they put ketchup and mustard on his cheeseburger. Refused to eat it and gave it to me.  Mindy and Bella were gone when we got home. Didn’t expect them back for a couple of hours. Mindy sent a text around 1pm letting me know that the procedure was a success. They were wedding dress shopping at Macy’s afterwards.

I worked from home the rest of the day. After Mindy got home around 230pm, she and the kids colored eggs and baked Easter cookies. We invited Olivia to join us too, but she and Ashley were spending the day together.

Mindy invited my dad to stop by to pick-up his Easter present – a Snickers bunny. Must’ve been around 430-5pm when he arrived. Lindsey picked up boys around 530pm. Dad headed for home around 6pm. We agreed to take Bella to the Chiller later that evening with friends. Mindy, Jacob and I would do dinner at the Rusty Bucket. Left the house near 7pm.

Dropped Bella & Makayla near 730pm. Minutes later we were at the Dublin Rusty Bucket. YaYa was our server. Joe stopped by our table to chat for a bit.  I ordered a White Rajah, Mindy a glass of wine. We shared an order of mussels and fried pickles before dinner. The mussels were very small meat-wise Not much bigger than a dime)  but also very delicious. Ordered chicken parmesan. Mindy order pasta, Jacob the buffalo chicken sandwich.  Dinner was delicious.

Picked up Bella near 930pm. We had to text Makayla since Bella’s already exceeded her monthly data allotment. At home I poured a pint of CBC IPA from the growler we brought home the Friday prior. Mindy pretty much headed straight to bed. I joined her about 30 minutes later.

Saturday & Sunday, April 4 & 5 - Royal Flush

Sunny but a cool start to the day, even a little frost on the cars.  I was up and downstairs enjoying coffee by 8am. Mindy was up even before 830am. That came as a surprise. She’s rarely up before 9am if not 10am on the weekend. Said she slept better than she has in a really long time. Started laundry right away and then ran Jacob to soccer practice in Dublin.  She was back pretty quickly. It was 930am before I finally headed out on a run which was after walking the pug.

By run time it was a little warmer but still not quite 40 degrees.  Mindy was busy whipping up chocolate pie filling upon my return from a run. The recipe calls for egg yolks but not whites. She used the whites along with a couple additional eggs to make a pan full of scrambled eggs, which the pug and I enjoyed.

Mindy asked if I still planned to install the basement toilet. Yes. I was nervous about the work but soon down the basement organizing everything I thought I might need to get the job done. Keep in mind, the 4” conduit stack was still rising 2’ above the stained concrete floor. I planned to use my oscillating tool to cut the conduit flush. However, before I could get a flush cut, I needed to grind away a slight lip of concrete around the base of the conduit. I used my oscillating tool with the special grout grinding blade to do that task. Worked like a charm. Subsequently, the conduit cut went well, too, far easier than I anticipated.

Next, I placed the $’ male flange into the conduit. Tight fit and I was worried about forcing it for not being able to pull it back up to prime and glue. Per some insightful Youtube directions, to ensure the toilet would set flush to the way, I measured and marked a line each side of the flange where the toilet bolts would be (11”). It was then that I learned my PVC glue was hardened. I had two cans of it and both were the same. And the thing is, I contemplated by another can but was sure I had plenty left over from the PVC drain work I did last fall for the kitchen sink.

Before I could proceed any further, I had to make a run to Lowes. No biggie. You can always count on at least one unexpected run. I picked up a can of PVC glue along with a few other items, including a new pair of giant loppers (tired of pinching my hands in our old pair). Said and done, I dropped $50. J

At home, it was time to prime and glue the flange into the 4” conduit. You only get one try. I was nervous but also confident. Before gluing and inserting the flange, I grabbed a hammer and a block of wood to help drive the flange as deep as it needed to go, since a dry go by hand left about ½” to go. Nervously, I tapped the block of wood numerous times and harder with each subsequent blow. Being a basement floor there’s always a slight slope. I got it as near flat as it was going to go. I felt good about it.

Next, it was time to drill pilot holes for the Tapcon screws to hold the flange in place. I used three. That was easy. Before moving the toilet in place, I thought it wise to get the plumbing squared away. After all, far easier with the toilet out of the way. Turned off the water after warning Bella, who was milling around upstairs.  After cutting the copper stub-out I realized that I didn’t pick-up the trim ring that goes around the pipe coming out of the wall or floor. It’s nothing but cosmetic but I wasn’t about to complete the work without it. Dang it! Another trip to the Depot!

At Home Depot I bought four of them, they’re cheap! I bought two plastic and then two in chrome. The plastic I noticed half a slit so they can be slid over after the fact. Who knew? While there, I also bought two more on-off valves for the vanity. Figured it made a lot of sense to plumb those in while the water was off and before mounting the vanity cabinet in place.

Plumbing in the three water feeds (cold to toilet, hot & cold to vanity) went smoothly. By then Mindy was home.

The toilet I bought came with everything I needed for the install, including the wax ring. I had Mindy on standby in case I needed her to help lift the toilet base onto the flange. Like sinking the flange, you only get one try with the wax ring. The kits these days come with flange bolts that are conveniently held in place by a screw on washer. That helped a lot. I still called for Mindy’s help. We quickly got the bowl on the flange but struggled to get it to seat squarely around the seal without any rocking. No matter what I did we couldn’t get it to seat any closer than about 3/8” above the floor. I wasn’t sure if we didn’t have it in the hole (doubted it or the bolts wouldn’t have lined up) or if it was the wax ring.

I remembered watching a Youtube video where the plumber advised that when mounting a toilet on a concrete slab one must use a wax ring without the diaphragm to account for the raised flange. I was fairly certain that was my issue too. I had no choice but to pull the toilet, scrape off the ring and then head back to Home Depot or Lowes for another, and this time a ring with the rubber diaphragm.

Opted to hit Home Depot so I could also get a snake plant for the master bathroom. The guy working the plumbing aisle has been at Home Depot for many years. He’s a nice enough gut but he and I never seem to communicate well. He isn’t that knowledgeable but acts as if he is.  When he came by to ask what I needed or was looking for it happened yet again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about”. Kept insisting I needed a wax ring with the diaphragm, and no matter what I said he kept saying I don’t understand.  Finally, found the diaphragmless wax rings. I went ahead and another with the diaphragm just in case. After three trips, I wasn’t in any frame of mind to want to make another.

Back to the basement, before trying the new wax ring, I made sure the toilet seated correctly without any wax ring. Yep, got it to seat uniformly around the concrete floor. The diaphragmless wax ring worked like a charm. Didn’t need help lifting it into place either. The tank installed on top of the bowl with ease, too. They’ve really made it simple these days. 30 minutes later I was testing the flush. Perfecto! Felt good to have that job behind me.

I cleaned up my mess and moved on to transplanting the new snake plant for our soaking tub planter. While I did that, Mindy ran to pick-up a growler of Bodhi and also dropped off a snall chocolate pie to Vince, her all-time favorite server. Before coming home, she was picking up Jacob, who was afternooning at his girlfriend’s home.  By the time they were back, I had the plant potted, the soaking tub cleaned , and a shower.

We were invited to neighbor Chrissy’s sister’s 40^th birthday party. We walked down around 6pm. The eats were provided by City Barbeque. Yum!  The first of two Final Four games was whirling on the TV. Most of the men present were glued to those results.  Michigan State got blown out by Duke.

Enjoyed a plateful of City Barbeque, mostly brisket, but everything else was delicious too. We went through our growler of Bodhi pretty quick. I went to the house to get the CBC IPA growler. Still about half full. We went through that quickly too. J Partied with the neighbors until halftime of the 2^nd Final Four game – Wisconsin and Kentucky. It was tied at the half.

Headed home I’m guessing near 10pm and it wasn’t too much longer before we were off to bed and asleep.

Easter Day - Got Bunnies?

Sunday was Easter and we celebrated with Mindy’s family at her sister Jodie’s house. We headed over around 3pm on what turned out to be a gorgeous early Spring day (low 60s and sunny). We spent the early part of the day at home where we had a mini egg for Jacob and Bella.

At one point Mindy snapped at me for revealing the location of a “money” egg. The kids otherwise would not have found it. After a run and before heading to Jodie’s I spent a couple hours in the yard cutting back ornamental grasses and raking the rear beds.

Mindy made two chocolate pies to take to Jodie’s. The kids headed with Jimaken & Molly to his parent’s home. They met us at Jodie & Larry’s around 4pm.

Jodie & Larry had lots of good eats laid out, the most notable being Cane’s chicken. I especially liked the lemonade. I was surprised when Jodie revealed that it was Country Time mix. Very good! Because it was so lovely, we spent the lion’s share of our time on the patio.

Hung out with the family for 3 hours or so. On our way home we stopped by Joe & Rick’s new place in Westgate to check out the recent paint job.  Looking good. At home near 730pm, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing. I had another slice of chocolate pie. We brought an entire pie home from Jodie’s.

Before bed, I read a little Ralph Emerson Waldo. He’s an eloquent writer but in many cases hard to read and follow (over use of the comma spliced sentence).

Monday-Friday April 6-10:

Monday started out nice enough but clouds and rain moved in quickly and it didn’t stop raining until early Friday. In fact, we had some very animated thunderstorms Tuesday – Thursday. Temperatures moderated as the week progressed, moving from the low 60s on Monday to the low 70s by Thursday. Ran 4 miles Monday through Thursday, three miles on Friday.

Mindy made dinner Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday.  Enjoyed chicken, artichoke in Penne pasta on Monday, homemade mini-pizzas on Thursday. Wednesday, Mindy and I dined out at G Michael’s. Like our last visit, I ordered mussels and shrimp and grits from the happy hour small plate menu. Mindy ordered calamari. Drank a Two Brother’s Domain Dupage and then a stiff Jack & Coke.

Worked at the Hilliard office Monday and Thursday, at customer’s campus Tuesday and Wednesday. Tough week workwise. Very busy! Worked late into the evening from home pretty much every night.

The grandkids were being spring break, Ashley asked if I could watch Olivia on Friday since I planned on working at home. She also asked if we would be interested in keeping her overnight Thursday. I also volunteered to keep the boys so Lindsey didn’t have to waste a sick day/vacation day. The boys didn’t come over until 10am Friday morning – after their previously scheduled dental appointment.

Olivia woke far earlier than I anticipated Friday morning (645am). It hadn’t dawned on me prior, that I’d have a problem squeezing in my run. I asked Mindy her thoughts just prior to her school departure. We agreed that under the right conditions, I would leave Olivia in the guest room watching TV for 30 minutes while I ran. That’s what I did. She was good with the plan. Went without a hitch though I was nervous the entire time.

It was a kidless weekend, and with that Mindy & I made plans to have dinner and drinks with Ben & Ryan at Wolf’s Ridge Tap Room. Somewhat late, we learned that Rene & Vaughn were going to meet us there too. After school and before they left for the weekend, the kids paddled around the pond for a while. I’m told the geese were very upset with then being on the water and near the island. Rocky apparently decided to get in the water to push off from a low area. Meanwhile, Olivia and Landon were tossing pebbles in the pond from Mindy’s patio. You guessed it, Olivia slipped in too. J Steven came to pick-up Olivia around 430pm. Lindsey came to get the boys around 530pm. I finally got a shower shortly thereafter.

I was very happy to see that Edward Sharpe & the M.Z’s are coming to Cincy June 28. I, of course, hope to go. Ben & Ryan met us at the house around 630pm. Enjoyed a beer at home before heading off to Wolf’s Ridge.

Hooked up with Rene & Vaughn who were already at the taproom. The six of us had a fun time for the next couple of hours. Rene & Vaughn had already eaten, so they didn’t plan to join us for dinner in the restaurant. Must’ve been around 8:30-845pm when we headed up the stairs and down the hall to the restaurant. Dominating a lot of our jokes and fun was a young woman that was wearing a dress that fell just shy of her arse. Any slight movement netted a fleshy reveal.

Chels(ea) was our server. Said hello to Stacy who was tending bar. Ben ordered the sweet breads as an appetizer. I ordered a Caesar salad and scallops. A very nice dinner, to be sure. And since Ben & Ryan covered the bar tab, I picked up dinner. Pricey!

I drove, so Ben and Ryan opted to hang with us for a while before heading home. Fairly early on, Ryan fella sleep on our sofa. Meanwhile, Ben and I enjoyed some single barrel Jack Daniels on the rocks. I consciously paced myself, not wanting to wake Saturday in a fog or worse yet, with hangover. Mindy was off to bed around midnight. Ben and I stayed up playing music and chatting until 115am. The two of them wisely opted to spend the night.

Saturday & Sunday April 11 & 12 - Running, Draining Water

I got up at 8am doing my best to keep my self -generated noise to a minimum. Ryan was asleep on the sofa. I didn’t want to wake her. Around 835am I headed back upstairs taking Mindy coffee and getting into my running clothes. I asked Mindy if she could get up shortly. I headed out for a 3 mile run in sunshine and cool temps – somewhere near 40 degrees.

Arriving back at the house near 915am, Mindy, Ben and Ryan were sitting out on the deck in the sunshine. It wasn’t too long before our friends departed for home. Mindy and I made plans to visit Rite Rug, mail Ashley’s wedding invitations, and then stop at Lowes. Neither of us took a shower. Near 1015am when we left the house.

First stop Rite Rug. Kevin Wright was working. Looked at carpet samples. Talked him into letting us take two home to evaluate the color against our paint and stained floor. Promised to bring them back later that afternoon. For whatever reason, I was needing to pee every 30 minutes or so. Bad too! Asked to use their facilities before we left.

Found a mailbox along Riverside Dr where we dumped the wedding invitations. I had Mindy pose with the lid opened reenacting the mailing for a photo op. Sent the pic to Ashley. Onto Lowes. At Lowes we hoped to pick out a mirror and a light fixture for above the basement bathroom vanity.

While there, I suggested we look at new patio furniture chair cushions. We ended up buying some new ones. We also picked out a new cushion for her patio bench. Found a light fixture that we both liked. Yes, miracles do sometimes happen. We didn’t care for any of the mirrors they had. Agreed to head just up the road to Home Depot where we picked up the sink I reordered a week or so ago. Both Home Depot and Lowes were very crowded.  Let the spring season begin!  Target, on the other hand, wasn’t too busy at all. We found the perfect mirror and for a reasonable price. I also picked up a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable for my cell phone to car audio system.

Tired and hungry, we finally were headed home where we promptly unloaded our gets. Mindy planned to run back out for more errands, but not before enjoying a sandwich and checking out the carpet samples we brought home. We quickly picked one over the other. She planned to return both while out and about. We installed two of our new patio chair cushions. Look really nice – refreshing splash of color (vibrant orange-ish red).

Mindy joked that I needed to have the bathroom vanity plumbed in by the time she returned home. Hah! After a brief nap, I finally felt motivated enough to get busy installing the faucet and drain kit into our new granite vanity top. My plan was to completely install the faucet before permanently setting the granite top in place on top of the vanity. That way I wouldn’t have to work blindly and get bloody knuckles.

Like a few of the online reviews stated, the directions for the install left a lot to be desired. Still, I got the faucet installed in a little more than an hour. Keep in mind, this model was a bit more complicated given that it’s a three-piece model. Installing the drain stem was a little tricky too, but after two hours in total, I had it ready to set onto the vanity. Next, I got busy with the trap and drain tie in. This was the part I was most concerned about having never done it from rough-in before.

AS with most vanity sinks, the drain stem exits the bowl with a 1.25” pipe. The standard sink drain rough-in is 1.5”, and in kind, I bought a 1.5” trap kit. They’re inexpensive – only about $4, though at the time I wasn’t by any means sure that I bought the right stuff. After looking over the task I became convinced that I needed to return the 1.5” trap kit for a 1.25”. Dang it! Back to Home Depot. And since I was heading there, I opted to take a couple other items I needed to return as well. One for Home Depot, the other for Lowes (finish nails I bought way back in December).

I stopped at Home Depot first. As expected, no hassle with the return despite me having opened the trap kit. I returned the extra wax ring I bought a week earlier too. Very crowded!!

Back to the plumbing aisle where I toiled over what I really needed to complete the drain install. I must’ve stood there looking at the various kits for 10 minutes before going looking for an associate. Any other time there are plenty of associates offering help in and around the plumbing aisle. Not then. Just as well. Probably would’ve been that guy that more often than not gives me bad info.

About to give up, the store manager happened down the aisle offering assistance but also clarifying that he wasn’t a plumbing expert. However, he added that he thought he could help. I quickly shared my dilemma – 1.25” tail drain ultimately terminating into a 1.5” drain at the wall. Simple, he said. You need the 1.5” trap kit that I previously bought and returned along with a 1.5” to 1.25” washer made just for that situation. It really was that simple. I was a tad embarrassed that I just retuned the same kit minutes earlier. Meh! The manager joked that if I hadn’t made 5 trip yet, I was doing good.

Onto Lowes where I planned to return those 4 month old finishing nails. The returns line, however, was ridiculously long – about 10-12 deep. Never seen it like that. I turned around and headed back to my car figuring I could easily make the return on Monday at lunch when there will be next to no crowd.

At home again, I sized up the drain configuration checking to make sure the reducer washer would work. Sure enough! However, a new problem became evident. The tail drain from the bowl wasn’t long enough to tie into the trap and drain at the wall. Needed to be about 4” longer. Sadly, I looked at extensions while at Home Depot earlier. Heck, it was only a little more than a $1. I should’ve bought one. At that point, I decided to bag it for the day. Guessing it was near 4pm. Mindy was home a short while later. By then it was absolutely gorgeous outside. Not only that, but Sunday promised to be even nicer – sunny and near 70 – ideal spring day. While out, she bought steaks and White Rajah. Agreed to grill around 630pm. After a shower and a little rest, I offered that she and I make yet another run to Home Depot to get that drain extension. That way I wouldn’t have to run out on Sunday before getting back on it. We weren’t gone long, 30 minutes tops.

I took the part to the basement and pushed it on the tail drain. Looked like it would work just fine.

Upstairs, we eventually got busy grilling steaks and shrimp. Turned out perfectly. As much as Mindy wanted me to get busy on the basement again come Sunday, I told her that I thought I might work in the yard instead. My thought being that the basement will always be there calling, but the lovely weather this time of year is fleeting.

I checked my email hoping to get the final carpeting estimate from Mr. Wright at Rite Rug. Sure enough, it was there just as he told Mindy it would be. Holy smoke! It was about $1000 more than we expected. Missing were his exact calculations I.E. measured sq. footage. I had the measurements and the installed price per sq foot.  I fired and email back sharing that we loved the carpet but not his price. Furthermore I asked for detailed breakdown.  I took his number and divided it by the cost per sq ft installed of the carpet we chose. It appears that his estimate was charging us for an extra 100 sq feet. And that was after I added in an extra 10% of square footage to the actual measurements. Not good! Too much competiion out there to get taken advantage of.

After dinner I enjoyed a couple beers - both IPAs. After a late night partying Friday, both of us were ready for bed before 10pm.

Up near 730am. Enjoyed coffee and internet. Chased the geese out of the yard a time or two as well. Mindy slept in until 9am.. It was lovely – about 50 and sunny. We sat on the deck for a few before I headed out for a 3 mile run.

After my run, I fried both of us eggs.  I was very much looking forward to a day working in the yard.  But with so much to do, I had to make a mental list of the chores I wanted to accomplish lest I get side tracked. While I readied for yard work, Mindy showered and headed off to run errands, including a stop at Joe & Rick’s, Kohl’s, and the grocery store

First task I tackled was trimming away English Ivy from the foundation. There wasn’t a lot since we cut it back last spring too. Still, English Ivy grows quite vigorously, especially once the hot, humid nights of summer come. My second task was to prune the dead wood from the weeping Mulberry tree. Knocked it loose with a plastic leaf rake. Worked quite well. Third task was a rough raking of the flower beds. I’ll need to do another final raking after edging and before mulching. That took some time.

Next, I cut and transplanted maiden grass filling-in the center that dies out after so many years with the sprawling new growth. Time for the season’s first mowing! Pushed and tractor mowed. Bella came out asking to ride the tractor.  I let her cut the middle back yard.  She loves to drive the tractor. I didn’t bother edging. That’ll be next time. By the time I finished mowing my body was aching. Keep going!

Next up, I changed into my oldest, filthiest pair of retired running shoes after removing the sole liners then entered the pond where I retrieved the large rocks kids pulled from along our bank over the winter and tossed onto the ice. There must’ve been about 6 of them. Quite heavy, but happy to have that checked off the list. Reattached the hose so I could rinse my feet, shoes and gloves. Noticed the hose bib was dripping when I approached. Obviously had been running since Rocky rinsed his feet Friday afternoon. Dang it!

I still wasn’t done. Next, I got out the blower and blew the beds and the grass clippings. Lots of leaves from neighboring trees scattered amongst the ivy. One of the last things I did was shovel the matted leaves from the street gutter leading into the storm basin. That responsibility really belongs to the neighbor just to our west, but they’re not exactly on top of their yard chores. They’ve been there since last fall and were half dirt. While finishing up in the yard, I decided to try starting the BM’er. And much to my surprise, it started first try. I let it run for 20-30 minutes.

I headed in for a shower, some sustenance, and some Advil. I was really stiff. Mindy got home from grocery about the time I was headed in. I helped carry in the groceries ahead of my shower. We boiled and grilled brats for dinner. But because Jacob doesn’t like them, she grilled chicken breast for him. I ate my brat and then half of Bella’s. She thought they tasted funny.

By the time dinner and clean-up was completed, I got a 2^nd wind. I quietly slipped off to the basement to see how much progress I could make on plumbing in the vanity drain. Went smoother than I envisioned. Once again, my oscillating tool came in handy cutting off the cap on the roughed in 1.5” PVC drain pipe.  An hour later I had running/draining water. Only one small leak, and that was the nut and washer around the drain tube coming from the sink. A couple extra turns and that fixed it. I planned to let it set as is for at least a couple days before loosening the drain, raising the vanity top and gluing it down with liquid nails.

Mindy and I hung the light fixture next. Two small issues arose. One, the jct. box didn’t have the requisite screws for attaching the back plane of the light fixture. But Mindy found some in an old bag of miscellaneous screws in the garage. The other issue was a nick in the black hot wire more than halfway back into the jct. box enough to expose a little copper. Mindy suggested we simply place tape over it. Using my better judgment I decided to cut it back to the nick. That way I would sleep easier. Looks nice.

We would’ve hung the mirror too but we didn’t have any picture hanging wire.

Read a little Ralph Waldo Emmerson before bed. Had a tough time falling asleep. Wasn’t in bed long before getting up and heading back downstairs for more reading.