Recent Posts

We had a deck on my former Cape Cod house which had been installed without flashing. And the surface boards which were wood were too close together. So ultimately a lot of rotted deck boards and siding under and behind the deck. It cost a bit (though probably less than your repair) to get it all replaced and flashing properly added but it was definitely worth it in the long run.

That guy does sound creepy - was perhaps casing the neighborhood homes for ones without anyone in them for a possible future break-in? Hopefully everyone is vigilant and the cops pay more attention.

Is it a cost thing or just I can do it thing with you father? Elderly services in Massachusetts had a program when my mother was failing where she received support for light housekeeping, food shopping and laundry for free. The woman came twice a week and my mother really enjoyed her company.

My art piece in the show. Untitled.

Another early morning with roofers! The stucco has been removed and there was extensive damage to the wood where they had wrongly nailed the decking into the stucco with no flashing. They also sealed the drains and found neither were attached. Of course they weren't! So that's fixed. They still need to send the stucco guy and painter out, but first I will get a new estimate for two different options for putting the decking back. One involves removing a foot of the stucco walls all the way around (gag), installing flashing then putting the decking back in. That's "the right way". The second way involved sandwiching flashing in between boards and the wall with silicone to keep the water flowing away from the wall. And on top of all of that, they convinced me to submit a warranty claim for the dark brown Trex decking because it has turned white. So I started that, but am waiting for one last picture of the intact deck from the roofers to attach. I did have to call the Trex people and she could not have been nicer and more accommodating. It's the first product warranty in a while I've heard of where the warranty transfers to a subsequent owner. The roofers said they just redid a deck and the woman got 75% of the materials paid for by Trex. So that would be nice.

I also took a car load of stuff to the thrift store here that funds the local domestic violence sanctuary. That is a really big thing for me as I have struggled with where to donate "nice stuff". My friend took me to the thrift shop the other day and it gave me a good idea of what they take and sell. I think a car full of donations every week and I'll be excess-stuff-free in no time!

Hmm, what else, ooh, we had a scruffy weirdo follow a neighbor in the gate the other day after calling multiple people alphabetically from the gate entry system and not getting in. First he hid his car behind the mailboxes for 20 minutes before tailing a car through the gate. Another homeowner noticed him driving slowly around and around and she got in her car and confronted him when he was parked up the cul du sac from me. (Brave and likely not smart all at once). He said he was looking for his girlfriend, gave a name which doesn't exist in the neighborhood of 13 houses then gave a phone number that they traced to an 80 yr old woman in Phoenix. She chased him out and her husband followed and got his license plate, which was a CA plate. They called to report it to the sheriff and they looked up the plate and it is registered with no owner listed, which the sheriff said was highly unusual and suspect. Anyway, the hoa board is atwitter...

I got Wordle in 2 today! 69th time!

Hope you all are well. DD, sending good thoughts your way.

thanks