Happy Birthday to me!

Got up this morning determined to install the bottom bracket that the microwave sits on. That way, I can have Jake help me mount it tomorrow when he's here (I just won't use the vent fan until the outside vent is installed on the roof).

Marked the holes and went to get my 5/8 inch drill bit for the toggle bolts. Searched high and low, but could not find it. So, at 8:30 AM on Christmas Eve (and my birthday) I was headed to Home Depot. They didn't have a regular drill bit (like I have... somewhere...) so ended up buying a wood boring bit. Just got in the house when the phone rang. It was Carla, wishing me a Happy Birthday! She was pleased to know she was the first to call. I also talked a bit with Jake. Then, back to work!

Drilled the holes, but noticed that just after I cleared the plaster and lathe, I was hitting something. The outside wall? I dunno. But, the end result was I had to use a hacksaw and cut down each of the 5 toggle bolts 1 1/8 inches. Okay, so now we are good to go? Nope!

The three cheap toggle bolts I bought worked fine, but the two that came with the microwave would not open. Damn it! But, since the stud was exactly in the middle, I angled out 3 inch deck screws at each end and caught the next stud. There also was a problem with a piece of metal molding used on the Formica that's behind the stove. This resulted in me having to cut it out with a wood chisel and a hammer - twice!

My friend B___ called to wish me a Happy Birthday. I spent most of the conversation whining about the stupid bracket. Then Jyl called with birthday wishes as well.

Okay, enough of this. I have to take a shower. My friend Tracey is on her way for the second annual Christmas cookie baking event. We probably should have done this last weekend, but she was up in West Branch having surgery.

When she showed up, Scruffy was very disappointed. Samson didn't come! He stayed at home with Tracey's Mom, who is down for the Holidays. So, we got to work...

We didn't make nearly the mess (especially with peanut butter) that we did last year, but we did manage to burn the bottoms of a fair number of cookies. Then we remembered, we did that last year too. I have an oven thermometer, but its so small these old eyes can't see it. So, Tracey checked. The oven was set at 350 degrees F., but actual temperature is 380 degrees! So, problem solved and the last two batches were fine after adjusting temps.

She left around 3:30 PM. It's sunny and warm (almost 50 degrees F.) so I thought it was a good time to cut the hole in the roof. But, as usual, ran into problems (will this cursed project ever end?) You are supposed to use a razor knife to cut through the shingles, remove them, slip the vent in under them, blah, blah, blah. So, I did that, but found another set of shingles under them. Pulled all the nails, cut through those (BTW, this is not easy, nor neat) and found.... another set of shingles!!!

The sun is setting, and I don't want to try and get back on the ladder to climb down in the dark, so I give it up. I'll work on it later in the week.

Came in and cleaned up. Put away the tools. I checked my email and found a birthday from my friend, Canada Cathy. That cheered me up and reminded me it was indeed my birthday, so I gave myself the rest of the night off.