Tuesday

Man, it was cold on Tuesday! Not just the morning, but all damn day!

My morning walk was accompanied by the occasional snowflake. But, people at work who lived further out said they had an overnight light dusting of snow that covered the roofs and lawns! Sometimes living in the city has its advantages.

I stopped at Home Depot, yet again, at lunchtime. Then I stopped at the Chinese takeout and got some chicken fried rice to go.

The trash men had indeed come, so I dragged in the empty garbage can before coming in and treating the cats. I ate a delicious, if quick, lunch and then headed back to work.

I took another freezing walk in the afternoon, minus the snow. I think the high today was only 36 degrees!

I got home, treated the cats and only changed my shoes. I had a 6:30 PM dentist appointment.

So, I started cleaning up a little. I washed the pot that I made the chili in after dumping out the baking soap and water. That did work, but only a little. So, I tried something else I read on the Internet: a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad (I bought a box today, just for that purpose). That needed a lot of elbow grease, but actually produced pretty good results, taking off most of the stains.

Then I washed it with dish soap and set it to dry. It was time to go (after brushing my teeth, of course), so I headed out in the darkness.

I was very, very disappointed to learn this wasn’t the last appointment. The bridge was finished, but the gums were just made of wax to double check the fit! This was not how it was done the first time! I can only assume it was due to advances in dentistry in the last 15 years or perhaps the better skills of this particular dentist.

Either way, after an hour or so, I left for home, empty-handed. I have another appointment for next Wednesday at 4:30 PM to get my bridge. That will make eating Thanksgiving dinner a whole lot easier!

It occurred to me that I was hungry and headed north on Beech-Daly towards Plymouth Road. So, I decided on the spur of the moment to treat myself to a Popeye’s chicken dinner (it was only a mile away on Telegraph).

So, I ordered three piece spicy dinner with red beans and rice. The guy said, “Did you want Cajun Rice?”

[Insert a newbie novice’s moment of panic here – I wasn’t with Jake when he ordered, I just ate what he brought home. Is red beans and rice Cajun? It sounds Cajun.]

So, I said, “Uh, sure.”

I got my food and drove the two miles home. I treated the cats and sat on the bed with a tray to eat my dinner. The chicken was excellent. But the rice, which also was very good (and very spicy), was NOT what I ate in South Carolina! The biscuit made up for the variation, though.

Then I changed clothes and got back to work on the bathroom. I am still planning out what to do about the heat and the huge hole in the wall that used to be a heater vent. I cut a trial board that I knew was too thick, just to see how it could all work. However, when I went to cut out the hole for the duct, I saw that I was out of saber saw blades. Damn!

So, instead, I undid all the straps and ties that held the sink onto the cabinet, set the sink on the couch and carried the cabinet into the bathroom for a first time fit. Uh, oh...

The first thing I noticed was the cabinet (which has a drawer under the shelf, behind the doors) would hit the pea trap of the drain in it’s current position. Since there’s a drawer in there, I can’t just cut out the shelf a little to make more room. So, there’s yet more to think about!

Also, to mount the vanity centered on the mirror and the tile glass and soap dishes will expose a lot more of that hole from the giant heater vent than I was hoping for. I could offset it, but then it would look silly when you were standing in front of it or in the tub...

Honestly, I think actually attaching the vanity and sink to the wall and hooking up the water and drain lines will be the easiest part of this install. The prep work is turning out to be the bitch!

I gave up at 9:45 PM after moving the base cabinet into the office so it doesn’t get accidentally scratched or something. The sink was still lying safely on the soft couch in the living room. I watched two half hour DIY shows (I need the inspiration) and then went to bed.