Saturday's Story

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30 AM and turned on the news. Sandy Hook Elementary wasn’t just a bad dream as I’d hoped.

It was very foggy out, but now they said the rain would hold off until noon.  Since I had to wait until daybreak to get to work, I made a good breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.

I shaved and showered, waiting for the fog to break. I then started the first load of weekend wash.

Finally, it was light enough to go to work. First project was to finish the new light by the patio door. You may recall I said there was no box, just wires coming through a hole in the siding. So, I had purchased an exterior box. So, far so good, except that it had to be mounted on the siding, which would tilt it.

So, I figured out the correct shim and glued it in place. Then I tried to screw on the box with long deck screws. Nope! The damn addition is cinder block as well! Which explains why there is no electrical box behind the siding, I suppose. So, I used shorter screws and then adhesive caulk to hold it on.

I wired in the light, tested it and then attached it to the new box, using a level to keep it straight. It looks a little weird right now, but come Spring, I’ll go with Jake’s suggestion and box it in so it looks more finished.

If there was a box, I would have used a handy siding-fitted backplate behind the light, like I did on the garage light (I think I bought it from Lowe’s). See photos.

If you were a reader back then and remember, years ago, I cut the branches on the evergreen up high so that you could see the side of the garage from Plymouth Road. I figured that and the light that is always on would discourage bad guys from trying to break in. But, I didn’t cut the ones next to Jake’s patio, deciding I liked the privacy. However, since nobody (including me) ever uses it, it has become yet another security concern.

So, I got the 100-foot extension cord and the Sawzall and trimmed them up as well. See photos. I wound up the electrical cord and put away the Sawzall.

At that point, I was getting cold. It still hadn’t rained, so I went inside to switch out the laundry load and put another into the washer. Then I started to make a cup of coffee to warm up and the phone rang. It was Jake, so we chatted for a while (about our respective work, mostly). I mentioned the light looking weird and that’s when he suggested boxing it in.

We hung up just after noon, so I hurried out to try and beat the rain to finish today’s outdoor projects. The mailman had just come, so I went out to get today's mail. While I was out there, I exchanged holiday greetings with a couple of neighbors from the townhouse across the street who were getting theirs.

Now, before you think I am getting a little TOO paranoid from living alone, let me make a point. Crime, especially robbery, is going up. People are getting desperate and desperate people do desperate things. A guy got robbed at gunpoint jogging in broad daylight in Grosse Point the other day, for God’s sake! My goal here with all these security concerns is NOT to make my home burglar-proof. That’s impossible, unless you want to live in a bunker or something. I am just trying to make it a less-attractive target.

I have now gotten the backyard lighting concerns resolved with the dusk-to-dawn light on Jake’s patio and the motion-sensor light on the main patio See photos for diagrams.

With that said, I have only two windows in the house you wouldn’t have to climb up something to get into: The picture window and the big window on Jake’s patio. The picture window is theoretically protected due to facing the road and the street light. And, now the window on Jake’s patio has the dusk-to-dawn light nearby and can be seen from Plymouth Road.

But, you still could throw one of the concrete patio blocks that I store out there through it and step into the house in five seconds. So, to complete my goal, I installed some window security bars on it. They are already installed on the inside of the garage windows and were when I first moved in, which gave me the idea.

I got the big level, the small level, the drill motor, a drill bit and a screwdriver. I took them outside and then the new window security bars. Getting them measured and leveled took the majority of the time. It started to sprinkle, but not yet rain, so I decided to finish it up. And, I did. See photos.

I went back inside at 1:30 PM and put the second load in the dryer. Then I took a break on the bed to rest my back and watched (what else?) a DIY show. [Random thought: My life used to be a LOT less strenuous, less costly and I ate better when I used to just watch cooking shows!]

Rested, I went out on the front porch (it was raining, but not hard) and switched out the Fall decorations for the Christmas ones. I couldn’t find last year’s wreath timer, so I went up in the attic and got one of the digital ones. I found it in a separate box with the Christmas glass block! I left the glass block up there and brought down the timer. I set up the wreath and then went back inside.

Next I installed the two fire extinguishers I had purchased: one in the kitchen under the sink and the other in the garage next to the workbench. See photos.

By then it was 5:30 PM, so I quit for the night.

I had missed lunch, so I made it for my supper, instead. I fixed a BLT and it was excellent, if somewhat messy.

I watched the news and then decided I should bake that Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. So, I did. But I was surprised to learn it had to cool for at least two hours!!!

When it was almost cooled, I used a cup of the heavy cream (left over from the mac & cheese), a tablespoon of confectioners sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and my hand mixer to make whipped cream for the top. I know, I know, I should have hand whisked it, but it was 10:30 PM and I didn’t feel that being “authentic” was important for what had turned out to be just a late night snack.

Anyway, it was excellent! I shouldn’t have, but I ate two pieces. I covered the rest of the pie and the whipped cream with tinfoil and stuck them into the fridge. Then I went to bed.