Hamster Wheel Weekend Recap

A beautiful Monday to you all!  Did you rock it out this weekend?  I hope so.  Did you sit on your couch?  Be thankful.  Some of us have couches sitting on top of our tables or leaning against a wall!  😄

It was one of those weekends where you felt like you were running on a hamster wheel and getting nowhere.  We ran the gamut of emotions from being mad at the drywall dude to being mad at each other to being mad at the jackass that came out to give us an estimate for whole house re-piping and his arrogant tude to everything in between.  To put the cherry on it, anything we got food wise tasted like utter crap.  There is nothing worse than when you want to stress eat and it's all in vain.  I know, we shouldn't stress eat but if you were dropping what's going to end up being just over $20k in a month's time for improvements no one will even see/notice, you want whatever will make you temporarily feel better.

Let me give you an idea of our world right now in the form of pictures so you can understand why we're both clinically insane.

When they don't put down a canvas drop cloth and drip green glue all over your stairs whose carpet you weren't planning to replace immediately so now despite using rubbing alcohol to remove it (recommended) it's not working so now more and more dirt just accumulates on the spots.

Yarf.

(too friggin' lazy to redo that pic)

When they know you have to replace the outlets/switches after they're done.

The condition they thought it was okay to leave the garage in upon departure.  Actually this was after the Mr cleaned up a bit.  This company got many compliments about how clean they'd leave the jobsite.  😐

We had to get a Bagster from Waste Management to chuck all of the extra drywall left behind since bulk pick up doesn't take construction materials.  That'll be another $250 please.

What the view would look like from the couch if it wasn't sitting on top of our dining room table right now.

So that should give you a bit of an idea of how utterly chaotic it is here and why we are pissed, over having brainless idiots passing as contractors in our house and feel like every project reinforces the born under a bad sign theory.

"Maybe you could go down and get in a workout?"  Sure!  Let's go downstairs!

😒

Priming was yesterday's formal workout and then mama needed to break out some wacky juice.

Thanks to those who responded to the FB poll on keeping the walls Driftwood Gray or switching over to Wheat Bread now that we basically have an entire house to paint.  Wheat Bread won overwhelmingly.  I did paint it on the wall:

I swear it just looks like another shade of gray in pictures but that's not what it looks like in person!  It's one of those 'griege' colors but I think it's heavily picking up on the gray on the walls despite two coats on that sample.  So we'll go with that when we're paint ready.

Wanna know something else fun that happened?  So after we got our $8500 re-piping estimate and then a $2300 estimate for the hot water replacement from this jackhole who had a snooty tude and told us something like we "didn't have time to wait on the hot water tank"...a day later there was a leak on top and the pilot mysteriously went out.  Now I'm not accusing anyone of anything but I did ask the Mr if the guy was left alone with it at any point because we've gone 3 years with it sounding like that.  He said he wasn't anywhere near it.  Sounded like sabotage to me!  😆  So apparently hot water tanks are lined with glass???  I did not know this.  I guess that is the underwater buckshot sound we've been hearing/ignoring.  Now I want to make clear if I'd known we had glass knocking around in there I would've immediately had it replaced but we thought it was like big rocks of calcium knocking around in there.  I feel like the stupidest person on Earth when it comes to homeownership and I've owned for 28 years!  Why do we not have classes on this crap in school?  Like mental health classes and homeownership classes should be mandatory.

So, that wraps it up on our end.  Every single day there is literally a new problem.  Given we have another estimate being done, I'm just going to pray that is the only disturbance in the force for today.

PLEASE tell me you had a better weekend!  Share the deets so we can live vicariously!

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What I'm Reading This Week #11

Happy St Patrick's Day to my Irish peeps!  Erin Go Braghless or whatever they say.  🍀 🌈

I hope you've had a wonderful week and are ready for a relaxing or fun weekend depending on how things went.  I am listening to the most heinous remix of Take on Me by Aha on Amazon music.  I'm sure it's fine if I'm sitting on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean but not when I'm trying to listen to my soothing sounds of lost youth for comfort, thankyouverymuch.  

Anyhoo.

It's been another dusty week at the homestead.  The only thing not wrapped in plastic is us and I'm sure that's coming soon enough.  I just want this jackhole out of the house and apparently that might be tomorrow if he doesn't jerk around.  I don't know why the highly rated tradesmen we seem to hire are complete and utter mooks or why drywallers think they have free reign to not protect your stuff  where they are going to be working or even attempt to not leave it 100x worse than they found it.  The Mr attempted to remove the top of the hot water tank because there's something called an anode rod that you're supposed to change yearly.  Are we the last friggin' people on Earth to know this?  We'll just replace it and see if the dudes can loosen the factory bolt so we can do the 6 month check then the yearly replacement after that. 

Oh and then the Mr decides to throw an online search into my lap about how our 28 year old PolyB pipes need replaced.   (We did not find out about this atrocity until after a lawsuit time period had lapsed, of course.)  So any potential happiness I had about being able to move on to painting and priming is now smothered by the money we just wasted on frivolous drywall that isn't making any difference when our whole house needs repiped and I can't stop crying.  So we have a plumber coming out today to give us the figure which we read could run upwards of $10K.  

I feel like I should just stop this blog.  I never have anything good to report and I'm tired of writing about our well of endless crap as much as you're probably tired of reading about it, I can't imagine how you all stay invested.  Adulthood is vastly overrated and I want off please.  Clearly no vacations for us next year except maybe our three day marriage retreat if we're lucky and don't need the money from our cashback rewards to put toward pipe #12 and drywall repair.  😞

Now let's rate:

Stop Eating the Same Meals Each Week. It May Be Affecting Your Health  (I'm super guilty of this  😕)

The Best Spices for Gut Health, from a Gastro  (Some good ones in there but a hard no on fennel.  RETCH)

Are protein powders safe? Read the label before you start taking them  (Does everything seem to be poison or is it just me?)

4 Stretches to Do Every Morning Before You Get Out of Bed for a Tight Back and Neck (Will do because every day is a stiff one.)

Does Your Nose Always Get Blocked on 1 Side? Here's Why  (Interesting to know!  A little squirt of Xlear Max always does the trick for me but obviously we have more floating around than usual around here!)

25 Tips for Organizing Small Closets That Will Double Your Storage Space  (I can vouch for several of these methods.  The over the door organizer has been a friggin' God send.  We've used multi shirt hangers that have worked well too and obviously our space bags.)

Can Ruptured Adult Sibling Relationships Be Healed?  (More importantly, would you want them to be or are they toxic AF?)

Here's Why Your House Is So Dusty and How to Fix It  (I know the source of my dust these days.  I can't wait until we can run our little robovac.  Right now he'd just be bumping into all of the crap we have upstairs out of site of drywall troll.)

Most midsize SUVs miss the mark in IIHS rear-seat crash test  (Great)

Here’s why you look better in mirrors than you do in pictures  (Mirror:  Damn girl, you're looking goooood!  Picture:

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I would say we're going to have a busy weekend but who knows what drywall dude is going to get done.  I just know the only respite I was looking forward to is gone now since he'll be here.  (I know both neighbors will be slamming around in retaliation (already are) and I had no intention of being here for that.  God laughs.)  So maybe another weekend of twitching.

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What's on tap for you this weekend?  Basketball?  Drinking green beer?  Rocking in a dark corner?

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All Over the Place Weekend Recap

Happy happy Monday!  Are you ready for your one hour less sleep week where everyone is basically a zombie before 11am?  

We are getting ready for what we think (pray) is the final day for this wall.  There are several things we're not super happy with that we want fixed before he starts sanding.  I asked the Mr if I have unreasonable expectations and he said no, we have expectations.  A wall should look like a wall which is why we hired people and didn't try to do this ourselves.  (Trust me, we couldn't have at ALL on that wall with all of the angles and places we don't have a way to reach in the stairwell.)  So much muck everywhere.  I can't even convey.  The part that stinks the most is not being able to have a place to sit that isn't covered in drop cloths, drywall dust (and sanding hasn't even begun yet) and there's nowhere to eat but the cold, cold basement sharing a wood stool for a 'table.'

So we really needed the weekend to have a few chill days.  We got some lunch and the Mr drove around like a LOT because neither of us wanted to be home.  We drove around what I consider my "childhood" home even though it represents two school years out of my life and I just cried most of the time.  The area is expanding rather close to it and I know there is going to be a day in the not too distant future that my home will no longer be my home.  Then come 5:30pm Saturday, our drywall dude (DD) shoots over the estimate for the other wall and says he can start Wednesday.  Okay so Saturday is basically shot because we can't start making a bunch of noise popping off baseboards and such so that leaves us Sunday to do as much as we can moving everything off of the wall that we'll BE doing and having to move it all back that night so he can hopefully finish the other wall he's currently working on.  Then have only Tuesday (of which the Mr is working) to clean up all of the shite he leaves behind from sanding (and believe me when I tell you that apparently any drywall workers job is to leave the rest of your house in utter shambles) to somehow move all of that furniture (love seat and couch, 6' table and two armoires to the other side of the room that has about 2/3 less room to work with.  What's that saying of trying to fit ten lbs of flour in a five lb bag?  That would be about right.  As the Mr was telling DD this, he's like "oh, you can just move that to the middle of the room, it will be fine.

😒

Perhaps you did not see how you and your crew treated our home on original drywall day?  Big ass glops of green glue ALL over the place that we don't even know if we're going to be able to get out of the carpet we had no plans of replacing just yet, all over every door handle that has not come off with 5 cleaning wipes yet and just the general mess left behind.  You would like me to just scooch everything to the middle of the room because you're going to suddenly be delicate with our white couches and all belongings?  I think not.  The prospect of all of this with practically zero warning in the scheme of things sent me into a tailspin.  We agreed that we wanted the other wall done sooner than later but we also said we needed a week away from this guy too so the prospect of getting no break in addition to having that huge drywall truck here the week they are also doing siding repair and crap with landscaping stuff means the gestapo of the homeowners association will be out and about and we can't sneak it in like we did last time.  I shot off a quick note to my friend in the midst of my swirl and she suggested we tell him Thursday.  I know that may sound like something we should've easily thought of but the Mr and I were both dug into our personal stances on this and I think we tend to think just because someone says they can start at X time doesn't mean you are obligated to agree to it.  I really wanted to wait until Monday to sign the new contract anyway because I want to see if this guy leaves us with a crap fest that we are not happy with.  (So far, there are a few things we need addressed.)

So Sunday we had a big breakfast to get us started, let it settle for a little then got to it.  I took everything off the wall and was left with a buffet of molly screw holes.

Time to grab the acoustic caulk and start fillin'.

Well, first time to throw on the GenX Amazon music station to make the tasks at hand more tolerable and this was about the only tolerable hip hop song I could stand of the ones they were throwing at me.

I shook my Oakland booty and got to work.  We took down the curtain rod overhead and I had my work cut out for me there too.

I will say I will NOT be sad to see that be covered because over almost 30 years we've hung a lot of curtains and repatched holes and I clearly suck at it if you can't tell by the spot just above the left set of holes.  There's also a horrible patch in the corner that kind of dips in and is wonky but has always been covered by furniture so out of sight, out of mind but I will be glad for that not to be the main part of the wall or worry about it caving in or something.  

The Mr popped off the trim around the patio door to reveal the gems of contractors past.

I took a boxcutter and took the 45 seconds they couldn't be bothered with to make it straight so I could start caulking.  I backfilled quite a bit with as much caulk as it would take because the witch neighbor who has full on conversations with her dog to the point you think she's on the phone with someone took to sitting outside in the fall and oh hell no are we listening to that crap if we don't have to.  (Yes, we talked to our dog when she was alive but I assure you, this is something completely different and perhaps only a small step below David Berkowitz dog level stuff.)  So anything we can do to not hear her canine conversations is a major plus for our sanity.  I think everything is pretty much done on that wall as far as what can be removed and filled in.  I feel better about where we are and that we'll have an extra day so perhaps one full day of not having to rush around next week before the next project starts?

We felt like there was no sense in priming and painting and doing the ceiling in bits and pieces and wanted to be able to do it all in one swipe.  BUT before we can do that, we have to replace the hot water tank too.  Yep.  It feels like it's at a critical point and unfortunately Best Buy doesn't sell them so we don't have $550 to go toward one.  So now we research those and call a plumber to install it and do it while the stair rails are still off and everything is out of the way and looks like a construction zone.  My goal is within the month to be back to pre-contractor looks.  I guess the only thing that'll be different is we're going to strip and sand the rails to stain them since we're not sure staining the stairs is going to be a possibility like we hoped.  Then I know what that means as far as the staircase is concerned but I'm not even thinking about that right now because there's a matter in the master/primary/main/your preferred adjective bedrrom that will need to be addressed soon as well.

How was your weekend?  Do anything fun?

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What I'm Reading This Week #10

Happy Friday all!  It's been quite the year week in our parts.  Drywall is going into next week, of course.  We are holding off judgment just yet because it takes 10 days for improvement of sound and 45 days for full curing of the green glue.  What I can tell you is 5/8" drywall is not the impenetrable force 967 online articles and posts claimed it to be.  I'll write more about it when we're done with this portion.  At this point I just want everyone out of the house but we're a lonnnng way from getting back to normal and it feels like one big, long, bad day.

I got the all clear from yesterday's mammogram and can breathe my yearly sigh of relief on that front.  It got a little scary at one point where it looked like more dense area than usual and she said she wanted a nip shot of that area and would do the other too.   I had her use 32 lbs of pressure the whole time and she's like "I remember you!!" 😆 I said I cannot tolerate unnecessary callbacks so pancake those babies!!" I could see from the second scans they looked clear to my eye so I was pretty hopeful but was glad to have the results within 3 hours.  So please, I know it's scary but it's better to find something sooner than too late.  Also, if you have dense breasts make sure you request the 3D mammogram and as much pressure as you can stand for that 4 minutes of your life.  If you don't feel like you had a thorough job done or your instinct is telling you something is off after a self exam and mammogram despite getting an all clear, get a second opinion.  YOU know your body and how it normally feels.

Now let's feel:

The Only 8 Exercises You Need to Be Strong for Life (You'll be shelling walnuts with your thighs in no time!)

5 Exercise Mistakes That Can Actually Halt Weight Loss (Nobody wants to put in all of that work just to do it wrong)

Weight Watchers moves into obesity drugs market  (Uhh, wow.)

Gua Sha Helps Relieve Facial Tension—But Did You Know It Can Help With Foot Pain, Too?  (Y'all know I love all things gua shua and my little tool has been used on my feet almost as much as my face)

These 3 Gut Bacteria Could Contribute To Dementia Risk, New Study Finds  (I'll do whatever I need to keep that crap at bay.)

The Fun No-Spend Pantry Challenge That Cuts Down My Family's Grocery Bill  (I need to do this.)

Stop Using Cheap Plastic Drywall Anchors  (Glad I found this.  Since we have to relocate our coat rack to a shadier wall, these will help tremendously!)

16 Signs of Being Raised by a Highly Critical Parent (Wow.  I wanted to cry reading this as every single one applies to me.  Thanks Dad.  You weren't around long but just long enough to do a crap ton of damage)

Stop Eating Cold, Rubbery Pancakes  (I was about to scoff at it based on the title alone but it makes total sense and I'mma try it!!)

Macaroon vs. Macaron: What’s the Difference?  (The Mr will tell you, this is one of my big pet peeves.  If someone on a show that should know better calls those elegant, delicate little bebes a MACAROOOON, I will turn off the show after throwing the remote.  It's the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to my ears...second to hearing our neighbors.)

Well, we're not quite sure if he's going for broke today because he said he was getting here early and planned to stay until 5pm.  So who knows if he just wants to knock it out or what.  That would be nice.  I could use a break next week.  Still haven't finished the closet and the Mr kindly offered to do so but I'm not holding us to anything.  It just needs the back wall sanded down and then paint but we'll be so in the thick of drywall dust today we may be totally over it and say eff dat.  So, who knows what today holds which means we don't quite know yet what the weekend holds.  I thought it would be priming and painting last week when we had hope but if we're going to push forward with the other wall sooner than later, it doesn't make sense to put everything back to together just to tear it right back apart.  Hopefully the Mr can get him to take his quick measurement of the wall today and he can work on a quote this weekend and procuring the drywall in a SMALLER truck because we'd only need about 6 sheets since we have two left over.

Edit: He hasn't shown up yet (almost 10am) so we're definitely going into next week.  Not cool given we rearranged our whole morning routine and rushed around like mad people only to still be waiting.  They always start out on time the first day then it slowly goes to crap, without fail.  🙄

Edit to the edit:  Yeah that 8- 5 or 6pm day went to 10am-3:30pm real quick.  Time to start making the list of things he's going to fix before he thinks he's gonna blow in here and sand then take his check.  Never fails.

You got any plans this weekend that are putting a spring in your step?

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In the Stew Midweek Update

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We're still in the thick of everything.  The drywall is hung, the guy came yesterday to fill gaps with sealant and will be back today to finish that and then prep for mudding and taping.  Tomorrow the family will be coming back to complete mudding and taping and Friday to sand which could potentially throw us into Monday depending on how it goes.  Not quite how I thought I'd be spending the weekend since I hoped to be at least priming but you know what, hopefully all of the corners and ceiling stuff looks smooth as a babies butt and I'll wait the extra time for that if need be.   I don't know why I never anticipate contractor jobs taking a week for this kind of thing.  (Not that we've had our walls essentially rebuilt before but you know what I mean.)  

A funny side story.  We've got a very international team and the owner is from the Middle East.  Super nice guy and seems to know what he's talking about.  He and the Mr got to chatting and he said that he has to explain what he does to his family back home because they don't have drywall there.  Everything is built from brick and concrete so everything is strong.  Someone from the Middle East had a house built and called him to install new 5/8" drywall over the existing brand new drywall.  He tried to tell them it was strong even though it was wood and drywall and the guy wasn't buying it so he had him install 300 sheets of 5/8" drywall over everything that was just constructed for strength!   An interesting story and always funny what standards people have in other countries compared to our crap standards here.  

It's been a week.  You know there are stories to tell and we're still hoping against hope that we didn't light thousands on fire.  I wish I could say I'm not eating my stress but it's happened.  

I've got my mammogram tomorrow so if you could throw out some good vibes for that, I'll do the same for y'all because you're making sure yours are being squished, yes??  I'll walk in, tell her 32 lbs of pressure and to flatten those mofos until they pop.  I always seem to get super nervous about it.  Not the procedure like at all but the whole reason it's being done.  I did some poking around and I don't feel anything weird so that's at least a plus but leave it to be scheduled this week in addition to the rest of the fun.

Do you have your mammies grammied?  Any midweek updates you'd like to share?

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The Chaos Before the Storm Weekend Recap

I know it's supposed to be calm but there has been no calm.  😂

First things first, Happy Monday!  Welcome to a new week!  A week of transformation and peace...hopefully.  Wednesday and Thursday we got a bit of a jump on things with pulling off baseboards, I caulked under the current drywall to decouple and we reapplied as shrinkage happened.  When the Mr pulled off the cove molding on the stringer going upstairs, we saw some tiny gaps where we took the opportunity to squirt some acoustic caulk in there with some syringes to see if it could help with vibration.  The stringer has been our biggest concern in this whole project because there is no way for us to get behind it to put in any sound deadening and this was the closest we were going to get.  I doubt it'll do a ton but we were thankful for the opportunity to put something back there.  That was the most tedious stuff along with filling holes for nails and molly screws with the caulk as well.  All of that stuff has to be filled in or else you're essentially wasting your money by having avenues for the sound to escape.

Friday morning didn't start out well as one of the Mr's co-workers stole his chargers that were clearly wired into his desk and the guy wouldn't have known they were there unless he looked behind his computer.  When he found them on the guy's desk, he messaged him asking if he borrowed it.  He said no, it was his.  "Wow so we both have the exact same charger with the same bright red 10' cord? (from the same manufactured year that isn't even made anymore and a knot in the exact same spot.)  "Yeah that's crazy."  Wow.  It would be like you having your favorite shirt with a hole in the pocket that had a Winnie the Pooh patch covering it and the third button missing and the guy saying it's his.  People suck.  

It was also the drywall delivery day and let me tell you, that about sent the Mr and I over the edge.  First you know we live in a townhome which means rules.  One of them is no semis or a $500 fine.  Wanna know what pulled up?  This:

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Now maybe you more experienced peeps are like "what did you think was going to deliver it?"  Honestly, I thought a large U Haul like truck with a pallet trolley and moveable tailgate like the dude that delivered our hardwoods.  Not some big effin' truck with a CRANE and STABILIZERS like a friggin' firetruck!!!  And obviously it was raining all over it too.  I went into a full on panic attack upstairs.  I couldn't even look at it.  It was only 18 sheets, I mean seriously!?  Thankfully, we're in an area with a wider road but it's like everyone and their mother saw it and I'm just waiting for the busy bodies to get in a snit over it.  The Mr talked to our contractor and said we are not allowed to have trucks that big back here and he said "we are insured and the delivery truck is insured.  If there's any issues, you send the office to us to handle."  That made him feel better and I suppose it would for me too but that doesn't apply to a-hole HOA fees.  Like my friend pointed out, they would need to allow people who paid those big moving trucks back to their place but this was just obscene and such a spectacle.  It took the Mr and I a few hours to feel like we could finally breathe again after all of that.  Did I mention they let the trolley cart to transport it into the garage whack square into the wall?  How it didn't crash through it and give us a hole into d-bag's garage is a friggin miracle.  Then we were getting two 5 gallon tubs of green glue delivered from Amazon and we had to be home to get it and give them a code.  WTH??  It was supposed to be Saturday which sucked because that meant no leaving the house but we got an update that it was being delivered Friday so that was good.  The dude had to deliver it in torrential rain and Oz like winds so it wasn't until 9pm.  They're heavy mofos and the Mr had the applicator guns delivered too.  Thank goodness because the contractor was like "oh, the supplier is all out of the applicators."  "We've got it covered dude."  Yeah, we don't like to leave anything to chance if we don't have to so that was covered but it was still a hectic, nerve wracking delivery when it shouldn't have been.  I swear the universe is trying to kill me with stress.  😐  You all have been here long enough, you see the stuff that is just beyond what normal people deal with.  I think the poor Mr is about to lose it so he can join me in la la land.

I was super bummed to see yet another no loss week because I had been SOOOO good on my water and I was more active during the day.  The Mr lost 2 though so woot for him!  🥳  He grabbed some grocery pickups and we watched Cesar Milan until it was time to grab lunch.  After that, it was time to get to work.  The Mr pulled the rails and mounts off the walls:

Then I grabbed the acoustic caulk and put them in the syringes again to fill the holes from back to front.

The door trim on the garage entry door had to be popped off because the 5/8" drywall is going to come out further than the trim.  Initially, the dude said they would caulk behind it and cut around it.  Nope.  This is where his laundry room is on the other side and I'm not having THAT be the weak link after spending $7K.  Of course there was some splitting but hopefully the almighty Titebond wood glue will do the trick.  As I've said before, you never know the "surprises" waiting for you behind your trim, baseboards and outlets.

Hello Gappy McGapperson.

I would be caulking forever on that so I grabbed some of the sound deadening mats and cut it to fit.

That fit in there well and then it was time to move on to the side gaps which were thankfully less so I could just use the caulk.

By the end of Saturday, we had the largest bulk of the stuff done.  The chairs and chest/table and lamp were moved downstairs, loveseat flipped to the back wall and table moved to the corner.  The only large furniture left to move Sunday were the armoires which would be relatively easy.  As far as everything else, removing switch/outlet covers on the wall, getting the rug rolled up (which was already damaged anyway so it needed thrown out), putting down ramboard over the hardwoods where they would be working and general cleaning.  So it was good we got a jump on things earlier in the week as it allowed our weekend to not be quite as jam packed as we thought it would be.  

I don't think I've mentioned it before but we're pretty sure the entire household of at least three people are all Jay and Silent Bob level pot smokers.  I don't give a rat's ass if you smoke pot but when it seeps into OUR basement where we workout...we've got a problem.  We've tried upgrading the insulation where we smelled it most and a negative ion air purifier- both of which failed miserably.  So the Mr went down and showed where the electric dude pointed out the shared line of gas and electric that run through our building.  Well the piece of drywall in that spot was barely covered in insulation and the foam job we did around it a few years ago that basically turned it into orange packing peanuts on the wall does nothing either.  So I grabbed a few squares of our acoustic putty pads to wrap around the gas and electric lines as well as the large piece of drywall that was missing.  The Mr noted it is strong in the middle of the basement and he said he smelled it lower more than higher.  So obviously we ordered some clear silicone caulk and will be pulling everything out from the basement walls to try to slather any obvious cracks we see.  I will tell you there were some good sized ones under the wall at the landing of the basement when I put the auto putty pads down which completely shut down the air flow in that wall.  So if we can get the positive pressure of his unit shut down on our side as much as possible, maybe we have a chance at a life that isn't constantly wrapped up in battling this jackhole.  It is literally like the pot shop from campus moved in next door.  Like I said, you want to smoke a skunk, have at it but it should not be infiltrating our home.

Sunday morning came early and I could swear I smelled pot but didn't know if it was mild PTSD from the night before and how strong it was in the basement because the heat wasn't on.  So no sleep for me after 6am.  By 8am we had confirmation that we were on the schedule for Monday morning at 9am.  We fueled up with a breakfast that wasn't the healthiest but sometimes you need banana mac nut chocolate chip pancakes when you've got a long day ahead of you.  I got to laying down ramboard upstairs to protect the hardwoods the Mr laid while he did a little cleaning.  Then we tackled the 'demon void' which is this void just above the landing ceiling that is open to the basement.  That is one big source of where d-bag's ganja seeps through.  We tried spray foam but that did nothing so off to grab the deadening mats again.  It took this many tools to get them in place and set.

I used the hooky thing to drape the putty sheet over and get it to the back of the 24" void, the long floor scraper to poke it into place long enough to pull the hook out, the pole sander to smoosh any pockets and along the top, the stand up paddle to smooth/seal the edges and the rando red stick to get any spots those others wouldn't.  

By some miracle it fit along the back and we are just praying it does it's job and keeps his skunk butt on his side.

It is not lost on me that the Mr used Too Close for Comfort DVD's to keep the hinge open into the void.  Then he put the mineral insulation back in front of it.

Then it was putting down ramboard and getting the furniture moved out of the way.

We're as ready as we can be physically.  Mentally...whole other thing.  (Especially since I started reading old posts about our 2020 kitchen reno and it brought it all back.)  I will probably be upstairs with earplugs in so I don't have to hear what they say and yell text the Mr down in the thick of it asking what's going on.  We'll just be masked and try to tell ourselves we will envy next week us...hopefully.   So we're going to try to enjoy the last night with our original drywall.  I can't help but fondly remember the little old retired couple who started out there beside us almost 28 years ago.  The only good neighbors we ever had for about 6 years then nothing but a parade of flaming assholes until we hit peak asshole with this gem that in the end will cost us about $10K for us to be able to attempt to enjoy our own home.

So say a little prayer this goes well.  It's only our sanity riding on it.

How was your weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #9

Happy Friday party people!  I know you're ready for some shenanigans.   The inexhaustible well of excitement continues as you saw in my midweek update.  Throw in a visit from the extended warranty peeps for the microwave yesterday and bulk pick up today to remove said fried microwave and it's been a whirlwind of people-y 'goodness' that I think we both could do without.  On the upside, they did approve our claim or whatever but gave us a $400 we have to use at the store.  They said we could use it to get it back on our new microwave purchase since we're within the return window.  Do you think that worked?  Nope.  The Mr went through the 13 circles of Hell talking to people all over the Earth except however someone at ANY of our local stores because they all put their phones on forward now.  So we're just going to wait for the other gift card to come for the refund of the install charge and we'll have $550 toward a new dryer or something.  So yes, always get the extended warranty when you buy.

Now let's buy into:

Morning exercise burns more body fat, mouse study shows  (Dammit.)

Study: Extra 20 Minutes of Daily Physical Activity Helps Prevent Hospitalizations  (Interesting and hopeful so you don't have to toil away all day long for the benefits.)

This Popular Workout Move Is Practically Useless, According to an Exercise Physiologist  (There are actually several.  Very good tips and I'll be adjusting a few.)

Regular laxative use may be linked to dementia risk, study says  (WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:  If you take a magnesium supplement, it is considered an osmotic laxative as well.  This also includes stool softeners.)

A New Study Hints That 38% of Cognitive Decline Risk Is Impacted By These Lifestyle Factors  (Always good to know what you need to keep an eye on)

A Supplement Company 'Hijacked' Its Amazon Reviews to Boost Sales, According to the FTC  (Great, I just got some calcium supps from them.  I'll be switching brands once those are done though.  Total BS)

Yes, You Do Get to Grieve Your Lost Childhood  (Good because it still hits me out of nowhere sometimes.)

Why You Need to Stop Clicking Sponsored Google Links  (Because it's always something, isn't it?)

“Living Journaling” Is the New Scrapbooking — But Way Easier  (ROFLMAO.  I was trying to envision what mine would look like lately and this is what I came up with.  Click to enlarge)

Dave Grohl Barbecues for 24 Hours to Serve 500 Meals at Los Angeles Homeless Shelters  (As usual...Dave is the man)

Miss a post here this week?  Click below to catch up!

Frustrated Incorporated Weekend Update

Midweek Update

Well, this weekend is full of mayhem.  The drywallers start next week and it did not fill me with confidence when the Mr said one of the dudes was an old man who could barely walk. 😑 I mean good for him and I'm sure he's been doing it a long time but it's just been too little time to deal with what we dealt with in July for that observation to not fill me with dread.  (A drywall sheet is 4x10 and 4x heavier than a regular sheet so I'm just trying to wrap my head around how one young dude and an old couple are going to be able to get everything done based on weight alone.)  On Wednesday I started pulling off baseboards and putting acoustic sealant in the massive gaps.  I had to put backer rod in a lot of it to build up some spots to be able to caulk because the gaps were so massive.  If you ever feel like you hear your neighbors in your townhome, start with the baseboards and outlets because there's some horrific crap going on back there.  The rest of the weekend is us trying to figure out how to get stuff off the walls and filled and moved, etc.  For some reason the dude won't do the painting estimate until the job is done which I do not understand given the square footage is not going to change.  We're figuring he has to bring in yet another subcontractor for that.  I don't know that I have the energy for that.  Not that painting is my jam, I don't mind it like some people do (Mr) but to save a grand or more (from my research), then yeah...pass me the roller.

What's rollin' for you this weekend?

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Midweek Update

true dat

Is it Sunday?   It feels like Sunday in that it feels like we've lived 7 days since I wrote last Sunday's weekend recap post.  

I got a note Sunday night from my aunt that grandma's headstone has been cracked in half and has sunk by the cemetery workers.  They had another service nearby and thought using ratty plywood that is 13 years old and splintering on the ends would protect a gravestone from a 5000 lb digger.  I have seen this happen there before and even said "how do those shitty pieces of old plywood do ANYTHING?"  Short answer:  They don't.  They also did not move her vase and the flag with her picture back to her headstone.  My cousin came across this and moved stuff back.  I can't even bring myself to go look at it yet.  I took the opportunity to put the bug in my aunt's ear that maybe we could make lemonade out of lemons and add "mother and grandmother" to the beloved wife that was on the stone.  Many of us were quite shocked and saddened at the omission and I'm hoping maybe the reason she's taking a little longer to get back to me is because she's checking around.  The reason I replace the flag twice a year is because it says mother and grandmother and everyone has said that makes them feel better.  So fingers crossed something good can potentially come out of this otherwise careless and heart wrenching situation.

In other news, we're under contract.  (Insert PTSD from previous drywallers)  The new, hopefully better drywallers come out this morning to get precise measurements and scope out the garage to have the drywall delivered to.  No clue yet when this actually starts but I'm assuming next week.  That means no rest for the wicked this weekend.  We have to remove everything off / out of the walls (molly screws, trim, baseboards etc) and I'll need to fill in the holes with sealant so no noise can escape those parts when they drywall over it.  When we get the go ahead, we'll need to move all of the furniture from that side of the room to the other side and pray they have enough room to work because we have nowhere else to put it all.  I know the dining chairs will have to go in the basement and likely the chest that serves as a side table because it takes up too much room.  We can put it on a drop cloth and slide it downstairs.

We'll basically be like this all weekend:

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We'll have to give it the 45 days to see how the green glue does for us to decide when to proceed with the other side.  Or if the noise dampening is so noticeable that we are instantly satisfied after they mud and tape then we'll have to see if we're willing to just continue the chaos sooner than later.  Given her dog has been a flaming a-hole all morning, I'm currently voting for sooner.  (But I also know we need a mental break soon or we're going to have one.)  

How is it that even when you're not doing the work yourself, it's still just as aggravating and time consuming as if you were?

😐

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Frustrated Incorporated Weekend Recap

Good Monday morning to you all!  I hope you are hungover with bliss in how awesome your weekend was because that's what normal people's weekends are, right?  Jam packed with awesome?  At least that's how we assume it is because ours are usually the opposite and the taint slide into the weekend was no exception.

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I spent last week essentially busting my booty to attempt to get out what smoke smell I could.  From baking soda to vinegar to clear coating to wiping down everything, it was quite exhausting.  I subsisted on easy lunches like Cheerios and strawberries or cottage cheese and grapes because I had nothing more in me to make sure I had lunch.  I spent Thursday with the blow dryer and heat gun detaching around 65 cork squares I put up in vain in 2020 in attempts to deaden sound in cabinets.  Spoiler alert:  It didn't work.  What it did do is absorb a goodly amount of smoke.  That cabinet contained everything from cookbooks to tea bags in a now ruined bamboo tea box to canisters of flour, sugar, etc.  All had to be either thrown out or stuff like the sealed outer tea bags were put into a big sealable bag with baking soda boxes that seemed to be helping.  The only thing on that cabinet to not sustain smoke damage was my Grandma's cookbook which was directly above the fire.  I know what we think on that subject and anyone that doesn't believe someone was protecting that definitively would if you'd smelled that cupboard and everything in it.  My arms absolutely KILLED me Friday into Saturday on the bottom where I had to rest them on the edge of the bottom of the cabinet as I worked each cork square off.  The smoke smell is maybe 50% better but the reclaimed wood ceiling is holding the rest of it and it is hard to be in the kitchen.  After some research, dewaxed shellac is literally the only option we have so we were going to have to make a trip for that since that particular one is apparently hard to find.  Obviously.

Thursday was also the day the drywall dude came.  He seemed knowledgeable and we thought he understood how we wanted the green glue applied but it became apparent he didn't so we had to go through a big spiel about it.  He was going to see if his drywall distributor could get us the soundproof drywall which we know is much more expensive but we're desperate even if he claimed it does nothing.  Look pal, it does more than regular drywall according to most reviews and you add green glue to that and it should be MUCH quieter for us.  He did actual measurements and stuff; something the original guy a week or two ago did not do nor did he listen to anything we asked and that is the top rated drywaller in town.  He said he would get back to us with pricing that day or the next and then get the contract together if we want to go forward.  He actually either checked or went to his drywaller supplier and they were saying to use these one sound panels underneath.  A quick search showed those panels along with the 5/8" drywall were going to be too much for that area.  Not to mention he had the idea of building a furring strip wall which would be an inch deep and determined that would be too thick.  Well the panels his distributor was suggesting were only 1/4" less than that.  Plus they required screws to attach.  NOPE.  We do not need MORE points of vibration for that d-bag to have.  The Mr had to finally put his foot down on it and he dropped it.  He gave us kind of random pricing of things separate.  Basically $3500 for the labor and the materials were going to be about $1500 (which is actually less than we thought because he couldn't find the QuietRock 530 we wanted but we told him SoundBreak was fine too and that is $40 less per sheet of drywall.)  The way he was talking about the pricing was kind of weird in his texts and the Mr gave him the okay on Friday to send over a contract for us to look at but as of today we haven't gotten it yet.  I swear to God if this guy flakes on us, I'm going to lose my shizz.

Then came the loveliness of the microwave install.  The Mr checked the new microwave and it was the exact same size and used the exact same template.  The microwave was taken down for them, washers in place and bolts in the holes they needed to go in.  It literally could not be an easier job for these guys.  The install took 5 minutes and appeared to be good to go.  Then came Sunday.  The Mr checked in the cabinet.  Not only did they not use the large metal washers we provided (because it looks like swiss cheese up there from drilling for previous microwaves past) but the right side was not even screwed into the damn microwave!!

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We paid Best Buy for installation and the subs didn't even install it right.  The screw was in cockeyed and not even holding it up.  So we had to take the frigging thing down for the most part, get a new metal washer for the right side because the effer was too lazy to drill a 1/4" back to line things up when he literally had nothing else he had to do or grunt about and reinstall the thing ourselves.  If you think we're paying for install when the Mr had to reinstall, you are new here.  So the Mr chatted with a condescending AI chat that I would not have put up with before having to call to see if the local store could help us.  Of course they weren't going to give us our money back but a gift card.  Oy.  Whatever.  I'm sure something else will blow up soon we can put it toward.  Unfortunately they don't carry hot water tanks there since every time it runs it sounds like an explosion waiting to happen.  Dealing with all of the crap meant by the time we were done eating brunch, we were bushed for the day which sucked because their was still much to do with zero motivation left from the soul crush that has become the daily grind around here.  

I decided to see if I could get the closet done as far as the soundproofing stuff.  I pulled the baseboards off and saw this loveliness against Chez Douche's wall:

Sure...no sound can get through that huge gap as well as the one hiding under the front piece.  😒  I immediately put acoustic caulk back there then covered the plywood with the sound deadening mats like I did the bottom part.  I had some brain farts and mixed up a few pieces of trim but ask me if I care at this point.  It's a closet and not a walk in so I have zero interest in how polished it looks right now.  I still need to sand the back wall then paint over the patches from the insulation install but that wasn't happening yesterday given it was getting late at that point and we still had leg day to do with Joel Freeman.  I felt like a rag doll after that and had no interest in doing more than I needed to food wise (see a trend?) so I chucked some shrimp and crab ravioli in boiling water while I made an arugula salad with radishes and red cabbage then threw on a little alfredo sauce and called it done.

I told the Mr the to do list is endless.  Like even once we get the drywall done (if that ever happens), we have to get the other side done, paint the walls and ceilings again and reattach every baseboard which means caulking and repainting.  Eventually do the stairs which we thought last year would be our early 2023 project until the universe chuckled, the bathroom floor needs replaced because since doing the hardwoods upstairs the gray LVP now looks like hillbillies live here.  The garage needs to be drywalled and green glued because if you think we hear the neighbor well inside, in the garage we hear every single word because there is clearly ZERO insulation in there.  So we're likely going to get mineral wool insulation and open up each cavity and shove that crap in there and see what it does before committing to doing out there what we're doing in here (attempting at this point).  The basement is in full disarray again and I want to throw it all out.  Is there ever a day as a homeowner where everything is in it's place, every project is done and you can sit down and breathe for like a week?

Somewhere in all of that insanity we binged White Lotus season two since we have HBOMax for another week or so.  My God that was awful.  I was expecting better than the first season which I wasn't overly impressed with to begin with but it was actually slower, more boring and made us want to rage for wasting 3 hours over the weekend.  I know we were late to the party but UGH.

Then we settled in for some Chateau to unwind and that about shot us in the butt for the night.

Anything fun on your end this weekend?  Would love to hear it!

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