It's Magic Kingdom day today, so what would be better than a bunch of cupcakes for the crew? I had a new creamsicle recipe I wanted to test and all the ingredients on hand, unusual for this house.
With everything laid out on the table, I began dumping things into the bowl ... like the cake mix, the jello ... and prepared to beat away with my handy dandy Kitchenaid mixer. It didn't work. I plugged it in again and again ... three different plugs. Well for heavens sake!! I ran all the way out to the rig and got THAT mixer. It didn't work either. That's when I knew there was a problem.
What's with my outlets? Hey .... here's the time to use the new tool Nick Russell showed me. I hit the test button and reset the GFI. The green light turned red. I plugged the mixer back in and it WORKED!! I think my ghosty friends are visiting.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled 24 cupcakes out of the oven. Time for the best of all ... FROSTING! I rather love frosting ... the more the better. This was a cream cheese variety that I would color for the lovely orange and black of halloween. The orange was easy, the black not so much. It takes a LOT of black dye to get black.
My decorations were on the sad side, not coming out like the picture AT ALL, but I forged ahead until I completed them. The "accident" happened in the cleanup. You put frosting in a plastic sleeve to decorate with. Getting the tip out of the sleeve is always a challenge, requiring the use of a knife to cut it out. Little did I realize as I had it turned upside down, that the heat of my hand was melting the frosting. You see where I'm going here?
With the tip finally out, I stepped back to head to the trash can when I saw it. A HUGE smeary glob of frosting sitting on the edge of the counter ... and on the cupboard door ... and on the rug ... and on the floor. That's when I looked down at my shirt where the majority of frosting ended up. MY NEW SHIRT!!! It now has a big black stripe across the front. I ripped it off and threw it in the sink, scrubbing immediately with hot water!! Why does this happen to me???
Maybe it's payback for scaring all the little kids when I was the wicked witch of the Accounting Department. That's green hair coloring I sprayed on my face and hands. It took me over an hour to clean all the black off the cabinets. I'm sure no one will notice the black spot on the rug that wouldn't come out. Cooper has a little black tongue, but that will go away ... eventually.
I did promise pictures of the Pumpkin Patch, but didn't make it back. The glass company had a cancellation and came for an estimate. It didn't go so well. The guy said the roof was entirely too steep and would require scaffolding. That's spelled $caffolding with a capital $$$. See those three windows up top? The middle is the only one not broken. He said it was because the house was settling, which didn't settle with me, but what do I know.
The more I thought about it, the more I wanted a second opinion, so I called my expensive Contractor friend who did work at the ranch. Here's his take on it. There's not enough weight on those windows to break them. Dormer windows in houses are all heavily spray painted black on the back so you can't see inside when you drive by. When it really heats up around here, like 108 degrees every day for a week, those black windows absorb so much heat, they break. He's seen it many times.
Unfortunately the fix will not be inexpensive, since the wood frame on the bottom has dry rot. I have to agree with that .... with no cover from the rain and a bad paint job, that framing needs to be replaced with concrete board. It will be a pricey fix no doubt, but the job will be done right. Just to be sure there isn't another alternative, he's checking with his Glass Guy. There will be no more quilt material for me as I scrape up some money. I await both estimates.
There is something important I'm supposed to do today, although I can't remember what it was. Hopefully it comes to me before time to head to the Magic Kingdom. Tomorrow for sure, I'll get back to the Pumpkin Patch for pictures of the dinosaurs!!
By the way, GO GIANTS!! They pulled it out by the skin of their teeth.
That first contractor sounds more like a con-artist. An extension ladder to the roof is all he needs. The pitch on the roofs here in Ontario Canada are far steeper to support the weight of the snow. You need to have roof vents installed on the back of your roof. They'll be out of site from the road, remove the excess heat from the attic and stop those windows from breaking. All that should keep your costs way down.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
That's why I called my General Contractor, even though it will cost me more!! The first guy just wants the easy jobs at a high price. I do have something like twelve roof vents on the back side of the house, but they are overworked in 108 degrees every day for over a week.
DeleteNote to Rick
ReplyDeleteShe may already have her roof vents then maybe on the backside when you do a decorative dormer the way that is you don't want the vest to interfere with the line of the house some put them on the side an in the back
Nancy seeing how if you don't have a second-story room up there did your contractor look at it from the inside of the attic
Here in Florida a lot of contractors on the high-end houses do quarter Dommers or eyebrows usually what they'll do is have a cut out inside up in the attic it's also a way of relieving the moisture and heat from that area
If your contractor does not find an access to that Area he would do well by making one just to relieve that heat Factor ( The Dommer serves no structural reason other then decorative )
Yes, the dormer is decorative. My idea was to close it up completely, but the Contractor says it would look funny. He'll be by this morning with a couple of ideas ... inexpensive ones I hope!!
DeleteOne of the reasons why your glass guy was so expensive they where frayed to get near or to touch that copper gutter
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if your new contractor takes it down while he works on that dimmer
They'll put copper flashing at the time they install the roof but copper gutters are usually the last thing to go on a house
Usually within a month of signing papers
I don't think the first glass guy even knew those were copper. He didn't hesitate to throw his ladder up against it!!
DeleteHot water sets stains. Always use cold water.
ReplyDeleteDiane I thought that while I was washing it, but with all that butter and cream cheese, I was hoping it would melt it away. Actually it came pretty clean ... surprisingly!!
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