They Found Our Missing Window! plus Socially Distant Grandkids Visit

Yayyyyy! Menards called and said they found our eighth missing window!  They found out that it had been accidentally shipped to the Menards store in Marquette, Michigan.

That is 140 miles away from here. 

I suppose, the label reading Marquette, is close to the spelling of Marinette? Anyhow, they apologized over and over. They are sending a separate pick up truck up from the Marinette store tomorrow to get it and bring it back down to Marinette. They said we can come and get it by Tuesday. (too bad they don't deliver for free).  Then early Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. we will drive to the curbside pickup at the special order door and have it placed in the back of our Saturn. We are trying to avoid any physical contact. It's an extra 40 mile round trip for us. That's much better than waiting another six to eight weeks for another custom window to be built for our dimensions.

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After coffee this morning, Steve decided maybe we would tackle replacing the next window. He's going to work his way around the house window by window until all eight of them are replaced. This is window number two. Is he going to do one every day?

This is the one in the master bedroom that faces to the South. Again, it has the same problem of moisture build up between the inner window and the outer storm, due to air leakage. The outside temperature during the day is in the 30s and at night down in thet teens and 20s. It will be good to get this done before we hit the Sub-Zero stuff!

Steve started today outside on the ladder, removing the many long 3-inch screws that were driven into the house to hold this crazy storm window creation into place.  This time, none of them were stripped and he was able to remove them all from the frame.

This is a pretty awful situation between the inner window panes and this outer aluminum storm. Not only is the moisture build-up, but it looks pretty rough and rugged too. It will be good to have this cleaned up and nice new windows all around.

Again, the outside storm windows had been caulked into place and had to be cut all the way around to free it from the window frame. Finally Steve was able to remove the stops on the inside (without breaking any) to take out the interior window panes one at a time.  Now he can reuse the original 100 year old wooden stops and not have to create new ones. He thoughtfully laid a spare towel on my handmade quilt to lay out his tools. 

While in the middle of our project, we suddenly got a text message that there was a delivery coming our way! Down the sidewalk, came two of our grandchildren bearing gifts. They walked a mile to get here in the winter cold to give us a socially distant delivery and a little visit at the same time. Awwwww

Clayton had to take a glance in the open window space while Grandpa was getting ready to set the new window into the opening. Of course, what little boy doesn't want to climb up a ladder?

While we visited out on the front porch, at a 6-foot distance, it was getting a little chilly. They patiently waited while I went inside and managed to surprise them with a couple Christmas mugs of hot cocoa. Complete with mini marshmallows!

While Chelsea and I were talking on the front porch stairs, Clayton decided he was going to do a project for us and remove all of the clumps of crabgrass and weeds from between our squares of sidewalk pavers. Kneeling down on that cold stone, he pulled and tugged and pulled and tugged until he got all of the pieces out of the cracks.  He was so focused on his job. 

Once he was done with that part, now he was able to grab the "Big Boy Toy" leaf blower and take care of blowing all the leftover clumps of dirt off of the sidewalk. He had a lot of energy today and he was looking for things to do. What fun to play with this battery operated blower and take care of making things look nice for us at the same time. We really appreciate that.

Since we had this fine gravel spread on our driveway this past summer, many of the grandkids are obsessed with smoothing it out anytime there are marks on it. Chelsea made a big spiral footprint design. Then Clayton had to get out the wide shop broom to smooth it all out again.

It's kind of like that ancient Chinese art where they do gravel in intricate patterns as a form of meditation. The kids are not happy until everything is smooth again to their liking.

It sure is fun to find things to do while socially distant, and have some interactions with grandkids.  I hope things will change soon, and we can be more in contact.  Again for the upcoming Christmas, their parents will test everyone in advance, isolate themselves, and be able to be together during Christmas vacation and New Years.  Wheeeee! 

After a while, it was time for them to head on back home. They gave us some long-distance socially distanced hugs, through the air. We really appreciate their efforts and then they had to track on home one mile in the cold weather.

p.s. the rug is to keep our mail lady from tripping on the 

cord leading to the little decorated tree behind Clayton.

Here are the treats they brought by. One was a loaf of beer bread and the other one is a loaf of cinnamon bread. Freshly baked! What a wonderful treat.

Steve got back to the work on the bedroom window. He sealed around with non-expanding foam and caulk under the trim. The original trim stops were all put in place and he took care of any little trim and nailing as well. We could immediately feel the difference in the room, as well as the sound muffling from the outdoor noises. This is going to be a great improvement.

Now that all the trim was in place, next would be my job to touch it all up with paint. I decided I would take care of that after lunch.

For a quick lunch, I took some chili out of the freezer. I really like cooking in large portions. One day a few weeks ago, I made up a big pot of chili, I had enough to set aside for a four or five quick lunches. A day like today was perfect for taking out a container and heating it up. Something to warm us up on the inside. We cut a few slices of that wonderful beer bread and had that along with the chili. Yummmm!!!

Oh..... The little dogs came out to spend time with us on the front porch and I snapped this picture of Finnegan, situated perfectly between my little reindeer and my red tree. He's such a handsome little fellow.

Finnegan has been full of pep and energy, and he has been eating well. Today he had a clump of leftover chicken as well as a crust of pizza, in addition to his normal dog food (I am still hand feeding him).   While the grandkids were here, they barked and ran around on the front porch and enjoyed the visit too. 

In the house, the dogs have been chasing around each other and playing, and taking a break every now and then to peek out the window and find something interesting to bark at. I'm glad that they are enjoying themselves together and having fun.

We later took a nice break while the Packer game was on TV. Steve was watching the game, so the dogs and I curled up to take a nap. Good to recharge a little...

After all, we have more windows to work on tomorrow.