Darkoshi

This morning, I had a nightmare about the election results. That T* won in all states but 2. Or purportedly won. Realizing it was a dream was only partly relieving, because the nightmare still feels like a real possibility. But at least the opposite is quite possible too. It has to be.

..

Qiao's house has had an on-again off-again mildew-smell problem since he moved in. It doesn't bother him, but does me. By now, I'm pretty sure it's related to the HVAC system. This last week, the mildew smell has been worse than ever. It started a few days after we turned the heater on for the first time this season. We ran the heater for a long time with the windows open to air it out. We haven't had the A/C on since then. (I think that means it shouldn't be a problem with condensation dripping from the cooling coils.) It hasn't rained much since then either, only lightly a few times. But 2 days after having the heater on, the bad smell started.

This morning I began searching online for an inexpensive duct camera that I could use to inspect the ducts.

This afternoon, I had an sudden epiphany. Or rather a hypothesis which might not be true at all, about where the smell could be coming from, and why it's sporadic. A metal shroud covers the ductwork between the outside HVAC unit and the house; pine needles accumulate on the joint between it and the unit. Every once in a while, I clear it off. MAYBE clearing it off makes rain leak into that joint, rather than preventing it. I had just brushed away debris there not long ago. Maybe that's why the smell comes and goes.

So I took a closer look at it, and yes water could definitely be getting in there. (Qiao is having an HVAC inspection in a few days anyway, so I plan to ask the technician if they can check it when they come.)

But as it's forecast to rain tomorrow, I ended up caulking that seam today, and felt good about it. Like maybe I've finally found the problem/solution! (Old houses should come with manuals!) Or maybe not. But for the moment, it's a possibility at least.

Now tonight Qiao has turned on the attic fan. Even with windows open, it still also pulls nasty-smelling air up from the ducts. Blech.

But I guess if it's wet in there somewhere, that's the only way it's going to dry out, and at least the windows are open. Though I think it would dry out better with the heater on. But that's what seemed to start all this mess. So ::throws hands in air:: :: like I just don't care :: but I do, but I do :: do the hokey pokey and turn ourselves around, that's what it's all about ::

I was finally warmed up enough, feeling nice and toasty. But then lying in bed, felt hungry. It's late enough in the day now that I really ought to be up, even though I got only 4.5 hours of sleep.

There's a Nextdoor post about a recent break-in in the neighborhood. The burglar must not have been able to completely kick the door in, but enough so to make a hole big enough to reach inside to unlock it.

That reminded me of an undone item on my to-do list, installing longer screws on my doors' strike plates and hinges. As well as replacing some of the strike plates, apparently.

So I thought that maybe I could get started on that today. Should be easy, right? Drill the holes deeper, replace some screws... (I'd forgotten the part about replacing the strike plates.)

Being low on sleep seems to make me feel a greater sense of urgency about random things like this. Like my brain is less able to moderate impulses. Sometimes it helps me get things done. Sometimes it side-tracks me from doing things that I ought to have been doing instead.

Now where did I put those long screws? And do I have any drill bits here, or did I take all the good ones to Qiao's house when I was putting up the extra hooks on his porch?

Fireworks noise. At least one of my dogs has been acting like the world is coming to an end, and she doesn't know what to do. I had to put them both outside earlier because the small one's non-stop barking at the noise was starting to drive me batty, and I had to cook the vegetables. Otherwise I wouldn't have time to cook them til next weekend, and they'd go bad.

Interestingly, outside (probably in the garage), she stopped barking.

I went outside to check on them a little while ago, and to look at the fireworks which were getting louder. Going back inside, they forced their way in the door with me. Inside, the little one started barking again, in between running around. They both appear to have calmed down now.

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I succeed at many things, but I feel like a failure too.
The table's a non-stop mess of stuff.
I recorded mediocre audio of the cicadas and katydids (that is what the night-time tree critters are) on Thursday/Friday, but didn't have time to edit/post it.
I put up curtain rods for my mom. I put up a shelf in the kitchen.
I wanted to finally switch to the new laptop. Like the last times, I only managed to finish the "backup my data" step. Now it's almost 1am and by the time I'll have time for it again, I'll have updated a bunch of files again, so I'll have to start back over at the "backup my data" step.
I cooked the dang vegetables and made a salad with most of the cucumbers.
We went to the Santee again on Saturday. Road trips almost always leave me with headaches, and this was no exception.

I took a shower. I made lunches. I vacuumed. I washed some clothes. I swapped some light-bulbs. Oh. The boxes. I need to decide what to do with all the old incandescent bulbs. It's not like I'm going to start using them. So I might as well give them away. But should I keep some maybe, and if so how many, and which ones?
I cleaned out the cooler and washed the dog food bin.

My internet has a sporadic speed and connection problem but I don't have time to deal with it. Is there a way to determine/prove that it's a provider problem versus a modem problem? I'm afraid if I call TWC about it, they'll say that since I'm using my own modem instead of leasing one of theirs, that it must be due to my modem.

I need to sign up with a doctor but I don't have time to deal with it.

I need to start going to bed early enough to get enough sleep. but i don't but i don't

I was about to make a batch of brownies - had even measured out the first ingredient, when I remembered that the oven isn't working at all anymore. A few days ago, it started going beep-beep-beep every minute and showed an error code which indicated a short in the touchpad panel. So I've ordered a replacement panel which should get here by next week; hopefully that will fix it and I won't have to replace the whole oven.

Yesterday I tested grinding the concrete with the diamond cup wheel. It works, but takes longer than cutting grooves, and makes a whole lot more dust. Since the grooves I did last week seem to be working fairly well so far, I cut more grooves with the flat blade. Hopefully that will suffice to keep rainwater from seeping into the garage. If not, I may cut another shallow groove right along the door to connect the other grooves.

Qiao was watching the 1994 movie "(Leon) The Professional" this evening, and so I watched too. The actor playing the 12 year old girl looked familiar. It was a young Natalie Portman - her first movie!

Changed the sheets.
Washed 2 loads.
Washed dishes.
Watched a double episode of Criminal Minds (wasn't planning to, but got caught up in the story while Qiao was watching it).
Took a shower, cleaned the bottom of the shower curtain.
Figured out how to lift up/remove the front porch handrail so that I can reattach it to the brick (I need to replace the screws that used to hold it in place).
Transplanted some border grass from a place it doesn't need to be growing to a bare spot by the fence.
Went out to eat Indian for dinner, shopped at an Asian grocery - got some fresh Methi (Fenugreek) leaves and a can of Tangerine Schweppes.
Looked up info on kalira as we had seen them in a painting at the restaurant and not known what they were.
Browsed the internet.
Played Words With Friends.

One of the bedrooms is set up fairly well to block outside light to aid in sleeping:

using black-out panels, with regular curtains on top for aesthetics (to block out light coming straight through from the windows)

the curtains/panels are long enough to brush the floor (to block out light coming from underneath)

the curtain rods are the "return rod" type (with 90 degree angles on the ends so that the curtain edges can rest flush against the wall, to block out light coming in from the sides)

magnetic strips attached to sides of windows and sides of curtains (to further block light coming in from the sides)

the curtain rods are attached to the wall several inches above the windows (to block light from top of window)

above the rods, a wooden board is attached to the wall with metal brackets. A piece of black-out fabric (about 1 foot high), covered by curtain fabric, is attached to top of board and hangs down over the top of the curtains, like a valence/cornice box (to further block light from top of window)

It's not perfect. Some light still gets in through the cracks. But when the sun is up, with the curtains drawn and my eyes closed, I notice hardly any difference when I cover my eyes with my hands. So it is good enough.

Now I want to darken the other bedroom too. If possible, I want to improve upon my prior design. Not necessarily in light-blockage, but in ease of use.

I intended the curtains in the 1st room to be easy to open and close, to let in light and air during the day. But now I rarely even open one of the curtains. The curtain rings tend to snag on the curtain rod corners, so that I have to stand on the bed in order to reach the top and open/close the curtain. I tried attaching a wand but it didn't work out well (partly as there are really 2 parallel rods - more detail than I want to get into).

So. Pull-down black-out blinds with side channels might be good in light blockage and ease of use. But I want to be able to leave the window partially open to let in air at night, while still blocking the part of the window that is closed (especially as a street light shines towards the window). The windows in this bedroom slide open to the side, not up/down, so a pull-down blind would be less than ideal.

Black-out window inserts would block light well, but wouldn't allow air in. Plus it would be inconvenient to have to put up and take down the inserts every day, and store them somewhere during the day.

This product uses flexible rods to pin blackout material to the window. Interesting, but more trouble than I'd want to go through every day.

This product uses velcro strips to attach blackout material to the window. Interesting, but more trouble than I'd want to go through every day.

So. My current idea is to use a similar design as the first room in terms of blackout panels covered by curtains. But rather than using a curtain rod and curtain rings, to use a curtain track. That should make it easier to pull the curtains open and shut.

I want to attach the track to the ceiling, to avoid needing the wood board attached with metal brackets (for covering the top). This should also reduce the amount of light getting in from above.

Yet, most tracks are straight. They don't curve at the edges like return rods. So I would use flexible curtain track to be able to curve the ends.

But the track is supposed to be supported every 10 inches or so, while the ceiling joists are further apart. So maybe I'll attach the track to a board (...wait, wasn't I trying to avoid that? Yes, but...), and attach the board to the ceiling joists. That way I can also attach some fabric over the edge of the board as a valence/cornice like in the first room.

Still to consider: should I put up parallel tracks, to also allow hanging sheers?

edited to add:
I wonder if it would work to position the track right against the ceiling edge. Then I wouldn't need a curved track in order to have the blackout panel edges flush against the wall. But then I might need 3 parallel tracks - an inner track for the blackout panel, a center track for sheers, and an outer track for pretty curtains. Although if the sheers are pretty enough, I suppose I could do without curtains. Hmmm.

The brown silicone caulk I applied to the rim of the tub 2 years ago worked as I had hoped, in that during these last 2 years, no signs of mildew appeared on it. The brown color was truly unattractive, but it was better than seeing mildew.

Recently, however, a section of the brown caulk came loose from the tub. So I replaced the section with (not-so) new brown caulk. Unfortunately, that caulk was too old and never hardened. So it had to be replaced again...

At the hardware store, this time I found silicone caulk in a metallic grey color. Surely gray would look better than brown and would hopefully still be dark enough to mask any mildew that might appear over time.

So I decided to remove all the old brown caulk and replace it with the new gray one. I also removed the older light-colored caulk in the other sections, as it had gotten visibly mildewy in the meantime too.

The light-colored caulk had been the "Polyseamseal" brand. It was so well stuck to the surfaces that it was a right pain to remove. I had to use a razor-blade scraper with a lot of force. The razor blade ended up breaking.

I began to worry whether I was doing the right thing, using a silicone caulk again this time, as there had been other previous occasions where silicone caulk had come loose. Silicone caulk never seems to stick very well for me. The Polyseamseal one seems to stick much better. Yet I'd had other problems with the Polyseamseal one (like cracks in the middle, and it being a right pain to remove!!!)... Yet everything I read says that silicone caulk is the best kind for tubs.

As I had already bought the metallic gray silicone caulk, I went ahead and used it. The metallic gray color truly DOES look much better than the brown color did.

This time, I even caulked around the ends of the 2 handrails, which never had been caulked before. I had to first clean out a bunch of rust that had accumulated around the screws under the end cover-plates.

I know it is in vain, but I hope NEVER to have to caulk that tub again.

I had a mini-breakdown/tantrum while laying down the caulk. All this work! And it might all come loose again anyway! I went through all this work already in the past; why am I having to do it again and again?! Why do I have to do this kind of work during my vacations?! I hate this! It hurts my hands having to press down the trigger on the caulk gun! And no matter how much effort I put into it, and in spite of having more experience each time I do it, it still always ends up looking like sh*t! The bead never comes out nice and even. Even after I smooth the bead, some sections end up being a total mess. And then I have to spend time with toothpicks and q-tips trying to make it look better, but that only helps somewhat. Is there really any purpose to this caulking? Does it really even matter if water gets into the seams? The old silicone caulk that I removed seemed damp underneath, even in the sections where it hadn't been loose... maybe water gets underneath it anyhow. Maybe I'm going through all this effort for no good reason! Other people don't do this! What am I going to do when I get older and am no longer capable of putting so much effort into these tedious tasks?!

Sigh. I managed to get past the break-down with only a few tears, and without hitting anything, though I was tempted. What is it about rage that makes one want to hit things?

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I also finally replaced the toilet fill-valve which had been malfunctioning for over a year, but still technically working. Then I also had to replace the flapper which suddenly wasn't sealing well anymore. Then water starting dripping/leaking from the supply line! But it seems it may simply not have been tightened enough - hopefully I've fixed that now.

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Before (with part of the old brown caulk already removed):


After (nice and silvery):



Update (2014/01/12):
I'm really pleased with the new caulk color. Its silveriness, and the contrast between the color of the tub and caulk, looks very fancy. It looks just as good, if not better, than white caulk would have.

A video in which I explain my plans for replacing my water heater's anode rod, and demonstrate some of the tools which may be used. Also shown is how to remove a socket from a universal joint.

Forestfen is still in the process of moving her stuff from the old house to the new one. I want to help her get curtains put up, to make the new house look more lived-in.

The living room has 3 large windows. I think it would be best to have a single long curtain rod spanning all 3 windows.

Extra-long curtain rods are hard to find and are expensive. But I found these pages which explain how to make your own curtain rod from electrical conduit!

How to make a cheap, awesome, professional Curtain Rod

Steal this idea: Extra-long Conduit Curtain Rod

I could get 3 pieces of conduit, each about 7 feet long, and connect them together with wood dowels as suggested in a comment on the 2nd page:
I also used a wooden dowel about 3 inches long that fit just inside the conduit to join the rods together above the center of the window with a more streamline look. I glued the wood piece inside one of the rods so they can easily be disconnected if you want to wash the curtains, etc.

Connecting the rods that way should provide a smooth transition for the curtain rings to pass over. That sounds like a great way to avoid the problematic "bump" which expandable curtain rods have in the location where the smaller diameter rod goes into the larger diameter rod.

Having a single bracket at each end of the rod may not give it enough support. I'd like to avoid center brackets, as usually you can't slide the curtain rings past them. However, this is another possibility: using "c-rings" which can pass across a center support bracket: Curtain Rod "C" Rings

It seems that c-rings are expensive and not widely sold. But surely it should be possible to create one's own c-rings by using a bolt cutter to cut openings into regular metal curtain rings? One would need to use the kind of ring which has a fixed-position eyelet, as otherwise the curtain clip could slide right off the ring at the opening.

So.

I am recaulking my tub again. The caulks I've used in the past were supposed to be mildew resistant. But no matter which caulk I've used, it's gotten ugly and mildewy in under a year. The mildew seems to grow from the inside out; it's not something that can be washed off.

So, I was thinking of using brown or black caulk this time. I'm not redoing the vertical corner seams because those parts still look fine. I'm only doing the horizontal seam along the top of the tub. The tub and surround are a very light tan color. White caulk would look better to begin with, especially in terms of matching the other caulk, but I'm hoping that brown or black will hide the mildew, and look better long-term.

I have a full tube of black caulk, a full tube of white, and a partial tube of brown. They are all the same brand - GE Silicone II Premium Waterproof Silicone (which is one of the brands I've used in the past).

The white one says:
Kitchen/Bath/Plumbing
3 hr Shower-Ready
5 yr mold-free product protection (ha! I think not)

The black & brown ones say:
Window/Door/Attic/Basement
3 hr Rain-Ready
Sun/Freeze-Proof; won't crack or crumble

All the other information listed on the tubes seems to indicate that they are actually the same product, except for the color. I think the different colors are just being marketed for different purposes, because most people use white or light colored caulks in the bathroom.

Sigh. When I saw the full tube of white (which I didn't recall having), it gave me a moment of indecision again. But I think black or brown will be the better choice after all.

Another thing to consider is that the white tube says "Use by 01/11" whereas the other 2 say "Use by 11/11". But the white one hasn't been opened, so I'm thinking it should still be fine, unless it has hardened in the tube.

What would you do?