All gave some, Some gave all.
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
And neither was my bathroom remodel. The wall paper was stripped and the walls prepped. The linoleum floor was pulled up. No sub floor. The linoleum had been attached to the concrete.
About that time Brian decided to check the bulge in the tile behind the faucet in the tub. Progress came to a grinding halt as we discovered mold there. The sheet rock was not treated for use around water and had to be removed and replaced with water resistant board then re-tiled. Guess what they don’t make any more? The tiles! So Brian did his best to salvage the tiles he’s removed. Otherwise I’d have been looking at all new tile work on the tub.
That process seemed to take forever before we could move forward again.
Lets Add Some Wainscoting
I decided instead of wall paper or tile on the bathroom walls I’d just go with paint. I thought adding wainscoting might add interest so while Brian dealt with the tub problem his wife came along to prepare the bead board. We wanted to be sure it blended so the panels were painted with the same color as the walls. All during this time Brian would put me back together each afternoon so I had a working toilet and could take a shower. I hated walking on the concrete floor but Brian didn’t want to have to pull the toilet every day. He planned to just do that once the day the new floor went in.
We tossed the old over-the-toilet storage shelves because I was replacing them with an actual cabinet and shelves so the messy look would be contained.
Old Shelves
New Shelf Unit
Time for the Bathroom Floor
Finally the day came when Brian said it was time to put in the floor. The wainscoting was in. The walls were painted. The end was in sight. Please excuse the toilet paper art the cats left. Take one minute to look away and this is what happens but you can see the floor and the wainscoting here.
We’re in the homestretch!
Almost done! We just need the vanity top/sink and to put the shelves in. More on that next time.
Bathroom Re-imagined
Bathroom Re-Imagined
I’m looking for a contractor to update my bathroom, not a handy man. I want someone who can find other professionals if they are needed.
I have a housekeeper. She comes in twice a month to make sure I’m not buried in cat hair. While I was in my mental funk she was in cleaning when she mentioned her husband had just gotten his general contracting license. That caught my attention. I’d put feelers out for someone to remodel/ redecorate my bathroom but no one was interested in a small job. By small I mean a tiny almost square box. 5 Ft X 5.5 Ft not counting the tub.
The tub takes up 5.5 ft. along one wall. The toilet and single sink vanity are on the opposite wall. You have just enough room to walk in and chose your side- tub or toilet.
I have no intention of replacing my wonderful deep cast iron tub. That was a bone of contention between me and the other contractors. (even if the tub and toilet are a disgusting brown color.) They wanted to upgrade, everything from walk in shower to soaking tub with jets.
That’s how I came to hire my housekeepers husband. He was willing to take on my small bathroom with my budget and restrictions. I wanted a new ceiling fan, new ceiling, new walls and paint and new floor. Also needed a new vanity top.
I did not want a walk in shower or a soaking tub with jets. I didn’t want shower doors. They are are hard to clean, a shower curtain was fine with me. So once we agreed on the scope of the work we set a date and began.
Let the Project Begin
Tear out was pretty quick and but not easy. He started with the ceiling since that was a big issue for me. The ceiling fan had never worked and there was a leak that the previous condo management was convinced was all in my head. As soon as Brian opened the ceiling it was clear that I was not imagining the leak. It was an old leak and appeared to have been repaired at some point but the yucky part was that leak was in the sewer pipe. That water that kept dripping on me was sewer water. Oh YUCK! I wanted to take a decontamination shower when I heard that!
And Mold
Of course there was mold and that had to be removed. Luckily it was just on the insulation so we could pull that out and replace it but now we had to bring in the HOA maintenance so work came to a stop while we waited for them to come out and inspect. They wouldn’t let us go forward until they had a copy of Brian’s Liability insurance. That took a couple of days for him to secure so we lost about a week while all that was going on.
New Ceiling and Fan
Once we got the green light from the HOA and Brian’s insurance squared away, Brian came back with an electrician. In less than a day I had a new ceiling fan and my electrical switches had been moved from the wall outside the bathroom to above the sink in the bathroom. I was assured I’d get used to the new location and like it. I’m still waiting for that to happen but I do like the fan and the new ceiling light. Apparently my cat, Banner, likes the lights too. He taught himself to turn the light on and off. The switch now has little kitty teeth marks to prove it. I’ve installed child safe covers over the switch so I can get through a night without the light turning on.
Getting the new ceiling plastered took a little longer since now we had to do the whole ceiling. Walls and floor next. Hopefully no more delays. That was a futile wish.
So What’s Up Doc?
So What’s Up Doc?
So now that you know about the lost domain what else has been going on? There’s a 6 month gap from November 2021 to May 2022. It seems only fair that I explain at least a little.
November 2021 to January 2022
This absence was work related. I tried again (twice) for a promotion at work. This makes 3 tries. I was passed over again with really bogus excuses. I won’t say what I think of the hires but suffice it to say they are much younger than I. Neither hire has hit 40 yet and I clock in at 71. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
To add insult to injury not only was I passed over for the promotions but I was told that I won’t get any more raises unless I change positions since I’m “capped out” where I am. That creates an issue for me. How do I change position if you won’t give me the jobs I apply for? It also occurred to me that this was the first and only time in my long work history that I haven’t gotten a position I applied for easily. As for the job I’m in, I’ve won every award they have for my position. I was depressed and angry. Since I make it a policy not to bad mouth my employer I wasn’t in much of a mood to write anything.
Banner
February 2022 – April 2022
In February I came down with a cold. I coughed and sneezed and wanted to sleep all the time. I was so wiped out I took a week off from work as vacation where the cats and I just snuggled and slept. When I finally got in to see the doctor she thought I had Covid. I had to argue. After all I was vaccinated and boosted. I was still having my groceries delivered and only went out when I absolutely had to. And then I had a mask.
Balboa
My doctor’s answer was you didn’t end up in the hospital so your vaccines did what they are supposed to. But after that happy statement she went on to tell me she thought I had “Long Covid” and that it could be a year or more until I was symptom free. She is just full of good news. If I’m short of breath walking across my living room at sea level, what will happen when I’m at 9600 ft in Colorado?
As if to add insult to injury I developed an abscess under a bridge. The dentist gave me an antibiotic. The pill was big enough to choke a horse but it’s a good thing she did because the root canal specialist can’t see me until May. Without that horse pill I’d have been in a lot of pain!
May 2022
During this hiatus from writing I did attempt to accomplish some things. Because I didn’t feel well the bathroom was a real point of pain. I never liked the wall paper. Not only was it ugly but it wasn’t even put up properly. The cats had started trying to pull it off the walls. So I decided it was time to bite the bullet and update/redecorate the bathroom. But that’s a story for another day! Stay tuned!
Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into
Here’s Another Nice Mess
Or How I lost my Domain Name. Yes I’m going to share my tale of woe. It is a cautionary tale. It begins with a bank that tried to do the right thing.
Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time there was a bank. In a world besieged by hacking and bank fraud this little bank installed safety and security checks to protect it’s customers.
One day it saw a strange charge on one of it’s customers’ credit cards. The bank’s security team sprang into action!
A fraud alert was sent to the customer! The credit card in question was frozen to any more charges. The customer called the bank. Let me check this before you cancel my card, pleaded the customer. The customer then called the number for the questioned charge. It was legit. The customer called the bank back with the good news. “Unfreeze my card please, that was really my charge. The company just changed it’s name so I didn’t recognize it at first.” But the bank’s security team said “Oh so sorry, we’ve already canceled your card. A replacement one is on its way” The NOoooooo was heard for miles but the damage was done.
6 months later
It was a long and painful process. So many automatic renewals had been set up to charge to that credit card. The customer couldn’t even remember all of them. Some were found because the renewals were kicked back as declined but it looked like most had been located and accounts updated to the new card number. Then the renewal for the domain for aroundustyroads.com came due. Low and behold the company holding the domain sent a receipt showing the renewal was paid through April 2024. There were no red flags. A few notices came along in emails without identifying accounts saying the payment needed to be updated but when unidentified they were ignored as spam.
February 2022
Fast forward to February 2022. Dusty felt terrible. She was coughing and sneezing and just felt miserable. Covid had shut down travel so she missed her February Hawaii Break. This girl needed sun and warm but all that was available was snow, sleet and rain. No sun in sight. Needless to say there wasn’t much to write about and aroundustyroads was neglected.
May 2022
Dusty has been lazy too long. Time to check in with her friends, family and fellow bloggers but wait! What’s this? I can’t locate aroundustyroads.com. It’s just gone! Oh my heart and soul! 10+ years of my life wiped out- just gone!
My hosting company was so nice. They helped me trace what happened. Those unidentified emails I thought were spam? They were notices of the problem with my renewal. I’d missed this one account when I tried to update my credit card. That receipt had given me a false sense of security. My domain had expired!
The Result
A big domain company wasted no time in snapping up my little blog. They offered to sell me back my domain for a measly $2338.00. As much as aroundustyroads is a part of me, I couldn’t justify spending that much money. Maybe if my blog was a money maker but not just for an online diary of sorts. Once again my hosting company came to my rescue. They suggested Arounddustyroads.com and transferred all of my old content over.
I admit, it looks strange to me to have the “Double D” in the middle but it’s close enough so that I hope I’ll get back any followers that I may have lost. I suppose I will get used to the new name. I’m thinking that maybe I should give it a new look to go with the new name? But in any case