Friday Files 2.17.2023

This week has been like a grown up obstacle course personally and professionally. TGIF

New exterior front and back storm doors in Philly FINALLY installed on Wednesday. If you are in Northeast Philly I highly recommend Gallagher Brothers - they know what they're doing both in measurement/styling your new doors with you and in installation. I got these factory painted which is not what I've done at the shore - I painted all of those myself. These doors have needed replacing for years - the back door could have been broken down in a second and the storm door back there was literally held together with a zip tie - but they are so fucking expensive for quality doors. We did all of them at the shore over a two year period as well and I wish they told you when you were growing up how much shit like this would cost because I swear I thought this was a small/cheap home improvement project and it is absolutely fucking not. Back to a yellow door up front - gere are shitty befores & afters  - the manufacturer has to come replace the screen part of the storm door because it's off as you can sort of see here:

but no befores of the back because they arrived and started that immediately and I refuse to ask people to stop working so I can take a before photo. I wish I had them as the exterior door was peeling on the outside, like wood curling up, and the entire frame was fucked with busted locks etc, and the screen door was circa early 1970s, handle-less at this point, and held in place with a fucking zip tie as a latch LOLOL

People who know about our key fuckery will be pleased to find that we are using keypads now which will hopefully cut down on being locked out.

New couches were delivered at the shore yesterday  as well because yes let’s schedule two anxiety-producing items back to back. They had to be hoisted over the railing and the door removed but they are in! MFD took one for the team to go and be there for this since the door had to be taken off. Big Wally's Furniture and my old friend Billy D are awesome.

Floors in two weeks, and I need to address a pipe issue in March then the big things are done for the year at the shore. After that we're about caught up in both houses for things we had planned to do pre-Covid that got pushed off due to lack of availability of supplies or folks doing the work we needed being well jammed up schedule-wise with the exception of basement ceiling in Philly and starting the process to get quotes for windows here. 

Pets of the week. Billy Hicks spent a day in my home office this week, which he rarely visits during the day.

I was in my office Wednesday and I absolutely love being in Old City. 

I was very happy to see AEB for a quick coffee when I was In the city - we haven’t seen each other since pre-Covid! Excuse the wind tunnel, it was wild on Wednesday.

My uncle and I got to see my cousin and her boyfriend Monday as they were in from Chicago

I hit the meat markdown day at the grocery store and got over $52 of meat to freeze for just over $24. Peak adult shit there.

One of the best batches of mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. 

This is an entire fucking disgrace. Fuck Joe Biden (see how easy that is to say, Go Brandon people?) for intervening in favor of corporations to divert a strike and fuck all the politicians on both sides who supported that. Sacrificing people's lives and the environment so corporations can rack up money for the rich to get richer. What a fucking joke. Another de-railment outside of Detroit yesterday too.

I try to hang in with crew neck tees and I end up cutting them all at the neck. Let me be freeeee

That's that about that for this week. Have a great weekend, it's a long one for a lot of you! Not here, ever. 

Friday Five 5.28.2021

1. This morning on Dog Beach. It's hard to believe the weather will devolve into absolute shit by this evening. 

2. What better time to experience the latest in a long, long, like 18+ year long line of joint Key Fuckery incidents than hours before the first guests of the season check in? There were many WHERE IS THE DEADBOLT KEY hunts and conversations. One was identified and MFD was quickly off to make 2349802834 copies. Jesus take the wheel. Yes, thank you, we know there are electronic key situations but I'm still looking for one that will fit. 

3. We're as ready as we're going to be for this rental season. Lots of burning it at both ends early in the morning and late at night busting our asses to get cleaning, organizing, re-stocking, personal stuff removing, errands, and touch up paint done this week. We've got our soft opening this weekend and my family is coming in next week for my brother's birthday then we're booked for the season up to Labor Day weekend with numerous projects on deck we're hoping to get done this fall if labor and materials are available. Here we go! I literally remembered to re-up to Hulu Live with no ads seconds before check in time. I hope I remember to take photos Tuesday to update my listings everywhere since we've changed stuff and I never remember to do that. 

4. A week like that has nails looking like this. Mae is concerned because she knows what it means when my nails look like that. After work today I'm planning to paint them and also close the door and windows and lay the fuck down, drink my water, read, and zone out until Saturday morning, not leaving my apartment except to walk B&B. MFD went home to work this morning after all the shit was done and took the old dogs with him. I'm exhausted and Memorial Day Weekend at the shore is a lot and someone staying close to me is playing fucking awful music. Time to recharge!

5. My oldest coworker keeps sleeping on the job all day. RUDE.

That's it for me. Dad & Carol's house officially went on the market today if anyone knows of someone looking to buy in Langhorne. It's in Tareyton Estates and I love it. It's the last house I lived in as a dependent. Picture one of the bedrooms blue with spray painted clouds with silver linings on the wall and one of the bathrooms an under the sea mural painted by KVSR and you have my late teen/early 20s life.

My coworker shared this piece reflecting on the role of war in the world and it was a good read leading up to the three day weekend we have in remembrance of those who died in service to this country.

Happy Friday! Have a safe and restful weekend.

Thursday Thoughts - If you, if you could return don't let it burn don't let it fade

1. A good place to leave your keys unattended for an hour is NOT the roof of your fucking car on the street. 

2. The best friend dogs went to the vet yesterday to get bordetella shots. Ben bustled around, investigating everything and making friends with people (not dogs). Bruce was shaking and scared and when they took some blood (he got bit by a tick and we don't think the tick was on him long but just getting him tested), he cried and pooped on the tech. He's very my body my choice at the vet and I get it, man. I do. 

3. Since I was working from home yesterday, I hung my wash out to dry. I love doing that. My next house is having in the ground permanent clotheslines and I will be a washer woman like pioneers. 

4. I grew these. 

5. I've been drinking flavored water like it's going out of style. Still, flavored by moi, and sparkling, flavored by others. Aubrey got me a big fat case plus of Polar assorted and I am super happy. 

6. MFD is at a conference in DC. This is him speaking truth to power yesterday at a Medicare for All hearing without being arrested. Holler. Anyway when he's not home I have to do the things I hate doing like watering the flowers and getting up with the dogs at the crack of dawn. I do that at the shore, but I hate doing it on weekdays. Also when I'm alone the dogs know I'm vulnerable and will give in when they ask to eat like 50 times because MFD is not around to make fun of me for being weak. 

7. Speaking of, I am returning to Philly Saturday morning and when I realized that, I was all like...what do I do here on weekends? LOL forever. I haven't been in Philly for a full weekend since March 10.

8. My nails have been chipped since Tuesday and I can't paint them until Friday night or I'll just have to do them again and I am not okay.

9. Reminder:

10. Ecards: Just kidding, I'd never try to cut down, are you fucking kidding?

First five day workweek in a while for me. I'm going to make it. You are too.
What appears after the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts is a song lyric to whatever I'm listening to when I start to write the post. This week is Linger by The Cranberries

Keys are our Kryptonite

If we go away together and share a room, I will always call "not it" on being responsible for having a key. I will lose my key at some point, requiring visits to the front desk to get the room re-keyed.

My key issues go back many years. When I moved back home after college, downstairs was a fortress but my window was usually open up on the second floor. So when I misplaced my keys, I'd haul a big ass ladder through the yard, prop it up, and get my ass into a second story window, which required climbing on a perilous little ledge of a roof. Often drunk as a skunk after a night at the Hulmeville. Sorry Dad and Carol. At least I never broke my neck? Silver linings.

Countless incidents of key fuckery are why at least nine people have a key to our house. I continue to lock myself out, which, whatever, I'm used to the key fuckery. It doesn't help that you can open our front door from the inside and not know it's locked until you turn the outside knob.

But last year a bad thing started to happen. MFD came down with the key flu. I have to say I'm surprised it took more than 11 years with me for him to catch it. It's worse than the fucking plague.

His descent into key hell began as a joint  incident. I took the train to work and MFD called to inform me I had both car keys and he and had locked himself out of the house. On crutches. With a closing and an orthopedist appointment to go to. I called my mom like mother please help.

As the year progressed, MFD started locking himself out more frequently. I was like dude...I know. These fucking keys have it out for us. Or we're dumbasses. Probably both.

A few weeks ago, I locked both of us out of the house on a Monday night. Three days later, he locked himself out with another doctor's appointment and a meeting to attend.

Since these types of things happen in threes, a few days after that he locked the keys in the trunk in a loading zone in Center City. The locksmith was two hours out and $190. The PPA was closing in and he had an actual deal closing he had to get to, so the back window had to be broken out a la Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing.

He was getting it fixed at 9:30 the next morning for $132. So an overall savings compared to $190? Fuck me. The best part is that he told me very casually a few hours later. Because what could I say? I couldn't freak out. I have the worst case of key flu known to man.

Thank God for our neighbors and framily who accept that keys are our kryptonite and just bring us the key when we call. If it's stupid and involves keys, it's happening to us.  And before you suggest I hide a key outside, I've done that. A few times. And lost those too. So thanks but no thanks. MFD is ordering an extra lockbox for us because I and now we suck so hard with keys.

What's your kryptonite?

Don't miss tomorrow's blog - Geege is finally making his debut. And visit my facebook page today to share a quick & easy healthy recipe for a chance to win $20 you call it on Friday. The post is pinned to the top of the page.