New Window Blinds - Football Blues - Clean Rugs - First Snow

Update – November 11 – November 17

-- It’s Time to Replace the Window Blinds

Garage Windows Safer Too

I got an early start on Sunday on my project to replace the window blinds in the garage and in the family room. The blinds in the garage were in poor condition and in need of replacement. The blinds in the family room have been fine since we moved in 11 years ago, but now I realize that we have grandchildren hiding behind the sofa where they can come in contact with the drawstrings for the blinds. We need to replace these with cordless window blinds. I did some shopping online and decided that the Levolor brand blinds were at Lowe’s. When I got there, it turns out that the cordless blinds are still in storage and they haven’t swapped them out for the corded variety; so, I had to move on.

After some trial and error, and visits to various stores, I bought what we needed for the garage. I will install them next Thursday (done) when I have the carpet guy here cleaning the bedroom rugs. I had to go to Home Depot and buy some Hampton Bay custom-cut so that I had what we needed for the playroom. (All done on Thursday).

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READ my other Blog "The Books of Richard F Wright" (Books, Bookstores, Writing)
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-- Professional Football at its Worst

Failure is not an option?

The New England Patriots really smelled up the room with their poor play on Sunday against Tennessee. Yikes. They were beyond bad. I will be curious to listen to some of the talking head sports broadcasters this week as they dissect what is wrong with Brady and his coterie of losers.

The television sports talking heads went on and on about why the Patriots lost to Tennessee. They lost because the team thinks it can mail it in and Tom will rescue them. Those days are over. We probably won't even reach our usual 12 and 4 this year. Too bad.

-- Management Proposal Review Meeting

On Monday morning I met with Rachel and Paul to review where my search for a new condo management firm has led so far. I presented the four written proposals and we spent a serious amount of time reading and understanding what each offered and their overall merits. It’s clear, in my mind, that any of the four will be okay. But we need to have all the Trustees review and come to an agreement on how to proceed. A meeting has been set for next Saturday morning for the Trustees to review the proposals. I agreed to write up a summary that outlined who we contacted, how they responded, who declined, and highlights of the various submitted proposals. I will send that out on Wednesday.

(Update) Met with the full Board of Trustees Saturday morning; the group selected two finalist firms, which I will invite to attend Monday's Board Meeting. The Trustees will make a vote after that on who to hire as the new management team. 

-- Retirement Party for Patti’s Friends

On Monday, Patti had a gaggle of co-workers and recent retirees from the hospital over for an informal retirement party. Patti had prepared a vegetable and a meat quiche, which fortunately I got a chance to enjoy, as there was so much food at the party the ladies left some quiche behind for me. My favorite was the “cheese-burger” quiche, which I found very tasty. I will ask her to make that one again soon.

-- Full House with Olive and Lucy

Lucy Being Artistic

On Tuesday, we had visits from Olive, Lucy, Corinne, Paige, Marna, and Steve. Lucy was very interested in reading today, so we got through a lot of books. We played Candyland, Spooky Bingo, and other games. She’s very interested in board games at this point.

She also spent some time on YouTube for Kids, where there are some programs her Mom has selected for her to watch. She will watch these games and stories and eventually the tablet turns into a night light as she ends up taking a nap.

-- Birthday, Holiday, and Vacation Planning

Patti’s birthday comes up at the end of November as do the holidays. So, Patti has set aside several vacation days that we can use to celebrate. We will take the week after Thanksgiving to go to Maine and then, in December we will use one week early in the month and the week after Christmas to take some more time off and travel.

After Thanksgiving, we will go to the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport for several nights. One highlight will be the Prelude Christmas Lighting and Dinner. We will participate in the official town tree lighting ceremony followed by a special Prelude dinner at the Inn. We’ve been to Kennebunkport many times, and we’ve stayed at the Nonantum previously. We are looking forward to returning this month.

I have also made reservations at the White Barn Inn for one of our vacation nights. This is a place we have always meant to visit, but never found the time to be right. The restaurant requires gentlemen to wear a jacket and as we are generally in Maine during the summer and not the Winter, we tend not to want to be that formal in the evening. This time, it should be just fine.

-- Stanley Steemer Cleans Upstairs

Clean as a Whistle

On Thursday, the guys at Stanley Steemer came to attack our wall to wall carpeting upstairs. The two bedrooms and the equally large landing area between the two bedrooms needed cleaning. And as Patti has a chemical sensitivity to worry about, we chose to use steam only to clean the rugs. We hope it will actually get clean and still not create any aerosol that affects her windpipe. We’ll see.

To prepare for the rug cleaning I removed everything from the three rooms that I could carry. Floor lamps, side tables, hassocks, end tables, table lamps, and loose books not yet placed on shelves. I moved most of it to the downstairs master bedroom to get it out of the way. The rug cleaner will move the big stuff as part of the cleaning process.

When Abdul and Maher arrived, they got right to work and I tried to stay out of the way. When Patti got home she was pleased with the cleaning and we spent a lot of time changing the drapes in the dining and living rooms.

-- First Snowfall of the Winter

First Snow in Jefferson

Late Thursday the snow arrived. By early Friday morning, we had eight or nine inches piled up around the porch and deck. The plowing was adequate so it was no problem to drive Patti to UMass Medical School where she attended the day-long 19th annual Griffin Symposium.

Dr. Griffin was one of the original physicians that Patti worked with at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UMass. The symposium covered breakthroughs in care for neonatal patients and she earned some CEU's for attending. Even after over 40 years of nursing, there is still a lot that can be learned. Upon leaving the symposium, Patti and I stopped at Sonoma for a few drinks. We always like to visit this restaurant. For the past dozen years, it was in Princeton but recently relocated to the Beechwood Hotel. So, now it's open seven days a week from morning to night in support of its role as the hotel's primary restaurant. And, it's only a few blocks from the hospital where Patti works.
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Reading Update: As a somewhat political junkie, that is to say, I enjoy reading about the significant political leaders, (and not the toads we see currently on the talk shows) I find it fascinating to read about national leaders such as Strom Thurmond. There is nothing about this guy that makes me want to know more about him - on the surface. But, if I have learned anything, it's important to get more information than the slim pickings on the national TV news broadcast. Even the occasional in-depth newspaper or magazine article seldom gets to the root of who are the real players and why things have turned out the way they have.

"Strom" is a look at the political and personal life of Strom Thurmond. This is the guy who ran for President for the single, simple reason that he was a racist. Yet, he was more than just a Southern slob; he was one of the most powerful voices in Washington DC for decades. It's important to know how he got there; how he hung on; how he could switch parties and prosper in the decades of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. It's a fascinating read and worth the time.