Weekly Update 09/19/26 – 09/25/26 (New Office Floor, Time Perception, Fall)
Well, the big weekend is finally here. It is my plan to install the new floor in my office this weekend. I have spent the week getting ready.
I have removed most of the carpet from the floor, and man, is it disgusting. The dogs have certainly been busy on it. And I never would have thought that so much dust was buried in the carpet. The carpet is only a couple of years old.
I must admit there was a certain amount of pleasure in running the carpet cutter I got over the carpet and cutting it into pieces that I could easily remove and bag up. I'm going to need to make a run to the transfer station (dump) sometime soon.
A large part of the process I've been going through is trying to restore the molding. A couple of years ago, I had the beautiful wood molding I had throughout the house painted in an attempt to get the house ready for sale. Now that I'm not going anyplace, I want to restore the old charm, and this room is the first stop.
I thought I was in good shape and ready to varnish the molding I had removed the paint from and cleaned, but I just found three more pieces, and I'm still looking for a possible fourth piece to restore. I've also run out of paint remover, so I'm going to have to get more. I'm starting to think I won't get the molding done this weekend, but I should be able to do it next weekend.
I'm looking forward to renting a nail gun to help me tack the molding in place. Or I might get some double-headed skirting nails and see if they work better than a nail gun. These are double-ended nails that you hammer into the wall using a special sleeve tool that protects the end of the nail that sticks out. Once the nails are in the wall, you put the molding in place and tap it onto the points of the nails that are sticking out. I can get a set for $5, so it sounds like it's worth giving them a try.
I have been working hard to figure out how I should install the planking, trying to take all the advice I have found online into account. I have the plan ready. I will start with some cardboard cut in the shape of the planks and try various ways to lay it out, starting with the entry door and working my way into the room. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
I must admit that I'm in shock that we have just finished the last full week of September. Time seems to be passing more and more quickly as I age. When I was in grammar school, summer vacation seemed to last forever. By the time I was in high school, summers seemed shorter, and now entire years seem to pass remarkably quickly.
I have been noticing this speedup for years, but now I know there is actually a name for one explanation of it: the proportional theory of time perception, sometimes associated with Janet's law. The idea is that as we get older, each year represents a smaller percentage of the life we have already experienced. When you are 5, one year represents 20 percent of your life. At 10, it is 10 percent. At 20, it is 5 percent. Now that I am 65, a year represents only about 1.5 percent of my life.
In any case, we seem to be entering my favorite time of year, fall. But it seems to be happening very slowly this year, despite what I just said. The temperatures in the morning when I go for my walks are still warm enough that I don't need a jacket. The leaves have started to change color, but not quickly. Shortening daylight helps trigger the change each fall, but that happens at about the same time every year. Cooler nights also affect the development of fall colors, and we haven't had a really cold night yet. Well, I hope fall will hurry up and get here.
Speaking of my morning walks, I have not been doing very well with them. When I was away, I got out of the habit of taking them in the morning. I could have; I just didn't. I was hoping I would be forced to take them because the hotel I was going to be staying in was within walking distance of the office. But the hotel I stayed at this time was not within walking distance.
When I got home, I tried to go for my walks but found that I'm having hip pain that has caused me to skip them. I need to start adding some stretches to my morning routine to loosen up my hips.
For some time now, I have been noticing something strange: water leaking out from under my washing machine. The odd part was that it was not consistently there. Sometimes it was there after a wash, and sometimes it wasn't.
Well, I finally got sick of it, and I was worried that the water might damage my floor. So I decided to call out a repair person. The washing machine is about nine years old, and I wasn't certain if I should have it looked at or simply get a new machine. But a new machine would cost around $1,000, so I called to get an estimate.
Modern washing machines are not built like they were in the old days (God, does that make me sound old). My last machine lasted over 20 years, but today a washing machine lasting around 10 years is not unusual, so mine is getting up there in age. The estimate was only $400, so I decided to have it repaired, and hopefully next week it will be back up and running.</
Well, it's time to start laying the floor. Everybody have a great week.
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Weekly Update 09/12/26 – 09/18/26
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