Home Ownership Continues to Test

I would like to start by complaining about this heat but I should start this entry with things that occurred before this heat wave, but holy crap it's hot. The animals lay on the floor all day long and even chocolate can't stir them.

So we definitely are enjoying our new place, it's fun, I've enjoyed the work I've done on it and we're getting close to being settled in, just need a new desk and someplace to put our numerous garbage bags full of clothes.

We have hit a few money holes along the way though. The fridge has extremely poor light and it wobbled quite a bit. The previous owner had wedged a piece of paper under one corner of the fridge to righten it but I got rid of that and just extended the rarely used, in perfect condition leg instead. So now the fridge is straight but it still provides crappy light inside it and it generates a fair amount of heat, the edge of the door is more than warm so I assume this thing is crappy and an energy guzzler. It's also small. The dishwasher sucks too but I think all dishwashers may suck to some degree.

The doors were our biggest problem so far. Keeping in tune with the idea that jamming something like folder up cardboard or a stick into things that don't work the way you want them to, the previous owner liked jamming blocks of wood into the door frame to keep the doors open. We of course didn't know better ourselves and continued the ritual until one of the doors fell off the hinge. I should say broke off the hinge. These doors are European, whatever that means, and they open in two ways, like a door, and just the top can pop open for air flow. They're also supposed to be maintained every few years. Since 1988 they've been maintained, or adjusted, once, by us, two days ago.

So one door broke off, it's now fixed and properly adjusted. Another door needs the same work, we'll get that done later, and the third door has also now been properly adjusted. The third door had a broken seal and the windows was dirty and had water between the panes of glass so while doing the adjustment one of the panes shattered. The glass went everywhere. We managed to get most of the glass cleaned up and Kate has been picking up the tiny pieces we missed with her feet. She usually manages to find one a day and then we use the tweezers to get it out and in the garbage. We'll get new glass instaled probably before the winter.

Then the heat came, I actually like it, I feel comfortable and I can wear fewer clothes around the house, it's great. My concern is the animals, specifically the rats, they do not like this heat and I saw Brewski pant for the first time ever yesterday. So last night we turned on the A/C. We already had two fans blowing the air around the condo, now we have three. I've had the A/C on since 6:00 last night and the temperature in here right now is 28. I guess it's doing something but the animals are still lethargic and I'm sweating while sitting still. The unit is blowing cool air, sortof, it's probably just too small for this condo.

In other news school is going well, I got an A- in Camera 1 and I'm half way through Photoshop 1. I got a great student deal on Creative Suite 5 so now I have Photoshop at home and I do enjoy playing with it. I'm also taking a creative writing class which I'm enjoying and will surly enjoy more once we finish poetry and move on to the short story.

So that's the crap I've been up to this month.