There never seems to be enough time on the weekends to get everything done. And as the weather gets colder, the amount of things we can get done outside gets more and more limited. Johnny has been doing so much work outside though! Up until 2019, Johnny owned and operated his own swimming pool service and repair businesses (for almost 30 years!). So he really didn't have much time to devote to projects at home...because if the weather was nice, he was doing pool work. So we've finally gotten around to some things that were long overdue. Still...the list of things still to do seems never-ending. Welcome to home ownership! :P
One of the biggest projects to tackle has been the front porch. Our house was built about 20 years ago, and whoever poured the raised cement slab did not do a great job. And if I remember correctly, they'd already fixed it once...either shortly before or after Johnny bought the house 15 years ago. But...the porch started to sink on the front side again, so the porch was at an angle about 6 inches shorter than the back. And with the ground settling, the front steps (also cement) started slanting down as well. The last estimate we got for having someone else repair it, was like $6k and that was at least 7 years ago. So...as a temporary fix for now, Johnny used a floor jack to raise the porch and then used some cinder blocks and filled it underneath with expanding polystyrene foam to hold it in place for awhile. Now we have no more funhouse porch! :P We still have to get the bricks along the top step put back, but we've made a lot of progress! We'll have to figure out a more permanent solution for the entire front porch area, but this will work for now.
I had to replace the heating element in the dryer AGAIN. I tried to just replace the entire housing that came with the heating element and thermostats, but somehow the part that was sent was about an inch too long. After two whole days of trying to maneuver that thing to fit, I gave up and put the new parts in the old housing and returned the housing to Amazon for a refund. Ugh. And a few weekends ago, Johnny cleaned out the dryer vent and ducts and replaced the outdoor vent as well. So hopefully the dryer will last a little longer now. I'm tired of taking the darn thing apart. :P
My computer was also having issues again. It shouldn't be that surprising, considering I bought this computer back in 2013. I've replaced the bottom shell, the DC jack twice and the WLAN card three times now. While I was replacing the WLAN card again this time, I decided to go ahead and upgrade the RAM as well so I'll hopefully have better performance. I'd just replace the whole laptop...but I really, really love the keyboard on this computer. And considering I use my laptop for transcription work...the speed at which I can type depends largely on the keyboard. Johnny has basically an upgraded and slightly larger version of my laptop (Dell Inspiron), and I absolutely hate his keyboard. The subtle differences are enough to throw my words per minute way off. So...hopefully my laptop will keep going at least a few more years.
Ashlyn had a pretty good end to the first term of her Sophomore year. Her report card showed a lot of improvement over last year so hopefully she can keep up that momentum! :) Since Johnny is considered high risk for complications of Covid-19, we're trying to limit exposure as much as possible. So Ashlyn has been doing remote-only so far. There have been several cases already through the high school, so I'm glad we made that decision.
Bozley just keeps growing! I haven't weighed him lately...since it requires me holding him on the scale and subtracting my weight. He's getting too big for me to hold very long! :P His coat is getting more feathery spots on his front legs, chest, tail, and butt. I'll be taking him to the groomer again in the next few weeks for a thorough bath, sanitary trim, and trimming the fur on his paws...still no need for an actual haircut yet. This week he finally learned how to catch! We're still practicing, but before he wouldn't even open his mouth and everything would just bounce off his nose. :P He's also started grabbing his leash and bringing it to us, which I think is adorable. :) I can't believe he'll be 6 months old already in a few weeks! This picture is one of my favorites...taken just a day before he turned 5 months old.
Dinners have been pretty boring lately. I made spaghetti...which we have once a week or every two weeks. And then a couple days ago I made vegetable beef soup in the pressure cooker. Oh and before that, I made tator tot casserole. One of the funny things I've noticed about Johnny and I coming together later in life, is that we each have our own way of making certain things. For example, Johnny puts green beans in his tator tot casserole with no cheese...and I make it without green beans and with condensed cheddar soup on top before I put the tator tots on. So...I made a half and half pan. ;) Obviously I took the picture before I finished putting all the tator tots on. Oh and if you're wondering, the hamburger is just mixed with 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of celery. I also cook the tator tots first for about 10-15 minutes before I put them on top so they don't get soggy.
We need to start getting our groceries for Thanksgiving dinner! We'll just be having dinner at home this year...especially with Covid19 spreading the way it is right now. And I'm excited for yummy food and a bunch of leftovers! My mom is also going to be making me some meatballs and cheesy potatoes for my birthday sometime in the near future...which I look forward to every year. So I'm excited about that! :)