Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

07:00 AM: I’m up.

07:10 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 628 (up one). Fan count: 113 (down one).

07:50 AM: Leaving now for shopping and to visit Mom with sister Jojo.  Today’s shopping schedule: Wal Mart, Dunkin’ Donuts, JC Penney for some drapes for the house here, and the last stop will be Lowe’s to pick up a couple 40-pound bags of cement for filling in the hollow window columns here in my office.  Back later.

03:00 PM: I’m back home.  Got the tools and a couple surge protectors besides.

03:15 PM: I bought four sets of Light Shield drapes for the living room and workout room from JC Penney, along with rails from which to hang them.  I’m going to spend much of the rest of today installing the drapery rails, ironing the new curtains, and hanging them.

07:00 PM: Thawed and enjoyed the last of the buckwheat pancakes I made last Monday.  Delicious.

08:30 PM: I’ve put up three of the four curtain rails, ironed the curtains, and hung them up.  They look very good, as the match well the rest of Mom’s decor in the living room.  Unfortunately, the window in the sitting room has some plaster damage around it.  So this must be repaired before putting up the rail on this window.  Therefore, I’ll put this rail and the curtains that go with it in my bedroom.  Then once I fix the plaster in the sitting room, I’ll buy some curtains and a rail for in there.

Posted a picture of two of the newly decorated windows on Facebook; the windows beside my television.

10:00 PM: Listened to my iPod Touch in front of one of the newly decorated windows in the living room while enjoying a couple ounces of gin.  Pleasant.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:15 AM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe
• Today’s Diet: 2012-02-03

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 627 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

10:30 AM: Leaving now for Lowe’s home improvement center to purchase a few items for the electrical wiring upgrades I’m planning and some commonly-used tools to keep around the house.  I’m getting low on screw drivers and needle nosed pliers.  Back later.

03:30 PM: I’m back home.  Got the tools, some weather stripping for the basement door, and a couple surge protectors besides.

04:25 PM: Calked up a couple holes in the basement where copious amounts of cold air was entering the house.  Every little bit of leak-sealing indeed helps.  It feels warmer back in that corner where the leaks were found.

04:30 PM: Investigated weather-stripping the basement door; another large source of winter air in the house.  However, I cannot apply the weather stripping yet, as the door does not close flush against the door jamb lip.  There’s close to a quarter-inch gap between the door and this lip, and the weather stripping I purchased is not fat enough to fill this space.  So, I’ll probably pry off the lip and reposition it closer to the edge of the closed door.  Then, I’ll fasten the weather stripping to it.

04:45 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

05:45 PM: I’m awake again.

06:30 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

06:35 PM: Skipped the 2012-02-02 (today’s) episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   The Dr. Phil Family Returns: Alexandra Goes To Rehab.

07:15 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

09:30 PM: Watched the Republican presidential debate that aired on 2012-01-26 via the DVR.

10:00 PM: Spent some time reading articles on the Internet, involving some of the do-it-yourself household projects I’ve been contemplating.  So far, I have one major project completed in 2012; that’s the basement windows upgrade project.  I’ve replaced ten rusted and broken basement windows with glass block units.  Much quieter and warmer too.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:15 AM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe
• Today’s Diet: 2012-02-02

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

06:30 AM: I’m up.

06:45 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 627 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

07:15 AM: The fellows from   Window World   just arrived to replace seven more windows here on the first and second floors.

09:30 AM: So far, the Window World technicians have finished replacing one window; the one in Mom’s old sitting room.

10:00 AM: Just heard from Mom’s cardiologist.  They want her to run a test of her pace maker. So I’ll take the kit up to the nursing home later this week to do that.  Hopefully, this test apparatus will work on their phone lines up there.  I have concern that those lines are not analog ones.  However, they tell me that there are some analog lines available.  We just have to find them.

10:40 AM: Posted the   Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe   piece.

10:45 AM: The two bedroom windows on the second floor have now been replaced.  Also, the first of three windows in the living room is done as well.

11:15 AM: The second of the three living room windows has now been replaced.

11:55 AM: The bathroom window has now been replaced.

12:10 PM: All seven windows in this project installment have now been replaced.

12:00 PM: While the Window World technicians busied themselves with the above-mentioned project, I worked on administering and catching up on this blog.

01:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

03:30 PM: I put approximately 50 more pounds of cement in the hollow columns between windows 1 and 2, and windows 2 and 3 here in my first floor office.  This should add lots of mass to that wall and thus, stop it from vibrating and thereby transmitting more road noise from the west yard into here.  However, I won’t know just how effective this strategy will be until I completely fill those columns and completely seal the extra piece of inner glass I’ve added to these windows.  Lots of sound can enter through very small holes, and with this glass not being sealed entirely, there are many gaps.  I’m sure that the traffic noise is finding its way in here through each and every one of those gaps.

05:00 PM: Listened to my iPod Touch while walking around the house, checking out the new windows.  Love them.

05:45 PM: Watched the 2012-01-30 episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   Unforgivable Acts?

06:35 PM: Watched the 2012-01-31 episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   What Were You Thinking?

07:25 PM: Watched the 2012-02-01 (today’s) episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   Double Trouble: Violent Twins.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:15 AM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None yet.

Related Posts and Links

• Easy Spaghetti Squash Recipe
• Today’s Diet: 2012-02-01

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (3) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps ten minutes. Friend count: 627 (up one). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

02:15 PM: Washed all pending laundry; most of which is for Mother this time.  I’m visiting her tomorrow and will take her a clean batch up then.

03:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

05:15 PM: Moved a glider rocking char in front of one of the only windows on the first floor that has enough space in front of it for such a chair.  My grandfather used to watch the traffic going by through another window on this same wall, in this same room, in this same house.  Now, I see why he enjoyed it although he used just a plain chair; not a rocker.  He used to listen to baseball and football games there.  Now, I listen to music on my iPod Touch in a similar fashion, by the window.  I guess I’m getting older and adopting some of Grand Dad’s older ways myself.   It’s quite fun.  I’ll have to try this with talking books sometime.

05:30 PM: Talked with sister Christine.  Made plans to watch the first half of the super-bowl with she and her family.  I’ll come home for the second half, as they all must work early the next day, and so, do not want to drive me home after the entire game is finished.

06:30 PM: Continued basement cleanup and organization efforts after the replacement of all ten windows down there with glass block.  Man, I just love these new glass block windows.  Very quiet and warm.

07:30 PM: Cooked a spaghetti squash for supper tonight for the first time.  I put spaghetti sauce on it, along with Parmesan cheese, and it made a quite delicious, low-calorie alternative to grain pasta.  Plus, its texture was much like spaghetti (the strings).

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of   NBC’s Nightly News   broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  We watched tonight’s rerun episode of   Hawaii Five-0.

11:20 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-30

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (1) load of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

09:30 AM: I’m up.

09:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 626 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

11:00 AM: Examined the wiring in the basement in order to decide how best to tackle a new upcoming project; getting rid of most of the old cloth-insulated wires and replacing them with current wire technology.  I also want to add more outlets and circuits throughout the first floor.

12:00 PM: Watched today’s extended episode of CBS’s   Face the Nation    news broadcast via the DVR.

12:15 PM: Leaving now with sister Mary Ann to visit Mom and for a bit of shopping for   [Emmy].  Back later.

12:40 PM: We arrived at the nursing home.  Mom was still in bed, saying that she had trouble sleeping last night.  So we just sat alongside her in her bedroom and talked.

01:50 PM: Leaving Mom’s now for Sam’s Club.  Sister Mary Ann has some things to pick up there.  I need nothing however but love walking around in that huge place checking out the many thousands of different items they sell there.  I’m considering going halves on a membership with sister Jojo at some point.

02:15 PM: Then, we stopped at Subway for lunch.

03:00 PM: Finally, we stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond, where I quickly found the soap dispenser for    [Emmy].

03:30 PM: I’m back home.  I bought a   Simply Human   liquid soap dispenser for   [Emmy]   much like the one here in the kitchen that she likes so much.  Hers is a little taller, and unlike mine, comes with an additional holder dish for a small sponge.

04:00 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

06:00 PM: I’m awake again.

07:10 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of    NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Watched some live news about the 2012 general election and the Republican nomination process that is happening right now.  Nothing surprising.   However, the negative rhetoric among the Republican candidates is heating up to feverish levels.  But this too, was not unexpected.  It happens that way every election cycle that I’ve observed over the past few decades.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail on Sundays.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-29

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (1) load of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

08:15 AM: I’m up.

08:30 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 626 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

08:45 AM: Beginning the upgrade / replacement of the last two of ten windows in the basement to glass block units.  This should keep me busy most of the day.

10:00 AM: Removed the lattice work under the south porch just now.  Unfortunately, it was nailed in place, and so I had to break a bit of it to gain access to the windows inside.  But repairing it should be no big deal once the weather warms a little.

11:00 AM: Both of the old windows 9 and 10 have been removed.

12:00 PM: I’ve chiseled out the loose old mortar in both windows.

01:00 PM: Both of the new glass block window units have been set in the window wells, leveled, and positioned for straightness.  Now, I’m applying the new mortar.

02:30 PM: About half-way through the new mortar application to the glass block windows, I’m checking both windows again for proper level and “plumness” and correct measurements around the edges.  Sometimes, these can shift a bit once the mortar begins to set.  A few minor errors found.  So I used a rubber mallet to bump them back into the proper locations.

04:00 PM: New mortar has been applied to both windows, shims have been removed, and the holes left behind by the shims after removal have been filled in.

05:00 PM: I’ve wiped any excess mortar off the windows both inside and out.  Now, to cleaning up the basement from today’s installation.

06:30 PM: All ten windows in the basement have now been replaced with much quieter and more energy-efficient glass blocks.  I love them.  This project was therefore, well worth the effort, and it really wasn’t that bad.  I’ll fix the lattice work on the porch outside on an upcoming warmer day.

07:10 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of    NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Watched the 2012-01-27 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called    Coming Clean.

09:00 PM: Facebooked for an hour and shared info about the basement window replacement project that I’m so pleased to report now, is finished. 

10:00 PM: Listened to my iPod Touch while unwinding with a couple shots of Ice 101 peppermint schnapps.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-28

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:15 AM: I’m up.

08:30 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 625 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

12:30 PM: Balanced all five checking accounts under my management.

01:15 PM Vacuumed the first floor.

02:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

03:00 PM: Requested a disbursement from the    WPSBC Alumni Association’s   investment account.  Their checking account is getting low, and we must assure that we have sufficient funds on hand for the upcoming alumni convention this summer.  The amount I requested should not only stop those low-balance monthly service fees that the bank who hosts our checking account charges us, but should also provide enough liquid capital for all alumni business for 2012 and beyond.

04:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called   Starving To Death.

06:30 PM: Next long-running project: Phase out all cloth-insulated, two-wire fifteen-amp circuits here at my home; upgrading those still needed to three-wire twenty-amp circuits that employ state-of-the-art insulation.  This house really shows its age when you see its deteriorating original cloth-covered wiring.  I’m working on the first circuit now.  I don’t need a new box yet, as it was last replaced in 1997 with a 200-amp service.  I would however, love a 400-amp service, on MY OWN transformer !

07:30 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   The CBS Evening News.

08:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of    NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

10:00 PM: Listened to my iPod while watching tonight’s Florida Republican debate.  I’ll watch this again over the weekend via the DVR; this time, without the iPod, so I can pay full attention.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

12:30 AM: I inadvertently cut out the supply line for the first circuit I’m upgrading before realizing that that wire fed the overhead lights in the kitchen as well as those on the south porch.  See   [Emmy]?   I do indeed make mistakes.  So I spent some time upstairs in the crawlspace, looking for a new place to get power for those lights.  I found one.  I must say that I was surprised to find that clipping the old wires inside an outlet box in the living room, deprived power to lights so far away (in the kitchen).  But 65 years ago, they did not run as many circuits as they do now in houses.  I believe that before our service upgrade in 1997, this place only had six or eight circuits.  Now, we have roughly thirty-four.

12:55 AM: Listened to my iPod and facebooked for a couple hours, and fiddled around a bit more with the wiring upgrade project.

01:05 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-26

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (3) loads of pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps ten minutes. Friend count: 623 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

05:00 PM: Replaced basement windows 7 and 8 on the south wall with glass block upgrades.  This took much of today, as window 8 had lots of crumbling mortar around it.  I had to shovel a few buckets of gravel into the gaping holes in the foundation that surfaced when the old window was removed.  I then replaced that old mortar with a fresh new coat of a way more modern mixture.

07:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

07:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of  Dr. Phil,   called   Under The Influence.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  We watched tonight’s rerun episode of   Hawaii Five-0.

11:20 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.     Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• 5-day sale coupon from Wolf Furniture.  Well, unfortunately, with the expense of all the new windows I’ve incurred, both in the basement and on the 1st and 2nd floors, I can afford no furniture.  Check back with me in a year. 
• Offer from American Express Personal Savings to set up a savings account with them.  Not at this time, thanks.
• Credit card offer from Chase Freedom.  Not at this time, thanks.
• Balance transfer checks from Chase Freedom.  No thanks.
• Auto insurance offer from Mom’s bank.  No thanks.
• Eleven month contract summary from the company who manages some of my investments.
• $15 coupon from Dell; probably because I bought a computer from them last summer.  However, as it expires at the end of February, 2012, I’ll probably not use it.
• Discover card offer.  Not at this time, thanks.
• Sewage bill.
• Misc. medical bills for Mom.
• Updated rate sheet for 2012 from my cable television provider.
• The Writer magazine; the 2012-01 edition.
• Letter from the company that manages some of my investments, detailing the numerous changes to tax law for 2011 filing.  None of these changes affect me at present.
• Misc. bank papers.
• Gas bill.
• Bill for Mom, for her transportation to the last leg of the Christmas Eve progressive dinner at sister Christine’s house.
• Offer from my electricity company for exterior electrical line protection insurance.  No thanks.
• Monthly bill from the nursing home where Mom is staying.
• Consumer Reports magazine; the 2012-01 edition.
• Talking book: The Examined Life; edited by Stanley Rosen.
• Talking book: Get With The Program: Getting Real About Your Health, Weight, … Bob Greene.
• Talking Book: Imperfect Control: Our Lifelong Struggles with Power and Surrender, by Judith Viorst.
• Talking Book: Practical Philosophy, by Immanuel Kant.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-23

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

07:50 AM: I’m up.

08:05 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 623 (up one). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

08:10 AM: Lots of snow fell overnight; perhaps 4 to 6 inches.  So, no basement windows replacement project today.  Instead, I’ll probably continue organizing the basement, catch up on some television that I’ve been putting off, and catch up on these blogs as well.  Haven’t journaled in close to a month.  So I definitely owe the audio recorder a session or two to update the journal as well.

09:00 AM: Watched the 2012-01-03 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called   Smart People, Bad Choices.

09:45 AM: Watched the 2012-01-04 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called   CBS This Morning.

10:30 AM: Watched the 2012-01-05 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called   B-Wars.

11:15 AM: Watched the 2012-01-06 episode of   Dr. Phil   via the DVR, called   Weight Wars.

12:30 PM: Took down and put away the Christmas tree.  Also, checked and repaired any burned-out bulbs in the ten strings of lights that I removed from the tree before stowing it.

01:15 PM: Made a large bowl of pasta and Parmesan cheese for lunch.

02:00 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

04:00 PM: I’m awake again.

04:20 PM: Watched last night’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

05:10 PM: Watched the 2012-01-16 episode of NBC’s   Rock Center   in-depth news show via the DVR.

06:00 PM: Replaced kitchen electrical outlet to the left of stove due to loose-fitting sockets.  Items plugged into this outlet would sometimes fall out. The new outlet is much tighter.

07:15 PM: Replaced one faulty light dimmer in the kitchen for the bank of task lights above the stove.  Hmmm.  That’s the 2nd one I’ve replaced there in the past ten years.  If another fails, I’ll look into taking those lights off of the same circuit as the outlets near the stove.  Voltage spikes from appliances going on and off that are plugged into those outlets may be destroying these dimmers.

07:20 PM: I’m following the primary election returns in South Carolina on CNN throughout tonight.

08:40 PM: Corrected the wiring for and replaced the outlet in Mom’s old sitting room that feeds my treadmill.  A routine check revealed that the hot and neutral wires were reversed. Plus, the old recepticle had lots of old paint on it.  So now, this outlet works better, is safer, and looks nicer as well.  Oh, and it had a ground as well.  Nice.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.  Good night.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count for this run is ???, up from 946 at last check.  The record high for this dimension remains at 1788.  The next goal: 2000.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-21

Today’s Activities

• Shower. DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.  Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
• Wash (1) load of pending laundry.  DONE.  Had to clean my work clothes after today’s window replacement work in the basement.  Pretty dirty they were indeed.  I hope I didn’t gum up the washer.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:50 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 622 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

08:45 AM: Installing glass block window upgrades to windows 4, 5, and 6 in the basement.  This should take much of the day today.

11:30 AM: The three old windows have been removed, and the glass block replacements have been set into position, leveled, and measured to assure proper symmetrical appearance.

03:00 PM: The  application of mortar to the inside side of the windows has been applied to all three windows.  I’ll next do the same on the outside.

05:30 PM: All shims have been removed from the three basement windows I’m upgrading and final mortar has been applied.

07:00 PM: Cleaned up excess mortar from the new windows, and swept up the work areas in the cellar where I installed them.  I also used some of the left-over mortar to plug a few cracks in the walls down there.

08:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   via the DVR.

08:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of   Dr. Phil,   called   Teen Girls in the News   via the DVR.

09:10 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News   via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed.  Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content.  Good night.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs.  The monthly keyword hit count for this run is 941, down from 946 at last check.  The record high for this dimension remains at 1788.  The next goal: 2000.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Related Posts and Links

• Today’s Diet: 2012-01-19