Make a list of home repairs/projects and get them done

Get a new A/C
Get a pad for my a/c
Do something to the air conditioner unit fan so it’s not a hazard
My a/c going out took care of these three things, and I only had to pay $360 out of pocket. Thank goodness for the home warranty the people provided when they sold me the house.

Put something in that shady small space between the garage and the walkway. Maybe just rocks
I put some white rocks in the small space by the walkway to my front door. I really like it.

Replace the bathroom door with a curtain
So much nicer than a door!

Fix the gate
When I came home from shopping today, my gate was wide open. I tried to close it, but the latch didn’t match up with the thing it latches to. At all. The gate and the fence seem sturdy, and the fence wouldn’t move back into a place where the latch would match up. I don’t get it.

Anyway, I cried for a few minutes and then I got my drill and a screwdriver bit and moved the thing the latch latches to. I don’t really trust my workmanship on this, but it’s all I’ve got.

Get a programmable thermostat
I did this in January after I shorted out my old thermostat with some static electricity. I’m very happy with the new one.

Hang a prism in the shower window
Very nice. It throws beautiful rainbow bits up on my wall when the sun is out.

Put a better bulb in the ceiling fan
I hate my ceiling fan. HATE it because of the ordeal it is to change the light bulb. I hated the 7-year slow-to-glow bulb I put in it a few months ago, too, so today I replaced it with a regular high energy consumption bulb that lights up instantly. Thank you. Whoever designed the fan should be shot in the butt with a bb gun. Something as simple as changing a light bulb shouldn’t take half an hour, a constant fear of falling off a ladder and a great many curses.

Install a carbon monoxide detector
I had a $5 off a $20 purchase at CVS coupon, so I bought a carbon monoxide detector and installed it. That was way easier than changing a light bulb in my ceiling fan.

Fix the fence
I put three new pickets up to block the hole in the fence.

Buy a rake and some lawn trimmings bags
Bought and used. I need to use it some more.

Learn to change the light bulb in the ceiling fan
After that ordeal, I’ve decided I don’t like the 7 year bulb I bought. It takes a full minute to get to full brightness. That’s not acceptable because the monster that hides in my room will get me if I walk in there while it’s still dark.

Hang the giraffe and penguins
I’ve had a giraffe clock and a small shelf with penguin knick knacks sitting around waiting to be hung on a wall since I moved into the new house. I couldn’t figure out where to put them. The other night, I got tired of seeing them sitting around on the floor and end table, so I made myself hang them on the living room wall. The penguins are over my desk and the giraffe clock is over the TV. They look great.

Get the heater inspected and pilot light lit
The guy came out and taught me all about my furnace. The heater works great.

Put up the new shower curtain rod
My friend Brian gave me a shower curtain rod for housewarming. It’s actually two rods: one for the curtain and one for towels. I’ve been waiting for someone to come over and help me hang it, but since I’m such a loner and don’t like to ask anyone for help, it wasn’t happening. The instructions say it takes two people, but I worked out in my head how I could do it myself. I did it last night. I can’t wait to tell Brian. He’s always asking me if I’ve put it up yet.

Get the photo that misswa sent me framed to put on my wall
Way back, when no one had even dreamed of giving 10,000 cheers and 43 People didn’t exist yet, misswa borrowed my DVDs of a season of Alias. When she returned them, she sent me one of her photographs. She’s a great art photographer. The photo of a man’s legs sticking out from under something makes me think of my dad fixing something. He was always fixing something. I had fallen victim to the perfectionist’s way of worrying so much about getting the exact right frame that I wasn’t getting anything at all. I finally made myself do it a week and a half ago. I ordered a custom frame from pictureframes.com with two mats and anti-glare glass. Artsy photos deserve the best. It was delivered yesterday, and I put it together and hung it on my bedroom wall. Here’s a picture

Get some of my own photographs printed and framed to put on my walls
Along the same lines, I’ve been wanting to get some of the photographs I’ve taken printed in poster size (16×20) and framed for my walls. I got a coupon for 20% off poster prints from Walgreens last weekend, and decided it was time. I chose ten, and they were delivered Friday. Today, I went to Michaels and bought frames and spent a couple hours framing and hanging. Two I’m taking to work to hang in my cubicle tomorrow. The ones I hung today are:

• Oklahoma City Memorial over fireplace
• Mocha, Biscotti and Harry Potter at Aqua Java hung in my dining area
• Turner Falls and Hamilton Pool hung in my bedroom
• Purple Flowers and Greenery over my couch
• No Swimming and Drowning Alien in my hallway

I’m thrilled to pieces to have misswa’s photo and some of mine on my walls. I’m still thrilled about the leather feather hanging in my bathroom that Epp_dog made for me, too.

Caulk the back of the bathroom sink
The base of the bowl sink in my bathroom was caulked only 2/3 the way around. The back had quite a gap under it. So today, I caulked the rest of it. It’s not perfect, but no one looks back there. I just didn’t want to have a spill and have the liquid get in between the sink and the top of the cabinet underneath it.

Replace the shower head with one that has a mist setting
The showerhead that came in the house was brand new, but I like one that has a mist setting. I thought I’d get used to it, but every day my yearning for a warm, misty shower was growing. Today, I bought one and installed it. Installing it was crazy easy. I even got some of that sealing tape to make sure it doesn’t leak.

Make the pull cord for the closet light shorter so it doesn’t hit me in the face all the time
The stupid pull cord for the closet light was always hitting me in the face, so I pulled the end up and taped it to a higher part of the cord. Now it makes a loop that hangs above my head. This makes me very happy.

Caulk the kitchen sink
I did this! When the previous owners put in the granite countertops, they didn’t caulk around the sink. Water could have leaked under the countertop and caused mold and damage.

Put my chimes up in back
I did this! I thought it would be more difficult, but I was able to screw the big hook into the eave of the house with no problem, and hang the chimes.

Replace the valves on the washer connections
I hired a British plumber. He said, “Jolly good!” a lot. The valves he put in are Italian. They look nicer than the crappy valves that were on there before. Jolly good!

The next thing I should deal with is my &%#!* garage door opener.

• Fix master bathroom vent
• Put a clothes rod over the dryer (or get a free standing one)
• Put a drain pan under the water heater
• Put a cap on the gas line for the dryer
• Put screens on the vents in the attic
• Get a redbud tree for the backyard
• Get a Mexican Bird of Paradise (aka Pride of Barbados) and maybe some hibiscus for the backyard
• Get a bird feeder
• Get a birdbath
• Do something with the Lantana in front
• Weatherstrip the door to the garage
• Fix the garage door openers :(
• Get one of those thingies that covers the place where the shower head comes out of the wall
• Fix the hoses or pipes in the a/c closet (or whatever the inspector said to do)
• Get a centerpiece for my dining table that my cats won’t eat or play with
• Get a bookcase for the living room/entry
• Get a comfortable chair to sit in to watch TV in my bedroom when I don’t feel like lying in the bed
• Get a new heater unit
• Get and hang more things on my living room wall
• Get things to hang on my bedroom walls
• Fix the leak under the bathroom sink

• Get a pad for my a/c
• Get a new A/C
• Put something in that shady small space between the garage and the walkway. Maybe just rocks.
• Replace the bathroom door with a curtain
• Do something to the air conditioner unit fan so it’s not a hazard
• Get a programmable thermostat
• Hang a prism in the shower window
• Fix the gate
• Fix the fence
• Buy a rake and some lawn trimmings bags
• Install a carbon monoxide detector
• Put a better bulb in the ceiling fan
• Hang the giraffe and penguins
• Get the heater inspected and pilot light lit
• Change the light bulb in the ceiling fan
• Get the photo that misswa sent me framed to put on my wall
• Put up the new shower curtain rod
• Get some of my own photographs printed and framed to put on my walls
• Caulk the back of the bathroom sink
• Replace the shower head with one that has a “mist” setting
• Make the pull cord for the closet light shorter so it doesn’t hit me in the face all the time
• Caulk the kitchen sink
• Replace the valves on the washer connections
• Put my chimes up in back