September 27, 2019
Dear Everyone:
Last June, I ordered new windows for my condominium.
While we were in New York in August, I received a text message on
my cell phone informing me that the windows were ready to be delivered
and installed. And when
would I like to schedule that?
In the meantime, I had arranged for cataract surgery, which put new
windows a step down on the Priority List.
I picked a date in the week following surgery, figuring if
anything went wrong, I could always reschedule the windows.
Which, of course, turned out not to be necessary.
The windows arrived this last Monday.
Actually, the installation was scheduled for, and really did
take, two full days.
First, the two-man team had to remove the old windows.
This involved a lot more pounding with hammers than I had
expected. Not pounding on
the glass, but using a metal wedge to pry the old window frame out of
the original space in the building.
When deemed necessary, one of the workmen would tap the end of
the wedge with a hammer. I
could only hope that my upstairs neighbors were out for the day.
The workmen also removed the wooden trim around the patio door.
Ultimately, they did return it to its original location.
Once the space was ready for the new windows, one man would hold the
frame in place while the other squeezed a kind of foam to fill the space
around it. This foam had to
set overnight.
On the second day, they came back to complete adding trim around each
window and sealing everything in place.
Also, they had arranged for the City Inspector to come by and
approve the work for the necessary permit.
He was here for all of about 15 minutes.
Once I had signed and initialed all the paperwork, they left with the
admonishment to not open any of the windows for another day or so.
Since that turned out to be one of the warmest days on record in
Northern California, I had no problem leaving everything as it was.
The next morning, when the outside temperature had dropped all the way
down to 70 degrees, I did try opening a few windows; but there was very
little breeze to cool things down inside.
This morning was a different story.
Overnight the usual warming trend near the end of September had
moved on and the air was nice and cool.
Opening all the windows, plus the patio door was a pleasure I
haven’t had in many years.
One window had no screen when I bought the place.
The screen on the patio door popped off one day, due to general
subsidence of the building, years ago.
Now all the windows and door have lovely new screens.
I’m looking forward to using them for many years to come.
In other news…
The new president of our Mount Diablo Chapter of ARMA International, has
some ideas for ways to “improve” our little website.
She wants pictures and thumbnail biographies of all board members
to be displayed. The idea is
that some possible new member will be so entranced by the pictures and
cheerful introductions of all nine Board Members that they won’t be able
to resist joining ARMA and our chapter on the spot.
She even sent me a picture of herself, along with a few introductory
paragraphs about herself distinguished career in Records and Information
Management (RIM).
I already have a good picture of myself, taken a few years ago by our
hairdresser immediately following doing my hair.
Throwing together a few bits about 38 years working in RIM,
critiqued by “Jeannie”, didn’t take long.
So that’s two out of nine.
Back when I was in High School, if someone didn’t get their photograph
taken in time, the yearbook was published with a silhouette of a head
and the words, “Photo not available”.
I thought about drafting something similar.
Then I realized that I have, literally, hundreds of photos from my own
website. So I copied some
over to the Chapter website.
Those Board Members who haven’t yet supplied a photo may find a
brilliant blue Lily of the Nile (that’s a flower) with the words,
“Waiting to hear from…” instead of their own picture and brief
biography.
And if someone’s missing photo is replaced with a whimsical depiction of
a Cute Baby Turkey, a squirrel chomping on a peanut, or a goose standing
on one leg, that may induce them to move a little more quickly to
provide something more suitable.
Wouldn’t you?
Love, as always,
Pete
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