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I am worn out. I don't mean just a little tired;
I am just plain worn out. It started in June
when my wife decided we needed to replace the
picture window in the living room. OK, I know
it had some bad wood in its frame, and the window
leaked pretty badly in the winter, but I was sure
we could get one or two more years out of it if
we tried. My wife was sure she wanted a new
window this summer though, so we fought over it
for a while.
I told her we should wait so I could pay for the
car repairs we had in April. She argued that it
would be really uncomfortable to change that
window in the snow and cold of winter if it breaks
then. I argued that I really need more fishing
time in the summer. She argued that with the
drought going on, it is the perfect summer for
changing a window since there are fewer places
to fish.
I tried to ignore her pleas and discuss other
things. That only made her more intent on
asking me to do it. I took her to Deadwood to
play nickel slot machines hoping it would take
her mind off the window. She decided to play
with the thought of winning enough for a window.
She didn't win, but she was still asking for a
window. And, her asking was getting bad. She
was starting to ask for some more exotic window
stuff than I was willing to buy, or put in.
We went to every window store and hardware store
in town looking at what they had or could get.
Actually, I was looking for an escape while she
looked at windows, but I wasn't willing to tell
her that. We priced and looked and browsed
catalogs from June through mid July, with me
wishing for a day to go fishing, and her wishing
I could make up my mind which window I was willing
to install.
Finally, in the mid-week of July, a local hardware
store called Menards had its picture windows on
sale for 10% off regular price. So, we went and
looked at all the magazines and the windows on
display, and I finally decided to let her buy
one. We went home, measured the window, and
went back and ordered it. It was beautiful
to her and a terror to me.
About three weeks ago, this big old Menards
delivery truck showed up with our glass in
the back end. Holy Smokes! That was one
chunk of glass and hardware. Did I mention
that it is the kind of window that sticks out
in the yard a foot or so? Did I mention that
it takes about a day to prepare the house for
the new window to go in? Did I mention that
the whole window weighs about 480 pounds dry
as a dessert? Did I mention that it took all
three of us to move (drag) that window from
the back of that delivery truck into the garage?
Well, today was the day to install the window.
I took a lot of stuff off the walls last night,
and removed a lot of trim on the outside. My
wife's retired uncle showed up about 10am to
help me remove the old window and prepare for
installing the new one. We bought plywood and
framing wood to make the platform the window
would sit on. We measured it and measured it
again to make sure the window opening was the
right size. We built up the frame and made
sure it was level, then waited for the rest
of the crew to show up at 5pm.
At 4:30pm one brother-in-law showed up with
an old friend. At 5pm the other brother-in-law
showed up with my stepson. That meant that
there were six adult males to put the window
in its place about 8 feet off the ground.
Have you ever tried to lift something that
weighs 480 pounds that high? Even with two
levels of scaffolding, it was a chore. We
had the window in and secure by 6:30pm, and
were eating pizza (small price to pay for help)
by 7pm.
It is done, but I am worn out. I haven't slept
right for over a month, worried that it would
turn into a regular disaster. Surprising as it
might seem, everything slipped into place, was
level and the right dimensions, and wasn't all
that hard with the right help. The new window
actually looks rather sharp. I will spend
tomorrow putting siding on the house and doing
trim, but the hard work is over. In fact, I
might even get to go fishing if the weather allows.
Does anyone want an old window? ~ AC
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