Tag: Velux

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Meat & Beat

Willow tree on its side
Willow tree on its side

The willow tree in the picture above has fallen over but there are enough roots still in the ground to send nourishment to the hundreds of shoots, or branches really, that are growing upward out of its side. We were saddened to hear that Poly Styrene had died of cancer. Her band was so much fun for that brief period. Her smart lyrics and the saxophone were the perfect antidote to the punks. “I Am A Poseur”. My brother in law has cancer and the neighbor’s granddaughter has a brain tumor. We’re all pre-cancerous if we don’t have it already. This fallen willow got me thinking about all this.

I was looking for a replacement window for the skylight that came with our house. The one we have leaks or it used to. I thought it was the roof leaking and I caulked between almost every shingle up there before I realized it was the aluminum seal around the window itself. By that time the wood frame had rotted so I called Velux and determined that they still make our model. I got price from Lowes and then one from Home Depot. Home Depot told me they would match Lowes price and then take 10% off that. So we drove out to Lowes, got he quote in writing and took it to Home Depot. I did this routine once before but I can’t remember what it was I was buying. The clerk at Home Depot had to get special permission to mark the price down and we watched him type “Meat & Beat Competitor” into his computer terminal before he gave us the bill.

I like Home Depot better. They must be hungrier in their race with Lowes but their sales staff seems friendlier and they are very helpful. The Lowes Sore near us is bigger and cleaner with fewer customers. Home Depot is always hopping with contractors and works and of course do-it-tourselfers like us. The store is funkier and more comfortable. Today we saw a a customer having his lunch in the plumbing aisle.

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Deer Nuts

Deer eatting acorns in the front yard
Deer eatting acorns in the front yard

I obsessed over the leak in our skylight for the last three days. It took me that long to pinpoint where the water is getting in. It’s a Velux window and it came with the house. They wrapped the wood frame with metal and had to bend it around the corners. They cut the top part to make the corner and stuck a tiny rubber gasket in there. Water rolls down the edge of the window, on top of the frame and when it hits that corner it builds up and finds its way through the rubber gasket into the window frame. And then rolls down the rafters out on to the ceiling where it turns the plaster mushy. It was a half-assed design held for a while and then gave out. If we get a warm spell I plan to take the window out and re-frame the opening. I’m hoping to find a better solution for the metal cladding than the one Velux came up with.

The deer around here are on a high protein diet gobbling up the acorns that are all over our lawn.

I wrote a piece this afternoon on the Hi-Techs and posted it on the Scorgies site. And I talked to Martin Edic on the phone about doing a song with us at the reunion. That conversation will be our rehearsal.

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