Great news!

March 21, 2009
Peoria, AZ

We got great news on Thursday - all of Geri's follow-up tests were fine, so we're now working to get her scheduled with the radiologist to have her little kidney thing "zapped". Technically, it's called "radio-frequency ablation" and it's supposed to be very effective for tumors like hers. At least, the Mayo Clinic thinks so (check here). No, she's not going to the Mayo Clinic for her treatment.

In other news, I've been continuing the process of tidying up the back yard, finishing off the placement of the water feature Geri wanted and burying the conduit for the electrical connection. I got the paint sprayer out and re-painted the inside of the wall around the back yard, which looks pretty good if I do say so myself. This is another validation of one of my favorite sayings: always use the right tool for the job. A couple of years ago, I found a re-manufactured professional-level airless spray system on sale at Home Depot for less than 50% of a new one, and I snapped it up. I'm not an expert with the sprayer by any measure, but neither is this rocket science. I've picked up a few techniques watching other houses in the neighborhood get painted, and I've always been reasonably good at taping (some would say "anal", but they just don't understand taping. I'm preparing myself for the project of painting the whole house at some point (definitely not this year). I've gotten quotes for having the fascia and soffits covered with colored aluminum (those are the places that'll be hardest to paint) but wasn't thrilled with the cost. One of the vendors will sell the parts and even custom bend all the fascia trim for about 50% of the cost, giving me the opportunity to do the installation myself (who wouldn't enjoy a few days playing on ladders with air nailers?), so that might be an option.

My next step is to install new solar shades around the patio. Of course, no project is that straight-forward. Before putting up the hardware, it only makes sense to paint the underlying wood. Before you paint, you sand it. Once you've sanded it to bare wood because it's been in the Arizona sun for 8 years, you prime it before you paint. And, since the side fascia on the patio is angled to match the roof, you'll need to add a 1x12 panel so the sun shade hangs level (repeat prime and paint process here). At least paint dries quickly here, so the preparation was pretty much done between yesterday and today. I'll install the fascia extension and the shades tomorrow, and put on the final touch-up on the paint and be done. Then I can finish putting the back yard into order until I start the next project (an outdoor kitchen island for the gas grill and side burners). Maybe that'll wait until next year...

On the coach front, the tile looks good and only needs to be sealed. My repair to the leaking kitchen sink drain appears to have been successful. I only need to replace the cracked muffler and we'll be road-worthy. The muffler has a crack along the seam between the inlet and the body. It came with a lifetime warranty, but that doesn't count when the company goes out of business. I ordered a suitable replacement online last week after trying to chase down the original company for close to 3 months. Since I recently bought a small MIG welder, I might try to repair the old one as a spare. Of course, I'll have to get the right gas and wire for welding stainless steel. Maybe that will wait until next year, too. Good thing I'm not running out of things to do in retirement!