Home repairs: computer cord, mailbox, TP holder

 Friday, Jan. 28th

Jesse (my son in Vancouver) told me about Sugru. It's a fabulous thing to mend cords. You'll notice I had some white stuff, back when Daisy liked to chew the cord.[ A funny story about Sugru – 2019] I think I've caught the cord on the mechanism on my chair. Anyway, all fixed! I sent JB in to get it for me. They didn't have any white stuff. Jesse says it matches the black laptop keys! 

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📫Our mailbox was bashed – again

Home maintenance and repairs can be a challenge for me. I watched my dad and he did a lot of this stuff. I have failed to master quite a few things, though. I kept all his useable tools, garden equipment, nuts and bolts. The repair wasn't quite good enough. The door doesn't quite align. I bashed away at it, to little avail. The problem was the riveting I'd done on the fly. I needed a nut and bolt.

Once I was calmer (the next day), I scrounged up some possibilities. The drill bit was in my pocket!  Toddling out to the mailbox, again...

It's a lovely day. We had 2 cm of snow overnight. It's quite pretty. It was much warmer, only -17 C.! 

The second one I tried worked! I told Caitlin that it was awful taking off my gloves, then having to take the other one off! Wow! We don't get a newspaper anymore, but the yellow Citizen box protects it, I thought.

There are still dents from where the blunt force object made a connection with my mailbox. The top hooky pieces are meant to keep it closed. It's not a good fit anymore. 

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Saturday, Jan. 29

I've been looking for a new toilet paper holder. I loved the one we bought in Muskoka. The wooden one is in the downstairs bathroom. 

Time to tackle the new toilet paper holder. The old one was wretched looking. I ordered a new one, just as an afterthought, simply to bring an order up to free delivery (Wayfair). It was the only place I could find new cords for my outdoor Cherry Blossom fake tree. (That project is incomplete. I'm still working on it!)

The kittens quite liked the toilet paper roll, back in the day! Dorah is gone, and Daisy is happy in her rehomed situation. We speak of them all the time.

It took some time to remove the old holder brackets. One screw was stripped (the left one), and I had to drill it off. I didn't totally succeed. 

The white panel came in handy, later. It was from a horrible saga: The toilet issue (2019). We won't use that company again. (Plus they took CERB money, and still complained about the government.)

The next thing was to sand and paint over the white spots, then fill the holes with polyfilla. The paint I found was the right colour, but it was rust paint, and was solid on the top, liquid separated underneath. Whoopsie! Back down to the basement.

Back in the basement, I found the right paint. This was the only room I repainted when we moved in back in 2010. 

Overnight, while I let the polyfilla dry, I popped the toilet paper on a large candle holder. 

 You'll notice the white cover plate. It came in handy.

The guy accidentally sliced through the toilet stack: The toilet issue (2019). It required repairs. And a cover plate. Being able to see the studs was helpful. I knew the toilet paper holder would need to be anchored to them, not just in the wall. I was looking for a long piece I could screw in, and then secure the holder to that, when I came up with a better idea. 

Fitting it, making JB sit on the toilet to ensure he could reach it what with his sore arm, I figured we were good. I secured the heron carving to the studs, with JB's help holding it, and it is much more secure. The old toilet paper holder was flimsy and loose and would fall off the wall at will. In hindsight, I should have bought a sturdier one, but this will do. There is even a spot to hold your cell phone, if you take it to the bathroom! 

Ta da! Today's project is sealing the front door. We could/should replace it, but we're a bit tight right now. I'm still having issues with 💰Canada Revenue Agency😓. After that, and the new driveway, I keep telling myself "it's only money!"