Twenty-three holes in the house, and did I mention the heat wave?

Last week, we got 19 new windows, and a new sliding door to boot.  This was my single largest purchase to date (not counting the house itself), and the very thought makes me a little light-headed.  But since I have chosen to live in denial, let's say no more about it.  Consider it my gift to you, future homeowner. I hope they're holding up well— but if not, they come with a lifetime warranty.  Call Anlin.

I had some delusions about continuing to work in the house while they were "doing other rooms," but I was completely mistaken. In mere moments, they had swathed the house in plastic and tarps.  I had to rescue my laptop from under wraps and take it out to Lalo's man-cave (aka the un-air-conditioned garage).

The whole of LA has been in the grips of a heat wave this week, and naturally the valley is considerably hotter than everywhere else. Probably not the best day to make 20 (additional) giant holes in your house.  So while Lalo and I sweated in the garage, Don (our contractor) sweated in the kitchen, and a dozen guys sweated in the house, the yard and all between.  

The scheduler had said the installation would take two full days.  Boy, were they wrong.   A swarm of men descended upon us, and they were done in less than a day.  Boom, new windows in six or seven hours.  By about 3 PM, though, they had wrapped up.  I had shiny new windows and a new sliding door in the master bedroom.  And it's nice to finally have a window in the kitchen (instead of plywood). We've been living with cave-like conditions for a while, as we've been without a kitchen window since demo in May. 

I sort of miss the charm of the old windows, but I can already tell they make it quieter and cooler in here. Both of those are good, in my book.  If you're mourning the look of the oldies, rest assured that there wasn't much left to save.  The years of neglect caught up to them. But that wasn't on my watch!

Since then, Don wrapped up the stucco, which sealed up the other three holes in the house.  All in all, that makes it more like a house and less like a swiss cheese.  Which comes in handy when you're living on the surface of the sun.  Although with global warming, perhaps you're looking back at 110-degree days with nostalgia. 

I'll think I'll go turn on the AC.