A New Storm Door

About 17 years ago, not too long after I bought my home, I removed the flimsy aluminum storm door from the back entrance and replaced it with a fairy solid (ergo more substantial) new one made by Anderson/EMCO.  It was a really great door.

Then, about 9 years ago, I noticed a problem with it.  The internal mass of the door was made of particle board that is surrounded nicely by an aluminum/vynal frame and covering.  On the base of it's exterior, it had developed a "blight".  Something was decaying the covering.  It seemed very specific to a certain place and it began to slowing appear on the inside of the door, too.  It manifest itself like a growing white powdery fungus OR rust.

It's progression was very slow but persistent.  For the longest time it was a great curiosity to me, and my eventual conclusion as to its origins may just be hogwash, but I believe it is the result of a neighborhood cat marking the door in response to the cats that lived inside with me at the time--may have even been a bit of a pissing war between my girls and this Tom--so it was corrosion instigated by uric acid.

Whatever fungal/chemical reaction this set into motion just continued over the years--and for years past the demise of the feline players in the drama.  Also the door looked horrible.  So when I had the kitchen completely redone this past March/April the door's condition was only exasperated, until finally I had to  do something.

Therefore; yesterday, I went to my local Home Depot armed with only a few measurements and purchased the latest iteration of the same door.  I did not think that

Anderson/Emco still made the door, but was pleased by the possibility that it would make installing it easier.  And what I had completely forgotten was just how damned heavy the door was/IS!  70 pounds in the shape of a door is a bit of a trick to wield.

Today, I spent from about 10:30 AM until 2:30 PM affecting the switch.  There was no urgency in it and it did require a certain amount of patience and measuring to get the drilling for the pieces parts right and the hanging that also took a little creative contrivance in making a "scaffolding" to support the door properly while holes were drilled and screws driven to secure it in its frame.  It's actually the kind of challenge that I really enjoy--especially when it works out!

But that's not the best part of the project.  After successfully mounting the door, I had to measure and apply the various aspects of the hardware.  First, there was the door knob.  Then I had to put the bottom plate on, which is an extension that helps to seal the bottom of the door.

Finally, it was time to mount the hydraulic tensioned closer bar.  The mechanism the pulls the door safely shut after opening it with that familiar "woosh" sound.  It's under a lot of pressure as it has to "grab and pull" a 70 pound door.  SO the screws to mount it's brace on the door frame are 200 inches long!  And the brace on the door are mounted by screws 200 inches wide!  In other words, they big and or long and substantial to apply.

At one point in the drilling and driving of these mega-screws, I was sitting on the floor of the threshold of the door criss cross applesauce when suddenly Romeo was there. So I greeting him and then he proceeded to step into the space created by my encircled legs and just sat down! I was like, "And...?" And I got a lick on my face. AND I laughed.

Sometimes he's so silly sweet!

Hanging Out With Romeo

What better way to spend a late afternoon nap time on a hot and humid mid-July day?  But this was after the storm door off of the Kitchen was replaced.

Abandoned Detroit 14 Views

These are some amazing images of abandoned and decaying buildings in Detroit, Michigan.  Detroit is the place I tell everyone that I am from.  I am happy to have that association, and sad to watch it die, which it seems to have been doing for the past 52 years that I have been around to watch it.

When the history of Motown is written 2 contemporary lists will find Detroit at the top:

#1 Cities that suffered Race Riots in the 1960's

1. DETROIT
2. Washington, DC
3. Los Angeles
4. Baltimore
5. Newark
6. Louisville
7. Chicago
8. Milwaukee
9. Philadelphia
10. Cleveland

#2 Cities that suffered Economic Death in the last 25 years of the 20th Century

1. DETROIT
2. Youngstown
3. Cleveland
4. Pittsburgh
5. St. Louis
6. Buffalo
7. Baltimore
8. Rochester
9. Toledo
10. Gary

Here are some beautiful and poignant photographs of a few of the decaying architectural masterpieces of the Motor City.

The Book Cadillac Hotel

 The Calvary Presbyterian Church & Abundant Life Christian Center

The Crystal Ballroom of the Fort Shelby Hotel 

 The East Methodist Church

 The Atrium of the Farwell Office Building

The Fisher Body 21 Automobile Factory

The Lee Plaza Hotel

The Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church

The Michigan Central Train Station

The National Theatre

 The St. Christopher House - former Public Library

The St. Cyrils Greek Orthodox Church

The United Artists Theater

The Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church

Lego Theater: Into The Woods

Rehearsal for Act I

"I sort of hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?"

"Greens, greens, and nothing but greens:  

Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery, 

Asparagus and watercress and 

Fiddleferns and lettuce--!"

Romeo Down At The Creek

As part of my daily routine since April 30th, I take a walk.  I do this because my dog, Romeo, needs to go a walk.  As many of you know, I adopted Romeo through a charity that rescues street dogs in the central valley in and around San José, Costa Rica.  So Romeo is actually a legal alien!

We live in Takoma Park, Maryland where we have access to an amazing hiker/biker trail.  The pathway skirts Sligo Creek for just over nine miles, and we daily explore about a mile long stretch of it.

More Garden Moments In 11 Shots

Takoma Park Farmer's Market

Now a weekly event!

Peaches, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Yellow Squash and Olive Bread!  All organic and fresh from local farms.  $15.00 total; not cheap.  But so good.

Trayvon Redux

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

Frederick Douglass, 1818 - 1895

Here is my take on the Trayvon Martin verdict.

George Zimmerman is a vigilante pure and simple. He took a loaded gun out looking for trouble in a neighborhood that had already told him not to stalk their streets. He didn't stop his truck and stalk a white woman of any girth, or a white man, or an elderly Asian grandma. He stopped when he saw a black teenager whom he immediately referred to as a "coon" and as "the suspect". Trayvon clearly stated on the phone to his friend that he was scared and being pursued by some kinda "cracker" which we can take to be a reference to George. Even after the police told Zimmerman to knock it off, he continued his pursuit. In Florida hunting down and murdering teenagers may be legal, but it is not moral, it is not right, and George Zimmerman is the true menace to society.

Phlox Fields -- In My Backyard

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ July 14th to July 20th

Freedom of Speech

A picture from my commute home.

If you can't even spell it right (And nobody you know tells you that you've spelled it wrong!), how goddamn dumb are you?  And you hired the person who's driving this monstrosity with me on the highways?

"but those who wait for the Eternal
    shall renew their strength.
They put out wings like eagles;
    they run and never weary,
    they walk and never faint."

And that would be: ISAIAH 40:31.  What's to become of us when a proud Atheist gets this right?

Dear Romeo #2

Dear Romeo,

Are you bilingual? Have you adjusted to English or does your guy talk to you in both Spanish and English?

Signed,

Nijel in Louisville

Dear Nijel,

You are asking a question that I have been asked many times since my arrival here in the United States back in April.  As you know, I was born in Costa Rica, where the main spoken language by the humans around was Spanish.  Since moving here to Washington, D.C., I do not often hear Spanish, though sometimes my guy will say some things to me that sound kind of like Spanish--I'm sure he's doing the best he can.

Now, I'm going to make a little leap here and write briefly about the larger issue.  I think you will find it interesting.  I've noticed that humans put a lot of energy into communicating using "words," and I do understand some of those words or groups of words by their sound.  But I also understand the music of the words.  Does that make sense?  When words are spoken, they are not just an articulation of a series of sounds, but they are full of emotion.

So I can speak intention, if you will, in both languages. I can understand other kinds of "languages," too.  Things that are similar in humans no matter what words come out of their mouths.

Therefore, I can also understand body language, though this kind of communication does confuse me a lot still.  But the better I know someone, the easier it is to communicate like this.  I am teaching my guy how to do this better and he seems to get it pretty good.  Like when my guy comes home from being away for a long time, I always tuck my head down against his side and press the top of forehead and snout into his body to say that I am glad my pack leader is back and we are a pack again!  For me, sometimes at night I have a bad dream and so I jump up onto the bed and lay against him and he places the open palm of his hand on the center of my chest and holds me telling me stuff in a low comforting tone.  I don't exactly understand the words, but I know I am safe and when I don't feel safe I know that he will "tell" me that I am.

But I have a favorite language that I like better than either Spanish or English!  Smell!!!  I love smell.  Smell tells me so many things all the time about the world around me and I don't think my guy can speak it very well at all.  It's a shame really, 'cause smell can tell you so many things. 

Here's a great example.  Some days my guy is around the den with me all day long, and some days he goes away from home for many hours.  I know when he's going away because I can small this thing called "Old Spice Fiji" on him when he comes back into the bedroom to dress.  Pretty cool, eh?

Someday, if he works really hard at it, perhaps my guy will be able to speak "smells" as well as I can.  You never know.

Pura Vida,

Romeo Federico Ash

Lilies Galore!

It's Mid-Summer, and so it's LILY time!