Dear Trees,

Whatever I did to you, I'm sorry and I will do my utmost to make amends. Just please, please stop dropping an entire season's worth of pollen all at once. I really miss breathing; it was a pleasant experience from what I remember on Friday.

My heart- and lung-felt apologies for any arboreal offense I caused.

Jonathan

Suffering only a slightly cut thumb, some random scrapes and bruises on my arms, and some odd sticky goop in my hair, I managed to install a new kitchen faucet today. Of course there was the obligatory run to the hardware store for another part (this time a feed line for the dishwasher) and an unexpected discovery (I don't think my condo has a master water shut-off valve), but it all got done in the end. Now, after 3 years, I can finally fill the Brita pitcher without contortions! I wasn't able to replace the stop valves as I intended because of the lack of a way to turn off the water to the whole place, but they are still functional if a little corroded. I'll get to them eventually. Anyway, now I can enjoy a leak free (so far!) kitchen.

I know I have been very bad about updating this blog lately, but once I fall behind, catching up seems so difficult I just keep putting it off. I'm jumping in now to mention my latest home improvement exploit. Yesterday I managed to successfully install a new garbage disposal, something that would have been much easier if I didn't come face to face with the work of the Incompetent Plumber again. Whoever it was who did the work in my condo when it was modernized about 15 years ago didn't understand some basic things: like gravity or the fact that duct-taping the ends of 2 pipes together is not sufficient. This time he used a very odd-sized drainage pipe and his patented tape-method of connection. Of course, that explains the leak I've been bothered by since I moved in. And now there is no more leak (thanks to the efforts of 2 different local hardware stores and some creative use of adapters)! Grinding a banana peel this morning was quite a thrill.

I put in a fancy Insinkerator disposal from their new Evolution line. I'm sort of disappointed that it has to hide under the sink since it looks so nice. I considered installing it upside down so it would stick up out of the drain and people could admire it. Oh, and it really is incredibly quiet! Next up: the new faucet that arrived this evening after I finally got the hang of eBay over the weekend and managed to get a pretty good deal on a nice stainless steel model. Once I have both projects complete, I will have taken care of all the leaks around my kitchen sink. At last.