The floors (upstairs bathrooms and laundry room) are done!  Of course in doing so they had to take the toilets out (and replace the wax ring etc).  Just that amount of time being drained and disconnected both of them decided to have issues when put back together -- go figure!  The one in Avery's bathroom was leaking from the bottom down the supply line (gasket).  The one in my bathroom needed a new flapper all of a sudden and new guts -- again.  I swear I've changed each toilet at least 2x since I moved here, this is at least the 3rd time in that bathroom.

I like it!  I like that it isn't as slick as the vinyl; my callused feet would often slip on the vinyl.  I like their work.  But most of all, I like the way it looks.  I guess writing my end of year posts does get in my head, for good.

School was, in fact, cancelled on Friday.  Blizzard packet #3 is now complete.  The good news is it is a bit warmer and there was enough snow for Avery to go play w/ a few neighbor friends last night.  I knew her boots were an 11, but I was hoping they would still work this year.  That's a big no.  Can I just say that kid's snow boots are inordinately expensive for all the more often they get to be worn?  I online ordered a pair from our favorite consignment store, so we just have to run and snag them.  I'm buying big so they will last another winter.  We may need some thicker socks this year.

In other news, our fosters Pickle and Summer just left.  Pickle wailed a bit in the carrier.  Poor guy.  I'm so glad they're going together.

Wednesday ended up being a 2 hour delay.  I'm glad they went!  Other than it being cold the roads were clear.  I love having her home, but it's tiring when I have to get work time in and we are responsible for doing school work.  We have another storm that is coming in - snow expected overnight tonight.  This and the fact that it warmed up a bit (20s) means there should be some snow for Avery to play in this weekend.  It also means I'm wondering how things will play out for school on Friday.

It's funny, one day she's bummed when I tell her school is cancelled and excited to go back to school.  The next day she's bummed I woke her up because school isn't cancelled, only delayed.  I'm glad you love home/me as much as you do school/your friends kiddo.

Saffy had her yearly vet appointment yesterday.  I (and the vet) am pleased to announce that the vet indicated her heart still sounds good and strong.  She was due for her rabies and a few other things, but we have backed off on a few things that aren't necessary given her age.

Avery was off yesterday for MLK day.  Late last evening we got the call for a 2-hour delay.  It is pretty cold out there and there is a fresh layer of what looks like snow from a distance but is more pellet-like up close.  (As I type this I can hear the firetruck horn down on the main road.)  Fortunately yesterday she slept til 11am (she did the same on Saturday morning too - I hope this isn't a signal that she fighting something off).  After that she worked on some of her homework for the week and got to watch a bit of TV until I wrapped up my day early.  (Update:  Remote learning again today.)

Also, I made a leap.  I had a flooring company come a while back to look at my carpet (I was hoping they could re-stretch the living room to resolve that transition issue and perhaps fix the spot in my bedroom - unfortunately they felt the carpet would just rip).  I stopped into their store the other day to look at their flooring options.  It feels crazy to trust a company to do your whole house (and that is crazy expensive) so I am baby-stepping.

They are scheduled to come replace the flooring in the two bathrooms and laundry room upstairs.  I went with one of those pieced together floors that is water proof, but also has what looks like grout lines.  I forced myself out of the dingy beige toned one and went with one that has both gray and slight brown tone to it - but it's bright.  I think it's going to look great in the laundry and Avery's bathroom, I just get nervous because of the brown tile in my shower.  Hopefully it goes well and I am enthused.  If so I will have an easier time pulling together the bank to replace all of the other flooring (all the carpet upstairs, the carpet downstairs, and the fake wood downstairs).

Today was our first "snow day".  It was really some sleet and wind right at freezing temps this morning that did them in.  I have to say how impressed I am.  Long gone are the days of watching the news ticker for delays and cancellations.  I woke to a voicemail from the school district (they provide transportation) indicating they were on a 2 hour delay.  I also had an email from her school indicating a two hour delay.  While I was in the bathroom I got the phone call from the school reiterating the 2 hour delay.  I hadn't even looked out the window yet to get an inkling there could be weather issues.

After getting a bit of work in I woke her with plenty of time... but also just in time to get the call indicating that the school district was closed.  If they're closed we don't have their transportation to school so I went ahead and emailed her teacher to let her know she would do a remote learning day (I was not driving that way if the roads were gross).  About 40 minutes later the call came saying that her school was closed too; at this point I was driving to help my favorite egg drop his car at the dealership for something to get checked.  The roads were a bit sloppy but it had warmed up enough that it was fine.

It definitely took that hour first thing in the morning and a long rest of the day to get my hours in while also taking breaks to facilitate her remote learning.  I would give her the info she needed (since she can't read well enough just yet) and help her understand two sheets and return to work while she finished it and then got to watch some tv.  Loop this 5 times and we managed to finish her work around 2pm. 

A few months ago I purchased a new faucet for my kitchen sink.  Note I said purchased, not installed.  Today my favorite egg said, let's install that... sigh.  It leaks right at the handle and into the cabinet below.  Not sure if it is a bad cartridge or what.  I ordered another (fortunately, the same one is still available both on Amazon and Home Depot), but it won't be here until Friday the 5th.

I quickly learned that if I don't have running water I would be quite challenged to do dishes in a manner I find acceptable - and that was with me bringing pitchers of water from the 1/2 bath.  At least I had the presence of mind to get things going for dinner before we started that task -- too bad I hadn't made and cleaned up from dinner first.

This right here is what I hate about home improvement.  Further, I have to admit, if I had tried to replace this myself I wouldn't have gotten very far as there were pieces of the old one that he had a hard time getting loosened - I would have been doomed.