Relocating the cat box

Our cats have a “house” for their litter boxes. They go in on the side, but we can remove the top for scooping. We built this setup when we moved to Austin because our balcony at Riata was rails instead of walls…and we didn’t think Sosta or Purrrrrl would go. We also wanted to use the patio, so we wanted to cover them. And, there are rules about what can/can’t be on the patio, so we had to make it look like furniture. It’s been a great box everywhere we’ve lived since.

When we moved here, the back corner of the shop/laundry area in the garage seemed like the best spot for it. It worked for a while, but it’s just not anymore. We had the idea to add an exhaust fan to it and vent the air from it out the front under the garage door (where there is a gap in the weatherstripping). E bought a fan, reducer, and vent hose online. We picked up a jig saw, and in one short afternoon, he assembled it all while I rearranged the rest of the stuff that had been in that spot in the garage.

It’s funny how moving a few boxes around can change the chi of a space, but it made a huge difference. And it’s just a garage! The cats don’t care much for the sound of the fan, but we think they’ll get used to it. And, it’s on a timer, so if they can hold it, they can avoid it.

Black Friday comes early

After the garage was finished, we headed up to our Home Depot for our second appliance-shopping trip. Home Depot started their Black Friday sales way early this year….so people could get their homes ready for Thanksgiving. Since they aren’t making it all Christmassy, I think it’s smart marketing. And, I guess it got E’s attention, too, because we bought a new fridge, a vented microwave, and a new dryer. We don’t need them for Thanksgiving, and he’s off a couple of days in early December, so we’re having them delivered on the 2nd.

The stainless refrigerator is a French Door setup with a huge tray for party platters. I don’t care much about the stainless microwave (they all function the same to me) and I hate the built-in vented kind, but we can’t afford to lose the counter space. The fancy-schmancy dryer is white….and we were about “this close” to getting the matching washer, too.

How all this came to be is that the microwave will die ~any day. We had hoped it would die while under warranty, but it’s been most of that time and isn’t seeming to behave any worse. It took over 3 minutes to heat a cup of soup today, but it works…it’s just old. The previous owner bought a fridge too small for the space, so it’s digging a hole in the wall and many of the drawers are cracked/chipped from being forced in and out for cleaning. Recently, it started making a growling sound. The dryer takes two cycles most times and it horrifically mangles fitted sheets. So, we figured one would die in the first year, but that hasn’t happened and this is the time of year to buy appliances at good deals.

We’ll have to switch the fridge and pantry locations in our kitchen. The notch for the fridge is just too limiting. Smaller fridges are actually more expensive. And, even our free-standing pantry that the previous owner gave us is too tall to fit in the nook. We’ll pick up another cabinet at Ikea or something.  It will look a little funny for a while, but if it functions better that is all we care about.

So, merry early xmas to the cats, to us, and to #DomaLuza

[I’ve almost given up on the dresser we bought with the idea of turning it into a kitchen island. I just can’t see how I can make that one work. I’m still tinkering with the idea, but we’ll probably have to sell that dresser and hopefully get back our money.]