Odd Jobs

I got up at 6:15 thinking that my kids' high school marching unit needed an additional adult volunteer at this morning's sub sale fundraiser only to find out I was superfluous. This gave me an opportunity to get to a couple of Harry Homeowner fix-it jobs that I've been putting off.

The first job was taking care of a slow-draining bathtub. This turned out to be a piece of cake. Well, no, it turned out to be a big nasty wet blob of hair clinging tenaciously to the drain plug but you know what I mean. (Who'd have thought two boys - one of whom likes them "high and tight" - could generate so much hair?)

The second job was recaulking the shower stall in my bathroom. I don't know about you but I always dislike jobs that involve caulk. First you have to remove the old caulk. And in my houses, it always seems the caulk removal process invariably reveals rotted wood or some other deterioration that requires major renovations. This morning I was lucky. Everything looked OK but it did take me a while to remove all the old caulk and loose tile grout.

Next you have to apply the caulk. I use a caulk gun for this. I simply squeeze the trigger applying a nice even bead of caulk. The pain-in-the-ass part is that extra caulk keeps coming out of the tube even after you've stopped applying the nice even bead. And it's not a little bit extra that comes out... a whole lot extra comes out.

But the finishing touch of a good caulk job always requires you to "use a wet finger to smooth the caulk into place." Whenever I do this I always, always, always get caulk all over my clothes, my hair, the work area, the area around the work area, the telephone, and the computer keyboard. This morning was no exception. Blech!

Let me tell you something... I definitely finished this job with a wet finger.
K-