I will never be a triathlete. If I am in the water I am floating. If I am running, you can bet something big and scary is chasing me.

But twice a week my neighbor and I walk our dogs about two miles and three times a week I bike about 8 miles.

I am very fortunate to live in a community that has amazing trails. I am even more fortunate to live about two blocks from a gorgeous trail that surrounds a local lake. Biking and walking is a joy!

I never snicker at the over weight women struggling on the trail…YOU GO GIRL, YOU CAN DO IT! I never shake my head at the 80+ year olds walking or riding the trails…I hope like heck I am still walking and riding in my 80s. The young moms pushing their infant in the stroller and carrying a toddler on their hip…way to go…get those babies outside!!!!!

This week I realized the most rewarding thing about walking and riding the trails right now….SMILES.

People SMILE and say good morning!

For a year and a half most of us have been covering our faces with masks. I still wear a mask out in public and I have had Covid and the vaccine.

Now I am not going to debate pros and cons about masks and the vaccine. Do they work? Who the heck knows…the whole issue has been so politicized I have no idea what to believe and what not to believe.

But here is what I do know. If the only weapon I had to fight off a bear was a stick, I would go down swinging. I doubt I can defeat a bear with a stick but I’m going down with a fight.

Anywho…SMILES! When we get outside for our own health and well being, people smile at us…and it makes us smile!

I know not all of us are fortunate enough to live in an area with great trails…so get out and walk your neighborhood…wave and smile at your neighbors.

If you don’t feel comfortable walking in your own neighborhood, get on a bus or get in your car and drive somewhere where you can get out and walk and smile and wave at people.

You don’t have time?

Don’t give me that. You have time to binge watch Netfiix. You have time to read that trashy novel. Your kid has time to play video games or text for hours on end.

Eat a light lunch then spend at least 30 minutes walking around outside…SMILE at people you pass by. Get up 30 minutes earlier, get a Yeti cup with a lid and spend your “coffee time” walking the neighborhood…wave at your neighbors and SMILE. Instead of sitting and watching your child’s practice, take that time to get up and move! And SMILE!

We all miss SMILES….we all miss that simple human connection. If we need to change our lifestyle just a hair to reconnect, it is worth it! Added bonus…you might even get in a little exercise.

And trust me when I say…most of us not only need the exercise but we could use a few more smiles.

There weren’t too many “structural” changes to be made in this house. Most of the big stuff was done before we moved in but there are a few little things I have been tweeking since we move in,

One is the laundry room. I installed the window before we moved in (featured HERE) , new tops and sink, shelf above the washer and dryer, and replaced the light fixture. Since we moved in I have painted the cabinets, changed the hardware, and added a coffee bar (to be featured later!)

I don’t know who the moron was who thought 4’ was wide enough for the washer and dryer opening….

Why is this an issue?

And worse, I have been having issues with the dryer properly venting. Another moron ran the dryer duct under the slab of the house to the back yard, a good 40’. An absolute no-no. Why? Because the length is entirely too long for a normal dryer to push the warm damp air AND they can potentially (as mine has) take in ground water. So you end up with water in the duct and moist lint sticking to the inside of the duct. Which of course sets off your dryer and shuts it down repeatedly.

I can’t even periodically pull out my dryer to at least attempt to clear the duct work without first pulling out the SUPER heavy washing machine, then moving the dryer sideways.

Hence the problems with the narrow opening. (Thank God I don’t have a dryer with a drop down door!)

Serious pain in the rear and a problem I knew I was going to have to deal with..,..eventually.

What has been causing the serious case of procrastination is my knowledge of framing.

When you frame openings for doors and windows, you have to put a “header” above the opening….let me TRY to explain.

Normally walls have studs every 16” to carry the load of the ceiling weight. The header is to provide solid support over an opening. Now, you have to remember that a 2” x 4/6/8 is actually only 1 1/2” thick, so in order to make a “header” you sandwich two 2xs (usually 10” or 12”) and a 1/2” piece of plywood together…making a 3 1/2” thick header, the width of a 2x4 stud (because it is actually 1 1/2” x 3 1/2”). That header stretches the width of the opening and sits on a “trimmer stud,” which is attached to a “king stud.”

I suspected that when I removed the 8” of wall on the left to widen the opening, the header would be sitting on a trimmer stud, which meant I was going to have to take the entire header out and make and install a new one long enough for the new, larger opening. MAJOR pain in the rear because that meant removing all the sheetrock above the opening to the ceiling, install a new header, then repair and paint the new sheetrock.

The day came…the dryer was no longer getting it done and it was time.

I removed all the trim around the opening and cut out the wall on the left….

BY THE GRACE OF GOD the moron who framed the opening too small made the header too long!!!!!

I was able to slip a few studs in the wall under the header, trim the opening, paint and….

…WALLA. Problem easily solved with no major reconstruction or sheetrock mess.

Well, not “solved” per se….I’ve really only made it easier to clean the vent periodically (and open the door all the way.) The next big chore will be rerouting the dryer vent up the wall and across the attic. A much shorter distance and should solve my problem. But it is hot…super hot…and the attic is even worse. I have no desire to pass out and fall through the ceiling so this chore will wait until it is waaaay cooler in the attic.

Now, the downside….

…the flooring. When I removed the wall, I was left with this gap in the tile where they had tiled around the original framing bottom plate. Boo-hoo.,..now I might have to replace the floor tile in my laundry room! Of course I will have to conveniently forget that there is an entire box of this tile in the garage.

I want to replace the tile. I know this tile is original to the house because I used the exact same tile in my apartments 23 years ago…around the time this house was built.

So I want new…the question is do I NEED new. Or do I just replace the few pieces that need to be replaced.

Only time will tell. Knowing me I will wake up one day and take a hammer and crow bar to the tile….

But not today….today I am still recovering from getting my first Covid shot. I had Covid in December so I have used that as an excuse to not get the vaccine.

I am not a ”conspiracy theorist” and I rarely believe most of the crap posted on Facebook. And I certainly don’t believe this whole mess should have been politicized.

But this new variant has raised a few hairs on the back of my neck….and after having it and knowing how sick you can get, I decided to get the vaccine. We are also flying to Colorado in 8 weeks and at the rate things are going I worry that the airlines will require proof of vaccination to fly. I certainly don’t want to wait until the last minute.

So I got the shot….they say if you have had the virus the first shot will kick your butt. It did.

But I am much better and just about ready to take on another project. Hum…that floor is really starting to bug me….