The Cool Down

August 10/12.

After weeks of sweating it out without an upstairs ductless air conditioner during a major heat wave, finally got it! Sears was supposed to install it days earlier (which sure would have been appreciated in these sweltering temps), but the model was out of stock. Now the LG is in and all systems are go. Wasn't easy though. Took four guys from 10 a.m. till 4:45 p.m. to rip the old one out and get this one up and running.

Ta-da!

To accomplish their goal, tarps had to be laid down,

all throughout the house to protect the carpeting.

The outdoor unit was so huge,

it had to be hoisted up with ropes,

to the third floor flat deck,

since it couldn't possibly fit through Max's bedroom window! Gak.

After much effort, yay! It's in place! (The guys were none too happy about the logistics).

Next came the indoor unit between the second and third floors.

It had to be torn down.

Leaving quite a messy looking wall!

Meanwhile, ladders were brought in to make the changeover to

copper refrigeration tubing, bringing things up to proper standards.

Then it was out with the dead 14-year-old "Mr. Slim" unit,

and in with the LG Inverter V! Works great for the second floor, but as suspected, (with the concept of heat rises), does little to cool the third floor bedrooms, which still require electric fans to allow for sleeping. But at least the second floor is no longer blisteringly hot! Whew. The Sears guys even vacuumed the carpets before taking off.

Earlier in the week, Kate went to see Paul Taylor,

intrepid master hair stylist at I 'N I salon before he took off for his holiday to Peru to visit Machu Picchu.

Now she's got her gorgeous dark colour back!! And it looks great from every angle!

Sam and I had a special dinner at The Keg Mansion on Jarvis Street after receiving a generous gift card from an unexpected source! It started pouring rain, so I didn't even get to have my picture taken outside.

I forgot what an elegant place it is to dine,

with interesting views everywhere you turn.

Inside, I saw a pretty candelabra made up of tiny tea lights. They flickered in the breeze. So pretty I wanted to take it home!

(Instead, I took home delicious leftovers from the prime rib and shrimp dinner)!

Today, Kate and I 

went to see the new Meryl Streep/Tommy Lee Jones movie, Hope Springs

at The Beach Theatre. (Little did we know, Queen Street East was torn apart, so we had to take a detour, but luckily we left early enough not to miss the beginning of the film)!

Hope Springs sure touches some nerves and had me laughing and crying, (sometimes at the same time). Terrific performances. Meryl can break your heart with just a look,

and moments later, have you giggling.

I get the feeling many couples will relate to this flick in a big way. Cheers! 
(P.S. - Have NO idea why blogger insisted on changing my font for this entry from normal, to dark, to teeny tiny. Ai Carumba. Technology!)

"Bathing beauty" update....(LOL again)!!

August 11/11

So, after crushing bathing suit defeat at The Bay and Sears, Carrie told me to go this bathing suit shop at Lawrence Plaza. It's called Phantom Outlet. Drove there this afternoon.

What does it say about me that despite being sore, red, burned, in pain from radiation and effects, (not to mention, underweight, so nothing to hold a suit UP!!), - that I STILL want to look passable in a bathing suit at Fern Resort?? - Once a TV reporter who loves hot makeup and clothes, - always, I guess!!

Anyway, The Bay "sale suits" cost a fortune. This place? Excellent prices. Ended up with four different looks. What the hell. Why not? I wear these things for about a decade. (wonder what I'll look like wearing one as a senior citizen in the dark & murky future??) - Quick! Call for a body double!!

This suit replaces my favourite old one...closest I could get to the way it looked. Pretty colours.

My first-ever skirt-suit! - Hide all the imperfections!

A tankini! - Also a first ever! (quick! Somebody call Jaymz Bee! Alert him I need a Crantini immediately! Jaymz! Invite me sailing!!!)

Last suit...not exactly my usual colours. I mean, really, orange?? But, the ONLY suit available with "push-up" effect. - (Help me OUT here)!!!

I started writing months ago, to create a "personal experience blog". Maybe there aren't that many breast cancer patients commenting about buying bathing suits. I don't know. But I am! Ready for poolside!! Bring it on. Cheers!

Never a dull moment!

July 11/11.

My lifelong joke about "Never a dull moment" sure came into play over the weekend. We had major "contraption problems"! After many years, our old dishwasher, which has been repaired over and over, finally cacked. The front actually fell right off! Time for a new one. Sam chose a stainless steel model, ordered it and arranged to have it installed. The new one arrived Friday. Early on Saturday morning, a man from Sears came to remove the old dinosaur and install the gleaming new Kenmore. He glanced at the massive cardboard box and quipped it looked a bit too big for the space! (Great). But Sam had taken measurements. At any rate, after turning off the power and a lot of fancy maneuvering, the new one DID fit, was put in place and hooked up! - And it looks great!

I was upstairs during the installation process when suddenly an excruciatingly loud alarm went off outside the bedroom! SO loud, it was actually painful. Ran down to get Sam, who was assisting the Sears guy. He came upstairs and attempted to yank out the smoke alarm (which we thought was the problem).

After a lot of effort to shut it down, the overpowering alarm still blaring away, the device fell to the floor and broke, but the killer screeching continued! (when something is THAT loud, it's practically impossible to determine where it's coming from!) We finally discovered it was the carbon monoxide detector! Quickly opened all the windows and I pulled the detector out of the wall and IT broke!! What the heck is going on around here?

To make a long story short, there was no carbon monoxide problem, but just a faulty alarm. Despite having my hands over my ears most of the time, when the squealing alarm finally stopped, all I could hear was ringing! Not sure how Sam managed to get through it at ALL, as he was up close & personal with the shrill siren for ages! At any rate, he ended up going to Home Depot to get a new smoke alarm and CO detector and then home to install them both. I thought the whole event might have been related to the dishwasher procedure, since it all happened at once, but turns out, it was only a coincidence! We just wanted to sleep in on Saturday, but believe me, we were wide awake and shaking after all that! I CRAVE a dull moment!

Meanwhile, in my continuing quest to find the perfect shampoo/conditioner (which apparently, doesn't exist for hair like mine!), I bought two salon products while at Hair Dynamix yesterday, recommended by the receptionist. Not cheap, but with my hair in its current state, decided to try them. Don't know what's IN those products, but my hair went completely INSANE! Couldn't even get a brush through it, since it transformed into massive brillo-pad tangles! (sorry, NO pictures! fuhgeddaboudit! - but let's just say, I gave Phil Spector a run for his money!) Gak!

It took all my nerve to call the salon to complain - (you may know, I'm not good with confrontation!), but the woman who recommended the products said I could exchange them for anything else I like, so I'm going back today to get more CURE (the product I talked about yesterday). I'd better stock up anyway, since everything I EVER like, gets discontinued!

Tomorrow, (if I get my hair untangled), I'll be heading to the hospital for my first radiation treatment. Intensity Entity is threatening to jump overboard. - Think I'll go lie down for a while now!