Finally-Radiator Day

The smoke has hung around all week. Some days were better than others. I haven't really seen the sun all week. Just an occasional glimpse of a glowing ball in the sky.

We got a little rain last night and it was enough to knock down the smoke. It's a cloudy day but I actually saw some sunshine and a little blue sky today.

A milestone was reached today in terms of the TV Room project. For the first time in two years, the radiator is back in the room.

Mark came over to help while Susan panicked. She was very worried about the tile floor in the entry way where the radiator has hung out for two years. She was also very worried about damaging the floor that we had just refinished. 

All I can tell you is we did not damage the tile.

We loaded the radiator onto two furniture dollies I use to move the piano. We got one under each end.

In the course of rolling it into the room, one of the wheels on the dolly created a little divot in the wood. It's not a disaster, but we are going to see it for years to come...and be pissed about it. That radiator has to be about 700 pounds.

Once in place, it wasn't too much trouble to reattach the nut on the left side and sweat the pipe on the right. It's not very pretty so stop looking at it!

Now came the moment of truth. Is the radiator really properly and securely attached. The only way to find out is the fill the system. It took about an hour and it was very tense while waiting for all the radiators to fill.

We kept a very close eye on the pipes while it was filling. I had to run around to all the other radiators (eight of them) and open the valve to bleed out the air as they filled.

I am happy to report that it looks like all is well. I can find no leaks on the newly installed radiator or any of the others. That means that the Boiler Game has not been canceled due to Covid or any other natural disaster and will carry on.

The days are getting cooler so we are close to the conclusion of this year's Boiler Game.

Susan finished painting the other side of the closet doors and then helped me paint the crown molding that will be installed tomorrow, along with the picture rail.

Once that is complete, we will be very very close to being finished. It doesn't seem possible.

7:07 PM: Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, lots of stuff that we like to attend every year isn't happening. Pig Out on the Park took a year off. The Greek Festival is canceled. Bloomsday was moved to this weekend and has become a virtual event where you go out and run by yourself. And the Interstate Fair is not happening. 

They are trying to salvage what they can by having some of the competitions...like Wine Labels. (Susan won) And they decided to offer up a Drive Thru Fair Food Event. That way you can satisfy your hankering for a Corn Dog or Deep Fried Oreo.

We went out last weekend and it was canceled due to smoke. We tried again tonight and were told that the line was 2 1/2 hours long.

We ended up at the Union Tavern and had a nice dinner of bar food.

I'll have to wait until next year for my Corn Dog.