New Windows on Life

Registry Hall Windows Ellis Island

We are buying new windows. Back in 2023 we replaced four and, in this iteration, we are getting eight replacement windows. A few years before the unit cost was just over $500. Now it exceeds $1000. Such inflation is the downside for our phased window replacement strategy. To make matters worse the Biden era tax credit that we enjoyed last time and was scheduled to run for ten years has mysteriously disappeared. Thanks to that “Big Beautiful Bill.” Who knew that windows could be DEI? The of the windows that we bought before are pictured below. This batch will be the same make and model, Simonton 6500. 


While our windows will not be as decorative or fancy as any of the others pictured in this post, the three in the living room do include stain glass. This detail like many others is part of this house’s charm and gives it its gingerbread architectural style. We plan on saving those sashes, taking the stain glass out of the frame and then hanging the glass as a decorative window treatment.  


Ordering the new windows is one thing but actually getting them is a whole different story. Like before, we are getting our replacement windows from Home Depot, and their process doesn’t trust the salesmen’s measurements. In a week the subcontractor will come by to do the actual measurements. Then in 8-12 weeks the installation will actually occur. That puts us into June. I envision multiple trips to the cabin this summer.

The Redcoats are Coming

Anne Standing in a Fairy Circle

Anne is seen here standing at the center of a circle of cypress trees, in the middle of Minuteman National Park, while wearing a red coat. Poor color choice? Possibly. Certainly 250 years ago, but times have changed and so does fashion. I must admit that she does look rather marshal, standing thin and straight. I guess that I am still feeling a little juiced from yesterday’s demonstration. The news reports that 9 million Americans participated nationwide, making it our nation’s largest ever demonstration. Seems almost hard to believe, except when you consider what the old fat wants to be king has done, all in little over a year. For sure, he has riled people up and he knows it. Cornered, he’ll be like a wounded animal. Dangerous, capable of lashing out, but ultimately defeated.

No Kings

Tamm Avenue Overpass

Today, we chose the smaller and closer to home protest site, the Tamm Avenue highway overpass. This site offered the opportunity to cheer on most of the other protesters who were headed to the main event downtown. It was a beautiful day to exercise one’s civil rights. Walking through Forest Park on our way to the protest site, I remarked that we had not been in the park on a Saturday morning, since at least Valentine’s Day. I used to always go to the park on a Saturday. This was the third No Kings Day, but it was the first one that we participated in. On one of the preceding No Kings Days we were driving back to Monterey after visiting Mendicino. We encountered several rallies, some on overpasses too.  


Arriving at the overpass, we found a carnival like atmosphere. It was more like a party than any political action. Everyone was friendly and all were in a good mood. Most people had made their own protest signs. Many of them were quite creative. I especially liked the one Anne had made. Earlier I was having a bout of cold feet, but when I came into the computer room and saw Anne PowerPoint engineering her sign, I knew that we would be going. I’m glad we went. It was fun and also for a good cause. Afterwards, we walked across Oakland Ave. to Pat Connolly’s for lunch. Tonight, we’ll look for ourselves on TV.

Phat Thaiger

Phat Thaiger

Last night, we all went out to dinner at Phat Thaiger, a popular Thai and Japanese fusion restaurant in Malden, known for its creative “izankaya” ambience (a casual Japanese pub for drinking and sharing small plates). Lots of Anime on lots of screens had the kids mesmerized. The food was excellent. I had a pad Thai dish. The children seemed to enjoy it too. Today we head home. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I’ll post this before we go to the airport, which because of Dave’s daycare schedule will be early. I wonder if I will see ICE at the airport? The orange beast has really f’ed up this country.

Wanna Get Away?

First in Line for Takeoff

War with Iran. Gas prices up. Economy going to hell. Epstein! Is it time to run away yet? Well tomorrow, we do jet away. We’ve been home for all of four days. It is time to get moving again. We are flying South-worst this time. Headed to Boston. Gonna be grandparents for a while. Maren working at MIT has a business trip and we are jumping in to help David take care of the boys. It should be fun. This time we have been fortifying ourselves with vitamin C (Airborne), hoping to stave off the usual daycare crude.

Overshadowing this trip is the partial government shutdown. This time around Congress has decided to pay the air traffic controllers. In past shutdowns their work stoppages have eventually ended the shutdowns. Now I do not know how this one will end. The only other inconvenience is the TSA checkpoint. The powers that be have protected themselves by restoring TSA precheck, ensuring that they may still breeze through security, while the rest of us languish, while endlessly waiting for our turn to be searched.

NPR reported both five-hour and five-minute lines, so it is anyone’s guess what we will get. The agents have already missed one paycheck and will miss another next week, so whatever difficulties we encounter this time, it will be worse on the return. Compounding this concern is that we will then be leaving Boston.

Some airports have taken to suggesting that travelers offer the agents gift cards, to show support and help them make ends meet. I say that cash should work just as well and why not call it what it is, a bribe. In third world countries when officials who are not paid make up for this lack of income, they prey upon the citizenry by demanding baksheesh. This is what we have now under this regime.

Bathrobe Lady

Sam Stroozas “Bathrobe Lady” —Leila Navidi, Minnesota Star Tribune

This image captures a scene in St. Paul, Minnesota last week during an incident involving ICE. The central figure in the light-green bathrobe and slippers is Sam Stroozas, a producer for Minnesota Public Radio. Stroozas, who lives only blocks away, rushed to the scene of the car crash that involved federal agents without changing clothes to record the results of their high-speed chase of an immigrant, who was later hospitalized.

This photo deserves a Pulitzer. It so perfectly captures the dichotomy of peaceful Minnesota “Nice” facing down government oppression. The fact that this picture was taken after the announcement of the supposed drawdown of Federals should not be lost. It is emblematic of both ICE actions and the citizen response that has been seen daily these last few months in Minneapolis.

Today is President’s Day, a holiday where we celebrate our former great leaders. Leaders elected to represent all of the people, not just the ones who voted for them. Today, we do not have a president, at least not one who cares about us. With his thugs killing people in the street and his threats to cancel our elections, he hopes to cow us into submission. Let people like this lady show us how to resist them, peacefully documenting their crimes, so that someday they may be brought to justice and our freedoms restored.