New windows

I don't remember how long ago Rocket Boy and I decided that our next house project would be windows. Maybe August? Anyway, it was a few months ago. We researched sources of windows, asked people for recommendations, got quotes, and finally settled on one organization. They wanted a $1500 deposit to put us on the waiting list, and we paid that seven weeks ago. And then we waited and waited and waited.

Finally, the weekend before Thanksgiving we got the call. We were scheduled for 11 am the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Excitedly, we cleared off the spaces around the windows and waited.

This little house has a total of eight windows. Two of them -- the big living room window and the tiny bathroom window -- were replaced some years ago. The other six were still the original old windows from 1955 and oh man did they rattle and leak. They'd gotten so rusty that some of them couldn't even be opened anymore -- or if you did manage to open them, you couldn't get them closed. These included the single window in the twins' room and the big window in our bedroom. (The photo below shows the little window in our bedroom, curtains removed, stuff around it draped -- in other words, it's ready to GO.)

We decided to replace just four of the old bad six -- partly because new windows are expensive, and partly because we're still hoping that maybe someday we can add on to the house. Two of the windows (actually one in particular) are on a wall that would be likely to go if we ever remodel. Also, they aren't in rooms we use as bedrooms -- one's in the office and the other is in the kitchen. So we'll wait on those.

Saturday was a warm but windy day. The boys and I went to the park for a while that morning and they played with a friend of theirs from school.

But the wind made it hard to play in the sand, so around 11:30 we made our way back home again. In front of our house a truck and trailer were parked. The window guy was here!

Here you can see the front of the house with gaping holes where the old windows were.

And here we have a new window -- the big one in our bedroom. Isn't it beautiful, with those white edges, and everything fitting tightly?

Yes, we really do sleep in that tiny little bed. My side is the one with all the books.

The real test came that night, as the wind picked up. 50 mph gusts -- normally we're not able to sleep when it blows like that.

But the only sound you could hear was a very slight moaning, just barely perceptible. Rocket Boy thought it was an airplane. We opened the windows to listen and the wind was roaring away, no airplanes. Closed the windows again -- just that slight moaning. I slept like a baby.

Not all home repairs are created equal. But for us, new windows -- it's the most wonderful thing. I kind of wish we'd done them all, but for now these will do.