There comes a time when a person has to choose between what she wants and what she needs. For me, that time came on Tuesday. Specifically, about 11 a.m., when an orange tabby was being chased by another neighborhood cat and sought refuge by leaping from my neighbor Martha's garage roof onto my carport roof. Kitty fell through my carport roof and onto the top of my car. (But she did escape the other cat when I shooed it away with a broom.) I'm no structural engineer, but I think if the carport roof cannot support the weight of a smallish housecat then it's probably badly in need of replacement. I took this photo last September when WTB and I were standing on the roof of my house talking about how bad the carport roof looked then. It looks much worse now, having not fared well this winter.
So I made a big decision. A grown-up decision. As much as I
want a shiny new bathroom right this very minute with a clawfoot tub and hex mosaic tile and a pedestal sink, what I
need is a new carport roof. Pretty much right this very minute. If I wait any longer, I'll be replacing not just the roof, but the whole darn carport. And as you know, I have
better things to do. So I took some of the money out of the envelope marked "bathroom reno" and plunked it down at Lowe's. Instead of a sink and a toilet that doesn't run for 12 minutes after you flush it, I bought polycarb roof panels, screws, and a few 1x3s. Not nearly as much fun. But more necessary. Sigh. I'll still get my bathroom, just not as soon as I'd planned. (I could still get it sooner rather than later, but I refuse to go into debt, even temporarily, to do so.)
And because I'm nothing if not a glutton for punishment, I told Lowe's to deliver the stuff on Friday afternoon so that Mare and I can put the new roof up Monday. (I want to get it up before all the spring storms in April and May.) This means that I need to have the old roof torn off before Monday. I work overnights Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday is Easter and I'm going to church and lunch with my mama. I'll have to be like The Little Engine That Could in the next four days. You know what he says,
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...
