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Radiator Adventure, the finale

The summary so far:  I took the radiators to be stripped much too late in the season.  Then tried to paint them while it was too cold.  This made the paint on the radiators a bit streaky and uneven.  We hauled them into the house and installed them.  And then we turned them on.

And steam filled the living room from one radiator while hot water sprayed from the release valve of another.

(At this point in the blog entry, my sister Chrissy is reading over my shoulder.  She's visiting from Pittsburgh for the week on business.)

Chrissy:   Is that the entry about your radiators?

Me:   Yes.

Chrissy:  Is it hot in here or is it just me?

Me: Yes!  Yes, thank the Lord, it is FINALLY hot in here.  But the radiators aren't on right now because it's hot outside.

Chrissy:  Oh  Maybe it's my thermal pajamas.  Or maybe I'm going through early menopause.

Me:  You're not going through early menopause.  You've had your laptop on your lap for almost 2 1/2 hours.  It's hot. 

Chrissy  Two hours?  No, not that long.

Me:  Uh yeah!  We watched all of Legally Blonde and I paused TIVO to read your entire copy of the December 4, 2006 issue of People Magazine.

Chrissy:  Was it that long? Hmmm.  (pause)  I'm glad that I don't have radiators anymore.  My only memory of my radiators when I lived in Chicago was they would CLANG CLANG CLANG at 3 in the morning.  And I'd get up and hit them back like that was going to make them stop.  Your radiators don't clank. 

Me: They're not on. 

Chrissy:  Are you typing up this conversation?

Me: I'm trying to keep up with you.

Chrissy:  Oh great.  Now everyone in internetland will think I'm a doofus.  (pause)  But I'll tell you, the clanging radiators was better than Zamfir-the-pan flute-playing-neighbor who used to get high in the apartment next door and play his pan flute until two in the morning back when I lived on St. James.  How stupid do I sound in this blog entry?  Can you edit out the stupid parts?

Me:  Probably.  But why would I want to?

Chrissy:   You know the other thing that reminds me of radiators in Chicago?  Every apartment I ever lived in had a million coats of paint on their radiators.  Disgusting.

Me:  I KNOW!  That is why I took our radiators to get sandblasted.  To get the paint off.

Chrissy:  You mean the radiator paint was TOXIC?? 

Me:  Only if you chewed on your radiators.

Chrissy:  People all over Chicago are poisoning other people?  By painting their radiators?

Me:  No, just the people who used lead paint.

Chrissy:  Wow.   (pause)  I just took a Lunesta so I'm sorry if I fall ....zzzzzz.  Just kidding.  But I really did take a Lunesta. Wait.  Is my name going on this?  Tell them that my name is Elaine*.

* Elaine is the sister that is still back in Pittsburgh.

____________________________________________________________ 

Okay, well that entry went nowhere.  I'll take another stab at it tomorrow after I've recovered from having my sister Chrissy Elaine here tonight.  Now I need a Lunesta or something that will put me into a deep sleep.  One night down with my sister, six more to go.

Postscript from Chrissy Elaine after she read this entry:  Hmmph.  I think that I was pretty helpful, actually.

Posted by jeanne on November 27, 2006 at 7:26 AM (3)

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