East - West Breakfast / Initiating Project Blackout

 

Song:  Wild World

Group:  Cat Stevens

Last night...

Bandi and I enjoyed a gentle Peach Sunset on the third deck.

There is still some smoke in the air from the forest fires burning in other areas of Colorado.

This morning...

I wanted to eat...

both...

Natto and rice...

as well as some sausages and eggs.

I was so tired of having to constantly refill my 1 quart glass mug

from which I used to drink ice water.

I bought this 1 gallon - wide mouthed triple insulated stainless steel thermos...

so I could drink from it all day long without needing to refill it.

I never touch my mouth to any portion of this thermos...

but I just hover it over my upturned mouth and pour into it.

I love the extra wide mouth of this thermos...

as it makes filling it with ice a breeze...

and as it is so well insulated...

a full load of ice will stay mostly unmelted over the course of several days

(I tested it over three days...and it was still mostly filled with unmelted ice).

I had eaten my fill...

and then rested in bed before I began today's project...

installing blackout blinds in my bedroom.

I had received the blinds the other day.

The blinds for all four windows in my bedroom...

had surprisingly fit into this one box.

I prepared everything for...

what I thought would be...

a quick uninstall of the previous blinds...

and then a relatively quick install of my new ones.

However...

like with so many projects...

unforeseen glitches appear just when I had thought it would be an easy task.

At first...

I just took out a small screwdriver to uninstall the previous blinds.

But...

as these were high quality blinds...

they were very sturdily installed...

and...

almost impossible to uninstall them as the attachment screws were hidden beneath 

the blind housing unit.

So many blinds may be taken down by simply moving the blinds 

on their holding brackets so the attachment screws could then be accessed...

or are simply removed by horizontally pulling on the housing unit.

Not so with these.

I had to first cut the blind cords...

and after many attempts to access the screws...

I had to finally use my weight to force the blind housing unit forwards

enough to access one of the screws

(after trying to remove the plastic face plate first...which could not be done)...

only to find the screw on the other side still being inaccessible.

I had to free the left side and use it as a lever to detach the whole rest of the blind assembly

so I could finally unscrew the other attachment bracket.

After I remove all of the screws...

I will then seal the remaining holes with wood putty.

I quickly realized I would need heavier tools...

as I may need to simply break the blind housing unit 

to get to the hidden attachment screws underneath.

I decided to take a break before I threw a kingsize toddler tantrum...

and started unnecessarily damaging the underlying wooden window frame.

While I applaud the build quality of the previous blinds...

as the attachment screws used are self tapping and very long...

and the plastic blind housing units are thick and very sturdy...

and so...

were designed to last a lifetime...without moving at all...

they made uninstalling them almost impossible without first destroying 

the blind housing units.

-------------

I just used a claw hammer to pry the housing unit away from the back of the window sill...

but as there was nothing from which to brace the claw hammer for a straight pull...

I simply used the torque from a lateral push on the hammer handle to the left...

thereby providing much more leverage...

and it worked  :)

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I will be reinitiating the project shortly...

after a bit more of a break.

The new blinds are made to completely black out the room...

so I may sleep in total darkness in the daytime

(I am nocturnal by nature).

The new blinds are housed in tracks of the four sided aluminum frames...

not only to ensure a complete light seal...

but this will also prevent Bandi from putting her nose underneath the blind

and forcing it to the side as she attempts to look outside.

Bandi always sleeps with me...

but after I awaken...

I will just raise all of the blinds and open the windows...

so Bandi will get to enjoy the fresh air and views for much of the leftover day.

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In my next article...

I will show the rest of the blinds removal process...

and then each step of the installation process.

I hope to get everything done today...

and then publish the next article later tonight.