Week 2: New Safety Hardware

Ryann and Patten came up Saturday installed the grab rails in our shower and next to the toilets. He had ordered them using my Amazon account, then switched out the screws for marine grade. I had used my measuring app to send pictures (yes, I’m proud I could do that.)

I was nervous about their drilling in our glass shows tiles, but that was the easy part. Of course there weren’t studs where we needed them. Patten drilled a series of small holes from the bedroom side until he found one useable stud. Then he cut holes in the drywall so he could insert 2x4s where he needed to attach the grab bar. Always something.

Patten also ordered a shower mat that I returned. Too big and heavy for us. I’ll get a smaller one this week. Lastly, he bought nonslip matting for under what he calls the murder rug, my Persian that I found at Naples beach after Hurricane Donna in 1960. It probably is why Grant fell since it was really slippery. I moved it to the guest bedroom. Closing the barn door after the horse escaped, I put the mat under it.

After that ordeal, which included only 1 run to the hardware store and 1 trip to Steph’s for more tools, Patten made us spaghetti carbonara with homemade pasta. His new Kitchenaid pasta rollers fit my 55-year-old stand mixer. Good tools last. I had driven to an Italian deli in Orlando to get the guanciale (fatty pig jowl) his recipe required. The only parking space was a left side parallel park. Yes, I’m also proud I can do that. 

Dinner was delicious: the carbonara, a green salad I’d made, and strawberry ice cream accompanied by an Italian sparkling wine and an Oregon Pinot Grigio. UF pulled out a win in the last few minutes of their game against Texas Tech to make it into the Final Four. All good.

Kyle and Steph came Sunday to patch the holes. I’ll worry about painting the bedroom later.

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