stormy weather

We got the bid on the roof -- more than we thought, not that we're surprised. It's apparently the best roofing contractor in town. The thing that kills me is that it's just a bit more to get nicer shingles (we have the standard craptastic 3-tab in a yucky color) but since we're only doing a small part of the roof, we have to match the old kind. We talked to the contractor about having a mismatched roof, and he said it would be hard to tell from the street, the way our house is positioned. Good point, but my real estate guru (hi mom) said by no means should we turn our roof into a crazy quilt.

I've been deeply engaged in cleaning projects, and Mr. Reluctant has been doing exterior projects. He has been dismantling our storm windows to repair and replace what he can. Turns out most are damaged in some minor way, and two are missing screens and two more the sliding glass panel that covers the screens.