. Turtle Lover, I definitely should have taken before photos, but I didn't. It was a matter of goodbye, good riddance.
But here's the new (2) back doors in my kitchen. This being an old house, they are 4" narrower than the standard 36" wide door. That can create challenges when moving large items like furniture in or out.
The style of the new fiberglass door is actually very similar to what I had before, with the wood door.
As mentioned, I absolutely love the Andersen storm door shown here. With the retractable screen, you just slide it up in winter to have the glass, or down in summer. It is such a huge convenience for me when I think of how for so many years I lugged very heavy full glass swap-out inserts up and down my steep basement stairs. So I have given up full length screens that I had for half-size screens now, but these will be just fine. And if I ever have cats again, I won't have to worry about them scratching the screens when they are looking outside.
I've noticed that since I tend to hold onto things for a very long time before updating or replacing that when I do update/replace, I am really wowed by huge improvements made in the last decade or more. A similar thing happens to me when I buy a new car or kitchen appliances.
This shows the detail of the nice, clean jamb. These are prehung doors, which means they come with the surrounding frame built in as a single unit. My old jamb looked positively beat up, gouged out and showed its age. Again because these are prehung doors, my old wood threshold was taken away, which is a good thing because the side of the threshold was exposed to the outside elements and required periodic maintenance with clear boat varnish to keep it from rotting. No small matter since we often get more than 5 or 6" of snow here, so it could sit in melting snow for days.
The only things I have to do are stain a small piece of trim that supports the threshold and also fill in nail holes and paint the trim around the door, both inside and out, front door and back. Everythinng now is just primed. I guess I'll wait till fall to do that.
I walked with a friend and her dog at a state park yesterday afternoon after the doors were finished. I was supposed to go the gym, but I prioritize social opportunities above many things and plan to do the gym this afternoon. We are both gardeners so we had fun identifying witch hazel, clethra and oaks while there, plus wineberries are ripening and there were many we picked along the path.
I'm excited about the gym because today's the day I increase the weight I'm lifting doing the glute bridge. Just by 5 lbs, but I'm going from 114 pounds to 119. I started out lifting 75 lbs back in May. My goal is to be lifting 189 lbs by January 2027. This is to improve my hip bone density. I do it safely and I never increase the weight if my current weight is not done with perfect form.
I'll wrap up with a pair of American goldfinches feasting on my blazing star (liatris).
July 24th, 2026 at 11:07 pm 1784934432
Either way, I must say I really love that great backyard view of yours!
Also, it never really occurred that you can see these finches out in the wild. It always seems like I only see them in pet stores. Thanks for sharing that lovely picture as well!
July 24th, 2026 at 11:55 pm 1784937358
Thank you for the compliment on the view. I spend a lot of time out there, either creating it or admiring it! I think the wild goldfinches you may see outside are not the same species as the ones sold in pet stores, which are usually domesticated species like Zebra Finches or captive-bred European Goldfinches.
July 25th, 2026 at 03:09 pm 1784992145
I do understand the no before photos ....
Hopefully now every time you look at the door & view you will smile ... esp when you don't have to lug the old swap outs!!
July 26th, 2026 at 05:20 pm 1785086418
I didn't know that about 36" vs 32" door frames. So I pulled out a tape measure and discovered that my front and back doors are 32", but each doorway has an anteroom with another doorway that leads into the living room (front) or kitchen (back), and those interior doors, with trim, are *less* than 30". I got burned by this when I first moved in and bought a sofa that they turned out not to be able to move into the house (at least, not without taking out the front window with its antique stained glass inset, which I would not let them do, so I ended up paying a $200 restocking fee. Getting things in and out of this house is a pain--they did have to bring in my bed by taking out a window.
July 26th, 2026 at 05:21 pm 1785086519
July 27th, 2026 at 08:45 pm 1785185121
August 10th, 2026 at 01:32 pm 1786368752
My friend has a contractor who has done a lot of work for her and for other friends, so I will just use "Billy" since I need to do the storm doors separately. And since I need to clear out the pantry by the back door before the door is done, I will probably have some drywall work that needs to be done by the contractor as well.
It was nice to have all the debt except the mortgage (and rolling credit card bills) off my record for a year, but it looks like I will be starting to add back debt on the HELOC this year and then a new car next year. I probably won't be able to pay it *all* off before retiring, but the mortgage will be paid off and the debt for the home projects and new car should be manageable in early retirement.