I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in

We may have got the first step in fixing the kitchen under way. It's had a hole in the ceiling, underneath the bathtub. We don't believe any appreciable water is leaking out there anymore, but still, there's the ugly hole there. A week and a half ago I called a company that bunny_hugger had found, that does drywall and plaster repair, as we weren't sure whether the ceiling was drywall or plaster. Their number was busy all morning. When I called in the afternoon, I left a message, to which they have yet to respond. So never mind them.

We came around to figuring it's probably a drywall ceiling. The house was likely built with a plaster ceiling, but, among other things, we notice the ceiling there is just a bit lower than in the rest of the house. Likely the ceiling got replaced in some past renovation.

And bunny_hugger found a drywall ceiling repairer. They had someone over this afternoon who judged it to not be a big or intimidating job at all. Likely just replacing a big enough square of the ceiling. They'll be able to texture the ceiling too, matching the popcorn ceiling of the rest of the room (and house). The guy recommended painting the ceiling too, as the more pratical thing than trying to match the color, which settled our thoughts about whether we should paint some other stained spots.

He asked when we'd like him to start, if the bid's acceptable (it is), and, you know, soon as he's able. This turns out to be Thursday. So that's all a lot more rapid progress than we figured on. It is to take a couple of sessions, since among other things it takes time to let the drywall set and be sure it's done so properly, before texturing and painting makes sense. But it's striking to think we might have this longrunning issue just fixed. That'll feel weird.

Ah, so, pictures! The next interesting thing in my photo roll is from our trip to Glenlore Trails Aurora, and that walk through the winter lights show. Get ready for a bunch of that, now.

A taste of what's to come. Near the admissions booth was this spiral that made me think of a layered birthday cake, with the lights changing color and intensity as we watched.

The couple buildings up front had this very County Fair Permanent Building feel. One of them had a sign for a Boy Scouts troop and I imagine similar groups use the space. And even though this before the attraction they still had these colored boxes and such to see.

An arch leading to the entrance to the winter lights show. The projection was animated.

Trivia: Magnesium is the fifth-most-abundant metal element on the surface of the Earth.
Source: Molecules at an Exhibition: The Science of Everyday Life, John Emsley.

Currently Reading: Sucker's Progress: An Informal History of Gambling in America, Herbert Asbury. So, now, here's a heck of a sentence about old-time gaming towns:

The people of early Cincinnati [sic] proudly called their town ``The Athens of America'' and ``The Queen City of the West'', but it was better known throughout the country as ``Porkopolis'' --- it was the center of the pork-packing industry until superseded by Chicago in 1863, and for some forty years hogs and Cincinatti were so nearly synonymous in the public mind that pigs-feet were called ``Cincinatti oysters'', and in many places were so listed on restaurant menus.

And it's remarkable because the amount I believe that sentence declines, just a bit, with every clause. Like, I think the ``Porkopolis'' thing may be legit but to claim that pigs feet were called ``Cincinatti oysters'' on many menus? I'd like to check with the New York Public Library's collection of menus, if I may.