More windows

One week into summer (going by the Memorial Day standard), I've got nearly all of my windows at least quasi-operational. Yesterday, Don helped me with the living room window which, while pretty (its wood is stained to exactly match the rest of the living room), is a trainwreck as far as operation is concerned. The sashes are so old that it doesn't reliably stay up without the aid of a stick - a concern due to the cat.* This is also one of the worst as far as wind and cold leakage, compounded by its location directly behind the couch. Opening it in the summer requires a delicate ballet of sliding the storm window up to balance on top of the new screen - all while holding the window itself up so it doesn't come crashing down. Plus, to reach it, I have to balance on the back of the couch. Having a second set of hands is immensely helpful.

The only windows still not operational are the upstairs bathroom which is still sealed shut (and also sashcordless), one of the paired back hall windows (which has a horribly rusted and broken screen), and the larger of the office windows (which has no fitting screen). Oh, and there's one more in the back hall that I can't reach, since it's perched above the stairs, so it's a moot point anyway.

I plan to scrape the last of the removable caulk from the upstairs bathroom, though I hope to soon have the money to completely replace the whole bathroom. The way the window's frame is bisected by the wall with the shower plumbing, replacing that window requires a ton more work - one that a new bathroom can fix.

Overall, by my count, I have four new windows in the house (two each in my bedroom and the kitchen), six old ones in the main living area, two in the basement, and a whopping eleven geriatrics on the porch. The living room window is first on the list for replacement, and I'll also replace the two cracked window panes on the porch. From there, it's up to budget.

*Right after I moved in two years ago, the cat was hanging out in one of the porch windows that we knew was sashless but "seemed to stay in place just fine," in the words of my ex. One morning, we heard the most blood-curdling yowls. The window had fallen and trapped Collette. In her haste to escape, Collette's back paw had gotten stuck in the window, and she was hanging, dangling, flaying her other three paws against the wall, trying to get traction. Once we freed her, she slinked off to drip blood all over the new carpet and didn't walk normally for a couple weeks. To this day, she occasionally stops and shakes out the affected paw - I think it was likely a broken toe. Since then, if a window lacks operational sashes, it either remains shut or is firmly propped into place.