As I mentioned before, Hershey had taken issue with the neighborhood cats on the porch, and the only thing in her way was a pesky window.

She had, amazingly and thankfully, stayed inside even after breaking it.  She was not without consequences however. Three staples, two bandaged paws, and one cone of shame later and all was well.  Mostly.

While we were at the vet, my friends Karen and Robin, having been informed of events, came over with a perfectly sized piece of plywood and secured the house in a much better fashion than even Gorilla tape and Amazon box cardboard could manage.

This would do until a glass installer could be found.

Saturday

Karen and Robin knew a guy, but he was unavailable.  I called a company that had “lock and glass” on their sign.  Turns out the glass was for commercial customers only.  I called a place that had repaired my bathroom window a few years back, out of business.  Other places I looked up were closed for the weekend.  Glass installers are not, apparently, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice like plumbers, Navy Seals, or even regular seals for that matter.  I gave up on fixing the window for the day, not only was the lack of professionals discouraging, there was something else to consider, Hershey wanted my attention.

She is not normally the snuggliest of dogs; if I sit down with her on the couch, it is only a matter of time before she gets up and goes to find somewhere I’m not embarrassing her.  That Saturday though was a different story.  She clambered up on the couch to join me and for a good part of the day if she wasn’t pressed tight up against me, she had her head on my leg, or was near me in some fashion.

Clearly the gashes she’d given herself were painful and she was seeking comfort from (in her mind) the best source of it in the universe.*  The Little Dogs got in on the snugglefest too, carefully on the other side of me than the conehead.

So most of Saturday was spent on the couch hanging out with my dogs and catching up on my TV.  After (and despite) the unexpected action of the day before it was a nice day.

Sunday

After calling my insurance company and being reminded of my deductible (high) I pretty much knew I’d be paying out of pocket for a new window.  Once I knew that I started thinking…and watching videos.

Along with “Hold my beer,” and “these poorly armed natives don’t look so tough,” the phrase “Well, it doesn’t look THAT hard,” is one of those sentences falling into the category of Famous Last Words.  Seriously though, after viewing a couple of videos, ok one video, this video, on window replacement, it really didn’t look THAT hard.

Stunningly, the nearest hardware store, a tiny little mom and pop place, was open on a Sunday AND cut glass to order!  Before I could go do that I had some prep work to do.  Following (what I remembered from) the video, I taped the window to keep it mostly in one piece when it came out, laid out some cardboard to catch the glass, and started thwacking away at the glass from the inside.

After most of the glass was on the cardboard,  I had to take a chisel and nervously chip away the fossilized glazing compound that had held the window in place for an unknown number of decades.  This was the bit that worried me the most.  There were smaller, intact panes in the same frame and I really didn’t want to make more work for myself if I chiseled away too vigorously.  So I took my time and after a while I had space that was suitable for a new piece of glass.

The hardware store was still open, and pretty soon I had my glass, fresh glazing compound, a putty knife, and glazier’s points, which are little flat tacks to hold the window in.  At the store’s recommendation the glass was cut a quarter inch shorter than the space I’d measured, just to give the glass some wiggle room; as it was it BARELY fit! The glazing compound was weird, I’ve worked with whipped cream with more structural integrity.  It didn’t adhere to the wooden frame with much enthusiasm, which made the point of the points apparent; they were there to actually keep the glass in while the compound completed its leisurely drying process of 7-21 days!  With a bit of cursing and minor back pain I pretty soon had a 21st century piece of glass in a hundred year old frame.

After sweeping and bundling the glass up, the only remaining evidence of Hershey’s escapade were her healing paws.  Though naturally the glass had to get one last jab in before going into the trash.  One thing the video didn’t say to do was to wear long sleeves…

*Think I’m anthropomorphizing my dog, projecting motivations onto an animal incapable of having them?  Why are you reading a dog blog?  Oh, and Bite me.