Aftermath
After getting the grump off my chest here, the rest of the awning installation went well. It will definitely help the availability of the deck on our top floor - almost full coverage of the deck, dark fabric to offset the white flooring which, while cooler as serving as the roof of the bedroom, is not good for staying cool on the deck itself (plus it's oh-so-bright). Well worth the cost, though perhaps a little less aggravation would've been nice.
Sister in law and niece are safely here. Doing the comic shop run with them today, tomorrow is the concert for the husband and SIL, and I'm trying to think of ways to corrupt the niece. I was debating whether she'd be up for making ice cream cookie sandwiches - take a pint of ice cream, saw it through the package into rounds, peel off the label, attach cookies to either end, voila. She's not quite to teenage angst (11), but is still in the partially picky eater stage, so who knows. The fun is finding a balance between "what does your mother not let you get away with," and just letting her be herself.
Sister in law and niece are safely here. Doing the comic shop run with them today, tomorrow is the concert for the husband and SIL, and I'm trying to think of ways to corrupt the niece. I was debating whether she'd be up for making ice cream cookie sandwiches - take a pint of ice cream, saw it through the package into rounds, peel off the label, attach cookies to either end, voila. She's not quite to teenage angst (11), but is still in the partially picky eater stage, so who knows. The fun is finding a balance between "what does your mother not let you get away with," and just letting her be herself.