Obviously people have been able to install brackets on many many windows over the years.

And people have broken down in tears over many, many windows. There are windows that aren't square. There windows with many bracket holes drilled over the years, none of which quite match with your brackets but keep your screws from getting a good grip.

I wouldn't recommend nails, though. They'll pull out eventually.

Dana told me that my birth word was "bagsy" before she left for O'Hare.

I'm logged into work for a bit to take care of some things since my internet isn't being installed until Thursday. I ordered a bunch of stuff on Amazon and much of it got delivered already, so I'm going to have a ton of packages to open tomorrow when I get to my new apartment.

I hugged a lot of people today and said goodbye. I'm checked in for my flight tomorrow, and I just need to repack my suitcases and find something for dinner. I have to get up around 5:30am tomorrow, so I think I'll try to relax tonight and go to bed early.

am in the process of convincing myself I do not need to hold onto egg cartons

But--they could be so useful and containery and hold things . . . I know the dread of getting rid of things that could easily hold other things. I'm having to institute stern standards for boxes I keep. Just because it's cubical and moderately sturdy doesn't mean it can't go into the recycling.

Mazel tov to you and Gary and the wee one, Sheryl!

aurelia and I share a birth word (gasp!).

Matilda has been drooping on my lap or in the tub all day, and is curled up using my thigh as a pillow, nursing her Gatorade and plain water and watching an Elvis Presley movie.

Mazel tov on the bris, Sheryl!

I'm having to institute stern standards for boxes I keep.

I had a whole closet full of cardboard boxes once, and then I found bugs in them, and I was grossed out to the point I decided, no more saving cardboard boxes! If something is worth keeping, it's worth keeping in a plastic storage bin. I'll save cardboard boxes if they're good for mailing out eBay stuff, but only for a short time. Once the container that holds the boxes is full, no more boxes! Stern standards! Plastic egg cartons are good for mixing and holding small amounts of paint, but I don't find any use for paperboard ones.

I'm trying so hard not to hold on to stuff anymore, but I keep finding uses for it. Or worse, uses for stuff I already got rid of.

At least we know now why so many old British mysteries have houses with box rooms.

I got rid of several boxes this weekend. If it isn't double walled corrugated, securely closable, and plain on the outside--ie, not going to give the Post Office conniptions during shipping--it doesn't stay. No, not even for storing things! Especially not those boxes with flaps on the inside of the bottom, which always trap itty bitty things under the flaps!

Mazel tov, Sheryl!

I know the dread of getting rid of things that could easily hold other things.

My sister! I should be able to convince myself I don't need ALL the egg cartons though. I probably have 50. I probably need zero. The use for them in the back of my mind, btw, is for sprouting seeds. They are biodegradable, I can just plant the whole thing once the sprout is . . . sprouted!

I don't even mean to keep cardboard boxes I have just been slow to get them broken down and out to the recycling. For quite a while we weren't supposed to put them in the bin, they had to be flattened and cut down to particular dimensions and stacked into cubes and tied with string and left next to the bin to be picked up. That was all way too hard to keep up, but I also couldn't just throw away something that could be recycled. Now they can go in the bin, but I have a backlog that will take a while to all get shifted.

And people have broken down in tears over many, many windows. There are windows that aren't square. There windows with many bracket holes drilled over the years, none of which quite match with your brackets but keep your screws from getting a good grip.

I wouldn't recommend nails, though. They'll pull out eventually.

Thank you for all of that! I may try again.

I have been told that you can wedge epoxy putty into old screw holes and put the new screws right into that without even letting it dry. I haven't actually tried it yet, but I have the putty. The guy at the hardware store recommended coating the screws with WD-40 if you want to be able to get them out again later.

I don't have old screw holes, more's the pity. The previous brackets were on the inside part of the window that got removed. Which also means my old shades are too wide. I bought some new, but not all new. Wah.