Just a head’s up if you hadn’t noticed, the air-conditioning is on and seems to be working fine, just in time for this week’s heat wave.  Have a great holiday weekend, Everyone!

A reminder that the condo association’s annual meeting is this Monday, the 23rd, at 7:00 P.M. at the NPS Visitors Center next door. There will be one trustee up for election.  I encourage people to attend.  The annual meeting is always a good opportunity to meet your neighbors, learn more about your building, and to have a hand in managing the property.

If you can’t make it and have misplaced your proxy form, the form can be found here (it’s too late to mail it, but I expect you could send it to the meeting with a neighbor or slip it through the mail slot in our lobby office door and it would get to the management).  Proxies help us to have a quorum to properly address business.  If you’ve filled out your proxy but find you can make it to the meeting after all, you can always cancel the proxy when you sign in.

Hope to see you there!

If you’re sick of staying in because of all the rain, check out the First Thursday schedule for this month.  Charlie and I were looking forward to a meet and greet with all those dogs from the Humane Society (even if we’re not planning any adoptions) but I’m not sure whether they’ll be out in the predicted drizzle. Even if the canines can’t make it, there’s plenty of other, inside stuff going on to enjoy!

I think I’ve mentioned it before but it never hurts to mention it again (thank you, Elissa for reminding me): textiles can now be recycled in Lowell rather than cluttering up the trash stream. Information about textile recycling can be found here. There’s also a link to general recycling information on the canalplaceone “Useful Links” page.

Just a reminder that there’s a board meeting tomorrow (Monday) night at 7:00 in the lobby office.  Residents welcome.

Also—the city’s adding another festival to their calendar this year; next weekend marks the first Mill City Steampunk Festival (incidentally, Waltham’s Watch City Steampunk Festival is the following weekend).

Charlie and I got invited to do a dance presentation at Mill no. 5 (250 Jackson Street) on Saturday as part of their Spring Steam Faire, so we’ll be doing that at 1:00 and 2:30 if anyone’s interested in hearing a bit about Lowell’s dance history and seeing a few demos of what the locals would have been dancing a century or two ago.

For those who are interested in the lo-flow toilets but want more info, I thought I’d share our experience.  We just had both of ours replaced.  One of our old ones sat atop the tile; one was set in.  Both new toilets sit atop the tile and no retiling was necessary.  The new ones are slightly larger at the base so they cover up the footprint left in the tile by the old one.  Installation took about an hour per toilet.

The new toilets are significantly higher which is great for creaky old knees but not so great for little kids.  The seat is not particularly comfortable, but I assume it can be changed out if that’s a big concern (I haven’t actually checked).  The toilets flush quietly, quickly, and effectively—and the button’s a lot easier to push than the push-button one we had at my old house, yet it’s set in so I can’t imagine it getting pushed by accident.

I can’t promise that everyone’s experience would be as trouble-free as ours, and we’ve only had them two days so I can’t speak to the long term, but we are very pleased with both the process and the results.  I also want to mention that Frank Potvin (978-957-2518) got a bulk price on the toilets that will expire at some point, so do consider contacting him ASAP if you’re interested.  Not only will you be helping the Association’s bottom line, you’ll be saving Mr. Potvin from a potential surcharge if he doesn’t install enough of the toilets to meet the bulk price minimum!  (The current price is $575 per toilet installed.)

Unless I’m mistaken, there’s a board meeting tonight (Monday the 28th) in the lobby office at 7:00.  Residents welcome.

And for anyone who actually has my book, Twirling Jennies, there’s a page of recent corrections available on the Author’s Notes page of the website. The revisions have also gone through with the printer so any new copies should have them included.

Just got info from a resident regarding the closed stairwell at the Leo Roy Garage (thank you, Brian).  Here’s what he says:

“Prepare to be inconvenienced for another month.  The person in charge is Nic Navin of the Parking and Garage department.  He tells me that the project underway over there is a 3 million dollar project and includes new drainage and repairs.”

I found a bit more info on the LDNA site, and on their Facebook page:

“Update: ‎Lowell‬ Roy (Market) Garage repairs. From Nicholas Navin, Parking Director:

Starting March 7, a little more than half of the roof will be occupied as a work zone, with an equivalent area below on the fourth floor as a protected area. This adds up to about 150 spaces. City will shuffle some parkers around to alleviate the impact, including MCC students”

So, while I groan a bit every morning when I realize I have to scoot over to the other stairwell (as I’m sure most of us do), and it’s getting harder to find a parking space, the repairs are clearly needed and should be done before tourist season hits.  Here’s hoping it all goes smoothly and gets finished on schedule!

Just a reminder to vote today. For our building, it’s right downstairs at Lowell Telecommunications, 246 Market, across the breezeway from the Visitor’s Center. The hours are 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. More info about voting hours and locations can be found here.

I wanted to let people know that if you subscribe to the Cultural Organization of Lowell’s newsletter you’ll get an e-mail every Thursday with a fairly comprehensive list of things going on around town.  I know I used to spend a lot of time going through calendars (hence, all the links on the Canal Place site link page) but the COOL newsletter is much easier.

And every so often I try to remind people that there is a discount in the Leo Roy garage for anyone over 62.  If you have recently reached that milestone and use the Roy garage, you should stop by the garage office and let them know. Even if you don’t pay them directly, the condo association will benefit from your discount. Parking regulations can be found here.