Grump Central Archive: Week of 17 March 2019
Saturday, 23 March 2019
After two days of rain, I now have a mote beside the garage. It'll probably take a week or more (assuming no more rain for a while) before it dries out. I don't envy my volunteers—they didn't sign up for this.
Friday, 22 March 2019
As predicted, it rained all day Thursday, and in fact it's still raining. New Jersey continues to think it's Seattle, and I'm waiting for mushrooms to start sprouting from my head.
Thursday, 21 March 2019
Clean stone was all down and ready for the concrete slabs. The weather back then was very cooperative, mild and dry—unlike this year, which has been cold and wet. Today it's going to pour, which means no outside work, and the well hookup trench will become a mote.
Wednesday, 20 March 2019
The final step after backfilling was topping the fill with clean stone, at which point it would be ready for the slabs to be poured; here, the crew has completed the second level. At this moment in time, I'm sitting where the green map pin is. My helper will be arriving later this morning, which means something will actually get accomplished today, I'm ashamed to admit.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
The backfill operation was quite the challenge, taking the crew nearly a week to complete. They used the large excavator to hoist the small one down into the lower level, and they filled the spaces with a crushed brick/concrete mix (it looks like dirt, but it's not). I look back at all of this with a strange sense of wonder: I was responsible for all of this?
Monday, 18 March 2019
Back in 2016, I was enjoying a heavy machinery dance as the excavators backfilled the foundation. Perhaps if I look at enough of these images, I'll be inspired to get back to work. Perhaps.
Sunday, 17 March 2019
Three years ago this day, the excavation contractor delivered the equipment he needed to backfill the foundation in preparation for pouring the slabs. Today, despite being on the verge of making some exciting progress, I'm crippled by a deeply depressed state that has me nearly paralyzed.