Grump Central Archive: Week of 21 July 2019
Saturday, 27 July 2019
With the heat wave more or less over, for now at least, I'm getting some work done outside—or at least my helpers are. Meanwhile, a beautiful little visitor came as close as the deck and stuck around long enough to scarf up some leftover fries from lunch. S/he was a sight to behold, despite having been in some nasty fights, what with a ripped ear and a few deep gashes around one eye.
Friday, 26 July 2019
The storms that blew through the region Tuesday night did more damage to my property than I'd realized. The most noteworthy was of course the large tree limb that nearly struck the cabin, but other damage includes multiple dead limbs that dropped on several Mountain Laurel bushes—the same ones that had already suffered considerable injury by the Nor'easters we endured last year. There were signs they may have been recovering, but now they're totally crushed. Those poor bushes just can't catch a break.
Thursday, 25 July 2019
Going without power for over 50 hours was quite the experience; lots of lessons learned. But if nothing else, I was quite thankful for not living in the cabin any more—if I was, I'd certainly have soiled the bed when a branch the size of a small tree dropped against the wall. No damage, thankfully, but a bit too close for comfort. Meanwhile, owing to the failure of my backup generator, I lost all of the food in my fridge, so it's time to do some grocery shopping. Then perhaps I can get back to normal.
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Reporting again from battery backup—lost power last night around 6 PM when a nasty storm tore through central NJ, leaving close to 100,000 in the area dark. It's now 4 AM and still no joy. Worse, the little genny I use to run the refrigerator totally quit a couple of hours ago, so it could become a problem if power isn't restored soon. Anyway, the heat wave is only slowly receding; Monday's high was 92° (heat index 105°). With the weekend having been an all-out push to (nearly) finish rocking the house, yesterday became a day of (near) rest, as I quietly continued the long, tedious task of taping the sheetrock joints. As for today's image... a few years ago, as I was framing the hallway that leads from the foyer to the main living level, I wondered what the finished space would look like given the natural light admitted by the windows over the stairs. Now I know... this was taken around 6:30 AM Monday morning. No artificial light required to illuminate the space during the day—which was precisely my goal.
Monday, 22 July 2019
Sunday was just as bad as Saturday, except with a breeze, which ordinarily would be an improvement; in this case, it made things worse—it felt like a bloody blast furnace. On the plus side, I was joined unexpectedly by my helper, who assisted in getting a lot more sheetrock up. Aside from the studio and half the garage, the house is now completely rocked. The transformation is quite arresting.
Sunday, 21 July 2019
Yesterday started with a low of 81°, which set the tone for the hottest day of the year to date; by noon the heat index was 104°, and by 4 PM it was 114°. I'd prepared by stocking up on liquids so I could hide in the house all day and stay hydrated while I worked.