Thursday, July 30, 2015

Swirls of Flies

The above picture is from the front porch looking west. It's about 7:30 in the evening and the sun is hanging low in the sky.

What the picture does not show is thousands of bugs swarming in the sky. I'm sure thousands is an under estimate. The warmth of the sun has drawn them and the angle of the light makes them very visible.

This is the second time we have seen this phenomenon. The last time was last year...probably about the same time of year.

The really cool thing about watching the swarm is that every few seconds, a really tight herd of bugs combine into a swirl that visibly moves through the sky. 

These "Swirls" seem to form and disperse with no rhyme or reason and continuously until the sun gets to low.

I wanted to get this post in so I can identify the time and date of this event for further future research.

We will try to watch for the event again tomorrow night.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Back on the World Wide InterWeb

I am sitting at the kitchen table and typing away on my new laptop. The old tower succumbed to the ravages of time, being somewhere around eight years old and died on me. The guy at the place where I took it said the hard drive was barely hanging on and ready to fail.

They were able to retrieve all my old data and move it here. So $600.00 later, I'm back, baby!

I had a very successful weekend of work in the bathroom. I accomplished my goals and a little bit more.

I got the electrical mostly roughed in and figured where everything will be going. The blue boxes are the spots where lights, switches or receptacles will go.
I also got a new power line laid from the box to the bathroom that will provide power for the heated floor. We ran an additional line because I think I'm going to add a ceramic wall heater as well. Back up, ya know!

The really smart thing we did was to pull a string through the difficult area of the wire run in order to more easily access the area if we ever want to run another line for something. What, I don't know. Perhaps a gymnasium or a flux capacitor. The point is that if we want to run another line, we can do it easily.

When I say we, I mean Jerry and I. jerry is my Electrical Expert. I run the wire and he does all the important work at the box.

On Sunday, goal was to remove the door and fill the hole.

Once again, mission accomplished. I am so awesome! That is generally the type of thing I write just before a disaster happens.

I think I shall humble myself by stating I still have a looooooong way to go and lots of possibilities to electrocute, lacerate or maim myself.
Here's an idea of the shower placement. Wow! It doesn't look very big in that picture. The shower enclosure is 38 inches on either side. It's not as large as our upstairs shower but who cares. If you need more room to shower, you go upstairs.

Susan accomplished some stuff this weekend as well. Her project was to try and waterproof the upstairs balcony. We have had some issues with water dripping onto the front porch and we know it is coming from the balcony. She is applying some rubber baseboard around "the balc" in the hopes that the water will stay up there until it evaporates or enters the food chain.

We haven't really had an issue with the leaking until recently so we think our caulking has shrunk and pulled away from the seams. It's been about seven or eight years since the balcony went in.

She is having some issues with the Liquid Nails she is using. It doesn't appear to want to stick to the siding. We'll get this project done and then keep an eye on it.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Construction Update and Weather Forecast

This post is not an indicator that my computer is back and operating within normal parameters. It is an indicator that I got in to work early this morning and decided on making a little update.

And "Little" update is the key. I have been plugging away in the bathroom, making small progress every night, leading to the hope of massive progress this weekend.

The plan is to block off the door, get the wiring roughed in and get the floor ready to be laid.

I checked on siding yesterday and it is going to cost about $350.00 for the siding we need. We are hoping to feather it in and eliminate a bit of the rough contours that we presently have. I guess what I am saying is, I do not want to replace the siding and have it look obvious that it is a patch. I want it to blend with the rest of the house and appear as if there was never a door there.

The heat spell continues but it has eased. We are not having the 100 degree days we were experiencing. Just into the 90's now. The forecast for today is 98 degrees and the record, set in 1985 is 100.

That's your Accu-Stan Weather forecast for July 9th, Twenty-Fifteen.

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Summer Photo

Nothing to report today.

But here's a cool picture from the front porch. The lantern is not lit, the sun is setting behind it.

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Going Dark

The Heat Continues.

It's just plain hot and that has been going now for about three weeks. Thank the Lord we have plenty of water to pour out on to the ground and roll around in.

We made a little bathroom progress today as we worked on preparing for the sub-floor and taking out the old door. I may have the door part finished by the end of the week. Well, not finished but blocked off and sealed shut. Here's the wrath of destruction that Susan reeked forth on this fine day.


My immediate problem right now is this computer here at home. It is infected with major crapoleena. I'm taking it in tomorrow to have it de-crapisized.

So, until further notice, we are going dar-

Saturday, July 04, 2015

Happy 239th America

A Fabulous Fourth of July with temperatures well into the thousands of degrees.

We floated the Little Spokane. We barbecued meat. We gathered a bunch of friends together and rode bikes downtown to watch the explosions.

Here is the pictorial evidence.


Can you find the face in the rock?
It's good to be an American!