Musings

Under the roof above the stairwell—aren’t you glad you didn’t have to figure this mess out. NB: the lumber is straight despite curving effects from the lens.

We’re thinking about going with Icynene®* foam insulation between the joists up against the roof or exterior walls, which seals the heat out of all interior spaces.

Icynene® insulation and air barrier system creates an airtight seal to reduce random air leakage through the walls and limit the penetration of outdoor allergens and pollutants. 100% water-blown, Icynene improves the quality of the indoor air you breathe. It also reduces the number of indoor pollutants to help you breathe easier and is an environmentally-friendly soft foam insulation.

Anybody had any experience with this stuff? Watch the videos to see the foam expand!

* From the product spec sheet: “Icynene® spray formula is a 1/2 lb density free rise, open celled material.” FYI

Posted at 6:16 PM | Comments Off on Decisions, decisions…

Sales are up. Apple says they’ve shipped 2.5 million Macs in the last quarter. iPod shipments are up.

Revenue’s up (to $7.46 BILLION). Profit exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Gross margin (whatever that is; sounds scary) fell. So did the stock (yesterday).

We’re, it turns out, investing in our house.

Posted at 12:19 PM | 2 Comments »

Temps on the roof must have exceeded 100°F by midday. I felt so bad for The Guys (working on trim for the dormers and I dunno what else).

And now for the good news! Our Prius is back!

Posted at 6:40 PM | 1 Comment »

For some reason, this “gas in a cage” tripped my funny bone….

Golfers are such weenies (and that’s not a word I usually use). They want quiet from observers (which they call The Gallery—so posh!) when they’re doing their thing. And they do it with a personal coach and advisor at hand.

Can you imagine baseball players—pitchers, batters, whatever—standing there with their advisor next to them, “geeze, will this be a knuckleball?” or “what do you think the batter’s expecting?”

Soccer players? Hah!

Posted at 2:52 PM | 1 Comment »

Check out the pollen in the flower-center to the right of the image….

If you had asked me, I would have told you that I thought lilies always had smooth petals. And I would have been showing my ignorance.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Lily close-up

Late this afternoon, The Guys—actually the Pinch Hitter Crew—came in and put up Sheetrock™ in the staircase, once again isolating the destroyed area from our living space. The other exciting part is that this means the upper and lower zipwalls that made the stairwell into an air lock are now GONE.

If this photo is confusing, The Photographer, not me but one JCB (thanks dear!), was standing in what is once again becoming the master bath, and looking between the studs down the interior staircase. Indeed, you can see the zipwall (now removed!) between the staircase (the house’s central transportation corridor) and the downstairs living area.

The house is still modeling a tarp, but it’s undergone huge progress over the past week. Yea!

Posted at 5:13 PM | Comments Off on You can’t do this anymore.

I could not have predicted that I would track this plant through its growth cycle. I’ve sure been enjoying it, though!

This is the fourth blog entry with a picture of this rogue jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) that appeared in the spring in an untended flower bed in our backyard.

Over the last week or so, the plant’s been throwing off its ripened berries, and is now down to the last three at the base of the spadix. Yes, that’s the botanical term for the “jack,” which is now left to dessicate, having done its work. The seeds are thrown out up to several feet from the plant. I say thrown out like I saw them spin away, but I haven’t; I’m just surmising.

This sets me up for next year, when I can see if any of the daughter plants germinate! Maybe I should continue to leave this bed untended….

* 1) Good title? Did you really want to check out the text?, and

2) sorry if you thought it was, but this is not a typo of a reference to James Spader (sigh).

Posted at 10:36 AM | Comments Off on Near-naked spadix*

Yesterday, The Guys did lots of work that will lead to us having Three Dormers That Match. Note how they cleverly disguise their piles of lumber under tarps amidst the shrubbery.

Posted at 7:55 PM | 2 Comments »

For the first time that I’m aware of, I beheld real, raw, unprocessed rambutan. I have eaten freeze-dried and canned versions, but not laid hands on the real thing. Didn’t buy/eat it, though….

They are pretty light in heft, so I wouldn’t have been entirely extravant if I had bought this pair…. Just wasn’t in the mood, I guess. Perhaps next time….

Posted at 9:27 AM | Comments Off on Raw rambutan

Judge people by their spirits, intention, inner selves, and what they actually do: this is our Mainer framer & everything he did for our house was level and the right measurement, and his style was totally upbeat, lively, and fun.

And now (if I have it right) the framing is nearly complete, and we soon will meet a new crew of specialists working to make our house whole.

Posted at 9:58 PM | Comments Off on Five-star framing