OK - this represents more cleaning out of my notebook. I'll simply transcribe some notes I made about the reroof:
I went into excruciating detail about the reroof to get it out of my system. (Still isn't because there is no final resolution yet on the ridge vent and roof penetrations. I'll post that when it happens.)
I only showed the roofer the photos of the short, uncovered section of the ridge vent (well, it's covered with shingles but the VentSure is missing) to justify extending the VentSure to the north edge of the roof. He had offered to do that any way but until I saw the uncovered section, I didn't think it justified the extra work and time on his part.
When he came out last Friday, he offered to test the roof penetrations for water-tightness by running a hose on the roof. I declined. Wind driven rain or snow and drenching, long rains give a truer real world test.
I now have a new chore - check for roof leaks after each precipitation event.
Here's some thoughts on what I'll tell people who ask me about the new roof:
I wouldn't use the roofer again or recommend him to anyone. While it was not a complete horror story, there were some issues of concern that we raised with him after paying him off completely and he showed lack of respect toward us. I would say he doesn't have good customer relation skills.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
LIfe's Repetitious and Then You Die!
I'm going through my steno pad in which I have jotted down random thought kernels. I may never expand upon these or mention them again but here goes:
Did any of ask to be born? None of us are here in this life because we had a choice. A man and a woman (or maybe a test tube) got together and 9 months later, there we were.
That sort of fits in with another thought that recurs:
Do you ever simply get sick of all the daily repetition involved in just keeping body and soul (and family) together? Flossing, eating (eliminating what we ate!), exercising, taking care of a house, shopping, laundry, blah, blah, blah...obviously a very incomplete list.
Yet, if we were to actually die but then somehow miraculously be brought back to life, each moment, no matter how repetitious, would be precious - at least for a little while.
I guess the quest is to minimize the stuff we don't really want or need to do and make the rest as enjoyable as possible because once we're no longer amongst animate beings, moldering repose will be our only option and that doesn't sound like a lot of fun!
Did any of ask to be born? None of us are here in this life because we had a choice. A man and a woman (or maybe a test tube) got together and 9 months later, there we were.
That sort of fits in with another thought that recurs:
Do you ever simply get sick of all the daily repetition involved in just keeping body and soul (and family) together? Flossing, eating (eliminating what we ate!), exercising, taking care of a house, shopping, laundry, blah, blah, blah...obviously a very incomplete list.
Yet, if we were to actually die but then somehow miraculously be brought back to life, each moment, no matter how repetitious, would be precious - at least for a little while.
I guess the quest is to minimize the stuff we don't really want or need to do and make the rest as enjoyable as possible because once we're no longer amongst animate beings, moldering repose will be our only option and that doesn't sound like a lot of fun!
Great Book: Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille
Our daughter purchased a used book for me recently on a trip to southern NM. It's called Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille. I am savoring it.
This post isn't a book review but the synopsis is that she and her husband divorce and she buys 12 acres in the Adirondacks of upstate New York and builds a log cabin to live in.
In the midst of several weeks of big-time house maintenance (reroof last week and repaint this week) I just wanted to comment that even living in a log cabin with no indoor plumbing presents maintenance challenges.
She had to seal off the outside so mice and bats can't get in. This after a bat swoops across her face while she's lying in her sleeping loft late one night and mice leave droppings in her sugar bowl.
Also, the worry of fire weighs heavy on her mind in the winter. She's so isolated that she would have to fight any fire that started. A constant chore is cutting down cords and cords of wood so she can keep warm in the winter. I wonder if Thoreau touched on any of this in Walden Pond?
This book tells me that living off the grid in a log cabin in the woods would only multiply more chores of home ownership! Yet and still, I dream of a life more carefree of taking care of a house. What's the answer?
This post isn't a book review but the synopsis is that she and her husband divorce and she buys 12 acres in the Adirondacks of upstate New York and builds a log cabin to live in.
In the midst of several weeks of big-time house maintenance (reroof last week and repaint this week) I just wanted to comment that even living in a log cabin with no indoor plumbing presents maintenance challenges.
She had to seal off the outside so mice and bats can't get in. This after a bat swoops across her face while she's lying in her sleeping loft late one night and mice leave droppings in her sugar bowl.
Also, the worry of fire weighs heavy on her mind in the winter. She's so isolated that she would have to fight any fire that started. A constant chore is cutting down cords and cords of wood so she can keep warm in the winter. I wonder if Thoreau touched on any of this in Walden Pond?
This book tells me that living off the grid in a log cabin in the woods would only multiply more chores of home ownership! Yet and still, I dream of a life more carefree of taking care of a house. What's the answer?
Intriguing, Wild, Night Hiker
On Monday night, just as I got near the Christian Church parking lot, I saw a man holding a flashlight come striding across the lot. I waved hello and he immediately started asking me trail directions.
I thought maybe he was asking where the Mesa Trail is so I pointed out the way there but it turned out that he was asking about the south rim trail above Pueblo Canyon that starts from the Walkup Center and goes to behind Aspen Ridge assisted living.
He had a slight accent and may have been wearing a headlamp as well as carrying a flashlight. He had been walking along that rim trail at night, vertigo inducing even in the daylight, and then, not seeing where it came up, had bushwhacked his way up behind Sombrillo nursing home.
He looked young and I'm guessing he's a summer student working at the lab. I walked with him ever so briefly as he was going to give up the trail hike and walk back on the sidewalks in the same direction I was going.
I told him the trail he was on is very steep and it's best not to walk it at night and besides which, that's when animals come out to feed. I did admit to him, though, that in 25 years, I've only seen one mountain lion.
I would have liked to have gotten more details about his explores but it was late at night and I was alone so I said goodbye and crossed the street to continue my tame night walk. I did admire his being out there exploring late at night!
I thought maybe he was asking where the Mesa Trail is so I pointed out the way there but it turned out that he was asking about the south rim trail above Pueblo Canyon that starts from the Walkup Center and goes to behind Aspen Ridge assisted living.
He had a slight accent and may have been wearing a headlamp as well as carrying a flashlight. He had been walking along that rim trail at night, vertigo inducing even in the daylight, and then, not seeing where it came up, had bushwhacked his way up behind Sombrillo nursing home.
He looked young and I'm guessing he's a summer student working at the lab. I walked with him ever so briefly as he was going to give up the trail hike and walk back on the sidewalks in the same direction I was going.
I told him the trail he was on is very steep and it's best not to walk it at night and besides which, that's when animals come out to feed. I did admit to him, though, that in 25 years, I've only seen one mountain lion.
I would have liked to have gotten more details about his explores but it was late at night and I was alone so I said goodbye and crossed the street to continue my tame night walk. I did admire his being out there exploring late at night!
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