Essses!
Solar-heated Skeeters
Signing
Siblings Sing-song Sit-n-Sip
S is for Sun,
Skeeters-skeeters-skeeters, Summer's end, Struggles,
Shivering, Solar-Hot-Water-Heater
E is for Events
P is for
Paperwork signed in driveway
T is for Turning leaves, Temperature swings
E is for Enjoying
M is for March
siblings, Mosquitoes
B is for Bank,
Ben, Ben-Voyage, Bentathalon and Ben. Also, Brrr! Biting Bugs, Breakfasts on
the deck
E is for
Entomological Evil
R is for Roofing
Solar-Heated Water!
Showers: Hot, Wow!
No more cold
showers in a cold yurt: now, it's hot showers, often
in a cold yurt, but at least the water will be hot! After years messing around
with other supposed solutions for solar heating (whether purchased or C&C
created contraptions), an expensive contraption was purchased.
Two things had
previously prohibited C&C's successful contraption creation. Insulated
container is crucial; unless a hot shower is desired in the middle of the day,
which, frankly, is pointless in a construction/camping life. Tinkering with
finding safe alternatives to usual components in make-at-home solar heaters
and/or locating and buying the supplies would have taken more time than could
be rationalized. So, for years, cold showers have been the norm, with occasional
successes and hot "Ahhhh!" showers on good sunny days. With this
summer's excessive cold and rainy weather, these times were sorely lacking!
After experiencing
water from the purchased tank, C&C wished they had a) known about this
device years ago and b) purchased and installed it years ago. As it happened,
the purchased device's installation was completed mid-month and filled. The
unit holds about 25 gallons of water. In the evening of the first day, the water
was only so-so warm. The second evening presented C&C with
hot-hot-scalding-steaming-HOT shower water! Wow! The pleasure and relief! Never
again will there be a trek downhill midday to insulate and cover whatever water
had gotten hot. No more messing around with filling water jugs and
contraptions! Whew. Ahhhhh! During sunny spells of weather, the shower water
had to be mixed down with cold in order to be showerable.
During a rainy and overcast spell towards the end of the month, the water
exiting the device could be used more as-is.
Signing of Paperwork
The Bank got what
they wanted: a resolution. C&C did not win the lottery and pay The Bank
off; they did get a response from The Bank; they think the resolution could
have been worse.
The Bank is satisfied
with C&C now paying a full mortgage, signed and converted, with a listed
deadline of 7/1/09 for construction completion. C&C think paying interest
on funds that haven't even been borrowed yet is unpleasant and wrong; they are
not sure about July 1st, given that Winter is already
threatening to wreak havoc; they think the resolution could have been worse.
C&C eventually
got documents from The Bank; Chris brought the files home; they reviewed all
documents on OQO; they sighed and rolled their eyes when they saw that
Cassandra's name wasn't even spelled right; they made note of all the errors;
they suggested a new date, because April 1st in Vermont isn't even a guarantee
that Winter is over; they made note of other questions.
A representative
from The Bank agreed to come to YIPPEE-Land's driveway to witness Cassandra's
signature. This was preferable to both parties. Taking Cassandra to a notary
could not have happened until October, and would have made her exponentially
sicker.
After
communications back and forth, preparations and coordinations, the signing day
arrived. C&C did some site work, but also had further preparations for the
signing. Unfortunately, C&C spent an hour standing around, waiting, not
doing any work, he down the driveway, she up by GIPPEE, until the rep arrived,
late. The rep suited-up in a painter's full body suit; these aren't great for
Cassandra per se, but provide a layer of protection, and that aspect is good.
The paperwork itself was an unavoidable problematic aspect. Cassandra, in mask,
walked down to within good visibility of the rep; Chris walked the paperwork
up, she signed it with gloves on. The rest of the signing was probably normal,
except for being in the driveway with one person wearing a full-body painter's
suit.
After the bank
escapade, some recovery steps, some lunch, C&C walked up top. They laid on the deck as the sun gradually left for the day,
while Cass recovered a tad more.
Then, Chris helped
Cass tackle Fall Cleaning. No, it is not related to the signing of the
paperwork; just happened to fit into the schedule on the same day. Chris, who
does not normally get the privilege of participating in the cleaning, weekly or
seasonal, said, "Aw, geez, this is a pain, and I'm tired, and aren't we
done yet? And, where's my cow?". Cassandra said,
"Wow! That went so much faster with your help! Whew. I am so glad we did
this together!"
Speaking of doing it
together...
Breakfasts
What to do when its
cold and you have no heat, possibly because you are living on the side of a
mountain in essentially a tent, and the woodstove makes you sick, and anyway,
one of the pipe parts disintegrated when you went to clean it for the woodstove
season's start:
Enjoy outdoor breakfasts,
preferably in some sunshine.
The low-power hot
chocolate maker saw lots of use as a hot water maker for tea. This helped to
warm C&C up in the cold mornings as well. They relished and savored their
mornings on the deck. They hiked uphill with supplies and sat... IN CHAIRS... outside for breakfast. Yes, they have been
sitting on the deck all along. But, not until this month had they ever sat on a
chair on the deck. And, although these are the same tattered and beaten camp
chairs that have been part of YIPPEE for years, it felt so "normal";
as if they were no longer living a camp-style makeshift situation. This one seemingly little thing (sitting for breakfast together, in
chairs, on their deck and chatting) hinted at what life can be like with a home,
without massive stress and constant construction.
Another
"Ahhhh!" for September. Sunshine, very few bugs in the cold and clear
mornings. This was quite nice! C&C enjoyed seeing each other daily
for a good portion of two weeks, as Chris was not working for his employer.
Roofs:
Sheds shed their blue tarps!
Part of the
construction that was tackled, to take advantage of Chris' consecutive days
onsite was technically a B task: roofs. Tarps that covered the sheds after each
was built in cold, inclement weather, were intended
merely to protect the sheds during other construction. After C&C had a
home, the sheds could be finished. But the tarps cannot take it! They have been
shredding and disintegrating.
Installation of the
PH and US roofs would have happened regardless. Since supplies and procedures
for all roofs were the same, this seemed a good time to also address the shed
roofs. Fixing these other shed roofs now, although a B task, might allow Chris
to shed some of his nagging concern that the roofs might fall in soon.
And so, Storage
Shed, Woodshed#2, PH and US each have dark green metal
roofs. The Original Woodshed was not "gotten to" and retains its blue
tarp, but the two C's are hoping to remedy that before too much longer.
And Last, but not Least:
S is for Siblings,
Six
E is for Enjoy
P is for Party
T is for Together
E is for Events
M is for March
B is for Ben
E is for El es muy
malo! (or, bueno!)
R is for Reunion
It was held on
Ben's Birthday. It was held at YIPPEE-Land. It was hosted by C&C, and yes,
they prepared properly encouraging enjoyment. It was called: The Ben-Voyage
Birthday Bentathalon. Fortunately, all six of the March siblings share silly
sensibilities. The day's theme was Ben. C&C created a series of related
events for the day, in honor of Ben: the youngest sibling, the sibling whose
job soon takes him across the so-called pond and into harm's way. Ben's
fondness for marathons and similar events inspired the Bentathalon. C&C
also gathered intel from other siblings on Ben's
various quirks to create a song for and about Ben, which was debuted in the
30', played acoustically by Chris up on the loft, where, incidentally, there
are interesting acoustics. There were also Birthday Brownies, burritos, beers,
and plenty of other things that do not begin with the letter B, but are okay,
such as laughs and good cheer.
Cass lost some time
to recovery afterwards, and there was a rare zero one day for
the site time log. But, it was worth it to have everyone together and
give Ben a proper, fun send-off!
Tasks Summary:
Total September Site Hours: 231.00
Totals by Days: 28.88
Q 4.59
A 22.78
B 1.50
Totals by Hours: 231.00
Q 36.75
A 182.25
B 12.00
Completed task: (289.01) Loan extension [9/19/08] (site
days: 1.31)
Totals (days) by Tasks:
Q: Quackin' Quagmire (4.59)
300.55 Woodstove, Heat & Showering '08 (1.91)
289.01 Loan extension (1.31)
288.11 Park Ave firewood, yr 4 (0.44)
300.45 Woodstove maintenance/problems (0.34)
288.09 Cut and store downed trees (0.28)
305.01 Garlic spray
(0.28)
305.18 Tick, tick
(0.09)
288.08 Split
and stack wood (0.03)
742.02 JaBoSTH: Quackers (-0.09 )
A1: MLA Ready (22.78)
213.50 Construct power house (9.69)
329.02 Construct walls and loft - 30' yurt: wallboards
(2.59)
213.71 Walls - 30' yurt: sand and finish (1.44)
275.04 Materials transport/inventory (1.25)
742.01 JaBoSTH: Non-Quackers (1.09)
213.70 Construct walls and loft - 30' yurt: mouldings (1.03)
213.85 Radiant flooring 30': fins installed (1.03)
213.12 Utility shed built (1.00)
213.69 Construct walls and loft - 30' yurt: floorboards
(0.78)
213.36 Site cleanup (0.63)
213.65 Electrical rough-in 30' yurt (0.44)
329.05 Loft Bathroom Windows (0.34)
239.21 Clear trees for solar panels (0.31)
213.24 TV loft adaptation (0.28)
329.04 Loft access Building (0.25)
213.99 Plumbing rough-in MLA: supply (0.22)
213.77 Bracing: 30' yurt (0.19)
213.20 Electrical finishing 20' (0.09)
306.01 Cass Onsite Work: Determine tasks she
can do during week alone (0.06)
213.76 Power House: build walkway/access from road (0.03)
861.39 Movin' Stuff Around (0.03)
B: Finish (1.50)
260.40 Roof repaired and finished (0.97)
213.63 Woodshed #2: Roof repairs and finishing (0.44)
213.141 Wood Shed: Roof repaired and finished (0.09)