Yesterday evening was a yard work day here at Mist Cottage. Attila pruned the trees, he is an expert pruner, having done that for a living for many years. I clipped small bushes that were growing up through the wire fence, unwelcome guests. The yard waste pickup by the municipality is this week, so this is the time to get these things done. It is times like this that I am very glad that Attila is living here, and willing to participate in maintaining the premises.
The Grackles continue to attempt entry through the metal fascia. Their attempts are very noisy, and they have made some headway, loosening one of the nails. A trip up the ladder with a hammer is called for. This is something Attila may be persuaded to undertake.
My Mom’s 87th birthday is coming up soon! I won’t be able to travel for a birthday visit, so I have done the next best thing, ordered her birthday present from Amazon, who will deliver it via Canada Post to her address, which is a mailbox, which will have a package notice in it soon. Happy Birthday Mom!
What a beautiful morning! Sunny, warm, just about perfect.
I keep forgetting to eat! If being underweight was a problem, this would be something to be concerned about. Quite the opposite is true though. Just give me something interesting to do, and suddenly I am a woman without a stomach. Breakfast didn’t happen today.
The back porch is in need of attention, so today attention it got. It is an interesting affair, the back porch. When we bought Mist Cottage, the back deck had two sections, both special. The outer section, which was huge, was supported by a frame of short, leftover pieces of lumber that had been screwed together to make longer pieces of lumber, a patchwork quilt sort of underpinning. Laid over the patchwork lumber was particle board. You know, the stuff that swells up when it is wet, goes all soft and pliable when soaked with rain. The particle board was well weathered, feet had gone through it places between the cobbled together supports below, it sagged everywhere between the supports, and it did not smell very nice. That section took a few days to dismantle.
The inner section was built on a frame of full length lumber, no shortcuts there. The interesting twist is the decking, which is old tongue and groove hardwood flooring, that has seen much better days. Hardwood flooring is meant to be installed over a solid subfloor, not a deck frame, where it must span the spaces between the deck frame boards. I am light enough that I don’t break the boards, but a heavier person might just find the hardwood floor boards giving way underfoot. To accommodate heavier people the part of the back porch that receives most of the traffic is covered over with sheets of plywood. The area where I sit out on the back porch is hardwood flooring. Someday the back porch is going to get a makeover.
Since the back porch is as clean and tidy as it can ever hope to be in this incarnation, I am sitting out here, enjoying the breeze, the birdsong, the scenery… and my lunch.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
19°C
Date: 11:00 AM EDT Wednesday 2 May 2018
Condition: Not observed
Pressure: 101.3 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 19.2°C
Dew point: 6.3°C
Humidity: 43%
Wind: SW 29 gust 38 km/h
Quote
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
The Dalai Lama
1935 –
I’ve been thinking about your remark about us removing our window screens for winter, and would like to explain. It’s because we had so much moisture indoors for the first few years after we bought this place and Scott did some drywalling and painting and installed new windows and insulation, and reshingled the roof; i.e., extra moisture wasn’t escaping the house enough once we got it so airtight. We often got dishtowels quite soaked while wiping water off the glass and ledges! It was ridiculous. Taking the screens off permitted that sopping up, but also allowed warm air to reach the glass easier (according to Mr Construction). Now he’s installed an air exchanger so this past winter we didn’t have the moisture problem (such a relief; sometimes the water would run off the window ledge and down the wall to the floor), but we still remove the screens to allow for least-impeded air flow to the window. There is method to the madness!
-Kate,
Yay! You’ve got the good weather, finally! Enjoy! And Happy Birthday, Maggie’s Mom!
Kate, your method makes pretty good sense! I wondered. We are too dry in the winter, on the main floor of the house, and the dehumidifier runs 24/7 in the basement, year round. We haven’t had any issues with moisture on the windows, I think because that dehumidifier runs all the time. Since we have to use the basement for storage, no room on the main floor (640 sq ft) we keep it as dry as we can, so far so good. All of our new screens are on the outside of the window, so I think, if I understand your reasoning, that your screens are on the inside of the windows. The thing I find about the variety of ways that people do things, is that there is usually a very good reason. Thanks for the details, I had not thought about condensation being affected by screens!
It is still lovely here Teri! It is wonderful. My Mom will see your birthday greeting, I’m sure she will enjoy it.
I hope your good weather continues. Happy birthday to your Mother!
Thanks Joan, hoping your weather is equally as pleasant, and not too hot. Mom will appreciate your birthday greeting!