Bless his heart, Peter volunteered without any urging on my part to come and help with the insulation today. I thought having another person there would double the amount we could get done. I was wrong. Once he left, I realized that having him there increased the efficiency at least fourfold as it took me many hours to do what he and I could together could have finished in a hour. I'm beat! Thankfully the weather hasn't been typical for July in the Piedmont. We weren't quite as soaked with sweat as we would have been otherwise.
Thanks again, Peter.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
cool things that have happened
1. A bard owl calling a mate. He was so close that I jumped the first time he hooted. I tried responding to him. I'm sure I sound ridiculous, but it is one of the great things about living out in the country. I can make sound silly and it doesn't matter!
2. The drywall delivery truck. It was worth buying the drywall just to see that boom work. It seemed like it could stretch forever. I had a blast watching one of the guys strap on the wireless remote controls and manipulate the arm so that it put the drywall just outside the upstairs door, then tilted it sideways so the crew could easily pull it off and drop it in place. Even more amazing to watch was the driver back that huge truck and trailer (I'd guess the truck was 40' long, with the trailer sticking out another 20 feet) back down the entire driveway. I thought for sure they would get stuck at the creek.
3. I got the job at Duke!! I hope I'm not building it up too much, but this is could easily be the job that I was hoping for when I decided to go to law school -- environmental policy work, national and international scope. I had almost given up on finding a job that I was really passionate about in the Triangle. I was wrong about my chances at getting this job every step of the way. I almost didn't apply since I don't have climate change experience. Then I thought I blew the first interview. Then I felt like I did a great job at the second round of interviews but didn't hear back for so long that I gave up. I was so neurotic about it that I wouldn't answer my phone for the three weeks after the second interview if it was a 919 number that I didn't recognize, hoping it was Duke. When they finally did call, I was trying to figure out who it could be since every other time it had been someone else. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful when the phone rang yesterday, but I was trying to prepare myself for disappointment. I keep have waves of pride rush over me -- the same kind of pride as when I got into Georgetown and when I received an offer from Foley Hoag -- the pride that comes from accomplishing something that you weren't sure you could do and logic suggests you can't. Thanks to everyone who believed in me.
2. The drywall delivery truck. It was worth buying the drywall just to see that boom work. It seemed like it could stretch forever. I had a blast watching one of the guys strap on the wireless remote controls and manipulate the arm so that it put the drywall just outside the upstairs door, then tilted it sideways so the crew could easily pull it off and drop it in place. Even more amazing to watch was the driver back that huge truck and trailer (I'd guess the truck was 40' long, with the trailer sticking out another 20 feet) back down the entire driveway. I thought for sure they would get stuck at the creek.
3. I got the job at Duke!! I hope I'm not building it up too much, but this is could easily be the job that I was hoping for when I decided to go to law school -- environmental policy work, national and international scope. I had almost given up on finding a job that I was really passionate about in the Triangle. I was wrong about my chances at getting this job every step of the way. I almost didn't apply since I don't have climate change experience. Then I thought I blew the first interview. Then I felt like I did a great job at the second round of interviews but didn't hear back for so long that I gave up. I was so neurotic about it that I wouldn't answer my phone for the three weeks after the second interview if it was a 919 number that I didn't recognize, hoping it was Duke. When they finally did call, I was trying to figure out who it could be since every other time it had been someone else. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful when the phone rang yesterday, but I was trying to prepare myself for disappointment. I keep have waves of pride rush over me -- the same kind of pride as when I got into Georgetown and when I received an offer from Foley Hoag -- the pride that comes from accomplishing something that you weren't sure you could do and logic suggests you can't. Thanks to everyone who believed in me.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Bees (this posting dedicated to Dad)
I hate to admit that I have been ignoring the ladies for a while now, focusing all of my energy on my little tower. It paid off -- I passed my plumbing and electrical rough-in inspections on the first round (more in another post). Luckily, bees don't require daily care. I had thought about splitting one of the hives, and still might if it's not too late, but haven't gotten around to it.
Despite my neglect, I promised Dad that I would finally post the pictures of he, Kai, and I playing with them when Dad was out here in April. The poor guy did get stung a few times, after all. I wanted to move the hives away from the house site -- they were harassing me every now and then and I didn't want visitors to be scared away (I get so few of them as it is!). I made Dad hang out with me until almost dark, when most of the bees were back in the hive for the night, then tried again to strap them together. Needless to say, I wasn't successful. They shifted while driving them to the new site, so Dad and I ended up carrying two very heavy hives with some very angry bees swarming around us. I didn't realize it, but the gloves I bought for guests are a lot shorter than my regular ones, and Dad was too stubborn to mention it. At least one angry little lady found her way into his sleeve and went to town on him. For some reason, he feels like a few tiny stings (leading to huge purple bruises on his arm) give him a special connection to the whole beekeeping adventure. Seeing as I will be putting him to work again in a few weeks when he comes to visit, I figure I had better go ahead and appease him.
Despite my neglect, I promised Dad that I would finally post the pictures of he, Kai, and I playing with them when Dad was out here in April. The poor guy did get stung a few times, after all. I wanted to move the hives away from the house site -- they were harassing me every now and then and I didn't want visitors to be scared away (I get so few of them as it is!). I made Dad hang out with me until almost dark, when most of the bees were back in the hive for the night, then tried again to strap them together. Needless to say, I wasn't successful. They shifted while driving them to the new site, so Dad and I ended up carrying two very heavy hives with some very angry bees swarming around us. I didn't realize it, but the gloves I bought for guests are a lot shorter than my regular ones, and Dad was too stubborn to mention it. At least one angry little lady found her way into his sleeve and went to town on him. For some reason, he feels like a few tiny stings (leading to huge purple bruises on his arm) give him a special connection to the whole beekeeping adventure. Seeing as I will be putting him to work again in a few weeks when he comes to visit, I figure I had better go ahead and appease him.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
the ladies have arrived
After years of wanting bees, I finally picked up a couple of hives today. Boy were those girls pissed off by the time they arrived! I had to drive to Thomasville to get them, so the drive back was about and hour and fifteen minutes of them vibrating in the back of the truck. I hadn't thought through the process for how I would get them to the spot I had chosen for them. It really started to worry me when I was carrying them to the truck with the help of the seller. They were heavy! A full brood chamber and a super each -- I'd guess well over 100 pounds.
I tried calling a couple of people, but no one was available, so I bit the bullet and carried them by myself -- injured hand and all. (It was fascinating to listen to the hives hum when they were still in the truck) . The first hive went fine. It was heavy, but manageable. The second hive -- the one that was so full of bees that they were congregating outside when I went to pick them up -- was much heavier. I got it to the spot ok, but then couldn't get it low enough. I had to just go down and hope the cinder blocks were underneath (did I mention it was dark?). They weren't. I ended up slowly leaning the hive over, which created a gap between the brood chamber and the super. The bees immediately came pouring out, even more pissed now that their home had been turned sideways in addition to being transported across the state. They didn't attack me, at least not right away. I left them alone for a few minutes after setting the hive upright. I still needed to remove the piece blocking the entrance on both hives. After doing that, I knew I should probably just leave it until tomorrow, but I just couldn't let it go. So I kept going back and finally got it on the cinder blocks and removed the entrance blocker. Oh yeah, Mr Fritts had stuffed some foam rubber into a gap at the entrance to seal it all the way, and that was the first piece that came off. The bees started pouring out of that, too.
I was a little worried watching the bees just cluster all over the front and sides. On the other hive, the bees were clustering, too, but nowhere near as many.
I hope the second hive doesn't decide that the trauma of the move and being sideways for a couple of minutes is just too much and decide to swarm. This shows how much I have to learn. Does that sort of thing cause swarming? Hopefully I won't find out tomorrow. Just in case, I put my new hive just in front of the troubled one in hopes that they would choose the new one if they did swarm. I have heard of that happening. (The picture was taken after I finished painting them a few days ago. I like the yellow much better. White hives are boring.)
I got stung a couple of times on my neck. All in all, a bit more drama than I had expected on my first night as a beekeeper, but the drama was my fault. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the girls will forgive me tomorrow.
Some misc pictures from my first real experience with bees -- helping my new mentor Randall work his bees last month. We set up a nuc for me after finding some queen cells, but the hive didn't make it.
I tried calling a couple of people, but no one was available, so I bit the bullet and carried them by myself -- injured hand and all. (It was fascinating to listen to the hives hum when they were still in the truck) . The first hive went fine. It was heavy, but manageable. The second hive -- the one that was so full of bees that they were congregating outside when I went to pick them up -- was much heavier. I got it to the spot ok, but then couldn't get it low enough. I had to just go down and hope the cinder blocks were underneath (did I mention it was dark?). They weren't. I ended up slowly leaning the hive over, which created a gap between the brood chamber and the super. The bees immediately came pouring out, even more pissed now that their home had been turned sideways in addition to being transported across the state. They didn't attack me, at least not right away. I left them alone for a few minutes after setting the hive upright. I still needed to remove the piece blocking the entrance on both hives. After doing that, I knew I should probably just leave it until tomorrow, but I just couldn't let it go. So I kept going back and finally got it on the cinder blocks and removed the entrance blocker. Oh yeah, Mr Fritts had stuffed some foam rubber into a gap at the entrance to seal it all the way, and that was the first piece that came off. The bees started pouring out of that, too.
I was a little worried watching the bees just cluster all over the front and sides. On the other hive, the bees were clustering, too, but nowhere near as many.
I hope the second hive doesn't decide that the trauma of the move and being sideways for a couple of minutes is just too much and decide to swarm. This shows how much I have to learn. Does that sort of thing cause swarming? Hopefully I won't find out tomorrow. Just in case, I put my new hive just in front of the troubled one in hopes that they would choose the new one if they did swarm. I have heard of that happening. (The picture was taken after I finished painting them a few days ago. I like the yellow much better. White hives are boring.)
I got stung a couple of times on my neck. All in all, a bit more drama than I had expected on my first night as a beekeeper, but the drama was my fault. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the girls will forgive me tomorrow.
Some misc pictures from my first real experience with bees -- helping my new mentor Randall work his bees last month. We set up a nuc for me after finding some queen cells, but the hive didn't make it.
Sunday bloody Sunday
Last Sun was probably the hardest day I have had thus far. Emotionally, not physically. Mom and Peter came out to help, and I apparently had unreasonable expectations yet again. Mom and Peter got their work done, but I couldn't seem to accomplish anything. The first setback was slicing my hand on the termite shied as I was finishing the trench for the pump wires.
Next, I didn't have the right size conduit. Then I forgot to put the clamp on before fitting the elbow joints on my water pipe. Anyway, blah, blah. I got cranky.
Peter came close to finishing the framing for the new washroom. A few weeks ago it occurred to me that I had it in the wrong place. It made sense when I was going to have a back door, but since I abandoned that idea, putting it in the middle of the workroom took away a lot of usable space. Now it is in the back corner and it feels much better.
Finally, we put the frame up for the front deck. One of the inspectors suggested doing this before pouring the footers so I could be sure they were set in the right place. He didn't say how that was actually done, though. I wasn't worried since Peter was there. He rigged up a few boards here and there and it went up in no time.
Next, I didn't have the right size conduit. Then I forgot to put the clamp on before fitting the elbow joints on my water pipe. Anyway, blah, blah. I got cranky.Peter came close to finishing the framing for the new washroom. A few weeks ago it occurred to me that I had it in the wrong place. It made sense when I was going to have a back door, but since I abandoned that idea, putting it in the middle of the workroom took away a lot of usable space. Now it is in the back corner and it feels much better.
Finally, we put the frame up for the front deck. One of the inspectors suggested doing this before pouring the footers so I could be sure they were set in the right place. He didn't say how that was actually done, though. I wasn't worried since Peter was there. He rigged up a few boards here and there and it went up in no time.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
funny story about that drill
I can’t remember if I ever wrote about my poor drill. Funny story. Sort of. The day before my pre siding inspection, I was about 25 feet up on a ladder installing the last window. My drill stopped working. I couldn’t believe it. After fidgeting with it and then getting pissed off, I decided I had to go get a new one. Calm and rational at this point (seriously), I decide that since the drill isn’t working, I might as well get out some frustration. Again, calmly and rationally, I throw the drill to the ground. Hard. I didn’t actually mean to break the handle, but didn’t mind when that is what happened. Fast forward – I bought the new drill, got back on the ladder, then my new drill started doing the same thing. I immediately figured out what was wrong (the switch between the “drill” and “screwdriver” settings wasn’t quite engaged). I looked down at my poor broken drill, then to the new $100 drill in my hand, laughed, then finished installing the window.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Getting by with some help from my friends (and girlfriend, and mother)
Ellen learns to use a nail gun and miter saw! Before coming out to help, her idea of "building" was hiring a crew. Now she's ready to do a new addition all on her own.
Rebecca shows off her mad carpentry skills. She had no idea what she was getting into when we met for lunch that day.
Michele is an old hand at all of this now. Changing angles, flipping boards around. I just yell measurements and she delivers the boards.
And my fearless mother joins me on the latter. We don't have a picture of it, but she helped me put the up the boards under the eaves, high on a ladder, holding up a long board over her head, and never complaining about her crazy son who keeps getting her into situations like that. Love you, Mom!
Rebecca shows off her mad carpentry skills. She had no idea what she was getting into when we met for lunch that day.
Michele is an old hand at all of this now. Changing angles, flipping boards around. I just yell measurements and she delivers the boards.
And my fearless mother joins me on the latter. We don't have a picture of it, but she helped me put the up the boards under the eaves, high on a ladder, holding up a long board over her head, and never complaining about her crazy son who keeps getting her into situations like that. Love you, Mom!
Spring has sprung
I have had such a good time watching the land come back to life this Spring. First there were there waves of frogs, then a few little buds came out, then I leave for a week and the colors have exploded. The red buds and dogwoods are blooming and there are splashes of red and white in every direction throughout the woods. (I wish the pictures were better) A few butterflies are floating around. Birds are singing. And to top it off, I am starting to pull ticks off of me again. No chiggers yet (knocking on wood).
Lauren and Kai - pics from way back
Once again, it has been a while since I posted anything. Not a whole lot has changed with my little construction project. The siding is on, but otherwise it looks about the same. Pics of the siding are coming.
The exciting thing is that Spring is here. The dogwoods and red buds are in bloom, butterflies are starting to appear, and tonight I saw the first fire flys of the season. I also saw my first wild turkey.
Anyway, this post is not about Spring. It is about Lauren and Kai painting the tin before it went up. Notice the green spot on Kai's forehead. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut when Lauren accidentally got a spot of paint on her forehead. I think he learned his lesson!
The fact that it took me such an embarrassingly long time to get these developed, and in the meantime allowed the old film to get hot and cold in the trunk, convinced me to finally bite the bullet and buy the digital SLR camera that I have been coveting in one form or another for years.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
First step with wiring
I finally realized that I wasn't going to be able to figure out all of the wiring by drawing it out, so I bought a bunch of colored string and stapled it up where the various wires will go. Hopefully I can just follow the strings as I run the wires. Stay tuned ...
I passed another inspection on Friday
I passed the pre-siding inspection on Friday.
Then Kai came out on Sat to help with the last step before putting on the siding. I had been struggling with how best to attach the siding to the building. Libby and Larry put 1/2 inch strips of cedar on top of the particle board then nailed the siding to that, giving them a full inch of wood to hold the siding. I had originally planned to nail horizontal 2x4s between the studs, but that was when I was still using the chainsaw for everything and didn't have the nail gun. In other words, it was way, way too time consuming. I only put a few boards up before I abandoned the project, putting the decision off until later. As with many of these decisions, I put it off until I had to deal with it, which is now. I decided not to go with the extra 1/2 of material, primarily because it would have made installing the windows a bit more challenging. The siding is already 1 inch thick. Putting an extra 1/2 doesn't sound like much, but since I was installing replacement windows (without window sills or framing), it would have been challenging to make it look ok, and especially challenging for me since I was making it up as I went along with the windows.
After scratching that idea off the list, I tried to convince myself that I could just nail the siding into the particle board, maybe bending each nail down to prevent the siding from pulling away from the building. My gut knew that was a dumb idea, but I wanted it to work.
Finally, I went back to plan #1. With Kai helping (along with a nail gun, generator, and chopsaw), we got it done in a few hours. Thanks, little brother!
Jack came out to visit, too.
Then Kai came out on Sat to help with the last step before putting on the siding. I had been struggling with how best to attach the siding to the building. Libby and Larry put 1/2 inch strips of cedar on top of the particle board then nailed the siding to that, giving them a full inch of wood to hold the siding. I had originally planned to nail horizontal 2x4s between the studs, but that was when I was still using the chainsaw for everything and didn't have the nail gun. In other words, it was way, way too time consuming. I only put a few boards up before I abandoned the project, putting the decision off until later. As with many of these decisions, I put it off until I had to deal with it, which is now. I decided not to go with the extra 1/2 of material, primarily because it would have made installing the windows a bit more challenging. The siding is already 1 inch thick. Putting an extra 1/2 doesn't sound like much, but since I was installing replacement windows (without window sills or framing), it would have been challenging to make it look ok, and especially challenging for me since I was making it up as I went along with the windows.
After scratching that idea off the list, I tried to convince myself that I could just nail the siding into the particle board, maybe bending each nail down to prevent the siding from pulling away from the building. My gut knew that was a dumb idea, but I wanted it to work.
Finally, I went back to plan #1. With Kai helping (along with a nail gun, generator, and chopsaw), we got it done in a few hours. Thanks, little brother!
Jack came out to visit, too.
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