For the first time since I've been here, we actually had an earthquake last night that was strong enough to shift a picture hanging on our wall. I heard it, but somehow couldn't actually feel it, although Beth and Bella did. Wierd....

Chris wins "best friend ever" award!!!

So when we moved into our house, Beth and I had to wait for the old owners to install new windows in the bedrooms to meet firecode requirements of a 24" opening before they could legally transfer the deed. We actually tried to just have them order the windows, cut holes in the walls (meeting the emergency exit requirement) and leave the rest to us, but to no avail. Anyway, it turns out that in the interest of time they attached the windows to the siding of our house, rather than the house itself. This meant that with the trim off on the inside, you could actually see the inside of our siding through the cracks. No wonder those two rooms were the chilliest in the house last winter!

So yesterday our friend Chris came over to help us with a project of taking out the windows, cutting away the siding, and re-installing the windows properly in their frames. We started work around 9:30 am by pulling off some of the treated wood siding to reveal..... more siding! I can see why this siding was covered up, too, since it was sea-foam green. Anyway, you can chose your own metaphor (tree rings, everlasting gobstopper, 500 hats of Bartholemew Cubbins), but the task was no different, it just involved taking off a second layer of siding. However, as we did this, we revealed that the underlying particle board was soft and crumbly the way you would want the topping of an apple crisp to be, although not how you would want the exterior wall of your house. Suddenly the task grew from "put windows back in holes and screw in" to "rebuild entire front wall of house then you can worry about putting those windows back in, but maybe get used to having those big holes in the front of your house for awhile."

So, while Chris kept working on the siding, Beth and I made a quick trip to Home Depot (where I should probably be having my paychecks direct-deposited) for more supplies and to Burger King for fuel. We had ourselves a nice little lunch break warmed by our backyard fire pit (gotta get rid of that old siding and particle board somehow!) and then it was back to work. The plan was that Chris and I would hold a sheet of plywood up to the house and get it positioned just right, then Beth (from the inside) would trace the window opening on the wood and we would cut it to size. Then out comes the framing nailer and bingo-bango, on to the next sheet. Once we got all of the plywood up, we covered everything with waterproof 1/2 inch foam insulation and taped up all the seams.

I should mention that all day long we were bringing wheelbarrow loads of siding, etc, back to the fire pit and adding more to the fire itself, which kind of made it feel like camping. It was a good reminder of the need to keep working, because until the windows were back in we sorta were camping. Anyway, we'd usually take an extra minute or two on each trip back there to throw a ball for Bella, who was a bit nervous about all of our activity (electrical saws and nailguns especially) not to mention the occasional pop of our neighbors' fireworks, which helped to calm her down and probably did a lot to keepsus calm, too.

So by about 5:15 we had all of the plywood and insulation up and sealed, and getting the windows back in actually went really smoothly. We caulked the edges (no more drafts!), rested the windows in the frames (where they belong!) and just generally attached the things to the structure of the house itself (aka correctly!) instead of the siding (boooooo!). There was still plenty of cleanup to do, indoors and out, but we got through it pretty quickly. All told we we're done right around 7, although without Chris spending 10 hours of his Saturday engaged in hard labor for no compensation, I can imagine that I would be outside still attaching plywood instead of sitting at the computer sipping some coffee.

Then we grilled burgers!

(pictures to follow)

5' 9.25"

I’ve been looking for a good doctor since I moved to Anchorage, so yesterday I had my first appointment with Dr. Kaltenborn. Being a first appointment, there was much medical history to discuss and many measurements to be made. My blood pressure was 114/60 (normal), my pulse was 44 bpm (freakishly athletic (he assumes with no intention of verifying this)) and, most importantly, I’m 5’ 9¼” tall.

Despite the fact that until last year my driver’s license listed me as 5’ 11” (the legacy of an optimistic 16-year-old with a tall father and flipper feet), my official height has been 5’ 8¾“ ever since I reluctantly admitted that I had stopped growing. And to tell the truth, although 5’ 8¾“ was a bit disappointing compared to my dad at 6’ 1” or when thinking about those flipper feet (seriously, I was 5’ tall and 95 pounds soaking wet with size 11 shoes!), once you put my 5’ 1” mother (herself long underestimated at 5’ flat) in the picture I was plenty happy with my height.

But 5’ 9¼“ is a whole new ballgame. That’s right on par with the average American man (5’ 9½“), to say nothing of how it towers over your basic Indonesian (just 5’ 2½“)! Suddenly, the driver’s seat feels too close to the wheel and the top shelf (that’s where grandma keeps the good stuff!) seems more reachable. I just hope I can still cram myself into our Queen-sized bed, that it’s not too expensive to have all of my clothes altered, and that my newly-raised center of gravity doesn’t leave me susceptible to being pushed over by the slightest breeze.

Come to think of it, there may be some trickle-down effects to my newfound stature as well. For instance, Beth finally gets to be 5’ 9” tall, after years of my rejecting that claim as impossible. I mean, I knew I was taller, but who would have thought that I was the one who was wrong here?

Anyway, it’s basically all pretty awesome from my (elevated) perspective. Oh, and to all the tall people out there who are smugly thinking to themselves that this is no big deal: shut up or I’ll punch your knees.

Back online...

Well, I've been pretty much slacking my ass off with this blog for the past few months, although I like to think I've got a handful of pretty good excuses. Anyway, I've been wanting to recommit to it for a little while and now I've gotten over some little technical problems that were in my way. So get ready blogosphere, cause I'm back!

By the way, does anybody read this thing? Give a shout in the comments section if you do. If not, I'm fine writing for myself, but it'd be nice to know you're out there...

BTW: I passed, suckers!!!

That's it. Beers at McGinley's today at 4:30.

Spring is Here(ish)

The days are getting longer fast, with about 5.5 minutes longer every day. Given the way our timezone is situated (solar noon is at 2:06 pm today) sunset is now at about 8:30, and we'll need blackout curtains in our bedroom within another week or two. High temperatures are above freezing most days and our snow is finally disappearing. This past weekend was warm enough that I spent about an hour and a half outside in shorts and a tshirt, although I lose some points on that for the fact that I was shoveling snow and ice at the time.

Anyway, winter here lasts for so long that by the time the snow is really gone from the neighborhood we're going to be having 16 hours of sunlight, so just imagine how quickly things change as the plants react to that change. Can't wait to see green again!

Also a winter's worth of dog poop melts all at once and apparently thats what my neighborhood will smell like for a couple of weeks. Hopefully that will coincide with the onset of allergies and clogged sinuses.

It’s 9:30
Only 2 hours to lunch
If I eat an hour late
It’ll be 1:30 by the time I get back
People start leaving at 4:00
That’s only a bit over 2 hours after I’ll be back from lunch
I only leave an hour later than that
This day’s flying by
Why is it only 9:31?