The View from the Outhouse

Hello from Silty Slough. I woke up at 6am to put more wood in the stove. Still haven’t resorted to using the propane boiler. 25 degrees outside this morning. Can’t see the river yet to check on the ice. It will be daylight in several more hours.

The cell still isn’t working. This is the longest I can remember it being out. Maybe the cell tower repair man is in Florida helping those people out. If so I understand and I’m fine with that. I’m beginning to think it is my phone. Ever so often a stray roaming signal pops up, but it is too weak to do anything. Must be from the Willow or Anchorage area towers. I know you must be tired of me whining about it. If you are, just give me a call.

An airplane flew over yesterday and made a couple circles. Some is checking on me. Probably the guy that has been calling about my extended car warranty. At least he could see that there are no roads and no cars here. Still no chicken sandwiches or root beer floats falling from the sky.

I have managed to get some meaningful work done other than the necessary cabin chores to keep the heat and lights on and meals on the table. Yesterday I adjusted the shims around the front door to get it just right. I have learned a few things in my 70 trips around the sun on this big ball. Some being how to use a highlighter and how to tear long computer printer outputs into even sheets when I was flying at the airline. Now laser printers have made it another one of aviations lost arts. Another thing I learned, I think by watching an episode of “This Old House” is how to hang a door. I take the time to get it square and plumb, and the margins adjusted so it closes and seals just right. I also adjust the seal on the threshold so no air passes under the door. So what happens, the first person through steps on the threshold. After a while with people walking on it all the time you can throw a cat through the crack under the door. A major propane leak and at todays prices I can see dollar bills blowing out under the door into the wind. Besides it is unsightly to have a threshold that looks like a swayback horse. People get it right, you step over the threshold, not on the threshold. Google it. Everyone should know this. You carry a new bride over the threshold, not on the threshold, don’t you? Light airplanes have placards on places that you aren’t supposed to walk on. They say “No Step”. I’ll have to get some on order for my doorways.

When I got the door just right, I decided to seal all the gaps around the downstairs doors, windows, and anywhere the insulators couldn’t get to. Bring out the canned foam, the window and door, the non expanding kind. Truly a misnomer. It says somewhere in the fine print to fill the gaps to 50%. But this is the “non expanding” variety. I have seen the expanding foam used before and it consumed most of the wall and made the windows and doors so tight you couldn’t open them. Might be a good prank in a divorce, if any of the ceremonies performed at the Silty Slough Wedding Chapel should take a turn south. Anyway, I guess I could have filled the gaps a little more than 50%, maybe 90% to stop all that cold from getting in. More is better, right? I went upstairs to have a cup of tea with Cooper and Teddy since the pets are the only ones I have to talk to other than myself right now. At least I think they agree with most of my opinions. Oden the cat talks to me, but usually he is ordering me around. Piper the only female here has a soft quiet voice. She grew up around Moochie and begs for table food like a dog. They are all good company right now.

Back downstairs and holy moly, the foam has risen like loaves of bread around the windows. I guess like in some other cases, more is not better. About a third of the foam is where it needs to be sealing the gaps. One of my tasks today it to trim the other two thirds off before the woman comes home and sees how much expensive foam I’ve wasted. I’ll fill the upstairs gaps at 50% or less.

The last project for the day was to remove the temporary construction stairway to make room for the finished one. Not sure if Cooper and Teddy comprehend what the old guy was doing. Now we have this 4 foot wide gaping hole in the floor and no steps to bounce the ball down and retrieve it when dad is too busy to play.

Just waiting for the internet to be available so I can draw the details in AutoCAD to get the new stairs just right so the ball will bounce perfectly. I learned about stairs from Bob and Norm, no actually I bought a couple books and read them when I did the mahogany stairway at our old house in Chugiak.

8 am and still dark. I think I’ll take a short nap. Hope I don’t have a nightmare about expanding foam consuming the whole house. Maybe I’ll put some in one of Kari’s bread pans and let it rise into a nice looking loaf. I’ll start with 50%.

Just waist’in away in “No Service” land.

Wait’in for the helicopter to fly over.

From Silty Slough, I wish you well, my friends.

Thank you Lord for my pets.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

This and all previous posts are at www.siltyslough.com