Recent Events

A lot has happened in the past couple weeks -- but very little of it was garage-related...

On Monday, August 30, Steve W rigged up a pulley system in the garage for Josh's little sailboat. He and John managed to get the boat through the side door to test it out.
Unfortunately, the boat was quite a bit heavier than anticipated, so it's back to the drawing board...
There's very little lawn left in the back yard, what with the construction around the garage, the trench for the electrical connection, and the area under where the boats were stored. We'll have to re-seed -- or re-sod -- when it's all done.
Meanwhile, the stucco crew finished the second coat on the exterior of the garage. It's been dry and sunny here for the past few weeks, so they've been able to work much more quickly than they could on the house.
On Thursday, Sept 2, Rob and John suited up to install insulation along the south wall of the garage. Because it is close to the property line, the building code requires that it be a 1-hour fire-rated wall. Basically, if there were a fire in our garage, it would take an hour for it to burn through that wall and spread to our neighbor's property -- which should allow enough time for the fire department to put it out.

I can assure you that both Rob and John were smiling when they posed for this photo.
Here's what the interior of the garage looked like when they were finished.
They also installed a ventilation fan just under the roof. It is attached to a thermostat, so when the temperature reaches a pre-set level (100 degrees), it automatically turns on and blows the hot air out of the garage. That will definitely come in handy in the summertime.
Over Labor Day weekend, the stucco crew returned and applied the final layer of stucco to match the house. Here's what the garage looks like now.
OK, so that's what's happened garage-wise since my last post. What was the other stuff I was referring to?

Well, I think I've mentioned that I work at Discovery. On Wednesday, September 1, a deranged activist named James Lee walked into the lobby of our building and held three people hostage for nearly 4 hours. He was ultimately shot to death by the police, and everyone escaped from the building unharmed, but it was a terrifying afternoon for everyone who works there, including myself. We're all still a little shell-shocked from the experience, and it certainly didn't help to see a man walking up and down the street outside our building a week later with a big sign that said, "JAMES LEE WAS RIGHT." I'm all for freedom of speech, but that crossed a line.

We also spent Labor Day weekend up in Chatham, MA with some of Josh's cousins. Unfortunately, it was looking like Hurricane Earl had the same idea. We closely monitored the tracking and weather forecasts, and it looked like Earl was going to hit Cape Cod that Friday night, right when we were scheduled to arrive. Because I had been given Friday off, we were able to switch to an earlier flight, and got in well before Earl. Josh's cousins had already put up the storm windows, brought in the outdoor furniture, and stocked up on candles, batteries, and bottled water, so we were pretty well prepared. We did get some heavy rain and strong winds, but it was no worse than a big thunderstorm. I think everyone was a but disappointed when we woke up the next morning to a beautiful, sunny day with no signs of any hurricane damage.

It was a fun visit, but it was bittersweet as it was our last opportunity to stay at the family's summer home there. It's been in the family since 1925, but it was sold earlier this year and is slated to be torn down next fall. Josh and I have been there nearly every summer since 1996, and have many fond memories from our time on the cape. It's like losing a member of the family. Goodbye, Starboard Light. We'll miss you...