Avian drama, car drama and natural art

Friday the contractors arrived at 7:30, all ready to finish the stucco, and the kitchen.

I'm told this will dry lighter.

So much cooler that  I picked a few flowers for a bouquet.

It's guarded by a white hound, Herendt porcelain, usually to be found on a high shelf in the kitchen. 

Then I gladly escaped for a walk, and found myself in an avian drama. I'd heard a Carolina wren singing and getting responses. 

See on the roof there. He's there. Really. 

Then I saw another wren in a nearby  arborvitae bush, both unconcerned about me, but both shouting a range of songs. Then a male cardinal flew out of the bush, pursued by one of the wrens down the street. I think maybe he was intruding on their nest site. Wrens are fierce defenders of their nests. 

I've seen them take down a squirrel in a similar drama, one pecking his head, one his tail, till he was happy to escape, with them pursuing him for a couple of hundred yards.

That was a good year because their nest was on our patio and we didn't see another squirrel for months. The nest was a beautiful piece of architecture which the children's department of the library accepted for their nature corner.

The recent torrential rains have made lichen flourish 

And the cloudy weather means the morning glories stay open a bit longer.

And the complications with the car continue. We had another round of  texts and emails. They processed an upwardly revised claim, will send the difference directly to the body shop. I was in touch with them.  That's sorted, finally.

Meanwhile Gary was trying to get someone to help him retrieve the car  I'm stuck here because of the contractor needing me to be present for payment, and the other friend is in India. Timing! We did manage it and the car's  home again, looking very nice.

I'm starting the yes2next August challenge, saves thinking about what video next. Numbers refer to their YouTube videos.

Happy day everyone, keep fit, guard your home and your rights! Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Better walls for old, Misfits

I discovered in the course of Wednesday's work the reason the outer wall broke through so easily.

What we had, reading inside to out was: sheetrock, insulation batts, vapor barrier, stucco. Notice what's missing? Original builders cutting serious corners here 

What we have now is: sheetrock, insulation batts, plywood sheathing, vapor barrier, then stucco to come. 

I could have had more damage to the car, less to the house, if it had been complete. It's very typical that what you do to a development house is going to be better than the original materials. In this case actually better construction.

Then I got an idea. This base cabinet I used for baking sheets had to come out to repair the wall. Here's the space 

And the cabinet. Instead of reinstalling it I think contractor friend Mike can work with me on a better use. The cabinet has a useless shelf in the back where you can't reach anything. I can just not reinstall it and we can see. The flooring will be in there and the wall painted.  So there's no mad rush.

Thursday Misfits had to work differently. But I did get the bag and ice returns out for pickup while I had access to the freezer where I store them week to week.

I hoped the driver would find his bag among all the stuff that joined it.

I started an allergic reaction to the spackling in the kitchen, so in addition to the eye drops and nose drops, seasonal repertoire, I added an allergy pill. The I went upstairs to read, and woke two hours later to find the Misfits box had been delivered and kindly brought into the house.

So I figured out an alternate way of washing the fruit without access to the kitchen, and drying them.

The other grocery items are in the living room for now. I managed to get the yogurt and tofu into the fridge.

And Thursday the effects of the moving stuff and climbing started to decrease. Because I couldn't get out to walk, I'd kind of seized up, stiff and aching. I did a balance vid with April and Aiko, then ibuprofen and ice.  That worked.

The reduction in humidity helped, too. My hair loves humidity, bones not so enthusiastic. 

Not a great heat reduction, but I did get an early walk.

And the coreopsis is doing fine, considering she's a random seed result. The lacy foliage is from her.

The leafy foliage is honesty, possibly. Not a successful year up to now. Neighbors already have dried seedpods which I'd like to swipe but it's in their front yard, hmm.

The afternoon's rain saved my watering. Also put pressure on the contractors to finish the outer wall.

This is a good time to make cordage, the ambient air not too dry.  I did get the materials from the kitchen where I left them.

Happy day everyone. That supposedly non drowsy pill has left me very relaxed or maybe I'm just tired.  Either way I'm going to have a bowl of cereal and blueberries, easiest lunch prep on a building site.

My eldest brother was a bricklayer in his yoof and, in winter, lunch was the regular sandwich, but toasted, over an open fire on the site, on a shovel!  

Except the time he took the wrong bag and found he was facing the stale crusts my mom had saved for the greengrocer's horse. Late forties, a lot of horse-drawn food deliveries, no gasoline for trucks. His pals on the site were asking him what he'd done to annoy his mom.

Take the right lunch, you'll be glad 

And to everyone's surprise suddenly it's August. Well I've had better months of July, so it's okay.

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