The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey July 21, 2013

It ain't a Dry Heat.

It's been, finally, much like a DC summer for the last couple of weeks. The rain stopped coming, except for pop-up thunderstorms that miss us, north or south. Heat and humidity are the order of the day, every day. We were supposed to have a front through last night, and cooler temps behind, but there was no rain for us, and it was 90+ by nine in the morning. However, finally, some significant amounts of tomatoes are coming out of the garden (though mostly still cherry, but you won't hear me complain, they're yummy): A couple of other tomatoes, some…

Brian Bilbrey July 14, 2013

Summer Doldrums

The heat and humidity have properly settled in, here in the formerly malarial DC Metro area. I'm trying not to let it slow me down. I took a few hours off work on Friday, and spent most of them working in the wood shop. I final-sanded all of the carcasses, drawer boxes, and fronts. Then I hauled all of those out into the "junk" area just outside my woodshop, so that I could clean the shop up. I always build for a while, then clean massively before starting to apply finishes. It's a bit of a pain, but it keeps…

Brian Bilbrey July 7, 2013

Happy 7th of July!

I celebrated Dependence Day ('All the freedom the NSA will allow') by doing house cleaning, working in the woodshop, and slow-cooking a pork loin roast on low in the grill, with some applewood chips. Overall, we had a good four-day holiday weekend, mostly indoors since the temps and humidity were in the mid to high 90's. Sadly, though, I suffered from a brain cramp when I was setting up the hinges for the cabinet door this morning. The door is nearly square. I laid out the drilling centers, did all the work on the drill press, mounted the hinges, and…

Brian Bilbrey June 30, 2013

Half Over

What? The year's half over already? I don't recall seeing 6 full months go by! I did get a lot done this weekend. Yesterday in the yard: edging and mowing the lawns, and weeding the garden boxes. It was the only good day for the outdoor chores, as it was the only rainless day likely in the next week, and we'd had rain for the prior 8 or 9 days straight. Today, thunderstorms and downpours started before noon. Today was mostly filled with shopping, cooking, and woodworking. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these…

Brian Bilbrey June 27, 2013

Sad Zucchini

Sad Zucchini Yesterday that plant was FINE! Today, not so much, and I can't tell why. Sigh. And it's too wet (rain every day, nearly) which makes the tomatoes unhappy.