Scoakat's Blog

Hades Holiday Handbasket Rides

2026-10-17T18:08:48.098-05:00

Things seemed to go to hell in a handbasket this week. When it rains, it pours. Or if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all (- gloom, despair and agony on me). Take your pick or use your own to describe bad news and hemorrhaging money. Hang on, it's gonna be another long one.

On Wednesday afternoon I got vaccinated; the flu, covid and pneumonia shots. Flu and covid in the left shoulder and pneumonia in the right. As expected the next day, I had T. Rex arms due to my shoulders hurting so much and I generally felt like hell with joint pain, a cloudy head and a general feeling of sick and tired. This happens every year now with the covid shot, but I've had covid like 4 times now and it's worth one day of sickness to possibly not get or get shut down by covid again.

So Thursday was spent at home on a sick day, putting off things that needed to be done. One of those things was scheduling my car to get into the shop for an oil change, replace the shocks, and most likely new brakes. An expensive list this time, but it needs to be done. Then my wife got home Thursday afternoon and told me that on the way home her check engine light went on. She had parked in the driveway and it had been raining all day, so when she left her van she noticed quite the rainbow underneath, indicating a leak of some sort, so she got back in and pulled it onto the street. I was still feeling too sick to go out and look things over so I just called the service center right away and got it booked in for Monday morning, but we still had to get to then.

Early Friday morning I got up extra early to take her to work, but we had to have her car off the street for street cleaning that day. I pulled my car out then watched as she pulled her van in. There was a large spot of leakage on the road where she was parked and a robust trail left as she pulled in to the driveway. This really can't be good, and meant we should have it towed to the shop rather than try to drive it.

I still had time after dropping her off before I had to go to work, so I went back home to do a few things. It was then I hear a weird hum for a bit when I was in the kitchen. I thought it was maybe the refrigerator, but when I smelled something I had to check the furnace. I checked the thermostat and the furnace should have been running, but wasn't. So I reset everything and made it so the furnace should kick in again, then went downstairs to observe. The furnace started, I heard the gas ignite, then everything shut down. I did that twice with the same result, so I cut power to it all and went to work. Coincidentally, the coming night was to be our first below freezing.

When I got to work I texted my wife about it, discussed with some friends there, and decided it was in my best interest to have it looked at as soon as possible rather than wait to look at it again when I got home. I called a local company that I had known of and had a good feeling about but had not researched because had no time, and thankfully they could be out after I got home that afternoon.

Our furnace is from 1985, and our air conditioner is of similar age. The service man was an older gentleman who had been doing this for 45 years, he said. He knew exactly what he was looking at and did not like it. First, the blower fan was going out, which explains the squeaks we've heard from it off and on recently and why it wouldn't run when it got too warm, which apparently happened that morning. He also pointed out where exhaust had been leaking into the house and why. And why our nearby CO detectors did not go off - apparently they don't go off until it's almost too late and these smaller amounts of exhaust weren't enough set it off. We always knew we would need a new furnace at some point, and it seems we had now reached that point. When we bought the house in 2009 it had a 1 year warranty so we were hoping both the furnace and central air would die within that time, but they lasted 17 more years, until now. No, nothing really seems wrong with the central air except it's age, but it behooves us to replace it at the same time as the furnace.

The service man left us with two portable heaters that have actually come in handy, and we had one already so despite it getting below freezing overnight we've warmed the house with them and the sun today, though the outside temperature only got into the 50's ºF. On Monday there will be someone out from that service company to discuss our options, and prices, to replace both the furnace and central air. Hopefully we can get a reasonable price and have them both replaced very quickly.

At least we found out now, before got really cold in proper Wisconsin winter.

Still, some major financial hits for us in a short period of time. We will still owe a significant amount for the roof, more later. We'll have to pay for towing and an unknown amount to repair my wife's van. A new furnace, installed and with new A/C is going to be huge. And known to be significant, expensive repairs still needed to my car.

On Sunday, my wife will use my car to get to work and back so I will be stuck at home unless I walk somewhere for lunch, which is still possible. Then I have a scheduled day off on Monday that I took off originally because I had the time off to take and the Packers play on Sunday night. Since then, coincidentally, my wife also has her first back shot scheduled on Monday morning, so I'll be taking her like she's taken me for the same thing about a half a dozen times or so. She's hoping we can go out to lunch after, but she hasn't had one of these before so we'll see how she feels at that time. Later Monday afternoon the guy will be coming to discuss our furnace options, too.

Right now, I'm waiting for a call from the towing company saying their on their way to come get the van to the shop. I told them it just has to be by Monday morning, but they will likely come get it yet tonight. Probably during an important part of the Badger game this evening, with my luck. After the van is finished I will set a date with them for my car to go in for its needed repairs, and I'll need a loaner for the 2-3 days they have my car then.

Edit: They called a few minutes after posting this. You can see the trail of what he confirmed to be transmission fluid, leaking significantly. Really nice guy, though. A fellow Badger fan, and that game kicked off only a few minutes later.

At least we had a very productive day so far. We spent a few hours this morning doing needed yard work and fall cleanup outside. I spent all that time, among other things, picking up nuts, breaking up sticks for the firepit and mowing the leaves into the lawn. The gardens got some cleanup, as did the sunflowers, and the gnomes and garden decorations were cleaned up and put away. I thought I'd write about this more since we did it all this morning, but these recent events were obviously more worthy of writing about, since this is where I ended up.

Well, that was a lot. I had a New Roof II update to share as well, and I could but I will now wait a few days on that. Perhaps I'll have a meaningful response from them by then that I can share, as well. And the Brewers swept the Dodgers and are going to the World Series! I'm sure I'll have something to say about that later, too.

But for now, some tough, expensive weeks to come. No doubt I'll have more to say about it all later.

Hope your weekend and week is better and cheaper than ours, all. Cheers!

October This-And-Thats

2026-10-12T15:39:09.965-05:00

I know this is a busy few days of posting for me, so scroll down and see if you missed anything after this post. There was a night out posted on Saturday and a new Latest Listening Pleasure posted yesterday. This post will be on Monday and a New Roof II post is imminent, probably later this week. I guess I felt like writing and just had a few things I wanted to get out.

Anyway, I've had a few other random thoughts and pictures that I've wanted to share and document here, so once again it's time to start typing and see where we end up:

Heat - We had the heat on for the first time this season Friday night. Just for a few hours as the upcoming weekend temperatures were to be warm and wonderful. It's been a balancing act with not having the heat on. The house gets cooler at nights but rebounds with the sun during the day and by opening the porch, which collects heat in the sun to share with the house.

Cats - With last week getting as cool as it was, the cats warming pad was brought out. They certainly know exactly what it is and absolutely love laying on it. Thankfully, it has a timer so we don't cook them, but they lay on it even when it's not on. Gosh help us if they ever learn how to turn it on themselves.

Nuts - It has been a banner year for the neighbor's walnut trees. One of the heaviest years I've seen for nuts falling into the yard. I usually go out with the grabber to pick them up and toss them into the corner behind the lilac, and I don't remember ever having to use the rake before but I have twice now so far this year. Pull them into piles then scoop them into a bucket and dump in the corner. They will break down and the critters will be in there all fall and winter for the nuts, so the bulk will go down but I may still have to get rid of some material in the spring. By that I mean shovel that stuff into buckets to take to the dump, at least to get down to the bottom of the fence again.

Sunflower Seeds - The seeds I harvested recently are completely different than the seeds that were planted. This just confirms the hybrid theory. Mammoth Grey Stripe seeds are bigger, white and with a few black/grey stripes. These, as you can see, are smaller and pretty black though you can see some of the stripes in places. Next year I think I'll go 50/50, seeds from that first sunflower (that are getting older yet) and these black seeds from the multi-bud hybrid that I got this year. I will have to pay attention to the one-bud sunflowers next year to harvest the Mammoth or at least Mammoth-dominant seeds.

Sunflower Buds - The sunflower plants are way past their prime, yet they continue to pump the last of their energy into lots of buds. These late buds are very dark green and may not even fully open, but the plants will continue to try until the weather ends their efforts and the cleanup commences.

Halloween - The Halloween decorations have come out. We've had some pumpkins and mums on the front stoop for a couple weeks now. The day we put the mums out we saw on doorbell camera what appeared to be a homeless person steal one. My wife replaced it the next day and we've had no other issues except for nibbling from squirrels. I was reminded of something I bought for the front corner windows on sale after last Halloween, so there will be something new there this year. I've still been searching for window coverings similar to that old mummy, but I never imagined it would be so hard to replace.

Sports - The small-market Brewers had the best record in baseball again this year, won their divisional round and are now facing the big-money Dodgers again in the National League Championship Series for the right to go to the World Series. It's been a fun summer to watch the Brewers again, though my wife has seen me less. Yesterday the underdog Packers pounded the Bears 31-7. The Bears won the last two matchups last year and were obnoxious about it, so that felt good. The Packers have now beaten the Bears 110 times in this oldest rivalry in the NFL. The Badgers football team had a bye week, but have been winning since the season-opening loss to Notre Dame at Lambeau Field. Bucks preseason basketball has started, though it's a rebuilding year after trading Giannis. And Badger Hockey is starting and basketball will be soon, men's and women's for both. Even the Badger volleyball team has been hot this year. It's all fun but I'm really, really hoping the Brewers win their first World Series this year. Go Brewers!

Weather - After a week that culminated in us turning on the heat for a bit on Friday evening, it has been a beautiful, summer-like weekend. We went out for dinner on Saturday night (out in public two nights out in a row!) and Sunday was beautiful though I spent it indoors but with windows open all day. A double batch of flatbread made, the Packers game, a nap, then the Brewers game last night. Today may be our last summer-like day with temperatures up to the mid-80s ºF, with the high 30 degrees lower by the end of the week. I have nagging thoughts of fall cleanup that needs to be done, but it's still a little early for most things. At least no gutter cleaning this year.

That seems to be what I can think of for now. The seasons go faster every year, except for winter. Winter drags on every year, whether it's a harsh one or not. I hear a lot of talk about El Nino this year, but no matter. Cold or mild, snowy or not, we just have to deal with it.

Have a good week, everyone. Thank you for reading my ramblings.

Latest Listening Pleasure 41 - Electric Callboy

2026-10-11T11:20:37.885-05:00

It's been a few years since I did one of these, I think from laziness as there have been favorites that I've thought about writing up here. Måneskin was a big one that I can think of now but, of course, they've since disappeared. Rob Zombie is more than deserving of one; I really like his returning guitarist, Riggs, whose own band Scum Of The Earth was LLP 32. Wet Leg is very intriguing but we'll see when they come out with a second album. Falling In Reverse, Skynd, Wednesday 13 and Scene Queen might get here eventually. I'm older now and don't as actively seek out a 'latest and greatest' anymore, but they still find me. And I still very much enjoy all the artists that have already been in this series, varied as they may be.

Eskimo Callboy found me in 2020 when they released the song Hypa Hypa and, in fact, I did write a LLP Bonus post about them and Skynd back then. Since then, this German band has just gotten bigger and better, and have just been a joy to listen to and watch their concerts and videos. Even the behind the scenes stuff just makes me like this band and these people even more.

Here's that first one that got me - hook, line and sinker. Hypa Hypa:

Eskimo Callboy became Electric Callboy shortly after that time, and everything was updated to the new name. The band was unaware that their name was considered a slur by some, and they're just so damn wholesome that they couldn't have that so changed their name. I don't disagree, but I did recently find a Hypa Hypa tee shirt online with the old name so I bought it for posterity. It arrived this morning, actually, so I haven't even worn it yet.

I could post any of their videos here and love it similarly. We Got The Moves:

The band changed one of their singers shortly before Hypa Hypa came out, for the better in my opinion, and I've consumed everything of theirs that I could ever since. Their concerts are non-stop energy with great effects to keep everyone fully engaged and moving. I've watched so many of their shows online and watched them grow bigger as a band ever since. Last year there was even a change of drummers that was an amazing story, but would take to long to convey in this space.

There is a youtuber, Tank the Tech, that I watched now and again, and he, an American, now works for the German band full time as their tour manager, even uprooting his family to Germany. But he's related so many good stories about how they're just such good people. Truly heartwarming in this day and age, and thankfully they are so un-American it gives me hope for the world.

A much more recent favorite, though I like them all. Elevator Operator:

First and foremost, I enjoy this band's techno-metal sound and energy. Their shows are very theatrical with several costume changes with good humor sprinkled throughout everything they do, and they've had a lot of fun collaborations with other bands. But the behind the scenes personalities and stories make it just so much more enjoyable. The songs, sound, energy and positivity have easily made them one of my favorites these last six years. And likely many more to come.

Previous LLP Posts:

LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein
LLP 28 - Marilyn Manson LIVE
LLP 29 - The Harp Twins LIVE
LLP 30 - Diamante
LLP 31 - Steel Panther LIVE
LLP 32 - Scum Of The Earth

LLP 33 - Marty Friedman LIVE
LLP 34 - Buckethead LIVE
LLP 35 - Alice Cooper LIVE
LLP 36 - Poppy

LLP 37 - Code Orange

LLP 38 - Wargasm UK

LLP 39 - The Warning

LLP 40 - ZZ Top - LIVE

LLP 41 - Electric Callboy

An Inconceivable Evening

2026-10-10T13:06:25.188-05:00

My wife and I don't go out at night very often anymore, but last night we went downtown for a show - An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes. My wife's favorite movie is The Princess Bride, so I got tickets when they went on sale last spring at the historic Orpheum Theater. Even getting tickets early the lower floor was practically sold out, but I got two tickets in the second row of the balcony near center. Second row was fine with me; I'm tall and the railing is low and there's no safety net.

The movie began promptly at seven, followed by the actor and an interviewer seated center stage. He regaled us with amusing stories of filming the movie with director Rob Reiner, co-star Andre the Giant and the others. It's a fun movie and good to see it on the big screen. Overall, an enjoyable - if not inconceivable - evening.

Dreary Day & NRII Part 12

2026-10-01T14:45:11.746-05:00

Today is absolutely dreary out again, overcast and rainy all day. My wife woke up sick yesterday morning and wound up coming home early from work. I've been super fatigued all week and wound up calling in sick today. My wife has more symptoms and I only have that feeling of malaise, though I've been doing all the supplements this week to ward off any sickness. Normally, when I have a virus I can 'taste' it. Most don't quite understand that, I don't think, but apart from the feeling I have I do not have that. Hopefully it doesn't get to that and I can get back to normal sooner than later.

Like the picture a few posts ago, you can see all the plants have gone past their summer prime. The lawn needs mowing but it's too wet and I'm too tired anyway, so it will likely get done this weekend. The weather, wet or not, has been in the 60's ºF and that looks to continue, but the nights look to get colder, into the low 40's ºF, but thankfully not lower yet.

A couple updates on the new roof saga to share:

On Thursday, 9/24, I received text from someone at the roofing company saying that Isaac told them it was ready for a final walkthrough and asked to set up a time. I replied that Isaac was mistaken. I was dealing with Matt now and am still not satisfied. I also said the communication with and apparently within their company was lacking. The next day I received an apology, and Matt was out of office until the next Tuesday but they would check with him. Speaking of Matt, I've still not heard from him since I emailed him on 9/22. I've still not been up to see the overhanging shingle trimming, but will have to do that this weekend.

On a better note; yesterday, 9/30, salesman Tony copied me on an email to my insurance company with pictures they found of the old roof being removed with the ice/water barrier that was present. I still have to reply to add the broken window that was missed on the initial claim, but that will be done soon. Still no word from Matt since I met him on 9/1. "Watch your email," he told me as we parted that day. It is now a month later and I've heard nothing back. I have no idea when or how they intend to complete the issues. If we get to completion I will be asking for a considerable consideration on the bill, which may determine if I am satisfied or if I will be leaving an honest review on every platform possible.

Every day, still, you can hear the sound of nail guns in the background anywhere outside on this side of town. If I had to do it all over I would have waited until spring to hire someone. Right now, they're all looking to get in, get out, get on to the next and hope no one looks too close. I mean, really, how could even a day laborer start the first row of shingles halfway covering the gutter?

Stay tuned, or not, but this may continue for some time yet. The timeline doesn't bother me so much as the shoddy workmanship, horrendous communication, and broken promises. I was promised premium work and didn't get it. I refuse to be taken for a sucker.

Vacation Recap and NRII Part 11

2026-09-23T17:21:49.461-05:00

Well, before it gets too far away from me I should recap my vacation last week. I didn't have many exact plans for the time off this vacation, and that was on purpose. It started with a simple birthday, going out for a few drinks after work then coming home and ordering out pizza. Good times, but nothing unusual.

The next day I made a batch of baguette in the morning, for the second weekend in a row. The prior weekend I must have just gone through the motions as they didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Neither did this batch, but it was okay. The afternoon was spent watching the Badgers play football and relaxing.

Sunday morning I made a trip down to Mom's. When I was a kid I would always ask for Mom's butterfinger dessert for my birthday, and she would make it for me. We went out to lunch, then afterwards I made that same butterfinger dessert for her from her old recipe. Her birthday is not long after mine, so it felt good to make it for her, for a change. And it was yummy. Very rich, but yummy. We then spent the afternoon and evening watching the Packers game and relaxing. The next day I got to work on her list of things that needed to be done, had lunch, and I left for home early afternoon. It was a nice visit, and overdue as I hadn't been down to see her since my vacation in May. I hate to admit it, but we haven't even talked on the phone as much. I used to give her a call when I would be out by the fire, but I've not done that so much this summer.

The next couple days were spent being lazy relaxing, with a few chores here and there and lunches out. And on Thursday I had a wonderful massage. Only 60 minutes as that seems to be about right, but I added on a scalp massage at the end, and it was so relaxing. I feel like I drifted in and out during the scalp massage, but kept trying to stay awake to enjoy it fully. I think I'll be adding this on to all future massages.

By Friday the weather was very cool and damp, and I don't think I left the house the whole day. Didn't accomplish anything with my time, just took it easy and told myself that was okay. More of the same on Saturday, though we did have a late lunch out and watched the Badgers play again that evening.

* * * *

Sunday, 9/20, got a little busy at an inopportune time. I spent the morning making another round of baguette that turned out the best of those last three weekends. But about 11:30 I ran out to get gas in the car and pick up lunch, getting home in time to put the bread in the oven. At 12 o'clock noon the bread was in the oven, lunch was getting cold, and the Packers were seconds away from kickoff when the doorbell rang. It was someone from the roofing company here to trim the excessively overhanging shingles on the porch. They wanted me to show them but I said it was the whole porch and I was busy. After thinking for a second I went back to tell them to come some other time, but they were already up there so I let it proceed. Thankfully they didn't bother me again.

I haven't been up to check their work yet so I will have to do that soon, but that brought the roof back to front of mind. Yesterday, 9/22, three weeks after meeting with Matt and him telling me to watch my email, I emailed him. I wanted to call, but I want the paper trail. I told him rather than cutting into the siding to do that seam up right, I just wanted a wider board to cover the old caulk line. Truthfully, I don't trust them. I also inquired about my supplemental insurance claim. When they were removing the old roof they were supposed to take pictures of the whole process - standard operating procedure, I was told. This was important because I needed proof that the roof had the ice barrier at least 3 feet above the bottom edge under the shingles. This was worth at least another $2000 from the insurance company, per their salesman. When Matt was here I saw him go through the pictures and there were none of this. Without pictures as proof, I'm out that money from the insurance company.

I've not heard anything back yet, but I'll get that money even if I have to withhold it when the bill comes due. And that won't be the only discount or credit that I'll demand.

Fall Equinox 2026

2026-09-22T16:44:33.920-05:00

Tonight at 7:05 is the Autumn Equinox here, 11 minutes after sunset. Fall has already made itself known around these parts. Last week was cool and damp, this week is even more cool though it is supposed to warm up a little toward the end of the week. Plant life is showing the ravages of summer and my mind drifts to all the cleanup to be done though it is not time for any of it yet. This summer seems to have gone faster than usual and some things seem to have just gotten away from me this year, but I'm not going to spend my time worrying about weeds and such until spring comes and with it hopefully a fresh start and more effective weed killer.

I bought two pumpkins today, small ones. Halloween decorations and candy have been in the stores for a month and now Christmas stuff is coming out everywhere. Still September, right? I swear it gets earlier every year.

Anyway, I normally like to have a fire pit on this type of occasion, but I'm going to have to pass tonight and hope the spirits forgive me. Fire pit count is still at 2 for the year, and I'm not proud of that. But instead tonight I'll be staying inside and watching the Brewer game while trying to get started writing a recap of last week's vacation and a roof update. Happy Autumn, everyone.

Buds to Blooms

2026-09-16T15:48:51.604-05:00

Patriot Day, Sunflowers & More

2026-09-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the country's 25th anniversary of 9/11, and my 59th anniversary of 9/11. Patriot Day is a national holiday of observance, but not a federal public holiday. I like to get this date off, but I'm not so lucky this year; I'll be at work. (This post has been scheduled.)

The original sunflower blooms are long gone but the secondary blooms are popping up all over the place. I've not even tried to count them, but the quality of bloom will be less and some may not get to be much more than they are now. The tallest sunflower, in the corner of house and porch, reached 10' 7" this year. I like trying to grow them tall, and I will save the seeds from the head I have bagged, but more and more I'm thinking I might try a different variety next year.

There is also one sunflower plant that the secondary blooms have a bit of different color to them, with the yellow. They appear to be a different hybrid, but could be some kind of soil deficiency or who-knows-what. I could look it up, but you know, I'm just not going to worry about that.

I have some plans coming up and some rest and relaxation scheduled. No big project on my list, just maybe little ones and the PITA ones that I never seem to get around to doing. I don't want to be too busy right now, anyway.

Starting today I have to relax and just enjoy my time. I may pop in and out, here, or I may just recap at a later time. No matter what, I hope it's an enjoyable week for all. Cheers!

NRII Part 10 & Weekend Musings

2026-09-06T16:23:55.471-05:00

8/31 Monday I expected supervisor Matt around 3:30. At 3:45 I texted him to see if he was still coming, he replied that he had me on his calendar tomorrow. Looking back I believe he was correct and I was jumping the gun. I had not written it down.

9/1 Tuesday Had a good meeting with Matt. He saw my issues and said they would be corrected.

Prior to meeting Matt I got out the ladder and did some more checking. The rain deflector over the walk-in garage door was short and had no angle. And, an even bigger issue, the bottom row of shingles hung over the roof edge 1 to 2.5 inches, covering much of the gutters. Ideally this should be 3/8 to 1/2 inch, tops.

Now I wait again. It will be some time before they can get a crew out, but I'm okay with that as long as it all gets fixed before winter.

I cleaned up the back yard yesterday morning, before the heat and humidity moved in. Temperatures actually aren't so bad this holiday weekend. This past week was very hot and humid, with rain here and there. Our drought status has improved to 'abnormally dry.'

I'm not sure if I will keep seeds from these sunflowers or not. I've had thoughts of trying a different kind of sunflower than the mammoth, something that is supposed to have multiple blooms as the hybrid mammoths I have do continue to flower but the quality of the later blooms isn't that good. We'll see what I decide, probably in spring.

Kate and I took a walk this afternoon. Recently there had been some sort of burn in places along the creek. Unannounced and the wrong time of year, so I'm not sure if was on purpose or arson. Anyway, we found some ducks today.

Today I've made baguettes and taco sauce, already enjoyed the Brewer game and later the Wisconsin Badgers open their football season at Lambeau Field against Notre Dame, and I'll be right here watching. Tomorrow is Labor Day, so a three day weekend and short work week, and I finally have a vacation coming. Cheers, everyone.

New Roof II - Parts 1-9

2026-08-29T18:17:47.755-05:00

8/10, Monday 8:30 a.m. Roofing supplies on a pallet along with longer trim pieces are dropped off behind the house on the side of the driveway, a bit on the lawn.

8/11, Tuesday 11:30 a.m. The roofing crew begins working after being delayed by rain. Roofing and cleanup completed and the last truck leaves at 6:58 p.m. Some sunflower disrespect pointed out when I got home from work, but mostly I let them work and checked in from my window views. Also received text from Julia, saying she was the backup project manager and secondary contact to Isaac, the project manager - not on site.

8/13 & 14, Thursday & Friday Gutter crew arrived late afternoon. My house gutters are six inch, but they arrived with 5 inch for the porch. They asked me, and I sighed and figured 5 inch was adequate for the porch and let them proceed. Not ideal, but whatever. When the porch gutters and gutter covers were completed they let me know they would be back the next day to put the gutter covers on the house since they only had 5 inch.

8/18, Tuesday Morning text to Isaac hoping to get a timeline on the work that needed to be addressed yet, more later, and when extra roofing supplies would be removed - 1 week after roof was done. I waited two days with no response.

8/20, Thursday I texted Tony the sales guy about the lack of response and he responded right away. Later that morning Isaac left a phone message. Tony texted to verify he got a hold of me. I called Isaac after work, we set up time on Tuesday at 3:30 for final fixes and walk-through.

8/23, Sunday Trimmed bushes out front. Collected my third pail of garbage, nails, shingles pieces, and other left by the roofers.

8/25, Tuesday Expecting to meet Isaac at 3:30, found out he arrived earlier, did some work, talked to Kate and tried to get her to sign off as complete. I really did not like this.

8/26, Wednesday 2:30 pm I texted backup project manager Julia, asked for Isaac's supervisor's name and number. 4:00 pm that day the leftover supplies got picked up, 15 days after roof completed.

8/27, Thursday Project manager Julia texted back with names and a number. When I called that afternoon that number never rang, so I looked up the Madison office number from their website. Eventually I was put in contact with supervisor Matt. We spoke that afternoon and I went through my whole complaint list, noting to him that in the grand scheme of things most of it was nothing, but it is the work that lasts. We have an appointment at my house after work on Monday so he can see my issues in person.

These are pretty much my timeline notes so far, with video to back up almost all of it. I should have written this in parts as it happened, but I was not expecting this to be so drawn out. My big issue is with the seam between the porch and the house. It has looked like shit since we bought the house so I expected it to look much cleaner after this, but it did not. They did not use a wide enough board to cover the old black caulk, so you could see the old caulk and the new, and it was ugly. Apparently Tony failed to measure this area too, beside my gutters.

Isaac's proposed fix was some paint. I was skeptical, but was willing to see what he would do. Then he was sure to get in and get out before I got home from work. He knocked on the door and my wife happened to be home, so he told her generally what he did and handed her a paper with some random numbers to pay and asked her to sign it off as complete. She wouldn't, of course.

He didn't paint, he attached a piece of flashing that creates a channel. Well, I've never seen anything like it on a house so it's hard to describe, but I don't like it one bit. Then I saw him on video strategically photograph it for their records, but not the view of the second picture below.

This is a very reputable company with great google reviews, an inspiring backstory, and an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, all reasons I chose this company. But yet, service has been terrible and this is yet incomplete. I require a better fix for this and we'll see what Matt says on Monday when he sees this work in person. I can't imagine anyone thinking this is okay.

Our Pottery Pieces

2026-08-22T17:24:32.154-05:00

As I noted before, we tried something small, but we think they turned out well and may try again with something more adventurous. Fired Up Pottery; their website isn't much, but is here.

August This-And-Thats

2026-08-16T16:42:19.176-05:00

I know I've lamented my waning use of the firepit each of the last few years, but it continues as I've only had the two so far this year. The mosquitoes haven't seemed as bad this year, but that may be because I've spent less time outside with less fire pits. Allergies have been present, but have been less severe as last year. Again, less outside time, maybe? We've had some good stretches of windows-open weather, but more stretches of heat and/or humidity keeping the air conditioning on.

Summer was at its peak when I mentioned it here, and a week after that it showed. That's not saying there's not some good summer left, just that I recognized the peak. Atwoodfest has normally been when I've accepted the season is waning. It certainly doesn't mean that summer is over, but it's time to just appreciate the warmer weather while we still have it.

We attended Eken Park Fest yesterday for an hour or two. A nice, nearby neighborhood festival, but small, and it actually snuck up on us. When we realized it was this weekend we chose in the spur of the moment to go there to find lunch. We chose a local Mexican restauranteur, and it was very good. That morning we had gone to a pottery place where you can choose from premade pottery to paint/glaze yourself. You pay, they fire it, then call you in about a week to pick it up. It can get expensive so we started small to try it out. Kate wanted to get a bear as a gift for a friend and they only had a small teddy bear one that will have a magnet on the back. I did a small gnome in some common colors. I had visited once before with a group of clients for work, and it was interesting enough I told my wife about it, and so we wanted to try it ourselves. I hope they turn out well and we like it enough to get more adventurous the next time.

Roofing supplies were delivered on Monday, off to the side of the driveway in back. The roof was done eventually on Tuesday, due to morning rain. They got started about 11:30 in the morning and wound up leaving at 7:00 that evening with all roofing and cleanup finished. Gutters were completed two and three days later. Currently they still need to pick up the pallet with leftover supplies, add a water deflector above the walk-in garage door, and clean up the line of caulk above the porch where it meets the house. More later as there is more to come.

The sunflowers took some damage from the roof and gutter replacement, but came out of it pretty good overall. Some leaves snapped at most, from what I've seen. The tall sunflower on the left has about 10 flowers currently, though tough to see in this picture, and more buds coming. These multiple flowers generally get smaller and smaller as they bloom. And the one in the corner has several blooms as well, but also has reached 10 feet and 2 inches as of today.

I like the idea of pure mammoth seeds that grow tall and have a large flower, but only the one. But the unknown cross-pollination with the multiple flowers is more enjoyable, and for a longer time. I must get the seeds of the first flower of at least one of the two I mentioned last paragraph, preferably the taller one but I'll try for both.

I've been making a different recipe of baguette recently, and I'm really liking the crumb. I think I left this last batch in the oven a bit long, but the quest for the perfect baguette is a never-ending process, after all. I made pizza dough this morning. I'd been wanting larger portions so today I made the same amount of dough that I used to make for four crusts into just three. Thicker than thin crust with 50/50 00/AP flour should be a good combination, I think. Anyway this baguette made as crostini was absolutely fabulous.

I had some vague ideas when I started to write this, but it was mostly stream of consciousness. Basically one of my this-and-thats posts, unformatted as such. Oh well, good enough for me. Go Brewers!

Rain 1, Sunflower 0

2026-08-01T17:14:42.060-05:00

My heart skipped a beat this morning as I checked if anything happened overnight on the security camera.

The large sunflower (pictured last post) had fallen during the night, a little after 1 a.m. It rained more often than not for the last day, and we needed it terribly, but the conditions just put it down. It was only about seven in the morning but I immediately went out and wound up putting in three stakes to stabilize it. The little one next to it came up with it but the cage that is still around it was enough support for that.

And after raining all day we just got a bit of sun so here it is now. I think it's going to make it.

That flower I was planning on bagging so I can collect the seeds, and it has at least 10 more buds on it to come yet. The one on the right also has multiple buds coming. I'm thankful for the sunflowers I have, but it has been a brutal year for them, overall.

Scorched Sunflowers & Follow-Ups

2026-07-27T16:49:52.373-05:00

From what I noticed this afternoon we got up to 98ºF (37ºC), with a feels-like temperature of 114ºF (46ºC). Definitely the hottest day of the year so far, but thankfully we should just be regular-hot the rest of the week.

The sunflower on the outside of the back steps was the first to bloom, but the petals are rather deformed. This is the second one to bloom, and is a bit more picturesque. That first one has no other blooms starting off the stem, while this one has them coming in all the way down. I'm not sure why some of my mammoth sunflowers have multiple blooms and others don't. Perhaps one is male and the other is female, I'm not sure. The first batch planted are definitely the strongest, though, while the second plantings are much smaller plants yet still growing buds.

Our air quality is back to normal levels, though there is still smoke out there so if the winds shift the right way we may get smoky again. I think I heard something like the smoke would affect us about one day a year until 2020, and has averaged about 8 days a year since. That would explain why it seems like more now - because it is.

The protests continue with base camp at the intersection where it happened and nearby streets shut down. The city has been working with them, providing port-o-potties and trash collection while working with the protesters to keep up services and driveway access for the unfortunate residents in the area. One of which is a friend, who is not enjoying the extra traffic and hassle. I'm not sure how long it will continue but would surely calm down if they announced criminal charges against the police officer. Seems to be the right thing to do, but no rant on this today.

The neighbors have added some interesting lights to their house. It was red, white and blue earlier this month for the holiday, and was like this the other night. Thankfully we only have two windows on that side so it doesn't really affect us at all. I find it to be an interesting choice, what do you think?

And, finally, I'm feeling much better and practically back to normal after my fall a couple weeks ago. When you're young you can bounce, and I haven't been young in a long time. It would behoove me to avoid any more falls in the future, I think.

Oh, and the new roof should be happening very soon, but I don't have a date yet. Have a great week, everyone!

AtwoodFest 2026 - Canceled

2026-07-25T12:25:53.256-05:00

Yesterday the decision was made to cancel this year's AtwoodFest, scheduled for today and tomorrow. Since Wednesday, Madison has been in the national news for another cop killing a bad guy with excessive force, an incident that happened here on the near east side of town. The ensuing outrage and protests have led to many event delays and cancellations over the last couple of days.

It just never stops. Why can't we all just get along and do what's right in this world?

A Hot, Smoky Mess

2026-07-16T16:28:49.020-05:00

I don't remember getting smoked out when I was younger, but we've had our moments over the last several years of smoke from wildfires moving in and depleting our air quality. That's what's happening again now.

I took this picture while driving on my way to work this morning. Looks like just a haze or a fog, but actually there's not a cloud in the sky, it's all smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota. And it got worse as the day went on, getting officially to 'hazardous' levels. But should clear up to 'unhealthy' or 'very unhealthy' tomorrow, though I expect it to fluctuate a lot until we get a system to move this out. This story has been national news the last couple days as it stretches from here in the Midwest all the way to the more ~~important~~ populated northeast states.

Not much else has happened since I last posted. I took a stupid fall in the basement on Saturday afternoon, bruising my whole left side. I took Monday and Tuesday off work, and when I went into work on Wednesday I used my cane, which just freaked out management. I wound up being sent home and forced to see a doctor to fill out their paperwork before I could go back. I knew a doctor wouldn't be able to do anything for me, but I saw one anyway and got their paperwork filled out. I have some minor restrictions until Monday, and I'm sure I'll be good to go by then.

Meanwhile, our temperatures have been hotter this week than when I complained a couple posts ago, but should break soon. The lawn needs mowing, weeds need spraying, and paint needs to be looked at and used/saved. But it's very likely nothing will be done until the weekend.

Hope all is well where you are. Cheers.

Project Updates & Sunflowers

2026-07-11T11:52:20.980-05:00

I started this morning with grand plans of repainting all of the garage trim, then I remembered how much I hate painting. I wound up just painting the lower parts of the trim and doing touch-up where needed. If it doesn't blend well then I'll repaint all the rest tomorrow as the paint is still good but the rim has rusted out so this will be the last use of this quart, this weekend. I know I get no style points for my paint job, but function over form for this project.

Meanwhile, I chose a contractor for roofing the house, porch and garage. We will keep the gutters we have on the house as there's only one small dent on one side, but will replace the downspout that got all beat up. Last time we did the roof we did not do the porch as we thought we'd be replacing it. Well, that hasn't happened so we will have a new roof put on that and have the gutters replaced, and all gutters will get a gutter guard so I will no longer have to climb a ladder around the house twice a year to clean them out. We considered putting gutters on the garage and getting a rain barrel by the garden. It's still something I dream of doing, but not at this time to keep costs down. The process of choosing a contractor was harder than it should have been, but that was mostly on the contractors I talked to (or got ghosted by). The work is planned for sometime in a two week window starting later this month, I should know more soon.

If you remember, as part of our 2024 street reconstruction project included a footbridge across the creek. That part of the project was stalled due to permitting issues, we were told, but construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed in 2027. This unnecessary expenditure comes as the city is asking all departments to slash their budgets, still broke though we residents inexplicably voted to let them raise our property taxes to above state-mandated levels a couple years ago. Egad, what a waste. We can't wait for these city elections to oust everyone in office right now.

Still peak summer here, with the yard and gardens so alive. The cone flowers have gotten really tall in the stump area, so no pots on the stump were actually needed this year. Day lilies that Kate planted a few years ago are bursting with blooms, and other flowers come and go.

If you peek over the fence on the left you'll see the neighbor is getting a new fence to match ours installed today.

The sunflowers have had a hard go of it this year. Out of 54 planted we have 15 left, so almost 3/4 of them have been lost. I'll post the rundown after the break, otherwise have a great weekend!

Left to right there were 5 clumps of sunflowers between the back steps and the house. The clump in the corner by the porch has none remaining, so starting from the left: One large and one small on the outside of the air conditioner; three smaller ones on this side of the air con, below the window; one lone large one; and next to that is another large one that also has a smaller, twisted one that is still growing well below it. 8 total in this area.

Two clumps on the outside part of the back steps, the left planted originally and the right planted later. The left has one large one remaining and the right still has all three growing well so far.

The two in the pot by the garage are still doing well. I don't expect them to get as big as if they were planted directly in the ground.

Yesterday I found this last one left by the firewood broken, bent in half. Sunflowers are pretty hardy so I put a stake along the trunk and tied it up with garden tape, which should stretch with it as the sunflower grows and repairs itself.

And, finally, the gardens. Top left has pepper plants and is where I planted 5 or 6 sunflowers, I forget, but there is only the one remaining. On top right the tomatoes are growing like crazy again so the old ladder is once again used for support. Bottom left is lettuce, still small but growing well. Bottom right is the raspberries. Meh, we'll see what happens with them.

Several sunflowers planted out front by the bird feeder have been destroyed, same for the back corner of the garage by the tomato plants. And six attempts by the compost bin did not last very long.

All pictures here were taken this morning. Thanks for coming along on this little tour. Cheers!

Happy 4th of July - 250th

2026-07-04T16:34:33.941-05:00

Happy holiday everyone, or happy Saturday if more appropriate. Kate's working today so I had a lazy start to the morning before tackling a project outside. It was muggy, buggy, and the threat of rain was everywhere though it held off until we got a shower this afternoon.

Over the years the lower part of the garage walk-in door frame has rotted, leaving gaps. I made a temporary fix a year or two ago, but it was bad enough now to need something more permanent. I'd considered just getting a new pre-hung door, but came up with a plan that should last for longer and save that few hundred bucks.

Previously I had chipped out all the rotten wood that I could, but then leaned a wood panel over it for the last week or so, waiting for the heat to break. My first thought was to fill it in with chunks of wood using screws and construction adhesive, but my eventual plan of boxing it all in was much easier.

I started with a thin strip to fill in the trim and make a 90 degree angle, then covered the inside frame and outside with two more pieces of plywood, using the construction adhesive to seal all around. A few years ago I replaced the rotten wood in the threshold, so that got another layer slathered on as well. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some paint on it and it will be hardly noticeable.

After that, lunch and a nap. The Brewers play late tonight so if I want to stay up the nap was needed. I think we'll be staying in tonight so I was hoping for a fire, but the mugginess, mossies and threat of a scattered shower or storm will likely keep me in. So no big holiday plans here, I'm just enjoying a three day weekend while also feeling for my wife who has to work every day of it.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Cheers!

Heat Wave Ramblings

2026-07-02T19:53:01.624-05:00

This past week has been HOT, very hot and humid. Temperatures have been in the low to mid 90's ºF all week, lowering just a couple degrees today but still very oppressive. Not terribly unusual as we've gotten over 100ºF in recent memory, except for it now coming as early as the last week in June. We had thunderstorms miss us or just nick us mostly north in the last day, but the next couple days will see more scattered storms. Just perfect for a 3-day holiday weekend. Oh well, Kate has to work the next four days so I'll be mostly on my own anyway.

Even as I write this, it is before 6 p.m. so would normally be full daylight but rather is very dark as a storm is approaching and a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued. I just stepped out to take this picture below, and the pic seems lighter outside than actual. I'm making dinner tonight, homemade pizza, so will continue writing after.

Dinner was very good, thank you. I'd post a pic but you've likely seen enough of my pizzas. The rain was heavy and began almost immediately after finishing the above, but short-lived. Looks like more of the same off and on for the weekend.

So now, after dinner and a call with Mom, where was I?

Heat, storms, oh yeah, it's a three day weekend now with tomorrow off for Saturday's 4th of July holiday. I have more contractor stuff to share but I think I'll wait on that. I think maybe it's time to wrap this up for now. I'll likely post something on Saturday for the holiday, so until then - Cheers!

Summer Solstice 2026

2026-06-21T11:04:39.156-05:00

Flowers, Weeds & Contractors

2026-06-20T11:45:16.583-05:00

First I planted 30 sunflowers around the yard. Critters destroyed many so I started a box of 24 more, two of which didn't grow. I planted 10 more around the yard and reseeded the two that did not grow. Then, rather than take the rest to work (see earlier post) I hurriedly planted all of them around the yard and in the garden. That's 54 seedlings planted around the yard this spring.

Of those 54 I currently have only 20 still alive, 12 of which appear straight and strong for their size while another 8 are broken, twisted and smaller. Only one remains in front by the bird feeder with most of the rest around the back door.

It's been a brutal spring for my sunflowers.

And our lawn. I mowed this morning right before taking these pictures, and was reminded that we have one kind of weed in the front yard that my weedkiller does not affect, and another kind of weed in the back lawn that is also unaffected. I'm going to have to do some research on what exactly they are and how to get rid of them.

Elsewhere in the yard things are looking real good, good enough for me to want to share pictures, I guess. Alium are going to seed as tiger lilies bloom, the hostas are huge and full along the back fence, and the stump area is thriving with wildflowers planted each of the last two years, now coming back on their own.

As for a hail/contractor update, I'm going to start again by researching three more companies to call on Monday to get quotes. We've discussed it, and we will only get the roof and gutters done. Residing the house I feel will open up an expensive can of worms. We can live with a few dents on mostly the west side of the house. The window and maybe some screens I should be able to get fixed rather cheaply.

Well, it's been a relatively productive day here so far. Kate has to work tomorrow so what she says goes today, but will likely be lunch out followed with me watching the Brewer game this afternoon. For dinner we plan on grilling out brats. Another new-to-us brand as we continue our search for a new brand of bratwurst that we like. Then later tonight I'm hoping I still have the energy to have a fire. I'll feel guilty if I don't, as tomorrow is the solstice but expected to be rather damp out. Wish me luck.

Faux Fire Pit

2026-06-13T21:13:06.370-05:00

It's very nice to live in a neighborhood with full grown trees. We don't have as many nearby as we did years ago, but there are still enough large trees and many new ones planted.

With trees comes stick shedding, further encouraged by our tumultuous weather this spring. Since we got settled into this house I've welcomed all sticks, branches, and - sometimes reluctantly - many large to very large limbs as free firewood. If it fell on my property then I take it as my responsibility to take care of it. And when neighbor Dave was still around I gladly helped him and took care of the big things so he didn't have to. Leaving them on the curb for the city to pick up wasn't acceptable to me, and disposing of sticks has never been an issue. (I feel the same about fall leaves.)

So far this year I've only had the one fire pit, on the spring equinox. I've had chances since, weekend nights where I've been too tired or else weather conditions weren't right. But that's it, just the one, short fire so far this year.

Anyway, more sticks have accumulated this spring (since the spring equinox fire). I already have two five-gallon buckets full of kindling and another of quick-burning sunflower stalks from last year. I don't need any more fire starter material. I just kept tossing sticks into the firepit, even stomping them down to fit more, but it was time to make room.

I made a drink, got out the lawn chair, and prepared with the fire screen and poker. (There is at least one fire extinguisher inside the garage door.) I used the garden torch to set it alight in a few places. I thought I might have to keep using it, but once it got started it went up pretty quickly, as you can see here.

I did clean out the fire pit after that last fire, so I'm not worried about too many ashes or anything. But I'm glad I had that fire screen handy once it got going. When I first put it on it was sitting just above the fire pit on the pile of sticks, settling down quickly as they burned. It didn't take long for it to burn down, and about 20 or 30 minutes later I started putting things away and came in to continue watching the Brewer game. Not a true fire pit night, but now it's ready for the next time.

Next weekend Sunday is the summer solstice, so I intend to have a fire to commemorate the occasion, as I do. Sunday evening is not ideal fire pit time for me, so maybe Friday or Saturday to compensate, but weather will likely be a deciding factor.

Sunflower Cat Contractors

2026-06-07T14:40:16.979-05:00

I've not done an official count or inventory of sunflowers yet. I feel it's still too early to tell what may come of these. There are two different plantings, about 17 days apart. Many of the first were destroyed early, thus the second planting. While almost all are still around since the time of the second planting, they are still small and there are a few broken and many twisted yet. Sunflowers are pretty hardy, when allowed to grow, so even broken or twisted may mature to the best of their ability. I'll take stock of all soon enough. This post is mainly to get the bad taste of the last post out of my mouth.

A productive weekend here, mostly. I still have some relatively bigger projects on my list that I want to get done soon, but all in due time. This week, I was impressed by the first contractor's pitch, but it was also a bit over the top so I'm a little hesitant. The second I sent on his way as this kid did not project the confidence or knowledge that I wanted to hear, so I was nice but didn't want to waste his time or mine. The third seemed confident and level-headed. I really hope I like what he comes back with. I expect to make a decision by the end of the week, and it may also include new siding everywhere.

The cats are enjoying the windows and porch being open today, and I'm going to go enjoy the Brewer game now.

Happy Sunday and have a great week, everyone!

Sunflower Update & RANT

2026-06-02T20:01:19.517-05:00

I originally planted 30 sunflower seedlings around the yard. This batch was 12 days from seeding to planting, though they could have been planted on day 11, maybe 10. Then the critters got many, so I seeded 24 more in cardboard tubes. I figured I would fill in around the yard with half and take the other half to work for the clients to enjoy. On Sunday, after only 8 days (but the nights had been warmer) I planted 10 seedlings around the yard, reseeded two that did not come up, and had 12 others to take to work.

Seeding to seedling came sooner than I expected for this batch. I was busy on Monday at work, but I would have time Tuesday morning to take some of our early-arriving clients out to plant before classes started, so I pushed it 2 days longer than the seedlings would have preferred. They were all more than as tall as the tube already and flopping over, but I felt they were still viable.

Then this morning came. Well, someone called in sick so I had to cover their job coaching duties that morning, and I had my own duties that afternoon. My boss said I was the only one that could, though I am well aware there was at least one other that could have if they wanted. I told her about the sunflowers and how they had to get in the ground that day, and it fell on deaf ears.

This was personal to me. I had planned this all spring (and they knew that), used my own time and resources, and looked forward to sharing these with the clients all summer.

Never again. Never again will I donate any extra time or resources for this job.

I like the work we do, I personally like most of the people I work with - including management, and of course the clients are (mostly) great. But this truly may be the most poorly managed place I ever worked.

I don't talk about my work much here. It's mostly like any other place, with cliques and favoritism and gossip. Whiners, slackers and assholes are everywhere. (If I had to put myself in one of those categories it would be the latter.) I was hoping to ride this out, but I feel I should find something else soon. The only real hesitation to resigning is health insurance for me and my wife. Even a one month gap could cost us several hundreds to a thousand dollars to remain insured, and it would more likely be 2-3 months that we would have to cover. Healthcare in America is tied to full time employment, is rapidly declining, and the insurance system that supports it is rigged only to make money. (As I write this I requested prescription renewals a week ago Friday. I received a response on Tuesday to allow 48 to 72 hours. Here it is a week after that and I've not heard anything yet.)

Anyway, I came home to a tangled box of seedlings that should have been in the ground days ago. I got them all in the ground around here, someplace or another, but I'm sure not all will make it.

Yes, I could have waited another day or two and planted them at work and hoped for the best. I could plant another batch and try again in just over a week, too. But no - just, no. They knew, and that time has now passed. My time for them may have now passed, too. Believe me, this is not my first complaint.

Thanks for making it to the end of my rant. I even got a good one in on healthcare there. This weekend I'll take stock of the sunflowers and report back how many are still alive and how many I think will make it to maturity. Thanks for listening, take care.