Wednesday, September 30, 2015

I Can't Even Pronounce "Joaquin"

We're all hunkering down here for a hurricane, which means massive lines at the supermarket with people buying water and toilet paper and what-all.  The storm is probably still 2 or 3 days away, and I'll bet the stores are already out of D batteries.  Me, I'm buying chocolate. And beer, for Larry.  We like to witness the end of the world in comfort.

My latest chocolate love...


But that's not why I am here tonight.  I am here to announce that Larry has recently achieved a goal he has been working towards for almost 3 years now - he has managed to tear out the walls and put in insulation in EVERY ROOM of the top 2 floors of our townhouse. I'm very proud of him.  And of me, for not divorcing him during this process.

Believe me, there were times that was a definite possibility...

So now Larry and I sit around the living room in the evening and say things like "Hey, it's getting chilly out. Let's close all the windows and see how well the house maintains temperature until morning!", as though that is a really fun thing to do.

And we wonder why our teens don't talk to us.

Lord help the unsuspecting neighbor who might wander into our house and say something innocuous such as "Oh, hey, I hear you put in insulation!" Because he/she is then treated to a detailed, play-by-play account of all the intricacies involved in insulating one's home to code. You see, Larry - bless his heart - thinks everyone is as interested by this topic as he is. When there are no fresh victims around, Larry regales me with fond reminiscences of when he first ripped out our den.  "Remember the problem with the fireplace mantel?" he asks me, waxing nostalgic. "And the baseboards? Remember how we couldn't agree on those?"

Yes, yes, I do.  You know, sometimes I think I should have run off with that helpful guy from Home Depot while I had the chance.  Or maybe I'll just order some more yarn and chocolate to compensate for having to look interested in a lecture about the comparative merits of different types of insulation material.  Turns out, I can buy those toffee and almond bars in bulk from Amazon...

11 comments:

  1. "Hey, it's getting chilly out. Let's close all the windows and see how well the house maintains temperature until morning!"
    Do you mean to tell me that it is not normal to have these discussions with my husband? Because we do this (minus ripping apart the house).

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  2. Congratulations to you and Larry!
    Thank you for the morning chuckle. :)

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  3. I love saying Joaquin, but after Sandy in RI I am twitchy. My husband--bless HIS heart--told me before we moved that the Chesapeake would act as a slowing-down buffer for any hurricane coming up the coast. He neglected to take into account the possibility a hurricane would come right UP the Chesapeake, which would act like a big funnel, landing the storm right where we live. I did say I'm twitchy? I have no idea how this house (or its trees) will behave in a hurricane. Sigh. I did pick "adventure" as my word this year....

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    1. You SHOULD be twitchy. If that storm does come up the Chesapeake, you won't have power until spring. We don't recover from natural disasters too well down here.

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  4. Humph. Joaquin ate my original comment. I'll have to type it again.

    Thinking about how well the insulation is working is the best entertainment around, in my view. Such thinking can lead to naps, which are a wondrous thing in life.

    My Mom is also in the potential path of the hurricane (the "Cone of Uncertainty" as The Weather Channel puts it). She bought all the toilet paper already, so don't bother going to the store for that.

    My original comment said something about chocolate, which is always worth thinking about, but I have no idea what I said. So I'll just say, "Yes! Chocolate!"

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  5. We brought chocolate home from Europe. It's sensational! Now I just need to hurry up and give away the parts I bought as gifts before my husband and I run out of ours and decide that gifts are overrated and just eat that too.

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    1. I don't know - that chocolate sounds as though it would be mighty useful once you're snowed in. Hang on to it, is my vote.

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  6. Oh those fond reminisces....those are the ones that make me crazy with my husband.

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  7. I haven't been to the store yet, as I get paid tomorrow. I will hit the stores in the early morning, get milk, batteries and fuel for my camping stoves, then leave for work. Hopefully the new kid they hired will be here soon, so we can train him and then I can work from home at least a few days a week again. The 150 miles round trip daily is getting old.

    If there is thunder,, I can hear the storm outside the 5 sided asylum. Otherwise, I have no idea what the weather is like until I leave at 8:30 pm.

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  8. INSULATION! Good gravy--that's so exciting!
    Your post makes me wonder what I'd race to the store to buy in the face of a natural disaster. Not D batteries or water, but perhaps toilet paper...

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