2014 – Page 3 – If we had a Marriage, These Would be its Thoughts

Heather's Birthday 2014

November 1, 2014 9:53 am

We delayed celebrating Heather's 3rd birthday until the 29th because she had been sick all weekend and was just barely recovering. We figured she'd have more fun if she weren't exhausted and if she were able to eat more than bread and crackers.

Every time we go to the grocery store Heather wants a balloon so we promised to get her one for her birthday. We went to the store while I was home for lunch to get it. Unfortunately, the first two she picked were not in stock (seriously, really hard to keep them in stock or remove them from the display?). She finally settled on this one, and it's hardly left her side since she got it.

That evening we had cake, presents, and a video chat with grandparents. Heather helped decorate the cake with the sprinkles.

Heather is in love with Hi-Ho Cherry-O. She figured it out pretty quick and wants to play it all the time.

The doctor outfit is a big hit. She'll give anyone a checkup. She's always careful to explain that the shot might hurt just a little bit.

Playing with the stamp kit. She loves "arting" as she calls it. With the crazy week of her being sick, her birthday, Halloween, and a party on Saturday she hasn't been able to do much. So she'll be glad when things calm down again and she gets to play with all the art/craft supplies.

We're having a party today (Saturday) for her friends for which she is super excited.

New Roof

October 26, 2014 3:30 pm

We knew the house was in need of a new roof when we bought it. And we had been hoping it would make it through a couple of years before becoming a real problem. Luckily it did. In hopes that it will rain again around here sometime we wanted to get it replaced before winter.

Here's the old roof just as work began. It was installed around the time I was born, so it held up well.

Both layers of the old roof are gone (asphalt shingles over cedar shakes) along with the original sheathing:

The new radiant-barrier OSB sheathing is going on here. It's supposed to have some pretty dramatic energy-efficiency properties.

Felt paper is starting to go down. And you can see the hose they used to blow more insulation in to the attic. We upped it to the current recommendation of R-38.

All Done! We used CertainTeed Landmark Solaris Platinum shingles in the Santa Fe color. They have a high solar reflectivity and thermal emissivity ratings. So supposedly they will absorb less heat from the sun allowing the attic space to stay cooler. When combined with the upgraded insulation, the radiant-barrier OSB, and the new ridge-venting along the entire house these upgrades are supposed to save us over $500 a year in heating and cooling costs. This was calculated using Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Roof Savings Calculator.

The energy efficiency upgrades cost about an additional $5000, so they should pay for themselves in about 10 years and then be free money for the remainder of the roof's life (it should have at least a 30-year life).

The work was done by Sonrise Roofing out of Fremont. We selected them based on reviews and ratings from Consumer's Checkbook. We had them and about 5 other companies provide bids. Then we selected Sonrise based on their reputation and warranty.

Heather by the Window

3:12 pm

A couple of weeks ago I was taking some pictures of Heather by the window. I like this one best. This was with the 50mm prime lens again. I really like this lens, something about the images it produces is very pleasing, but I can't say what.

The focus is just a bit off from her eyes, but that's what happens with a squirmy kid and f/1.8. Maybe one day I'll be good enough to catch it just right.

IMGP2260a — Pentax K-7, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/100s, ISO 100. Only window lighting.

Titan II Crafting

October 8, 2014 3:22 pm

I bought the piece of airframe aluminum from the Titan II Museum during our drive back from Texas, but it just came by itself in a little bag. So I made a little display for it out of some mat board. Then I laid out the graphics to go around it, printed it out, and glued it on. It came out fairly well, a little rough around the edges, but I'm happy with it.

The general idea matches the commemorative coin I have from the space shuttle launch we watched.

Here they are together:

Heather the Horse

October 3, 2014 5:46 pm

Heather helped me bake some oatmeal cookies last Sunday. We were getting out all the ingredients (one of her favorite things to do) and she asked if she could eat some oats. Well, why not? So I gave her a few. And she loved them. So she asked for more, and more, and more. I think she ate over a 1/8 of a cup before I cut her off. Just raw, rolled oats. What a goon.