Grandkids
Ellie, Maddie, Becca, Ben, and James in the morning; Kate and Will in the afternoon.
Next To Impossible
Not only a slashing cold wind but difficult footing. In areas where the snow is still deep it is crusted so hard that even Pax slips right off. Creepers necessary but not sufficient.
Hard crusted grass
Did manage to get in a little grocery shopping, and then a very little dinghy sanding.
Day Pretty Much Cancelled
Too much freezing precipitation.
At least half an inch of ice on everything that hasn’t been scraped, chipped, salted, and shoveled. We were planning on attending a science fair, but that got iced out along with almost everything else.
Glass and epoxy done on the interior. Next comes sanding and perhaps a little fairing. Then, over she goes, and the exterior gets the treatment.
Creepers Required
Ice over everything. Almost as bad as Saint Paul (where walking was impossible). With the meter never above 32, melting has been limited, and chipping difficult.
Pax has built-in creepers—as well as as inquisitive nose.
Taping the seams with glass and epoxy.
Nothing Could Be Finer...
...than brunch at Mickey’s Diner.
Ice-Coated Saint Paul
Visiting Nik and exploring the town.
Walking is hazardous: ice covering everything.
Foggy Day In W. Town
But Pax was in his element. When things are melting, more smells are wafting, and Pax got a lot of exercise bounding into, through, and, to some degree, under, diminishing drifts. He was in hunting mode.
Meanwhile, the rest of us worked on projects.
The spot-welds have been smoothed, the dust vacuumed, everything wiped down with vinegar, and strips of glass tape have been cut to appropriate lengths—all in prep for glassing all the many seams.
Above Freezing...
...and melting a little, too.
Raked a lot of heavy snow off the roof.
Low light—sorry about the blur
Then down to Erik and Robin’s lovely home in Algonquin for Chris’s retirement party. Fun conversation and great Erik-cooked food. And I came home with a bag of Trina’s home-made baguettes.
A Breath From The South
Above zero at eight, twenty-five by late afternoon.
We stopped a Cafe Carp for a cup of chili and a toasted ham and cheese on the way to the grocery store. Everyone, of course, talking about the weather, cheery to be released from Vortex’s iron grip.
Dog walking, too, once again possible, even enjoyable.
Vortexed
Step outside without hat, coat, mittens…and almost instant pain. How is the wildlife surviving? How is the semi-wildlife (aka kids) surviving indoors? And what about people who have to work outdoors?
Minus 27 this morning, but rising—all the way up to negative 6 by sunset. Enough of this.
Spot welding now on the dinghy, using epoxy paste. Once this sets up, the zip ties can be removed and then all the seams done right with fiberglass tape.
Well, That’s a Cold One
Painfully cold.
We did get in a fast afternoon walk, but after some running, some paw lifting, and some taking care of business, Pax bee-lined for the barn.
Would be rather leaky, but at least it looks like a boat.
And here is the face in the plywood (not visible in the above shot). Could this be the ancient mariner?
Twelve Cardinals...
...at the feeder. Had to fill the feeder twice, and it’s a good thing I did. Just before sunset Sue noticed twelve cardinals fueling up.
Photo by Sue
And then there is dog walking, which these days is more enjoyable with appropriate gear. But what about Pax you say.
Photo by Sue
And then there is boat building. Now at the tricky part, and clearly a two person job. (Note: errors are obvious, but so far not insurmountable.)
And then we received notice that some of the waming shelters in Whitewater “may need to be closed for the safety of staff,” and will be reopened Thursday noon.
Tough Sledding...
...and walking too. Pax and I got dropped off at the southern end of our regular creek-side trail, planning to walk home. About a hundred yards in, we turned around and retraced out steps. From there we used sidewalks, about 75% of which were shoveled. A little tired and a bit later than anticipated, we made our destination.
Getting deep
Dinghy is coming together. Ah! The power of geometry! And so far it looks like mistakes have been minimal.
Smoked Pie
Quite a flavor sensation, though unanticipated.
Go team
After dinner with our guests, but before Sequence, Sue served up her special apple/cranberry pie, and, while it was very good, it had a decidedly smokey flavor. (Of course, that didn’t stop anyone from devouring it.) Luckily, some of it remains…so after supper tonight the analysis will continue. And, I’m thinking that smoked pie might become a trend, or even go viral. We’ll have to see.
First glue. The mid-hull frame got epoxied today, and the two halves of the bottom got stitched. Lofting the frame turned out to be the trickiest but of measuring, and I’m hoping I got it right (it’s all about angles). Now that the bottom panels are stitched they will be opened up like a book, spread out, and then attached to the side panels and the two transoms. (At least in theory.)
Neighbors...For Dinner
James and Anne, fellow activists from one street over. Neighborhood association and grocery store startup. Lots of neighborhood gossip, a little politics, and then Sequence.
Colder Than...
...Christmas in Canada, among other things.
Double digits below zero (F) on this morning’s short walk. In spite of Musher’s Secret on his paws, Pax ended up lifting his feet. However, he very much seemed to enjoy the afternoon walk, when the temperature was right about the zero point.
Bow and stern transoms lofted and cut out, along with a T-shaped bow reinforcement of my own design. A stern reinforcement will be devised later, when what’s needed becomes more obvious.
Bookin’ Down The Highway
To Worzolla in Stevens Point to pick up, and then deliver to Fox Point, a truckload of books.
Used a lot of windshield solvent, and now the weather’s getting worse—windchill advisory with below zero temps.
Not much time to work on dinky building, but the bottom panels got drilled. And now we are at the stage of self-doubt—how accurate were the measurements? Were the up-side-down things done right-side-up? Because, looking at the side panels, and then at the bottom panels, it would appear that there is clearly no way they could all fit together.
Snow Day
Schools, and pretty much everything else, closed or opening late.
A good chunk of the morning got allocated to the moving of snow—not just for our place but also for various neighbors. Had planned to work on the dinghy project, but didn’t get to that until well after 2. Nonetheless, the two bottom panels have been cut and faired.
Another Winter Warning...
...and, yes, the snow has begun.
The two dinghy side panels have been faired and drilled. The drilling—itty-bitty holes every 4 inches along the edge—are for the copper wire stitches that will hold things together until the epoxy/fiberglass takes over. When the drilling was done, the logical next step was lofting one of the bottom panels.
If I cut and fair it, and it’s twin, tomorrow, along with the two transoms, it will be stitching time.
Gymnastics
Took Maddie to practice this evening.
Second dinghy side panel cut out, and the two panels almost match.