Great Stuff

Phil bought gutters this morning. He spent the bulk of the day detailing around the cantilevered overhang: he put in block supports, put sealant top and bottom, and then shot Great Stuff around all the cracks. "Make sure the mice don't get in!" I said.

That is an ancillary benefit; really, Great Stuff is supposed to be highly insulating.

When he bought it, I was hearing it as "Grate Stuff," and that seemed really odd. We have no grates to work with currently. When I asked for clarification, Phil the Engineer came out. "They didn't have this on the market yet when I graduated from college. This is the best stuff!" I think the benefits are ease of application, strength, fewer materials needed ... "I have no problem with them using that name. It's true!"

We later laughed, though, at any knock-off products. Would those be "Pretty Good Stuff" or "Mediocre Stuff"? What would it be like to say, "Hi, Honey, I developed Mediocre Stuff at work today!"

Aesthetically, as it shoots out around the insulation, it's not pretty to look at, but it will be covered up eventually.

Phil is within two plywood sheets of completing the roof. He put the edge sheet into place, Jadon screwed it down, and then Phil took his repaired saw and cut off the excess, letting it drop down.

The three younger boys and I had a busy day. We headed out this morning to run errands. First stop: camera repair shop. Gloriously, my camera was not broken. I suspected, then, that the charger simply wasn't operating properly (even though the blinking-then-solid light appeared to be working). I left some camera batteries at the store and left.

We picked up Clover, now separated into pieces. I was a bit disappointed to learn that he had weighed under 600 pounds. If a bull is born at about 50 pounds, and gains the hoped for pound a day, a two-year-old bull, as he was, should have been about 200 pounds more at least. Phil thought the steaks looked lean: not much fat on them. His "rail weight," the weight of his two sides as they hung in the cooler, was 338 pounds. Out of that, we have 122 pounds of ground beef (no stew meat—we had them grind it all, as I make ground beef meals often), and some other cuts. Happily, all of him fit into one chest freezer, except for a few packages of his liver, and the stock bones, which are cooking now.

Sounds like we'll need to work on finishing our cattle, but for now, I am thankful to have our first home-grown beef. It was four years (tomorrow) in coming.

After a Costco run, and a stop again at the camera shop, where I did just need a new charger, apparently, we picked up a package at the post office and headed home. It was about six hours from when we left, so we made good time, but I had had nothing but water and tortilla chips during that trek. I had lifted 40 lb. bags of dog food, kept the children in line, and driven further than I've gone yet this year.

Once the meat was stowed, I was absolutely wiped out. I don't usually just lie down without moving, but I did that for a time.

Then all six of us headed up to the roof. Phil and Jadon worked, and I just sat there and watched. I just sat. And played with my beloved camera.

Joe had never been up on the roof. The 15' climb intimidated him, but with Phil spotting him, he headed up, then down, then up again. Good for him!

And, with the superior lens, I could actually take a photo of the interior, which grows fairly dark as the sun goes down.

Camera back. Gutters bought. Roof so close to being done. Beef in the freezer. Boys giggling over Garfield books in the box at the post office. It was a good day.