All this week we've had unbearable hot, humid weather. The temperature outside has been in the upper 90s, and with the humidity, it feels like it's 110! As frequently happens during super hot, humid weather, severe storms have been popping up around the midwest, usually in the evenings. Last night a big storm developed north of us, and within an hour had descended on the KC area. Tons of lightning, black skies, it looked ugly. I got home from work around 7pm, and Joe had gone to spin class and then an event promoting the KC Marathon this fall. Soon after I got home, it started pouring, and the winds picked up. Estimates I saw were 60-70 mph. In our neighborhood, all of the power lines are above ground, so wouldn't you know it, at 7:30 we lost power. I checked outside, and everyone on the opposite side of the road still had lights on, so I was hopeful that ours would come back on quickly.
Joe came home around 8:15, and the power was still off. Knowing that everything in the fridge and freezer was subject to going bad, (and having no way, other than the outdoor grill, to cook) we decided to go out for dinner. That took about an hour after trying to decide what we wanted, and discovering that our first choice had basically closed the kitchen already. When we returned home after 9:30 and still had no power, we realized that it may not be coming back for a while. Unfortunately for us, the brief rain showers and storm didn't drop the temperature very much, and the forecast was for the temp to creep back up as night went on. Joe decided to set up an air mattress in the basement. Sleeping in the dank basement on an air mattress sounded like a good idea because it was so much cooler down there, but after sore shoulders, necks, arms, etc, I headed back upstairs in the middle of the night to crawl into our much more comfortable bed. The worse part was not being able to turn on a fan and circulate any area, as there was no wind outside and the ambient air temperature just kept getting warmer and muggier.
Neither of us got much sleep, and as of 11 am the power was still off this morning. Our dogs got to stay at my sister's house, since we didn't want to leave them outside (today's high was forecast to be 96) and couldn't trust that the power would be restored soon enough to cool the inside of the house down. Luckily, when I got home tonight, the power was back on - I definitely wasn't ready to brave another night of no power and no air conditioning! Boy, do we have a greater appreciation for these modern conveniences!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The countdown begins!
Next week, Joe's family will descend on KC, which we are really excited about. Both sisters, their families, mom and step-dad, and I think even Grammy and Art are all coming for the 4th of July. What started as a long weekend visit with Lisa and family has turned into a mini family reunion! Thus, the rush to get the porch finished has started back up in earnest. Who knows - it may actually happen this time!
Sunday we put a second coat of paint on the ceiling panels, anticipating that Joe and a friend would start hanging them Sunday evening. Well, we didn't get started in time, so Joe pushed back the install job until Monday night after spinning class with said friend. On Monday, he managed to convince a couple other friends to come over and help as well, so we thought, no problem, we'll get them hung in a couple of hours! Well, that may have been the case, had Joe not forgotten to get all the necessary supplies ahead of time, and then left his wallet with one of the guys. So they didn't get started until around 7:30 or 8pm. Did I mention how horrifically hot it is right now, too? These poor 4 guys sweated more installing two ceiling panels than they did in their hour long spin class! By 9:30 they called it quits.
So now, we have 2 of 6 panels hung, and before the weekend Joe will re-install the ceiling fan and have that operational, as the next panel will cover that ceiling space above the fan. Saturday is the date to resume and finish hanging the ceiling, leaving us Sunday to touch up the paint, install the trim and hopefully finish the project (as much as we've decided we're going to do to call it done). Then Wednesday night, family starts to arrive and hopefully enjoy the finished porch!
Stay tuned!
Sunday we put a second coat of paint on the ceiling panels, anticipating that Joe and a friend would start hanging them Sunday evening. Well, we didn't get started in time, so Joe pushed back the install job until Monday night after spinning class with said friend. On Monday, he managed to convince a couple other friends to come over and help as well, so we thought, no problem, we'll get them hung in a couple of hours! Well, that may have been the case, had Joe not forgotten to get all the necessary supplies ahead of time, and then left his wallet with one of the guys. So they didn't get started until around 7:30 or 8pm. Did I mention how horrifically hot it is right now, too? These poor 4 guys sweated more installing two ceiling panels than they did in their hour long spin class! By 9:30 they called it quits.
So now, we have 2 of 6 panels hung, and before the weekend Joe will re-install the ceiling fan and have that operational, as the next panel will cover that ceiling space above the fan. Saturday is the date to resume and finish hanging the ceiling, leaving us Sunday to touch up the paint, install the trim and hopefully finish the project (as much as we've decided we're going to do to call it done). Then Wednesday night, family starts to arrive and hopefully enjoy the finished porch!
Stay tuned!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Summer Fun
Over Memorial Day weekend, Joe's mom and step-dad were in town. We had a great time visiting with them, and upon realizing that our old grill was all rusted and needed the insides replaced, Jill bought Joe a new grill as an early birthday present. We had a great time grilling almost every lunch/dinner, and trying new foods on the grill. A week or so later, we went to this great store, called Smoke N' Fire, that specializes in all things BBQ (and fireplaces, but that's a different story). Joe was like a kid in a candy store, with all of the utensils, books, grills, and accessories. They also have an incredible selection of BBQ sauces, rubs, marinades and whatnot, so we went ahead and picked up a few different items to try.
Since the end of May, we've done a fair share of grilling, and really enjoy trying new things. It's nice having dinner cooked so quickly, and not heating up the kitchen in the process. When everyone comes to visit for the 4th of July, hopefully Joe will have perfected his techniques!
In other news, remember that "weekend project" of re-doing our screened porch? We started that last year, on the 4th of July weekend. Progress? Nope. We worked frantically to paint the ceiling panels before everyone came over on Memorial Day, but realized we need to brace a beam in the roof that is cracking. And since then, everything's sat in the same place. I don't think it's asking too much to have the project complete before its 1 year anniversary, do you? :)
Since the end of May, we've done a fair share of grilling, and really enjoy trying new things. It's nice having dinner cooked so quickly, and not heating up the kitchen in the process. When everyone comes to visit for the 4th of July, hopefully Joe will have perfected his techniques!
In other news, remember that "weekend project" of re-doing our screened porch? We started that last year, on the 4th of July weekend. Progress? Nope. We worked frantically to paint the ceiling panels before everyone came over on Memorial Day, but realized we need to brace a beam in the roof that is cracking. And since then, everything's sat in the same place. I don't think it's asking too much to have the project complete before its 1 year anniversary, do you? :)
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