wow that was amazing!!

Thank you so much! How fantastic to get all those comments and compliments for my third-year blipday. Thank you! I am touched and appreciative. I also feel lucky that the last of my infrastructure thoughts fell on it AND that I had a nice photograph, not a safety shot. 

This is a derelict that I've been deliberately saving for just this occasion. 

To balance it in the extras is a better shot than my last one of the oh-so-modern Tesla with its chandelier and a very dignified cat that for some reason liked me better than he likes most people. The proof of this is he let me pet him and only nibbled me instead of biting me. He bites everyone else. 

I researched roofing materials today. We repaired our roof in 2019? so we could postpone the decision on how to replace it. If we could find something that would reflect heat back out to the atmosphere rather than absorb it into the house it would reduce the energy needed to cool it. We are a little sensitive on this topic, or I'm a little sensitive on this topic, because one of the bad periods of my life I was moving from my apartment in Pennsylvania back to my home in Maryland, we had a heat wave and no electricity for a week, the same week Karen was in the hospital and it looked bad, and I was consulting with hopes to turn the gig into employment. So massive pressure, massive stress, no AC, windows open, and neighbors who talked on their decks late at night instead of being quiet. 

I learned that we have a "stupid house" not a smart house - the townhouse was built on the assumption of AC and actually gets hotter than the outside temperature without it. 

The story has happy endings. 
- Samuel stayed in daycare in Pennsylvania so he wouldn't cook to death in my house while I was at work. 
- Karen was much more comfortable in the hospital with AC, internet, and TV than she would have been at home and other than one point where a near hospital mistake could have killed her, made it home, had surgery, and was fine.
- I got the job. 

But now I want to do whatever feasible to reduce the peak temperatures of the house in case we lose power during another heat wave. I am thinking of waiting, since we can, to see if the infrastructure bill passes and there are tax incentives to install a "cool roof." There are metal roofs and even asphalt roofs that help reflect heat back out. Why not a solar roof? Well, there is a really big tree on community property near my house that shades the roof. All of these options are more expensive of course, but I would like the roof to last the rest of my lifetime and ideally Karen's. 

I also spent time trying to make progress on the video of my mom's friend. I learned I have no idea how to import part of a video of her in the Montana Senate being honored, but hopefully I have a friend who can help. People aren't afraid to try new things just because they won't initially be good at them, they are also frustrated as all get out trying to learn difficult software. At least I learned how to export part of it. Harumph. 

I spent some time gardening. My terrific neighbor gave me her thinnings to rehome. No cost, no actual tomatoes, but since I am not dependent on them for food it is ok. At least the birds get something. 

Here, I got you some cookies. They'll help us get through the week. 

thank you for hosting the derelict challenge Marlieske