They say that one should live in “interesting†times, this weekend was “interestingâ€.
I didn’t do much on Friday. Mainly I kicked around the house doing minor tasks.
On Saturday morning I did a short walk with Betsy and her dog Bella before heading out on what would turn out to be a cycling adventure with Bonnie. The forecast I saw never mentioned a chance of rain greater than 5%, so I had already spent time washing and hanging clothes, and put an old nightstand on the curb in hopes that someone would claim it. I met up with Bonnie and the plan was to do a revised “reverse†BeltGrind, stopping midpoint to meet up with hashers at Fire Maker Brewing. All was well, we rode clockwise along the Beltline and navigated some dicey streets to get to Chattahoochee Industrial. She and I were early, so we stopped at Steady Hand Brewing for a half beer before Fire Maker. A lovely time was had consuming beers and seeing some hashing friends, and then Bonnie and I decided it was time to leave to finish our ride. The sky looked ominous, but I was hoping it would be all north and west of home. She and I pedaled as fast as we could, I missed our turn at 17th Street so we took 14th and went through the Georgia Tech campus (not realizing to how close to the day’s other major “interesting†event we were) and then the rain started. By the time we reached shelter at the Georgia Aquarium parking garage the skies had opened wide, blowing wind gusts and dumping water. After assessing the situation I determined our best course of action was to push on, after all we were already soaked to the bone. The ride via downtown took us through major waterways of street runoff, and we managed to make it to Bonnie’s garage and wait out the rain, which had mostly gone north of us by that point. Soaked, I finished the ride only to find out once at home that the City of Atlanta had (another) water main break (near the Georgia Tech campus) and that I would be under a cautionary “boil water†advisory until late last night). Needless to say, my laundry was not dry and my nightstand was threatened to never be adopted.
Yesterday was not nearly as hectic. Once again Bonnie and I joined forces, this time to do a five-mile walk starting at Medlock Park, and then rewarding ourselves with some beer at The Lost Druid, before returning to my house where I grilled up some veggie burgers and ate them with salad, all food provided by Bonnie.
And, while sitting in my carport we saw a car stop, back up, and tote away my nightstand! Woot!
I am hoping today goes smoothly. You may have noticed that I’ve not been whining about the heat, that’s because I have been keeping my pie hole shut until today, when I am scheduled to have a new HVAC (heating and cooling) installed. It’s far more money than I expected to spend, but I am looking at it as a necessary cost of home ownership that I will be paying off, interest free, over the next five years. And if I decide to sell the house at some point, making “recently updated HVAC†a feature…
How “interesting†was your weekend?
Hope you are staying well.
I forgot to mention that today starts my “Summer of Spending†during which I will spending more money than I care to on items I wish to spend no money, like replacing a windshield. ☹ï¸
A good, but quiet weekend. Took the scooter out Saturday and got a little muddy. I’d been down this dirt road in the truck with the thought of 2 wheels, but didn’t remember. It was pretty damp on Saturday, so it was a bit sketchy in places on the scooter. Debbie was working the afternoon shift at the horse show in Chatt Hills and they had a rain/lightning hold for a while.
While I should have gotten out on my bicycle Saturday to at least spin my legs out, I waited until Sunday. 22 miles with a good portion gravel and lots of wildlife. 2 deer, turkey, armadillo on the hoof, and a couple turtles.
That water main break was amazing. I wonder how something like that happens without some sort of digging error/catastrophic event. I guess they can “age out”?
-FP
Sweet, I have been rewarded by watching the yard bags I had placed on the curb, including the four I filled this morning, get picked up by the City.
HVAC crew has arrived, none of which is the technician with whom I’ve interfaces previously. Bummer. Estimate for completion, four hours.
I rode the South River Trail over to the Georgia State Perimeter College campus. I wanted to get a 30+ mile ride in, so I tacked on an Eastside Trail Beltline ride, and was at about 31 miles when I got close to my house, so I added 5 more miles on that included the Southside Beltline over to Milton Ave, then back through Summerhill.
I have my eye on rolling my own half-century ride by this fall. The Silver Comet Trail is 14 miles from my house, so I’ll probably go that way. Or I can do South River Trail, go 5.6 miles to the east, and pick up the Arabia Mountain Path trail. Or get wild and crazy and do both, on separate weekends, of course.
Well done!
Thanks! I appreciate the assist in figuring out the rest of the SRT. It made sense once I went the right way.
Well done Lurker! I can’t imagine your route to the Comet would be all enjoyable as the routes over the river are limited and not very bike friendly- or at least thats what I imagine.
I doubt riding the Comet will become a regular thing, but I’d like to do it at least once from my house. I’ll report in on my experience. I’ve looked at the route Google Maps suggests for being on a bike, it seems doable.
*Fist bump* Lurker! I’ve also been thinking about riding “the gap†from Perimeter College to Arabia Mountain PATH. I haven’t ridden 50 miles yet either, but I’ve gotten up to about 45. I was thinking about schlepping the bike up to the Silver Comet and riding my first 50 there.
Thanks, Bonnie! 45 is *real* close to 50, you’re almost there!
Because nothing at the ITP Estate is easy, it is nerve-wracking to watch such a major change occur. Even getting bulky components to and from the backyard is problematic.
If I ever get around to replacing the stairs that lead from my driveway to the back yard I will either install a ramp or runners on which hand trucks can be used.
Taking a break from yard work, filled two more leaf bags with English ivy for next week’s pick up. So far I’ve racked up almost four hours of labor and unfortunately just as many annoying ant bites.
Looked at my furnace after they schlepped it to the driveway. If I read the sticker correctly it was manufactured in 1985. 😮 Okay, I feel a little better about investing more money than expected into this process.
Half of the crew has finished their portion and is headed to another job, two crew members remain to finish mine…
35 years? They just don’t make things worth a damn anymore. (#quityourbitchin)
I knew it was at least 21 years old since it came with the house.
Still waiting on the project to be completed, they are calling the two that left for some reason. 😬 I hope they finish successfully soon, I need a shower badly.
Went to my HOA gym for the first time today (it re-opened on Saturday). There are 45-minute time slots that you sign up for in advance, and since it’s just one small room only one household is permitted per slot. Members clean the equipment ourselves. We left the outside door open since someone had been in there during the previous time slot, though I felt bad wasting the A/C. I really only plan to use it to lift weights, and perhaps do cardio on rainy days. I can do my floor exercises at home. While it was a pain in the ass, I don’t have weights at home.
We have our first pool slot this afternoon so we’ll see how that goes. They limit the number of people per time slot and there are a slew of rules (rightfully so). It’s BYOE(verything)—the only thing they provide are umbrellas. I doubt I will actually get in the water. They aren’t allowing guests this year, and while I get it, I usually go to the pool with friends.
Dangen! I’m now in a “waiting gameâ€. The installer can’t get the new fancy-pants thermostat to recognize the system. He says he’s done everything he can, now I am being handed over to a technician who can hopefully come out today to try and get things working. I am trying to be positive about life these days, but it’s a little difficult when shit keeps going wrong. Thankfully it’s not balls’ hot currently.
I still need a nice shower, and to tend to my ant bites.
Ugh. *Hugs*
And I am wrong, I just saw that the temperature is 90°F and rising. 😢
On the bright side, I got a lot of yard work done today even if I was bitten by ants.
It’s almost comical that at least two times I have walked to the thermal to see what the temperature is. Only problem with this is that I no longer have my old thermostat, and the new one isn’t working. I don’t know a number, but I do know that it is warm.
Damn network!! It’s always the network- at least to me.
4:10 and still no AC. Now I am aggravated, and hot.