I’ve been hither-and-yon a bit recently, here’s some highlights.

Couple trips to Utah, one for Easter weekend and one for my most expensive second date ever. Loved Dad’s concert!

Day trip down to Portland to work with some folks at Intel. Hayden mentioned off-hand once that a train ran down that way and I figured what the heck.

I offered to cat-sit for someone for a couple weeks, while she was off on a cruise. For three days the cats stayed holed up in the guest room; I figured they’d eventually be curious, but nope. I finally coaxed the brother out, while the sister was a bit skittish. She eventually warmed up though. It helped when I tricked them both into my bathroom, where I could lock the door and there was no corner for them to hide, so they had no choice but to get cuddly.

Couple of side-quests: went to visit an arboretum in Seattle that I’d never known existed, and went on a date to a symphonic performance of a number of themes from sci-fi movies and shows. The Foundation theme was my favorite. Had a good time overall, but I was disappointed that no one broke out a bagpipe and taiko drums for some Battlestar Galactica.

Moar cats.

It was finally time to say goodbye. Their owner was sick so I took them in to Seattle. The sister was having none of her confinement and eventually forced herself out through an opening I’d forgotten to close.

On the weekend I ended up grillmaster at a ward cook-out and managed not to burn too many burgers. The next day was paddleboarding at Gasworks Park.

Now to the not-so-fun goings-on. The last couple of years I’ve had an exterminator and a handyman remark to me that there appears to be water damage at the bottom of my chimney in my back yard, and I should get it taken care of. Summers just passed by however, and I never got around to thinking hard about it until the rainy season was back, at which point it receded to the back of my mind. I’d made a few token efforts but nothing ever came of it. This week I decided to try again and I found someone who was able to get started right away. We were all hoping it would just involve removing a few feet of siding and replacing a bit of plywood.

Unfortunately, it turns out the damage was extensive, and they’re stripping off the siding from the entire chimney. This, combined with the atrocious price of lumber these days, is going to hurt my wallet quite a bit.

The head repairman called me over and had me climb up the ladder with him so I could observe the source of the damage first-hand.

Hard to make out due to the crumbled siding but that black-colored metal flashing that’s supposed to keep water away from the wood was improperly installed. Couple that with my inattentiveness in ensuring the gutters remain clear of debris, and extensive rainfall will overflow in the wrong direction and drain behind the siding.

Another bit of evidence that tells me I really should pay more attention to keeping things clear up there.

At one point he called me on the phone and gave me a bit of a warning. Apparently removing siding is all well and good, but replacing the underlying plywood technically requires clearance from the city, which could take weeks, during which time my chimney would be exposed to the elements. Now, I think I trust this guy, he comes with good reviews and has so far been on the up-and-up. I told him to just go ahead with his work. He cautioned me against informing the HOA of what exactly he was doing back there, just to avoid these kinds of permitting questions. Little did he know…