In our first week on the island, we’ve kept to our promise to relax and rejuvenate. Our good friend Crystal arrived from L.A., and we’ve spent a lot of time just gazing out from the hilltop. Sunday evening, we took in a free concert on the Plaza by the Ponce Orchestra. Today (Tuesday), we drove to see the rainforest at El Yunque National Forest. This is not the Amazon; it is small, charming, and still recovering from the hurricanes and earthquakes of recent years. The signature La Mina waterfall remains closed, but smaller pools and waterfalls were open. Allysen waded right into one of them. I, with my exosuit (portable O2 concentrator) on my back, had to stand clear and enjoy her splash.
Tomorrow, our thoughts turn to some repairs, but mostly I’m staying hands-off and seeing if I can focus the book.
With Covid behind us, we have arrived for our annual visit to Casarboles, the home that Allysen’s parents built in Ponce, Puerto Rico, back in the early 1970s. The house and grounds are lovely, as always, and all the previous years of work are paying off. Also, last year saw a lot of extra work done by Allysen’s brother and a friend. Yes, there is plenty still to do, but this year we’re going to be more relaxed about it and give ourselves time to just enjoy being here. And for me, fingers crossed, to write. Is this us?
The pool deck I rebuilt is still standing!
So far, we’ve mainly slept, shopped for supplies, and hung out on the dining veranda enjoying the view. The trinitaria are in full, gorgeous bloom. (Can you find Waldo?)
One consolation of having Covid (and yeah, I’ve had a rebound and it feels like a head cold, but I am now positive again!!) is that you have a good excuse to sit and binge watch shows you’ve been meaning to get to. In my case it was For All Mankind (Season 4) and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Season 1). Both were really good, both on Apple TV+!
For All Mankind was co-created by Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame, and it displays all the strengths and (maybe) excesses of that show. The writing and acting and production are top-notch, and the story arc utterly compelling (alternate history of the space program). It maybe goes overboard on the gritty realism, for my taste—in the sense that virtually every character is conflicted by bad choices and tormented by the ensuing consequences, just like in BSG. The characters are all quite believable, and I wouldn’t call any particular one into question, but the overall angst-o-meter reading is way over into the red, and I might have liked a little break from that. Also, I’m skeptical about the asteroid-diverting orbital dynamics that enabled the Mars-firsters to steal a big asteroid from the Earth-loyalists. But never mind that. It was a terrific watching experience, and it took my breath away at the end.
Monarch was good, too, which was surprising to me, as I watch creature features for the love of the monsters and don’t expect much good writing and characterization. In fact, this was much more a human-character story than it was a monster flick. Godzilla and others appear, but infrequently. (Godzilla still doesn’t have the proper Gronnnnnnnnnk! roar of the original.) And some of the character angles (the antagonism of two step-sibs toward their wayward father, primarily) got beaten into a dead horse at times. But overall, it was entertaining and surprisingly well done.
What to follow that up with? Well, I tried Reacher (Season 2 on Prime), and it was time-filling, but not much more than that. Banal dialogue, endless stupid violence, and if my memory is accurate (not at all a sure thing), it didn’t follow the book it was based on very well. I confess I have listened to many Reacher books via audiobook, and they are definitely a guilty pleasure. Reacher’s an interesting character, and the books are fun action adventure, but basically overloaded with mindless violence. Each time I finish one, I say, “That’s it, no more.” And then another comes out, and I go, “Oh well, maybe one more.” I’m not proud of myself, but there you have it.
Oh, we’ve also been watching Astrid on PBS and Midsomer Murders on Pluto, both excellent. I am trying to memorize the theremin theme to Midsomer so I can learn to play it on my theremin.
Meanwhile, we are getting ready for a trip to Puerto Rico, and the porch reconstruction inches along.
Covid. That’s how we started 2024. Allysen has it; most of the family has it. Jayce and I are the only two left standing, still testing negative—and feeling okay, if you don’t count the queasies from overeating over the holidays. No one is enjoying their virus, but also no one got deathly ill, and all are getting better. Jayce and I are grateful for the updated vaccine that may have helped protect us. Allysen is really annoyed to have lost her status as never having gotten Covid.
That’s not the best intro to a new year, so let’s start over.
I’m sending Kevin a day into the future to deliver these greetings early.
Kevin/Santa and all of us at the Carver Star Rigger Ranch wish all of you the very best Christmas and greetings of the season. Blessings, everyone! Grab a mug and stay toasty by the fire.
Did I say the porch project had begun? That was several weeks ago. Then nothing happened, as we waited and fidgeted while the town building department sat on the permit application. (According to the contractor, this was extremely unusual. Generally it’s in, stamp, you’re done.) Meanwhile, possibly the last of the mild weather was going by, and we have concrete that needs to be poured. Frustration all around.
Two days ago, the permit finally went through, and the dumpster moved in. First up, jackhammer the concrete steps to pieces. That started yesterday, and is only half done. Those steps were built to last! Anyway, work has started. Let’s hope the weather holds for a few more weeks!
Our front porch is braced for rapid scheduled disassembly, as soon as the building permit goes through. Here’s a last look at the way things were.
The tree out front, our spiky companion of thirty-some years (and decorated with blue lights at Christmas for many years), had to come down. Here’s Allysen after the first set of cuttings. And then…
We’re just emerging from one of the big house projects, which is a major upgrade to our electrical service, taking our whole two-family house from 200-amp service to 400A. This involves bigger meters on the outside, bigger panels on the inside, and an even bigger payday for the electrician. Also, bigger and better circuits and power in the house.
And the first of the two new meters…
One of the things this is making possible is getting rid of our 30-year-old Caloric gas range with its accompanying hydrocarbon fumes and replacing it with a GE Profile induction range. We’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but the driving factor was to spare our lungs from the insidious pollution of natural gas and replace it with the mind-altering effects of strong electromagnetic fields… no, wait—I mean, replace it with a cleaner, more climate-friendly, and better-controlled cooking experience. Seriously, we’ve been doing at least half our cooking for the last six months on a portable induction “hot plate” sitting on top of our gas range. We love it. Cleaner, safer, less waste heat, and way better control of the cooking. The only downside was having to buy a couple of new pans. We’ll be getting a nice rebate for the induction range.
Also part of this project was putting in some switching to make possible the use of a backup generator in the event of a prolonged power outage. For now, the backup is the little generator in our campervan, but in the fullness of time, we’ll upgrade that, as well. (But while the power was off during the work, I did keep two refrigerators and a freezer going with the camper gen. And it should keep the heat on, as well, since the gas-fired steam boilers only require a small amount of current to run.)
The job took so long, I thought we were going to have to offer the electrician a room to stay in. The major work is done now, though we still have a couple of small things for him to do. In the meantime, I think we’re close to agreement with the outside contractor to build new front porches on the house. I’m not doing any of this work myself, but I feel tired!
Here’s our new range. It will go downstairs with us when we move.
