So I get a call from Evelin around 2:00 p.m. saying that she's talking Celeste to the doctors' office. Of course, it wasn't anything as tragic as dropping CDs on her head, just that it looked like she had a clogged tear duct and the office said to have her come in for a look-see. It turns out that is the problem — no big deal, we just have to give Celeste some eyedrops until it clears up ... which probably means some crying from her, but maybe that's part of opening those ducts up.
But the fun part is that Celeste got an official weigh-in: 13 pounds, 10 ounces. I could tell she was getting heavier and bigger, but it's always good to get scientific confirmation. And she's not only doubled her birth weight, she's only 3 pounds, 1 ounce away from trebling it ...
Oh, and on Friday, she turns five months old. It's hard to believe ...
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Cold Weather and Cookin'
For the second weekend in a row, we're getting a nice snowstorm. Luckily we also are, once again, above the sleet line. Actually, a little bit of the precipitation last night came down as ice, but there was a little bit of snow down first, so it wasn’t too bad to shovel or clean off the cars (just crack the ice layer and lift up; the snow below kept the ice from sticking to the walk).
I have a bad habit of sometimes buying cooking magazines and even cookbooks because a pictured recipe looks too good to not try. The March issue of Fine Cooking is a case in point with its red potatoes roasted with lemon & olives cover shot. Last night, we tried that recipe for dinner and it turned out pretty good.
Evelin was making some applesauce to freeze for Celeste, so she had all the attachments for the KitchenAid out, so I decided to see if the roto slicer could speed up the prep some. It made quick work of slicing the potatoes, but it made a mess of the lemon. In the end, the potato slices would have worked better for a gratin or something; they were a bit too thin for this dish, but it still ended up tasty.
The recipe isn't online, but it's fairly straight forward: 2 pounds of red potatoes, sliced; one lemon thinly sliced; olive oil; 1⁄4 cup chopped parsley; 2 toes garlic, minced; salt; 1⁄3 cup black olives. Toss everything except the olives with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and then spread evenly into a well oiled 9×13 inch pan and bake at 425°F for an hour or so, stirring everything every 20 minutes or so. The olives get thrown in for the last five minutes or so of cooking. The recipe called for oil-cured olives, but I went with kalamatas instead ... it's just what we on hand and they were already pitted.
The potatoes are supposed to crisp while the lemons caramelize, but since the potatoes were so thin, they didn't really crisp they way should. Still it was very tasty (Evelin compared the flavor to a shaker lemon pie, with potatoes instead of eggs), and it worked well when paired with φασολάκια. Actually, I just improvised the φασολάκια, so it ended up not having the dill in it, but the tastes complemented the potato nicely.
Next time, I think I'll try some oregano in the potatoes; I think that'd be a nice with the lemon and olive flavors. I'll also cut the potatoes by hand.
After dinner I ran out and picked up some baklava and Super Size Me — really funny and scary at the same time — and I started soaking the beans for today's cooking fun.
As yesterday's to-do list noted, I need to make a mess of red beans today. It could be Louisiana chauvinism or parochialism or something, but only Camellia Brand Beans will do for red beans and rice. Usually, whenever we're running low (and not headed back South for a while), I'll ask my mother to bring or send some up (that and big jars of Zatarain's Creole mustard), but it looks like Camellia beans are also sold through Amazon now.
I set up 2 pounds to soak overnight and this morning I started cutting up three onions, about six ribs of celery, a few scallions, some parsley, a few bay leaves, and three toes of garlic. All that is cooked down in some olive oil until everything's wilted and the onions are nice and translucent. Then I add the beans and about 15 cups of water and start it to cooking. I let the beans simmer for about a couple of hours or so, until the liquid has reduced enough and the beans are super tender. And, when it seems like things are about an hour or so away from being ready, I scoop out a cup or so of the beans and mash them up; when added back to the pot, it makes things nice and creamy.
Despite the snow outside, the red beans on the stove, the increased humidity level in the house, and the Mardi Gras music in the CD player are making it a nicely Louisiana feeling day.
I have a bad habit of sometimes buying cooking magazines and even cookbooks because a pictured recipe looks too good to not try. The March issue of Fine Cooking is a case in point with its red potatoes roasted with lemon & olives cover shot. Last night, we tried that recipe for dinner and it turned out pretty good.
Evelin was making some applesauce to freeze for Celeste, so she had all the attachments for the KitchenAid out, so I decided to see if the roto slicer could speed up the prep some. It made quick work of slicing the potatoes, but it made a mess of the lemon. In the end, the potato slices would have worked better for a gratin or something; they were a bit too thin for this dish, but it still ended up tasty.
The recipe isn't online, but it's fairly straight forward: 2 pounds of red potatoes, sliced; one lemon thinly sliced; olive oil; 1⁄4 cup chopped parsley; 2 toes garlic, minced; salt; 1⁄3 cup black olives. Toss everything except the olives with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and then spread evenly into a well oiled 9×13 inch pan and bake at 425°F for an hour or so, stirring everything every 20 minutes or so. The olives get thrown in for the last five minutes or so of cooking. The recipe called for oil-cured olives, but I went with kalamatas instead ... it's just what we on hand and they were already pitted.
The potatoes are supposed to crisp while the lemons caramelize, but since the potatoes were so thin, they didn't really crisp they way should. Still it was very tasty (Evelin compared the flavor to a shaker lemon pie, with potatoes instead of eggs), and it worked well when paired with φασολάκια. Actually, I just improvised the φασολάκια, so it ended up not having the dill in it, but the tastes complemented the potato nicely.
Next time, I think I'll try some oregano in the potatoes; I think that'd be a nice with the lemon and olive flavors. I'll also cut the potatoes by hand.
After dinner I ran out and picked up some baklava and Super Size Me — really funny and scary at the same time — and I started soaking the beans for today's cooking fun.
As yesterday's to-do list noted, I need to make a mess of red beans today. It could be Louisiana chauvinism or parochialism or something, but only Camellia Brand Beans will do for red beans and rice. Usually, whenever we're running low (and not headed back South for a while), I'll ask my mother to bring or send some up (that and big jars of Zatarain's Creole mustard), but it looks like Camellia beans are also sold through Amazon now.
I set up 2 pounds to soak overnight and this morning I started cutting up three onions, about six ribs of celery, a few scallions, some parsley, a few bay leaves, and three toes of garlic. All that is cooked down in some olive oil until everything's wilted and the onions are nice and translucent. Then I add the beans and about 15 cups of water and start it to cooking. I let the beans simmer for about a couple of hours or so, until the liquid has reduced enough and the beans are super tender. And, when it seems like things are about an hour or so away from being ready, I scoop out a cup or so of the beans and mash them up; when added back to the pot, it makes things nice and creamy.
Despite the snow outside, the red beans on the stove, the increased humidity level in the house, and the Mardi Gras music in the CD player are making it a nicely Louisiana feeling day.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
From the Comments
Evelin said
So anyway, once I cleaned up the rat's nest of wiring in the guest room, putting in a junction box so to keep things safe from little fingers that maybe crawling around soon (and from big fingers that used to be able to knock out the phone service while setting up the guest room ...), I still had to replace the jack/outlet in Celeste's room (it was detached from the wall and the wires needed to be tacked back down). I also thought I'd try to bridge the black and green and yellow and red wires at some point in the line to get all the outlets working again. My thinking was that if one line in the house was red-green and the other yellow-black, I could get them all working if red was tied to yellow and green to black.
Before I could put that plan into action, Evelin suggested (okay, insisted) I test the upstairs outlets. Walking around with our non-cordless phone, I tried the jack in the bedroom and in the nursery and both worked. Even the jack in the basement now works.
So that one junction box upstairs fixed all the outlets (actually, a year or two ago, when I did a very half-assed clean up of the wires, they might well have been fixed, but we just never thought to check). I still had to get a new jack/outlet for Celeste's room, however, and since the wires were a bit on the short side, a few curses were uttered ...
Hellllloooo! I think you need to mention how I saved you from spending lots of money, uttering lots of curses, and generally being a cranky-pants because things were easier than you thought they were....Okay, this is about the phone wiring: When we moved in to this house so long ago the two upstairs phone outlets didn't work. I figured things were wired for two separate phone lines, and we didn't really stress over it. The cordless phone could go anywhere in the house and that was good enough.
So anyway, once I cleaned up the rat's nest of wiring in the guest room, putting in a junction box so to keep things safe from little fingers that maybe crawling around soon (and from big fingers that used to be able to knock out the phone service while setting up the guest room ...), I still had to replace the jack/outlet in Celeste's room (it was detached from the wall and the wires needed to be tacked back down). I also thought I'd try to bridge the black and green and yellow and red wires at some point in the line to get all the outlets working again. My thinking was that if one line in the house was red-green and the other yellow-black, I could get them all working if red was tied to yellow and green to black.
Before I could put that plan into action, Evelin suggested (okay, insisted) I test the upstairs outlets. Walking around with our non-cordless phone, I tried the jack in the bedroom and in the nursery and both worked. Even the jack in the basement now works.
So that one junction box upstairs fixed all the outlets (actually, a year or two ago, when I did a very half-assed clean up of the wires, they might well have been fixed, but we just never thought to check). I still had to get a new jack/outlet for Celeste's room, however, and since the wires were a bit on the short side, a few curses were uttered ...
Things to Do
√ Finish Humidifier ProjectWorking my way down the to-do list, I think it's shaping up to be a good weekend ...
√ Cleaning Up Phone Wiring
Have a Good Nap
Make a Mess of Red Beans
Friday, January 28, 2005
Humidity, in All It's Drippy Glory
Success at last ... or at least another way that worked. I don't have the humidifier tied into the fan control; instead, I installed a sail switch (basically a plastic bag kept rigid by a wire that, when air is racing through the return duct, changes position and completes the circuit) and we have a working humidifier.
I'll probably keep checking it tonight to make sure there aren't any leaks, and I need to replace the drain line (the old one works for now, but it's got the detritus of the years in it and I'm sure it'll clog or something at some point. The kit did include 10 feet of drainage tube, but that's not long enough if I want to follow the old drainage tube's run (which isn't efficient, but it is out of the way).
I might try to tap into an existing drainpipe or something (right now it dumps into the sink), but I'm not sure. The closest place to use would be the same pipe that drains the AC's condenser coil to the outside, but I (thankfully) realized that that cool water draining outside during the winter — when it's likely to be below freezing at least some of the time — would be a bad idea.
Tomorrow, I'll probably play with the drainage setup and try to clean up the phone wiring upstairs ... with all that humidity, it seems like a good time for a project or two.
[UPDATE: Okay, a new short temporary drain line is now in place: There was some nasty crud in the old line, and it was backing up. I caught it just in time. The compression fitting at the saddle valve needed another twist or two with the pliers; there was a small bead of water dripping from it. Hopefully that's the last of the excitement and the house will start getting less dry.
Actually, I'm a little curious about how much water flows through the drain line; the more humid air should make the house feel warmer, and maybe we can set the thermostat a little lower (don't tell Evelin ...). At the same time, we're going to get at least a little bump in the water bill. Maybe I'll try to measure how much water is flowing out during the typical furnace cycle ...]
I'll probably keep checking it tonight to make sure there aren't any leaks, and I need to replace the drain line (the old one works for now, but it's got the detritus of the years in it and I'm sure it'll clog or something at some point. The kit did include 10 feet of drainage tube, but that's not long enough if I want to follow the old drainage tube's run (which isn't efficient, but it is out of the way).
I might try to tap into an existing drainpipe or something (right now it dumps into the sink), but I'm not sure. The closest place to use would be the same pipe that drains the AC's condenser coil to the outside, but I (thankfully) realized that that cool water draining outside during the winter — when it's likely to be below freezing at least some of the time — would be a bad idea.
Tomorrow, I'll probably play with the drainage setup and try to clean up the phone wiring upstairs ... with all that humidity, it seems like a good time for a project or two.
[UPDATE: Okay, a new short temporary drain line is now in place: There was some nasty crud in the old line, and it was backing up. I caught it just in time. The compression fitting at the saddle valve needed another twist or two with the pliers; there was a small bead of water dripping from it. Hopefully that's the last of the excitement and the house will start getting less dry.
Actually, I'm a little curious about how much water flows through the drain line; the more humid air should make the house feel warmer, and maybe we can set the thermostat a little lower (don't tell Evelin ...). At the same time, we're going to get at least a little bump in the water bill. Maybe I'll try to measure how much water is flowing out during the typical furnace cycle ...]
In the Morning, All Is Well
Celeste made it through the night. Actually, she fought going to bed for a long time last night (leading to a very overtired, cranky baby), but after a feeding at 4:30 a.m. or so she decided it was playtime. We had her in our bed and she kept whacking my face with her helicopter arms. Adding to the helicopter imagery were the grrrrrrrrrrrr and bhrrrrrrrrt soundeffects she was making. She finally fell back asleep a bit after 6:00, after I'd gotten up and was getting ready to go to work.
So, it seems no long lasting damage was done, although we'll see how she feels about Ricky Skaggs, Nick Cave, and those Living in Oblivion '80s comps over the next week or so ...
So, it seems no long lasting damage was done, although we'll see how she feels about Ricky Skaggs, Nick Cave, and those Living in Oblivion '80s comps over the next week or so ...
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Paging Child Protective Services ...
Officially, I am a terrible father. A danger to Celeste. I should be working normal hours (or probably any of her waking hours, just to make certain I am not left in a position of responsibility again).
It's cold today, 19°F or so, so going outside with Celeste means a snowsuit of somesort, which means she's too bundled to fit comfortably in the BabyBjörn and even the carseat is a struggle. That's where the problem starts.
Given when Celeste was sleeping and eating, I thought we'd have time to run to the grocery. All was going okay (she was protesting the snowsuit + carseat situation), except that I was trying to hurry things along while getting the straps snapped and the carseat bumped the CD tower, which is in a terrible place and it didn't help that a small stack of discs (in jewel boxes) was sitting atop the tower.
Before I go any further: Celeste is okay. I however am psychically scarred.
Several discs fell down into the carseat, with at least two striking Celeste on the head. There was that mamasecond of a pause before either of us realized what had happened and the crying started. Needless to say the grocery trip was postponed.
I got Celeste out of the bucket and tried to comfort her. Finally a lot of soft talking, expansive apologies, and a pacifier soothed her enough to ditch the snowsuit and to settle in for some quiet sniffling.
That's when I started checking the books. Surprisingly enough, neither What to Expect the First Year nor The Baby Owner's Manual has "CDs Falling on Head" in the index. Checking the "bumps and bruises" and "head injury" sections, I checked the danger signs vs. Celeste's symptoms. It looked like things were okay, but I also googled baby hit in head. (This was probably the most helpful result.)
As suggested everywhere, I tried a cold compress, but that just started the crying again.
After more comforting, I put her in her exersaucer and she seemed happy enough, except that she refused to look at me. I'd scoot into her line of vision, and Celeste would turn and look at the toy to the left or right of me.
I called Evelin, who said to call the doctor if I thought it would make me feel better. I tried, got the answering service, but didn't leave a message. Scanning their list of emergency signs, none of Celeste's symptoms matched, so I didn't think I should take up a place in the queue that was needed by someone with a real emergency. I called Evelin back, and at this point she was teasing and laughing at me a bit.
Truth be told, Celeste's probably had harder blows when she headbutts my chin, but those don't make me feel like I'm doing a very good job as a caregiver either ...
It's cold today, 19°F or so, so going outside with Celeste means a snowsuit of somesort, which means she's too bundled to fit comfortably in the BabyBjörn and even the carseat is a struggle. That's where the problem starts.
Given when Celeste was sleeping and eating, I thought we'd have time to run to the grocery. All was going okay (she was protesting the snowsuit + carseat situation), except that I was trying to hurry things along while getting the straps snapped and the carseat bumped the CD tower, which is in a terrible place and it didn't help that a small stack of discs (in jewel boxes) was sitting atop the tower.
Before I go any further: Celeste is okay. I however am psychically scarred.
Several discs fell down into the carseat, with at least two striking Celeste on the head. There was that mamasecond of a pause before either of us realized what had happened and the crying started. Needless to say the grocery trip was postponed.
I got Celeste out of the bucket and tried to comfort her. Finally a lot of soft talking, expansive apologies, and a pacifier soothed her enough to ditch the snowsuit and to settle in for some quiet sniffling.
That's when I started checking the books. Surprisingly enough, neither What to Expect the First Year nor The Baby Owner's Manual has "CDs Falling on Head" in the index. Checking the "bumps and bruises" and "head injury" sections, I checked the danger signs vs. Celeste's symptoms. It looked like things were okay, but I also googled baby hit in head. (This was probably the most helpful result.)
As suggested everywhere, I tried a cold compress, but that just started the crying again.
After more comforting, I put her in her exersaucer and she seemed happy enough, except that she refused to look at me. I'd scoot into her line of vision, and Celeste would turn and look at the toy to the left or right of me.
I called Evelin, who said to call the doctor if I thought it would make me feel better. I tried, got the answering service, but didn't leave a message. Scanning their list of emergency signs, none of Celeste's symptoms matched, so I didn't think I should take up a place in the queue that was needed by someone with a real emergency. I called Evelin back, and at this point she was teasing and laughing at me a bit.
Truth be told, Celeste's probably had harder blows when she headbutts my chin, but those don't make me feel like I'm doing a very good job as a caregiver either ...
Baby Spit Up My Nose
(important clarification, baby spit not baby spit up)
Since on Tuesday the first feeding for Celeste was a bit rocky, Evelin and I decided to split 8 ounces of milk into three bottles: 2 ounces, 2 ounces, and 4 ounces. The idea was to not spoil a big bottle if Celeste was going to fuss instead of feed.
Well, around 12:20 p.m. or so, Celeste as stirring and probably could have calmed herself down to continue her nap, but Evelin thought she'd sneak in one more feeding before leaving. So Celeste got some milk and I got a baby who was okay playing/talking in her crib for a little while, but she wanted up by a little past 1:00 p.m.
We had some good playing — a little bit of rolling practice, some cheek and finger nibbling, some time on the playmate — until it looked like she was eating her hands more for sustenance than for sport. I set up a 2 ounce bottle and we settled down for a quick feeding. Celeste made short work of that, but didn't seem to be searching for more, so we started playing again.
She was propped against my chest and I was making snuffing noises at her neck, cracking her up, when she shifted her head and tried to latch on to my nose. It was a good attempt, but my nostrils kept her from latching on properly. However those same nostrils were very handy for depositing about a pint of baby slobber. And, of course, I'm laughing so hard that I just stuck the drool in deeper.
After a good sneeze, I asked Celeste if she wanted MORE EAT, MORE MILK. She really looked hard at me, like she knew my hand gestures were supposed to mean something, but she couldn't work it out (or she couldn't work out why I was playing finger games when I should be getting her some MORE MILK to EAT).
The second 2 ounce bottle did the trick; she fell asleep nursing and is now down <touch wood>for at least an hour or two</touch wood>
Since on Tuesday the first feeding for Celeste was a bit rocky, Evelin and I decided to split 8 ounces of milk into three bottles: 2 ounces, 2 ounces, and 4 ounces. The idea was to not spoil a big bottle if Celeste was going to fuss instead of feed.
Well, around 12:20 p.m. or so, Celeste as stirring and probably could have calmed herself down to continue her nap, but Evelin thought she'd sneak in one more feeding before leaving. So Celeste got some milk and I got a baby who was okay playing/talking in her crib for a little while, but she wanted up by a little past 1:00 p.m.
We had some good playing — a little bit of rolling practice, some cheek and finger nibbling, some time on the playmate — until it looked like she was eating her hands more for sustenance than for sport. I set up a 2 ounce bottle and we settled down for a quick feeding. Celeste made short work of that, but didn't seem to be searching for more, so we started playing again.
She was propped against my chest and I was making snuffing noises at her neck, cracking her up, when she shifted her head and tried to latch on to my nose. It was a good attempt, but my nostrils kept her from latching on properly. However those same nostrils were very handy for depositing about a pint of baby slobber. And, of course, I'm laughing so hard that I just stuck the drool in deeper.
After a good sneeze, I asked Celeste if she wanted MORE EAT, MORE MILK. She really looked hard at me, like she knew my hand gestures were supposed to mean something, but she couldn't work it out (or she couldn't work out why I was playing finger games when I should be getting her some MORE MILK to EAT).
The second 2 ounce bottle did the trick; she fell asleep nursing and is now down <touch wood>for at least an hour or two</touch wood>
Sleep & Sox
Whenever I tell someone about my new work schedule, the first question is “How do you like it?” or “How's that working out?" followed very quickly by "When do you go to sleep?"
My answer is, "Let's just say I don't watch Law & Order any more."
In general, I am getting tired a lot earlier, but that's okay; I just find myself reading in bed an hour or so earlier than I might have otherwise. Right now I'm reading Faithful, and King and O'Nan are talking about the West Coast games with 10:05 p.m. start times, which got me thinking — what am I going to do come baseball season? (Pitchers and catchers report in 19 days!)
Last year, I found myself more than a few times staying up until the wee hours of the morning either listening to the Beloved BoSox on the radio or using MLB Gameday to "watch" the action. Now, I might find myself being able to catch the end of a West Coast game that goes into extra innings when I'm waking up to go to work. It's going to take some willpower to go to sleep during a tight East Coast game ... or I'll just have to be tired. (Of course, being tired seems to be par for the course these days, so I'll be tired and happy so long as the Sox are winning ...)
My answer is, "Let's just say I don't watch Law & Order any more."
In general, I am getting tired a lot earlier, but that's okay; I just find myself reading in bed an hour or so earlier than I might have otherwise. Right now I'm reading Faithful, and King and O'Nan are talking about the West Coast games with 10:05 p.m. start times, which got me thinking — what am I going to do come baseball season? (Pitchers and catchers report in 19 days!)
Last year, I found myself more than a few times staying up until the wee hours of the morning either listening to the Beloved BoSox on the radio or using MLB Gameday to "watch" the action. Now, I might find myself being able to catch the end of a West Coast game that goes into extra innings when I'm waking up to go to work. It's going to take some willpower to go to sleep during a tight East Coast game ... or I'll just have to be tired. (Of course, being tired seems to be par for the course these days, so I'll be tired and happy so long as the Sox are winning ...)
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Not a New Suit
This morning, I had to go out to a client's site to present the preprint pages for a contract publishing project for a final proof. I've worked with this group before, but the people I'm dealing with this time around are almost all new (plus it's a fairly conservative organization), so I decided I'd better wear a suit.
I work in a casual office — the last major dress-code revision came down a few years ago when torn jeans were barred — so my usual morning dressing routine is finding a T-shirt (short-sleeved for warm days; long-sleeved for cold) and pulling on a pair of jeans. This morning, I had to dig into the back of the closet for a suit. Also (because I had to go by the office to see if there were any changes to the page that happened after I left at noon yesterday and to print out clean color pages), I was trying to do this in the dark so as not to disturb a partially asleep Evelin too much.
Since I don't wear suits very often, I don't have too many. And the ones I do have tend to not fit very well. I bought them either when I was at my heaviest weight or my lowest or when I was in high school or whatever. After starting to put on my tuxedo by mistake, I ended up with the high school suit; it fits well enough (the jacket is a little snug across the shoulders, but not badly so) and is a fairly classic cut, so it doesn't look too out of date or anything. However, it is a tropical-weight wool, which is great for a warm summer day, but not so nice for the middle of winter ...
I work in a casual office — the last major dress-code revision came down a few years ago when torn jeans were barred — so my usual morning dressing routine is finding a T-shirt (short-sleeved for warm days; long-sleeved for cold) and pulling on a pair of jeans. This morning, I had to dig into the back of the closet for a suit. Also (because I had to go by the office to see if there were any changes to the page that happened after I left at noon yesterday and to print out clean color pages), I was trying to do this in the dark so as not to disturb a partially asleep Evelin too much.
Since I don't wear suits very often, I don't have too many. And the ones I do have tend to not fit very well. I bought them either when I was at my heaviest weight or my lowest or when I was in high school or whatever. After starting to put on my tuxedo by mistake, I ended up with the high school suit; it fits well enough (the jacket is a little snug across the shoulders, but not badly so) and is a fairly classic cut, so it doesn't look too out of date or anything. However, it is a tropical-weight wool, which is great for a warm summer day, but not so nice for the middle of winter ...
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Dear BabyBjörn ...
... so why don't you have some sort of quick and quiet release for gently dropping a sleeping babe in her crib? As you might guess, at the half-hour point I tried to put Celeste into her bed, and she woke up. Actually, we had some fun play — nibbling on fingers, tickling toes, sticking tongues out at each other — accompanied by some good talking on Celeste's part.
We were trying to hold out until Evelin got home from work, but she was eating both fists pretty hard, so I decided to give her another bottle. This one she took without any problems. When Evelin got home, she was just getting into her bath.
After a quick top up, Evelin is getting her to bed right now. I'm having a bit of scotch: a 12-year-old single malt, The Balvenie DoubleWood (first an oak bourbon barrel followed by an oak sherry barrel). It's quite nice, and I'm thinking it would be a nice one to have more than an airline bottle of; super mellow and rich, a nice hit of wine and oranges with some oak and toffee rising later.
We were trying to hold out until Evelin got home from work, but she was eating both fists pretty hard, so I decided to give her another bottle. This one she took without any problems. When Evelin got home, she was just getting into her bath.
After a quick top up, Evelin is getting her to bed right now. I'm having a bit of scotch: a 12-year-old single malt, The Balvenie DoubleWood (first an oak bourbon barrel followed by an oak sherry barrel). It's quite nice, and I'm thinking it would be a nice one to have more than an airline bottle of; super mellow and rich, a nice hit of wine and oranges with some oak and toffee rising later.
It's Never "Just a Day"
... when Celeste is around.
Everything was fine until the bottle around 3:00 p.m. I don't know if it was too cold, too hot, too not straight from the source, too who knows what. She was fine until I sat down with the Boppy and was getting her into position; all of the sudden tears start. I figured I'd waited a few minutes too long, and she did start to eat, but it was broken up with crying.
We went downstairs to check the temperature of the bottle — 82°F, a little on the cool side, but not too bad. I started running hot water to warm the bottle some more, and Celeste was fussy, but not crying.
With a slightly hot bottle (88°F), we settled down into a downstairs chair, got a few good sucks and then the tears kicked in again. After a bit of experimentation, we ended up on my and Evelin's bed, Celeste on a pillow, and almost holding the bottle herself. It took a while, but she drank most of it, but with lots of stop-squawk-start.
After the feeding, I started looking for some signs of tiring, and they were there, but any attempt to go to bed was met with screams and tears. In total, I think she lost in water weight the ounce or so she gained over the past week or two.
Finally, after about three hours awake, she finally fell asleep — on me, in the BabyBjörn. So we'll see if she stays down for the hour or more that she needs. I don't know if it'd be better to try to get her out of this thing or if she's just going to run around with me for a while ... (I know, Evelin did this for months; I shouldn't sweat an hour or so ...)
Everything was fine until the bottle around 3:00 p.m. I don't know if it was too cold, too hot, too not straight from the source, too who knows what. She was fine until I sat down with the Boppy and was getting her into position; all of the sudden tears start. I figured I'd waited a few minutes too long, and she did start to eat, but it was broken up with crying.
We went downstairs to check the temperature of the bottle — 82°F, a little on the cool side, but not too bad. I started running hot water to warm the bottle some more, and Celeste was fussy, but not crying.
With a slightly hot bottle (88°F), we settled down into a downstairs chair, got a few good sucks and then the tears kicked in again. After a bit of experimentation, we ended up on my and Evelin's bed, Celeste on a pillow, and almost holding the bottle herself. It took a while, but she drank most of it, but with lots of stop-squawk-start.
After the feeding, I started looking for some signs of tiring, and they were there, but any attempt to go to bed was met with screams and tears. In total, I think she lost in water weight the ounce or so she gained over the past week or two.
Finally, after about three hours awake, she finally fell asleep — on me, in the BabyBjörn. So we'll see if she stays down for the hour or more that she needs. I don't know if it'd be better to try to get her out of this thing or if she's just going to run around with me for a while ... (I know, Evelin did this for months; I shouldn't sweat an hour or so ...)
Just a Day
Thus far it's one of those nice, uneventful days. I got as much as I could done at work (I'm missing a second or third look at some sections for a daily project and I'm slipping behind on assignments/planning for the next one, but there's only so much I can do until they perfect cloning or they hire someone to take at least one of my jobs away from me) before heading home. It's warmed up above freezing, so the snow is starting to melt, but it's not to the point where everything is slushy and gross — the roads and sidewalks are just looking clear and the rest of it is still white, albeit not as deep as it was last night.
Thinking of last night, we had a surprise visit from Evelin's folks. They were flying back to New England from Florida with a change of planes in D.C. that turned into a missed flight and an overnight stay. I didn't see them too much (getting up at 3:00 a.m. means I'm finding myself going to bed relatively early, and I was long gone when they woke and left for the airport), but it was a nice, quick visit.
We also had a surprise phone problem. Evelin called me at work and asked me to call home. The line was dead whenever she tired to dial out, so she wanted to know if there was a problem when I dialed in. (I got a busy signal.)
We thought it was maybe weather-related, so when I got home, I checked the outside wiring. There was a dial tone there, so the problem was inside.
Like a couple of other things in this house, the phone wiring has been done and redone and adjusted over the years, creating a situation that doesn't always make sense. We have some jacks that don't work and one or two rat’s nests of phone wire that's just spliced together. It turns out that when Evelin was quickly straightening up the guest room, she pushed the bedside table back into one of those rats nests and caused two wires to cross, creating a connection that gave us a busy signal from the outside and no dial tone from the inside.
After a little while with some wire strippers and electrical tape, I cleaned up the wiring a bit (I need to do a more permanent job with it, and put in somesort of outlet or junction box so we don't just have wires sitting there for little hands to tug in a few months) and we had phone service again.
Maybe I'll try to clean up some of those wires while Celeste has her nap ...
Thinking of last night, we had a surprise visit from Evelin's folks. They were flying back to New England from Florida with a change of planes in D.C. that turned into a missed flight and an overnight stay. I didn't see them too much (getting up at 3:00 a.m. means I'm finding myself going to bed relatively early, and I was long gone when they woke and left for the airport), but it was a nice, quick visit.
We also had a surprise phone problem. Evelin called me at work and asked me to call home. The line was dead whenever she tired to dial out, so she wanted to know if there was a problem when I dialed in. (I got a busy signal.)
We thought it was maybe weather-related, so when I got home, I checked the outside wiring. There was a dial tone there, so the problem was inside.
Like a couple of other things in this house, the phone wiring has been done and redone and adjusted over the years, creating a situation that doesn't always make sense. We have some jacks that don't work and one or two rat’s nests of phone wire that's just spliced together. It turns out that when Evelin was quickly straightening up the guest room, she pushed the bedside table back into one of those rats nests and caused two wires to cross, creating a connection that gave us a busy signal from the outside and no dial tone from the inside.
After a little while with some wire strippers and electrical tape, I cleaned up the wiring a bit (I need to do a more permanent job with it, and put in somesort of outlet or junction box so we don't just have wires sitting there for little hands to tug in a few months) and we had phone service again.
Maybe I'll try to clean up some of those wires while Celeste has her nap ...
Monday, January 24, 2005
It's a Dog Toy, but Babies Like It Too!
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Luck and No Luck
Yesterday's weather system turned out a lot nicer than expected. The "wintry mix" seems to have stayed to the south of us and we got almost entirely snow. Some of it was fluffier than other bits of it, but with a total of 4 inches, I'm glad none of it came down as sleet or freezing rain.
Last year when a big weather event was predicted (Hurricane Isabel), we picked up a couple of movies and ice cream was on a two-for-one sale ... and our power went out and we were without electricity for four days. Needless to say, the movies did us no good and the ice cream melted that time. This go around, we were a lot luckier: no power problems.
So, last night we popped in the first DVD and watched I Was a Male War Bride. Evelin loves the old Cary Grant comedies, but neither us had particularly high hopes for this one when I brought it home. It turned out to be really cute and funny.
So that's the luck side of the equation. The no luck is, as might be expected the humidifier. It isn't working quite right, but I think the problem is in how the thermostat and furnace are wired up (and how the humidistat taps into that), but with anything I did. Of course, that makes it that much more difficult to diagnose/fix because at least I know what I did; it's a bit harder to work through what someone else did, especially with they way they tied back all the cabling. Sigh.
I'll probably try to poke around with the thermostat and the furnace some today to see if I can figure out what's been wired to where, but it's a bit disappointing to find that whenever the humidifier tries to click on the thermostat shuts off entirely.
Last year when a big weather event was predicted (Hurricane Isabel), we picked up a couple of movies and ice cream was on a two-for-one sale ... and our power went out and we were without electricity for four days. Needless to say, the movies did us no good and the ice cream melted that time. This go around, we were a lot luckier: no power problems.
So, last night we popped in the first DVD and watched I Was a Male War Bride. Evelin loves the old Cary Grant comedies, but neither us had particularly high hopes for this one when I brought it home. It turned out to be really cute and funny.
So that's the luck side of the equation. The no luck is, as might be expected the humidifier. It isn't working quite right, but I think the problem is in how the thermostat and furnace are wired up (and how the humidistat taps into that), but with anything I did. Of course, that makes it that much more difficult to diagnose/fix because at least I know what I did; it's a bit harder to work through what someone else did, especially with they way they tied back all the cabling. Sigh.
I'll probably try to poke around with the thermostat and the furnace some today to see if I can figure out what's been wired to where, but it's a bit disappointing to find that whenever the humidifier tries to click on the thermostat shuts off entirely.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
What a Good-Looking Median Cubital Vein!
I've fallen behind in donating blood a little bit. I should have gone back in November, but I just always forget when I'm eligible and end up waiting longer than I should. This time, I got a call while we were in Louisiana asking me to donate, but was sick when we got back and decided to wait. Inova Blood Donor Services finally tracked me down on Monday and I made and appointment for Friday before lunch. It turned out to be a good day to go: They had some new T-shirts and GIVEBLOOD rubber wristbands. (Not that I donate blood for the tchotchkes ... I donate for the cookies ... but I do sometimes take a T-shirt.)
The phlebotomist was pretty funny. Originally, they were going to use my right arm, because, when they asked if I had a preferred arm for sticking, I mentioned that my vein had rolled a time or two back. I couldn't remember which arm that had happened in, so they wanted to do the right arm. I'm right-handed, and apparently the dominant hand's arm has greater muscularization, which means the vascular structure is a little better anchored or something, and thus the vein would be less likely to roll in that arm. I'd never heard this before, but it makes a certain degree of sense.
However, that plan went out the window when she noticed that I'd scratched up the venipuncture site during the humidifier project. So the focus switched to my left arm.
This is when the phlebotomist noticed my median cubital vein. Apparently it looked like a very good site to use and she said — before, during, and after the venipuncture — that it was a very good-looking vein. She also said that she probably sounded like a weirdo. I thought it was all pretty funny, and she did a good job because I bled fairly easily and filled up the bag in no time.
There's been some water in the drainage tube, which would imply that water's going into the system, but since it drains into the same sink that our washing machine drains into, I guess there's also a chance that the water I'm seeing could have been drawn into the tube from the rinse cycle or something. I'm just not sure.
The house doesn't seem to be any more humid. In fact, the humidity level has dropped according to the humidity meter I bought, but at the same time the outside temperature has been dropping, so maybe it's related to that.
I don't have the humidistat set to the highest point any more, but I do have it higher than is recommended for the current outdoor temperature. Hopefully we'll see some indication that it's working soon; otherwise I may need to call in professional help...
CELESTE: I forgot to mention that on Thursday, after her nap, when I thought Celeste was starting to get hungry, I got her bottle from the fridge and showed it to her, asking if she wanted to eat. She hasn't picked up the signs we're trying to use with her (the main ones we're working with are EAT and MILK), but her eyebrows shot up and she got an anticipatory look as soon as she saw the bottle.
The phlebotomist was pretty funny. Originally, they were going to use my right arm, because, when they asked if I had a preferred arm for sticking, I mentioned that my vein had rolled a time or two back. I couldn't remember which arm that had happened in, so they wanted to do the right arm. I'm right-handed, and apparently the dominant hand's arm has greater muscularization, which means the vascular structure is a little better anchored or something, and thus the vein would be less likely to roll in that arm. I'd never heard this before, but it makes a certain degree of sense.
However, that plan went out the window when she noticed that I'd scratched up the venipuncture site during the humidifier project. So the focus switched to my left arm.
This is when the phlebotomist noticed my median cubital vein. Apparently it looked like a very good site to use and she said — before, during, and after the venipuncture — that it was a very good-looking vein. She also said that she probably sounded like a weirdo. I thought it was all pretty funny, and she did a good job because I bled fairly easily and filled up the bag in no time.
Other Stuff
HUMIDIFIER: I have no idea if it's working or not. I did set it to the highest-possible point this morning and that seems to have tripped out the thermostat. The fuse didn't blow this time, but when I lowered the humidistat and reconnected power to the furnace it came back on — so no damage, just questions.There's been some water in the drainage tube, which would imply that water's going into the system, but since it drains into the same sink that our washing machine drains into, I guess there's also a chance that the water I'm seeing could have been drawn into the tube from the rinse cycle or something. I'm just not sure.
The house doesn't seem to be any more humid. In fact, the humidity level has dropped according to the humidity meter I bought, but at the same time the outside temperature has been dropping, so maybe it's related to that.
I don't have the humidistat set to the highest point any more, but I do have it higher than is recommended for the current outdoor temperature. Hopefully we'll see some indication that it's working soon; otherwise I may need to call in professional help...
CELESTE: I forgot to mention that on Thursday, after her nap, when I thought Celeste was starting to get hungry, I got her bottle from the fridge and showed it to her, asking if she wanted to eat. She hasn't picked up the signs we're trying to use with her (the main ones we're working with are EAT and MILK), but her eyebrows shot up and she got an anticipatory look as soon as she saw the bottle.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Olives and Blue Cheese
Sometimes, the best part of a martini is the garnish. The other night, I found myself thinking that the big bottle of Gordon's London Dry Gin that J--- left here a while ago really needs to finished to clear out some room in the bar for a better gin. Of course, the best way to get rid of gin is with martinis, but we were woefully low in the garnish department. We do have some cocktail onions in the fridge, but I've really taken a shy to how blue-cheese-stuffed olives taste after a cold gin bath. And this is where improvisation can be a tricky thing.
We did have olives and blue cheese, so I figured why couldn’t I stuff my own olives. Well, they are kalamata olives, not the usual green ones used for garnish, and the cheese is a really nice and pungent Rogue Oregon Blue Vein (well worth trying outside of an olive).
The olives were already pitted, so I could skip that step, but trying to get the fairly creamy blue into the hole was a bit more challenging. I tried cutting a small stick that would fit in it, and that kind of worked, but a good bit of cheese still ended up smeared atop the olive.
Oh well, the two olives fit nicely on a toothpick and ended up accompanying the drink well enough, but I'm not sure it put the flavors of any of the individual ingredients at their best. Still, it's hard to go wrong with blue-cheese-stuffed olives in a bath of cold gin.
We did have olives and blue cheese, so I figured why couldn’t I stuff my own olives. Well, they are kalamata olives, not the usual green ones used for garnish, and the cheese is a really nice and pungent Rogue Oregon Blue Vein (well worth trying outside of an olive).
The olives were already pitted, so I could skip that step, but trying to get the fairly creamy blue into the hole was a bit more challenging. I tried cutting a small stick that would fit in it, and that kind of worked, but a good bit of cheese still ended up smeared atop the olive.
Oh well, the two olives fit nicely on a toothpick and ended up accompanying the drink well enough, but I'm not sure it put the flavors of any of the individual ingredients at their best. Still, it's hard to go wrong with blue-cheese-stuffed olives in a bath of cold gin.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Quite a Nap
<touch wood>It looks like the leap has been made.</touch wood>
Celeste was been great all day, a lot less grouchy, tons of smiles, and — most impressive of all — a more than two-and-a-half-hour nap! It was a little unexpected, but it worked out well, giving me time to finish installing the humidifier. (I'm not sure it's kicking on the way it should — either that or it's way, way, way quieter than the old one — but <touch wood>nothing seems to be leaking, smoking, or blowing fuses.</touch wood>)
When she finally work up, we had a little playtime followed by her second bottle of the day and then we got to play "Cooking With Celeste" (which isn't quite as interactive as Cooking With Claudine), where I narrate everything I'm doing in the kitchen while making dinner to Celeste who is sitting in her bouncy chair on the floor playing with a whisk. Tonight's meal was Mrs. Thomas's Chili (named for a friend of mine's mother whose recipe I adapted); it's one of those recipes that involves opening a lot of cans — four types of beans, a big tin of tomatoes, a tin of tomato paste — plus chopping up onions, garlic, zucchini, and carrots, so there were a few things to tell her I was doing, but I'm not sure Celeste was all that impressed ...
Evelin got home as we were finishing up, and just as the fussing was starting ("Play with me, daddy! I don't care about learning how to sauté!") so while things finished cooking we had a little playtime before her bath. Now the question is how will she sleep overnight after such a big nap ...
Celeste was been great all day, a lot less grouchy, tons of smiles, and — most impressive of all — a more than two-and-a-half-hour nap! It was a little unexpected, but it worked out well, giving me time to finish installing the humidifier. (I'm not sure it's kicking on the way it should — either that or it's way, way, way quieter than the old one — but <touch wood>nothing seems to be leaking, smoking, or blowing fuses.</touch wood>)
When she finally work up, we had a little playtime followed by her second bottle of the day and then we got to play "Cooking With Celeste" (which isn't quite as interactive as Cooking With Claudine), where I narrate everything I'm doing in the kitchen while making dinner to Celeste who is sitting in her bouncy chair on the floor playing with a whisk. Tonight's meal was Mrs. Thomas's Chili (named for a friend of mine's mother whose recipe I adapted); it's one of those recipes that involves opening a lot of cans — four types of beans, a big tin of tomatoes, a tin of tomato paste — plus chopping up onions, garlic, zucchini, and carrots, so there were a few things to tell her I was doing, but I'm not sure Celeste was all that impressed ...
Evelin got home as we were finishing up, and just as the fussing was starting ("Play with me, daddy! I don't care about learning how to sauté!") so while things finished cooking we had a little playtime before her bath. Now the question is how will she sleep overnight after such a big nap ...
Haircut (With Bonus Anti-Administration Rant)
Apparently, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (조선중앙방송) television show Common Sense (상식) recently started a five-part ambush makeover series, "Let's Trim Our Hair in Accordance With the Socialist Lifestyle" [ BBC | The Guardian | 통일뉴스 ]. Apparently, a TV crew is roaming P'yŏngyang and other cities in the north looking for men whose hair is longer than is allowed by the "socialist lifestyle."
Just in case any of those TV crews are in D.C., I decided to get a haircut this morning. I took the day off (well, I'm editing some stuff at home, but it's still a day off) because the inauguration has a 100+ block area closed off downtown with street closings and diversions stretching into Virginia. I figure I could have made it in with minimal disruption to be at my desk for 4:00 a.m., but I wasn't sure I'd be able to get home in time for Evelin to get to work by 1:00 p.m., so I'm not going in to the office. I did however get a haircut.
[RANT: I think the single biggest goal of this administration has been (and continues to be) to keep people scared. They seem to love big, public displays of insecurity — tons of fences, roadblocks, circling helicopters and fighter jets, metal detectors, etc. — just about everywhere.
Today's inaguration is no different. Fences have been going up since start of January (for the past two weeks, a six-foot chain-link fence has surrounded the Mall with only a few openings for traffic and near the entrances to various Smithsonian buildings); the entire parade route is apparently restricted to ticketholders only; police can stop and question people at will within the 100-block "secure" part of downtown. This is supposed to be a celebration of the peaceful changeover of power and all they want is a tightly controlled, scripted, heavily policed event that presents their insular happy view of how great they are. And they're sticking D.C. with the bill for all that extra security.
The same playing up to people's fears is evident in all the talk about a crisis with social security when there is no crisis and the administration's proposals are likely to speed up the drain on the system.
I'm really tired of the fearmongering and the lies.]
Just in case any of those TV crews are in D.C., I decided to get a haircut this morning. I took the day off (well, I'm editing some stuff at home, but it's still a day off) because the inauguration has a 100+ block area closed off downtown with street closings and diversions stretching into Virginia. I figure I could have made it in with minimal disruption to be at my desk for 4:00 a.m., but I wasn't sure I'd be able to get home in time for Evelin to get to work by 1:00 p.m., so I'm not going in to the office. I did however get a haircut.
[RANT: I think the single biggest goal of this administration has been (and continues to be) to keep people scared. They seem to love big, public displays of insecurity — tons of fences, roadblocks, circling helicopters and fighter jets, metal detectors, etc. — just about everywhere.
Today's inaguration is no different. Fences have been going up since start of January (for the past two weeks, a six-foot chain-link fence has surrounded the Mall with only a few openings for traffic and near the entrances to various Smithsonian buildings); the entire parade route is apparently restricted to ticketholders only; police can stop and question people at will within the 100-block "secure" part of downtown. This is supposed to be a celebration of the peaceful changeover of power and all they want is a tightly controlled, scripted, heavily policed event that presents their insular happy view of how great they are. And they're sticking D.C. with the bill for all that extra security.
The same playing up to people's fears is evident in all the talk about a crisis with social security when there is no crisis and the administration's proposals are likely to speed up the drain on the system.
I'm really tired of the fearmongering and the lies.]
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
PSA: Furnaces Have Fuses ...
... or at least ours does.
So back to the humidifier project: After Celeste's 4:00 a.m. feeding, she needed a diaper change, so I took care of that and decided that — since I'm trying to get up early so as not to create too great a disparity in sleeping habits on the days I have to be at work for 4:00 a.m. vs. the days I have to be at work for 8:30 a.m. — I'd go futz around some. After paying some bills and entering receipts into Quicken, I started thinking about the humidistat and decided to at least prep the wiring.
I figured I'd cut what I needed to size, strip insulation, and maybe connect the relay to the humidifier (leaving the circuit from the relay to the humidistat and the humidifier to the humidistat open). All was going pretty well until I connected the wire to the relay that would run to the humidifier.
The fan was running as I doing this and I didn't give it a second though, but, when the bare tip of the relay-connected wire brushed the aluminum duct housing and a nice blue spark popped out, I got very aware of the fan ... or at least of the fact that it was no longer running. At this point, Evelin heard floating up through the duct work: "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Shit! Shit! Shit!"
I checked the circuit panel and nothing was tripped. I ran upstairs and the display on the thermostat was dead. More colorful language. I tried switching the circuit breaker and the disconnect on/off to no avail. I then dug out the owner's manual. Actually, I couldn't find the owner's manual for the furnace (everything else that was installed along with it had a booklet in the folder, just not the furnace), but I did scan the thermostat's guide.
It first suggested checking the breaker panel. I'd done that. Then it said check the fuse. We have breakers not fuses, so I ignored that. It then ran though a few other things that didn't seem to apply or work.
I figured things were already shot, so I opened up the panels on the back of the furnace to see if any circuitboards were obviously scorched. This is when I find a little ATC slot-type fuse on the circuitboard — and it is as black as can be.
I go upstairs to break the news to Evelin and Celeste that they'll probably want to stay in bed because I broke the furnace. Since I was only 6:30 a.m., I decided to take a shower and to get ready for the day before trying to find a new fuse (given the time, what else could I do?). At 7:00 a.m., I'm in Home Depot looking at their pathetic offering of fuses — no 3 ampere ones. I head over to North Brentwood to a plumbing supply place I've passed on my way to work; again no 3 ampere ones. Then I start cruising around Brentwood, Edmonston, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Bladensburg, ..., stopping at about five plumbing, heating, and/or auto supply stores before finding one that had the fuse I needed and that was open.
Back home a little after 8:00 a.m., I snap in the new fuse and rush upstairs to find the thermostat still dead. I run back downstairs, remembering that I'd forgotten to reset the disconnect; back upstairs, it's still dead. I run back downstairs, remembering that there's a kill-switch on the furnace and it won't start if the back panel is off; back upstairs ... success! I can stop worrying about a frozen wife and baby!
Probably if I remember to turn the furnace off before setting up the humidistat, I'll probably be okay, but I am a bit worried ...
So back to the humidifier project: After Celeste's 4:00 a.m. feeding, she needed a diaper change, so I took care of that and decided that — since I'm trying to get up early so as not to create too great a disparity in sleeping habits on the days I have to be at work for 4:00 a.m. vs. the days I have to be at work for 8:30 a.m. — I'd go futz around some. After paying some bills and entering receipts into Quicken, I started thinking about the humidistat and decided to at least prep the wiring.
I figured I'd cut what I needed to size, strip insulation, and maybe connect the relay to the humidifier (leaving the circuit from the relay to the humidistat and the humidifier to the humidistat open). All was going pretty well until I connected the wire to the relay that would run to the humidifier.
The fan was running as I doing this and I didn't give it a second though, but, when the bare tip of the relay-connected wire brushed the aluminum duct housing and a nice blue spark popped out, I got very aware of the fan ... or at least of the fact that it was no longer running. At this point, Evelin heard floating up through the duct work: "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Shit! Shit! Shit!"
I checked the circuit panel and nothing was tripped. I ran upstairs and the display on the thermostat was dead. More colorful language. I tried switching the circuit breaker and the disconnect on/off to no avail. I then dug out the owner's manual. Actually, I couldn't find the owner's manual for the furnace (everything else that was installed along with it had a booklet in the folder, just not the furnace), but I did scan the thermostat's guide.
It first suggested checking the breaker panel. I'd done that. Then it said check the fuse. We have breakers not fuses, so I ignored that. It then ran though a few other things that didn't seem to apply or work.
I figured things were already shot, so I opened up the panels on the back of the furnace to see if any circuitboards were obviously scorched. This is when I find a little ATC slot-type fuse on the circuitboard — and it is as black as can be.
I go upstairs to break the news to Evelin and Celeste that they'll probably want to stay in bed because I broke the furnace. Since I was only 6:30 a.m., I decided to take a shower and to get ready for the day before trying to find a new fuse (given the time, what else could I do?). At 7:00 a.m., I'm in Home Depot looking at their pathetic offering of fuses — no 3 ampere ones. I head over to North Brentwood to a plumbing supply place I've passed on my way to work; again no 3 ampere ones. Then I start cruising around Brentwood, Edmonston, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Bladensburg, ..., stopping at about five plumbing, heating, and/or auto supply stores before finding one that had the fuse I needed and that was open.
Back home a little after 8:00 a.m., I snap in the new fuse and rush upstairs to find the thermostat still dead. I run back downstairs, remembering that I'd forgotten to reset the disconnect; back upstairs, it's still dead. I run back downstairs, remembering that there's a kill-switch on the furnace and it won't start if the back panel is off; back upstairs ... success! I can stop worrying about a frozen wife and baby!
Probably if I remember to turn the furnace off before setting up the humidistat, I'll probably be okay, but I am a bit worried ...
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