Re. that quote at the top, Pam and I were struck by the incongruity of the names they give subdivisions in the metro Phoenix area. And apparently you have to give them names...for some reason. You can't just build thousands of identical houses set cheek to jowl, sell them at a huge profit advertised as bargain prices, and call it good. Your marketing department has to give the assembled crooked-street subdivision a name like "Desert Intrigue" and "Adora Trails" (those are real). My favorite was "Estrella Falls," where the only waterfall is the artificial water feature at the subdivision's entrance. It's in the desert, for Pete's sake.
We met yesterday afternoon with Brett, the pastor at University Fellowship. Easy, fun conversation. He's mid-50's, never once used the word awesome, and doesn't use hair gel. (OK, he's totally bald, but still....) We learned helpful things about the church and his ministry and left encouraged that UFC could work for us. (No, he doesn't preach from an octagon.)
We've only attended three Sundays, two of them holiday weekends - Memorial and Labor Day - when attendance was down. Brett said that once all the UofO students are back their attendance will hit about 1,000. But we're looking into becoming part of a small group, so that should provide the necessary sense of Christian community.
I count it significant that when I jokingly said Pam wanted to ask him his view of the Lapsarian Controversy, Brett - who has no formal theology training, knew what I was talking about. If you don't know, you're in good company, because it's an obscure theological debate about the sequence of the decrees of God related to creation, the fall (lapse), and redemption. I'll bet not one pastor in 20 has ever heard of it.
Yesterday morning I got the last two remaining logs cut into rounds, including the school marm that measured about 38" at the stump end. Because my chainsaw has a 20" bar I had to attack it from each side, and then roll it so I could cut the bottom. That was the tricky part because of the weight of a log that diameter and about 24' in length. And after all of that I'm not sure I can use it as firewood. The rot inside extended through the center of the log almost all the way to the bottom, where the discoloration from the moisture probably indicates it won't burn well. So, what do I do with 15 rounds that size?
That wrestling match may explain my back. It felt fine when I went to bed, but this morning I had the same kind of back spasms that had me immobile about 8 months ago. That eventually took a pretty strong Rx of muscle relaxers from my dr., something I'm hoping doesn't happen this go-around. Especially because I'm picking up a log splitter tomorrow afternoon.
I spent what remained of the morning working on the framing for Casa de Cabras. I like building stuff. Lunch, and then off to meet Brett.
The above was written early this morning before breakfast. What follows, after dinner.
I Sat with the heating pad and took some Ibuprofen, and by 9:00 went out to work on Casa de Cabra. By 3:30 I had all the framing done except for the rafters. I bought and installed two of them because at 10' each that's what I had room for on the way home. Seems Pam didn't want to spend the night at Home Depot so I couldn't fit the rest in the Kia. Sometime this weekend I'll get the other eight, install them, and then go to work on the sheeting.
I did make a mistake, and the top plate 2x4 for the front and back wall extends on one end 2' further than I intended. I was just going to trim them off, but I decided they make a perfect beginning to a gambrel.
Not everything that can be done should be done.
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