0102

Seasonably cool today, and cloudy - even a little rain off & on. I fetch a few pumpkins from the basement - some are starting to spoil already - and bake 5 pies.

The cellulose insulation I've purchased is typically blown in. But that's a two-man job, so would necessitate finding and coordinating - with no phone yet - someone to help, plus at least two trips to town to pick up and return the rented blowing equipment. The deliberate preference for simple and manual methods make this a pretty easy decision. I will take my time (I've got all winter), and do it all myself, and by hand. The question is: how?

I take a length of rope, pass it through two old pipe couplings for weights, then tie the loop in a good knot. I go up to the southeast room, where I have removed the lower portion of sheetrock on both outside walls. I kneel by the first stud space, and feed the rope into the void until it bottoms out at the foundation wall. I mark the rope at that point, remove it, and throw a few handsful of cellulose down the void. Then lower the rope, using the couplings to tamp lightly, then more cellulose, tamp, etc. I've never done this before, but the pattern is familiar: slow, methodical, boring, repetitive work. Eventually, the void is filled, and I move to the next one. The best part is, I know that the void is completely filled, and that the insulation hasn't bridged, and won't settle. I'm learning to appreciate slow, methodical, boring, repetitive.