May 6 Steady Rain, turning to showers in the afternoon then steady rain

May 06, 2022

May 6 Steady Rain, turning to showers in the afternoon then steady rain

Steady rain, turning to showers this afternoon. Then, steady rain in the evening. It’s kind of hard to get creative with that weather forecast. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. I am a native of the Pacific Northwest and know what to expect, at least one would think that. However, after living in the desert for 7 years I don’t have a lot of really good rain gear. The thing to remember is delicate flowers bloom with rain. So as soon as the sun comes back, I’ll be rising up to greet it.

I was able to get up into the lantern room where the lens and the light are yesterday. The sun was shining in and creating some beautiful light and reflections. The lens was made in England, by the Chance Brothers in 1894. This is one of 3 in operation, others lenses were made in France. This one flashes a white light every 10 seconds and can be seen 21 miles out to sea. Crazy, It wasn’t as bright back then as it was lit with a 5 wick oil lamp. Now it’s lit with a 1,000 watt electric lamp.

One of the bearings has a terrific squeak, it's not supposed to have that. It will be a huge undertaking to get that fixed. There's a machinist not too far away who can do the work, it's a matter of if and when they can get the bearings. Then they'll take it all apart, use jacks to lift the lamp and the lens and all of that, then replace the bearing and do some work on some brass wheels that are also in need of some work. After about 30 years of rotating around at a time they develop some flat spots and need to be resurfaced.

We had plenty of visitors for an early spring midweek day. People are fascinated with the lighthouse, the plants they haven’t seen before, and the birds out on the rocks. Have I seen any whales? Are there any sea lions or seals on the rocks here? Where are you from? How did you get this job? How many steps in the lighthouse? What about the ghost in the keepers house? And on and on. Some questions relate to this area, some do not. Even though I’m from the PNW, Washington and the north Oregon coast are much different than this area. I look forward to learning more so I can help travelers have a wonderful experience while they are here.

My foray into town yesterday yielded a stop at the Mini Pet Mart for some new cat litter. Is it a market for miniature pets or a small market for pets? Really neither. It is a pretty big store catering to household pets, not farm animals I guess would be the distinction. The staff is very helpful and once you get your kibble and litter, you can also pick up a pack of smokes and your lottery tickets.

From there the St. Vinnie’s thrift store was still open so I spent some time perusing the goods there, looking for a better rain jacket and came up empty on that. I did however score an over the door shoe organizer for the bathroom door. I was thinking I really need to utilize that storage space better as I’m not in there very much and I had seen this idea on the Strong Women Scamp Facebook page.

what I can get excited about!

I give myself a pat on the back as all of my cabinets are not stuffed to overflowing, this just gives me a way to be a little more organized and have things more accessible. Living in this small space I need to be creative with multiple use items and traveling light. Also realizing that I can get by without a lot of things, like a cheese grater.

Last stop was back to Fred Meyer for some dehumidifier. I feel bad for the Jam, she’s sweating so much inside and I don’t want her to start molding. My cooking and heating I keep to a minimum to try not to introduce too much moisture into an already moist environment. I’ll keep a couple windows cracked for circulation but pointless to do more because it’s so wet outside! Se la vie!!

The cats are hunkered down for the day. Toby on the throne, which when the sun is out is a nice warm spot, and Ruby curled up for the duration until supper time.