Hiding from the Heat

When it is this hot I know I can go up into the shop and stay there as long as possible, taking anything that needs doing with me. However the very afternoon Jim left for 5 days in the Adirondacks the fan on the AC started whining really badly. I called Jim, who told me it needed lubricant. OK but getting to the fan is not easy. I hesitate to unscrew the screws on the housing. What if it all falls off? That left me peering through the slots on the top and on both sides, turning the fan on and off trying to locate it. I know better than to turn the AC on and off. Finally, finally I saw the blades stop so knew where to send the oil. However they are under the front end of the housing and not easily accessible with a little oil bottle no matter how I try to get my fingers in there.

Physical Note: Dripping oil goes directly down at a 90-degree angle. It will not go at another angle without real help. That is a gravity fact.

The above being not only true but proven I searched around for something long but thin that would not absorb the oil. Finally a length of plastic was found so I angled the plastic (I had already dropped a shorter one into the thing) dripped the oil onto that, let it slide with gravity and presumably into the fan.  I tried many times - meaning going outside to drip oil then coming back inside to turn on the fan. Each time I was hopeful. I could see the oil going onto the shaft. And each time after the fan was turned on  I heard the same whine. After about 10 tries the fun and games were called to a halt. Surely if the oil was going to do its thing it would have by now.

Then I thought more about this. It makes sense that a piece of electrical equipment that has more than half its body hanging outside will have its parts well shielded from the elements. Sigh…it will need to wait for the male human in the family who definitely has more fix-it genes than I do.  He is due back late Friday.

Meanwhile back in the heat.
The kitchen contains the only AC in the house (remember we live in the northeast where we used to rarely need the stuff). Fans are now set up to blow cool air to whatever location I happen to be working in. It is very comfortable too but for the second floor, which is just plain hot. We will not discuss the occasional pseudo thunder storm drizzle that adds humidity to the already high count. At night windows can be opened which let the room and house naturally cool but with it being well over 70 by 8 am they get closed up pretty fast in the morning.

However despite the heat I am making progress on the clog sock. Some light worsted weight Peruvian Highland singles were dyed for this cable masterpiece. About 2 rows at a time can be knit before my hands need to be dried off and a glass of water is chugged.