Today it’s humid and the air is full of smoke and ash, thanks to a group of idiot teenagers from Vancouver. They thought it would be funny to throw fireworks over a cliff on a hiking trail in the Columbia River Gorge, and now the entire state of Oregon is on fire. Well at least 30,000 acres so far. Thousands of people, pets and livestock have been evacuated and we can’t even see the sun today. The arsonists “giggled” and recorded their own crime while witnesses watched in horror. Yet their identities remain protected by the Oregon State Police because they’re “under-aged.” Such bullshit.

Worse, I-84 is still closed to through traffic. So now my dad has to either delay his visit or take a much more southerly route through Bend. And that uncertainty imperils the goal I set back in April: To enjoy the first week of the NFL season with my dad and my son — in the RETROvan.

This also impacts my schedule because it’s so unhealthy to be outside. Gary can’t finish the RETROpad’s curb forms, which means we can’t pour concrete on Saturday. And that means we have to push the electrician out from Monday — perhaps another week wasted.

So thanks a million, ash-hole teenagers from Vancouver. Your parents must be so proud that their spawn could find a way to cause such mass destruction. I hope you all enjoy spending the rest of your formative years in jail and doing community service.

Meanwhile, I did manage to hold my breath long enough to mount my MOEN grab bar shelves and IKEA emergency cabinet on panel P2. The Coke bottle is there for scale, and to make sure I spaced the shelves ergonomically. I may decide to mount the weather station on that wall since its screen would be nicely visible just below the red cabinet.

And across the hall, here’s the IKEA mirror cabinet mounted above the sink on panel D2. These cabinets will look better once the aluminum trim panels are installed along the corners above.

Tomorrow I hope to cut some holes for switches, outlets and lights. I’m scheduled to take the cabinets into a local paint shop on the 18th. That way we can use them a bit longer, while my family’s here. If they can make it.