A laborious weekend

I hadn't planned to take a few days off from blogging, but the length of my to-do list was longer than my four-day weekend, 

and I was determined to finish the DIY project from hell before time ran out.

This DIY project began innocently enough, with a gift from my father. Some assembly required. 

Thanks, Dad. It really is the coolest gift ever, now that it's installed.

Step one of the installation involved drilling a hole in my house. 

In order for one end of the gift to be appropriately situated so that 

I would reap the greatest benefit, said hole in the house had to be drilled in a very precarious position.

After several telephone consultations with Dad and subsequent instruction from Professor Google, I cowgirled up and drilled the hole. 

All that stuff I've drawn in the picture above is on the opposite side of the wall. Had my measurements been incorrect, 

I would have a) lost my job, b) never been able to blog again, and c) probably electrocuted myself.

None of that happened! Par-ty!

With the hole drilled, I installed conduit up the wall of the house, across the porch ceiling, 

down the post, then out to the pipe fence, 

and then I pulled a few wires through it. Piece of cake. Not. At this point, I had already been to Home Depot twice.

Then there was the small matter of erecting a mast...

...and grounding it, whatever the hell that means.

 Dad, does this look right? Speak before I bury it.

And by now, I had made my third trip to Home Depot.

But all the effort was worth it because I can sit at my desk and glance over to my weather station control box

and know the temperature, the wind speed and direction, and how much rain is falling, assuming it ever rains again.

(This picture shows the view behind my desk–I did my best to hide all those wires, really I did.)

All that's left to do now is dig a trench and bury the conduit that runs across the front yard.

Thankfully, that won't require another trip to Home Depot.