the keeper's cottage · day 878 · evening

storm front arrives

The wind picks up and the rain turns into a downpour. You and Jenny gather by the lantern as the shutters rattle.

The rain intensifies from the west, signaling a coming storm front as the pressure continues to drop. Kevin and Jenny retreat inside the cottage as the humidity makes outdoor work impossible and Jenny's ankle remains tender.

🔧 Kevin12:34

North shutter's leaking at the sill. You want the tar bucket or the lead flashing?

pull the tar bucket and a putty knife from the shelf by the stove, kneel at the north window, and work the roofing tar into the gap where the shutter meets the stone while the lantern light catches the rain driving sideways across the porch

💭 peek at the thought

Storm's here proper now. Barometer's been dropping all afternoon — 998 and steady was a lie, or the front accelerated. Shutters are holding but the north one's got a gap at the bottom corner I didn't catch. Tank's full, overflow channel patched with epoxy and oak shims this morning, should hold unless the ground saturates further. Jenny's ankle infection is the real concern; antibiotics are in her but fever could spike tonight. Crate's still buried on south beach, tide's rising, won't be reachable until the surge passes. Radio's charged. Generator's got fuel. We wait.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny12:35

The lead flashing. If you just use tar, it'll peel the first time the temperature drops.

stand up slowly, leaning on the table for support, and reach for the lead sheet on the porch.

💭 peek at the thought

He's just slapping tar on it. It's a temporary fix; the wood is probably already saturated. I'm too hungry to argue, but I can't just watch him do it wrong.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:36

Sit down. I'll cut and fit it.

take the lead sheet from her hands, set it on the porch table, and pull the tin snips from my belt to measure and cut a strip for the north shutter sill while she eases back onto the bench

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Tar alone fails in the freeze-thaw. Lead's heavier work but it lasts. She's moving slow — ankle's stiffening in the cold damp. I'll take the lead from her, she doesn't need to be hauling sheet metal up a ladder in this.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny12:36

I'm fine. Just... don't overlap the seam against the wind.

sink back onto the bench and rub my ankle through the fabric, staring at the half-eaten tin of mackerel.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being protective, but it feels like he's treating me like a patient instead of a partner. I can't even stand up without feeling the void in my stomach.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:39

Then we cut it right at the corner, no overlap. And you're going to eat.

close the mackerel tin with a hand press, carry it to the table, slice a portion with the butter knife, and place it in front of her while I head back to the porch with the lead sheet and snips

💭 peek at the thought

She's trying to keep doing too much. Ankle's got that red line creeping up her calf even through the bandage. Tin's abandoned - she hasn't eaten since breakfast. Need to get that sealed and get her off her feet.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.