...always moving forward.

Well, the fall is approaching and my Sugar Maple and Red Maple are feeling inspired and their leaves are turning from green to red.. well, at least one of them is any ways... I have hesitated to take them out of Utah County because of the harsh winters, but, I think the babying time has ended and it's time.  I've had these two for a couple of years now...with them spending winters in my livingroom.  They don't grow especially fast, BUT, they are pretty!

I found this piece online, and I thought it would be perfect at the cabin... Jim asked me exactly what it's purpose was, and I said decoration... and, from 10 miles away, I definitely heard him groan... I swear I did...

 We are down to the last of the ceiling installation on the one side of the great room and Jim figured that we were going to be a little short in the wood department, so it was my challenge to find a knotty pine tongue and groove wood seller that was somewhat close.  The closest place I had originally found was in Preston, Idaho... which isn't terribly far away, but further than we wanted to drive.  Jim called them, and they said they had a warehouse in the north part of Utah.  So, the two of us drove up to the store, and we picked out more of the wood.

Jim really wanted something with knots and different colours to blend in with what we already have... And, this is some of what we bought.  Jim always hand picks the pieces... 

And, here's a little more....

....and here it is being installed.  

And, here's the first half of the great room ceiling completed....

So, after the first half of the great room is completed, the guys had to tear down the scaffolding and move it to the other side of the room.  This side is a little different because the bay window is there and a little work with insulation and sheet rock still has to be completed.  We put up curtain several years ago because, at the time, we were only working on the place on weekends, and during the week, people would come buy and leave their cards and flyers on the door and we could see that they were peering into our cabin... was kind of creepy...  So, we slapped up the curtains and ended the whole thing.  We also put up a ring camera at the front door and cameras all around the house.  Now, when ever someone steps on the deck, or a squirrel runs up the length of the deck or a spider crawls across the ring camera, we get notified... Giggle...  And, FYI.... spiders look absolutely huge when they crawl across the ring camera...

Here's the first of the scaffolding that got moved...

And, here's all the crap that was moved from one side of the room to the other!!!

And, here's the first piece that was put up on the next side of the ceiling....  The discoloration in the wood is not by mistake.... this is blue pine... and we have a mix of regular white pine, blue pine and red... It makes the ceiling look beautiful.

I ordered the tile for the loft bathroom, and they were finally delivered.  Jim put together a little advance of how that floor is going to look... And, I really like it....

However, it is not what I ordered. If you look at the picture below, there are two different styles of tile.  I ordered samples of what I wanted, and then ordered them.  They are custom made tiles, so I wanted to make sure they were exactly what I wanted, because there was going to be no turning back. I really like custom tiles because there is always variations in colours - and, I really like it. When I got the tile, I didn't even open the packaging, I was just really excited they were delivered.  When Jim opened the packaging at the cabin, and laid them out, that's when I realized they did not make what I asked them to make...What I wanted is on the right side of the picture, and what I didn't want was on the bottom left...  But, I like both of them.. so, I am not going to reorder and start the whole process again... We're going to install the flower look tile instead of the circle looking tile...  Oh well...  

Well, that's the ups and downs for this last week.... The adventure continues,

Love, Jim and Cheri

Together is a wonderful place to be.

Leaps and Bounds peeps. . .

I love me some fall skies...  the colours are beautiful and relaxing here at the cabin... however, I remember as a kid hating the fall because fall in Ontario always seemed to be gray and overcast all the time and I found it depressing.  But, these beautiful colours  are inspiring.

The work continues in the loft.  The sheetrock is going up on the walls so that the ceiling can be completed smoothly at the seam.  I'm learning a whole lot from this process....

And, here's another of the same area but with the bottom piece of sheetrock added.  I'm excited.

And, here's a shot of the ceiling in the loft.  I absolutely love the tongue and groove look of these ceilings... they are a ton of work, but they look beautiful.

This is the loft to the left and above where the sheet rock was installed.  It's kind of a weird little piece, but Jim and Ben installed it with the ceiling tongue and groove..

Jim sent me this picture and I couldn't figure out why... I had to have him explain what the picture was all about.  You see the little triangle... it's now covered in sheetrock...  before it wasn't.  Giggle/

Earlier in the week, Jim tripped and hurt his knee... today, he tripped and skinned his knee.  He called me, showed me the picture, and told me this was the injury of the day.. 

Back to the loft.  Ben put the plastic sheeting over the insulation (to code) so it's now ready for wood.

And, here it is with a little wood applied.  Jim told me that they installed the longest piece of knotty pine ever and it was a little on the difficult side of life.  It was 13' 6" long and a bear to install.  But, they did it, and it looks fabulous.

And, here's another one of those picture that I had to ask about... the sheet rock has been put on the other side of the ceiling.  Giggle...  And, I think there is some insulation in the light fixture... and it's bugging me like crazy...  But, I'm trying to stay quiet about it, or else Jim tells me I'm a little OCD...

And, at the end of the day... the loft ceiling is completed!  It looks magnifique!

Jim sent me these pictures just before he left to come back home to Provo...  More of the sheetrock has been installed giving the whole loft a more finished look....

And, a little more sheetrock covering the loft bathroom walls.....

...and a little more....

And, voila!  It looks amazing.  We agreed that with a little more finish work in the loft and it will be done.... Jim wants to put some storage space on the left side of this room, where the roof slants down... it is space that you can't really do anything else with.... so storage it is.  Then, we are going to call the carpet guy in to finish the loft floor with carpet.  I am totally stoked... 

This summer has gone by quickly, but so much has been accomplished.  The weather is starting to cool down so it makes working a whole lot easier... I am feeling encouraged.

My brother, Eldon, sent me a letter that my mom had written years and years ago describing some highlights and lowlights of her life..  As I read it, I had a different insight into the lives of my parents - she put a lot of detail into some of their adventures - things she had never talked about.  Some things were really funny, others devastating.  But, they endured and made the lives they wanted - full and beautiful.... One of the things she talked about was moving our family into our house in Brampton, in January 1963 - the house was not finished - no plumbing, just one great big room that was our kitchen, livingroom and bedrooms.. for all of us.  Think about it... January in Canada... We had a fireplace downstairs but it was the plumbing issue that was not great... Mom and Dad built 3 houses during their marriage - two in Port Credit, Ontario and one in Brampton.  I was six years old when the last one was built and it was an adventure for me!!  And, I think about this cabin, and all the complaining I have done over the years... and, the patience my sweet husband has had to have putting up with me... Jim's a wonderful, patient husband and a good man... truly good. I appreciate him loving me. I have been truly humbled after reading this 17 pages of history... It's inspired me to make some changes, and I am going to try to make them with dignity and grace... Thank you Eldon, for sharing with me and our brothers.  I hope they are as inspired by mom's writings as I have been.

And, I'll end with another beautiful sunset.. the adventure continues...

Love Jim and Cheri

"Life is the greatest fairy tale of all"

... we needed a little away time....

 This is an exciting development. We purchased the spiral stairway that is going to go from the deck to the jacuzzi area patio area... I am absolutely thrilled.  I think originally, Jim was going to just build the steps, but somewhere along the way, one of the two of us decided we wanted spiral steps - so, spiral steps it is.  I think it's going to give the front of the cabin an interesting look!

This is NOT our cabin.... just a picture of the steps we bought and how they will look... kinda cool.

We had to purchase another set of scaffoldings.... two layers didn't make it tall enough to reach the peak.  I am so glad we have Ben - he likes all that rappelling stuff.  Not this cowgirl...

And, as usual... Jim shows up and so does his harem.  Today, along with the choir of deer that usually show up, was this mama deer and her twins.  Sooooo sweet.  Jim gives them a little treat and a pat, and off they go.  I'm glad they are keeping him company!

My gourd bird houses are of particular interest to the local wildlife.  It looks like the chipmunks are having fun chewing the entry hole larger.  Most of the birds can get inside - a few larger ones are having a little bit of a problem... But, it's the stupid chipmunks who are destroying the neighbourhood.  I'm going to have to research the situation and figure out what to coat the gourds with to stop the chipmunks.  Grrrrr.

And, here's another one of Jim's harem. They are really getting more and more trusting and gentle.

Jim bought some antique door hinges to go on the doors on the main floor.  They didn't look so hot when we bought them, but....

... after a little bit of a bath in lacquer thinner....

... they've had a facelift and look amazing!  I was actually totally surprised.  I guess I need to put a little more faith into my husband's magic powers.

My son sent me this picture from Alaska.  He said they were sitting around in the livingroom and their son yelled.. "moose moose".  They looked up, and this handsome devil was right by their window.  Amazing.

Jim has been using his new router to finished off some wood in the for the kitchen floor.  It amazes me all that he can do - I can't even begin to think about this kind of work...

Jim always buys a bag or two of deer feed coated with molasses for his friends.  And, he usually put it in a large plastic bucket to keep vermin out.  He put the feed in the bucket and sealed it off, and left it on the deck.  In the morning, he came out, and some chipmunk/squirrel had chewed the spout off the bucket and was chowing down!  I guess they smelled the feed, and made sure they had a treat also.  

Every Christmas, I try to get Jim something different and fun, and something he would NEVER buy for himself.  This year I bought him a fire starter that looked like a flame thrower/gun.  I had it shipped to the house knowing that he was at the cabin and I could put it away for Christmas.  Well, he came home early, and it was delivered early, and was sitting on the steps when he got up in the morning.  He came in, holding the box with a questioning look on his face.  I swear, it happens every year... he finds something that is a Christmas secret.  But, he said he thought it would be fun and liked it!  Brat!

And, this is the progress on the ceiling.  The large beam in the middle is the center part of the cabin ceiling.... so, we are almost half way done.  And, it looks amazing.

And, my company sent me get well flowers... a little after the fact, but they are beautiful, none the less... And, I am reco-operating nicely.

And, Ben came by the cabin and was working while we were away.  Some of the insulation in the ceiling shifted and had to be repacked... So, that's what he did!  Thanks to Ben!

With that, the adventure continues.  Take care of yourselves... Love, Jim and Cheri

"Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions."  Albert Einstein

..... Hot, Hot, Hot!

More work was completed on the ceiling and it's looking amazing!  The tongue and groove spans from one side of the great room to the french doors in the loft and it is totally impressive to see...These pictures do not do it justice.

We are about to start laying the wood on the floor in the great room. We want a patchwork quilt look with all kinds of different colours of wood.  After doing an inventory, we found we were seriously lacking in light colours, so I bought a couple more boxes, and I think we're now in really good shape.

The loft in the upstairs gets seriously hot in the summer... you know - heat rises... So, we decided to put a mini split up there, just to make it tolerable in the summer.  It is absolutely stifling with no cross wind to cool it down and these mini splits work fabulously. Jim is in the process of installing it.

And, here is the outside unit.  I didn't know there was an inside unit AND and outside unit...  I'm a little clueless in some aspects of the building process....It's been an education for me and in writing this blog, Jim always edits my writing and makes me look good...

... here is the inside unit above the french doors in the loft.  I think this will make working in the loft a whole lot more comfortable.  I am always afraid that someone is going to pass out when working up there.

I found this metal sign and I thought it was the cutest!  It's going to find it's forever home in the laundry room... in between the "girls" and "boy's" bathrooms on the main level...

Jim was outside with a little treat for the deer... he didn't see any deer so he rattled the bucket a little bit, and out from the brush across the street, a little head popped up, and came down to visit.  I guess they were just waiting for their buddy to show up with treats!

More work was being done in the loft... I really love how this is looking... It is so much work, but so pretty.  Jim had to buy another set of scaffolding to complete this job - and I don't know what we are going to do with all the scaffolding when we are done... but, I am just excited to have a scaffolding free zone in my home!

Here's another look at the loft ceiling.

I saw a new way of placing tile and I thought it was really cute.  The first picture is the the ceramic tiles that are going to go in the spaces in the 2nd picture here... So, there is a dark brown ceramic framework, and then these cute tiles fill in the spaces... Understand?

I think it's going to look super cute in the loft bathroom.  We already had the brown ceramics, but I wanted something a little softer in there, and I think this pattern will be cute.  We ordered the 9 x 9 squares and they were supposed to be delivered 2 days ago, but, I got notice there was a delay, so I'm still waiting. I tracked the package and it's coming from Wyoming.. Sure wish it was local... Grrrr.

Here's a shot of the great room... We're almost at the peak...

There's a lot of work that has to be done before the ceiling is installed.... Here's part of the process... Jim and Ben plane the planks, then Jim cuts them to length. 

And then puts on a coat of varathane.... 

.... letting it dry...

And then, installing...  

And, we bought a meat smoker... just because we wanted to.  We thought it would be a great addition to the barbecue.... and I thought the meat would be tasty.  

In the meantime, we are cooking meals on the small BBQ here at the cabin.  It does a great job.  And, we're still using the moose plates!!

The floor in the kitchen is almost completed.  There is one small strip left, but the part that was completed this week, is the pieces that butt up to the ceramic work in front of the door.  There is still a curved trim piece to go in between the floor and the ceramic entryway. But, we're almost there!

Remember the gourds that I dried and preserved earlier in the year.  Well, they got placed in the scrub oak trees over by the jacuzzi.  And, as soon as they were placed, little chickadees made sure they were up to their standards.  It's a little difficult to see, but there is a little bird poking his head into the gourd.  There actually was 3 - 4 birds that were fighting for control.  It actually was a fun to watch.  While we were watching, one little bird came and sat about a foot away from us on the deck railing.  He didn't seem to mind we were there...

And, this is at the end of the day and you can see the progress.  I am thrilled.

In this shot, you can see the different colours of the wood.  It really makes it look interesting and beautiful, if I say so myself.

And, I'm still re-cooperating - sleeping a lot, but feeling better.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  The quilt was made by my sister in law in Arizona.  She makes the best quilts!  They are the kind of quilts that say, "snuggle up... you'll feel better!"

And, we had a little Pika get into the hole where the water main is..... We apparently left the lid for the water main off for too long. But, it was long enough, in the extreme heat, to do some serious biological damage to the two critters. Let's just say, he wasn't there to take a bath - smelled really, really bad... But, a chipmunk was down the hole with him, and Mr. Chipmunk wasn't in really good shape either... needed a serious bath.  Thank goodness Ben was at the cabin, and scooped the two out with a cup.  

And, a neighbour had their trail cam go off in the middle of the night... it was a bear roaming around their property... Didn't do any damage... was just scrounging for something yummy to snack on...

With that, this edition has closed, the adventure continues -

 Love, Jim and Cheri

"The greatest skill you can learn is to stay in a good mood when there are hundreds of reasons not to"