Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . . .

Ok, so the weather outside is frightful.  Manzanita has finally received its winter covering, ten days before Christmas.  That is so perfect.  Cheri and I have discussed the idea of the first Christmas in the cabin and inviting the fam down to celebrate Christmas there.

I don't know what year that will be, but it sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

As of today, the local ski resort, Brianhead has posted these conditions;

Brianhead Ski resort as of 12/17/2012

24 Hr. Snowfall: 0″

48 Hr. Snowfall: 5″

72 Hr. Snowfall: 20″

Base depth: 22″

Year to Date Snowfall: 44″ 

This ski resort, Brianhead is about 10 minutes away from the cabin site and has the nearest webcam to the cabin.  There's a snow storm warning tonight that the area will receive another 8 to 12 inches within the next 24 hours, so I think it's here to stay.

Jim Streeter 

NO SNOW YET!

We received a picture of the cabin property from our realtory, Kathy.  We've been trying to figure out when the first snow is going to fall, so we know how long our "building season" is going to be...  By the looks of it, we're going to have a long building season.... However, I checked back in my notes from last year, and there was snow on the 10th of November.  What is wrong with this year?  This is a picture of how the cabin property looked yesterday....

We found out that we have to have an engineering stamp of approval on our plans because of "snow load", but, doesn't look like there's too much snow at this point.  Strange...

Doesn't look like anybody is going skiing any time soon.

Cheri

THANKS TO JAMES AND BRAD!!!

Many, many thanks to James and Brad for helping with the truck on Saturday....  Absolutely couldn't have picked up the bed and moved it on the truck on our own... Jim asked if I could help, and I was like, "No.."...  thank goodness we have sons that live so close and are so willing to help at the drop of a hat.

You guys rock!

Cheri

The arrival of SNOW has slowed the progress. . .

OK, so a week ago the weather turned cold and snow blew in. 

I've had to wait over a week to mount the dualie pick-up bed.  But today there was a break in the weather and Brad, James and I picked it up and set the bed onto the chassis.  This looks easier than it was.  Oh, my back. . .

 

 

Well, it fits.  Now all I have to do is bolt it down and make the side panels to fill in the space where the diamond plate tool box is.

ARCHITECT ISSUES.......

So, we've been communicating with the architect on this project for several months now.  Suddenly, all communication with this guy has flat stopped.  We've tried to contact him, but we get no response.  Finally, I get an e-mail from this guy and he says that has been sick and is recovering - but, it's going to take him a couple of weeks to get back on his feet.  I'm having a freak!  Sounds like this guy has had a heart attack or something and have this major surgery, and my brain goes into overdrive and I'm thinking we need to find a new architect, and is he going to die and what do we do, and on and on and on...

Well, it's been a couple of weeks and Jim gives him a call yesterday.  Turns out, it's not a heart attack... he had gastric bypass surgery...  says his recovery is taking a really long time, and we need to wait a couple more weeks....  I'm glad he's not, like, dying... but, would have been nice if he gave us a little heads up on this one....

So, what's the correct protocol on this one... Should you ask someone who has had gastric bypass how their stomach is doing?



Cheri

Honey, we need a truck. . . .

Ok, my wonderful wife agrees that we really needed a truck to pull the backhoe around with, but I'm not sure she knew what she was in for.

I was looking for a one ton pick-up truck that could pull a 14,000 lbs. trailer load.  The trucks I found in my price range were rather worn out and still relatively expensive so I expanded my search.

I found a 1995 Ford F450 (2 1/2 ton) cab and chassis that came from Arizona (no rust in the bodywork) with power windows, door locks, cruise control, air conditioning, etc with 123,000 miles on it.  Well we bought it!  But it has a 10 foot frame behind the cab so some creativity was required.

I bought a diamond plate tool box and a dualie pick-up bed for the back.

After sandblasting a very rusty looking frame, I applied primer and black chassis paint.

RUSTY WITH THE TOOL BOX MOUNTED

 SANDBLASTING THE FRAME

 PRIMER - BROWN

 PAINTED - BLACK

 LOOKS LIKE NEW!

The Dualie Bed with bed liner and diamond plate sills and tool boxes.

This will make a super pick-up truck (work truck for Manzanita). 

Bye for now, Jim Streeter

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

Nothing much has happened with Manzanita the last little bit.  We are waiting for Architect Dave to complete the plans, Jim is still excited about the backhoe - I think we are going to be picking it up within the next couple of weeks, and the F450 (yes, I said F450) truck is just about ready to make the journey.

This truck is seriously....big...  I haven't figured a way to get into it yet - I have to all but pole vault to get into the front seat.  Jim says that he'll be happy to boost me up..... uh....  no....  I don't think anybody deserves that mental image burned into their heads....

But, it was Jim's birthday on Saturday, and I was happy to buy him a CD with plans for pergolas, and gazebos and stuff like that... I just have to keep him thinking about a jacuzzi and stuff like that.  He politely said thank you, but I know, inside his head he was groaning....

I know Jim has some pictures and the like, and I'll leave it up to him to post them.

Cheri

I DON'T GET IT!!!

We told you, a couple of weeks ago, that Jim bought a backhoe... Every time he mentions said backhoe to someone, this is how the rest of the conversation goes:

1.  What kind did you buy.
2.  When is it going to be delivered
3.  Can I play on it... for just like 30 minutes?

Really?  Never in my life have I had the desire to run a backhoe.  I just don't get it.

Cheri

VERY IMPORTANT CABIN PURCHASES....

I made a few very important purchases today for the cabin....

It's mooses!!!  The moose on the left is a lotion container and the moose on the right is a tooth brush holder...  My friend Mikell found them for me... I couldn't resist... I also couldn't resist the moose garbage can, the moose shower curtain, the moose soap dish, and the moose bath mat...

They so rock!!!  Cheri

I walked amongst the Manzanita

I walked amongst the Manzanita today.  Well it was actually on Saturday and Sunday.  I walked amongst the manzanita with my CHAINSAW!

We are clearing the lot in preparation of receiving the backhoe.

Another view of our handiwork!

When we look back at where the van is parked, this is the view.  The driveway to the cabin will go down to the right and then turn in.

Here's a shot of the rest of the driveway.  LOL, just kidding that's the road in.

These are probably the last pictures of the lot until next spring.  With luck we might go back in three weeks if the snow holds back.  Jim Streeter

HARD WORK!

Jim and I made the trek down to Manzanita this weekend - cleared more of the land - getting ready for springtime when we can start digging.

Such hard work... we work a little, and take a little break, complain how much we are sweating and hard we are breathing, and then work a little more...Jim keeps telling me to just keep the final goal in mind... but, sometimes it's really difficult...

I did use the chain saw!!!  It's not as easy as it looks... In fact, it kind of is hard on the hands and the wrists!   And it flings wood chips all over the place! We were walking into a restaurant this afternoon for dinner, and both of us had wood chips in our hair!  So attractive!

Not going back to work on the property next week... gonna go back, hopefully, in 2 weeks.  It's supposed to snow this coming Tuesday or Wednesday, so we'll have go see how much falls, and if we can still squeeze one more work day!   So, if anybody wants to go with us, complete with chainsaw, let us know!  Giggle!!!!

 Time for sleep...  Cheri

CHANGED BLOG SETTINGS!

Hey people... we changed the settings on our blog.. You can actually post to our blog now... I know, I know... it takes us a while to get on the program... But, we're there now!!!

Cheri

Clearing the Land

Today we ventured down to Manzanita with chainsaw in hand, work gloves and great expectations.  We started by clearing the brush for a trail down to the cabin site.  Then we took out our tape measure and laid out the location the cabin will sit on.  Once located, the trees were identified that needed to come down and we went all "Jason Meyers" on them.

Here's what we started with.

And here's what it looked like once the brush was cleared.

We then set to opening up the view by taking down a couple of the really big trees that were sitting right where the cabin will sit.

So, what did we finish with?  This!

There's a lot more to do next week, but we made a great start.  Thank you Cheri for helping.  I'm ready to buy you your own chainsaw and work boots.  Jim Streeter

WELCOMING PARTY

Here's the welcoming party at the cabin this afternoon... Actually, it was the "We're glad you're going home" party... As we were leaving, we saw groups, and groups, and groups of deer everywhere...  Jim turned off the car and we coasted right next to them.. they were like, "Um... what 'cha doin'?"

Very cool..

And P.S.:  I didn't cut off my leg today... didn't touch the chainsaw... I was good and just moved lots of limbs.  Cheri

CHAINSAW!

Jim and I are heading down to Bryan Head today to start clearing the land.  We had this little discussion yesterday about the chainsaw - or, to be more specific - ME using the chainsaw.  Jim thinks I'm too wimpy to use a chainsaw, and he designated me to remove cut limbs and make a huge pile with them...  I'm a little miffed with his assumption.... I can wear a hockey mask and play Jason with the best of them!

Actually, I have never picked up a chainsaw in my life, and I hope I don't cut my freakin' leg off during this process... 

Later!  Cheri

A Big Challenge

OK, this might just be the most difficult thing I have ever done.  Cheri and I have been discussing the next phase of the building project, digging out the lot, leveling it in the area where the cabin will sit and ultimately digging the trenches for the foundation.

So, after weeks of research and watching eBay along with a few other auction sites, I bid on and purchased a backhoe.  It is a Case 580B.

I used to operate my Dad's front end loader, so this should be the next step with a huge learning curve.

Basically we need to dig out the side of the mountain incline and push the dirt down to create a level area to build the house on, make a driveway and parking area, and prep an area for the septic system.

I hope to pick it up in New Mexico in time to try it out on the sandy soil on our lot before the snow comes.

And Cheri won't laugh at me as I'm learning to dig with this big boy toy.

I also bought the guy's trailer that he hauls it with.

Wish me luck!  Jim Streeter

We met with the Architect, Dave again last night.

We went over to the architect's house last night.  To give him some inspiration, we took three books, two on long cabin interior design and a book on hybrid log cabin design.  I have bought about a dozen books over the past year to get ideas from.  I hope he thumbs through them and gets an idea of what we have in mind.

I also took a short section of a log to show him what they will look like when installed in the cabin.

We had it in the back of our pick-up truck and Dave looked out his window to see it.  His first commet was "are they all that big? ? ?"  This one is about 16 inches in diameter and about 30 inches long.  It weighs about 150 pounds.  The longest ones are 27+ feet long.  Dave suggested we take it over to the structural engineer and consider having them graded.  But since these are not load bearing parts of the cabin, I don't think we care about grading them.  Only time will tell.  But it was exciting to see Dave get excited about the project.  There was a bit of a glint in his eye by the time we left and that was cool.  Jim Streeter

THIS IS GETTING SERIOUS!

Met with the architect again last night - had to give him some dimensions of windows so he can start with actually drawing the plans.

I am making a couple of panels of stained glass for the downstairs bathroom - sunflowers... These are really quite large panels (48" tall), but I really love the sunflowers.  I think it will make the bathroom look absolutely lovely.  I don't think he quite understands my thought process on this one... I drew him a picture and he then asked, "Is this near a bathtub?".... I'm like, "Ya, pretty much"...  I think a lot of the ideas that I have, my dear husband looks at me like I'm nuts... I'm getting used to it, tho.

Jim is looking to buy a backhoe.. at least, I think it's a backhoe...I don't know what the difference is... it's big, it's yellow and it digs dirt.. He loves the idea - It's one of those "big boys with big toys" kind of things...  I'm glad he's happy.

Cheri

Inspiration

I sent these two pictures to Cheri today to give her inspiration.

Cheri wants to make an outdoor shower and have the concrete retaining walls a mosaic tree.  I thought these would provide a good combination of ideas.  I love the tree!

Cheri told me today she thinks I need to buy a small track-hoe. This is why I love this woman! Toys for big boys.

Bye for now, Jim Streeter

ARCHITECT

We met with the architect again today....  Jim is a little intense, I am a little "I want it to look pretty", and the poor architect has to make us both happy and keep us within code.  He's really a cool guy - we're supposed to get the first set of plans in about 7 - 10 days, then we go in, tell him what we like and what we don't like, and we go for another round of drawing.

No, I'm not getting my breakfast nook... but, I settled for a bay window and window seat in the great room, and an herb garden window in the kitchen.  Just didn't look like there was any really smart place to put the breakfast nook - was really good in theory, but not in construction.

I did get my loft upstairs and bathroom.... has to be a bathroom in the loft... this chick is NOT hiking down the stairs to the main floor in the middle of the night... not a chance.

Most of the conversation went like this:

Jim - We'd like blah blah blah blah blah blah

Dave the Architect - That's great, but you have to take into account, wah wah wah dormers wah wah wah..

Jim - I think so, but won't that affect the blah blah blah blah pitch blah blah centers blah blah

Cheri - (Thinking to herself) - I wonder if I can plant lavender around this place... sure would look pretty...and would smell heavenly..... uhuh... gonna check this out when I get home....

Dave the Architect said that we were going to have a blast putting this together over the next couple of years...  I heard that, and I actually understand it and I like it....... sigh...

The adventure continues.

Cheri

Double Doors

We continue to purchase little bits and pieces for the cabin.  Our latest buy was the french doors for the front of the cabin.  I love french doors.  The only problem is - we are running out of space to store stuff!  Our next big project is to take everything out of the storage building now, and re-arrange so, as Jim says, it will be more efficient.  I never thought my life would be defined as "efficient" let along "more efficient".  I do not think that when people think of me, "efficient" is the first thought that pops into their heads.

I keep collecting little bits and pieces for my shower mosaic.  Starting to get quite an interesting collection.  I'm looking for different shapes and sizes and textures of ceramics in browns, yellows, greens and reds.  Jim can't quite wrap his head around this one, but, I am loving the creative part of this project.  I think it will be beautiful.

The adventure continues....

Cheri

BUILDING PERMIT

Jim got the paperwork for the building permit today - or should I say, the freakin' book that you have to fill out in order to get a building permit... It's HUGE!!!  Gonna take a while to get all the forms, and get all the information. 

Jim got the topographical maps sent from Kane County today, also!

Wow.... still moving forward!

Cheri

MAKING PROGRESS

Last night, Jim and I met with the architect - David Ferre - lives in Orem, Utah.  He was recommended by a friend of mine.  We've contacted a couple of architects, but this guy is great!  He's been drawing homes and building homes for like 40 years - really knows his stuff.

Looked at our plans, told us what we needed to have changed, gave us lots of great suggestions - we were totally impressed.

He shared a little bit of his personal philosophy with us.  He said that his goal in life is to "make that little lady in there happy".. He was talking about his sweet wife, Diane.  Not to go into all the details, let's just say, I think I'm gonna get my octogonal breakfast nook because I am now so sure Jim wants to make "this little lady" happy!  Giggle.

We need to get a topographical map and the platte map for him, and send him idea of what we want included in the plans... Jim is looking after that today!

I think this is going to be a good fit!  I am encouraged.

Cheri

ARCHITECT!!!

Ok... we are meeting with an architect tonight... Jim has already sent our preliminary drawings and any other pertinent information.... We'll go see if this is a good fit...

Cheri

NO MORE GRASSHOPPERS!

As you can see from Jim's post, we worked with logs today.... Actually, let me 'splain.... Jim and Cameron worked with logs today...

We knew that we were going to get the logs ready for winter today, and there was no way I was going to grind grasshoppers in my shoes again...  It was super hot, and I didn't want to wear my running shoes, so I decided to wear my trusty pink crocs again, BUT take a pair of socks with me to protect my feet from grasshopper guts...

We had to run over to the post office and Lowe's before we drove north, and guess what... I forgot my socks on the island in the kitchen.... We were about half way there, when I realized the socks were still at the house, and not in the truck...

When I got there, I walked over to the logs just once, and those stupid grasshoppers were like a swarm.. I swear, I've never seen so many freakin' grasshoppers, and crickets in my life... Just couldn't do it..  So, Jim and Cameron moved the logs... I sort of sat in the truck and.... orchestrated the whole event... No... I didn't even orchestrate... I sat and took pictures...

But, there were no smashed grasshoppers today...

Cheri

Moving Day for Logs

We ventured north today to the land of Liberty, Utah.  Beautiful country where we arranged, piled and tarped our logs in preparation for the winter.  These suckers are heavy, but the Komatsu tracked fork lift made quick work of it!

Sitting on our logs.  Cheri avoided the grasshoppers today.  LOL.

Cameron, the seller of the logs was a real help and much appreciated.  He's a cool guy.

This one is 28 feet long.  Much too big but once trimmed to 23 feet it should work well right over the sliding patio door that goes out to the deck.

Bye for now, Jim Streeter

OK, the pace might slow down a little for a while, so I'm going to throw random cabin related things in from time to time.

We are going to venture up to Liberty again this weekend to arrange and stack our logs.  Once in a separate stack we will staple down tarps and button her up in preparation for winter.  They are nice now and I don't want them aging any more before we use them.


That being said, I bought this as a Christmas present for Cheri last year.  He stands about 2 feet tall, maybe a little more.  Can you tell what he's holding?  I got a "Ah how cute" when she opened it.

OK, that's my entry for the week.  See you soon,  Jim Streeter

Architect!

Jim and I met with an architect tonight... SO MANY DECISIONS!!!  I like this guy - seems like he is able to take the ideas inside my head, and put them on paper... Seems so unreal that we are finally at the stage of putting the dreams that we have onto paper...Kinda scary...  Cheri

Now that we have heard about the grasshopper and at the time it really was funny in a macabre sort of way, I want to post a couple more pictures of the logs we "cut out of the herd" and branded as our own.  They are between 12 and 16 inches in diameter and up to 26 feet long, weighing in around 600 lbs. each.   We bought 16 of them and moving 8,000 lbs. of wood as I am learning is not an easy task.  The biggest trailer I can rent is 20 feet long so they are just going to have to hang out a couple of feet on either end with a red flag on the back.  The very kind owner in Liberty, Utah has agreed to keep them until spring when we will move them south to the sandblaster to do his magic.

I never noticed this when I took the picture, but double click on the first picture and check out the detail in the background.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Cheri and I are lucky to live in a very special place.

Jim Streeter 7/22/2012

Squished Grasshoppers.....

Jim told me that if I didn't write about our outing today, he would... and he had this evil laugh...

So, we drive back up to North Ogden to pick up the logs for the cabin.  The logs are in the middle of this field - it's scorching hot out, so we just want to pick out the logs we want and get back in the air conditioned car.  I knew that we were going to be in the middle of an open field, so I wore jeans and a t-shirt and my pink crocs (ok, Eldon, I wasn't wearing sweatpants, so the crocs was a great idea - for those of you who don't understand this comment - my brother Eldon told me that if you wear crocs and sweatpants, you've given up...I really love my crocs...)... We're in the middle of this field, picking out logs and walking through this tall grass..  There are grasshoppers jumping all over the place.  I am so grossed out - I hate bugs.  When I get back in the car, I realize there is muck all over the outside of my left shoe, and my toes are squishy and wet.... sick...  A grasshopper got in my shoe, and I smashed it between my toes - no socks on....... I was so grossed out .... almost vomiting...

Jim is highly amused... me, not so much...

Cheri

STAYING POSITIVE....

I find that I get a little overwhelmed with this project... I am so glad that I have Jim, and he keeps me on track.  I have heard all the stories (horror) about what happens to couples when they decide on a major building project, and that somewhat concerns me. 

I was sitting in my office this morning, and I realized after reading someone else's blog, that my problem is that I can't see the goal.. in my head... I can't visualize the project... yet.  But, I was inspired by a story, and I choose to share it...

"Having a goal is the most important part of becoming a finisher. A goal can keep us focused on where we want to end up. A great example of this is the story of Florence Chadwick. On August 8, 1950, Chadwick swam the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record held by American swimmer, Gertrude Ederle. One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel yet again, from England to France; this time in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
On the fourth of July 1952, Florence Chadwick, now 34, set a goal to become the first woman to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began this historic journey, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. Hour after hour she swam, and after about 15 hours, a thick, heavy fog set in. Curiously, Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. Florence’s mother and her trainer continued to offer encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much further, and they urged her not to quit. But all Florence could see was fog. She had never quit . . . until then.
As Florence sat in the boat, she realized that she had stopped swimming less than one mile away from the California shoreline. She later explained that she quit because she could no longer see the coastline-there was too much fog. Florence couldn’t see her goal.
Two months later, Florence got back in the water to try again. This time was different. She swam from Catalina Island to the shore of California in a straight path for 26 miles. The same thick fog set in, but Florence made it! What was different? Florence said that while she swam, she kept a mental image of the shoreline, her goal, in her mind. Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours!"

Cheri

Logs and more on logs. . . .

Here are a couple of pictures of the log sample we had sand blasted.  This is the before picture taken in the trunk of my car.

And this is after with a coat of Varathane clear urethane (varnish) on it.

So, I think we have a winner except I think the logs should look warmer so a stain with a bit of red in it might look really good.  Can I get some votes on this or warmer red color?  Bye for now, Jim Streeter

LOGS, Part Deux

When we were checking out logs in North Ogden last Saturday, we realized that we needed to get them sandblasted and then finished before they go into the cabin.  So, Jim takes the chainsaw and hacks off about a 2' chunk and yesterday evening, we met with a guy that does sandblasting... Took him about 5 minutes to blast all the bark and paint and everything else off.  Jim stained and finished the piece last night, and I think I like it...  Jim says that he's going to play with different stains and finishes until we find something we really, really like....

LOGS!

Today, we traveled to North Ogden, Utah to buy logs... Our cabin is going to be a hybrid so it's going to have regular walls and logs.  These really are nice logs.   They need to go to a guy that will sandblast them, and then we stain and finish them... They're going to be beautiful!  Jim is thrilled because the price of the logs and the finishing work is fabulous!

One step closer.

The cabin keeps changing!  I guess this is best during the design stage since changing it in the construction stage could get very expensive.

Here I have kicked out the kitchen wall and the dormer in the loft 16 inches so that the cabin gets a little better shape than just a box.  It also makes for an overhang above the sliding doors in the ground level basement.

The site layout looks like this.  You can see how we will have to dig out the side of the mountain and create a flat surface to build on.  I'm thinking that setting the cabin into the mountain by maintaining the slope at the right of the cabin and keeping as many trees as possible will create an integrated and peaceful feeling to the cabin.  OK so much for technical stuff, this is going to look cool when it's done.

Rock

I thought I had added this picture before.  This is the rock we purchased for the bathroom countertop - I think it's going in the loft bathroom, but I can't quite remember.  It's such an interesting piece, but very beautiful.  The vanity that it goes on top of is a dark wood.  I think it will look amazing together.

Moving Forward

Jim has been working tirelessly on the plans for the cabin and yesterday, they were sent to the architect so the plans/ideas can been transformed from a 3D model to flat prints.  Kind of exciting.   We were at the property a couple of weeks ago and got the elevation/layout of the land and sent it also.  Should be interesting on how this is going to look.  The plans, so far, are pretty much what we want... however, having a breakfast nook sure would be nice.  I think I really need to have a little discussion with the architect on this issue.......  Jim caught my vision of a bathroom in the loft, but, I still need to persuade him that a breakfast nook would be moving in the right direction. 

I bought some flooring for the kitchen on Tuesday.  I want a combination of different woods and colors.  So far, I've bought some maple and some hickory in the 5" planks.  I am loving the two woods together.  Got a really good deal from Habitat for Humanity - went to look at tile, and ended up buying flooring!

Cheri

Driveway Lights

Really... aren't these about the coolest ever?  We found these lights at Habitat for Humanity in Salt Lake... The glass was all smashed out and they needed a little repair... We bought new glass and Jim got it put into the slots last night, and they look so antiquey and beautiful.... I love them.  The cost for the two lights was initially $10.00 for the two of them...

We are stoked.

Stuff, stuff and more Stuff!

We continue to buy little bits and pieces of STUFF for the cabin and put it in our storage building.  Last night, we put lumber and the driveway lights, and ceramics into the building.  It's starting to get a little on the packed side of life.  As I said before, we are trying to go very, very green and using and reusing items.  Jim keeps a spreadsheet of what we have purchased and over the last year or so, we have bought about $29,000 worth of building materials... that's if we purchased it all retail...We have actually only paid about $2,300.00 which is about 8% of the retail cost... We have a storage building that is chuck full of sinks, and countertops and light fixtures and a little bit of everything else.  Last fall, we bought all the windows at a substantial savings, and they are sitting in storage also!  And, I think we have all the cabinets for the kitchen also... on that issue, I think we are still missing 3 pieces, but we are patient people.... Giggle.  The quest continues.....

Computer Modelling the Cabin and the Design Evolution.  I have never designed a building from the ground up and this has taken considerable time.  Although it looks like many other cabins, it has many of our specific ideas incorporated which has taken many hours.  Like a bathroom in the loft. . . .  Was it worth it?  Financially no, but from a satisfaction standpoint it has been a lot of fun.  And, now that we've bought the land the computer model must be adapted to the terrain.  But in the end it will be so fulfilling.  View two is the kitchen, View three includes things like the wood burning stove and View four is what I call the Stick House.  This is what I use to create a Bill of Materials. (Construction Jargon)  Bye for now, Jim S.