This was sparked by an interesting set of events... Several years ago, I was visiting with Jim's aunt, and she had asked me what I was doing at that particular time, and I told her that I was putting Jim's car parts into the dishwasher.. because, they were all oily and dirty, and this was the quickest and more efficient way to get them clean.. she just about had a stroke and told me that if her husband had done this, she would divorce him... It really didn't phaze me in the least...
This past week, we were trying to get ready to go to the cabin and we were taking the rocks I had purchased several years ago for the hearth and behind the cast iron stove in the living room. I bought these rocks for Jim several years ago for Christmas... (this is where the "normal" is starting to come into question). He loved the gift, but, with such a volume of rock, and knowing that we wouldn't need it for a couple of years, we stored it beside our driveway in a flower garden... and, it looks really pretty... it's smokey yellow quartz and absolutely beautiful...
Well, with the rock being there for several years, it's covered in dirt and leaves and everything else. So, we decided to run each of the stones through the dishwasher. I didn't blink twice at this suggestion, and actually, it was my idea... After the rocks ran out of a full cycle, they are beautiful and clean and ready to be installed... Jim estimates that we cleaned and took about 2000 lbs of rock to the cabin this weekend.
So, again, the question comes up.. is this normal?
Again, in talking to Jim, he thought that us building a cabin in the middle of nowhere when we are in our late 50's and 60's is normal.. But, is it normal for everyone else? - because it seems that we are the only nutcases doing this... In talking to my brother Duane, we both agreed that we always thought we were normal, until we married and moved out, and then we realized that, maybe we weren't quite as normal as we thought... (Our father painted our upright piano orange, and we didn't think twice about it... maybe, not so normal).. giggle. So, I guess, what is NORMAL for us, may not be normal for anyone else...
We are trying to get the cabin to the point that we don't have to stay in the RV next year. We bought a submersible water pump in Gunnison, Utah on Saturday... We won't have water for a while, but we have to figure out a way to have clean water... so, we bought a big 275 gallon cube, and this water with the aid of an on-demand propane water heater and the pump will push the water, so we can at least shower... I know.. not normal.. But, I am excited..
Anyways, in our not so normal state, we delivered a load of really clean, pretty quartz for the hearth, along with other miscellaneous things this week. We are getting closer to having the whole cabin ready for winter... We were trying to get it all done this weekend, but, that just didn't happen...(On a side note, while Jim was digging the rock out of the flower bed, "something" (he thinks it was a tarantula) got into his pant leg, and stung him 7 times on the leg and lower butt cheek... Ok, I'm trying not to laugh, but, he's spent the last day... scratching... I am not sure WHAT bit him, but they look like mosquito bites, and I don't think it was a big hairy spider....) Jim thinks it was a black widow looking for a mate!
One of the most amazing things was that, Jim handed me the keys to the front door, and I got to open the lock and walk inside... It was almost like being carried over the threshold... Amazing feeling. (I just looked at the picture below, and... what is going on with my hair??? I'm blaming it on the wind... yep... high winds...)
The deck is well on it's way to being completed, and the siding has been started. That piece of chipboard to the right front of the cabin is where my sunflower stained glass pieces are going to go... still working on the 2nd piece, so that's a project for springtime.
But this weekend's project was to get the rock into the cabin, and to urethane foam around all the windows and doors.
It was my job to bring the rock from the trailer to the living room... Years ago, when I bought the rock, I carried each one of those stupid pieces from the store into my truck.. Today, I can barely pick up the smaller pieces - they are so freakin' heavy... What happened? When did they get heavier? Giggle.
Jim built me a "bridge" to walk from the ground to the deck... um... ok? I really hate heights, so this was not my favourite part of the day... There's a 10 foot drop, and I was walking on two 2 x 12's over what I called "Galt's Gulch"... (This will make all you Ann Rand/Atlas Shrugged fans have a quick laugh...) It was pretty bad when I had to carry rocks over the gulch, but when I had to help Jim carry a couch over it, walking backwards, it really wasn't my favourite...
While I was carrying rock, Jim was doing the winterizing... He did all the windows and most of the doors, and we're almost ready, in that department, for winter. I think he still has the french doors in the prow to complete, and that job is completely done.
As we were starting to pack up to leave, we watched the most beautiful sunset.. beautiful reds and yellows.. I am going to love watching these sunsets...
Yep... another not normal, amazing adventure.
Jim and Cheri
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