Closing, closing, closing.....

As the end of the year is coming upon us, we are thrilled that we have had a couple of extra weeks to work on the cabin - that window of opportunity, without drifts of snow, is slowly closing... It has been as low as 12F at night, but no snow.  This morning it was 18F at 10:00 AM but sunny!

I haven't made it down to the cabin for a couple of weeks now - the cold and I do not get along, but my dear husband has made the trip for the past two weekends, by himself, and did a little extra work that needed to be finished.

The biggest project right now is the Tyvek, the shake shingle siding, and the redwood deck...  We have been getting help from two gentlemen from Panguitch, who have been invaluable..  Greg and Jason Excell, they know their stuff, and get down to business... we can't be more thankful for their dedication and expertise... Jim says they out work him.

We have been working to get the Tyvek and the siding on before the snow.  We found out last week after talking to the county, that we needed to have a Tyvek inspection BEFORE getting the siding on...  woops..  So, this weekend, the siding project halted and the Tyvek went up on the east side of the house.  It was a three man job.

Jim is going to call the county on Monday and ask for an inspection this week so that the siding can continue.  We are so fighting against time and weather here - it makes me nervous.  And the deck keeps growing!  It now goes all the way to the back of the cabin past the bay window.

I checked the weather forecast before Jim went down and it was supposed to be 17F degrees at night, but the days were going to be in the high 50's... which made it really nice for working.  Today it was 30's in the shade but really nice in the sunshine.

Jim loaded up the trailer on Saturday afternoon, and took another load of cabinets, doors, a beautiful bathtub/shower door and miscellaneous furniture items down.

We are unclogging the storage building little by little, and it is so encouraging.  One of the items that he took down was a coffee table that we found a couple of years ago - it's made of manzanita wood - very unusual, but very beautiful.  Jim said that he cleaned off the top of it when he got it into the cabin - after sitting in a storage building for a couple of years, the dust factor was high... But, he got it all cleaned off and it is looking beautiful.

Jim continued putting the foam around the windows and doors and made a revelation today - the foam actually washes off your hands with lacquer thinners!  He said that the old formula didn't wash off, and if you got it on your hands, it took weeks to wear off...  (I supposed this is from a past personal experience... giggle).

It's been a difficult week for us here in Provo, and I am pleased that Jim had the energy to make the drive.  I don't know if many more trips are in the plans between Christmas and weather...Seems a little strange that this chapter is closing for this year. 

Jim bought me a beautiful vintage wood holder to sit next to the wood burning stove on the hearth for my birthday this week. I love it, and was totally surprised!  It will look beautiful in our livingroom.


We have such plans for projects for the winter - including building the stairs, and putting the rock hearth in... We have one of those construction propane heaters that looks like a cannon!  It makes 150,000 BTUs, Jim says, so, if we make it to the cabin, in the snow, it should help keep the main area somewhat warm.

This journey, this year, has been one of the most exciting things I have done in my life.  We have been blessed, and as still, the adventure is amazing.

Jim and Cheri