ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT STEP......

Oh my... so many little things got completed this weekend... and one MAJOR project started.

As you probably know, we don't have any stairs going from the basement up to the main level, and then the main level up to the loft...  and, one of us... refuses to climb a ladder up and down... I have never been in the loft, and to get to the basement, I go out the front door and walk around to the basement side door..  I don't mind so much - but, it would be nice to have some stairs.

Well, last week, Jim started on the basement stair landing, and this past weekend, the first step went in... I am so excited!  It takes a lot of calculations to build a set of stairs that meet code today.  Jim brought his calculator from work down to the cabin to make sure the steps were absolutely correct.  To make everything uniform in the whole cabin, each step will be 6.90 inches high and the treads will be 11.5 inches deep. (Engineering stuff)  I just know they will feel good to walk up and down on.

Jim set up his saw to cut the 3 inch thick stair treads and that was quite the exercise.  Our rough saw wood is 12 feet long and they weigh a freakin ton.  The two of us man-handled the wood into place and to Jim's surprise the saw was able to cut the massive piece of wood!  Woo Hoo!

This is a Makita extra large saw mounted onto a DeWalt stand.  They didn't consult with each other.

As well as working on the most important stair project, Jim found time to help me with the Fairy Town...  The tiles that I was using were a little heavy, so we needed a wood framework to support them.  I call this new fairy house, Tijuana because of the beautiful Mexican tile on the sides.

There is a roof piece still be be built, covered in rock and put on the top of this one... I can only take so many burned fingers on a weekend...

Here's the tiles before they went on the house.

On the little fairy house that Jim built me for Christmas, there is this white stone (see below).  There's a story that accompanies that stone.  When we were in California, we were in a Home Depot, and there were these two boxes of stone on the floor.  I asked the saleslady how much the stone cost and she said that they were going to throw it away. I told her I wanted it, and asked what it would cost.  She said a dollar a box.  I was stoked.  When Jim came back after he had found what he was looking for, I told him I was buying the stone, and he was not being particularly agreeable...So, we made a deal. I asked him at what price it would be ok for me to buy the stone, and he immediately said, "$1.00"...  Giggle.  He was not aware the deal was already made...  sneaky...

I was asked this past week if anyone could build a house for the fairy village and the answer is.. Of course!  If anyone wants to put together a house, and get it over to me, I would be happy to put it in our village...We would love it!

We did a little experiment last week with the stone for the hearth... We wanted a finish to really bring out the creamy colour of the rock.  I painted each stone with sealer... We checked on it this week, and I don't think it made a whole lot of difference... I'm actually a little disappointed. Can you tell from the picture what stone was not painted?  If anyone has any suggestions, please send them along.

The big purchase this week was... buying new tires for the trailer.... they needed it desperately.  I feel a whole lot safer knowing this little problem was resolved.

I was moving the sinks from the trailer to the basement, when a couple of the neighbours came by to invite us over to their place for the evening... The first words they said to me were, "Everything including the kitchen sink"!  Giggle.  The other most important thing that we moved into the cabin this weekend, was our hockey player air hockey game...  What good Canadian family doesn't have one of these?  Giggle.

As I mentioned before, a couple of the neighbours came over and invited us over...We had already met the neighbours across the street, Wayne and Nancy, but never had met Kitty and Bill... Such nice people... and they had the play-off hockey game on - what a plus - even though the Leaf's got hosed!  We intended to visit just a little bit, and make it to Panguitch by 9 pm - I just had to get some Tylenol... Well, we missed the 9:00 pm curfew, and I got some Tylenol from Kitty, but we hadn't had dinner yet, either, and I thought that C-Spot, the pizza place closed at 10.  So, after politely excusing ourselves, we head down the mountain.  I got on my ipad on the way down, to order a pizza for take out, only to realize that C-Stop pizza actually closed at 9... groan..

So, we have very few options left.  We thought we could get something at the Gem Theater - nope, it was closed also, and at that point, the only lifeline we had was getting something at KB Express, which is a gas station.  So, Jim and I head into the place, and pick out two sandwiches to be microwaved... one chicken sandwich, and one beef sandwich.  I had the chicken sandwich.  It always makes me super nervous buying food stuff at gas stations.  I likened the experience to buying gas station sushi...  could get bad. . .  real quick.  

We heat up our sandwiches, and Jim commented that we are just going to have to make the best of this really bad situation... and, if we get ptomaine poisoning, we were going to be sick together... wasn't particularly comforting.    We take the sandwiches back to our hotel room, and eat... waiting, with every bite, for tummies to start rumbling or stomach cramps to start... pleased to report... nothing came of it.

We had a little fatality with one of our terra cotta lights this week... We had it in the trailer when we were traveling, and when we got to Panguitch, I noticed that it was broken in two pieces.  When we got to the cabin, one of the pieces had fallen out of the trailer.. I was really sad because I really liked the piece. Well, on the Saturday afternoon, our friend, Mary and Ron came to visit.  They spend the winters in Vegas and this was their first week back.  They saw my broken light, and said that there was a piece just like it at the end of the street...  Ron and Mary were our walking, and found the main piece and then went and picked up all the little broken bits.  I am nor sure if I have the time or patience to glue the whole thing back together...But, it was so nice for their efforts... much appreciated.

I was telling Jim that the day after returning from the cabin, I always feel fatigued... just totally drained...  We were going to make a trip to Coalville to pick up another load of brick tonight... didn't have the energy...I think we'll try to make the trip tomorrow night...when I feel more rested... and the Leafs aren't playing... Go Leafs!

Another amazing adventure...  Jim and Cheri