Well, we welcomed 2021 in, the usual way... At the kissing place! The original sign was taken down - don't know by whom, but it's down - so we made out own sign. I am glad I work at a printing company and they can custom make signs!! Thanks for Jammie for the design work and Jason (the account manager) for putting everything together, AND of course, production at Alexander's Print for making it happen under short notice!!
If you were looking at the blog at the end of last year, you would have seen that we were putting together the hearth with these light coloured rocks... Well, after the rocks are cut, they soon start to fade. Jim has been experimenting with different coatings trying to keep the rocks from fading. He thinks the rocks are porous and the moisture evaporates out of them after cutting them apart. He was going to get a stain to put on them, but tried "Old English" furniture polish, and it seems to be working the best. It's keeping the rock a yellowy colour. The interesting thing is, the Old English polish soaks all the way through the rock and changes the colour on the bottom within about two days. We are watching this rock to see how long it lasts or if we have to reapply after a couple of weeks/months. Jim always has some kind experiment going on...
I think the rock looks like a banana cream pie...
After the mix-up with transmission in Jim's truck, he decided to fix the front brakes that were beginning to make a little noise. He ordered the new brake rotor in, and tried to install it, and at that point realized that it was the wrong part. So, he sent it back, and ordered the "right" part. It came, and, you guessed it... it was the wrong part also... Apparently, the year his truck was made, there were a plethora of different brakes and wheel nut patterns that got slapped on the 1500 Chevy Silverados.. So, the 2nd part has been sent back and we are waiting again, for the right part. This has really stopped us from taking loads of "stuff" to the cabin and dropping it off. The roads are too snowy for the van, but the four wheel drive in the truck can make the hill..
Here's a picture of the new smaller brake rotor sitting on top of the old bigger brake rotor.
See how the brake pads overhang outside the new brake rotor. This just won't work apparently... Jim
(I looked at this picture and I don't have a clue what's going on.. I'm kind of at the "huh?" stage....)
Moving on. . . . This mahogany book shelf was unwanted at my work, so I volunteered to get rid of it. It will match the mahogany dresser in the main floor bedroom perfectly! Jim is using it to store books relating to building the cabin...
Next - One of the things I got Jim for Christmas was a pizza stone for the BBQ... It finally came, only 3 weeks after Christmas, and I think he likes it. We have been putting pizza on the BBQ for years, with a little problem lifting it up after it's cooked. I thought this would be a major improvement.
Ok.. This is a plenum... I've personally never heard of a plenum before and I would have a hard time explaining what a plenum is.. but, apparently, I needed a plenum.... I think I will defer this paragraph to Jim.....
This sits on top of the furnace and directs the hot air out to the front or rear of the cabin. There will be square ductwork attached to the tops of the curves. The design is very efficient ($) and will tend to be quieter than just a conventional "tee" at the top as it reduces turbulence. - Jim
Ok.. now you know...
We have been collecting ceramic tiles that look like wood in all colors and shades. We found out to meet code with a wood burning stove there has to be an area in front of the stove that's fireproof. Since we have wood flooring in the great room, we have to switch to ceramic flooring in an area in front of the hearth. So voila! I'm sure you'll see a difference, but it will look pretty good I think.
Jim wants to put a sealed threshold on the pantry door to keep any little vermin out just in case. We found this at Habitat for Humanity Restore the other day and it should work perfectly. It totally creeps me out that there is the potential for "vermin"... I hope by the time the cabin is finished, it's sealed up enough that the little mousy critters are banned from the inside. (I heard that mouses don't like the smells of cinnamon and cloves, so I've put out little packets... Jim takes the more "attack" mode - ie..poison them with mouse bait..) I think we'll be ok in the long run...
A friend of mine, in quoting his mother said, "Attitude and Endurance is what life is all about." And, this about sums up our cabin building experience... We are starting our 9th year, and it's been a script written with attitude and endurance.... I have attitude (sometimes not a very good one) and Jim has endurance (like... a lot of endurance and patience)...
The Adventure Continues.
Jim and Cheri
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