Three Steps Forward, One Step Back.....

If you read the previous blog post, you'll know we spent the weekend at my brother's birthday party... and, this is a little bit of a continuation...  This first lovely picture was taken by my dear husband, who thinks it's funny as all get out to take my picture while being frisked down by TSA at various airports... This was Phoenix... and, I have been asked many times is "Why did they have a guy pat you down?"  In answer to your question... this was a lady...  

... moving on...  We had a little bit of time to kill on Monday morning before making it to the airport thanks to flight changes, so we stopped by Habitat for Humanity... We just had to... It's become a little bit of a joke for us - where ever we go, we have to find a Habitat and stop in.  This one was in Phoenix, but we have been at Habitat in California, Nevada, Utah and even Hawaii... Giggle.

And, of course, I had to buy a souvenir for the cabin.  This was a rug that I thought would be perfect for the main level bathroom... A little reminder of our weekend in Arizona!

I loved this picture of Jim.. He bought a hat in Phoenix and just had to wear it on the bus after dropping off the rental car...  This is a classic Jim, with his usual smiling face...  Love this guy...

 I also found this picture at Habitat... I am going to put this in the loft bathroom.. What better place to put a poster of burlesque than in a bathroom.. It just seemed like the right picture for the right room!  Giggle.

I got a call from the jacuzzi place today, and it's supposed to be delivered on June 16th... so we have about 3 weeks to have the area for the jacuzzi totally finished and the brick laid down...  But, in the meantime, I bought some wind spinners to decorate around the jacuzzi...  Jim always tells me that I buy things that are just a little too girlie for his taste, so I saw these two trucks, and thought they would be perfect!

For the past several years, it has been my self appointed job to buy all the balusters for the deck and stair rails.  We guesstimated that this would cost about $10,000.00 to covers two decks, three sets of stairs, one balcony, and one loft...  So, the accountant in me started planning.. I budgeted that I would spend $100.00 x 2 a month and start buying the different pieces and parts that we would need.  Well, it started to get a little cluttered with all the boxes, so about a year ago we started putting sets together and sealing each set in a plastic bag.... We made about 50 sets.  Jim took them to the cabin and they are just waiting for installation. But, the purchasing has continued,  so this past week, we pulled out everything we still had in Provo and took inventory...  We have about 50 of the main wrought iron balusters, and...

.... about 70 of the double knuckle balusters.... and about 100 of the straights... Now, just to get the 2nd deck finished (and stairs and balcony) and we'll be ready for installation....  

I purchased this rug over the weekend because I thought it was totally interesting.  It is about 6' across and it's made of some kind of grasses...  And, I was feeling a little guilty with the thought that went through my mind... Jim goes to the cabin and works like a slave for a couple of days each week... I, on the other hand, stay at home, and go... shopping...  

With the Jacuzzi about to be delivered, this is what the area where it's going looks like right now... Jim says it will definitely be completed, so we are anticipating this project to conclude very soon.  It's looking fantastic... I'm stoked.

And, the work on the deck continues.  It's warmed up enough that we could start pouring the cement in the four sonotube columns that were erected in last fall.  But, you know, there just has to be a glitch.  Jim changed the motor on the cement mixer from gas to electric to be more reliable, and that project was a complete success...  The guys (Jim, Ben and Howard) threw in the cement, added the water, and poured 2.5 tubes and... the belt broke on the cement mixer... and of course, the hardware stores were closed... grrrr... So, they mixed the last little bit of cement to top off the third sonotube, and will have to wait for the repair to be made to continue...

... stupid belt...

But, three of the four tubes were filled and are now curing for a week.  After the fourth tube is filled and cured, the project will continue with the steel erections to support the deck. 

I had absolutely no idea what went into building a deck, but I am a whole lot more educated now!

The stone mason is coming back to finish the job on Thursday morning.  Jim had to come back to Provo and cut some more rock to finish the project and he started that at the beginning of the week.  His one diamond saw blade had broken, so he took it over to BYU Engineering to have it welded back together, and, as fate would have it, the blade broke again.  So, he went looking for someone with a really heavy duty saw.  And, there was a guy in Orem that had just the ticket.  I took the rocks over and dropped them off at his house on Thursday, and picked them up, all beautifully cut on Saturday.  I then had to Fed Ex them to the cabin on Monday, and they were delivered this morning.  So, tomorrow morning, they'll be put into the hearth to finish it..

We'll be updating pictures as we get them.

But, until then, the adventure continues...

Love, Jim and Cheri