Broken Hearted, but Hoping For The Best....

As you have probably heard, a fire is raging around our beautiful Bryce Woodland area destroying approximately 4500 acres of natural forests so far.  At this point, it is only 5% contained.  I am at a loss for words of how I feel.... so, I'll let the pictures explain...

Planes and helicopters are bringing in and dumping fire retardant...  

The fire is to the north-east of our cabin and so far the wind has been blowing it north and west.  So although we see the smoke over the ridge of Lion's Head mountain we can't smell it and it's not moving closer to our cabin.  But a shift in wind direction could bring it to us within hours.

We were given an involuntary two hour evacuation time on Monday, and we were told on Thursday and Friday, residents could be escorted by the sheriff to their properties for those days to remove any further valuables...  Although this is just a cautionary evacuation,  Jim and I are 3 1/2 hours away and working and we were not able to make it..

Our little furry friends have no escape... I guess as the fires move closer, they just keep moving to avoid the fires.

The skies are really smoky, but the helicopters and planes keep flying in with the fire retardant... they were unable to bring in the helicopters on Saturday and Sunday because of the high winds.. But, they started up in force on Monday.

In watching the pictures of the fire, I decided that I don't want to burn in hell ... I guess I should up my game...

The following blurb is from the US Forestry Service.  This is the latest update...

"The #LeftForkFire remains at 5% containment and current mapped acreage of 4,631. Today's weather with decreased temperatures, higher relative humidity, and cloud coverage helped firefighters make progress around the perimeter. Minimal fire behavior was observed around most of the fire.

Due to the complexity of the incident, a Type 2 Incident Management Team has been ordered and will take over command of the fire on Friday, June 24."

This is how the information comes to us....

But, the good news of it this week, is our hot tub was delivered on Friday.  We didn't get to fill it and don't know when we will be back, but it's at least delivered and hooked up to the power...

The installers left Provo at 7 in the morning, and got to our property at about 10:30 - so, they definitely were not checking out the speed limit... especially hauling a jacuzzi behind them on a trailer...

As you can see, the plastic was totally ripped to shreds in the travel.. giggle.. But, it made it in one piece, so I was thrilled...

It took a couple of hours for them to install it..

But, they made good progress.

The installers were three really good guys... Very nice, and very polite.

And, finally, it was completed.. We can't use it yet, but it's in place!  I just hope we get to use it and it doesn't burn up... hoping and praying..

Before they left, they asked to go into the cabin and use the restroom... When they got inside, they were all impressed by.... the stained glass acorn in the stairwell...  Of all the things to notice, it had to be the acorn... Kind of made me laugh...

On Friday night, Jim and I went to dinner in Orderville... We had left the French doors in the loft open to cool the place down... When we got back, Jim went upstairs to close the doors, and this is when he noticed that one of the towel cabinets was totally blown down the stairs and was smashed to pieces....

I had bought this piece for the loft bathroom... the only thing that was not absolutely demolished was.. the two glass doors on the front of the cabinet.  And, they were laying peacefully on the steps.  I don't know how this happened, but it did...  Jim says he thinks he can rebuild it...

I read on Monday that there was up to 50 mile an hour winds.. I knew it was windy out, and cold, but didn't realize the winds were that strong.  I was going to work outside moving block on Saturday, but it was so cold and so windy, it was impossible.

The winds blew the rugs up, and the sheets and blankets off the bed upstairs also...But, the worst of it was to the cabinet.

And, the moose on the mantle kind of had a little accident.  I think, when the cabinet flew down the stairs, part of it hit the moose on the mantle, and he went flying.  

So, we have a one antlered moose right now...  I haven't taken the time to fix him yet, but I collected all the little pieces, and brought him back to Provo with me... Being that we will not be going to the cabin any time soon, I should have time to play veterinarian and fix him this weekend...

And, the work continued on the back deck... Howard was filling in the holes where the footings are placed...  Until the hydraulic system filter on the backhoe got clogged, and that ended the backhoe work for the day.  Jim figured the filter is about 30+ years old and had to order a new part from the Case dealer in Springville and we're kinda waiting on delivery.  Here's the before picture...

And, here's the after!  Part way filled up and compacted by the backhoe.

We were attempting to put the propane gas lines in, so that we could hook up the propane to the house and have the water heater turned on.. BUT, as we were about to install those lines, we found that Home Depot threaded the ends of the pipes incorrectly, so the fittings would not thread on...  huge disappointment... of the four ends that were threaded, only 1 was correct.  We called Home Depot in Cedar City to see if their machine was up and running (we called ahead of time) and the associate there said it was working perfectly.. the only problem was, they did not have the 1" die for the machine, so it was totally useless to us...  I guess he does not understand the concept of "working perfectly".  We had to bring the pipes back to Provo and have the Home Depot here in Provo recut them deeper...And, this time, we tested them out in the store BEFORE we left.  In the meantime, back in the cabin on Sunday, Jim was working on finishing the electrical wiring in the loft...  One step closer to the four way inspection being completed..

As this week was Father's Day, I was thinking how much I would have liked to show my dad the cabin.  My dad built two of our family's homes, and I think he would have got a kick out of seeing everything that we are doing... Maybe he would look at some of our decisions and just smile and shake his head back and forth, but I would have liked to just watch his face...  I would have liked to watch him run his hands across the top of the island, or push on the doors to make sure they are flush... or walk up the stairs to the loft and comment that the stair treads are a nice spacing for climbing... and then stand in the loft and look at the view and comment that it looks like Northern Ontario...  Or, maybe look at my stained glass windows.. in a bathroom... and comment that I am crazy...  I would love that... I miss him.

With the fire invading our beautiful mountain, I pray that the fires will stay away from our area and we will have our cabin spared any damage.  It is a daunting thought to have something that we have worked so hard and so long on, to be wiped out.  Hopefully, the rain predicted for this coming Sunday and Monday, will protect us. I keep telling myself that the things that are the most important to me, will still be here...  My husband, my children, and my family are most important.  If the cabin is destroyed, we will have our home in Provo, and loving family to support us.... Having that beautiful cabin would be a plus for retirement, but either way, we will survive...  broken hearted, but survive.

... as always, the adventure continues.

Love, Jim and Cheri

ONE STEP FORWARD... NO STEPS BACK.... (This is actually last week's blog..got busy...)

 ...There is so much to pack into this edition of Me and Manzanita, I am not quite sure where to start!  So, I am going to start with the first pictures I took!!!  First up, Chance!

As you may remember from last summer, we had a contractor make a huge mistake on the main floor bathroom, and we just couldn't seem to get him to fix the problem... before he ghosted us.  We found in the shower enclosure, that due to the leaking we needed to break the cement out that was poured over the rubber shower membrane, and start again from scratch.  However, this is a job that would be horrific for the average human... Jim and I both felt that would be a huge, intense job... and, I didn't feel that either Jim or I had the physical strength to complete the task without doing bodily harm... enter.. Chance...Brianne and her tribe came to the cabin for the weekend, and, we put Chance up to the task.  When I first explained to him what I needed him to do, he kind of just looked at me in disbelief.  But, he definitely rose to the task...

I was most impressed.. This kid got down to business and it seem that within no time, he was done, and had cleaned up the mess...  You have to understand - this job means taking a chisel and a hammer, and hitting the cement until it cracks into tiny pieces and then through the cement fog, you take each little piece and put it into a bucket to be thrown into the dumpster.  It is intense, hard work...  Chance is 15 years old and worked like most grown men.  He didn't complain - just did the job.

Chance moved to Utah in September - we didn't really know him, but he has proven to be such a good kid....and I mean, a REALLY good kid.   Brianne is as lucky to have him in her family, as he is to be a part of hers.  

This is how the shower began - this kid broke through 3 inches of hard cement, and didn't complain once... he is a blessing in disguise, and so welcome to come back to the cabin and help us anytime.

One of the big problems I have while spending weekends at the cabin was the floors.  The floor is just chip board and whenever someone walks around on it in bare feet, if you are lucky, you didn't get little slivers of wood in the bottom of your feet.  When one of us gets up in the middle of the night to make it to the restroom, it's not a fun feeling.  So, Lowell and  Chance got the job of putting down the flooring in the main level bedroom.  They started by putting down the gold underlayment....

... and then, starting laying the oak flooring.  The flooring I chose is called Gunstock...

It seemed to go down quickly....

Lowell and Chance started on Saturday evening, and completed it Sunday morning.  It looks spectacular!

After taking a ton of pictures, I got the bed made, and the guys got the end tables in place, and again, tons of pictures...

I can't believe how incredible it looks... Lowell and Chance did an amazing job, and were saving my feet a lot of further pain.  I so appreciate their efforts and care.  

When I found the Space Saver pop up outlets, I thought of them in terms of plugging so many different kitchen appliances into them on the island, and not having to move from here to there, trying to get everything plugged in.  On Sunday morning, I saw this, and giggled to myself.  It's not how I pictured this, but it works...

One laptop, two speakers, one amplifier, four cell phones...

... a couple more cellphones, and Coy's ipad!  Giggle. Just the night before, there was the electric skillet, a crock pot, and various serving dishes... The island is big enough to hold it all!  Lowell told us that the pictures on the blog do not give justice to the size of the island...  It's huge.

I am glad when people comes to the cabin, that they feel comfortable enough to rest, relax, and restore.  This is exactly what Brianne and Coy were doing on Sunday... 

This must be my motto:  Calories don't count on the weekend... giggle... I finally took this item to the cabin on the weekend, and put it to good use!

We are in the final stages of getting the pad ready for the jacuzzi to be delivered and installed... As it is going to happen this coming Friday, we really had to put the last finishing touches on the area.  It seems that Jim, Lowell and Ben all had a hand in this one... But, it finally got level, and the brick put in place...

And, here's the final product!  Many weeks to preparation and the area is ready!  It looks spectacular.

And, the work continues on the back deck.  Howard is spearheading this project.  We are at the backfilling portion of the job, and then the upper structure will start...

This was the first time that I got to see the finished hearth in person!  Actually, this was the first time I have been at the cabin this year, and this was a real treat.  I think it looks absolutely perfect.  The colour of the grout is exactly what I wanted. We turned on the hearth lights for this picture and there are several of these lights on the side and top of the hearth... Coy figured out a way to light them up... he used patio cafe lights and strung them behind the stone.. It looked great!

We have a wood burning stove that is going to be placed behind the screen on the hearth... But, it hasn't made it to the property yet!  That's in the future!

And, we brought the antique bathtub from Provo to the cabin.. I have this idea that I want this tub to be beside the jacuzzi to hold towels.  Jim didn't quite understand what I wanted, but I think he has caught my vision.  Sometimes I have to explain my ideas to Jim by talking it through, and then using hand gestures, and finally drawing pictures...  Some of my projects take Jim a couple of days to figure out how to complete the project, but he usually does.  It's great having an engineer as a husband...Sometimes he just stares at me as I am wildly flailing my hands around trying to explain myself... But, he's great in bringing my ideas to life.  I am going to have the feet of the tub chrome plated, but decided instead of having the tub refinished, to leave it just as is.  Brianne and I had this conversation, and that's what we both felt was the right thing to do!  Years ago, when Bradley graduated from his Masters program, we had a party on the front lawn in Provo, complete with the cafe lights, and tables and lots of bbq..... But, I used this bathtub, filled with ice, to put canned drinks in.  It was perfect.  It really hasn't moved since that time... But, now, it's new home is in Bryce - as a towel boy!  

If you remember, a couple of weeks ago, I ordered some green onyx to accent the Alaskan Grey in the loft bathroom.. it came in broken, so I ordered another piece.  Well, it came this past week, and when I took it out of the box, it broke in half.  Apparently, it's beautiful, but very brittle.  But, I think I can use the two pieces for what I want... It's just for accent, but, I was a little disappointed that it's so brittle.  

And, last fall, Jim and I transplanted a scrub oak tree from the driveway where the jacuzzi is going, up to the front of the property to try and give us a little more privacy... A couple of weeks after we moved it, all the leaves died and it looked like it was a goner...  This past weekend, the little tree has bright green leaves growing, and it looks like it survived!  I am stoked!

I got a kick out of this picture of Jim driving down to Bryce...  he's in the zone... driving with his favourite person (me), listening to music on the radio, and eating Cheetos...  It's a good life.

As always, the adventure continues.

Love, Jim and Cheri

...It Looks Like Giraffe-ic Park...

 

Finally... the hearth and rock wall are completed, cleaned and ready for your approval...  Actually, Jim and I have already approved, and literally, it's set in stone!  We love it...

It was while we were away on a long weekend "va-ca" that the top triangle rock was installed and the grout applied.  It was a little weird talking to the rock mason.. trying to explain what colour I wanted...  But, he actually figured out what I wanted and it is spot on!!!  He really is an amazing "stoner"...  I called him a magician, he called himself a stoner... Giggle...

I think the hearth part looks kind of like a giraffe... But, as the mortar dried, it became less dark and more like the colour I wanted!

Jim and Ben have been working feverishly on getting the patio area ready for the Jacuzzi to be delivered and installed, and they're just about there!

Brianne and her clan are coming this next weekend, and we will be placing the block that goes under the jacuzzi...  But, the dirt has been prepared and levelled to this point... Jim told me that after he placed all the retaining wall blocks, he was moving the backhoe back into trench for the electrical hook-up, and he knocked one of the top blocks on the left hand side out of it's resting place... ooops!  

I love how the retaining wall block makes a curve on the left and over on the right it continues around down the drive into the back drive behind the cabin....  

And, the underground conduit that carries the wires to power up the Jacuzzi had to be installed before the Jacuzzi is set in place.  Although this is something that is buried, it's essential for turning on the system.  It's a necessary whole lot of work!

Jim and the backhoe ripped out the trench in a day... The "on" switch will be mounted on the wall next to the sliding door.

Jim can't dig under the backhoe and here he's backed up all the way to the retaining wall blocks.  So a shovel was needed for the last foot of excavation.

Here's our Ben breaking a sweat!! I keep telling Jim that I know Ben goes home and sleeps... really well...  Poor man... I'm not sure if it's his military background but he's the fastest shoveller Jim has ever seen.  Talk about a cardio workout!

Here's the start of the rigid conduit being layed.

First thing you do is slide it over the wire.  This is some big wire!

Almost up to the concrete basement wall.

And, finally the conduit and the wiring was... almost completed... The boys got the conduit ALMOST to the house.  Jim said he was short exactly a foot and needs another couple of bends to make sure the heavy duty conduit is flush against the wall when installed...

And, Jim, Ben and Howard are still working on pouring cement for the support system on the deck.  After a few set backs, the cement was finally poured in the last sonotube and in a week or so, it will be ready for the cardboard tube to be torn off and the steel column supports bolted in place...  At the front of the deck, it will be about 16 feet above ground.  The view will be fantastic across the valley.

This one is a little blurry, but this is the last sonotube to be poured..

Jim sent me this picture... I am always looking for interesting ideas, and after I got this picture, I told Jim this is exactly what I want for the outside shower.  It looks like a little grotto complete with waterfall.  Jim was a little hesitant, and I just told him he shouldn't have sent me the picture, because now, I am totally inspired... Now, wouldn't this be an amazing outside shower??  I mean, seriously!!

I told Jim that the ceramics for the loft bath room needed a little colour put into it... we have the little circles called, Arctic Grey at the top of the 6 inch white ceramic tiles, and the slipper foot bathtub has the same white and grey colour in it, but the countertop by the sink is green onyx.  So, I decided I am going to get a little bit of the green onyx and replace some of the little circles with green ones... So, I tried to order some green onyx, and nobody wanted to sell me just one piece.. But, I finally found a company in California that would sell me one 12 x 12 inch piece.  I was all excited to have it delivered.. It was packaged incredibly well, BUT, when I finally got it unwrapped, I found it was broken in three pieces... Sad face.  I'm waiting on a replacement from the company...

Here's my Arctic Grey circles...  Just imagine replacing the grey with green.  I think it will pull the whole bathroom together nicely.

Before Jim left on Sunday evening to come home, he took this shot for me... I think it looks beautiful and peaceful...  Coy is coming this weekend, so I think the whole "peaceful" is going out the window... but, it will be fun!  That boy has more energy, and more vocabulary than most scholars...

Until next week, the adventure continues..

Love, Jim and Cheri