Work, Work, Work!

Our big exciting news for this week is the pipe that goes through the roof from the wood burning stove is now in place and ready to use.... winter came early last fall, so we missed getting it installed, so, it's turned into a summer project instead of a fall project.

I think Ben is a fan of the boom truck as is evidenced with this picture...  Giggle.

We were so excited with this new project being completed, we didn't realize until the next morning, that during a windstorm the evening before, the cap on the top of the pipe, blew off... 

...and, it was found under our truck.  I believe it attaches with a couple of cotter pins, or something like that.  Jim says it's not too difficult to fix... It's a Ben job...

I really wanted a large umbrella for the deck because of how hot it gets there...  I found this umbrella on the facebook marketplace for a smokin' deal, and, Ben put it together over the weekend. I purchased the umbrella from a lady who bought it from IKEA several years ago.  She stored in in the garage said she waited and waited for her husband to put it together and it never happened.  So, she finally got rid of it...Her loss was my gain.. It's a GREAT umbrella, just perfect for this part of the deck.  Jim tried it out and confirms, it's amazing!  

The work on the deck, as usual, is continuing... Here we are attaching the Simpson Strong Ties to the overhang of the cabin so we can attach roof joists for the covered deck.

 

We attached a laminated beam on the top of the posts used for the railing on the side of the deck to support the roof joists.  You can see the roof joists at the far end of the beam!  Keeping everything straight is a challenge.  Wood is not perfect in this regard.

OK, now we have more Simpson Strong Ties on top of the beam ready to receive the other end of the roof joists.

 

Here's the master carpenter trying to figure out how this is all going to go together.  The weather was beautiful.  Hot, but beautiful.  I can't wait to try out the shade under the covered deck. . .

Moving on, . . . I found another ceramic chicken to add to my chicken collection...  This one is kind of weird, but something about the bright colours appealed to me...  It has red and green chilies on it.

The plumbing and the electrics to install the refrigerator in the kitchen was completed.  We have to wait until we have sufficient manpower to move the giant refrigerator upstairs before we move it in place.  This is not a job for one or two people...  Jim thinks we'll have to have help getting it out of the basement, and then hoist it up to the main level with the backhoe, or the bucket truck.. that's what we had to do with the wood burning stove, so, we'll probably follow suit with the refrigerator.

My little squirrel friend was back on Saturday morning and Sunday morning.. just hanging out on the bricks...  I don't know if he's sunning himself of just checking out the scenery, but... it's his place... for now.

He's definitely king of the castle.. I was on the deck when I took these pictures - about 20 or 30 yards away.  I upgraded my cell phone several months back, so the pictures are a little bit better.  I had sent a picture to my brother Eldon, before I upgraded, and he asked if I had taken the picture with a brick... With that, I knew it was time...

The remaining few electrical outlets are going in... We have some in the bathrooms and loft that still need to be installed and a couple outside on the deck... This is a code issue that we need completed before the next inspection for our four-way.  You'll notice the black mark on the 2X4 stud.  Jim's a little OCD in that he's marking every plug and switch height so that all of them are the same heights throughout the whole cabin - and he complains I'm a little OCD....   uhuh.  Outlet plugs are at 14 inches and switches are at 37 inches above the floor. 

It's been so hot during the day that we don't have the appetite to eat anything... the heat just saps our appetite and energy.  But, late Saturday night, about 11 or so, we both were a little on the  "hangry" side, so while Jim went to shower at the end of the day, I made a little snack.  He was thrilled for the ultimate comfort food of tomato soup and grilled cheese.  I think it tasted extra good.

We had a very, very productive work filled long weekend.  Monday was Pioneer Day here in Utah, and a lot of businesses were closed... including the company I work for.. So, we took advantage of the time off... Poor Jim finds it difficult to do this kind of hard, manual labour for so many days straight, and I found getting back to work on Tuesday was a bit painful...    I have too much going on at work to go this next weekend, so I'll hear about all the changes when Jim calls me in the evening. Between going to the cabin and the traveling that he does, I kinda miss him.  

With that, the adventure continues....

Love, Jim and Cheri

"The quandary in life is you're halfway through before you realize it's a do it yourself project".

The Work Goes Forward...

 This week started out a little differently than we expected...  Jim went to the cabin on Thursday after work.  Ben, his helper, had a friend come from out of town, who was knowledgeable in metal roofing, things like putting in plumbing vents on the roof, and also knows how to and where to cut through the roof to put the stove pipe for the wood burning stove... We were thrilled.  

We noticed some leaks in our roof over the past year, and he found out the issue and repaired it.  The guy who did our original roofing, didn't caulk the over laps on the ridge of the roof... We weren't particularly happy with him, for reasons like this one... Go figure.

Jim started working on the ceramic flooring in front of the wood burning stove.  I want a semi circle in ceramics instead of a square, so Jim started by drawing the circle... and then remeasuring to make it look a little more even.  It's a little difficult because on the left we have a hard stop in stone, and on the right, it's a little more free flowing...

He then stapled the expanded metal to the floor and cut out the semi circle.

See?  Expanded metal.

And, then he measured the thickness of the ceramic flooring on top of the expanded metal, to see how it lined up with the thickness of the wood flooring.  And, it's a great fit.

Now, we're trying to figure out how to cut the ceramics in a curve and not totally hammering the ceramics.  The first try didn't turn out so well.. So, I bought a couple of different diamond blades and the next time we are at the cabin, we'll try them out.

On Saturday evening, Jim was working inside the cabin with the doors open, and in sauntered this dog.  He was a really friendly Australian Shepherd Sheep Dog, and was just happy to see Jim.  Jim left the front door open and invited the dog to leave, but apparently, the dog just wanted to hang out, watch tv and eat potato chips.  We have no dog food.

When it was time to go to bed, we were a little uncomfortable just closing the door and leaving the dog outside... I know there are cougars etc. that could really injure this guy, so Jim kept him inside and the dog slept peacefully, all night long beside the bed... I was worried that he would piddle somewhere inside the cabin, but he behaved himself.  Jim took him outside at 5:30 and then again at 8:00, and when Ben came in the morning to work, he brought our visitor some dog food... and the dog apparently really appreciated the snack... He must have been really hungry.

The next morning the owner was located.. they camp in a trailer down the hill from us... Can you tell how social we are?  The guy just drove by looking for his dog.

Next, here's the rock that I was talking about last week... You can see the red a little more in this picture than the crappy one I took last week.

Jim is finishing up the electrics, and part of that job is getting the wiring in for the refrigerator... So, he started building the space where it's going to go, and next week, he'll put in the electrical outlets and the water for the fridge.. Right now, the refrigerator is in the basement, and those couple of sets of stairs are killer when you've worked all day and you're tired.

This was my surprise for the week.  The bridge connecting the driveway to the cabin was so incredibly steep, I had a hard time taking that first step.  So, Ben fixed it, by putting another step, making that first step not so brutal. I love it...In the winter, the bridge is so freakin' slick, I always feel like I am about to slide off.

And, the blades on the ceiling fan went on.  We haven't quite got the fan balanced yet, but at least, we found blades that fit.

And, the work on the deck continues...  As you can see, the work on the back deck is finished, and the work on the side deck is well on it's way.  They left a space half way down the deck for the refrigerator to slide in... I think the refrigerator is going to be hoisted with the backhoe!  I swear, that backhoe is probably one of the best investments we've ever made.

And while Jim was away, I found some hammered copper sheeting at a decent price for the planned cupola on the roof.  This is hand hammered copper and I found 5 - 6 full sheets which is exactly what we need.  This will going on the roof part of the cupola.  I was excited to find it.  Jim says it's going to be a challenge, but, hasn't this whole project been a challenge?

So much change happened this past weekend, poor Jim came home absolutely exhausted.  Morning came waaaay to early, and the alarm clock was not a welcome friend when she started to sing.

Here's to not so much work, and more rest.

The adventure continues.

Love, Jim and Cheri

"You can't buy happiness by the square foot"

CANADA DAY WEEKEND!!

 We start this blog with a "Happy Canada Day" to all our friends and family... And, I celebrated by putting a tiny Canadian Maple leaf on my nail.. Giggle.  I guess I had a little extra time and I researched Canada's beginnings... Here's what I found out... On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain and a federation of four provinces:  Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.  I didn't know this... John A. Macdonald was the 1st Prime Minister.  The anniversary of this date was called  Dominion Day until 1982.  Since 1983, July 1 has been officially know as Canada Day... So, I'm still a Canadian citizen, and proud to be so.  

The work on the deck continues... this doesn't look like much, but it sure is.  It not only is the form for the railings, but it's the also support for the covered deck.  It's pretty exciting.  The work on the railings for the 2nd part of the deck has started and is going well.

On the other side of the deck, we put up the lounge chairs and the wicker chairs, and I love the yellow colour.  It really breaks up the redwood... I love the redwood deck, and the yellow lounge chairs is an amazing contrast.  And, I might mention... Jim promises me the scaffolding is only temporary.

The work on the downstairs bathroom continues... It started with just a commode downstairs, and then we expanded to include a shower... Now, we're expanded one more time and put the sink in.  We had such a small space to put a sink in, that a regular cabinet would be too big.  I found this sink and cabinet combination about a year ago, and it fits just perfectly.  We are now going to turn the toilet square with the room....

I found this chicken in an antique shop in American Fork this past week.. I bought it because it was so colourful and I am sure that this one would get along with the other chickens in the kitchen....(giggle).  I didn't realize exactly what this chicken was.  The owner of the store told me this is what is known as Mexican Talavera pottery...  Again, a little research... this type of pottery dates back to the early 15th century... When the Spanish first conquered the Puebla region of Mexico, they introduced a new pottery technique from the city of Talavera de la Reina in Spain... The Puebla region of Mexico is a pottery making area... So, there 'ya go...  This chicken is something amazing... I just liked the colours... Jim's reaction was:  "Did you buy another chicken?"  The other line he used was..."Why did the chicken cross the road...." Uhuh...

It seems that every time we go to work at the cabin, there have to do a little repair work... OR, we can't find keys... It's always the two things.  This weekend, it was both... The boom truck had a little issue, and needed some TLC - Jim didn't get it completely fixed, but he did get it working... That was problem 1.  Problem 2 - there was water in the gas tank of the backhoe... had to be drained and new gasoline put in... Jim did get it running!  He's good like that!  Problem 3 - we can't find the keys to the conex... So, we are going to have to cut off the lock, and replace it.  After we got home, I went to Lowe's (even though I am a Home Depot kind of girl....) and bought another lock and sent it with Jim this weekend.

 One of the projects for this weekend was to move the cube that was to be used for water that has been housed in the loft for the last couple of years.  it was moved from the loft..

 . to the livingroom..... 

...to the deck....  Next, it should be making an appearance with it's sister down by the bricks... I was just thrilled to get it moved out of the loft.  We didn't know how long it would take the local water company to hook up the water, so we were prepared to haul and store our own water...  After you pay an outrageous amount of money to have them hook up the water from the street, they take their sweet time (8 months later) to dig the trench, and get the meter in...Sigh...

The electrics are almost completed... Here's the last can light in the kitchen... Jim has a couple of outlets in the bathroom to get installed, and the plugs behind the refrigerator still need to go in.. I am not sure what else needs to be completed, but he got the electrics in the loft finished off last week.  I know there is a ceiling fan in the great room that has to be installed, but not sure what else...  I am thrilled we are getting so close.

The maiden voyage of our pizza oven took place on Monday...  And, for this event, it sat on top of the grill, and this was the perfect spot.  My nephew, Seth and his two little ladies (Penny and Juniper) were visiting, so, it was a momentus occasion. ...  We don't quite have the hang of it yet, but we're getting there...Ben thought that we should make our own pizza dough, but I went with premade crusts for this event... I thought it would be faster and easier, and I have never made pizza dough before, and I wasn't going to experiment... In another life, Ben told us that he used to work for Domino's pizza (which I made a mistake and said Pizza Hut), but it's when I said we were using premade crusts that he looked like he was going to faint...

Seth was in charge of starting the fire in the pizza oven, and with the high winds that we had, it was a challenge... After many tries, I think he used lighter fluid or gasoline or something along this line.

Everybody made their own personal pizza and I thought they were really good.

I made a straight pepperoni pizza, and Jim did ham and pineapple...  Pretty yummy.

The little girls really liked creating their own pizza and especially wolfing them down...

Here's Juniper checking on the backhoe work that was going on..... and...

Penny, having a moment of reflection on the deck.  Penny and Juniper live in Hawaii during the school years, and are traveling with their dad all this summer.. It was so nice to have them visit.

After the absolute mess that one of our subcontractors made of the shower last year, (leaking to the point that our bathroom, kitchen and bedroom were flooded), Jim and Ben got down to business and started to replace the floor of the main level shower...  

We found out why the shower leaked so terribly... if you look at this next picture, there's a dark spot in the corner... that's a hole... yep.. a hole, and the drain was installed incorrectly also.  Small wonder the guy ghosted us... He knew he messed up, and didn't want to deal with the repair.  Jim and Ben got it repaired and repoured the cement floor... 

And, now, it looks all pretty... There still is some work to be done, but we are well on our way to get the walls put up... After we pass the inspection on the shower, we can finish the walls and the put the glass shower doors in, BUT, we can't do anything else in the bathroom until we get that stupid four-way inspection completed...

And, this little guy suns himself on top of the pile of bricks every morning.  We were at the cabin for 5 days, and every morning, he perched up on top of the brick, and was taking in the beauty...  

I have about 99% of the stone I want for the grotto shower... I was looking at the pile of rock and decided that I needed something a little warmer instead of the brown or grey rock.. I found a guy selling pieces of exactly what I wanted....All I knew was it was really old rock and it was red.  You can't see the red very well in this picture, but they were super red... Unfortunately, the ground is red also, so you can't really see the contrast.  Jim was taking the rock out of the bed of the truck and putting it on the ground, and he found a couple of pieces that have little holes drilled in them.  He told me that this is a technique the pioneers who came into the Salt Lake Valley used to break up the rock...  they didn't have the tools that we have today, so they drilled holes in the rock and the holes would fill with water, freeze in the winter time and then crack... I thought it was pretty cool...

So there's all our news of the week... was a lovely time.

The adventure continues...

Love, Jim and Cheri

"Mistakes are the dues you pay for living a full life"