Yep... this sure scares the poop out of me....

 

The additional smoke visible above the France Canyon fire is a result of planned firing operations occurring just east of Pole Canyon road on the southwest flank of the fire. These firing operations are tactics used by firefighters to ignite the vegetation between the fire and a control feature such as a road or handline. Instead of letting the fire consume this vegetation in an uncontrollable manner, firing operations allow firefighters to put fire on the landscape with greater control and precision.

Current reports from the field indicate that the operation is going well. The intent of this operation is to protect the community of Bryce Woodlands, and firefighter safety is a top priority.

I believe the fire has been listed as 85% contained...

Sage advice from Brea......

Canada Day has come and gone, and here's the shirts from this year!  First up, Brad and Mahayla.  I had bought a different shirt for Mahayla, but it didn't show up until after Canada Day, so I had to get another shirt quickly and send it to Alaska!  Brad is sporting an "Elbows Up" shirt... and of course, I think he has the best smile ever.  I think they all just put up with this grandma's stupid ideas...  Giggle.

Update:  Here's the original shirt I bought Mahayla for Canada Day.. She finally received it yesterday.  It's kinda different - looks like blood splatter, but it appeals to me, and I think she likes it also!

And, here's our Brea.  I thought she would look super cute in gnomes!

And, Coy just is cute in his Canadian wildlife shirt!  Super cute!

And Ben got a Canadian hockey shirt!  He's such a cute little goalie, I couldn't resist!

Jim was travelling to the cabin and called me and said they have a major backup on I-15 south... So, I went on the web and tried to figure out what the issue was.  Usually, in Utah, it's construction.  But, this time, it said there was an accident.. Apparently, a truck caught fire, and, this was the picture from the UDOT webcam...

..someone kinda had a little accident....

And, we're back into driving things for the cabin in the back of our truck...  This time it's eaves troughs...  Jim informs me that they are called rain gutters here...  ok....

And, I found this carved rock that I love.  It is carved in Selenite from southern Utah.  I am not quite sure is it is a feather or a leaf, but I really appreciate the intricate design.  I think it is going to look beautiful in our outside shower.  The guy I purchased it from asked what I was going to do with it and I told him it is going in the wall of my outside shower.  He paused a minute and said.... "Outside shower?"... and, when I explained it to him, he thought it was a great idea.  He wanted me to stay in touch with him and send him pictures when the shower is completed for his portfolio.  I've added his name and number into my phone and will definitely send him pictures.  I think he does beautiful work.

But, in getting all these rocks for my shower, I am learning a whole lot about the different types of rocks and minerals... Here's what Google has to say about selenite:

Selenite is a transparent, crystallized form of gypsum. It's known for its soft, pearly luster and is often associated with the moon due to its white, translucent appearance. Selenite is a popular choice for crystal healing and is believed to possess various metaphysical properties. 

So, now you know!

And, Jim had a little finger booboo this past week.  I asked him if needed to go to the hospital and he said no, but until I actually see it, I can't be sure.  He's got this idea that unless he's missing a limb, he doesn't need medical assistance..

And, our ceramics guy, Will, showed up to work on the floor in front of the hearth and in front of the front door...  He does absolutely amazing work..,

I asked Will where he learned how to do this work, and apparently, he is self taught. 

And, he's teaching his kids the same skill.  Here's the finished product in front of the door....

And, here's the hearth...

And, I've always said it's a little different living with an engineer...  Not that it's bad, it's just different.  Jim and I were trying to figure out exactly how much accent tile we needed and Jim did the figuring. He told me how many pieces to purchase and I did and then shipped them down to the cabin.  And, after all is said and done, this is how much tile we had left... Uhuh... I think he nailed it.

I really think it looks pretty... The floors in the great room will be wood, and I wanted ceramic at the front door and in front of the hearth just so we don't have a problem with water from the front door getting on the floors, or embers from the wood burning stove burning the wood...

And, while the floor in front of the door was being laid, they had to actually remove the door, and take about an inch off the bottom to make room for the tile.  Because this job took two days, they had to put a makeshift door in it's place...

Jim is putting in the kitchen and I was in charge of purchasing a 9" drawer to take up a little space... I picked this one out and thought it would be perfect.  When Jim opened the packaging, he realized that I had ordered an insert (spice rack) instead of the actual cabinet.  Woops.

I think I kinda like it...  

Here is said cabinet being brought home from Home Depot.

And, here's a 2nd kitchen cabinet.  Things are really moving forward in the kitchen.

I told Jim the other night, that he's making a "woman's" kitchen...  lots of cabinets, a huge island, two stoves, two sinks, two ovens, granite countertops, and lots and lots of countertop space.  Well, maybe not all women would love this kitchen, but, I sure do!  I was talking to our pharmacist today, and he says this kitchen is actually called a "chef's kitchen".

Here's the backsplash materials we chose... We found this material in Salt Lake several years ago.  It is about 100 years old and came out of , I believe, an old hotel in Kansas City, KS.  We bought the pieces, cleaned them up, and then had them powder coated.  I love the old, antiquie look..

And, here's what it looks like installed...

I actually forgot I bought this mat... Jim sent me a picture and it made me smile.

Jim and I were talking on the phone the other night, and all of a sudden, he said that he thought we had a mouse or a bird or some other small creature in the cabin.  He couldn't see it, but he could hear it rustling around.  I figured it was a bat.  In the morning, the creature made itself known by flying around the loft.  It finally landed on the window sill and Jim walked over, gently had a conversation with it,  and just picked it up and took it outside... He didn't fight, or fly or try to bite Jim... Just was calm and wanted to get out.  We found out, this is a Kestral falcon.  We have had a lot of birds in our cabin, but never a falcon.  I think he's so pretty...

And, we brought 56 bales of blown in insulation to the cabin... They've been in the trailer for a couple of weeks, and when Jim opened the back of the trailer, it kind of exploded... Giggle.  

..and then, Jim got all the bales out of the trailer and onto the ground.  Now, the work begins trying to get all the bales into the cabin... in 90 degree weather... But, the guys have a plan....

They built a hoist with a sling, and attached it to the cabin with the boom truck and then used Ben's winch and got them into the loft.  Who'd a thought?

Here's the boom truck at work...

..and, here's all the bales in the cabin...

And I found these bathroom fixtures on Marketplace.  I think they are darling.  They are wrought iron, so they're really heavy, and the little mooses are darling.  They are going to go in the downstairs bathroom.  

And finally, this is a t-shirt I found for Jim that explains his carpentry ability perfectly....

This is really difficult to see... BUT, there were thousands and thousands of stars in the sky on Sunday evening at the cabin... It was absolutely beautiful.  This was taken about 2 in the morning from our balcony.  Absolutely beautiful... (If you click on the picture, and zoom in, you can actually see the thousands of stars...)

 

With that, this edition is officially closed.  The adventure continues.

Love, Jim and Cheri

Logic will take you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.