It was a quick visit.....

We thought we would make a quick trip to the cabin... maybe get a little bit of the ceiling completed, and then this happened.... snow... ugh.... snow and wet snow and cold.  Thank goodness we have the furnace running because 27 degrees at night is not for this cowgirl!
 

As you can see, snow covered the deck and there was super high winds.  Jim usually sets up the saw on the deck and works from there - so that sawdust doesn't go all over the cabin... BUT, with the snow and the cold, it was impossible.  Sad face.  I know that Jim  and Ben both are anxious to keep working on the ceiling, but there was just no way.

I found this picture and I thought it was really cool.. I love the Canadian maple leaf - I think I have tiny maple leafs as part of my blood volume...  I looked at this picture and it took me a couple of minutes to realize it wasn't a pickle at the top... it's a shiny green ribbon...  Made me laugh.

And, I saw these books on amazon and I loved them.  I tried to get them personalized, but no go.  

They look really cool, but actually, they are cutting boards for the kitchen.  I thought they were most cool.  I've sent several friends pictures of these, and I just have told them to go to Amazon.  I love Amazon....  Giggle... (With the Canadian maple island, I really don't want the surface messed up, so I have cutting boards everywhere.... )

Remember the beautiful mirror I had on my blog last week?  Well, Lori, my Canadian friend, gave me a little table also.  I love the wrought iron work on the bottom.  Not quite sure where I'm going to put it yet - right now it's in the great room at the cabin. As we get more and more out of construction zone, it will find a permanent home.  Thanks to Lori for the wonderful "cabin warming" gifts.

With the inability to work on the tongue and groove on the ceiling,  Jim and Ben undertook other tasks. First, was sanding down the moose antlers Jim bought me. I think this kind of a project doesn't further the cabin building much, but it sure does something amazing to this girl's heart.  He did an amazing job and I so much appreciate it.

Here's one of the antler's after it was all sanded down.

I didn't quite like the grey colour of the antlers, and Ben gave me an idea of staining them... with coffee grounds.  I wasn't sure about this method, but gave it a try.  I didn't want them super dark brown and I knew I didn't want the grey... and, this method seems to have worked well... a little on the messy side of life, but a great outcome.

And, here's what they looked like... the one on the right hand side is after the coffee staining, and the one on the left is just sanded down.  I'm liking the colour.

And, here they are - both stained and coated with verathane to gibe them a nice finish.  I love the colour and the finish.  (I don't know if I have these antlers upside down or right side up.... I had to look at several pictures of "mooses" and couldn't really see a decent picture... So, if they are upside down, my apologies to all the moose aficionados out there... I tried my best!)

And, it wasn't the ceiling in the loft and great room that got worked on, it was the bedroom ceiling and walls...  It's so exciting to see this get completed.  This is the ceiling in the main level bedroom.

Jim and Ben had to get more gyprock put up in the bedroom, so they could work on the "walling" in the same bedroom.

Let's just say, there was a whole lot of gyprock put up, a lot of mudding and taping done, and sanding and because of that, a whole lot of dust created!  Jim sat down to take a breath, and probably clear some of the dust out of his nose and mouth, and this is what he looked like.  I really tried not to laugh, but I think it's cuter 'n cute!

Here's the wall that was attacked...  after it was mudded and taped - just waiting for it to dry before moving forward.

Here's the first little bit of pain that was put on... Now, don't freak out with the colour - you'll see in just a couple of pictures that it was the perfect choice.

Here's the chocolate brown we chose...  It looked really dark, but it's perfect.

And, this is the application.  I absolutely love it!  I grew up with wood paneling all through the house... and I knew I didn't want that - super dated... BUT, I love this.  It's time consuming, but I love the effect.  Jim and Ben did an amazing job.  

And, while they were working on the walls, I was putting the final finish on my birdfeeder gourds.  We figured that we made a booboo with the gourds... It is suggested that your put this oily wax finish on the gourds before putting them outside - a water proofing kind of finish.  Well, we didn't read all the instructions.... you put the finished on, and then wiped them down, and put the final finish on...  uhuh... we forgot to wipe the water proofing down... It didn't hurt the gourds.. just made them really sticky, and a quick wipe down made them perfect.  Next time I make it to the cabin, I'll be taking bird seed with me.

And, I saw online there was a Titanic exhibition in Salt Lake City, so we decided to go...  I think it was more showing the White Star line artifacts than actual Titanic pieces, but it was fun to get away and do something different for the evening.  

And, the "deer catcher" on the front of Jim's truck wasn't quite finished - still a work in progress.  Ben told us that there was a plethora of dead deer on the side of the roads at this point, and we needed to be careful.  But, we got to the cabin on Friday night, and didn't leave until Monday afternoon... saw lots of deceased deer, but nothing ran into us... or rather, we didn't run into them.  Thank goodness... Jim always tells me there is always more work to do and not enough time.  I think he's realizing that retirement is always busy, busy, busy!  

With that, this edition is completed and the adventure continues.

Love, Jim and Cheri

"Our life is what our thoughts make it."