SOMETIMES, YOU JUST GOTTA SWEAR.... But, those words are instantly forgiven....

I have learned, during my 60 years of being on this earth, that somethings you need to ask forgiveness for - either from yourself, or a friend or partner or if you believe in a higher power, and some things, are just automatically forgiven..... swearing is one of those things...This was one of those weekends...

We left Provo on Friday evening... in a rainstorm.  I had checked the weather channel for Saturday and Sunday in Bryce Canyon, and Panguitch, and it was supposed to be clear.. but, didn't check Provo... and it was raining.

We had the trailer pretty well maxed out, but, we had purchased some carpet padding, actually 4 large rolls of carpet padding, and we wanted to take them down with us...
in the trailer.. in the rain... They were covered in plastic, but, it was getting them loaded and then driving in the rain had had us nervous.  It put us a little late getting into Panguitch, but, after a little slower than normal driving, we made it, and checked into our motel.

The other thing that I bought this week was a baker's rack... I saw it and absolutely fell in love with it.  We picked it up on Thursday night, and loaded it on top of everything else on that little trailer.  I think it's going to look fabulous in the cabin.

We tried a new motel this time - the Purple Sage - in Panguitch.  We have driven by this motel for the past 6 years, and finally took the plunge... and it was, really lovely.  The lady, Loretta at the front desk was very, very pleasant, and so helpful.  There was no refrigerator in the room, so she stored my insulin in her refrigerator, the television and the channel changer actually worked, there was lots of hot water in the shower, and let us store our trailer in her parking lot even after we had checked out on Sunday... The room was very clean, very comfortable, and we would definitely stay there again... (We have found, that some things that you expect as basic in accommodations, aren't always standard fare...)   This was really nice!

We got up on Saturday morning, checked the trailer, and everything was intact, so we ventured out to our usual Saturday/Sunday morning haunt - The Flying M - for breakfast...  They remodeled!!  And, it was really nice... They got rid of the booths in the middle of the restaurant, and put in tables and got rid of the ugly carpeting... I was stoked...  Truly stoked..

They have this little gift shop at the Flying M and I bought some geodes for the grandkids... We gave them some at Christmas time, and I am unsure if any of the grands cracked them open yet, but now, they have more.  We're going to have to have another sleepover and put these on the rock saw and see what appears.. I think it will be fun!

As this was our exploring day, we decided to check out the little farm/tack shop in town...Orton Farm Center. It really was an interesting store... I have always been a fan of IFA (Intermountain Farmers Association) in Provo - and I take the grandkids there to see the bunnies and chicks, but, it was fun to visit this place.  There was an interesting sign out front...  As we were driving up, Jim started saying things like, "Far Out" and "Groovy" and usual 60's sayings.  I didn't know what he was talking about, until I saw the sign.. Just had to take a picture..

Before the work got started, Jim and I were just planning and visiting.  He was so serious - I just had to take a picture... Love this man...

We made it to the cabin early afternoon, and that's when the serious work started... The first on the list was to take all the bricks that were on the trailer and stack them on a pallet.  And, at the same time, take the bricks that were already there, and stack them.. About a month ago, we took a load of bricks, and it was so muddy, we couldn't get the truck and trailer down down below to unload them.. so, we just had to pitch them over Galt's Gulch until things dried out a bit... Well, it dried out...  Jim and I hauled those bricks for a couple of hours.  Here's where the swearing comes in...

Each brick isn't particularly heavy, but bending down to pick them up, repeatedly, gets old, and you develop this pain in your lower back like you wouldn't believe...  But, that's not the bad part.. The bad part comes in when you are walking up the hill to pick up bricks, lose you balance and smack your hand on the side of the wall...  OUCH is an understatement...  If you know how picky I am about my hands and nails, the little word that came out of my mouth, I am sure, was instantly forgiven...My middle finger took the worst of it, and this morning was still bruised...

While we were moving bricks, Jim mentioned that we needed to get new tires for the trailer... I looked, and sure enough, these babies are bald!..We bought the trailer several years ago, and instead of not using the trailer and having the tires rot off as is the typical case, we have used them, literally, to the end!  We have got our money's worth our of this little trailer, over and over, and over...!

I decided that I was going to move on to a job that was less invasive...  continue to help the gnomes and fairies build their village. 

We have one house that is about 95% finished, we call it the "Glen Hamish McKay" house, the "Sea Shells By the Seaside" house is about 60% completed, and I started a new house that I'm calling "Mod Squad" because it's kind of a funky retro, 60's kind of look.  If you don't know who the Mod Squad was.... Google it!

While I was in Canada, several weeks ago, an amazing "Fairy Godmother" gave me some pieces for our Fairy Village, and I love them!  They are going to be a fantastic addition to our village.. I know the little fairies are going to be so appreciative...  HUGE thank you to Lynn and Jim Yates (although I don't think Jim was picking out gnomes and fairy castles... but, if he was, I want pictures....) for being so generous, loving and supportive, over the years, of my projects...  (Lynn is part of my heart and soul, and in times of stress, is my rock...  couldn't love someone more.)

Well, I sure hope those stupid fairies and gnomes appreciate the tears those little houses have caused me...  let's just say, the hot melt glue gun and my fingers do not get along.  After the hot glue slopped on my thumbs and caused large blisters (swearing), I thought I would wear gloves... All went well, until I thought I was done, and as I was putting away the glue gun, a blob dropped on my right index finger, to the point that when I tried to wipe it off, it pull the blister off...  (add swearing, here).  I  hope that all those words are automatically forgiven, because, if not, it's not going to be a pretty place that I'm going to.

Well, moving on to the next project.... actually, it was getting dark and even though it was a beautiful day, and we didn't even have to turn on the heater, or wear jackets.  But, with the sun going down, it was getting chilly, and there were dark clouds moving, so we decided that we would pack it in...  We no later said we were going home, that it started to rain... and I mean, really rain...  And, that carpet padding was still outside by the trailer...  uhuh...

Jim ran downstairs to get the little hand truck that we have to help move them, (each roll is about 150 lbs), and I tried to drag them closer to the Gulch so Jim could get them into the cabin... Here I am, tugging on these stupid rolls, in the rain, and my hand slips, smack myself in the chest, and, yep... break my nail... (insert more swearing here)...Actually, it wasn't a full on break, it was more of a  major lift... not a happy day... at all.  We bought some emergency crazy glue to fix the break.

Jim was starting to build the framework for the stairs going from the basement to the main level.  When it started to rain, he put down his nail gun, and a part of it broke on the air line, and you could hear the air hissing out like crazy... (swearing, giggle... it wasn't me this time).  What's bad, is the hardware store in Panguitch closes on Saturday at 6, and it was about 8....  OK, so what to do to get it fixed.  We decided that we would drive into Orderville the next day, and get the part there...

We got the padding into the house, and we drive down the mountain into Panguitch.... wet and cold, and unhappy campers...  still kind of mumbling under my breath...

We had dinner at the Cowboy Smoke House restaurant in Panguitch... it's always amazingly good... but, they were out of beans, which is a favorite of Jim's...  We asked what the other options were, and one of them was "fruit"...  I asked what kind of fruit, and the lady said, "Oranges"...  Oranges?  We didn't have the heart to ask, but, would it have been a bowl of segmented oranges, or would each one of us get an orange, or exactly how would that have worked...?  Giggle... Love the food... the ribs are to die for, the brisket is amazing, the pulled pork is heavenly... Jim and I always get the combination plate, and it is enough for both of us to share...  No swearing here... Yum!

Got back to the motel about 10, and passed out... completely passed out... didn't have the energy to swear...

Morning comes, and Jim and I both feel like we've been hit by a truck... Moving all those bricks reminded us that we had muscles that hadn't been used in a really long time...  (thinking about swearing here, but resisted..)

We decided to have breakfast again at the Flying M because our favorite server, Jody, was working...  Jody cracks me up - she doesn't take no poop from anyone and gives Jim a run for his money, all in fun... ... love this woman..

We leave Panguitch, and drive the 30 minutes to Orderville, only to find that they are still on winter hours and are closed...  grrrr...  (minor snarling, here)... I wip open my I-Pad and went online to see if the hardware store in Duck Creek was open, and it said they were open until 4... this was about 1:00.. So, we head for True Value in Duck Creek...

We pull into Duck Creek and the hardware store looks dark... But, I see this guy walking in through the doors, so Jim takes a chance.. Well, they are on winter hours too, BUT, they are doing remodeling so, the owners are there, and they open the till and Jim gets his part to fix his compressor hose... (happy faces).. We can continue building.

As we're driving, I notice that I have two bite marks on my wrist.. Don't know where or when I got bit, but I definitely got two bites.. I told Jim that I thought it was a bite from a rattle snake... he agreed... giggle.

We get back to the cabin, and start to work.. .Jim fixes the compressor hose, and starts building the stair landing platform again.  While Jim was working on the platform, I was organizing the boxes and boxes of building materials that we had purchased over years... and there are lots and lots and lots... I started working on organizing the electrical and lighting items, and in another pile, the plumbing items.  I just figured it would help identifying and finding stuff when the time comes.

Jim has been cutting the quartz for the hearth, little bit at a time, and we finally have enough rock to start building... however, not this weekend... We got a finish for the stone, that we are experimenting with - just something to bring the colours out.  I put the first coating on this weekend, and I like the look.  We'll be back in a week, and we'll see how they do with the first coat before we put the 2nd coat on.

Jim is working away, and then I hear a crash...  the platform that Jim is building, hits the floor.... (swear words...) Apparently, Jim does not have three hands, and needed my help... In next to no time, with the extra hand, Jim got the platform put together and nailed in place.  I am stoked.

By this time, it's a little past 6:30 pm and with a 3.5 hour drive back home, we've really got to get on the road...  We get everything turned off, and in the truck and head out, ending our adventure for this week... or so we thought... we got into Panguitch about 8, filled the truck up with gas, got a bite to eat and were heading out of town...  We were about 20 minutes outside of Panguitch when Jim asked me about not getting my weekly fix of organic eggs... I had forgot...  I don't think Jim particularly wanted to turn around, but I had already asked Anne for 4 flats of eggs (2.5 dozen per flat) and I really needed to get them... These are the most amazing tasting eggs ever... so fresh and so creamy - every time we come into town, I get eggs for our family, and Brianne's family...

 So, Jim decides to make a three point turn in the road... but, one small problem.. With as tired as we were, he forgot that we were pulling the trailer, and the trailer jack knifed and it crunched into the side of the truck...(more swear words)....Medium sized dent and scrapes in the side of his truck... I feel so bad... I was about to cry, and that sweet man said to me.."Honey, it's just things.. it's OK"...  Still, I asked him to get an estimate on the damage...  grrrr..

We made it home right at midnight...  Jim went straight to bed..... I had a few things to do..  crawled into bed about 45 minutes later... and as exhausted as I was, couldn't fall asleep... grrrrr...

I guess I was hoping that the automatic forgiveness had already kicked in... Giggle.

Another amazing adventure.

Jim and Cheri

Dating - With Engineers

When I was much younger, and I was imagining what my life would be like, I always had my Prince Charming whisking me away to some wonderful and exciting weekend.... complete with dinner by candlelight, and holding hands across the table, and this amazing romantic experience...  Well....I still spend my Friday nights with my Prince Charming, and I love that part of it...... but, it seems like more times than not, we're at Home Depot...  (Dating with Engineers is a part of the engineering set of books such as "Cooking with Engineers", "Living with an Engineer" and "Home Maintenance with Engineers"... giggle.)

We left Provo on Friday night, made our usual stop at Home Depot, and then headed south to Panguitch.  We spent the night at a hotel in Bryce Canyon, with the idea that we would get an early start on Saturday morning...  Well, we were so tired from working all day Friday, and then driving, we slept in... uhuh...

After having breakfast, and running a few errands, we started our drive to the cabin... The roads seemed relatively dry, up until we got to the last two... and they were... incredibly wet... incredibly muddy... incredibly treacherous, to drive on.  We were pulling the trailer, and the truck and trailer combo just didn't seem to want to make the effort.  We were almost in front of the cabin, and the truck's traction gave out, and the tires were spinning - digging holes in the road.  After rocking the pick up back and forth, we finally had enough oomph to get to the crest of the hill, and parked...  Jim stepped out of the truck, and immediately sunk in the mud...

Jim had a pair of Skidoo boots in the back of the truck, so he switched his shoes for boots, and put boards on the ground on my side of the truck, so I could get out... I was wearing Crocs - not really the ideal shoes for walking in mud...(Crocs rock - don't diss the Crocs!)  The only thing worse is squishing a grasshopper in your Crocs with no socks on.  But I digress, that was an adventure a few years ago.

It was cold (52F) and overcast, but, we had to trek through the mud to get the trailer unloaded... The 165 antique brick that were in the trailer had to come out, along with light fixtures and insulation, and a work table...so, we slipped and slid through the mud, until we got it all unloaded... Mission accomplished!

We had amazing plans to get the bridge built over Galt's Gultch, this weekend... didn't happen.

As we were about to leave the cabin, we could see that weather was coming in, and we needed to get off the mountain quickly...  We decided to pull the empty trailer down to the hotel in case it rained more during the night.  Going down the road was so bad, I imagined us having a major crash and ending upside down teetering half way off a cliff... So I sent my son, Brad, a text telling him that if he didn't hear back from us in 30 minutes, to call the Kane County Sheriff's office, and tell them to go looking for us.  Poor Brad didn't know what was happening, but, I expect, figured it was pretty serious.

Figuratively speaking, we slide half way down the hill in front of our cabin, and then slide down the 2nd road... Terrifying to say the least.  Jim's a natural four wheeler. I, am a natural panic-er...  I was having heart failure the whole time.

When we were driving back to the hotel, Jim recalled an incident from years ago.  He was telling me that when his dad and mum were building their house in Bracebridge, his dad had an El Camino... And, at some point, Jim was looking at his dad's vehicle, and there was a pile of mud on the floorboards, and Jim was a little disgusted with the mess... He couldn't understand how anyone could get that much dirt in a car... Well, this past weekend, he now understands.   Giggle... the floor mats, the running boards, the doors, the tires, the wheel wells... any place that mud could potentially be.. it is!  I am expecting a trip to the carwash tonight!

We were hoping in the morning that the mud would freeze overnight, and the road would be frozen and we could drive back and do some work... BUT, we got up Sunday morning, and it was raining...  so, we didn't even attempt.

Instead, we visited Bryce Canyon... and it was beautiful.  Jim bought his lifetime pass to the national parks, and we are making plans to not only visit Bryce Canyon over and over and over, but, parks in California also.  Bryce Canyon is absolutely amazing...I hope everyone will consider coming to visit and just see how amazing it is.  We have been working on our cabin for 6 years now, and this is the first visit I've had to the canyon... was truly impressive.  That red earth looks so much nicer in the canyon, than on our white truck, or my levi's...

In looking at these breathtaking views, I agreed with Jim, that God is the most amazing engineer of all time.... to make these canyons is pure genius... BUT, I am convinced that God has a wife, and she is an amazing decorator...

We have been asked by a couple of people what we do in the evenings in Panguitch...  You know, Panguitch is a little quiet on a Saturday night.  But, there is the Gem Theater, and Jim and I sometimes go to the show - We saw the Greatest Showman there, a couple of weeks ago, and Black Panther is playing there now.  However, this week, we walked through the Dollar Store... and, I bought Paw Patrol crocs for my grandson, Coy... uhuh... we are truly exciting people.

We have made friends with some of the nicest people ever, who live in Panguitch... about a year ago, I saw an ad on facebook from a lady who sold eggs - and, every time we go to Panguitch now, I buy several flats of the freshest, tastiest, most amazing eggs ever...we are addicted... Brianne concurs.  This week, I bought 5 flats of eggs (1 flat is 2.5 dozen)... We start to panic when we are running low on eggs, and there is no trip to the cabin planned...

A lot of people, over the years, have wondered about the relationship between Jim and I... His personality and mine are VERY different.. But, you know.... we click... he makes me laugh, and he organizes my life...  I don't have a clue what I do for him - probably add a little bit of colour and confusion...  But, he lets me take funny pictures of him... Giggle...  They always show a completely different side of Jim, and I couldn't love this guy more.

So, the trip to the cabin this weekend wasn't quite what we expected, but the adventure continues.

Cheri & Jim

KINDNESS IS POWERFUL

I am writing this blog to be a permanent part of our cabin building experience... I want how I feel/felt to be remembered.   When the cabin is completed, we are going to take the entries from the blog, and make them into a book, and I want this experience to be included, because of the impact that it has made.

Someone made a comment on Facebook about us bragging and being boastful about building the cabin.

No one but Jim knows the hurt that I have felt this past week...Few people know the tears that I have cried since being verbally attacked about this blog... I didn't realize how hurt I was until yesterday afternoon, when Jim and I were in Habitat for Humanity...  One of the ladies there had seem my Facebook post, and we were talking about it, and I fell apart and just started to cry.. in public - not something I regularly do.  My hurt is deep.  And, thank goodness I have my Jim to steer me through these uncharted waters to a little recovery.

Since then, on my Facebook post, the comments that I've received from so many people have been so inspiring and uplifting, and lovely.  I so appreciate the time and care that so many have expressed on my behalf...

I have decided that people can be hurtful and so mean.... I don't know what the motivation for this one was, and I don't particularly care, but, the words were just that - hurtful and mean.

I was so impressed by the words of a friend of mine, and I don't think he would mind me sharing them on this blog...

For the many, many, many....... many years that I've known you, you have never ever come off "Braggy" or flaunted what you had or pretended to be something that you are not. You are the, "what you see is what you get" type of person and that is why you are loved by many. You are accepting of all, matter what!!! What the people said makes me laugh. Do they even know you? And if they do, what is their hang up? I also wonder, if they thought those things, why did they feel like they could or should tell you???? KEEP IT TO THEMSELVES!!! Your fun experiences that you guys are having with this cabin is awesome. So many fun, fun memories now I'm print. It's a task of a lifetime. You're crazy, your life is crazy......... Your experiences are even crazier, So just keep up the crazy!!!!

Jim and I are having a blast building this cabin.  It is not easy.  Sometimes, it's downright frustrating and we have felt like giving up a million times.... this is hard work - really hard work.  We have taken our time, and sacrificed and saved.  We have spent countless weekends driving down to work for a couple of days, and then drive home, so exhausted I was afraid Jim was going to fall asleep at the wheel...Jim has worked so hard, his hands have been cut and bleeding.  We have both had little accidents like tipping over the refrigerator and the garage door hitting Cheri on the head and thank goodness for recoveries, that we don't usually talk about... This is our crazy dream... We are amateurs at this.

We know we are crazy and we make mistakes; I'm crazy, my life has always been crazy, Jim's crazy, our dreams are crazy, our experiences are crazy, and we're gonna continue documenting our crazy.

Kindness IS powerful... practice kindness instead of hurt.

And, by the way, we signed up for fencing lessons this past week... why?  Because, we're crazy.

The adventure continues.

Jim and Cheri

.... Thoughts from Jim...

Here's a switch!  This is Jim and I want to have a very out of character post tonight.  Remember I'm the engineer.  Well here's some sociology from me.

Cheri and I were talking in the car tonight and a couple of very interesting things came up.  We were talking about how different the cabin is from building a house in the city.  We discussed some of the design details we've incorporated and Cheri said "Older homes had beautiful stained glass in them.  It was an art form 100 years ago." 

Look at the stained glass she has in our entry door.

I agreed and then she said that modern homes lack beauty because they are built upon basics. " Beauty is no longer necessary in many homes, but beauty is necessary."

This is the sunflower piece that goes in the main level bathroom.

We thought about it and Cheri then said "Color is beautiful and necessary" and I thought how so many homes have painted walls of beige or the outside is so bland.  I'm not advocating purple paint or bright red siding, but it fits us.  We want color throughout our cabin.  Warm, rich color soothes our souls.  The wood burning stove and hearth is going to be so inviting.  I'm looking forward to sitting in front of it warming my well worn body, resting.

This woman is so creative.  I love what she is doing and the details she adds are exactly what I want, but can't envision them by myself.


(This is Cheri... This conversation started as we were driving through the old section of Provo - looking at some of the architecture of the houses that were built, 100 years ago.  They have beautiful stained glass above the doors and windows, that is haunting and beautiful and so expressive.  Some of the glass has been replaced, probably because of deterioration, and just has clear glass, at this point, above the doors... so sad...  I love stained glass, I love the creativity that I feel when I am working with glass.. I love walking through churches, and temples,  that have these impressive works of art in them. I imagine God looking down and being pleased with this expression that honours something bigger than we are. When I see glass projects, I feel humbled.  I love the creativity, and colour and the spirit of the artist coming through.  I love that Jim lets me express this side of myself, and works with me to put my pieces on display... I want my world filled with colour and beauty and expression... Colour is necessary, beauty is necessary.... Jim is so much a part of the beauty and colour of my world... Couldn't love anyone more.  Cheri)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it... NO!

We enjoyed a long, beautiful fall.. clear into February... then, Old Man winter realized that he had slept through a huge part of the winter, and came back at us, with a vengeance!!  We have tons of snow, and cold, cold, cold weather in Provo, and equal amount of snow and cold at the cabin.. hence - we're finally snowed out! We were going to try and make it to the cabin this next weekend.. BUT, the weatherman is predicting 6 - 10 inches of snow here on the Wasatch Front, which translates to about the same amount at the cabin...So, we're going to have to suspend that little trip for a couple of weeks.  If we could get close to the cabin, we could use the skidoos to get in, BUT, there is a mountain pass that we've crossed once in a snowstorm, and we don't choose to try that one again... nope.. not happening!

But, that hasn't stopped us... We've been preparing for the spring.. 

Our latest acquisition has been exterior lights... We have looked on different sites, and in different stores, and finally found exactly what we wanted, at the price we wanted to pay...  So, here they are:

Not a great picture, but it gives you the idea of what we wanted.. We needed 10 of these lights for beside the doors and windows on the main level...  and I truly love the look..

Jim has started the CAD work on the bridge that goes over Galt's Gulch, and the railings for the deck.  He said that he had all the information in his head, and he didn't think he needed drawings... then, it was explained to him that the pictures weren't for him... they were for ME!  Giggle.  He started the drawings this morning.  We are going to incorporate some iron work along with the wood, and I think it's going to look spectacular.

We purchased more of the wood flooring for the kitchen and livingroom this past week.  If you remember, we are mixing different colours of wood for a patchwork kind of look...  This purchase was a darker maple.  It really like the mixed up, patchwork look.

I haven't worked on my glass the past week or so...  the cold weather really bothers my shoulders and make it all but impossible to work.. But, it's getting down to the point that I'm going to have to power through the pain, and just get it done... This window needs to get finished and sent to the glass shop for insulating... grrrr..

Always an adventure...

Jim and Cheri

INTRODUCING... THE PROTECTOR OF THE FAIRIES!

A couple of weeks ago, I was on facebook and I saw the cutest statue... had a godzilla looking figure that was either eating, or fighting off gnomes... I thought it was darling... I said at the time, that I really needed this figure for the fairy garden...  Right after my post, my friend Lynn sent me a picture of the identical statue.. in her livingroom window!  (Great minds think alike, right?).

Well, Saturday afternoon, Amazon delivers a package to my house, and we were busy on our way to Coalville to pick up a load of brick, so it sat in the livingroom until Sunday night... Sunday night, I pull out the package, open it, and... here's a little statue...  There was no card, but I knew who sent it to me... Had to be Lynn!!!  I am so stoked!  She says that we need something to protect the fairies from intruders... or gnomes, or whom ever else bothers fairies!  Thank you to Lynn, for such an amazing gift..  I am sure our fairies will appreciate being so looked after!!!

As mentioned above, we made another trip to Coalville to pick up brick.. We picked out 165 bricks and lined them up in our trailer.  We have a couple of pallet loads already in the backyard, but they are stacked, and we can't really see how they are going to look on the patio...

I think they look spectacular.. sort of like an English cobblestone road...  I have decided that I want the whole patio floor done in this brick, so we have a couple more loads to pick up... It was so clear and warm on Saturday, and it was easy to make the trip...  With the major snowstorm that hit last night, I am sure Coalville is as buried under as we in Provo are. We may have to wait a couple of months...

We've been trying to decide what the railings on the deck are going to look like...  Jim liked the all wood look, and I really want them to have some kind of wrought iron...  We are getting two wrought iron lights to go beside the front door, and I think having something like that on the railings would make the whole thing tie together nicely.  This is what I found today...We will have the same design on the bridge going over Galt's Gulch.




Jim and I have decided we both like this look, but we are going to put a piece of wrought iron between the two smaller pieces of wood...  We are both happy now...  at least I am happy, and I think maybe Jim is just appeasing me...  Either way...  We like this look..

This is going to be the next project - digging it out of storage and getting it modified for propane.  I have had this stove in storage for probably close to 20 years... I did some accounting work for a guy, and he couldn't pay me, so he traded me this stove, for my work.. At the time, I didn't know what to do with it, but loved the look... So, it has been sleeping, peacefully, in storage...  It's about to get a rude awakening, and a facelift!!!  It's going to look amazing in my kitchen!!!

Even though we can't make it to the cabin because of snow, the adventure continues...  and, it's still amazing.

Jim and Cheri

LET THERE BE LIGHT.. and it was good light... 60 watt!

I didn't go to the cabin this weekend, so I am writing this with 2nd hand information...  It gets kinda cold, and even though we have this immense heater, one of us gets cold... so, I stayed in Provo.  I had lots of cabin stuff to work on here at the house!

Jim drove down to Bryce Canyon on Friday afternoon, after loading the trailer with rock, a water heater, glass block, light fixtures, my trellis, insulation, a log bed frame and tools... Every time we go down, we load the trailer with a plethora of this that and the next thing, and it's being stored down there in the basement... We don't quite need all this stuff now, but within the next 2 years, we will...  and, it's my secret goal to get storage buildings emptied out!

It was a very busy weekend for my Jim... poor thing - goes to the cabin and works himself crazy...  I am hoping that by next summer, there will be something more for me to do...than sit around and play on facebook, or help the fairies make houses...

Jim's 2.5 days at the cabin were busy, busy, busy...  I am so glad he takes pictures, so I can see the progress.

He started by starting to putting the 2nd night light in the hearth, complete with the electrical box.  We're waiting for our rock guy to get finished with other projects, and then he'll start putting that beautiful blonde quartz on the hearth and up the wall...

Next, Jim was starting to put in the electrical boxes and the wiring in the living room and the kitchen..

This culminated with a light fixture being installed in the breakfast nook in front of the bay window,

and in the kitchen... I have lights - we'll sort of... Let's say, I have the possibility of lights, at this point, and that's exciting!

Jim also, finished off the day by putting a little more siding up.. Does this man ever wear out.

I spent my two days in Provo... working on... glass..  It may not look like a lot to anybody else, but, it's huge progress this weekend on the second window...

We decided that we were going to put an additional piece of glass in the bathroom, and I had it pieced together, also this weekend, and it's ready to go.. But, I think I need to concentrate on getting this piece finished before I attempt a 3rd piece... This 2nd piece is going to go beside the single sunflower panel that was finished last fall..

On the way home, Jim had the job of bringing our 18' ladder back.. Brad has an attic repair that needs to be done, and our 18 footer is the only one tall enough...  So, Jim strapped it onto the trailer, with about 6' hanging off the end, and brought it back.. Not his favourite thing to haul, but necessary.

Through the smashed fingers, the bruised toes from a 2 x 6 falling on his foot, cuts on hands, and achy knees and hips and back, Jim says, "It's all worth it"...  I'm just glad he made it home..  I kinda missed him.

The adventure continues... Jim and  Cheri

PS:  The overwhelming vote on the feet for the bathtub was for the white feet....BUT, my friend Debbie showed me pictures of the old tyme tubs with the silver feet... and I really, really like them...  But, before we make a final decision, Jim says that we need to measure the tub and see what feet will fit..  The white ones might win.. sad face...  giggle...