...On Our Way...

I think this fortune cookie has Jim's cabin building theme on it...  He sees what could be, I see a place with no running water...  But, I'm hopeful for the near future.

This past weekend was the first time since we've been snowed out that we've been able to get up the hills to the cabin.. Usually, it's been packed with snow, and then a couple of weeks of mud, and we just can't make it - even with 4 wheel drive.  So, here we go!

Last Saturday night we were there, I looked up and there was this ink black sky, full of stars.. Jim and I just kind of stood there and took in the feeling and the amazing sight.  When Jim sent me this picture, it took me back to those brief moments.

The big push that we have this summer, is to get the last of the four way building inspections completed.. BUT, this Nana wants the water brought from the street to the cabin and then a toilet, hot water, a bathtub and a sink hooked up....  We are longing to take a shower in the morning, and not having to drive 10 miles away to the bathroom when the urge hits!  Did I really type the word "urge"?  

One of the first things we did last weekend...  I don't know if there is a proper name for this thing, but I call it, "the square thing under the floor that hooks the drain to the tub"...  Jim knows what I'm talking about.  I didn't even know it was there, but magically it appeared... down in the basement with a few hits from a sledge hammer to break through the concrete, it appeared!  Jim thought it was going to be a little more difficult, but it broke thru quite nicely.  Jim knew it was there and a few whacks later. . . there's a place to hook up a bathtub.

The little round thing at the top right of this next picture is where the tub connects...  Nope, didn't know it was there...  Now all we need is a "P" trap!  And, I thought it was a "pee" trap...

 

Jim uncovered the whole thing, and built the inside walls around the bathroom so that we can insulate and actually build a little bathroom.  We decided to complete the first bathroom in the basement because...  I don't know why.. it just made sense...  Jim's says it will be easier to winterize the drains from there and not two floors up in the fall. I personally don't care where it goes in... as long as the water goes to it, and the commode flushes... If you haven't figured it out before, I would make a really bad contractor...

The bathtub has been resting in the great room upstairs, but, it now has made it's permanent home in the basement.  

And... here she is...  and, she's beautiful!!!  We realized that we didn't have the faucets, etc. for the bathtub/shower and sink, so, that was a purchase for this next week.  So, freakin' excited!

Jim was outside, and saw these footprints... Does anybody have any clue what beast made these footprints?  We have absolutely no clue... might be Sasquatch for all I know... Three toes, and no claw marks?  Not a deer, or a mountain lion?

It was about 20 years ago, I bought this granite tile to put into Brianne's bathroom, in a house me and the ex were building on the south bench in Provo... the bathroom was never finished, but I kept the granite because they were so pretty... It's kind of a peach/pink/grey/white mix and I remember going into the store and hand picking each piece to make sure it was exactly what I wanted.  Well, flash forward, and we are going to use this flooring in the basement bathroom. We did the math, and we have enough with a little to spare.  Each square is 20" square.  Jim wants to use one for a soap holder in the shower.  On the floor, I was trying to figure out if I wanted the grain to be going all the same direction or have every other of them going 90 degrees opposite... that's why the square on the bottom left is going the wrong direction... But, I think I'm going to lay them all the same direction... I just think it looks cool.

I love the parts where you can see that, at some point, the formation shifted, and it left a pattern... it kinda looks like there is a crack in the granite...  There's a story here, I am sure.

We met with the water company guy who is going to dig the trench for the water line from the street, on Sunday.  apparently we aren't allowed to do that.  The sub-contractor that they usually had do the work, unexpectedly quit on them, so they are kind of in a scrambling mode right now.  But, we're all going to deal with it.  Exactly the spot where we put the retaining wall blocks for our retaining wall around the jacuzzi area, is exactly where the water lines are supposed to come in from across the road, so we have a little job moving the block to do before the water line digging can begin...  We're thinking about 30 days out...

And, Sunday afternoon, the guy that we wanted to hire to build the rest of the deck, showed up.. gave us some great ideas on how it should be built.  He can't get to the wood work on the deck until October or so, BUT, he can do the footing/foundation work now.  This really isn't an issue because, Jim and I can do the wood structure.. it's the foundation that we can't do....  At some point, we are going to have to cut down a couple of trees to fit the deck, but, that's all in the future.

And, every time we leave the cabin for an extended period of time, we come back to some little varmit who got into the house, and couldn't get out... There is absolutely no food or water, so, they don't last long, poor things.  This year, it was two chipmunks that came to their demise... one upstairs and one downstairs... They must have been star crossed lovers that wanted to have a little bit of privacy... I hope they had a bit of fun.

Anyways, that's our news for this episode.  It was such a beautiful weekend.. a little cool in the evenings, but the days were beautiful.

... was an amazing weekend, and as usual, the adventure continues..

Love, Jim and Cheri

 At the top of our blog this week, the most important thing that happened is that Brianne and Lowell, and Coy bought their first house, and moved in!  What an amazing little family.  It was such a rushed and stressful event to get them out of their apartment and into the house, all on a strict timeline.  But, they did it.  Jim and I weren't the most help moving stuff, but we can provide pizza and snacks, and we were thrilled to at least do that.  Congrats!!

Jim has been in St Louis, Missouri for the past couple of weeks and I've been left on my own.. and you know that old saying, "while the cat's away, the mice will play"... well, squeak, squeak, squeak.  Jim and I looked at hot tubs the day before he left, and this past Saturday, I went back, with the help of the grandkids, and Bri and Lowell, and I bought a hot tub.  Because of COVID, the different companies can't get the electronics to complete the systems, so we are in line to get our tub in August. Which is ok, because we still have to build the cobblestone brick patio area at the cabin for said hot tub to sit on...  Jim has told me that's my job, and I am hoping to recruit Brianne....  We were skyping with Mahayla and Brea, and Coy was with me, and all the grandkids agreed that it was a great tub, and they are excited to come to the cabin and use it...  It was several years ago, when I was away in  Toronto visiting my family, that Jim bought the backhoe, so I guess, it was my turn to return the favor of buying big items while the other is away...  giggle...  It really was kind of fun, but kind of scary also!  But, we all agreed it was a good purchase... The sales person showed Coy how to turn it off and on, and turn on the lights and the various colours of lights...  he loved it.

One of the things that we really need for that hot tub area is more bricks... like, lots and lots of bricks.  I was online and saw that a lady in Provo was selling some of bricks and they matched the ones we need... So, on Saturday, I went over and bought them, and put them in the back of my Kia Soul.  I think the Soul was having heart failure...  At this time of the year, our vehicles and trailers are completely packed with things that need to go to the cabin, so this was the only option.  The lady didn't live too far from our house, so as soon as I got home, I started unloading them... the lady's husband said they originally bought the bricks so they could build flower gardens, but that never happened, so they wanted to get rid of them.  The husband said that they came from a house that was 100+ years old that was being demolished.  The bricks are beautiful and are going to fit in nicely with the others we already have...  I purchased 87 bricks... I told Jim about putting them in the back of the Soul and he was like... "um, did the back of the car sag a bit?"  I didn't notice, I just noticed that it was driving a little bit differently with all that weight in the back end....  poor little car... (we had been getting our bricks from several different places with different stories, but the main place was from Coalville, Utah.. which is close to the Wyoming border... because it's still snowy there, we can't go for another load of brick.... we'll have to wait a little big longer.

On Saturday, while Jim was in St. Louis, he took a trip to Old Towne, and he absolutely loved it.... loved the scenery, loved the ambiance, loved the shops.. the whole shebang... He especially loved the cobblestone look brickwork of the roads.  He sent me some pictures of the roads and the different patterns of brickwork.. This is exactly what I was wanting in the hot tub area at the cabin... I am not sure what pattern I am going to use, but one of these two that Jim took pictures of... I think this brickwork gives everything such a warm and inviting feeling..  sort of old time charm.

I love this look... I don't want the grass growing between the brick and I'm sure there's a way to stop that from happening, but isn't it charming?  I think it's amazing and so glad that Jim took pictures for me...

Soooooo cute.

There must be a story here, but I don't know it...

My friend Angie found this footstool, and because she knows Coy loves cats, she told me about it... I thought it was darling and Coy would love it.  I picked it up on  Sunday, but haven't given it to Coy yet.  When I told Jim about it, he was in the "Jim Mode" and I know he had the pursed lips issue going on... But, when I showed him a picture of the footstool, he agreed that Coy would absolutely love it.  I showed Brianne a picture also, and she concurred.  

A week before Jim left for St. Louis, we found two lamps that I thought would look amazing in the cabin.. I don't know if you can see the design on the base, but, it's trees... I saw them in the store, and before he saw them, he said that we didn't have any place for more lamps..... and, then he saw them... and we bought them... I think they will be perfect.. We might have lamps in the bathrooms or the closets, but they are going to look really amazing there!!!  

The last post I made on this blog, before this one, I posted this picture... I really didn't know what I was buying, but I showed them to Lowell, telling him that they are outlets that pop up out of the island and I was so impressed with that.. He said he thought they were pretty cool... and, then he mentioned that he thought they were cool, not just because they pop up out of the granite, but because they had USB ports on the top... USB whats?  First of all, I bought the pop ups because they were cool, but I didn't even notice there were USB ports on the top...  duh... So, I bought two more.  Giggle.

I must admit, I have this small obsession with clocks... and, I saw this clock and I just had to buy it...  when I bought it, I really didn't see the actual dimensions of it... it's freakin' HUGE...   this thing is about 3' tall.  I had Jim put a dollar bill on the top of it, so you can actually figure out how big it was... This is one piece that I don't have a clue where it's going to go because I think it needs a really big room to support the size - otherwise, the clock will make the room look even smaller...  This one has me completely baffled...

I saw this chair, and I want it go to on the loft balcony... there was something delicate and elegant about it... but I don't like the purple colour, but it's going to get a facelift and be painted black.. but, I just loved it... It reminded me of a French bistro... and I can just imagine sitting on this chair,  the loft balcony, sipping tea and eating a croissant for breakfast, reading the newspaper... Unfortunately, there is no newspaper delivery at the cabin, but, I'm sure I'll find something to read, even if it's a cereal box... Dream with me on this one, people...

We are starting to purchase furnace vents that go in the floors... My question is:  How many vents actually go into a house?  Is there a certain number that most houses have, or do you just starting buying a whole bunch of them, and wing it?

I am the kind of person that always need to have a project... like Jim will tell me we need something or another for the house or the cabin, and I love to start looking and searching for whatever it is... Several months ago, my job was to find bathtubs and toilets and that was such a fun project... I got to research everything through, and then make the purchase.... I loved it... However, my absolute favorite thing is planning a party - that would be my dream job.. But, the little projects here and there just keep me going.  Jim said that he needed an electrical box that is set into the wall and you can plug a clock into it.  I wasn't really sure what he wanted so I started looking and came up with different options... some were ok, some didn't make the grade at all, and I think we now have one that fits the bill.... It's amazing what you learn when you don't have a clue what you're doing!!

And, I wanted a little bench that would hold an extra blanket and I found this little gem.  I know exactly where it's going to go - main floor bedroom at the end of the bed...  I thought it would hold one blanket inside the seat part, and one small child when they want to sit down!

I think it's darling.

We were at Brianne and Lowell's this afternoon, and on our way home, we passed by a business and all they do is build cupolas...!!!  Jim pulled over to the side of the road and I took a couple of pictures for reference.  We didn't have a clue that there was this type of business, and it was so close to home!  We were having a little bit of a problem finding the copper for the top of our cupola and have called different places.. Nobody wants to sell just a small amount - everybody wants to sell HUGE amounts, and we don't need a huge amount.  So, Jim is going to give these guys a call, or drop by and see if they sell just the top part of if we can buy a small amount from them..  I was totally stoked.  They have some really cool ideas!

We will be going to the cabin, for the first time this year, this coming weekend, and I am excited and nervous.. The first time usually greets us with super muddy roads, and a cold cabin.. But, we want to place the toilets and the tub and a sink in the downstairs to make it a little more comfortable for anyone who comes to work...

As always, the adventure continues... Love, Jim and Cheri

On My Goodness... this winter is lasting... for-ev-er!!

 It seems that this winter is lasting absolutely forever, and we are going crazy.  Cabin fever?  My living room is filled with stuff for the cabin, as well as the work (Jim's) van... it's getting crazy!  We were going to try and go this past weekend, but there were snowstorms and 14" of snow.. so it was a no go... And, this week, there are more storms, so again, we stay at home.  Grrrr.

Well, while we can't get to the cabin, Jim has taken on the task of starting to build a cupola that will be on the roof of the cabin.  You don't know what a cupola is, you say.. well, here's a picture... Jim is designing his own, and we have a "moose" weathervane for the top of it.  We went to Home Depot yesterday afternoon, and bought the sheeting and  2 x 4's for the framework. The cost of building materials has gone out of sight!  Our trailer is still full of granite countertop materials, and all our vehicles are full of stuff ready to go to the cabin, so putting more wood in the van was a little tricky...

 And, we found a place in Cedar City that sells the copper colored roofing materials, so we're off to the races.

Here's the side windows/vents that are going on the four sides.  I picked them out.  Jim didn't know I ordered them, until they showed up... He was like..."I guess you want me to start building now?" I'm so subtle, aren't I? The hint worked...

We're trying to find a small piece of TYVEK to cover the copula in, but, haven't found any yet.  They come in rolls that are about 10' feet wide by 100' long... a little more than we need.  So, we'll keep looking.  Jim said we may hit up some builder in the area that is cutting out window spaces from a building project... Talk about dumpster diving!

While we were at Home Depot, I saw a cart that had green-board sheetrock for the bathroom on it.  It was a little damaged on one end, but it was 70% off, so we bought the three pieces.. And, had to put it on the top of the van to get it home...  sigh.. we're getting a little desperate for space here...Giggle...  I know this is going to push some people over the edge, but the green is now stored..... in the livingroom... Uhuh..

I did find a plastic one piece pond liner that I was looking for, so we drove to SLC to pick it up last week.  I know this isn't a priority right now, but we are in the process of picking up all the parts to put in a waterfall and small pond.  I'm thrilled.

 

I don't know why these glasses amused me, but they did.  I bought them and then drove to Spanish Fork to pick them up... The box that they came in is actually a tin bank that looks like a tool chest.  I like them; Jim just kinda looked at me with that "ok...?" look.. As long as he doesn't have pursed lips, I'm in good shape.

Jim bought this last week.. it's the very high end Denon all in one sound system for the cabin.  It has surround sound as well as controls for everything.  100 watts per 4 channels, music, TV, Gaming, CD player and Blue Tooth, and even an electric guitar and sub-woofer!  I listen to my oldies loud and out of control, or so Jim tells me... So, this is going to fit the ticket well... Rock On!  I have this idea of getting the huge Peavey speakers in Jim's music room and putting the whole system together.  As Jim said "Look at all those inputs and outputs".  Ya, . . . OK.

Here's a little new addition to the family.  I saw this GEM electric golf cart about a year ago and I asked the owner at my work about it.  He had bought it off KSL want ads in Salt Lake and had it in storage for a couple of years with the intention of fixing it up... Well, apparently two years came and went and he still hadn't got to fixing it, so he asked me if I wanted it.  Jim was ecstatic!  He brought it home, cleaned it up, and now is in the process of replacing all the batteries and recovering the seats...He's having a little bit of a challenge getting the title (it was originally purchased in California and then sold to someone in Nevada, and ultimately made it's way to Utah, with no title change...) so, he's working on that issue.  But, I think it might be fun around the cabin, or maybe California.. But, the restoration is coming along nicely.

Whenever Jim has a restoration project, this is the type of thing that ends up in my kitchen sink.  I am not quite sure what it is... cables to batteries, maybe?  I don't know.. I just know that they are from the golf cart, and they're sitting in my sink.... (I am so used to this... between the sink and my dishwasher, they've been filled with car parts and rocks and bricks and a little bit of everything... I'm always surprised, but used to it...I live with an engineer and I think he sees this as being practical...)

We went out on Saturday looking at Jacuzzis...  We were told that this is not a jacuzzi, this is a hot tub.. ok...?  At one showroom we went to, there were absolute zero hot tubs on the floor... like it was completely empty.  The guy there said that because of COVID, they can't get the electronics to power hot tubs so we would have to wait until fall... We thought it was kind of weird, but ok.  We went to the 2nd hot tub store in Orem, which was  Bull Frog Spas and they said that what we were told is absolutely true, but with hot tubs on display their store policy is that  you put a $500.00 deposit down, and MAYBE we'll have a hot tub delivered by September or October.. We were like... October?  October at the cabin is when we are getting into snowfall time, so that timing is just off for us.. I was telling Brianne about the issue, and she said that we could store the hot tub for safekeeping in her backyard.... She said she and Lowell and  Coy would make sure it worked properly, and it was well taken care of over the wintertime... Uhuh...

The guy in the hot tub store asked me how many people I wanted the hot tub to seat, and I told him 1 or 2 adults, and 3 - 4 grandkids.. He laughed and said that was just about right... Giggle.. I think Jim was thinking more along the lines of one grandma and one grandpa... I just had a different idea!

And, I found these curtain rods on Saturday.. I really liked the design, but not sure of the colour choices... I told Jim that I wanted to change the colour to look like black wrought iron... he likes what I call camo...  Only time will tell who wins this one...

And, our 2020 blog book is being printed this week.  I love how this one looks... Our designer Jammie Harper always, always, always does an amazing job!  Her talent and creativity is over the top, and I can never thank her enough!  This our ninth year and edition!  We have all the blogs bound each year.

I am hoping that we only have one or two more blog books published... that means, the cabin building will be finished...  sigh.... I don't know what we are going to do with out time... (Actually, I'm sure we'll come up with building projects, or glass projects, or mosaic projects....)  

We are gearing up to get back to the cabin.  There's a lot of work to do this summer - we are hoping to get the water brought in from the road to the house, and to have the four way construction inspections completed....We are also making plans to complete the deck... big plans, big aspirations, big dreams.  Wish us luck.

The adventure continues...

Love, Jim and Cheri

NO CABIN BUILDING.... WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO? GO SHOPPING!

We are getting so excited to get back to the cabin...  actually, antsy is probably a better word... I looked from a year ago on the blog, and it says that the men made it back to the cabin the last weekend of April... So, being that this is March, we are just preparing....

I came home from work on Friday, and there was this big flat box waiting for me... I didn't realize who it was from until I got a little closer... it was a large metal laser cut sign that was a present I had ordered for Jim... was supposed to be here for Christmas - two months later, it shows up!  I was stoked just how the sign turned out.  Jim is thrilled.  It will make a great house identifier out by the road.  It's like 2 feet square!  Maybe this will be the first thing to be taken to the the cabin this year!!

Jim is constantly telling me to STOP buying stuff for, what he calls, "Cheri's Warehouse".  We have a room downstairs that is full of "DECORATING STUFF".  Amazing stuff.  Recently I found these pillows and thought they would be perfect on the wicker furniture out on the deck.  When I told Jim about them, he had the "pursed lips" action going on.  But, when he saw them, he knew that I would just love them, and thought they would be perfect!  He told me on the phone "you're going to love them".  I really love sunflowers... and moose... The only thing that could make these pillows any cuter, is if they had mooses on them!  Giggle.

At home, Jim and I are in the process of increasing our emergency food and goods supplies, and I was looking online for things like candles and matches and stuff like this.. I came across a guy in Salt lake selling these "stoves"...  You apparently, start a fire in the hole in the top, and then  you can put a fry pan or a pot on top of it to cook with.  The man said the fire will last for three hours. They looked kind of interesting, so on Saturday, Jim and I took a drive up to Salt Lake to check them out...  The man who was making them, apparently, had two Conex units filled with these - approximately 5,000 of them..  They were selling for $10.00 a piece - originally $25.00.  He was hoping to sell them to backpackers and hikers, but Jim and I decided that the guy has chosen the wrong market, and the wrong price.  But, for our purposes, it's perfect.  We think it's a little impractical for a hiker to carry a 20 pound block of wood in their backpack... but, for people with RV's like 5th wheels, or off roading out at the sand dunes, it might be great... But, not hikers or backpackers...  Never the less, we are going to try it just for fun.

And, this was another great find!  You know how I love mooses!!!  Well, we found this brass weather vane in Salt Lake and Jim agreed with me - it's perfect!  Jim is going to put it on the top of the roof at the cabin, and I am delighted!   This was the best picture that we could get.. the wind was blowing and the whole weather vane moving back and forth... so the East is to the West right now... go with it... giggle.

Jim wants to do something like this on the roof to make it a bit more interesting.

And, as usual, the adventure continues!

Jim & Cheri