CONSIDER THIS YOUR OFFICIAL INVITATION!

Welcome to our cabin!  Here's a couple of chairs on the deck just for you!

A friend of our's, Debbie, insisted without a railing, she's not coming.  Sent us this edited version.

Now, after a couple of weeks of coughs and colds and doctors appointments and prescriptions, we got to the point of feeling relatively healthy, and not contagious (we hope), and we made it down to the cabin this past weekend!

We always follow the Weather Channel, and the surrounding area was showing beautiful weather... and, the mountain was just that.. beautiful... very little snow, kinda muddy in places, but beautiful, clear weather.

We had got a call from the "HOA" and they told us that we needed to move our trailer up to our property, so that was the first on the list...  They have a space at the base of the mountain where you can store your four wheelers and snowmobiles, and our trailer has been there, for the last 5 years... This is the trailer that we transported the backhoe from New Mexico to Utah on.. So, it's huge...  I think they were a little sick of looking at it.. So, now, it's moved up to the round about, just down from the cabin on our lot #10....  I'm glad that little job is completed.

Even though the weather was fabulous, it was cold in the cabin... was colder inside the cabin than outside.. A couple of months ago, we bought a propane burner heater, and we hooked it up and turned it on...  really warmed up the joint.  When we originally took it up, we couldn't get the burners to stay lit... something about not enough oxygen, to keep it lit.. But, Jim did a little research (go figure) and found if we put a different something or other on it, it would work.. and it did.. perfectly.. It makes a ton of noise, but also a ton of heat!  Made it very, very comfortable.

Jim's goal was to build the platform for the hearth... and, that project was started.  Mine was to get curtains up... the curtains aren't particularly to block the sunlight, but to block anonymous people from peeking in... Jim and I both accomplished these goals.

Jim also completed a little more of the winterizing the cabin... Above the bay window in the dining area, there was an open space that went directly out to the weather...  A little something that was missed in the framing process... So, he covered that in with sheeting, to keep the weather out, and whenever it decides to snow, it'll keep the wet snow and rain off my curtains...

And, the more things that happen inside the cabin, the more I love it.  I can envision a home. 

The hearth will be covered with cut, flat rocks so the wood burning stove will sit nice and flat.

Sawing these up takes a lot of time, but it will be worth it.

The hearth platform is going to have a rock facing on it, like we've showed you before, with a set of night lights underneath on either side of the cold air return... That was most exciting for me.  One of the antique pieces that we bought years ago, we attached as the cold air return on the front of the hearth platform... and I think it looks amazing...  This cold air return piece was from an old hotel in Nevada, and I fell in love with it, the very first time I saw it.  I think at the time, Jim was wondering where in the world we would use it.. Well, we found it a home.. and it's nice to see these little pieces being incorporated into our dreams.

I've taken some pictures of the inside of the cabin now... My dishwasher is in the livingroom, along with the cabinets for the bathrooms..

I have one pantry cabinet that is actually in the kitchen, and I love it there...

The rest of the cabinets are in the main level bedroom... We also have a shower door in the bedroom - I guess it's the right place for it, right now..  This shower door was purchased at Lowe's... Jim's daughter-in-law, Teresa used to work for Lowe's and whenever she found a smokin' deal on an item, she would call us, and we would go over... This is one of the items.. It's a glass shower door, with the pattern of leaves through the glass.. I think it's amazing, even if it is upside down right now.

We have new neighbours across the street, and he came over and introduced himself.. Very nice man.  He and his family live just outside of Ogden, which is where our Brad and his family live.  Wayne and his wife are about our age and looking to retire...  Ogden is about an hour and a half north of Provo, so it takes them a little longer to get to their cabin, but their love of the mountain mirrors ours.. He came over just as we were about to leave, and we didn't hear him knock on the door.. between the heater and the air compressor, you have to all but scream to be heard... I didn't hear the knock, but, I did see the door handle move - so, I knew somebody was at the door...  We had a nice visit - very nice neighbour..

We were a little nervous with the drop off the side of the balcony, and "Galt's Gulch", so we installed some motion detector lighting to the front and the side... at least, if someone comes over in the evening, they'll see where they are going to land before falling over the side.

"Cheri's Heart" is covered in snow - but, it still looks lovely.

All in all, it was a successful journey, with goals being accomplished... The adventure continues.

Jim and Cheri

ROCK CONCERT

Do you remember the pictures of the rocks in the dishwasher?

Well, those rocks are about to make their debut.

Just before Christmas, we figured that we needed to cut the rocks in slices, so they will fit more evenly on the fireplace hearth wall, and the hearth surface that the wood burning stove sits on.  If we use the rocks as is, they will be too heavy and uneven.. So, we need to slice them to a more uniform thickness and to reduce some of the weight.

We have about 36 quartz rocks down at the cabin and about 75 bigger ones still at home.  Some of them are over 12" thick and maybe 30" long, and they need to be about 2 to 3" thick...So, we had to figure out a way to slice them.

Jim has a bandsaw in his machine shop for cutting metals, but I asked if it could cut rocks and Jim said with a little modification and a diamond cutting blade ($30 Thank you eBay!), it works perfectly.  Jim had to rig up water to cool and lubricate the blade so it wouldn't wear out too quickly.  See the water on the right splashing on the blade.

Today, the first slices were made... and they look beautiful.

I love the rich yellow colour..

Now all we need to decide is do we leave the cut surface natural or seal it for a deep, richer looking colour?








Dry or wet (will look like this if we seal the rock)





The decision was made to seal the rock with a satin finish and go for the deeper, richer colour.  Mmmm . . . . reminds me of bacon, oh but I digress!



Jim found me a heart in a rock!  He's a rock star.

Along with the quartz rock, we gave the grandkids geodes for Christmas.  Jim also got a geode about the size of a football.  I'm excited to see what it looks like inside.


The amazing adventure continues.

Jim and Cheri

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We are looking forward to 2018 - We figured the timeline to finishing the cabin - 2 years and $26k...  So, here's to more dreams, more fun, more love, more time spent with my love, and more amazing adventures...  We hope to share the rest of the adventure with y'all.

Cheri and Jim

Closing, closing, closing.....

As the end of the year is coming upon us, we are thrilled that we have had a couple of extra weeks to work on the cabin - that window of opportunity, without drifts of snow, is slowly closing... It has been as low as 12F at night, but no snow.  This morning it was 18F at 10:00 AM but sunny!

I haven't made it down to the cabin for a couple of weeks now - the cold and I do not get along, but my dear husband has made the trip for the past two weekends, by himself, and did a little extra work that needed to be finished.

The biggest project right now is the Tyvek, the shake shingle siding, and the redwood deck...  We have been getting help from two gentlemen from Panguitch, who have been invaluable..  Greg and Jason Excell, they know their stuff, and get down to business... we can't be more thankful for their dedication and expertise... Jim says they out work him.

We have been working to get the Tyvek and the siding on before the snow.  We found out last week after talking to the county, that we needed to have a Tyvek inspection BEFORE getting the siding on...  woops..  So, this weekend, the siding project halted and the Tyvek went up on the east side of the house.  It was a three man job.

Jim is going to call the county on Monday and ask for an inspection this week so that the siding can continue.  We are so fighting against time and weather here - it makes me nervous.  And the deck keeps growing!  It now goes all the way to the back of the cabin past the bay window.

I checked the weather forecast before Jim went down and it was supposed to be 17F degrees at night, but the days were going to be in the high 50's... which made it really nice for working.  Today it was 30's in the shade but really nice in the sunshine.

Jim loaded up the trailer on Saturday afternoon, and took another load of cabinets, doors, a beautiful bathtub/shower door and miscellaneous furniture items down.

We are unclogging the storage building little by little, and it is so encouraging.  One of the items that he took down was a coffee table that we found a couple of years ago - it's made of manzanita wood - very unusual, but very beautiful.  Jim said that he cleaned off the top of it when he got it into the cabin - after sitting in a storage building for a couple of years, the dust factor was high... But, he got it all cleaned off and it is looking beautiful.

Jim continued putting the foam around the windows and doors and made a revelation today - the foam actually washes off your hands with lacquer thinners!  He said that the old formula didn't wash off, and if you got it on your hands, it took weeks to wear off...  (I supposed this is from a past personal experience... giggle).

It's been a difficult week for us here in Provo, and I am pleased that Jim had the energy to make the drive.  I don't know if many more trips are in the plans between Christmas and weather...Seems a little strange that this chapter is closing for this year. 

Jim bought me a beautiful vintage wood holder to sit next to the wood burning stove on the hearth for my birthday this week. I love it, and was totally surprised!  It will look beautiful in our livingroom.


We have such plans for projects for the winter - including building the stairs, and putting the rock hearth in... We have one of those construction propane heaters that looks like a cannon!  It makes 150,000 BTUs, Jim says, so, if we make it to the cabin, in the snow, it should help keep the main area somewhat warm.

This journey, this year, has been one of the most exciting things I have done in my life.  We have been blessed, and as still, the adventure is amazing.

Jim and Cheri

What Exactly is... Normal?

The question that Jim and I have been trying to answer, over the last couple of days is: What is Normal?

This was sparked by an interesting set of events...  Several years ago, I was visiting with Jim's aunt, and she had asked me what I was doing at that particular time, and I told her that I was putting Jim's car parts into the dishwasher.. because, they were all oily and dirty, and this was the quickest and more efficient way to get them clean.. she just about had a stroke and told me that if her husband had done this, she would divorce him...  It really didn't phaze me in the least...

This past week, we were trying to get ready to go to the cabin and we were taking the rocks I had purchased several years ago for the hearth and behind the cast iron stove in the living room.  I bought these rocks for Jim several years ago for Christmas... (this is where the "normal" is starting to come into question).  He loved the gift, but, with such a volume of rock, and knowing that we wouldn't need it for a couple of years, we stored it beside our driveway in a flower garden... and, it looks really pretty... it's smokey yellow quartz and absolutely beautiful...

Well, with the rock being there for several years, it's covered in dirt and leaves and everything else.  So, we decided to run each of the stones through the dishwasher.  I didn't blink twice at this suggestion, and actually, it was my idea...  After the rocks ran out of a full cycle, they are beautiful and clean and ready to be installed... Jim estimates that we cleaned and took about 2000 lbs of rock to the cabin this weekend.

So, again, the question comes up.. is this normal?

Again, in talking to Jim, he thought that us building a cabin in the middle of nowhere when we are in our late 50's and 60's is normal..  But, is it normal for everyone else? - because it seems that we are the only nutcases doing this...  In talking to my brother Duane, we both agreed that we always thought we were normal, until we married and moved out, and then we realized that, maybe we weren't quite as normal as we thought...  (Our father painted our upright piano orange, and we didn't think twice about it... maybe, not so normal).. giggle.  So, I guess, what is NORMAL for us, may not be normal for anyone else...

We are trying to get the cabin to the point that we don't have to stay in the RV next year.  We bought a submersible water pump in Gunnison, Utah on Saturday... We won't have water for a while, but we have to figure out a way to have clean water... so, we bought a big 275 gallon cube, and this water with the aid of an on-demand propane water heater and the pump will push the water, so we can at least shower...  I know.. not normal.. But, I am excited..

Anyways, in our not so normal state, we delivered a load of really clean, pretty quartz for the hearth, along with other miscellaneous things this week.  We are getting closer to having the whole cabin ready for winter... We were trying to get it all done this weekend, but, that just didn't happen...(On a side note, while Jim was digging the rock out of the flower bed, "something" (he thinks it was a tarantula) got into his pant leg, and stung him 7 times on the leg and lower butt cheek...  Ok, I'm trying not to laugh, but, he's spent the last day... scratching... I am not sure WHAT bit him, but they look like mosquito bites, and I don't think it was a big hairy spider....) Jim thinks it was a black widow looking for a mate!

One of the most amazing things was that, Jim handed me the keys to the front door, and I got to open the lock and walk inside...  It was almost like being carried over the threshold...  Amazing feeling.  (I just looked at the picture below, and... what is going on with my hair??? I'm blaming it on the wind... yep... high winds...)

The deck is well on it's way to being completed, and the siding has been started. That piece of chipboard to the right front of the cabin is where my sunflower stained glass pieces are going to go...  still working on the 2nd piece, so that's a project for springtime.

But this weekend's project was to get the rock into the cabin, and to urethane foam around all the windows and doors.

It was my job to bring the rock from the trailer to the living room...  Years ago, when I bought the rock, I carried each one of those stupid pieces from the store into my truck.. Today, I can barely pick up the smaller pieces  - they are so freakin' heavy... What happened?  When did they get heavier?  Giggle.

Jim built me a "bridge" to walk from the ground to the deck... um...  ok?  I really hate heights, so this was not my favourite part of the day...  There's a 10 foot drop, and I was walking on two 2 x 12's over what I called "Galt's Gulch"... (This will make all you Ann Rand/Atlas Shrugged fans have a quick laugh...)  It was pretty bad when I had to carry rocks over the gulch, but when I had to help Jim carry a couch over it, walking backwards, it really wasn't my favourite...

While I was carrying rock, Jim was doing the winterizing... He did all the windows and most of the doors, and we're almost ready, in that department, for winter.  I think he still has the french doors in the prow to complete, and that job is completely done.

As we were starting to pack up to leave, we watched the most beautiful sunset.. beautiful reds and yellows..  I am going to love watching these sunsets...

Yep... another not normal, amazing adventure.

Jim and Cheri

Where To Begin; Where To Begin

It's been such a busy couple of weeks, I am really unsure where to start this blog...I think I'll start at the end and move forward, sort of...

This past week, Jim spent the whole week at the cabin. We had a new sub-contractor start on Monday, and Jim wanted to make sure everything was going to be cool.. So, the day before, he headed southward. I didn't go with him - during the wintertime, I really struggle with the cold.  I had pneumonia a couple of years ago, and I still have issue with it.  So, we figured that it was best, that he go solo on this one...  I had excitement of my own back in Provo... but, I digress..

We had ordered all the siding and it was delivered a couple of days before, and we loaded it on the trailer, with tons of other stuff, so that bright and early Monday morning, the siding project would be started.  Poor Jim was taking such a load down with him - the front seat of his truck was filled, the back seat of the truck was filled, the bed of the truck was filled and the trailer was stacked to the brim...  I was so scared with him driving down because the load was immense.  I am always afraid that the tires on the trailer are going to blow because of the weight...

It took Jim a little longer to drive down because of the load, but he got there safe and sound Sunday night.

The temperatures at the cabin have been fluctuating between, cold, really cold, butt cold and absolutely freakin freezing...  This last Sunday night was coldest night coming in at a record 12 degrees for this time of year, and the highest temperature it got during the week was 59 - so, days were reasonable, but the nights were freezing.

It got so cold in the RV on one of the nights, that the half gallon of milk Jim bought on the way in, froze.. inside the RV on the step.  I told Jim to buy an electric blanket, just to stay somewhat warm, and he did and said it was a life saver.

Monday morning, the boys showed up with the instructions to lay siding.  But, what we didn't realize, being that we are not builders, is that we needed to build the deck before putting on the siding, because putting the siding on three stories up isn't a great idea on a hill.  And there's galvanized flashing under the siding that ties into the deck... uhuh... so, there was a little change in plans there..

While Jim went into town to get supplies to build a deck, the boys started the siding.... During the week Jim made the trip to Cedar City three times and into Panguitch another three times.

When he got back, they set and poured the footings and foundations and started to build the structural part of the deck.

The deck surface is made of California Redwood... and I think it looks fantastic...

Everyone keeps telling us that we should have made it out of cedar or composite decking or some other wood, but we really like the colouring of the redwood and it looks beautiful with the siding..

In this whirlwind of activity, Jim put in two of the stained glass windows in the loft bathroom, and the french doors in the loft also. They look freakin' amazing.

We will be going back this coming weekend (after Thanksgiving) to foam insulate in around the windows and doors.

I got my stained glass window completely finished - that means, I finally got it back from the glass shop, and the white vinyl frame was put on with the mounting flanges.  We are going to wait until spring to install it.  Meanwhile, while Jim was at the cabin, I started the sister piece to the one sunflower panel that is finished.  I'll be working on that piece all winter long.

While Jim was in Alton, I was fighting my own battles in Provo...  it seems our cat, Mokey, loves to visit the neighbours... they don't want his visits, and he was caught, repeatedly, in their trap in the backyard...  uhuh...Let's just say, I now know how to open one of those stupid cat traps....



The adventure continues...

Jim and Cheri

Sawdust is Man Glitter

I was at Upper Case Printing in Orem on Friday, and there sitting on the counter, was this great little book marker that just seemed to be written for my Jim.  It read, "Sawdust is Man Glitter".  I brought it home for Jim and we both had a giggle over it on Friday afternoon.... flash forward to Sunday night after we've spent the weekend at the cabin, and here's the picture that Jim sent me...  made me giggle.  Love that man.  Big thank you to Lynda at Upper Case for designing this gem.

I wanted to show you the beauty of our mountain this weekend in our blog.  There's along drive into the area where the cabin in, and it's usually filled with deer and elk, and rabbits and turkeys and coyotes and everything else.  We have a family of blue jays that regularly visits the cabin and squirrels and chipmunks galore.. BUT, my favourite thing is what Jim calls, "Cheri's Heart"..  When you are driving up the mountain, at one specific angle, there is an area of rock that is that beautiful Bryce Canyon red rock... everything else around it is white, except for this one little spot, and it's red.. and it's the shape of a heart...  I love it.. I tried to get a really good picture of it.. but, the red colour just didn't come through.. but, I think it's lovely.

We got to the cabin at about 9:30 on Saturday night - and it was...  24 degrees.. What a shock!  Freezing cold.  Jim had me wait in the truck while he plugged in the motor home and turned on the heater... We sat and visited in the truck for about 30 minutes before we decided to venture out.. Was so cold even with the heater on.  Jim went into the cabin and found a little space heater, and we turned it on also.  I was sure we were going to catch fire - space heaters really make me nervous... but, it was sooo cold, we really had to have something to warm us up, and keep the motorhome warm all night... We got into bed, wearing our hoodies and two quilts on top.. and it was sort of warm.. Jim sleeps by the window, and he always says that it's colder by the window.. I did my best to keep him warm, but... cold is cold...

Got up in the morning, and we both had projects that we needed to get done...  Jim's job was to build a door frame for the basement and install the door, and my job was to unpack the trailer and get all the stuff I could into the basement of the cabin.

We have three storage buildings that I am determined to get at least one cleaned out and closed before winter comes... So, every time we go to the cabin, we pack a trailer and take it down... We only had one casualty this time which was a light globe, but it's replaceable, and it wasn't a major piece, so it was good.

Our contractor got two more windows installed this week...  And some of the Canadian equivalent of Tyvek.  Travis said they were working in a heavy wind, can you tell?

When we looked at the windows this morning, we thought he had installed them sideways.. We came to realize, that it was us who were wrong, and Travis installed them correctly... He told us that there's this little vent opening at the bottom, in case water has to drain from the vinyl around the windows... yep, we're spazzy.......what do we know..?  We didn't notice.

I got as much of the trailer unloaded as I could... there were things this time that were just a little too heavy for me, but I did my best... Jim finished unloading the heavy stuff....like the propane deck heater, and more vinyl siding.  This stuff just keeps showing up at our house.  Giggle....

Jim got the door frame done, and almost has the door installed.. Needs a little more work, but it was getting late and I didn't want to do that getting home at 1:00 in the morning again... So, we left, and drove back home and actually got home at a decent hour.

Was a productive weekend... happy, cold campers here.. but, the adventure continues.

Jim and Cheri