... I know this guy... he's a friend of a friend of my mom's...

 We're coming to the end of the season, and we still have a whole lot to do.  We had plans at the beginning of the year to have the four way completed by fall, but between Jim's travel for work, and then COVID, we're a little behind schedule.  So, the big push is now on...

Jim and Lowell are feverishly working on getting the electrical completed.  This past weekend, the can lights in the loft went in - I am totally stoked!  I think the biggest job with the loft was getting everything moved out of the way so they could actually get to the ceiling and run the wires... But, they got it done, and it's beautiful!

T  

This next week, Jim and Lowell are going to be working on getting the septic system in.  Jim has a plan to dig the hole over the weekend, and have gravel delivered in order to have the septic insert delivered and set in the hole.  However, finding someone to sell us a load of gravel was a little bit of a challenge - and an amusing one at that... 

You see, everyone in a small town knows everyone else and here's a story to confirm that!

When buying truck loads of gravel Jim found out that the trick is to buy it from a pit that is as near as possible to the cabin in order to keep the cost down.  Transporting it costs more than buying it.

So, there's a gravel pit a few minutes north of Hatch or about 11 miles away from the cabin.  Jim found out it was called the PCI pit.  We never found out what that means. . . .  But we did a little investigating.  If you call the local coffee shop and ask the first person that answers the phone, she'll tell you that her "mom" has bought gravel from them, well sort of.  She gives you a phone number and you call it.  The lady on the phone says she has a phone number in her phone and she'll call Jim back in a few minutes with it.  Thank you "Mom".

Well half an hour goes by and no phone call.  So Jim calls back.  Now a young man answers the phone and you explain the situation and he says his mom doesn't have any daughters, but wait a minute, he does know the girl at the coffee shop.  Go figure . . . OK, now a few minutes later the original "Mom" calls back and tells Jim her name is Raquel.   Now Raquel knows Phyllis and her husband knows Russell and he knows Curt and Bruce that works at the gravel pit.  Really?  Don't ask how Curt knows Bruce.  So Jim calls Bruce and lo and behold Bruce is going to get his brother to deliver a truck load of gravel next Monday!  Eureka! ! !  Jim was trying to explain the situation to me, over the phone, while I was at work, and, I couldn't follow it... But, the gravel is coming, and that's the whole story... giggle..

And, a sad story... we decided to sell Miss Beluga...  She's been sitting down below the cabin for a couple of years, but, we felt it was time.  We sold her to a waitress at a cafe in Hatch... she was looking for an inexpensive place, and this fit the bill.  We made her a smokin' deal a couple of weeks ago, and on Sunday, Jim and Lowell delivered Beluga to her new home in Hatch...

And, here another visitor to the cabin...  She didn't tell the guys her name, but I think it starts with an "SSSSSSSSS".  I sent her picture around, to make sure she wasn't poisonous, and I've been told that she's a good snake - wouldn't harm a fly... well, let me take that back... she eats flies and bugs and stuff.  So, we'll keep this one around.  I don't ever want to see any other ones..  not welcome.

One of the projects over the weekend was:

1.  Introducing Lowell to the backhoe

2.  Placing the block for the retaining wall

3.  Making sure Lowell doesn't have too much fun running the backhoe... giggle

Ok, #3 probably isn't in the list, but it seems that everybody that comes out to the cabin wants to play on the backhoe.  So, Lowell got his chance and I think he liked it... ( I mean, seriously.. who doesn't like playing on the backhoe?)  He learned fast and appears to have a knack for it.

Here's Lowell... so serious...

Now, doesn't that look pretty?  Jim told me that when all is said and done, there are going to be about 200 of these retaining wall blocks holding back our mountain...

Monday morning:  The truck with the gravel showed up, and we are now the proud owners of a load of 1/2 inch gravel.  This will go in the bottom of the hole that has been dug for the septic tank.... it's a leveling thing...  Jim calls this his.. "rock concert"...  sigh...  (engineer humor mixed with dad humor).....

This is the electrical that Jim was trying to figure out... and, haven't figured it out yet.  It's for the three way switch in the loft.  I guess it's ok.. and we haven't found the actual ceiling fan that goes into the loft yet, bur we're working on the wiring for that too.  Jim says he thinks he needs some meter or something or another to figure it out.. and of course, the meter is here at the house in Provo...

The other night when Jim was closing up the cabin for the night, he saw a blue bird in the rafters of the loft.  He figured that because he had all the doors open during the day, the bird must have flown in.  The only problem was, he couldn't get the bird out.  So, he locked up all the doors and went to bed, and in the morning, he opened up all the doors again, and, thank goodness, the bird found his way out.  I asked Jim for a picture, but it was too dark at night, and in the morning, the bird took off before he could snap a picture.  We have had a plethora of birds and bats spend the night with Jim... giggle...

I drove up to Ogden a couple of weekends ago for Bradley's birthday, and Melody gave me these pillows... I love them!  She thought they would look perfect in the cabin and I so agree!  I've taken a picture of the back and the front, so it's actually two pillows, not four!

This blog is actually going over 2 weeks not just 1, so this part is the 2nd week...  so just go with it... COVID quarantine is playing with my head... not my lungs, just my head.

I picked up some brick a couple of weeks ago - I saw them on the Provo marketplace for free and they seemed to have a story...  they are reclaimed brick, from an old, historic home in Provo that was being demolished.  I picked up 40 bricks, but the lady didn't quite know the story, just it was from some old home from years and years ago.  I hope they go with the bricks we have for the patio.... I would have liked the story...just wasn't available.

Remember how we started digging for the septic system...?  Well, there is a story here... Part 1.  The guys used the backhoe and dug and dug and dug trying to find the pipe that goes from the cabin to the septic tank, and it just wasn't there... so, they dug some more - still can't find it.  We called a couple of plumbing companies to get their advice and we've had to set up an appointment with a plumber that has a line with a camera to figure out where the pipe went... We have come to the conclusion that the concrete guy broke off the pipe, and then put up the forms and cemented... so, the broken end of the pipe is buried under the basement floor.  The plumber dude isn't able to come out for another week, so we are kind of in the lurch until he comes out...  And, in digging the hole, it was at such an angle, it was no longer safe to have the backhoe balancing on its own, they had to chain it to the truck for stability...  Kinda redneck, but it worked.

And.. here's the backhoe extremely close to the hole..

Part 2 - Jim found this pipe about 2 years ago.. didn't quite know what it went to, but he sure does now... it's the pipe we're looking for... yep, was snapped off... even though everyone is feigning innocence on this one...

Notice the crease in the pipe from a backhoe bucket. 

Part 3 - And, while they were digging and digging and digging, a hydraulic fluid hose on the backhoe decided to burst, and the boys had to take a drive into town to buy another hose..  $75.00 in Provo; $126.00 in Panguitch...  wow... When Jim sent me the picture, I immediately asked him, if he couldn't make it to the bathroom, or what? He didn't particularly think I was funny... He said his knee was leaking. (Mom humor this time, Jim wasn't funny at all)

Part 4 - Jim decided that he needed some outside advice and decided to call the people who oversee the mountain water system.  He called Erik to see if he had a magnet or something he could run through the pipe that is inside the house, and then use a compass to track where the magnet was going to... that way, they will have an idea where to drill through the concrete to find the end of the line, without having to break up the whole basement floor... Well, Erik said he didn't have a magnet, but, he was a "Water Witch" and he would be there in the morning... excuse me?  I'd heard of Water Witches before - but, didn't know they still existed... When I was a kid and we were building our house in Brampton, my dad had a Water Witch come to our property and find water for our well... I wasn't there, but apparently, he found water and the well was dug.  This guy told Jim that if there is water, there, he'll find it.  Who'd a thunk it?

Part 5 - So, Sunday morning comes, and the Water Witch shows up... he says there is water under the house, but according to his "witching stick" it is another 4 feet down... um... ok? Jim and Lowell have been digging this hole too long and just don't have the strength to dig any longer, and the backhoe can't dig on that hill angle, but this guy said he has a backhoe, and, in this next week, he'll bring his backhoe up (which has four wheel drive) and dig the additional 4 feet.  Jim and Lowell had already poured about 10 gallons of water down the pipes to see if water would seep out somewhere around the concrete footing, and maybe this is what this guy is in touch with.. don't know... But, he's gonna show up in the city's special backhoe next week, and do us a solid.  At any rate, we have kept the appointment with the plumber with the camera on the 13th, so, if the Water Witch doesn't find the line, we are hoping that the plumber will..

Sigh...

On another note, we had another load of retaining wall block dropped off, so the boys were playing with blocks again...  I think they have one more load of block to get before purchasing the middle sections of blocks... I did learn that these blocks are just the top and the bottom sections, and if you want the wall to be taller, you have to purchase the middle section blocks...  Apparently, I spent too much time playing with dolls when I was kid and not blocks.

And, every week, a trailer full of "stuff" is hauled to the cabin.  Jim has started calling the one room downstairs "Cheri's warehouse"...  I'm not sure if I particularly like this, but, it is fitting, I must admit.  We have several storage buildings that have been housing our building supplies, and it's been my goal to get the biggest one closed out this year.. We are about 2 - 2.5 trailer loads left, and it's clear... I am stoked!

A couple of weeks ago, Jim was sitting  on the couch in the great room, and a little "fuzzy body" poked it head out of one of the holes where a light is going to be set, in the hearth...  Jim didn't know where it came from, but, it apparently was living somewhere in the floor joists.  Well, last week, it made an appearance again downstairs, and Lowell got this picture of it... We are not sure if it is a large rat, or a squirrel, or what kind of rodent it is, but, it has vacated the premises at this point...  

It seems too large for a mouse or a rat and has the wrong kind of tail.. the tail is all fuzzy... But, it's too small for a squirrel...  Any ideas?

And, here's our Lowell... with his typical smile and good nature.  I was thinking today, that it was just before my mother's funeral that we met Lowell, and we immediately liked him, and trusted him.  Jim, Bri, Coy and I were going to the airport to catch a plane to Toronto for my mum's funeral services, and Lowell was driving us.  He was going to drop us off at the airport and then drive back to Provo and drop off our van...... it was about halfway to the airport, with Lowell at the wheel, that we realized that we had met Lowell for the first time, 30 minutes before this, and we were giving him the keys to our little kingdom... and, we were really calm about it.  Such an amazing addition to our family, an amazing dad to Coy, and an amazing support and partner to Brianne...  So many thanks to him for all the help and work he's done on the cabin...  been a blessing.

And, we close this blog edition with a beautiful sunset.  It's been a crazy, wild ride and an incredible adventure.  The roller coaster ride is something we won't forget.  

The adventure continues.

Jim and Cheri

Moose and more....

Have you ever had an experience, that when it was all over, you said to yourself, "I will never forget this for the rest of my life"? Well, Jim had one of these experiences, and, I'm sure, he will NEVER forget it...

Wednesday morning, Jim send me a little picture of a cast iron antique doorstop - moose and two little otters.  It was really cute, and considering some of the moose pieces I've seen and the fact that we need doorstops on all the exterior doors, this was above and beyond amazing.  I contacted the seller, paid for the piece with VENMO and was going to pick it up after work in American Fork.  Jim called me about 4:00 pm and said that he was heading up north, and he would pick up the piece.  I gave him the address that the seller gave me, and away he went.

About 20 minutes later, Jim calls and says that he thinks I gave him the wrong address because, it's definitely not the right house.  I double check the address, and he double checks the address and finds that the GPS changes the North designation to South for some odd reason.  Then, he recounts what happened.  He said he pulled up to the house and went to the side of the house, where we were told the piece was going to be, and it wasn't.... we're social distancing here still, so this was supposed to be a non contact pick up..  Unable to get to the piece, he knocks on the door, and a little old man comes to the door, stark naked... and I mean, completely...  Jim is trying to keep his cool, and divert his eyes, asks the man if he's at the right house to pick up the moose doorstop, and the man apparently doesn't have any idea what is going on... Jim is still in complete shock.. the man wants to be friendly and talk, Jim doesn't.. and the man must be lonely or - no shame  - no hurry to get back in the house....  Jim gets back in his truck and calls me... I am laughing hysterically.. and, Jim says to me, "Are you laughing at me"?  I tell him I'm not, but actually am to the point I'm all but crying...  So funny....Thus, an experience he will NEVER forget...

You have to admit, the little otters are super cute... 

I think after this story, the rest of this blog is going to be boring..

We drove to Coalville on Thursday evening to pick up another load of brick for the patio...  I swear, those bricks are getting heavier and heavier all the time.  I had the job of picking up the brick and heaving them over the fence - Jim's job was to pick them up walk to the trailer and put them in...  After 75 bricks, I thought I was going to die, but, I wanted to fill the trailer, so we were going for 50 more.. which ended up to be 65 more...The patio is going to look really pretty, but, oh my... the the ground sure is a long way down...

Here's the pile of bricks... and, the fence said bricks had to be pitched over....

And, here's the bricks as they were pitched on the ground on the other side of the fence....

And, finally, all pretty and lined up in the trailer... They remind me of cobblestone roads in England...  I think I need to take another vacation to England, to really check out the roads... and, then then, maybe, a quick trip back to France.. What 'cha think, Jim...?  Crickets chirping. . . .

Funny thing happen on the way home from Coalville.  The day before Jim thought he heard the front brakes squeaking on his truck so he changed out the brake pads thinking it would solve the problem.  When we set off for Coalville we could still hear the squeaking.  Turns out the noise was coming from the rear.  Once we loaded up the brick, we left Coalville about 9:00 pm for home, and drove into Heber.  When we got to Heber, we decided that because we hadn't had dinner, we would hit the Wendy's drive through and get a burger.. As we were driving into the Wendy's parking lot, Jim hit the brakes and his foot went to the floor...  not good... lost our rear brakes..  We still had front brakes, but we were about to go through the canyon.. for about 25 miles - up hills and down hills.. and, if we made it through the canyon and didn't end up in the lake, we'd have to make it through several stop lights in Provo... Was really a nail biting experience.  Jim was really, really solemn, so I decided to just talk to try and ease the tension... and, I'm blabbing on about some stupid murder series I was watching on TV the night before.. I don't think it helped Jim too much, but, it kept me reasonably calm... plus, it was dark and I couldn't see the edge of the drop off... hmmm...  We drove real slow and made it through the canyon just fine, and actually hit all the green lights going through Provo.... We had Lowell on speed dial - figured if we didn't make it home and call him within an hour, he could call someone to fish us out of the lake... and, if everything absolutely failed and we couldn't drive, he'd come pick us up.. But, we didn't even need to call him...  When we got home, Jim made a comment about me "blathering on"...  I got nothing further to say about that statement... giggle...  Needless to say, the back brakes got fixed today, and we'll be off to the cabin tomorrow morning...  gotta unload the brick...

We got a late start on Saturday - still had a little work bleeding the brakes to complete before we headed out... we had a nice drive, even though I did fall asleep for most of the drive...  Poor Jim - I'm like a little kid - I get in the truck and promptly fall asleep, and Jim has to drive all the way and doesn't even have a chance to hear my melodic voice... uhuh...

We got to Panguitch, and checked into the Quality Inn...  With no running water at the cabin, I'm still not a fan of spending the night there without a bathroom...  Here's our welcoming committee....

I'm not quite sure what this little beast is - but, I know for a fact, it's not a opossum or a chipmunk.  Jim thought it was a prairie dog, but, I am not sure what they look like.

We made it to the cabin before dark, dropped off the trailer and just had a few moments to chill before heading off to dinner at the Big Fish restaurant... just a nice, homey kind of restaurant..  kinda nice and low key.  Got to the hotel and had a solid night's sleep... I don't usually sleep very well away from home, but I must have been tired enough to fall asleep quickly.  I have been suffering with an ear ache and sinus infection for about a month now, so having a little sleep is amazing.

On the way out of the hotel in the morning, we had a "farewell party"... it's so nice to be loved and appreciated by the locals...

These little beasts aren't afraid of anything... Cars and trucks pull up right beside them, and they aren't phased...

It was overcast and a little rainy at the cabin, so we did more work inside than out... and, probably more sitting around and just talking and listening to the rain on the roof... I told Jim that I thought that when Lowell goes to the cabin with Jim for the weekend, they get all kinds of work completed.  When I go, it's more of a relaxing time... And, it was kind of rainy, so, we just sat and relaxed...  this was the view outside.

..and this was the sight inside the cabin.  Those legs are so white!

There were a whole lot of things we wanted to get completed this weekend... some of them got started, others didn't even get attempted (it actually was my jobs that didn't get started)... But, Jim did really well in his list of jobs... one of them was to put the wire mesh over part of the hearth so that the rock can start to be cemented in...  Here's the beginning of the project...

 

Thank goodness for power tools!!

And, another job Jim wanted to get done was put more outlets in the mainfloor bedroom... The whole job didn't get completed, but, he did get two more outlets wired in!

Sooooo pretty!

My jobs were to unload the brick out of the trailer, and clean out the RV so we can get it off the property... Well, the brick didn't get unloaded and we left the trailer on site, BUT, the RV did get cleaned out... with Jim's help....  it's time for Beluga to find a new home.

So, that's about it for this week... small accomplishments, lots of fun, lots of relaxing..and, another amazing adventure..

Love, Jim and Cheri

..the difference between the men and the boys.....

 The old saying goes, "The difference between the men and boys, are the size of their toys..." or, "Everything I learned in kindergarten, I used today..." came into play this weekend, as an 18 wheeler flatbed truck of blocks was delivered, and the two boys played with them for several hours...

These blocks are to be used for the retaining wall - 30 were delivered on Saturday, and we need two more loads... They are coming from Salt Lake - and, all I can say is, I wouldn't want to be the trucker hauling this load... 

Here comes the truck roaring up the hill...

Prepping the storage area for the 4' x 2' x 2' blocks

...Lowell connected up the blocks on the trailer, while Jim lifted them up with the backhoe and placed them onsite...  Even with everybody working together, it took 2.5 hours to unload the 30 blocks.

 

..and here's the pile of blocks these boys were playing with.. Lowell said his thighs were sore Sunday morning...  personally, I would have bagged working the next day, and just come home...  Jim said he sat down on the couch Saturday night and fell asleep pretty early...  Lowell turned off the TV and left him asleep on the couch...

The blocks will need to be put into place.. at a later date.

The boys standing in their play area... or, should I say, MEN?

After working like crazy on Saturday, and totally wearing themselves out, Jim and Lowell worked on putting the rest of the can lights up in the great room... First of all, they had to move the scaffolding from the one side of the room to the other side of the room... and install the cans, connect the wiring, add the light bulbs and then turn the lights on!!..

Lights On

and off...

and, a view from the loft... I love it...  gets more and more exciting every time.

And, do you remember the family of quail that were in the backyard a month or so ago.. well, they're all grown up, and living in the front yard now!!

In my attempt to stock the cabin with all things good and wonderful and tasty... I decided to buy a bread maker, because the thought of fresh baked bread first thing in the morning, with home made jam, puts me over the edge.... This, in my mind would be the ultimate.  I already have a jam maker (and Coy and I have made strawberry and peach jam here at the house in Provo), so I don't have to buy one of those... But, getting little kids to make some homemade butter for said bread and jam, might be a fun activity!

And, again, on this quest, I thought the kids might enjoy some cotton candy - as if kids don't have enough energy, I thought a little sugar might help them along...  giggle.. 

I was talking to Melody two weeks ago, and she stated that she makes her own yogurt at home.. less sugar, fresh fruit, and I thought that getting a yogurt machine would be a great idea... 

And, these are usually used for making pierogies, BUT, I thought making hand held apple or cherry pies, might be wonderful to eat late in the evening... Again, it's a sugar issue... or maybe it's a pie issue.. I really don't know.. just thought it would be fun..

And, like every family in the world, we lost the cabin's channel changer for the TV...  Jim called me and asked me where it might be.. I didn't know... the kids had it...  giggle.. So, I called Melody - she didn't know... So, we figured it would show up sooner or later... Jim and Lowell checked under the cushions, and under this and that... couldn't find it... Later in the day, after they had given up hope, it was found, on the tool table buried under tools... giggle... Just proves we are a normal family...

Brianne said something this past week that totally warmed my heart... She was writing on Facebook about what to do on the weekend and stated that she wanted to go to the family cabin, but changed her mind... What's this family cabin?  Made me smile... this is exactly what we wanted - a place for family.  She's caught the spirit...

I was asked today when the cabin is going to be done... don't know for sure... hoping to have the four way done by the end of this season, and we'll figure the rest out next year!

The adventure continues...

Love, Jim and  Cheri