Rhythm of the New Year

Well, we may have had a green Christmas, but we sure didn't have a green New Year!  Two days before New Year's Eve, we got hit by a good sized snow storm. We woke up to a surprising amount of the white stuff, and high and steady winds. When we waded out into the snow for Jet's walk I knew I wouldn't be going to work that day. Fortunately I had left a note on the store door the night before, just in case, that the store would be closed if the road conditions were "poor".  Well, they were indeed poor, and the high wind and blowing snow didn't help.  Late in the day, when the storm began to taper off, Rob went out and plowed as much as he could, while I shoveled around the cabin, and spent some time digging out the truck.

Around us, the woods had turned into an absolute winter wonderland, and as soon as our laneways and pathways were plowed, I took some time to go for a good long walk.

With the snow on the ground and in the trees, everything seemed brighter again. It seemed awfully dark for the last few weeks leading up to and after Christmas.

On New Year's Eve, after a rather special feast in the cabin,  we walked over to the new house, with an eclectic collection of smudge, incense, candles, matches and glasses of wine. After smudging the interior of the house, and sending good wishes all around us, we lit some incense, and sat by the warm wood stove. While looking up at the lovely high ceilings we tried to imagine that we will one day be living in this beautiful space. We looked out at the little Christmas tree Rob had rigged up outside by using a small solar panel, and wondered if our neighbours down the river could see it's glowing lights.

I'm guessing that they probably can't see us at all as there is a nice buffer of trees between the new house and the river.  The new house is situated behind the line of trees on the left side of the river in the photo below.

New Year's day we went for some good long walks, and Rob had to plow again as it snowed lightly all day. It was however, lovely and mild, and warm enough that we BBQ'd some steaks for our New Year's Day meal!

With the holiday season truly over, Rob got back over to the new house, and continued to work on the inside. Not that he had ever really taken much time off over the holidays! He was busy reworking the stairway plans, and making changes to the final framing design of the walls.  Unfortunately, he had done some rough framing in the springtime, and some of the studs had warped and shifted, so he had to re-do a lot of his work.  But, I could begin to get a feel for the walls, and hallways, and some of the nooks and crannies that we'll create as the interior space comes together. Below is the hallway to the river-side door and the kitchen walls.

This is the doorway from our bedroom into our bathroom.  Hmmmm.... this has since changed - AGAIN!

Lots of framing - taken from inside our bedroom.

Rob and I had talked about pocket doors sometime last winter, and after doing some of the framing, revisited this option.  The bathroom off of our bedroom had no door to it, and I thought that was fine, until we decided to move the placement of the bathtub.  Now we realized that if someone walked by our bedroom window, they would see us in the bathtub. Not that a whole lot of people, or anyone for that matter  - would be walking by our window!  And we could think of window coverings I suppose. .....  Instead, we opted for a pocket door that we could slide closed if necessary, and keep open most of the time without taking up any space.  On the plus side, this will also perhaps keep out a certain German Shepherd when necessary...?

So here is the current doorway from our bedroom into our bathroom, with the pocket door framing now installed !

Rob decided he would install a second pocket door to the guest room/guest bathroom area. This one was up for some debate, and I lost.  But I have to agree now that it is probably a good idea, and allows a guest to have a more private space, as well as giving us an option to close off these two areas if needed. 

As I had a few days off of work over the New Year period, we took a day and drove down to visit our dear friend Joe, who was in the area for a couple of weeks.  I had not set foot in his sweet dome for some 27 plus years, so it was a little like stepping back into the past. Funny how memory changes things. I truly could not remember the interior having the same set up, but Joe assured me that nothing had changed. It was lovely to sit and chat, and gaze up at the familiar triangles and enjoy the spaciousness. And we all reminisced a little about some of the fabulous Halloween parties that took place there, and fondly remembered munching on fresh veggies from the enormous garden that was once out back.  It felt a little strange to leave the dome, and head out in an entirely different direction than we used to, to go home.

The first half of January continued with see-saw type weather, with temperatures one night dipping to minus 29 degrees C, and then just a few days later, 24 hours of heavy rain, and temperatures well above zero. Somewhere around the middle of January though, we settled in to more "normal" weather, and with that, began to settle ourselves into more of our normal winter routines.

One of my favourite routines is walking along the river, and looking at the changes to the river and the shoreline.  This year, due to the milder weather,  the river is still open, with only thin layers of ice at the edges.  Every day it's different though. I can't get used to being able to hear the river this winter. Last year, it was so cold that I was lucky to hear a faint gurgle as it ran beneath the ice and snow. This year I can hear it as it tumbles over the rocks, and hear the sometimes startling sound of ice coming down the river as it swishes and smooshes into the icy edge. I love being outside in the winter, and sometimes, on a snowy day, it's so quiet that I can hear every snowflake landing on my coat.

On a sunny day, amazing patterns show up in the river. If I hunker down in a sheltered spot, out of the wind, I can sit and soak up some sunny rays (and get a little vitamin D too!)

There are always lots of animal tracks along the edge. Wild turkey, red squirrel, snowshoe hares, deer, and coyote. We now know for sure it's coyote, as one appeared in between the new house and the river one day!  Didn't get a clear photo, but here it is:

And one day Rob looked out to see five deer in the same spot.

I knew this would be an interesting time in the new house, but I don't think I was quite prepared for how much would change and how quickly.  While it seems that we spend a lot of time at lumber yards and hardware stores, picking up and returning supplies - Rob is actually getting things done. When he framed in the two closets in the bedroom, we both began eyeing our small collection of clothes that are strewn everywhere around the cabin, and dreaming of closets to put them in !  And dreaming of having all our clothes in one place. We currently try to keep a minimum amount of clothing here, and swap out what we have with each change in season, for some of the ones in storage. We can't imagine having everything hanging in one or two closets!

Closet number 1 and 2 in our new bedroom :

This week when I walked into the new house, picking my way carefully over stacks of wood and building materials, I didn't even notice that Rob had installed the stairs. When I turned around to talk to him, I couldn't believe I hadn't seen the new stairs, and had actually walked right past them!

The treads are not permanent, but will do for now, and are certainly a huge improvement over a ladder.  (Anyone remember the days when we had no stairs at all in the dome, and had to access the second floor via scaffolding? That was fun. Even more fun to climb back down to access the downstairs bathroom in the middle of the night.)  So I'm pretty happy to see stairs going in at this time!  They will obviously also get a hand rail attached.

Not only did I not notice the stairs, but I was so excited to be able to comfortably go up to the second floor, that I totally didn't notice that Rob had installed the drywall next to them.

I loved being able to go upstairs, and it was amazing to me to be able to wander around, and simply walk back down. I'm still not good with heights, but this was pretty much fine for me.  I'm pretty sure I could just curl up here with a good book, and hang out for the day.

This week progress was made with the electrical wiring.  As always, each new phase brings new challenges, but on the whole it's going pretty smoothly. Rob keeps a good eye on the electrical code book, and plans accordingly. Being off grid, he has also made sure to make it easy not only to turn lights on where needed, but to be able to turn them off again when they aren't.  This means that we will be able to, for example, turn a light on for a hallway to light our way, walk down the hallway, and have another switch at the end to then turn that light off.  We know that conserving power will be key, especially this time of year!

I didn't think I'd be so happy to see a pile of electrical stuff arriving, and even happier to see wires and boxes beginning to emerge on the wall studs. Of course, there is nothing to plug into yet, as the workshop needs to be built, and then the solar panels mounted before we'll see real power here.  Still, we can dream...

This winter our rhythm is a bit different. Last year Rob spent the winter in the cabin, designing and planning the new house, and trying to figure out the best way to get things done when spring arrived. He couldn't actually do any work inside the new house, as only the shell was built.  As well, with the long bout of extreme cold weather, he spent a lot of his time feeding the wood stove here! This year not only can he can work inside the new house, but the weather has been kinder, and the cabin stays warm even if he isn't tending the stove all day. (It helps too that we stopped up some of the gaps in the cabin; in and around the doors, and stove vent, keeping us a big snugger inside!) Not only can he work inside, he can go back after getting Jet out for his last walk of the day, and continue working into the early evening.  Having a small solar panel to generate some temporary power and light has made a huge difference.

For me, the milder weather means that I'm not spending as much time filling the wood stove on my days off either. And although I like to walk no matter the weather, it sure is more pleasant to linger outdoors when it's not minus 40!  While I've been spending a bit more time indoors, keeping our supply of home made granola, bread, and soups topped up, I have also been outdoors more this winter, than ever.

Even in the early evening, as the sun slowly disappears below the tree line, I find myself at the river's edge, or outside filling the wood box, taking in a few more gulps of that sweet forest air, and one last look at the moon or stars before heading in to the warmth of the cabin. Most nights, when Rob walks home along the lane way at the end of a long day's work, he too pauses and appreciates the beauty around him, before stepping inside for the night.

Weather, weather, framing, weather....

With the timbers all in place, Rob's next job was to make sure everything was fixed in securely, and prepare to do the framing. He took a little bit of time first though, to clean up the site, and then stepped back to admire his work. I don't think he could really believe that he'd actually pulled this one off...! But also, it would be the last time we would see the frame like this, as it was about to get covered in.

He didn't stop for long, as both of us were keenly aware that the seasons were changing, and colder weather was due to arrive. The push was on to try to close the house in.

Rob was eager to begin the framing around the timbers, but as always, there were still lots of details that had to be taken care of first.  There were some adjustments that had to be made, and then he set to driving in pegs, and tightening up the frame.

As always this year (and last year too!) the weather is a troubling factor. According to CBC, 5 of the last 6 months have been wetter than normal, and every month since November 2013 has been below average in temperature except for May and June. The good news is that September was "normal" for average rainfall and temperatures. Still, we had our share of rainy days in September, but at the end of the month some sweet warm weather arrived! It didn't last long, but we enjoyed it while it was here.

Rob began by framing in some of of the lower levels and windows. There is just something magical about staring out of a window frame, and imagining yourself doing it in the future when there is a window there - and like little kids we would run around saying "now I'm looking out the kitchen window, now the bedroom window...."

I don't know which windows I get the most excited about, but the dining room window here really is going to be lovely. (It will be in 3 sections of fixed glass). No matter the season, the view will be pretty...Of course I will love all the windows!

Our friend Bob came out on several occasions to help with the framing, especially the areas that were higher up. Rob spends a lot of time moving scaffolding, and climbing up and down it to retrieve tools, lumber, etc., so it was great to have a second pair of hands. (And legs!) Thank you so much, Bob!  He will be back to help when the plywood sheets go up over the frame.

I now work at least four days a week, and by the time I get home it is usually dusk, so I miss out on a lot of photo opportunities. On my days off, I try to stop by the work site more often with snacks and drinks for Rob, and camera in hand to take a few photos. So while Rob sometimes feels that he has made little if any progress, by the time I see the house it seems to me like it's gone through a lot of changes! Entire walls go up in just a few hours! (Well, on a good day) What could be nicer on a sunny day than some fresh homemade banana bread, and a good cup of Salt Spring Island Coffee, served in my most beautiful mug - a gift from my super sis...featuring one of her gorgeous paintings. Well of course it would be better if she and my brother were there to enjoy it with us...

As always, I love looking at the beauty of the surrounding area, and the more I am away from here, the longer I linger outside on my days off. I think I will never tire of the river, the fields, the forest, the views, the sounds, the scents, the wildlife.

I must say though, that I drive to work along stunning country roads, with amazing vistas of rolling hills, trees in full fall colours, old log barns, pretty sheep, cows and horses, and most days a glimpse of some of the local wildlife - deer, wild turkeys, hawks, ravens, crows, turkey vultures - and one day - an absolutely stunning view of a bald eagle.

The house site has it's own share of visitors. This week Rob saw 5 Sandhill cranes fly over, hovering right above him on the air currents, with their haunting echoing call. The wildflowers between the house and the river are now feeding flocks of chickadees and migrating juncos.  Further up along the road I discovered a small number of white crowned sparrows passing through.

We are both eager to sit in this lovely new house and gaze out the windows (not yet installed of course!) to see what other visitors pass by here.

Like the osprey... who hangs out in the trees along the river, and then dives down into the water in hope of snagging a fish.

Not unexpectedly, frost arrived in September and again in October. Rob has to wait on frosty mornings for the frost to melt, it is amazingly slippery on all the wood surfaces, and not safe to be clambering around the structure on those mornings.

Although most of the plants have faded with the frost, the hardy Black Eyed Susans continue to bloom in some areas!

We also have a "sweet spot" in front of the house that for some reason has Evening Primrose and Mullein blooming profusely even now.  We'll make note of that as a possible site for some herbs in the years to come!


And we have a new small clearing after one of the remaining dead spruce tree snapped in a recent wind storm. Funny, we thought something looked different, but it took a good look around before we realized it was a freshly damaged tree.

Slowly, despite the rain, the frost, the fog - and yes - the flurries - the frame is going in.  It is now almost ready for Rob to attach the plywood sheets. We were hoping for some clear dry weather during this time, but the earlier forecast for a week of glorious weather has changed to frequent rain showers. We shall just have to wait to see what happens.

Rob has moved into warmer clothing and continues to work as much as possible. 

It's hard to imagine that just a couple of weeks ago he was wearing shorts! (And not happy about the amount of rain water of course!)

When a warm front blew in again last week we were optimistic, but the colours in the trees inform us that it is fall after all, and we will just have to hope we can get this house closed in before the snow flies.