Catching up

Well, I must say that trying to fill in a blog posting after a nearly four month hiatus is a bit of a daunting task! Rob had hoped to do an interim post with more specific details on the installation of our off-grid power system but there were a few changes necessary so it will have to wait. In the meantime I kept an ever growing pile of photos on the side; hoping to eventually sort through them and come up with a post of my own.  "The best laid plans..." as they say.

So now I find myself, on a rather dark, cool and dreary late May day, hoping to at least write some kind of update. I'm going through our photos and notes, and trying to make some sense out of what we've done in the last few months.  I almost don't want to look at any of the pictures of ice and snow though. It was a rather long winter, and a cold dark spring. The leaves are only just now coming out in the trees, and we are all anxious for some warmer and brighter summer-like weather.

With apologies to Rob; for my lack of details on the installation of the batteries, and powering up of the electrical system, and apologies to anyone reading this, as there may be a bit of a jump-around here and there on the time line. Here I go ...

Rob completed the box that holds the batteries, and one cold March day we moved the batteries out of the dining room in the cabin, and over to the new workshop.  Jet barked a big "Yippee", as his bed had been moved to make room for the batteries and it could now go back to it's original place in the dining room. And I was pretty glad to see those batteries leave this little cabin as well!

Soon, the batteries were all installed into the new box that we had built.

Then we checked them all to make sure they were o.k and establish a base level for voltage and specific gravity (which is used to measure the state of charge).

Somehow, I think I thought there would be more fanfare, but we were both pretty chuffed when we "flipped the switch" and voila - we had real power ! Up until now we'd been running off of a single portable solar panel and when necessary, a generator.

Now we could begin to monitor what really happens on snowy days, or cloudy days, in terms of power being generated from those awesome panels!

We had some beautiful, and unusually mild days in March. And we also had some pretty solid snowstorms.

I would say that I probably spent more time outside this winter than ever before though. It was lovely, and as always a lot of my time was spent down at the river's edge.

Rob continued to work on the workshop, putting in the rest of the second floor:

and hoped for some warmer weather to arrive, so he could do the work necessary to get the house wrap off of the workshop windows, and allow some natural light in.  On the other hand, it was pretty cool to be able to turn on a light! It will be a while before Rob gets this space set up the way he wants, but it sure is fabulous to see his hand made workbench there after all this time.

The weather really didn't cooperate in terms of warming up, so he switched back to working on the new house.  The scaffolding was erected once again, and he donned a clean room suit, and face mask for protection from the insulation fibers, and started tucking insulation into the ceilings. I think after all the stress of installing the batteries and configuring the system, it was nice to do some "mindless" work.  Mind you, we did still have to figure out how best to use the bats of insulation, cut each piece to fit, and move that scaffolding all around, climbing up and down pretty often - which had it's own issues!

It was slow work, but rewarding to see some progress! After the insulation went in, Rob added some Tyvek on top, to help prevent any insulation particles filtering through the ceiling planks, especially if the planks shrink over time, allowing the fibres to escape out. In a regular house, the vapour barrier would prevent this, but this style of building doesn't use one, and the Tyvek is moisture permeable which is important.

Not only was it great to see progress, but those huge piles of bags of insulation started to go down!

In the meantime, I joined a fabulous Photo Challenge (thank you Charles and Photo Coach!) that offered weekly constructive critiques of photos, and I found myself traipsing around the countryside looking for inspiration. As much as I love driving around this area, I was somewhat disheartened that as late as March 26 we still had snow on the ground, and no sign of it going any time soon. (And it snowed in April and again in May!) I loved coming across the Mennonites in their buggies one Sunday morning. I don't usually like to photograph them, but as it was from quite a distance, and not at all intrusive, I thought it would be o.k.

I never did use that photo for the challenge, but I did eventually find the tree that I wanted for the challenge that week!

Back at the house, Rob was working on the final electrical wiring while also finishing the insulation.  As always, one job precludes another, so he's constantly "changing hats". He needed to run the rest of the wiring in the ceiling before he put in the insulation. The time had also come to finalize all of our wiring and lighting plans. We've found some interesting LED lighting strips that will add some programmable colours, as well as some interesting back lighting to some areas. We spent quite a bit of time going over to the house at night to make sure that the lighting we've chosen would be adequate, as sometimes it's hard to tell during daylight hours. We've also accumulated some nice lighting fixtures over the years, so should be able to put them all to good use now. With our final electrical inspection looming, we also had to properly finish all the switches, plugs etc. but we won't install our final lighting fixtures until the drywall has been sanded and painted, and we'll be producing less dust and dirt!

While the scaffolding was up, he also took a great leap of faith, and installed the final two upper windows. After all the unresolved issues we had with our (now defunct) window supplier, we weren't even sure that the ones they had left us with, would fit as promised, but miraculously - they did ! Whew.... Nice to see some part of the window fiasco go right (however, they were not the specified glass - you can't win them all)! And they do look beautiful, and bring in even more light.

April 7 we were dismayed to wake up to (a lot) more snow....and wondered if the returning geese would simply turn around and head back south! Despite our attempts to drive out that day, we couldn't make it up the hill and I never did make it to work.

On the plus side, it made for some intricate patterns in the wetland when the melting waters froze up again!

A week later though, it really did begin to feel like spring. There is a saying here that it isn't spring until the phoebes sing, and sure enough one day we heard the return of the phoebes.

Although there was still a bit of snow lingering in piles behind the house, and in the woods, the temperatures began to warm up, and we could shed our winter coats and boots, and believe that winter was finally over.

We ventured out for a hike in the beautiful Shaw Woods one weekend, skirting the snow and ice that was still here and there on the pathways, and noticed the water levels of the Snake River seemed pretty high. This walkway abruptly ended as the boardwalk was under water.

Our own wetland area was beginning to look like a small lake.

Both the cabin and the new house were high and dry though, so we didn't worry...

Rob kept plugging away at the insulation:

And I kept an eye on the river, as it rose higher and wider than either of us had ever seen.

As soon as the insulation was installed, Rob set to work on staining the pine for our wood ceilings. We had chosen a sort of white wash effect for the pine that we thought would lighten the ceilings, and make the timbers stand out more.  I thought it would take forever to do, but Rob set himself up outside with home made drying racks, and made pretty quick work of it all. (You can see the racks in this earlier photo that I took, below) It made for an easy way to stack the wood while it dried, and then Rob could move them back into the house.

We knew we had only a small window of time to work outside before the bugs arrived.  It's no fun trying to stain wood when bugs keep landing on the planks! Luckily we got them all done in time.

I escaped from the rising waters (and promises of helping to stain all that pine!) and made a quick trip to BC for my Mom's 90th birthday, and to visit family. I was surprised to discover that I took very few photos, but I was intent on soaking up as much family time as possible! It was wonderful to see everyone, and spend some time in the big city as well as the lovely Sunshine Coast.

While I was away, Rob told me that the river had pushed further into our wetland and over to the neighbouring wetland, breaching our road somewhat.  A minor issue - and nothing like the devastation elsewhere in the province where record high water levels caused a lot of destruction. By the time I came home, the waters were receding although the river still remains high. And I apparently missed another day of snow!

While I was away, the installation of the pine ceiling began too. What an amazing feeling it is to look up and see a finished ceiling! There is still lots more to go up but already we can get an idea how the house will look.

I thought this would be the first spring that we wouldn't be worrying about the weather, as we had no major outside tasks planned for early this year. I had clearly forgotten about our tandem load of firewood that should have been sawed and split last fall.  (Unfortunately it snowed in November when we planned on doing it, and the snow never left!)  Just as both the black flies and mosquitoes emerged, Rob set out with his chain saw to prepare the wood for splitting.  The logs arrive in 16 foot lengths and these need to be cut into 16" pieces. It's heavy, dirty work, and the black flies were pretty hungry. Fortunately, a couple of rainy days gave Rob's early bites a chance to heal before he was the main course again and he moved back into working on the new house until the rain cleared and he could get back at the firewood.  Once it is sawed into smaller logs, I can go up and help with the splitting and stacking - but some of the oak pieces are pretty serious in size and we will need to split them using a wedge before we can lift them onto the hydraulic splitter.. We need to give the wood as much time as possible to dry before using it this winter. If it isn't dry enough by fall, we will have to buy some firewood as we did in previous years. (Which will mean even more splitting work for me!)

We've never split wood in the spring before and now we know why. The bugs make it really hard to work outside right now, and they are worse on cloudy, still days.  The wood seems to be an major attractant as well!

So, I think that pretty much covers the last few months.  We think we are on track for moving in by Christmas, but there is a lot of work to do before then.  We shall see how things go this summer as we continue to work on the interior of the new house, interspersed with wood splitting and all the day to day chores and goings on!  I know when the time comes, I shall miss this little cabin.  But I am just the tiniest bit hungry for a bit more kitchen space!

I'll finish with a last photo - just for fun. Looks like Big Rob and Little Al....

Missing Leon

Any of you who spent time in our home in the last twenty years, were more than familiar with our wonderful tabby cat Leon. He was the first one to greet you at the door, and the last thing you'd remember when you left. He was well known for quietly chewing off every one's shoelaces, whenever they left their shoes in the hall. He would leap up onto your back as you were bending over trying to figure out what was wrong with your shoes, then drape himself over your shoulder, peering down at those shoes along with you, and start purring....  I think he was a bit of a practical joker.  Sadly, after a difficult few weeks of watching his health rapidly decline, we had to say goodbye to him last month.  We are trying to celebrate his wonderful long life, (20 cat years are the equivalent of 96 human years!) but he has left a huge hole in our hearts, and we are reminded daily of the many things we miss about that sweet tabby cat.  In honour of Leon, I thought I'd post a couple of our favourite photos of him. The first one is a classic Leon pose.

Another classic pose; this time with our former dog Zuni.  They were best buddies. Leon welcomed Zuni the first day he walked into our house with huge meows and rubbed all over him. We'd been told to keep them separate and introduce them gradually, but Leon had other ideas.  Leon lived long enough to train 3 dogs, and he did a fine job of it.

Leon curled up with our other three cats, (Axle, Sita and GB) who snuggled with him every day, but even more so when he was sick. GB is trying his best to fill the purr-void with some purrs of his own now, but it is still strangely quiet in the house. We all miss our boy.

And so we find our moods somewhat suited to this long grey cold spring. We are still spending most evenings close to the wood stove, and haven't yet dared to tuck away winter boots, coats or mitts.  On my days off I check the progress of the snow and ice melt around the timbers, and try to imagine that soon Rob will be carving them for the workshop. The glorious days of spring have not yet arrived, and for now, we are content to wait. Both Rob and I had some kind of long lasting upper respiratory bug that hung around for several weeks, and only now are we feeling like our energy levels are coming back up to normal.

Despite the cold spring though, the birds are returning to the area, and each morning we hear another bird song added to the symphony.  And Rob spotted our first woodland spring flower, so it won't be long before more pop up.

The snowshoe hares have been taking advantage of the cedar that covers the ground this time of year, and have been munching away in the clearing near the cabin.  Their white coats are slowly being replaced by their brown summer coat, but they are still pretty patchy.

The river is high and fast, and we can hear the roar of the falls both upstream and downstream.  I love to visit it's banks in several different locations, to listen to the sound, check the levels, and scan for wildlife.

This is the one time of year too, that the river flows into the lower areas, (what we like to call the bayou!) and provides a good habitat for muskrat, beaver, ducks, frogs, turtles and the occasional blue heron. Jet likes to check out one of the areas where the river flows in. The beaver is kind enough to often leave him a nice stick to pick up!

Hard to believe but in a couple of months, the river will drop, the vegetation that is now under water will spring up, and it will look more like the photo below that I took a couple of summers ago, from the very same spot.

And the new house?  Well, it has gone through quite a lot of changes since the last posting.  As the snow began to recede, and the daylight hours got longer, Rob's work days got longer too.

He completed the rest of the plumbing, and it passed inspection. Even though we probably won't use the radiant heat system that we laid out in the concrete before it was poured, he still had to deal with the runs of tubing.  The pex tubing for heating is that group of  lines on the left, and the plumbing lines are on the right in the photo below.

He rough framed in the bathtub, and yes, I had to stand in the frame and try to imagine my first bath in our bathroom!

And then he started packing insulation in the walls.  I don't think I got one single photo of him, wearing a white clean room suit, goggles, toque and dust mask for protection from the fibres. Although not as itchy as the old style insulation, it still isn't entirely pleasant to deal with, especially when it's overhead!  The ceilings will also be packed but with a slightly thicker insulation for more R-value.

As soon as the insulation went in, the timbers seemed to emerge into view again.  As well, the rooms suddenly began to take shape! Below is the guest room on the left, guest bathroom on the right.

Our bedroom.

Even more exciting though, was when the drywall went up.  Rob had "fun" trying to fit some of the drywall up under the beams, and may have uttered more than a few choice words at times.  It was also a bit of a challenge to try to make the best use of each sheet, to eliminate unnecessary wastage.  We are using the new lighter drywall which is mercifully slightly easier to handle, but has it's own challenges.

The living room and upstairs ceilings will be packed with insulation and then have whitewashed pine boards attached. In the photo below you can see where Rob has tried putting some Tyvek wrap over the insulation in the ceiling. He is thinking this might work to prevent any insulation particles filtering through the ceiling planks, especially if the planks shrink over time, allowing the fibres to escape out. In a regular house, the vapour barrier would prevent this, but this style of building doesn't use one, and the Tyvek is moisture permeable which is important. The dining room and kitchen ceiling will be drywalled, so shouldn't be an issue.

Rob checks the fit in the guest bathroom.

Installing drywall in our bedroom was a challenge. Rob rigged up some clamps to help ease the drywall up into the tight spaces between the timbers and the wall studs.

With scaffolding, and the help of our friend Bob (thanks Bob!) we were able to get the high peak sections of the room done, and Rob finished the lower sections himself.

And that's pretty well where we are at.  The huge stack of drywall has disappeared, (poof!) and we need to get more so that we can complete our bathroom, and the kitchen and dining room ceilings. Rob cleaned up a bit, and we can now get a real feeling of the spaciousness of the living room, dining room and kitchen area. And talk about wall colours.  And artwork !! And pretty much just grin a lot....

The timbers for the workshop are almost free of ice and snow, and as soon as it is warm enough, Rob will switch over to working outside and getting the timbers carved and ready for the workshop. On rainy days he can continue to work indoors on other projects.

And so, as the last of snow disappears, and the warmer weather (hopefully) arrives, we view our woodpile and are pleased that we didn't run out of wood this year. We did pretty well, considering we kept the cabin toasty all winter, but also kept the inside of the new house warm enough for Rob to work in.  It's wonderful too, to be able to dry our clothes out on the line again, although it still takes them most of the day to truly dry!

And despite the chill that lingers in the air, Rob and I were able to sit out at the end of one sunny day, sheltered somewhat from the wind, and enjoy a cool beer together.

The best part is that with the snow still in the shadows of the trees, we had our own handy refrigerator too !