One last time

If we had a mantra for October and most of November - it would be the words "this is probably the last time". We were thinking that the fabulous weather couldn't last and that each warm evening would be the last; until next summer at least.  And so we would take the time to sit and enjoy a glass of wine on the porch on "the last beautiful warm evening" or gather our chairs at the end of the day and go sit down by the river to enjoy the sunset "one last time"; each time thinking that this was it. But it worked out that these words were just repeated over and over - we had a fabulous fall! Of course while thinking that things would end, we also held our breath and hoped that the warm sunshine and dry days would continue just a bit longer so that we could finish the main part of the workshop construction - and holding out breath seemed to work just fine.....

We were in "foam" mode again and were adding layers and layers of  foam to the workshop roof. This is one job where we actually looked forward to it being the "last time" (in fact I think we may have been muttering "one last $#*#*%  time"). It is a fairly tedious and tiring job. Along these same lines, we are both hoping that building this roof would be "the last time"! (However, there is the wood shed and then maybe a tractor shelter....). At any rate, we were both grateful for the weather that allowed us to get it all done.

As much as the summer stretched out, there were still signs everywhere that fall had in fact arrived. The leaves were turning colour and some of the trees, somewhat stressed by the dry conditions, began dropping their leaves.

The red squirrels were busy, gathering up food, and lining their nests with things to keep them warm for the winter.  One of them discovered a stash of felt packing material in our outside shed and we watched as it dragged pieces of it through the woods and up a tree. This was no small feat - especially when it got caught in the branches! The rather blurry photo below of the little guy/gal in action was taken through the screen of an upstairs window in the cabin.

Apparently, the felt was not the only nest making material that was used. One day I noticed that one of my inspirational message "flags" was missing from where I had hung a string of four between two trees. It looked almost as if someone had sawed it off with a knife - the remnants of it still hanging on the cord. The missing flag read:  "LOVE An inspired form of giving, love breathes life into the heart and brings grace to the soul". Who would steal my "love" flag?

But then, in another location, I noticed an entire of string of Tibetan prayer flags had also disappeared.  One day they were there:

And the next day - nothing there but the knots that had been tied at both ends of the cord.

Then we noticed that the original set of flags were being moved along the cord that held them in place, and each had a new series of chewed holes in them.  Yes, the (now blissful) red squirrels were the guilty thieves!

One has to wonder "why now?" The flags have been up for years and  none have disappeared but each day the remaining flags are a bit more tattered and one of these days I'm sure that all of these will also be gone. Oh well - it is a festive and inspirational nest that they are building and I hope that they enjoy them as much as I have.

Getting back to the house...Once the foam installation and strapping were finished on the south roof of the workshop, we took a few minutes for a quick "Hurrah"  - and then moved to the north side. Rob was beginning to take stock of how long it was taking, and thinking that despite the current good weather, it was possible that we were going to run out of time this year. It was already October 5th, and he still needed to do the north side foam and strapping, add eave extensions and gable ends, get plywood up on both sides, then the metal roofing, and then the solar panels! Oh, and there were also some changes being made to the indented area at the back, as well as moving the doorway to the longer wall (we don't like to discuss the reason for moving the door - something about the voltage drop and maximum length of battery cables and one connection being on one side of the door and the other connection being on the other side of the door - which means the cable has to go over top of the door - apparently it's one of those planning things. And who would have thought that you need 18 feet of cable for a 3 foot wide door!

But moving on... as you can see from the blue, blue skies, the good weather continued, and thus so did the work!

October 12 and the north side was almost done!

The next area to be done was the "corner overhang" .  Originally Rob had planned on adding this at a later date, but realized that it was easier to do it now and integrate it into the rest of the roof  rather than having a separate lower section of roof.  The roof was framed with a temporary support for now but will have a simple timber structure inserted at a later date.

Despite the long work days, Rob was often still game for a walk together at the end of the day.  One warm evening, a thick fog rolled in and we went for a long walk as the sun slowly went down.  The light was lovely; the warmth in the air quite unbelievable for mid-October.  When we spotted the cows in the fog, I took a few photos and the images looked like paintings - I was more than pleased with the results!

In previous years, we would get more than our share of rainy days and this would enable Rob to stop construction, and allow time to research the next project, pick up building materials, or in some cases get orders placed for items that weren't available locally.  (It would also give him a chance to recuperate a bit from all the physical demands of building!) This fall though, rainy days were few and far between so he would try to work on the job site during the day and do his research and ordering in the evenings.  We were still hopeful that we might get the solar panels on, so there were lots (and lots) of details to work out and parts to order.

Rob moved to working on the east and west sides of the shop, building the rake overhangs (and moving the scaffolding way too many times).

Next we got the plywood up on the south side!

Coincidentally, it was this same time last year when we were finishing the metal roofing on the new house. At that time Rob had said he couldn't have worked any longer because of the cold and the dangerous conditions so we had serious doubts about actually finishing the roof on the workshop, but we were going to try.  We were beginning to get real frost at night, making it impossible to work until the frost melted and the roof was dry and of course the days were getting shorter and shorter, with daylight savings about to kick in as well.

I had finished splitting the firewood by early October (yippee!)

I was now doing my best to get ready for winter - start stacking all that wood (not my favourite job), cleaning up outside and pulling our winter coats and boots out of storage and finding space for them in the cabin.  And then on October 27 the snow arrived.

This wasn't the usual few warning flakes that we would normally get, it was a good solid snowfall, and it lingered for a couple of days.  We were a bit disheartened, but the weather forecast promised more sunny weather, so we hoped the snow would all melt and we could continue working. It was strange to see the trees still bearing their autumn leaves, with snow all around.

By Halloween the snow had melted, and our friend Bob arrived to help with the plywood on the north side.

The roof liner went on, the "warm" temperatures came back, and Rob and Bob got to work on the metal roof.  We had pretty much decided to just get the metal on the south roof and then (if possible) get the solar panels up . The north side would probably have to wait until spring. It was a fine plan that was much easier to say than do!

Some days this job went faster than others but it was a complex procedure.  The flashing had to be cut and fitted together and then each piece of roofing had to be cut and folded and crimped at the end so that it would lock on to the flashing. We also decided to install the brackets for the rails that would hold the solar panels since it was easier to do this as we went along.  I would have to say that things were rather intense at this point.... and for the next couple of weeks!

But they did it.

So, south roof finished - time to start installing the rails. By now the work days were beginning at around 11 a.m. because there was too much ice on the roof before then which made it totally unsafe.  By mid-afternoon though, it would be warm and sunny and the crew would be back to wearing light hoodies or T-shirts!

I was pretty excited when I thought that the first solar panel was up - but it turned out to just be a test run to make sure things were going to work out.  This was our first time doing solar panel installation, so there was a lot to learn, and a lot to think about.

We continued installing the rails, and were all excited to think that we might actually get the solar panels on this year after all!

After checking that each panel was working properly, and documenting the serial numbers and performance data for each one, we began installing them.  This time we didn't stop long to admire the first one - we just kept going!

With not much space between the panel and the roof, it was difficult to reach in and make the connections.

Each panel is held in place with an edge clip that has a built in grounding connection (it is actually difficult to reliably connect a ground wire to aluminium).

Even with knee pads on - this job is hard on the old knees. (did I just say "old knees" - whoops !)

While installing the second column of panels, work ground to a halt.  The wire connections were hanging below the panels and some were touching the roof. Rob had originally thought that they could be lifted a bit more, but as it was there was a danger that over the years the insulation on the wires might get damaged. After an evening researching the problem Rob came up with a plan to attach conduit supports to the rails and then use stainless steel wire wraps to hold the wires.  We had to do a lot of calling and driving around to gather up the supplies from various building companies and electrical supply companies, but we managed to get what we needed and a couple of days later, we were back at it. Everything worked fine.

We really have to thank our friend Bob for all his hard work and perseverance.  I'm sure it took a while for him and Rob to get used to working together, but they did a fine job and we were an excellent team!  When the bit kept falling out of the torque wrench and disappearing off the edge of the roof, Bob suggested putting some roofing sealant in to help hold it better and I suggested some coloured tape to make it easier to find when it did fall off!  It takes a community .... or a couple of extra bright minds...or whatever !

I tried to keep them both fed with hot nutritious soups for lunch, and tea breaks in the afternoon. But when I showed up with hot tea as they were putting in the last column of panels, neither of them was willing to take a break for tea time.  Luckily we have a great tea thermos to keep things hot! And I couldn't blame them for wanting to get it done.

As the light of the day slowly faded, it was finished.  No champagne, just a big sigh of relief, a sip of tea, an enormous thank you to Mother Nature, and we were done.

But a few days later, while working on the North roof,  20+ cm of snow arrived - and so that's probably it for the roof for this year! Not much power generation from those panels either.

Celebrations

October gave us one little snowfall, just as a gentle reminder of the weather to come, but the snow soon melted, and we were able to continue working on installing the metal roof.  As Rob's birthday approached, he decided to take the day off in celebration.  I had already booked the day off from work, so we planned on making a day of it. But when we saw a bit more warm and sunny weather coming our way, we decided it would be better if he kept working on the roof while he had a chance. We were feeling the pressure of time and weather, knowing that the past two Novembers have been rather cold and snowy months. As well, the daylight hours were getting shorter, and Rob was finding the available working hours to be a tad too short.

Back in August, while Rob was away visiting family, I decided to paint and stamp on a denim shirt, and give it to him for his birthday in October.  Rob has always lived by the credo "The joy is in the doing", so I thought it would be nice to give him a shirt with this theme in mind.  I had a lot of fun thinking about what I wanted to put on that shirt! I set my paints and stamps up on the table on the porch, and set to work.  It's a lovely place to sit, with the river in front of me, plenty of fresh air, and lots of bird activity in the many trees surrounding the cabin.  I started to set up the opening words "The Joy is in the Doing" with my stamps, and went upstairs to get some more supplies.  When I came back - I took a look at the shirt..... and was surprised to see this:

Hmmm...it looked to me like Jet was messing with this while I was upstairs. I wonder if it's possible that he rearranged the letters while I was gone. The Joy is in the Dog ????  Well, maybe Jet, but not quite what I wanted to put on this gift. Maybe the next one....

Unfortunately, I never did get this shirt finished in time.  But I thought it was rather appropriate, given the theme, to not worry about it. I will continue working on it this winter, and try to appreciate the "doing" part, not the "finishing" part!

Despite spending most of his birthday working on the roof, Rob still had a good day. We stretched out the celebrations a little by having some special dinners at home each day that week. For his birthday dinner I made homemade pizza crust and toppings - at Rob's request!  It was a nice birthday celebration.

So the next couple of photos show where Rob spent the majority of his birthday. He rigged up a little seat for the peak of the roof, to make it easier to move along as he fit the peak pieces in place. And there he sat, installing pieces, moving along, installing more pieces...and of course climbing up and down - a lot - every time he needed something.

Once the last peak piece was added, all Rob had left to do was to put the final metal roof sheets onto the area above the dining room and kitchen.

We thought this job would go pretty quickly, but of course it went slower than hoped. We were getting frost almost every night, so Rob had to wait until later in the day for the ice to come off the roof before he could safely get up there to work on it.  We also had a few rainy days, and rain made the roof far too slippery to work on. Rob was so close to finishing, but the rain kept holding him back. Finally he was able to get up on the roof and get at the final pieces. He came back to the cabin to get me when he was ready to put the last piece of roofing in.  He knew I didn't want to miss seeing him do it!

And then we did a happy dance...  Wow what a long, long job that was!

Rob was more than pleased to be off of the roof and back on the ground, but he didn't take much time off as there were a lot of pre-winter chores that needed doing. Although I had split all 10 cords of firewood earlier, it still needed to be stacked so we got at it and got most of it done pretty quickly.  It's a good feeling to see a decent pile of wood all neatly stacked and ready to use, especially as we both remember running out of firewood the first two winters we were here.

We moved some of the firewood over to the new house as well. Rob got the wood stove there up and running, and began monitoring the temperature as the house slowly warmed up. The concrete pad took a while to heat up, and the humidity in the house was, and continues to be, rather high - a combination of the concrete drying, as well as the timbers. But it's an amazing feeling to sit in front of that warm stove, in that lovely bright house, and think about the days to come... Especially for Rob - this will be the first time that he's working where it's dry, sheltered and warm!

On sunny days he took the opportunity to service the tractor, and got the snow blower fixed up and ready to go.  The new house site needed a good clean up too.  He kept thinking he might get a chance to do some timber frame work for the workshop, but there were more than enough tasks that needed attention first, and the days were slowly getting too cold to be outside carving timbers. On rainy days he did some work inside the new house, like installing the upstairs floor !!  I can't wait until there is a real staircase in. I had to cautiously inch my way up a ladder to get this shot.

This is a shot from below.  When I asked Rob what the red X was for, he groaned. That piece was supposed to be cut out before he installed it. I have a feeling he'll be ripping some boards up .....

It was nice to see the electrical panel get installed too.

We took some time one day to drive up to a local sawmill, and ordered the wood that will be used on the ceilings. Now we begin a whole new dance, as we try to figure out where to put everything.  We have wood arriving for the ceiling this week, and a pile of insulation batts coming later in the week.  Rob is busy getting ready to do the plumbing and electrical, and doesn't want to have to keep moving everything around out of his way. We can no longer leave anything outside as we know that the snow could arrive any day now. We dodged the latest snow storm, but can't possibly continue to be so lucky! Although I must say November had it's share of lovely warm sunny days too.

Rob spent a couple of those nice sunny days, helping our friend Murray and his nephew Simon to get a small roof onto Murray's new addition. (I guess Rob hadn't had enough of roofing after all!) He was happy to do it as they had both come so willingly, along with Murray's son Scott, and our friend Bob, to help us get our second level of timbers up last year.  It was nice to be able to finally give a little something back.

While Rob is busy building, our agreement is that I will do all of the cooking, but Rob happily suggested that he would make appetizers to bring to a pot luck birthday celebration dinner for our sweet friend Elizabeth. He made salad rolls - a favourite of ours, although neither of us had ever actually made them before. They were delicious, and he even tucked in little red hearts cut out of red peppers. Elizabeth loves hearts!   And he made two delicious dipping sauces for them too.   I can't wait until Rob is able to cook more often again.

Fortunately, we both love to cook, and I've been able to make lots of good soups and stocks, and our freezer is looking a bit fuller again.  Now that it's cooler out, the porch is a great place to set things out to cool, and I thought the recent batch of granola looked pretty lovely out there.

As always, we take lots of time to walk together in the woods, and along the river. It's easier to walk through the woods in late fall, and after a recent wind storm we made our way through a few areas to check for damage, and look around.  This particular section of woods is quite different from the rest; the ground is spongy and mossy, and there are lots of holes and openings in the forest floor so you have to watch where you step.We always keep an eye out for any fallen trees that may be hung up above us though as well.

When we heard there was a possible snow storm on it's way, Rob spent a few days last week doing a more thorough clean up of the job site. It sure looks good when all the scaffolding is gone, and the scraps of wood, metal and foam are tucked away.  If we have a chance, we'll do one more scan for nails and metal objects and then we're done. (Maybe we'll even find that pair of lost glasses.) (Again)

As December approaches, we are going through what are now familiar chores. We've swapped out our spring and summer clothes for fall and winter ones, and checked through our hats, scarves and mitts to make sure we have a good supply. Our pile of winter boots and shoes are filling one corner of the kitchen (why is it that having a dog to walk seems to require so much attire ?) Our one tiny closet is stuffed with winter coats, down vests, rain pants and snow pants.  The garden ornaments have been tucked away, and we have a box of kindling ready for starting the wood stove. Snow tires go on this week. (O.k. - a bit late on that one!)  Anything that can't be left outdoors for fear of freezing, or damage from the snow, has been brought back into the cabin.  We've checked our store of batteries and flashlights and stocked up a bit on water and a few tinned items in case of power outages.  (It will be so different when we are living off grid!)  We also realized that Rob will be walking back and forth from the cabin to the new house when it's dark, so have made sure he always has a small flashlight on him.  Just for fun we went out for a walk one night and turned off our flashlight to see how dark it really is. Yup - it's really dark !! You could walk off the path and into a tree in a second....

There are times too when there is not enough natural light in the new house, which makes it difficult for Rob to see what he's working on - so after a lot of  thought, he rigged up a small solar system and some LED lights. We've been testing LED lights here in the house, and they sure have come a long way! They produce a much better light than they used to.  He should be able to work just fine in there now.

And work he will; if the joy is in the doing - he plans on doing lots.  He's busy now studying plumbing and electrical codes, designing the staircase, thinking about concrete floors and acid stains, tub drains, faucets, vents and ducts .... insulation and drywall, pine ceilings....well it's a bit of a list.  And it all has to be done in some sort of reasonable order.

One of the nice things about all these jobs though - is that for the first time in this project, none of them are weather dependent!  Rob can work inside the house no matter the weather  - so we can now take a bit of time to ourselves on a sunny day, and not worry that we are wasting good building weather. And our favourite place to be on a sunny day is down by the river. It's lovely to watch the changes in the river that come with each season.  Slowly it's getting higher and faster, and this morning there was heavy frost in the vegetation on the shoreline.  On a sunny day though, it's still easy to sit on a rock at the edge, close our eyes and listen to the river song.....  it's a sound we miss during the winter, so we try to get our fill of it while we can.