What I have learned while building a cabin

Well...I don't know if you'd call it a cabin.  It's only 8 x 12, just under the 100 sq. ft. permit requirement.  Today JoAnn and I put the windows in, with only minor traumas, and so it is really feeling and looking like something.  I've had SO much fun!  And here is what I've learned.

1.  I've learned that you should read the printing on OSB before you nail and glue it down.  It doesn't do much good to be able to read "This Side Down" once it is attached.
2.  I've learned that it is very difficult to get an 8 inch post hole in exactly the right place.
3.  I've learned that the ridge pole on a roof should be very straight.  If it isn't, everything is thrown out.
4.  I've learned that building a cabin is a good opportunity to pick up a couple of new tools (Sawzall and Tack Hammer) .
5.  I've learned that tongue and groove boards have a flat side and a grooved side, and that ideally, builders should be consistent.  I wasn't...
6.  I've learned that there are many many different kinds of nails, and the one that I need at any given time is the one I am out of.
7.  I've learned that if you are running several power tools off one extension, the one that you need is not the one that is plugged in.


Those are my primary lessons so far.  We have a door to install, and a roof to shingle, so more to come.  This is tons of fun!

Snow again, and more snow

I've seen two pelicans this past week.  One was flying over the bridge in heavy snow, and the other was standing in the river looking dismal.  Robins are trying to find bugs, but there are none...which is a worry.  More snow this weekend.The picture and sign say it all!  You can't see the pelican, though. 

Last weekend I spent the better part of two days in the yard, tidying and wall building.  It was fun and fed my soul.

I see that the last time I wrote in this blog was September.  Alas, I have not done well.  Where does time go.

A Saturday in September

Sounds like a B movie...One Saturday in September.  Instead, it's an A day - a perfect fall day!  The wind of the last three or 4 days dropped away, fall colours are appearing in the coulees and in the yard, and the first month of school is almost finished.  We went for a run - a little slower than usual, but 75 minutes or so - I haven't run all week so am a bit sore tonight.  Then we mulched...the mulching is done for the year.  It was warm enough to eat on the deck.

We are thinking about a winter trip to someplace warm.  Maui is one possibility, but Costa
Rica has appeal too.  This would be a new experience, unless you count Disneyland at Christmas about 30 years ago.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  If it were just me, I'd likely stay home...but the experience would be great perhaps...

There you go.  Nothing profound here but I am trying to get used to writing again, and to finding this blog.  Guess I should bookmark it.

Ian 

An apple a day...

First day with the new computer, so don't mind me.  Mike has bequeathed me his 3 year old iMac, and I am busy transferring files.  It's quite different.  There is a small manual, which I will read, but it's sort of like the iTouch manual in that it leaves a great deal to intuition...which is probably ok. 


We will see how it goes...I do love the responsiveness and the 21 inch monitor.  The keyboard is a bit of a transition.  All my internet applications are fine...

Today is my last day of being 62, or to put it another way, the last day of my 63rd year.  Sure don't feel that old...except for the odd bit of arthritis.  May it always be so.

Gee Whiz and Gmail...

This is just a test...sometime ago I tried to access a blog which I had not used for many months.  I couldn't get there, so this is a new one.  Gee whiz...it's using gmail.  "G" may be taking over the world, but since they are doing quite a good job of it, what can you do but go along. 

Now...back to work...it's a rainy night in Georgia.  And Lethbridge.  Ian