May 24 and other good times

I think I'm overdue for a post here. I'm going to blame a couple of whirlwind weeks and leave it at that.

Keeping with tradition, we hosted some friends for the May 24 long weekend, and again keeping with tradition we had an awesome time. There was swimming, archery, badminton, baseball, frisbeeing (is that a word?), lots of bon fires and sing-alongs and, of course, fireworks. We were lucky enough to also have a friend perform a fire show which was nothing short of incredible. What an awesome way to start the summer!

In other news, there has been massive progress to our hill clearing project. It looks amazing. Unfortunately it looks like our efforts have displaced a family prickle of porcupines (did you know that's what a group of porcupines is called?) who have decided the best course of action would be to start eating our new shed's foundation. They've since successfully gnawed around the entire base. There is only one solution: they must be annihilated.

As of Sunday night last week, the "successfully eliminated" count was 5. Guess we'll see what this weekend brings. For the record, I really dislike killing things, however we really have no choice in this case. If we want to keep our cabin and shed intact, that is.

I'll leave you with some photos from the long weekend.

Twin Ponds makeover

Our land is extremely rocky. Choose any spot to dig and you'll hit a rock, or worse, an immovable boulder.

Our hope to have a yard where we can host picnics and maybe even a badminton court were dashed when we realized just how many rocks we had to contend with. Because summer is just around the corner (right? RIGHT?? Mother Nature I'm talking to you...), last week we hired a landscaper. 

Here's what our yard looked like a week ago:

This week, we came home to this:

And not only did our amazing landscaper bury all the rocks, he also extended our driveway to nicely lead up to our deck's second staircase!

Our driveway used to end at the set of stairs on the right. Not anymore.

Difference of time

This weekend was weird weather-wise (see what I did there, again?). Saturday morning we woke up to a lot of fog sitting heavily over both land and water. Everything hazy; muted, calm colours. Beautiful.

A few hours later we returned from town with some new lawn furniture. I snapped this picture which couldn't be more different than the scene a few hours earlier. Crisp, bright colours awaiting the sun. Happiness.

Building a foundation

Last year we made the decision to replace an old shed that's been on the property for decades. It was rusting and starting to cave in, and well, it was its time to go.

What a mess.

Despite its feeble appearance, it was anything but. A sturdy sucker, it took three men solid hours of work over a couple of days to bring it to the ground. Not only were its bolts rusted in place, but over the years its foundation had sunk about half a foot into the soil making it extremely difficult to detach the side panels from the submerged frame. That meant a lot of brute force and one huge pry bar were necessary. Okay, and some swearing. But only a bit.

To avoid a similar fate, Spence and I decided to put everything we learned last year to good use and build a foundation for our new shed. Luckily Sunday was a perfect sunny spring day so we celebrated by rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

We learned a couple good lessons along the way (like when you're measuring for joist positioning, you start on the outside of the first one, not the inside). Also, it might be wise to wait until the frost is completely out of the ground otherwise you're going to spend a couple hours chipping away at piles of frozen logs and soil that the previous owner left piled behind the old shed. Y'know. There's that.

Overall, though, I'm happy to report it was a smooth, injury-free process! By mid-day,we'd figured out a system that kept everything running smoothly. I brought the raw materials to the saw bench, measured, and marked them. Spence cut each piece, carried it to the foundation and installed it while we both held it in place.

We put the final piece of subfloor plywood down just in time to pack up and hit the road at our usual time. Success!

Building material

Making everything square and level

Water, you are a formidable foe

The thaw is on. Finally.

As wonderful as it was to welcome the warmer weather (see what I did there?), the snow still got the last laugh. As almost 6' of snow on the deck turned into water, it decided to make itself comfortable in our guest room. Guess it really is an inviting space.

Much to our chagrin, our newly laid floor spit out water from its edges when you stepped on it while a big pool of it lingered lazily in the centre of the room. There was only one thing we could do: move all the furniture out of the guest room and pull up the floor. The subfloor will be sitting bare for a few weeks until we're sure it's complete dry. Then operation reinstall floor can begin. Sigh.

On the bright side our flooring planks are plastic so they're good as new. I would have been so sad if we had to buy brand new flooring after only using this stuff for about a month.

Last weekend was a weird mix of winter and spring. You could fall through 2' of snow in one spot and be standing on bare earth a mere few feet away. Our little river was roaring with power, its water level so high that our bridge is completely submerged.

I'm hopeful I'll get to see our koi next weekend!

Update

Saw this today via Wil Wheaton. An update to the Self magainze story: http://www.self.com/blogs/flash/2014/03/self-news-monika-allen-apology.html?=update

At least it's a positive effort after a negative incident that shouldn't have happened in the first place. I don't think there's anything Self can do to undo the damage done, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Mean Girls

I came across this blog post today and thought it was worth sharing: http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.ca/2014/03/self-magazine-swings-for-cruelty-fences.html?m=1

Shame on you, Self magazine.

Opening Weekend

It's been exactly one month since my last post. Hard to believe.

After deciding it was time to stop letting snow get in our way, I'm happy to report we finally made the
familiar trip north last weekend for the first time in weeks. Thanks to our neighbour blowing out our driveway, the trip in was seamless. We arrived at the cabin to find it just as we left it. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the outhouse we were loaned last year. The weight of the snow was too much for it sometime in the last month causing its roof to collapse. I'm actually very surprised it didn't happen earlier in the season. We've had an incredible amount of snow.

Sarah joined us this weekend making her the Official First Guest Room Occupant™! The weekend involved vodka, Ikea furniture assembly (thanks Sarah!), snowshoeing, and a few rounds of Small World.

Oh, and an unfortunate incident involving me falling through ice. Spence and I really are meant for each other, aren't we? Next time I get water from the river, remind me to take a pole with me so I don't have to use my foot to test where the shore ends. Because here's a hint: when it ends, you go in. Luckily for me only one leg went in and only up to my thigh.

While I was in the water Sarah had to prompt me to let go of the watering cans and take her hand so she could help me out because all I could think was, "Wow, this is a great angle for filling the cans!" That's how I roll, folks.

Cue more vodka shots and some warm R&R inside the cabin. All in all it was an excellent opening weekend.

There have been some cougar sightings in the area so it's not wise to go into the bush unarmed.

Activity

Now that spring is about to, uh, spring (?), I've been feeling motivated to get moving. We've always been good about being active while at TP, but from Monday to Friday an active lifestyle is far from reality.  Despite my best efforts at jogging, roller blading, [insert activity here], I can never stick with any of it.

I think this year I'd like to change that.

Today I decided I'm going to try a new approach and pick up a Fitbit which is really just a glorified pedometer. It's cool, though, because it not only tracks the number of steps you take, but also the number of stairs you climb, the length and quality of your sleep, and even the food you eat if you decide to enter it. The real selling point for me was that you can use it socially so you can try to keep up with friends or participate in daily and weekly challenges. That's something I've never tried before but it seems like fun.

Anyone interested in joining me?

Photo credit: Dave and Lauren

Winter Reading

I'm not a reader and aside from a short fling with R. L. Stine's popular Goosebumps series of the early '90s, I never have been. Then I did so much reading in undergrad and grad school (all academic publications: journal article after journal article) I think I decided that once I was finally done school, I was done with reading. Pretty bad attitude, I know, but there you have it.

For the first few years after grad school I held true. I didn't even think about it, really. Reading just wasn't part of my life. I did read a book recommended by a friend here and there, but I wasn't reading more than one or two books per year. And that would have been a "good" year.

2013 was different for a reason I still haven't put my finger on. I started reading again. I spent beautiful summer afternoons lying in our burgundy hammock gently rocked by a breeze under the shade of a towering pine tree canopy, book in hand. I loved it.

Last summer I read Damien Echols's Life After Death, J.K. Rowling's two adult fiction books, and Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek. I know it doesn't sound like much, but for me it was.

Then fall arrived early with its chilly anti-hammock breezes and my reading stopped.

But I'm back! I just finished Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl which was my second book of the year. I'm not well read enough to be able to offer a review that anyone would find interesting let alone useful so I won't even try.

I'm reminded of an exchange in the book: "'Yeah, right. Something Wicked This Way Comes,' Greta says. 'It's good.' She chirps the last bit as if that were all to say about a book: It's good or it's bad. I liked it or I didn't. No discussions of the writing, the themes, the nuances, the structure. Just good or bad. Like a hot dog."

Yup. Don't worry, Greta. That's my level too.

So my reading so far for 2014 has been:
1. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold: I loved it. Now one of my favourite books.
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: I really hated that I really liked it. Does that make sense? I need to find copies of her two other books, just to see what I really think. It was weird to find out today that they're turning this book into a movie with Ben Affleck. Then again, maybe I should have seen that one coming.

Next on the list is Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Eiko, that one's because of you.

  

Pre-Super Bowl Huddle

Whaaaaa? Two posts in one day? Yes, it's true.

Had to post this pic Spence took today. Minnie is so ridiculously adorable.

I'll let you in on a little secret. We were both thinking, "Go Broncos!"

Board Gaming Table: Step 1

Since we're experiencing one of the most severe winters in recent memory (complete with a state of emergency in a county we routinely drive through), we've been spending a lot of time in the city. It's okay though; we've been using the time to recharge and just take it easy which is something neither of us realized we needed as much as we did.

It's also given me a chance to think more about what steps I need to take to achieve the goals I set out at the beginning of the year. There's a garden to plan and a table to design, after all! This week I finally managed to set aside a few hours and get to work on the latter. Here's what I came up with:

I've had this ruler since grade 4 when a classmate left and gave it to me as a parting gift (I know that's a fact that's only interesting to me, but there you have it.)

There will be 10 tongue and groove slats that will fit on the top of the table to turn it into a typical dining table. Unlike a lot of gaming tables that are on the market, I've decided to run the slats across the short edge. This allows the slats to be stored under the table on the support that joins the pedestals. No need to worry about trying to store 7" boards while the table is in use. As well, I think this orientation is much better for two players -- when you're playing a two player game I think you're much more likely to sit across from each other on the short edge. When that's the case, you can just leave some of the slats in place and only remove a few to reveal enough room for your game.

Depending on the cost of wood, I'd ideally like to make the table out of walnut with a maple inlay for the sunken playing surface. If it's too expensive I figure I'll just reverse the wood: maple table with a walnut inlay. Either way, I think hard wood is the way to go.

With any luck we can start work on this puppy in March!

Let It Snow

Spence commented that he shovelled more snow this past weekend than he has in the last 20 years combined. We were warned that it snows heavily in the area, but wow.

We're talking about buying a tractor for next year. Seriously.

The Polar Bear Club

To flush our toilet we fill watering cans from the river and manually pour it into the tank. We've never thought much of it, that is until the snow began to fall. The trip to the river got a bit harder each week and last week it took Spence almost an hour to come back with his haul.

This weekend, the temperature warmed up significantly turning the three or so feet of snow into a substance that was even more difficult to navigate. Yesterday when Spence strapped on his snowshoes and told me he'd be back soon, I nodded and returned my attention to the dresser I was assembling.

A while later I heard his footsteps outside the hallway door and got up to greet him. He looked exhausted. "If... you... fall... through the ice and into the river, the key is not to panic." Then I noticed that there was a steady stream of drops of water falling off his coat. He was soaked.

"All I could think was, 'I gotta get out! I gotta get out! Don't panic! Don't panic! I'm panicking,'" he continued.

Yup, Spence fell through the ice near the bridge and went in up to his armpits, snow pants, coat, snowshoes and all. "At least my hat's not wet!" he concluded. Have to love a man who thinks positively.

He managed to get the water too. Kicker is, though, when I went to use it a couple hours later the tank was empty. I went to fill it, but found the watering cans empty too. What happened? Spence had filled the tank, but a small stick had jammed the seal open ever so slightly. All the water he worked so hard to get had trickled out.

Sure, that was bad news, but on the plus side let's all congratulate the newest member of the Polar Bear Club!

As for me, I finished assembling the Ikea furniture and after three years of living out of a huge red duffle bag on weekends, we finally unpacked our clothes. It felt amazing.

I have to say that life at TP isn't always easy, but it's definitely interesting.

Spence's water collection uniform (pre-soaking)

Our brand new assembled dressers!

The Story of Brave

On a Saturday back in late fall Spence and I helped friends move to a town about half an hour away from TP. We spent that morning and most of the afternoon making trips between the house and moving truck. It was during one of those trips that a friendly kitten caught my attention. She was extremely skinny and amazingly affectionate; this was no barn cat. She leaned into me and let me take photos within the first minute I knew her.

We were told she was a stray and that two weeks prior she had been extremely emaciated. So much so that a gentleman living nearby had taken to leaving a bowl of yogurt and scraps out for her (the home he lives in has a strict no pets policy). She'd stuck around ever since and while she wasn't packing on weight, at least she wasn't losing any more.

With temperatures set to dip below freezing within days, Spence and I started talking about what we could do to help. With her weight being so low and no warm place to sleep, we were sure she was at risk of death. That afternoon I made a few calls and a neighbour in the city agreed to take her in temporarily while we found her a new home. It was a go! Spence and I picked up a crate and collar that afternoon, but because we didn't have a place to keep her overnight, we decided not to pick her up until Sunday evening when we were heading home. We couldn't risk taking her to the cabin with the dogs because we weren't sure how they'd get along, nor did we know if she had fleas or any other issues.

By the time we headed out on Sunday night, the sun had set and a heavy, cold rain was blasting the area. We thought we'd never find the cat we were now calling Sweetie. Despite it being a 30 minute detour, we decided to give it a try anyway. Once we arrived, we took deep breaths, pulled up our hoods and set out to find her. I hadn't taken two steps away from the car when I heard a meek meow. Then another. My eyes darted around in the dark trying to locate the source of the sound through the pitter-patter of the rain. There she was, standing four feet away from me on the stairs that lead to the front door. She'd come to greet us.

We didn't know what to expect when we tried to put her in her carrier since most cats will fight you tooth and nail to avoid that fate. Spence put on his work gloves and picked her up. She went limp. She made no attempt to stop him as he slowly guided her into what would be her new home for the next three hours. As he closed the door, she curled up into the towel we'd put in there and closed her eyes.

She didn't make a peep the whole way home. I think she knew she was finally safe and grateful to be warm.

Sweetie fit in at her foster's mom's house from the very beginning. She didn't fight with the other three cats opting to be a cuddlebug instead. Within two weeks, she'd been checked out by a vet (she got a clean bill of health!), had her shots, was spayed, and most importantly, she found a permanent home with two amazing people who renamed her "Brave" in honour of her story. They post photos of her once in a while which always make me smile. It's clear she's living a very happy life now and what could be better than that? She certainly earned it.

Photo credit: sandi_bean

Photo credit: shinelightshine

Photo credit: sandi_bean

Guest Room: The (almost) Final Chapter

I realized yesterday that I never posted pictures of the nearly completed guest room and that just won't do. A couple weeks ago we primed and painted and laid the floor. It made for a long couple of days and we were absolutely exhausted by the end of it, but it sure felt good when we finally got to sit down.

We didn't stay down long though. This was the weekend of the ice storm and we were very lucky to not lose power at Twin Ponds or in the city. Before we knew it, it was time to pack it in and make our way home. And that was when we learned another important lesson for country living.

We started down our driveway, slowly following the ruts in the ice and snow remaining from previous trips. We were 3/4 of the way to the road when we saw it: the weight of the ice had caused a tree to bend to an almost horizontal position which completely obstructed our path.

Spence skillfully backed up all the way to the cabin which is no small feat in the dark because of the driveway's twists and turns. The fact that it's flanked by many, many trees waiting for him to make the slightest mistake doesn't help either. Once back safely, he went to the shed and got our chainsaw which was unfortunately too cold to start. So into the cabin he went, turned on our construction heater, and waited. Five minutes later Spence was back on the porch, newly warmed chainsaw in hand. It started on the first pull. After a few revs that announced, "I'm ready for this!" he turned it off and put it in the trunk.

We headed back up the driveway and once we reached the slumping tree Spence hopped out. He started the chainsaw and a second later the first big branch was severed and the tree righted itself ever so slightly. By the time branch two hit the ground the tree was standing a little straighter once again. Now, to cut off the big branch that will surely let the tree right itself enough for us to pass. Spence raised his chainsaw and just as he was about to make contact the chainsaw sputtered out. Yup.

Luckily using some muscle he and I were able to push the tree out of the way enough to make it past, but it was a close one.

Moral of the story: always make sure you have enough gas. Some extra layers of clothes and a pair of work gloves won't hurt either.

Why Hello, Winter

Floor, floor, guess who has a floor! Spence and I laid the floor in our bedroom and the hallway this weekend. I wish we could say we're done, but we're one box short. Here's hoping Home Hardware still has that particular brand and colour in stock...

More importantly, Sunday marked the first time we stepped out of the cabin and did something not reno-related this winter: we went snowshoeing! We've both owned snowshoes for over a year now, but this was our first time strapping them on and hitting the trails. Mark came along on skis and together we made it almost all the way back to our property line. It felt like there was a bit of magic in the air as we carved a path through deep, untouched powder. Simply beautiful.

On the way home, the snow was coming down heavily and the roads were treacherous. We settled in for a long, slow drive home and turned up the tunes. While driving down a portion of road that often sees the worst conditions, we noticed a car that had spun out into the ditch. There was no one else around so Spence pulled over and went to see if he could help. Shortly after we'd stopped, another car came to a stop on the shoulder behind us. He too got out to see if he could help. The driver of the inoperative car was a woman who'd been driving all day having left Sault Ste. Marie that morning. She was only 10 minutes away from her destination when she lost traction and ended up in the ditch. She declined assistance since CAA were already on their way.

As Spence made his way across the street back to our car, someone else going in the other direction stopped and asked Spence if there was anything he could do to help. Only one car drove by without stopping while we were there. It's nice to see so many people take the time to lend a hand. It makes me smile.

Welcome 2014!

I didn't get my act together to write anything as 2013 came to a close so I'll make up for it now.

Yesterday was bittersweet. We dropped Aimee off at her new home with two of our friends. It was surreal to pack up all her stuff and put her in her crate for the last time. Thankfully we know we'll get to see her again and most importantly, we know she'll have a great life. Twenty minutes after we left she was already happily lounging on the floor. Shortly after that she was on the couch purring and headbutting and by early evening she was curled up cozily on her parents' bed. Sleeping on the bed is one of her favourite things and something she hasn't had the opportunity to do in more than a year thanks to my allergies. It was really nice to see her peaceful and content in the photos.

Waking up this morning and not finding her sleeping outside the bathroom door really made the move official. I miss her, but I know we did the right thing for her. She won't be alone so much and will get so much more love and attention than she has been with us in recent months. I also know unequivocally that she couldn't have gone to a better home and that makes it easier too.

Here's a couple of shots of Aimee's first day with her new family:

Other than that yesterday was a day to start gearing up for the things I want to do in 2014. There's a few big projects I want to focus on this year:

• Build a gaming table. One of our friends up north who is an excellent carpenter has offered to help me build it and teach me some basics along the way. I'm very excited about this -- carpentry is something I've always been fascinated with and I'd love to know enough to build our cabinets and built-in bookshelves when we build our house. I spent some time yesterday gathering inspiration pictures. The next step is to start sketching some ideas.
• Timeline: Mid May/early June
• Finish the bedrooms, bathroom and laundry room in the cabin. We've made amazing progress lately and it finally feels like everything's starting to come together. This weekend we're going to finish installing the floor and hopefully assembling our electric fire place.
• Timeline: Everything but the baseboards and trim  in the bedrooms should be done this weekend. The bathroom and laundry room won't be done until the beginning of summer.
• Rewire the cabin and renovate the kitchen. Once the rest of the cabin is complete we'll turn our attention to the kitchen which needs some TLC. We're hoping to insulate it this year so the fridge can actually function in the winter.
• Timeline: Summer/early fall

I think that sums up the big projects for the year, but apart from that I want to keep doing some leathercraft projects and maybe come up with some interesting things to do with my summer off. Watercolour painting, biking, and maybe learning some natural building techniques are all in the mix.

Bring on 2014!