Still Ticking

"Partly cloudy. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 below to 45 below. Light winds."

Pretty much sums it up ;) Seriously, we get B-grade horror movie effects every time we open the door as the warm interior vapor rapid chills and forms a thick layer of fog across the floor when the cold air rushes into the living room. It's trippy.

We've been staying inside warm and cozy unless it's absolutely critical to be out and about. Even then, we try to limit it to as short a time as possible. Getting bits and pieces of projects done a little at a time... mostly depending on whether it's warm enough for the generator to run, or the truck to start. The poor ATV is hibernating, even a warm freshly charged battery and plugging her in on the generator won't get or keep her running most days. Not to mention that I keep having to either dig building materials out from underneath 4-5 feet of snow, or whatever I need is buried and hiding somewhere in the crap we have stacked up all over the house.

I truly loathe living in an active work space, and working in an active living space. The first 90 minutes of every project is moving everything "domestic" out of the way and gathering up/moving in all of today's materials so you can work. And the last 30 minutes, at least, are spent putting all the work stuff away somewhere and re-establishing domesticity so you aren't reaching over a 5 gallon bucket of paint while you're making dinner. Considering that we only have about 5 hours of sunlight these days, it doesn't leave a lot of time to get anything done that requires light and power tools. We can either have lights bright enough to work or have big power draws, but not both!! And I really don't want to try doing precision finish work with a headlamp or a handheld battery-op saw.  I admit it, I am just not that good (or maybe I'm just that OCD heee!).

We gotten the joy of being trapped inside the house because the doors froze shut. Not just a teeny bit of seasonal swelling, but actual creepers of ice sealing the jamb. T'was very special... we needed a heat gun, jimmy bar and deadblow mallet just so Ripley could go out for a pee LOL!  I think before next winter we'll need to get a different heater, and possibly a different stove, because the "unvented" models we have now are putting out just a teeny bit too much humidity (they're safe indoors, just create water vapor). Since the rest of the house is so tight, the condensation is icing up the windows and doors something chronic. Of course, we'll (hopefully) have everything properly installed, insulated, caulked, and painted as well as the arctic entry porches built... which should all help immensely. It will at least move the condensation and frost zone out a couple feet. Heck, I might even have curtains up next winter... gasp!!!!!


With any luck, I'll at least have the kitchen, pantry and bathroom squared away before break up. If I'm really lucky, it'll be done before it warms up enough for engines to run properly and we need to focus on getting in next year's wood. Because, really, the disorganized mess is driving me totally bug-nuts. Having Aspergers, I don't usually get cabin fever like "normal" people because I like to spend time cooped up by myself, but I do get a little freaked out when things in my space aren't organized and put away properly. (OK, a lot freaked out, so I'm spending a lot of time rocking in my recliner while window-shopping for organizers and pantry canisters online in an attempt to self-soothe).

But, all in all, we're doing well. Hanging in there and taking it a bit easy this winter now that we aren't freezing our tails off in the tent ;)

Taking some time off

Hey Guys,

Just a short posting to let you all know that things are going ok. We've opted since we're comfortable to take some time out of our schedule to just kick back and relax a little. Since the Days are short, and it's been a little chilly, we're not exactly in the heart of construction season anyway. Although saying that we've been in positive digits on temperatures for a couple of weeks at least, and we have a rather heavy snow build up in comparison to our two previous years.

Anyway this is just a short notice to let you know we're doing fine, and not to worry. Happy belated Thanksgiving, and hope you and your families have a great holiday season.

Warm and Toasty

We started to move into the cabin this past Friday once it became apparent that the snow wasn't likely to stop. It's been sooooo nice sleeping in a warm, dry and level place again!! We've been scurrying around moving the essentials from the tent with the truck and ATV, and getting rudimentary utilities set up down here at the cabin. Got the battery bank and inverter moved (ow ow ow - pulled muscles!!!) and the electrical panel with a couple circuits wired so we could get the satellite dish mounted and internet back online.

We'll be rushing around the next few days to get the rest of the electrical wired and our water tank/plumbing sorted ahead of the forecasted winter storms headed our way. Once that's done and we can organize the living space so we're not tripping and climbing over boxes, totes and buckets, I'll write up a longer status post with the many pictures of our progress (yay, I found the camera's card reader) all from my new cushy recliner!! Imagine, real, comfortable seating again instead of folding camp chairs... what luxury!!

We can worry about getting the non-essentials and the tent down to the site and getting the rest of the drywall and flooring done in the pantry and bathroom; and doing a bit of additional clearing and organizing outside before the snow gets too deep, etc. All the remaining interior finish work can keep us busy during the long winter... and we won't even have to freeze doing it this year, or have to work with Gumby Gloves and Frankenboots on -- WooHoo :)

Still getting it wrong -- a rant

Authorities, under the direction of Michele Obama, are once again attempting to tackle the "Obesity Epidemic" in America with the new ChooseMyPlate campaign. The hook of this latest campaign is to make half your plate fruits and vegetables, which has some nutritional merit; but take a look at their graphic (just another glorified replacement for the FoodPyramid in a different shape... because triangles are so much more complex to understand than circles, apparently).

OK - notice anything at odds with their intention to reduce obesity?  No? How about that over 75% of the plate is carbohydrates... SUGAR? Now, the carbs in most vegetables (starchy root veg excluded) are negligible compared to the vitamin and mineral content. Arguably the portion size limits the carbs from natural fructose while still providing all the lovely antioxidants and enzymes that (fresh) fruit provides. But, AGAIN, we've got a grain portion way higher than necessary, and most grains (unless you're Vegan) don't provide enough unique nutrition to warrant their carb costs.

And it that the protein (meat) and milk portions just keep getting smaller. What do these people have against animal products anyway?! Humans are omnivorous, and continuing research indicates that our metabolisms have evolved to derive and process nutrients from animal sources more efficiently than from plant sources. So why is over 75% of our plate plants? A misguided belief that the fat contained in animal products are bad for you, maybe? Bullshit!! Natural animal fats are healthy, provide long-term energy, and our bodies actually need them. And fat has a lovely side effect of actually making us feel full faster and longer -- you can eat a ton of carbs before your satiety switch is triggered, and you're likely to just wake up from your carb coma (insulin shock) hungry again.  <-- Can you say "diabetes" and "overeating"?

Let's be honest, that's a pitiful amount of protein to support a growing child or an active adult -- even with the incomplete proteins in most grains, that we don't absorb and utilize as well any way. Our bodies need protein to build healthy tissue and muscles, including your heart and other organs. Our bodies will also use protein for energy, at the same caloric rate as carbs. More and more studies have indicated that previous concerns regarding kidney problems caused by high(er) protein diets were unfounded. A person can, and should, eat a gram of protein for every pound of optimal body weight unless they have a pre-existing kidney malfunction.

So, we've got an obesity epidemic and diabetes is on the rise. It has been slowly happening since the mid-50's when they switched from the Basic Seven Model (the wartime "survival rationing" nutritional guide):

to the Basic Four model, which eventually turned into the Food Pyramid we all learned in the 90's:

Which was updated in 2005:

Only to be abandoned just 5 years later for the MyPlate circle.

What's the common factor? WAY TOO MANY CARBS and an unbalanced diet.

If you look at the Basic 7 -- you've got essentially 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. And that pretty much appeared to work... obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease were all MUCH lower then than they are today. You think that's a coincidence??

Still Among the Living

Quickie update to let you all know we're still alive.

We've been busy doing roof prep and getting the floors laid, properly installing the doors, as well as doing general clearing and firewood stuff. Moving the cast iron woodstove so we could properly align the hearth before doing the downstairs floor was a serious biatch since it weighs nearly 500 lbs... G-man gunned up for the heavy lifting with the aid of the Hi-Lift jack while I frantically placed braces and attempted not to get crushed.

The walls and floors we can get to (bath & pantry are full of stuff) have been installed, all we need is to sand and poly the floors so we can move in -- we'll deal with mud & paint, etc once we're in residence. Nights are getting chilly and we're running the stove in the tent a little, but only need a tiny fire at the cabin to keep it nice and toasty... insulation is such a wonderful thing. We're getting frost nearly every night and even a few early morning snow flurries. Winter is definitely on its way.

Anyway, hoping to have the floors poly'ed and curing by the weekend, so we should be able to transfer the electrics down and move in some time next week if all goes well. I think I've found the card reader for the camera, but I can't get to it until we can clear out the piles of stuff in the pantry. I promise tons of pics as soon as we move in though!

Fair Weather Fun... sort of

G & I got most of the wiring run through the joists and the two interior walls while it was raining. You'd think that would be a fairly easy task, just pulling some Romex, but noooooo... not when you take into consideration that we're trying to run the maximum outlets/lights on the minimum amount of wire, without overloading any of our few circuits or potentially leaving ourselves in the dark if we turn something on a pop the breaker, and not drill too many holes in the same stud/joist, and keep the wires as hidden as possible... all while being two of the most OCD and contrary planners in recorded history. There are times where we just do not communicate and work well together. Of course, the freaky differences between US and UK standards doesn't make things easier since G got his EE degree over there in the land of 220v wiring ;)

Anyway, we were going to start on the flooring so we could move in by Labor Day (Sept 5 for you non-Americans LOL); but had to take advantage of a fortuitous break in the rain to do a little work on the roof which has been suffering under an infamous Alaskan Blue Tarp since December. Needless to say, a few wind storms and a lot of UV exposure later, it's protective coverage was patchy at best. So, when the glorious sun finally peaked back out of the clouds, we scrambled up the ladders to yank the poor shredded thing off!

Then it was a matter of trying to install the self-adhesive rubberized ice shield on the rake, ridge and pitch breaks. Yeah, if only it were that simple. Seriously, this stuff sticks to everything except the roof, and it especially likes to stick to itself. And that "easy" release paper... yeah, uh-huh... kept shredding instead of peeling, and of course it had to shred right in the middle so we'd have to fight with it the whole time while it tried to adhere to us and itself. All while balancing precariously on a 7:12 pitch in the wind. We're talking some serious feats of Peter Parker Prowess.

And poor G-man... found yet another building material he's allergic to. Poor bugger was breaking out in hives before we'd even finished the rakes, so it was quickly back to the tent to wash him up and pop some extra-strength Benadryl. Needless to say, it took us 4 days to lay down 7 strips.  We also nearly created the world's largest glue-trap when a piece flipped over, stuck to itself and then blew off the roof... almost snagging poor Ripley who was anxiously pacing at the foot of the ladder below.

But the membrane is down, with the minimum amount of weird wrinkles that we could manage, so it should keep those joints from leaking again. Now all we have to do is drag the new Ultra-Duty White Tarp up there and get it spread out evenly and tacked down so we can protect the rest of the roof this winter since we couldn't get the porches on and, therefore, couldn't actually get the tarpaper and shingles on. At least this tarp is much thicker, covers the entire roof (and then some!), and is UV stablized... but it also weighs about 100 lbs. Since I'm better at hauling materials up and down on the ladder, I'm going to have to figure out how to wrestle some bulky thing that weighs almost as much as I do up there. Joy!! Let's hope it's not windy THAT day!!

But, we can hold off on that tarp for a couple of days and (hopefully) get back to the floors so we aren't delaying our move in date too awfully much ;)

And, I promise promise promise, as soon as I recover the fugitive card-reader from it's hiding place at the cabin, I will post pics of all our progress!

Time flies while it's raining

Well, we have our stairs in and most of the drywall installed. Were planning to install the floors this week, before mudding the drywall and painting the walls, so they could get dry and acclimated before sanding and finishing. Everything was starting to click along...

But Noooooooo... it absolutely had to RAIN again. Grrrrrrr  We got a brief respite from the rain yesterday, but needed to go into Manley which wasted most of the day.

We don't want to drench the flooring hauling it into the house, plus we have to move some stuff outside into the rain to do that (and hope we can tarp it before it gets soaked through). Can't finish the mudding the walls because it won't dry. Can't properly install the entry doors because that means taking them off and exposing the inside of the house. Can't pickle and poly the kitchen cabinets because it's too humid. We're at the stage where most of the tasks are either outdoors or require good ventilation and relatively dry conditions. Booger snots!!

The only cabin projects we could really do during this weather are piddly things that really don't impact our ability to move in by Labor Day and could easily be done at Christmas or New Years or Easter. Arg :(

Heck, can't even do laundry... but the sheets and towels we had hanging on the line are getting rinsed really well. And it's a little too warm to go clearing brush or chopping firewood with a raincoat on.

But - on a positive note :)  Mr. Bear hasn't been around since I chased him off with the shotgun, and our neighbors finished a big enough clearing that we could move their camper to their property instead of behind our tent. Silver linings....