Cabin Trip

We have been working so hard on getting the house repaired after the plumbing disaster that we were really worn out.  We decided to take a trip up to the cabin to "rest".  I don't think you could say that what we did was resting, but at least it was different work.  The first trip in the spring is a lot of cleanup.  The cabin needs cleaning, the yard needs to be raked and cleared of downed wood, and wood needs splitting.  So we did not exactly rest, but it was at least a break from the construction work we are doing on the house.  From time to time we took a break and sat on the porch.

We also started to put furring strips on the ceiling
because we wanted to add a bead board ceiling on the next trip.  However, a laser level showed us that the ceiling was so uneven that it was not going to work.  The problem is that the ceiling is not level across the room.  As Bill put it, some of the furring strips would have to be 2 by 4s.  (This would leave a big gap between the old ceiling and the new ceiling, which could be a haven for mice and other critters.)  We spent the better part of the day trying to figure out how to make it work, from building a casing over the existing beam to make it look even, to different configurations of the paneling.  We finally determined that the only way to make it look right would be to gut the whole building and start over.  We aren't going to go to that much trouble, although we are at a point that this was still do-able.  We just aren't willing to go to that much work, because jacking up the walls as should have been done when that beam went in would wreck the upstairs plaster, which is in good shape at the moment.  So we have decided to leave things as they are and plaster and paint the ceiling instead.  I am rather disappointed, but Bill was practically giddy at not having to put up a new ceiling. 


Although there was no snow while we were up there, it had been snow covered as lately as two weekends ago.  A wintry mix had been forecast within the previous week.  This weekend, it was below freezing at night, but in the upper fifties (Fahrenheit) during the day.  The wind was very gusty, so it felt quite chilly.  Porch sitting was done bundled up in jackets and hats. 

The trees are still bare in the mountains, although the forsythia is beginning to bloom.  Daffodils were out as well.   The spring run off has begun, and water is pouring down the mountain.  What starts as a rushing stream this high up becomes a raging torrent down below.  It is truly an awesome sight to see the amount of water that is pouring off this mountain.  We have had a lot of snow and rain this year, and the water is very high. 

Up there it is still winter.  Down below, spring is well underway.  It is amazing to drive down the mountain and watch spring arrive with the changes in elevation.   We went from bare trees to full spring in about an hour.  It was such a beautiful day.  All the flowering trees were out and everything was dozens of shades of green.  We decided that we would take the scenic by-way route home rather than join the throng on the Interstate.  It was a great choice.  There was barely any traffic on it, and it was a beautiful ride through the countryside.

Once we returned home, it was obvious that no elves had come in and completed the construction for us, so we are back at work on repairing our house.  My husband took the week off, and we are planning a full week of construction work.  Since we returned on Sunday, we have removed the paneling that was in the closets, treated the area with a spray to kill mold, put up new drywall, and added the first coat of drywall mud on the joints.  Today we are sanding then adding the second coat of mud.  After that, we will probably start moving some of the furniture around so we can get started on priming and painting in the den.  You would think that we were approaching the end of this, but there is still a lot to be done.  All the rooms need painting, and the flooring still needs to be laid.  The floor is the hold-up here because the concrete needs to be cured before the flooring goes down.  We have to keep moving the furniture from room to room to get the other work done.

There has been a craft project I have been up to this week, but I will blog about it on Sunday.  It is 8:15 am and Bill is impatiently waiting for me to finish this post so we can get to work.