Cabin Trip September 2018

First coat of paint is on this wall.

We were in the mountains again earlier this month.  This trip we were busy painting the outside of the cabin.  The wood trim has been painted from time to time, but it has been twenty years since the cinder block was painted.  The paint is beginning to show some wear, so it was time to get busy and get things painted again.  The winter's are very harsh up there, and we don't want water infiltrating the cinder block.

Stone steps from the yard to the stream.

Cinder block is not the easiest thing to paint.  It has a lot of pits and holes in it.  You have to add on a thick layer of paint and then push it into the little holes.  It will look like it is covered, but as soon as you move on, air bubbles will come out of the holes and leave little openings.  They need to be sealed shut.  Minute bits of water can get in there and freeze.  Over time, it can damage the block.  We noticed some areas on the inside where the block froze, and a chunk fell out and left a divot.  Therefore, we will be paining a second coat, trying to seal up as many of those little holes as possible.

The weather was very warm and humid up there.  During the day is was sometimes uncomfortable.  It took us a few days to acclimate.  The nights were in the sixties.  It was still pretty humid even at night. 

We don't have an air conditioner up there any more.  There used to be one, but after many years the plastic that held it in the window started to disintegrate.  One day I was looking at the air conditioner and realized that I was seeing the outdoors through holes in the panels.  Insects were getting into the house through the holes.  We decided that it was time for it to go.  That was probably a good thing.  Once we took it out of the window, we realized that the filter and vents were all filled with mildew.  I am glad we did not turn it on.  I have really bad mold allergies. 

We have not figured out what to do about air conditioning.  We might have to purchase a portable room air conditioner and haul it back and forth with us.  Since the cabin is not constantly conditioned space, we are always going to have a problem with mildew forming on an air conditioner.  I guess there is a reason that we travel up there in a cargo van.  So far, we just haven't decided to make that purchase.  Many times in June and July it is still cool enough to be wearing a flannel shirt in the evening.  We usually avoid the cabin in August because the gnats are so bad.  So we would really be only using air conditioning once or twice a year.  I suppose if worst comes to worst and it is so hot we can't stand it we will come down off the mountain and buy an air conditioner. 

Anyway, it was a nice trip even though we worked hard.  There is always something that needs doing up there.  I expect that next trip up we will also be getting up leaves.

Next week I will be back to blogging about the life size doll I am making.  Check back on Sunday for the latest on that project.