September Update or Where has the summer gone?

Summer came & went!!
The weather has been uncooperative off & on... what's new with that? The weather determines what project we work on at any given time.
We've enjoyed the humming birds... we had about 30 (give or take - it's hard to count because they move so darned fast)... but before we left we were down to three. We got SO much enjoyment out of watching them.
We got LOTS done this month... including getting most of the cabin sided with 1" x 12" spruce - stained cedar. We'vve not gotten the windows trimmed yet - but hope to have that done before winter!
We built base kitchen cabinets & decided to build a counter rather than use a "store-bought" one... using Mexican tile we purchased at a garage sale. Although we didn't have enough to do the whole counter top, backsplash & the front edge of the counter (and after a trip to Taos to look for something suitable) Jerry came up with the idea to build a wood frame around the counter & fill in with the tile. The backsplash is just tile set on the back edge of the frame. We used 1" x 4" to frame & used it on the front of the counter as well. I have to say... It looks REALLY nice!! I have enough tile left over to put about 2 square feet of it behind the kitchen stove -- figured it would be easier to clean grease spatter off tile than it would off aspen tongue & groove! We also built upper cabinets, faced the bottoms of them & the four visible ends with leftover aspen. We added 12 volt lighting under the upper cabinets as well!
We bought an RV size (25" x 18") kitchen sink on ebay rather than use the stainless steel sink we brought - it was just too big! I used the remaining big pieces of aspen T & G on the kitchen wall that is shared with what will be the pantry/coat closet. I was 4 pieces short of finishing! Rats! Jerry attached shelf brackets to the back of that wall (in the pantry) and cut up pieces of left over plywood for shelves.
We got ahead of ourselves when we did the counters (as long as we had mastic) and put down the tile on the floor of the hearth. We lived with it, looked at it, wondered how to do it... for a couple weeks... then a friend of ours told us he had a tile wet saw! SCORE one for us!! We finished the rest of the hearth (2 back walls) in an afternoon. We had left over pieces of tile (cut) and not enough of the 12" tile left to do any size entryway... so I broke those cut pieces with a hammer & will use those to make a mosaic with the left over 12" tiles as a "frame".
We also built a back door out of 1" x 8" spruce (exterior), 1 1/2" solid core foam insulation (center) 1" x 6" pine (interior)... and stained it cedar as well. Have to say the end result was quite nice! We bought quite a bit of the 1" x 8" spruce... so we used the remainder on the bathroom walls - completed one and most of a second. It looks very rustic... much like an old outhouse might!
We've been patiently waiting for stovepipe to be delivered so we can get our woodstove hooked up. As temperatures dropped (this past week we had lows in the mid to low-20's) we began to wonder if the last two pieces would ever arrive... and of course just before we got ready to come back to Nebraska for a week... they showed up! Guess what we'll be doing when we get back?!

Well... we're back in Nebraska for a few days. Friends got married last nite... having a garage sale Thursday/Friday/Saturday this coming week! Lots to do in a short amount of time as we have to get back to finish getting the cabin ready for winter.

.: End of August ~ Winter's on its way:.

Sunday after church we loaded up the trailer, the chainsaw & Skeeter and headed to our lot in Forbes Park to cut wood. We have A LOT of dead standing trees so that's what we cut... not the live ones! We cut a trailer load - probably a cord of wood. It rained when we got home... and Monday so we cut the logs up on Tuesday & got it all stacked.
Yesterday was "project" day - we cut 1" x 6" pine and made a drop-leaf kitchen table. Today is errand day (going for groceries, a trip to LaJara for aspen & possibly wood sidin)... so tomorrow I'll try to polyurethane the table... and maybe the kitchen walls & cabinets as well. Jerry said he's going to start building cabinet doors for the lower cabinets. Jerry also cut up a large pine stump (sliced it actually) then burned our house/lot number onto it. We'll get it hung up by the road so the UPS/FedEx/911 people can find us!
The hearth is still not completely tiled. The kitchen counter is still not tiled (we haven't even got the HardieBacker board on it yet!). BUT... we did order some triple-wall pipe for the woodburning stove and a 24 1/2" x 18 1/2" kitchen sink (it's for an RV - but just the right size for our kitchen!). Just waiting for it all to be delivered!

Another update...

Again... it's been more than two weeks... but I just can't seem to keep up with everything!
We've been on "vacation" for about a week - friends from Nebraska came to visit & we enjoyed taking them around. Spent a day in Taos, NM and another day driving Old LaVeta Pass, shopping in LaVeta... eating & drinking too much...but SO glad they came to visit! We're looking forward to them visiting again in October!
PROGRESS:
*We now have 13 windows in the cabin.
*Most of the upstairs aspen tongue & groove has been completed - walls & ceiling anyway.
*We also have closet rods hung up... and clothes hanging on them!
*We moved the bed upstairs (no simple feat, I might add) a week ago Saturday - with the help of friends. We had to saw thru the supports of the box springs, fold it in half, push/pull it up & reassemble the supports with additional supports. The mattress went up MUCH easier!
*We have insulated the main floor... all but the bathroom which is currently a storage area.
*We're hoping to get the aspen up on the kitchen walls - starting this weekend maybe?
*We also need to get busy doing the siding - I think we've decided on 1" x 10" rough sawn pine & we'll put cedar stain on it (we have about 12 gallons of it so we should use it!).
*We're about ready to get the woodstove hooked up... I think we finally have all the parts we need to make it work. Before we get it completely hooked up we'll have to get the hearth tiled... more fun!
INJURIES:
Yes, of course, there are injuries! Not severe, but I have been on the injured list twice in the last week... both times I fell out of the camper - once landing on my rear end (landed on the metal bar that holds the metal step) and second stepping on the wood below the step (spraining my right ankle & bruising my left knee). No!! Alcohol was not involved in either incident!
WILDLIFE:
We've seen LOTS of deer - mostly young bucks - red fox, porcupine, a small (200+ pound) black bear, small (less than 2 feet long) rattlers - all fairly close to our place. We have a resident lizard living in the woodpile. We have trapped/killed about twelve or so mice (Skeeter killed one the other nite!). The word is out that my hummingbird feeders are full... we've gone from three full-time hummingbirds to close to a dozen. They are a constant source of enjoyment & make for great photographs!
GARDEN: Although we've not seen any rabbits at our place there is evidence of one: the darn thing has chewed off the tops of my green bean & zucchini plants! Grrrr! We'll have a few carrots, radishes & onions but not much else. Better luck next year?
TECHNOLOGY: I still haven't downloaded a compatible driver so I can download my photos.
I probably won't get much done if I don't get off this machine... I'll be back in a couple weeks I suppose! :o)

My Every-two-weeks Post

I certainly don't get online as much as I used to... working on the cabin doesn't leave me as much time to get online... and frankly it's a hassle to drag the computer around... not to mention people think you're anti-social when you plug into a wall & ignore them. So... here's my every-two-weeks post!

Anyway... since my last post on 7/9... we have 6, count 'em, 6 windows installed upstairs!! It's amazing what light comes thru!! We have one window left... but we're thinking it will go in the south wall at the bottom of the stairs. We've gotten north & east walls and half of the west wall upstairs insulated. Not just insulated but the aspen tongue & groove is on & looks wonderful! With any luck we'll have the upstairs walls ALL done by mid-week (next week). I'm SO tired of sleeping in that little bed in the camper!!

I planted zucchini (late) and have 2 plants up; 4 of 6 green bean plants are up & doing well. Onions, carrots, radishes, green peppers... all up & thriving. Some friends brought us a berry bush - they're not sure what kind of berry, could be currants or maybe gooseberry - along with a piece of wild rose bush & a small aspen tree. We got those planted... hopefully they'll do well.

Mouse count as of last Thursday is twelve. I hate mice! I think we have a handle on the wasp situation... and the flies! Ugh!

The friends who had visited us earlier this month are now officially land owners in the Sangre de Cristos! Congratulations to them!

Back to Nebraska for a fun-filled week. Dinner with friends on Friday nite then to a local vineyard to hear a band Saturday nite... followed by a side trip to the lake to relax on the sailboat! Sunday: family reunion. Monday: trip to Kansas for my dad's birthday. Tuesday: some quality time with Alex who is home from Iraq. Today: a trip to Menards and possibly Cabela's this afternoon. Tomorrow: back to the mountain! Friday: get settled back in & hopefully get some things done. Saturday: friends from Lincoln should arrive!

That's the news from here.

Mmmmmajor Update - but nothing special!!!!

Can't believe how long it's been since I've had an opportunity to update things here.
Since coming back from Nebraska (for supplies) in June - the insulation is IN the cabin but we've not done ANYTHING with it! We got the upstairs pretty much cleaned up & are planning to move the bed upstairs this weekend. We brought back 6 more windows & have 5 of them installed. We bought 12 volt (RV) lights on eBay and will use them in the cabin. We did begin framing in where the kitchen cabinets will go...and bought spruce tongue & groove to MAKE a countertop.
We discovered we have mice and have set traps for about a week now. Marcy: 6, Mice: 0!! Probably need to get a cat that's a good mouser! We also have wasps. Always some kind of critter causing me grief!
I planted flower seeds - a "hummingbird mix" - but I think the seeds must be bad or something under the ground is eating them. In lieu of the would-be flowers that were to come from the seed, I purchased flowering plants from WalMart. They are thriving & add color to an otherwise green & brown backdrop.
Sunday we had company from Nebraska. They had planned to come on Tuesday but got here early. They had planned to stay for 2 days... and ended up staying for 4 days. They even put in offer on a property here - about 1 1/2 miles from us! We took them to a few "touristy" places: Colorado Gators (gator farm), SunEdison solar farm, Rio Grande National Forest. They spent a day on their own at Zapata Falls.
The weather has been GREAT!! Our "garden" is doing prety well.
That's pretty much all the news that's fit to print... still haven't gotten my pictures to download - so frustrating!! Hoping to get that problem solved SOON!!

I'm on Strike! or just Queen of the Procrastinators

I just haven't been able to get motivated to do much of anything today. Yesterday my friend (and former college roomie) came over to highlight my hair. I'd not accomplished much in the morning - oh, I got a few boxes packed - hair & visiting took up the afternoon and even though it was pretty nice out last night I stayed locked in the house with the air conditioning running... more to combat the humidity than the heat.

Today... I couldn't believe that we slept in... it was after 10:00 when we rolled out of bed. I called Spencer, knowing he had today off, to see if he wanted to have lunch (well of course, he did!). A quick trip to WalMart for some little lock things Jerry needed & back home into the air conditioned house. I've been sitting here all afternoon staring periodically at the mess of boxes & stuff in the kitchen while piddling around on FACEBOOK hoping the boxes would somehow fill themselves. I guess I just need a good swift kick in the pants to get me going. Better not say that too loudly or Jerry will be following me around with boots on!

I think I can get the remaining two boxes filled without any problem, fill a cooler with a few food items (not cold/frozen stuff), sweep, vacuum, dust, wipe down counters, clean the sinks, tub & toilet & feel pretty good about walking out of here tomorrow (if Jerry gets the trailer packed sometime soon?). I'm just ready to get out of this sweltering sauna and back to the cool morning sunrises, the star-filled nights of the mountain, the howl of the coyotes... oh, yes...and back to work on the cabin! It ain't gonna finish itself now is it?

(Not sure who "we" is in this picture... but "I" can do it!)

A sad day....

Today we say farewell to Farrah Fawcett... best known for her role in "Charlie's Angels" and the red swimsuit poster that graced the walls of teenage boys around the world!



Also just heard that Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50. The only MJ album I ever had was "Thriller"... and I played it until it wore out!

May they rest in peace.........