Carn Brae

The objective this fortnight was to get the North Wing floor boards down and stained so that, after taking a short break at the beginning of June, I could set to work on putting the finishing touches in place and then making the furniture for it. The higher intent being that, once the North Wing is complete there are only a few things, that I have by-passed along the way on the main floor, to do before the cabin will be more or less complete.

This does not include the basement. In my original designs for the cabin I did not have a basement but, I headed good advice from friends and included it in the final drawings. I therefore have no pre-conceived ideas about how the basement should be developed and take the view that it would be best to finish the main cabin as planned and then think about what to do in the basement. All that is down there at the moment is a storage room, which acts as an attic and the mechanical room where the furnace, water heater and water softener are installed. There remains about 1000 sq ft of open space with four windows and therefore there is plenty of scope for some imaginative ideas.

Having put large mirrors in the main bathroom, I thought I should do the same in the en suite and followed the example of hanging a couple of pictures as well.

The effect has been to make the room feel much more homely and lived in.

I then turned my attention to the North Wing. You will recall that an acquaintance, Ron Cavers, very kindly gave me a hand with installing the floor boards on the cabin main level floor. Ron is, amongst many other things, a professional floor installer and not only has considerably more experience than me but, he also has the specialist tools required to do a first class job. The additional pair of hands also more than halved the huge task of doing the main cabin floor and although the North Wing is not as large, it is still a significant size.

I therefore asked Ron if he would lend me a hand again and being the man that he his, he did not hesitate in saying yes. I eventually picked him and all his tools up on the first Wednesday of this fortnight and brought him back to the cabin ready to start work after a light lunch.

Ron, as some of you may have gathered, has had his difficulties over the last couple of years fighting a courageous battle against alcoholism. Although he has managed to defeat the addiction he has not yet recovered from the devastating physiological and neurological effects and suffers from seizures and black outs as well as uncontrollable shacking on occasions. When he was here last, we worked for short periods and took breaks for refreshment ending the day's work early in order not to over stress Ron. This worked well and the activity acted in part as good therapy for him, in particular, the human contact in an otherwise lonely and abandoned life.

On this occasion however, it became evident to me shortly after we started that Ron's condition had deteriorated considerably and after only a very short time it was not safe to allow Ron to continue. I therefore took him home, made sure he was safe and checked on him that evening. In the meantime I got on with the task myself gratefully using Ron's tools.

It took me four days to lay the floor boards in the three rooms that make up the North Wing;

The bonus room and ….

…. Bedrooms 3 ….

…. and 4.

It then took another three days to put two coats of stain on all the walls and four coats on the floor. The Wing is now ready for the base boards, trim and doors etc, which I will do after taking a short break.

Browsing back over the Blog, it seems that it has been almost 12 months since I last posted any photos of the outside of the cabin and therefore I took a stroll around the cabin with the camera.

Starting with the view from the road ….

…. coming down the drive and then …..

…. going around the cabin anti-clockwise.

As I draw closer to a point where I can say the cabin is more or less finished, (bearing in mind that in some ways it will never be "finished" because there will always be work of some sort or other to do) I am astonished at what I have achieved.

I find it difficult to comprehend the scale and difficulty of some of the things that I have done here, often with little or no help.

Putting up this deck single handed and most of the heavy roof beams with only one other man to help, makes me shudder now at the challenges involved. At the time it was all just something that had to be done and I had to work out a way to do it.

The land around the cabin is also starting to recover from the effects of building but, it will be next year before I properly get around to giving it the attention it deserves. This year I am content to allow the wild grass to seed again in order to over power some of the less sightly weeds that have appeared in the wake of disturbing the ground. 

I will also be pleased when there is less wood in the garage and I can at least get my car under cover this coming winter.

Not quite sure why I have included this shot but here it is.

My grape vines are doing well and I already have about 15 tiny bunches of grapes. I don't know how long they will last but this year I don't really care. The idea is for the vines to grow up the deck posts this year and next and then I will be concerned about the survival of the grapes.

Eggs in the robins' nest have hatched and mum and dad have been busy providing food for their chicks. The weather has been warm and dry and everyone is in shorts. There is still a little snow on the tops of the mountains, which makes for very picturesque scenery and there has been yet another sighting of the cougar and her cubs, which probably explains why there are only a few deer about at the moment.

I have also decided on a name for the cabin. From now on it will be known as "Carn Brae" (sounds like Cambrai) named after the village and castle near Redruth in Cornwall. Both have links to my old regiment, 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, and therefore is a fitting name. Carn Brae means 'rocky hill' which is also fitting as there is just such a thing in front of the cabin. The prize for suggesting it goes to my old friend and colleague from 3 RTR, Tony Broom. Thanks for the suggestion Tony, and for all the support you have given me over the last nearly three years. Come and get your prize.

I hinted earlier that I am going to take a break now, which will be for a couple of weeks and so my next posting may be delayed. I may decide however to post something not related to this project, just to keep the link going. So check just in case.

Fifty Shades of Grey

I started this fortnight with putting some finishing touches to the black and white bathroom. There are still a couple of things to do such as the shower door and some better light fittings but it is now useable.

I decided that I had to christen the loo - well you've got to, haven't you? Anyway, while I was sitting there contemplating all my handy work, it dawned on me that precious little in the room was actually either jet black or pure virgin white and that the tiles and pebbles in particular were all various shades of grey. So, I have decided to rename the room '50 Shades of Grey'. All I need now is the book to go with it, which I can leave by the bath for bath time reading for the ladies.

I also ordered the glass doors for the shower, which will be ready on 1 July. I almost fell over when told the cost and thought a nice set of plastic curtains would do just fine. Sadly, I couldn't find any in black, white or grey so I'll have to have the glass doors.

The next task on the project Gantt chart is to get the North Wing up to the same level as the rest of the cabin (above the basement). The panelling had to be finished off and, where it was not dependant on the floor boards being in place, I also put most of the trim in place.

The aim of the first phase is to get it all ready for putting down the same larch floor boards that are on the floor of the ground/first floor.

I decided to split it up into three areas. The living space and the two bedrooms - 3 and 4.

The living space is over half the total area of the North Wing and it took me six days to get it straight. I brought the mitre saw up from the garage, which I used out on the deck and that saved a lot of time going up and down the stairs with pieces of panelling and trim. The contrasting colours and the proximity of the beams give these rooms a cosy feel and I can't wait to see them with the floor boards down.

The bedrooms are much smaller and by the time I had got around to them I had perfected a few techniques for speeding the process up and it took me only 2 days to complete each of them.

Bedroom 4 first and …. 

…. Bedroom 3 last.

After which, I gave the place a good vacuum cleaning ready for the floor boards sometime next week.

I then did a quick estimate to see if I had enough wood left over from the flooring of the Great Room and it was a mild relief to find that I have, with a little to spare.

With all my sawing and staining (of trim pieces) on the North Wing deck the robins decided to move from their nest and built a new one under the main deck outside the Great Room. By the looks of things I think they are now sitting on eggs. I haven't taken a closer look for fear of frightening them away and so don't know how many eggs there are.

I have been plagued by thigh muscle cramps at night this week which is probably a sign that I need a rest so I'm going to take tomorrow off and try to resist the temptation to do anything. Fat chance but, at least I'll try.

With the North Wing now ready to floor board, I have been able to get the last piece of scaffolding out of the house and I hope never to have to bring it back in. I will now return it to its owners with grateful thanks.

Today I threw away my last pair of old army green jeans. They had served me well. With the other pair, which I threw in the bin a couple of weeks ago, I've worn them nearly every day for the past nearly three years. They had worn so thin in parts they were almost see-threw and covered with appalling stitches holding them together and glue, stain and paint stains. Maybe I should have kept them as a memento of all the work I've done here - maybe not. I think the cabin can stand for that.

That is it for this fortnight. I hope next time to be able to show you the North Wing with all the floor boards down.

Paradise Regained

Apologies for the slightly late publication this fortnight but, the internet went down on Sunday for some reason. The fact that I had too much to drink on Saturday night had nothing to do with it at all, honestly, trust me I'm a doctor.

With hands all but healed, this fortnight I set about resuming work on the second bathroom, which has been patiently waiting my return. Before I did this I pulled one or two small bits and pieces out to the basement to make the Great Room feel more like home and added a couple of rugs for atmosphere.

Not the best photo to show off the Great Room but, at least it gives you some idea of how it now feels.

First up in the bathroom I tiled the bath and installed the faucet and taps. It all works well but, I have yet to christen it by having a bath.

With that done it seemed logical to get the floor tiling done, for which I needed to run the under floor heating wires. The floor temperature sensor is in the middle and it all tested positive before I put the tiles down.

The tiling went smoothly although over half of them had to be cut. The under-floor heating works well and will be appreciated in the winter

I then installed the toilet and built and mounted two wall cabinets, one over the loo and the other …..

…. above the sink counter - .… 

….. better seen here.

The lavatory didn't take up as much room as I imagined it would and there is more room in here than I expected.

Finally, I finished the shower tiling. Pebbles on the floor and …..

…. the same tiles as the bath and floor for the shower walls. So, black and white bathroom now done, bar the shower door (that will have to be bespoke as the entrance is too large for off the shelf doors) and fixtures and fittings that I will add later this week.

No sooner than I published the last blog, the humming birds arrived and have been buzzing the feeder constantly ever since. For those interested, the liquid is just sugar and water - fifteen teaspoons of sugar to one (large) yoghurt pot. The robins have also built their nest under the North Wing deck but, are not yet sitting on any eggs.

I have been promising myself that I would plant some grape vines this year and last week I bought and planted three on the South side of the cabin. Two are doing really well but, the third is being a little slow getting going.

There are two different types of grape and suitable, so I am told, the one for eating and the other for wine or preserves.

I am going to encourage them to grow up the deck posts so the fruit will be out of the reach, of the deer at least.

The melt is rather slow this year. There was lots of snow in the winter on the mountains and the temperature in the valleys this Spring has been warm for two months now but the temperatures, particularly at night, at altitude, have been cold. At least it has meant that there have been no floods in our region, which many will be thankful for.

This weekend has been very sociable and Saturday evening I had guests for starters at my place and then we moved on to Rod and Candy's place for the main course. I ate and drank far too much and paid for it on Sunday morning. No regrets though. Sunday evening was more sedate and we started at Dan and Debbie's and then moved to Rod and Candy's fire pit where we sat warming our feet at the fire with a glass of Merlot, eating ribs and chicken and listening to wolves howling in the forest and geese chatting away on the water - "Paradise Regained".

The Full Monty

 Well, it's that time again. It has been quite a slow fortnight as far as progress is concerned but, in other ways, it has also been a significant period. I have had my first guests, Janet and Stuart Doyle who came for Easter. They arrived bearing gifts of wine and a delicious home made Dundee cake and during their stay made up for my appalling lack of preparation by donating a much needed tea pot and coffee maker.

Stuart helped me by putting two coats of stain on all the shelves in the study and when Janet wasn't busy working in the kitchen she found time to help unpack all my books, dust them off and put them on the shelves. What a splendid job she did too. They are now far better organised than they have ever been. Stuart even made a step, so I will be able to reach the top shelf without standing on a chair.

If that wasn't enough, at the end of a long and tiring day Stuart helped me bring up the two, two seater sofas from the basement that I brought over from the UK. These are over thirty years old and are still in excellent condition, if in need of a little polish/nourishment.

Stuart and Janet left on Monday morning to visit their daughter Jeniffer in Banf for lunch on their 10 hour journey home to Whitecourt in northern Alberta. It was great to see them and I look forward to their next visit, which I hope won't involve any work at all. Thanks guys, you are the best.

I spent the rest of the time finishing off this side of the cabin, light work while my hands heal.

I put doors on the side board and some of the lower shelving in the study area and continued the exciting process of unpacking boxes that I packed up three years ago. I also put up a row of smaller shelves to house my CD music collect.

At this point the temptation to interrupt the work in the study in order to set up my stereo system was too great. After all, three years is a long time to go without quality music and part of the fantasy of building this cabin here was to look out of this window at the wonderful view of the lake and the Rockies accompanied by Motzart, Sibelius, Bach, Vivaldi, Mancini, Straus and co ……..

It has taken my appreciation of both this place and their music to a different level. Achieving it wasn't as straight forward as just setting up the stereo. I had to put in a 220 volt power supply which I floor mounted. Frankly, it was just too difficult to now put the socket in the logs.

So, to the accompaniment of genius beyond my comprehension, I set to work with renewed inspiration at chinking the rest of the logs in the dining area and hanging a few more pictures. The desk will probably move when I get around to making the dining room table but, it looks fine where it is for the time being between 'The Camp of the 4th Division' and 'Marlene Dietrich'.

Much time was then spent doing the finishing touches like staining the doors, putting an architrave above the book shelves and unpacking the rest of my boxes. The latter was a cross between Christmas and a trip down memory lane. Each book, photograph, plaque, decanter and ornament had a story to tell as it came out of the box and I found a place for it to go.

I must have moved everything at least three times and will probably rearrange it all again before it is finally done. But, the cabin is finally beginning to feel like home and …..

….. at last I have been able to start living in the rest of the house. For the past six months I have virtually been living in my bedroom but, now I can relax and enjoy other parts of the cabin.

I bought some rugs to make the place feel a little more comfortable and to protect the floor boards from excessive wear.

The final piece was getting my computer set up on the desk in the corner. The challenge here was to get an effective internet connection in an area of the cabin where the signal strength on my iPhone is only one bar. I had to install a booster system that involved external and internal antennae and seventy feet of co-axial cable.

The strongest signal in the house is in my bedroom and so I put the external antenna on the roof above it.

The internal one I put above the desk. I could probably have put it in a place where I would get a larger area coverage but, it would be more conspicuous and I also wanted the strongest signal directly over the desk area. Anyway, where I was getting one bar, I now have five bars. Well worth the money and effort.

The summer bird migration is well under way. Most of the birds have been back for about a month now, including the robins, but, 'mine' have not returned or at least are not nesting at the cabin yet. The geese are here, the same two pairs fighting over the best spots on the cliff facing the front of the cabin. The ospreys are already sitting on eggs in their large nests.

Last year the humming birds arrived exactly on queue on 1st May so, this year I had my humming bird feeder all cleaned and filled ready for them. Only, despite the temperature this week rising to 30c, they haven't arrived yet. Well it's ready for them when they get here and, as I have put it right outside one of my windows, I hope I will get plenty of opportunities to photograph them - wish I had a better camera.

As you all know I am partial, upon occasion, to a good old (out of fashion) English breakfast and that the proper ingredients are hard to come by over here. Well, I was wondering through my local supermarket, unusually taking my time to browse the shelves, when I happened across some back bacon and some good old fashioned pork bangers. The temptation was too great and so I went on to look for some tomatoes, mushrooms and eggs. The only thing I couldn't find was some black pudding (blood sausage for the un-initiated) and so went to a special meats seller in Cranbrook whom I thought might have some. Sadly, I was informed that since a law was introduced about two years ago, banning products made with blood, it is no longer available. The nanny state gone made - what would we do without them! Probably live happier lives.

The Full Monty. 
I know a breakfast like this every morning is probably not conducive to a long life but, at least I would die happy.

The pace of work this fortnight has remained slow, not helped by the fact that within two hours of having the stitches out last Saturday I managed to burst the wound open again. I resisted the temptation to go back and have it sown up again and resorted instead to my trusted roll of duct tape. The good news is that I don't think it will be long, about I week I hope, before I can get back on with the main bathroom.

Despite the slow pace this fortnight, I feel that another small milestone has been passed. All but four of my boxes are now unpacked. The last four contain only large glass Japanese fishing buoys that will decorate the bar or the deck, I haven't decided which yet. So, they can remain where they are for the time being. For all intents and purposes therefore, all my possessions are now out and available to me. This gives me a feeling that although the cabin is not yet finished, I have now completed my move. The journey, so to speak, is not yet over but, the transient nature of my life over the last few years feels like it is coming to an end. The uncomfortable period of limbo is fading.

Psychologically, this is an important milestone. As most readers of this blog are aware, this project has been part philosophy and part therapy. It has now mostly fulfilled its element of therapy. In all honesty, time has probably been the main healer but, the project has kept my mind and body occupied while time has healed the wounds. As I complete the work on the cabin (above the basement) over the next few weeks I will start to think about the future, travel and exploration.