Cabin Crafted

Category: General

  • Late Winter

    Skeletonized trees frosted with snow.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Cedars wearing white cloaks.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    A smelting furnace from 1872, the remains sitting beside Sinking Creek.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Yesterday, we hunkered down and watched it snow again.  The predicted amount did not materialize, fortunately and we only received about 4 inches.  Last night it turned very cold again, but is slowly warming to above freezing and not dropping too low tonight.  With a bit of straw turning in the chicken run, they were coaxed out to their food and water this morning and the coop opened up to air out.  A bit ago, I found a supply of Buff Orpington pullets, so now a short road trip is in order to collect them and a harvesting date needs to be set with son, to cull out all of the hens of other breeds to allow us to have a self sustaining flock of heritage birds.  I may still sneak an Easter Egger or two in the coop just for the fun of finding their colored eggs.

  • Just Another Winter Wednesday

    Flurries of snow; winds do blow; bone chilling cold; but tonight is Knit Night with friends, hot tea, and fun.

    wpid-IMG_20140226_132041.jpg

  • The Wait

    A few months ago, I mailed a padded envelope with a skein of yarn to someone who purchased it from me.  It was just mailed first class, no tracking number.  The recipient was very patient and finally after about 3 weeks reported to me that the package had never arrived.  Bewildered, I refunded her money and told her I didn’t understand as I had mailed it from the Post Office window, but things do get lost.  I felt badly though as she needed this specific yarn to finish a project and I had been in that situation before.  Several more weeks went by and the package reappeared in my mailbox with postage due of under a dollar.  I contacted the lady and told her the package had come back to me and was being mailed again to her.  She offered to repay me, but I just sent it on to her.  At the Post Office, the clerk was very rude to me, though the mistake had been theirs.  I added more than necessary postage and sent it off again, marched out of the building a bit angry and frustrated, went to open the car door and something caught my eye and I slammed the corner of the door into my forehead raising a goose egg and creating a small cut, just adding to my frustration.

    About 10 days ago, I mailed two packages, having learned my lesson, I got tracking numbers and emailed the recipients of the numbers.  That night, I ordered something for me and got a tracking number.  The next day, I mailed two more packages and got tracking numbers.

    The first two items were to be delivered last Thursday, but the tracking showed they were stalled at a processing facility and ended up not being delivered until Saturday.  The item I was expecting was due Saturday and again seemed stalled at a processing facility and arrived late this afternoon.  The remaining two packages, the last shipped, were the first to be received.

    With customer service that is rude and not meeting the date they project for delivery, it is no wonder that the Post Office is failing.

    I still have two pending shipments due me.  I wonder how long they will take.

  • We Wish We had Known

    For our homestead, we wanted and built a log home.  After much internet research, visiting a log home show and attending as many of the workshops as we could squeeze into one afternoon, we sketched a rough floor plan and started looking for the log home company from which we would buy our home kit.  It turned out one of the companies was only three towns south east of us and it would save us a ton of shipping costs.  This company would take our floor plan and work up the plans and then put together the kit.  Once the plans had been adjusted to fit furniture, add a coat closet and a few other minor changes, the kit was ordered, 4 tractor trailer loads.  We probably would have saved more money if we had hired a company that put the kit together and built the house.

    We had hired a local contractor that our son who general contracted for us had located and interviewed.  He wasn’t our first choice, but  the first choice required that the crew would have had to be picked up each morning and returned home each evening, almost an hour each way as they are Amish and then they didn’t have a truck.  It turns out that the one we hired had never built a log home and he was a master at spending our money, trying to get us to add more and more to the house.  He also had no experience with a water catchment system that we wanted for animal watering.

    He made so many mistakes that have cost us.  The house design has a dog-run dormer on the back side.

    20140215_181034

    This design gives us much more living area upstairs in our loft, master bedroom and master bath, but it results in a steep metal roof that is set back from a narrow metal roof.  The water catchment system involves gutters with downspouts that feed into pvc pipe around the foundation of the house and leading over to three 1500 gallon concrete tanks joined together off the southwest corner of the house and downhill.

    20140215_181019

    Part of the problems are not his incompetence totally, but he didn’t have the foresight to envision some of the problems that his techniques would produce.  Instead of subcontracting out the roof installation, he decided he could do it himself, more money in his pocket.  He failed to put snow spikes on the upper roof which isn’t an issue except once or twice a  year when the snow piles up on the roof then slides off the offset upper roof, hits the narrow lower roof, taking out the lower gutter which shouldn’t even be there as most of the rain hits the upper roof and the downspouts from the upper gutter should feed the tanks.  The snow then slides off the lower roof and crashes on the heat pump unit.  After having it repaired 4 times in one winter season, our son built the shed roof over it.

    20140215_181005

    Though that solves the problem, it could have been avoided with the snow spikes or having moved the heat pump unit around the corner to the west side of the house.

    His solution to the water catchment system had an overflow pipe that was a full 18 inches above the top of the water storage tanks and there was no way to get water out of the tanks.  This resulted in us digging the tops of the tanks out a few summers ago and our son redesigned the system, we drained the tanks and he climbed inside the southern most one to drill a hole in the lower southeast side to install a water line that we ran in a trench more than 400 feet to a downhill yard hydrant that is gravity fed.  He also drilled an overflow hole in the upper southeast side to install an overflow pipe that drains off to a rock pile on the edge of a low spot that is outside of our hay field area.  That solved that problem at additional expense to us.

    Other issues on the inside of the house, I have blogged about previously, such as putting the water to the utility room on the sheltered north wall instead of the sun basted south wall and hall wall that had to be shifted a foot by our son so that the stove and refrigerator did not touch in the kitchen.

    When we bought the logs, they had a special that gave us a “free” garage.  “Free” meant the logs, not the slab, roof and extra door.  We thought this might be good to have, but we virtually never parked our cars in the garage, instead it stores tools, coolers, ladders, etc. most of which could have been stored in the basement that he also talked us into adding.  The basement has finally been converted into a rec room and a 4th bedroom, but there is still a huge area that houses the heating/cooling and water heater and that area could have been fitted out with shelving and a workbench for the tools and coolers at a much lower cost than the “free” garage.

    Hindsight is 20/20 but many things would have been done differently if we had known.  If you ever plan a house, try to envision the problems that design can cause and check references on your contractor.  We are fortunate to have a son that could see and repair some of the issues.

  • A Passing

    This morning I lost a friend who was lost from me and then found again through Facebook.  In reconnecting with him, I learned how parallel our lives had been, yet how different they were.

    We both became educators, married about the same time for the second time each.  Had children near the same age.  Both built our own homes.  When I reconnected with him, one of the first questions I asked was whether he still played the guitar and learned that treatment for Hodkins disease his senior college year had robbed him of the use and feeling of his left arm and that it had also caused other damage that ultimately caused other difficulties with his health.

    He loved his teaching at Utica College where he had been since completing his PhD.  He adored his wife and daughters and a grandson that he got to share only two years.  He was well traveled and had many stories that he told in blogposts.  He was planning on retiring at the end of this school term.  Most of his posts he ended with, “I am a fortunate man,” and I believe that he, in spite of his disabilities he was a fortunate man.

    I am going to miss his blog posts, his humor on facebook and his friendship.  I was a fortunate woman to have known him.  He will be missed.

  • The Editor

    In January, my husband published his first book.  This book was started 36 years ago, hand written on legal pads and typed by me on an Olivetti manual portable typewriter that I had been given as a high school graduation present by my parents more than a decade before.  About the time he was ready to send it off, a well known author published a book not on the same topic, but based in the same region.  Revisions were done over the next several years, allowing the famous author to come out with a new book and I again typed it on the typewriter.

    In the 1980’s as home computers were just coming on the scene, we got a computer lab at the school where I was teaching and after a couple of planning periods in the lab, I was excited that I could create my classroom tests and exams on the computer, in Dos, saving the test questions for future use.  My excitement led us to buy a Tandy for home and the manuscript was again typed and saved on the larger floppy disks, many of them.  Now several decades later, with the development of Kindle, Amazon, Nook, etc. and those old floppy’s no longer readable, again I typed the first third as he decided the original manuscript was too long and he made a decision to develop the book as a trilogy.  The section was given to him to rewrite and for me to read, as I can mindlessly type and not follow the content.  My final act is to perform the editing and formatting which after several years of retirement, my Word skills are rusty.  Today I was trying to relearn how to number the pages as each page has a header.  We wanted the author’s notes to be in Roman Numerals and the body of the book in Arabic numbers and for some reason, in spite of adding section breaks, the title page and copywrite pages get numbered.  My frustration level with it at this point has caused me to quit for the night.  It took internet searches to get as far as I did and each time I deleted the numbers on those two pages, all of the numbers disappeared.  Arrrgggghhhh!

  • Doctor season

    February is the month.  Somehow, over the years, I have managed to get all my annual medical follow-ups clustered around our Valentine’s Day anniversary.

    Five and a half years ago, I discovered a small nodule under my left jaw bone.  From Family Practitioner to specialist, CT scans,couldn’t find what we felt, but did find nodules/cysts on my thyroid.  The specialist then sent me for needle biopsies of both the nodule in my jaw and those on my thyroid.  The result was surgery to remove my parotid gland with the non malignant nodule and determined that the thyroid was probably cysts.  This happened just as school closed for the summer, but it put my first followup in February.   Annually, I have to go for a thyroid ultrasound and follow-up with the specialist.

    About three years ago, I developed what I thought was another keritosis on my right shin.  Family Practitioner shaved it off and sent it for evaluation as he didn’t think this one was a keritosis and it wasn’t.  It was a squamous cell variant skin cancer and again I sent off to a specialist, this one who specialized in MOH’s surgery.  After visiting with her and finding out how long I would be immobilized, we elected to postpone the surgery until after our annual ski trip to Colorado.  After the trip, back to the surgeon again in February to have the cancer removed fully.  This added an annual trip to the dermatologist for a full body check for the rest of my life.  I was never a sunbather, but did work two summers on the beach as a lifeguard and I’m very careful to stay covered with long sleeves, wide brimmed hat and sunscreen when working in the yard, but my years as a lifeguard are catching up with me now.

    In the middle of all of this, we will celebrate 36 wonderful loving years together with a nice dinner out at a local restaurant.

    ♥

  • The Compact Traveller

    I have always been a minimalist when it comes to packing. This began when I was a backpacker and whatever I needed was carried on my back. I am a tallish, thin woman, not Charles Atlas and did not want to tote around 35 pounds of gear, it leeched my stamina and left me at the end of the day with a headache. My solution was to learn ultralight backpacking and when I gave up that activity after my sons grew beyond scouting age and our Old Farts group disbanded, the practices I learned spilled over to suitcase packing. For the three years that Jim and I commuted across the state to see each other every few weeks, the travel to visit and help out with one of our kids, our annual ski trips and most recently, our cruise and then the trip to Mexico have been in one carry-on suitcase. My preference is a small hard side suitcase except when skiing where I carry a two compartment case that holds my boots, two changes of quick dry ski wear from skin out, ski pants, gloves and helmet. Incidentals on those trips go into another case shared with Jim.

    As the process has evolved, there are items that live permanently in the case, a small stuff sac with a USB charger port that holds 4 cables for phones, tablet and camera; a travel clock, book light/flashlight combo, a hand wash clothesline. Also there is a quart zip bag with a bar of my handmade soap that is used for body and hair, a Toob brush that is a toothbrush with a small tube for toothpaste or toothpowder inside, a widetooth comb for my long hair, and a deodorant stick, none of this needs to be removed for TSA checks.  There is a pair of folding ballet flats for slippers and a fleece that rolls compactly. When I am ready to pack, the climate is considered. If laundry facilities are in question or will cost, quick dry layers are packed that can be hand washed and hung overnight to dry. Rarely are there more than 3 under layers and shirts packed, one change of pants, a skirt if dress up is needed and a sweater.

    With this bag I carry a leather tote with my tablet, phone, wallet, a shawl or scarf to be used as a pillow, blanket or shoulder cover on a train or plane, or as a shoulder cover in a restaurant,  a solid lotion bar, my knitting project and my camera.

    When the northern Virginia trips are scheduled, half my case is packed in doubled insulated grocery bags of frozen chickens and venison for their freezer.

    My minimal packing allows for the packing of these supplies for their family and I returrn home with a lighter case.

    1391301669501

  • Weather misfire

    The snow was nearly melted from Saturday’s unexpected coating. Sunday had dawned with an expected warm up which occurred as the weather prognosticators had predicted. By the end of the day, the field looked like tan leopards with white spots and for the first time in weeks the faucets in the utility room did not have to be left dripping. The dogs were disappointed that the snow was nearly gone.

    Monday’s high was at 6 a.m. and there was a 41°f drop during the course of the day, but no precipitation was expected for several days. Tuesday was frigid, never climbing above the mid teens with strong and gusty winds and snow flurries. The east coast was bracing for a major snowstorm that was to go east of the mountains. This was good, as she was to catch a train the following morning north to go babysit for a few days. The train station 109 miles away and the train departing at 7:38 a.m.

    As evening fell, the snow started, again unexpected and several inches suddenly predicted. What to do, already they were to leave home by 5 a.m. to make the train and with dogs that couldn’t be left for more than a few hours, making the drive that night wasn’t an option. Instead alarms were set an hour earlier in hopes that the roads would have been treated overnight. The mountain descent was snow covered and a bit slick, but the highways in most places were fine.

    The schedule was met and this is the morning view.

     IMG_20140129_074014

     

     

    The world is again white, the sky clear and the sun is shining. The dogs again have snow in in which to play and the chickens won’t come out until it melts from their straw. Today and tonight are frigid, then it warms to normal winter weather, until the ice storm on Monday. She better get home in her car by the weekend. He drives home alone to the company of the dogs and becomes caretaker for the chickens today and for a few to come.

  • New Author

    Ever since I met my husband, James Stafford, more than 37 years ago, he has wanted to be a writer.  After we married, he wrote a book, I typed it on an old Olivetti manual typewriter that I had been given as a high school graduation present by my parents.  The book was edited and retyped again on the old typewriter shortly after our first child was born and then retyped yet again once we bought our first computer, on the big floppy disks.  After that, due to family responsibilities and job responsibilities, it got set aside.  When he retired a couple of years ago, he rekindled his spark to write and publish, so he dusted off the old paper copy of the book, revised it, changing its course somewhat, decided it was way too long for even a historical novel and broke it into three parts.  Again, we worked together to get it typed on the computer and he edited and rewrote and edited again.

    As of yesterday, I am proud to announce that he is now published.  The book can be obtained here http://goo.gl/5JL2mW on Amazon and here http://goo.gl/GOFUjc on Kindle store. (I don’t seem to be able to make these simple links, but if you copy and paste they go to the correct sites.  Alternatively, you can go to Amazon or Kindle and search for the title, Mfecane.)

    If you are a reader of historical fiction, or just want to help out a budding new author, please buy and read a copy either the paperback or the ebook and share it with other readers.  You can check out his blog at Jamesstaffordauthor.com.