Practice What I Preach

I sure can be good about reminding folks that all things happen for a reason and that while we might not know the reason at that moment, somewhere down the line it will appear and we will be grateful that things worked out the way it did. I have had many such happenings occur in my life and some I have been able remember that and just go on about my business. Others take a bit more self remembrance to help me get through. This waiting for the shop/living space to be occupy-able is one of those that has taken a lot of strength and self reminding to deal with!

I thought I was just being spoiled, but then have talked to several folks that are surprised we all have lasted this long in the camper. I am going through week 4 and Nora and Grace are going through week 5. Although Nora and Grace were at school all day last week and even the first week, Nora was at work for the day. They also have been gone since Thursday for a wedding downstate. I do have to admit that when Nora, Grace and Bleau are at school, it is a bit more tolerable, but still small. My brother was over yesterday and we were talking about the size and he made the comment that what we all are living in right now is about the size of what my office was back in the old home! Minus the bedroom, which we pretty much only use to sleep in and nothing else.

The fact that the weather continues it’s schizophrenic nature does not help. The sunny days are wonderful. We all can be outside and doing things. The rainy days are the opposite. Most of the rainy days we have had in the past 3 weeks have also been all day events. It may not be raining heavily, but enough to keep us inside.

The other straw trying to break me this past week was that progress on the shop/living space was slower than I had hoped for. Monday was a holiday, so no work. Tuesday was a rain day. Wednesday was good for working, but the crew had to finish up work at another site. Thursday would have been ok, but a design flaw in the truss design was spotted by the builders. Not a safety issue, but aesthetics. They were able to come up with a solution, but it required some different lumber for some of the walls and thus no work was done on Thursday. Friday they did come out and got the forms off, the mud-sills in and also the rear wall completely framed and the front wall about 85% framed. None of the walls are standing, so I did not take any pictures of where it currently stands. I was told that the crew will be out tomorrow and they are even bringing the equipment to set the trusses. So with some luck, we will have 4 outer walls and the two inner, load bearing, walls up, as well as the trusses. Tuesday’s weather looks a little iffy, but they said they will work in the rain if it is not too heavy and by daybreak, the rain looks to be light and scattered, so perhaps they will work that day. Wednesday the weather looks good, so I am hopeful that by the end of the day Wednesday, it will be closed in, minus the doors and windows.

I was over at the site every day this week. It is very good therapy for me to be over there, whether it is to work, or just hang out and watch the crew work. On Tuesday I got a load of pit-run rock. That is the rocks that came out of the mines. They are sized anywhere from a baseball to a large watermelon. Not good for the final surface of a driveway or roadway, but very good to “stiffen up” a muddy or wet area. I spent most of the late morning and early afternoon spreading those rocks out and packing them into the soft and wet ground.

The folks that bought Nora’s grandparents home (which is right next door to where we are building and is also where we will be eventually moving into to live permanently) had saved the old mail box for all those years. It was a little banged up and also dirty, but still use-able. So they were kind enough to give it to us, we cleaned it up, painted some new numbers on it and in between the rain events on Tuesday, I got it mounted.

As mentioned, Wednesday was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies and comfortable temps. I was thankful for the sunshine, as it helped to stiffen up the area where I had put the pit run. Around 9 am, the lumber for the walls arrived and was off loaded into the dry areas around the foundation. In that last picture you can see the pit run where the truck is parked.

The trusses were to arrive Wednesday as well and I did not want them to sit on the pit run and mud mix, so I put in an emergency call for some crushed mine rock. That is the same rock material from the mines, but it has been put through a machine that breaks the pieces into about the size of a cherry. That is ideal for the finished surface of a driveway. The company I used were able to accommodate me and had 40 tons of crushed mine rock delivered by midday. I spent most of the late morning and afternoon on Wednesday spreading the rock out. By the mid afternoon, I had a pretty functional driveway. The trusses ended up being delayed a day, but I was just glad that I had a good place for them to be dropped when they arrived Thursday.

As mentioned, Thursday was kind of an off day in the weather. It had rained pretty good early in the morning and then spit showers off and on the rest of the day. A good way to tell if a slab was poured and finished with an even surface is to look at it after a rain. The depth of the puddles will show you the unevenness if the slab. The boys did a great job on our slab. The two puddles on the right are actually were floor drains are located, so water should be collecting there.

Friday morning the wood needed to deal with the design flaw arrived and at that point, I was able to look out over the shop/living space…some assembly required!

I wish that I had more to report in this entry, but the reality is my life is pretty much revolving completely around this build! I can say that the seasonal slowdown has occurred. There are still visitors up here, but with schools in session, things are certainly quieter. The colors are slowly starting to pop. More so in the higher terrain, but even there, only about 5-10 percent changed.

The Keweenaw Snowmobile Club is still hoping to be able to build it’s new groomer barn in time for this season. We set up a GoFundMe page to try and help raise the remaining funds needed to build it. Here is the link to that GoFundMe page. Please, please help us out! The building we are currently using is not a suitable one and is in such dis-repair that some areas are not even safe to even be in! I will be plugging this fundraising page on other spots on my website, as well as on Facebook pages. Please spread the word on this, as we need all the help we can get. We have raised about half the money needed through our fundraisers in the past 4-5 years, so thanks to all that donated in those events.

I guess that covers it for this one!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
JD