New Life in the Woods

You might notice some new features on this page — notably a link to “Subscribe by Email” at the top of the sidebar to the right (and at the very bottom of the page if you scroll down). I am not sure I have this working quite right yet. When it is working, you should be able to supply your email address and get an email whenever I update this blog. All you have to do is type in your email, click Subscribe, and then fill out your email again and a security word in the pop-up window that appears (this is for security). But, like I said, I seem to be having some trouble with the new feature. I will let you know when it is definitely working.

On to other matters… as you can see, I actually got started on the scaffolding today. I would have gotten it all the way to the back, except my skillsaw seems to be losing power and I ran out of energy too. On the back side I will have to attach a horizontal support directly on the siding. However, there is a gutter drain back there, and I had to cut a couple 2″ thick blocks to put on either side of that drain before I could attach the horizontal support. I think I am going to mess up that clapboard siding at the back a bit when I screw in those blocks, but I can patch it up — or there is extra siding under the cabin that I can replace it with afterwards.

Here you can see what I was talking about yesterday: the front two horizontal scaffold supports are nailed to the vertical posts that support the cabin. Underneath the house, I had to attach short vertical sections to press up against the underside of the cabin, so the horizontal supports wouldn’t sag with my weight on them. At the sloped section of siding, I had to add my own vertical support.

I expect to get the rest of the scaffolding up tomorrow, although I think I need to repair one of the electrical circuits first, so that I have an electrical outlet down there. Right now I am running an extension cord from inside the house, but it isn’t long enough to reach the back of the cabin. That may take a little while, but it shouldn’t be difficult. I may complete some of the other circuits while I am at it.

Then the fun begins! Getting that little triangle of siding off from the front corner will be a real bear (as I keep saying) but at least I can reach the top of it now.

Side note: Dan (my brother) would have had this scaffolding up in half an hour, had the siding off and the pipes repaired a few hours after that. I am out of practice with this sort of thing, and going slowly, thinking it all through, especially since it isn’t my house. I’ll get there, even if it takes me a couple days to lay all the ground work.

The other good news today was that it turns out that Mark actually did leave a check for me for $150 (half of what Susan said he owed her, but it is enough). Turns out he left it in his truck up at the main house, which was unlocked. I deposited it tonight but I’ll wait to make sure it clears before spending anything. I have enough work to do to keep me busy for a day or so anyway.

Strange thing… today was the first day since I moved up here full time that I failed to get the fire started in the morning. One of these days I’ll post a little tutorial on building fires because I really have gotten good at it. However, this time maybe the wood was still a little wet or something — my “foolproof” methods failed three times. But it wasn’t a problem since it was a warm day, in the mid 40′s most of the day, and I got the fire started when I got back home from town, just as it was starting to get colder. Actually, I was working outside with just a shirt and sweater and getting overheated — the first time I’ve worked outside without a coat since I’ve been here.

So, even though I am still feeling lazy, and I am definitely worn out tonight, things are getting done. It shouldn’t be long before I have all the plumbing exposed and find out just what fittings I will need for the new PEX pipe. I may even run some pipes up into the area between the kitchen and bathroom for a washer and dryer (to be installed later, when I can afford them).

Major goals this week: 1) get that siding off; 2) fix the rest of the plumbing; 3) take a shower at home; 4) get some laundry done in town; 5) get an Oregon driver’s license; 6) find a job. Along the way, I’ll probably take some time out to move stuff and unpack some more. You know how it goes… I keep finding other essential things that need to get done first.