An Excuse to Take a Holiday!

A Fall visit from Gramsie and Pops was the perfect shove we needed to make a family trip
back to the apple orchard we discovered last year.

~This time with a Grams, Pops, and a dad in tow.


























I am not feeling ambitious to attack bushels of apples this year, but have been wanting to take
AJ on that drive ever since I navigated it last year on my own with Hannah and the cousins
- just to ogle the landscape with me.  We appreciate those kinds of things together he and I, ogling
landscapes and such. :-)

We caravanned with some of our favorite down-hill neighbors; and allowing the children to load up
2 five gallon buckets (I didn't want overzealous pickers), we stopped for spiced caramel cider
and a salted caramel mocha.  That was an awfully good start to our outing! Whoever thought of
that, good job :-)

The air was crisp and the sun warm on our backs when we arrived.
The scenery was balm for the soul even though our color has been late this year and not as
brilliant as last seasons show.
Still, to drive down a country road by which old trees stand overgrown and gnarled
by years of neglect, holding russet and gold fruit just out of reach...
that is pretty hard to beat!

I drew out our apple orchard visit as long as I could, feeding the troupes a picnic lunch, taking
loads and loads of photos, and taking deep breaths of valley air.  I knew that when set to actual
picking, our buckets would be full in less than a handful of minutes.
I was correct.

Aloria found two within easy reach right away and was happily possessive
for the remainder of the afternoon as she nibbled them both.

 

After we left the apple orchard with our edible loot, we treated ourselves to a scenic drive back to town.
Up a questionable tread-worn path which the GPS called a road, we joked and laughed together all the
way.  It finally landed us back to a "civilized" barely paved road in which we crossed paths with two
other vehicles.  Just our kind of civilization. Ha!

Antiques shopping, new-to-us books from our favorite used book store, and dinner at a small local
brewery overlooking the river were the just-right ending to our day.  It was the kind of day that really
can't last long enough, and which one wants to repeat a few more times before this glorious season
ends.  We probably wont get back there this year, but we tried to fill up enough to tide us over until
those trees put out another crop.

Can't wait!

Wrapping Up the Roof... Until Next Year

This will not be a technical post as I am not much of a carpenter myself,
but I can give you a non-technical summery of the project to date.

The original plan had been to mill beams for the rafters but like many of the logistics
on this log cabin, original plans had to conform to present practicalities.
Time constraints factored strongly in favor of ordering and having the already-milled
beams delivered.  I think AJ figured that using his chainsaw mill, the fellas might turn
out a dozen beams in a day.  There were just too many beams, too many factors,
too many unknowns, and too few days in which to get it done.

 The men notched the logs, then used a winch and ropes to hoist the beams into
place.  Once set, the crosses on top were drilled, and pinned with rebar.

 It took a bit of figuring to decide how to cut and lay the 2" x 6" tongue and groove
so one could look up from inside and not see board end seams.
Once the guys figured out a system, the material went up fast.  Lots of trial and error.
As AJ says "Lots of trials, and lots of errors" :-D

Our boys helped quite a lot on this part of the project.  Apparently it was a better idea to have
them working on the roof, than under heavy beams held by ropes.
AJ was always quick to reassure me that no one had yet fallen and been killed on the project.
{Thanks Babe.}

Zachary cut much of the lumber, and Clay spent a lot of time on the rooftop handing tools
up and down and generally being an invaluable quick set of hands.

 (Some boys lookin' a bit tuckered here)

On the last morning a few extra hands showed up.
I really thought they'd get the wood up, the insulation materials, and metal roof, but alas...
the project came to a halt as they ran short of tongue and groove lumber about four
courses from the top.

A little plywood and visqueen were the finishing touches to keep the snow off this winter.

This pile of white is a stack of foam insulation.

Good progress for a weeks worth of work.  I'll have to ask AJ how many days of actual labor have
gone into this project total (not including computations, phone calls, and figuring).

Since they've only worked on this cabin when Ryan comes out from Colorado, I don't reckon there
are very many muscle hours on this project even though it was started a year and a half ago.
It's a lot of effort to have ready supplies, set up, get into a working groove, and accomplish anything
in only a few (or at most 9) days at a stretch.  I've been impressed!

So tonight I'll go out on a limb and hit "publish" while AJ sleeps on the couch next to me.
Tomorrow I'll have to come back and mend my errors but until then, enjoy the pics
and feel free to laugh at my ignorance!
If we were discussing my area of expertise, it would have been a much more intelligent post
about getting meals for sometimes-unpredictable large numbers and more than a couple hungry
men over the course of a week.  ;-)

Settling In for the Cool

Fall-ish activities begin to be sought after; and projects creep out from boxes, bins, and drawers.

Felt is the current theme - continuation of a Christmas Stocking for Aloria, and some colored
roving and felting needles for the big girls as they explore the world of felted birds and small animals.

Candles.
Candles are a luxury I decided to afford our family from early in my marriage when
I could had only a meager allowance to spend  on dollar store fare,
to 15 years later and mulled cider scented candles in a jar

 Lesson learned:
*pillar candles cannot be left burning and forgotten.
*candles in a jar burn evenly and more completely,
  and it hasn't been necessary to clean wax out of the carpet. Yet.

Baking begins.  Both Zachary and I are inspired to bake as the weather turns cool.
Today he mixed up a big batch of muffins (half chocolate chip, and a half batch
dried apricot and cherry) and I baked them one dozen at a time all through the afternoon.

Quiche sounds good, and so does apple pie.  I think it's about soup season too.

After work this evening, AJ donned his fleece hat and overalls to work the excavator
shoveling out a pond.  It's dark now and he's still out there.
Autumn.
Operating equipment is therapy for him, and I never mind when he comes in late,
dirt-covered, and smiling... just in time for dinner.

I'm liking the change in temperature, the depth of the sun in the sky, with it's warm yellow
light, and the occasional fire in the wood stove now.  The boys are almost done filling the
woodshed, and the porch is stocked too.

It would seem that Autumn is really here.

Sucess. Twice so far.

He is a man on a conquest.  A one who loves the thrill of the hunt.
He is able to keep from talking, whistling, or humming while only the
stride of long boyish legs can be heard swishing through the drying grass.

Now old enough (and long since responsible enough) to carry his weapon
on a trek through familiar woods alone, he is no longer in debt to the wait.
So he goes.
All on his own, he seeks, he spies, and he is successful in bringing home his bird.

Well done son.
You are becoming quite an able man.

And I am proud of you.