The thing about snow days...

Although it has been many years since I've had a "snow day" from school, it felt just like that during this recent snow storm.  It holds many delights.  In the darkness, it snows so silently and displays such a beauty that most photos just can't capture.  A bonus to this silent beauty is when the electricity goes out.  More silence.  Not even the hum of the computer.  It's a peaceful calm that you don't particularly want, but when it suddenly shows up, it's nice.  Time to reflect or time to nap.  To light some candles. To play in the snow and feel it's winters chill.  To come inside and warm yourself by the fire...clothes dripping with melting snow.  A feeling of coziness indoors.  A home cooked stew shared with neighbors.  Time to be together.  We should be so lucky to have many more snow days.



February, 18th, 2013

February is living up to it's reputation this year!  Another major snow fell on us last weekend.  It was a heavy snow, and we did lose power, but thanks to our neighbors hospitality and generator, we were able to enjoy another delicious meal with friends!  Thank you John and Leah.

 

In The Spirit Of Christmas...

As we get closer to December 25th, I am reminded each day how lucky I am to have my family and friends.  I am grateful and thankful for them.  I think about them throughout the year, but at Christmas time, they are closer in my mind.  I am happy for the ones who have found successes in their lives.  I feel for and pray for the ones less fortunate who may be struggling with things.  There is always a mix of both.  The ups and the downs in all of our lives.  But I believe, with true friendships and loving families, we all get through the downs together.  And we embrace and enjoy the ups together as well.  If not in person, definitely by our computers! :) 

I'd like to wish everyone in my life a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy your families.  Treasure the simple moments in time.  Feel the spirit.  God Bless!



Back on the road again...

My sister and I enjoyed a weekend road trip to go visit our mother to celebrate her birthday.  On our way there, we needed to stop and grab a bite to eat.  One of the things we love to do when we make these trips is to find a restaurant that we've never been to before.  This trip we found two.  The first one was the Bridge Side Grille in Sunderland, MA.  Delicious food and reasonable prices.  If you're ever in that area, be sure to give them a try.

Once at mom's house, we enjoyed each others company, shared stories, played Scrabble (I won!), opened gifts and sang mom the birthday song so she could make a wish and blow out the candles.  I made her a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and it was yummy if I do say so myself!

After our visit it was time for our long ride back home.  Again, we needed to stop and "re-fuel".  This time, we found Shepard's Pie Restaurant in beautiful Quechee VT.  Click on the photo link on the right side bar to visit their website.  It is the VT mountains with a hot air balloon image.  We were very much impressed with this find.  We shared chicken quesadillas and nachos.  Absolute food heaven!  The quesadillas had caramelized onions, thick slab bacon bits, cheese, fresh spinach and cooked to perfection chicken.  They were drizzled with this scrumptious mayo based sauce infused with lime.  Mmmmmm.  After my hazelnut coffee, we said our thank you's and good bye's and we'll see you soon's and headed back on the road again.

I love road trips, don't you?

Darkness before dawn...

November 17th, 2012

In the wee small hours of the morning, life seems so simple and perfect.  A sort of calm and quiet that you can't find anywhere else when the sun is up above the horizon.  I awoke this day in those wee small hours.  Not by accident, but by appointment.  If you are a star gazer like me, you'll understand what I mean.  The Leonid meteor shower.  According to Astronomy Magazine, as well as many other star gazing information hubs, this astrological event was due to peak at pre dawn hours this very morning.  Tempted by the prediction of 12-30 meteors per hour, I was ready and quite willing to forgoe sleep on a Saturday.  And so it was.  In flannel jammies, slippers and my bathrobe wrapping me up, I ventured out into the darkness.  This isn't easy in the suburbs.  With street lights and building spot lights, it is hard to find a good dark viewing spot.  I should have prepared this spot yesterday.  By positioning myself in the shadow of the garage and the giant pine tree, I knew I had my front row seat.  Once standing in my spot, I looked up into what was one of the most beautiful skies I think I've ever seen.  My eyes immediately found Orion, who I thought was ironically facing the wrong direction if he were to shoot any of the meteors like an asteroid game out of the 80's.  As Leo was behind him, the meteors had the total element of surprise.  I kept my eyes focusing mainly on Leo as the meteors were due to radiate mostly from this constellation.  The Leonid meteor shower was named after the constellation Leo the Lion.  I saw only one.  I was not disappointed.  I did decide to stay out a bit longer in hopes of seeing a few more until this noise not too far off in the distance gave me reason to head back inside to the safety of the house.  I wasn't the only one out in the darkness of dawn.  Have you ever heard coyotes bay?  An eerie sound when you're all alone in the darkness.

 

December 5th, 2012

I took this picture about three years ago and just felt like adding it to this post.

Learning as I go.....

Blogging.....ahh, my greatest outlet for personal expression since Facebook! (Can I say that?)  I just did.   But, I gotta tell ya, I love blogging!!  Don't get me wrong, FB is good in its own right.  To me though, blogging is like writing in a diary that you aren't going to hide under a mattress.  It is one that you want the world to see.  And I am finding out along the way, there are people out there blogging too, about what they love and want to share with the world.  It is about meeting people who have projects and ideas similar to my own or entirely different.  In meeting these people, not only do I get a feel for who they are, I also get great inspiration from their projects.  For that, I'd like to say a big "THANK YOU" to my fellow bloggers.

October 12th, 2012

I've just opened up an online store for vintage items and handmade (by me) barefoot sandals and anything else I can find in my treasure troves.  This is a really big adventure for me and I hope it does well.  I love to compute, and I thought..."you know, I'm not getting any younger and I have lots of stuff accumulated over the years."  I need to clean the clutter and free myself of these treasures that are tucked away in all the nooks and crannies in my home.  I need someone else to enjoy these items as I once did.

So why not open a virtual shop?  Why not exactly!  Please give it a look and let me know what you think.   Here's the link....  www.etsy.com/shop/Junkadoo 

Until my next adventure...

December 4th, 2012

I'm in a Snoopy Woodstock Christmas sort of mind....

Even though I am so not ready for the upcoming holiday, aka Christmas....(always known as = aka)....I feel a bit of nip in the air and it makes me think of toasting marshmallows on an open fire.  One of lifes simple pleasures.  That, and the fact that I saw a recipe on Pinterest for homemade s'mores cookies....oh my!!!!!



Did Someone Say Treehouse?.....

And, if I didn't have enough irons in the fire.....I get this crazy notion that I want my very own tree house.  At 50....you want a what?....yes sir I do!  And I do!  And now that the three amigos are listed here on my blog, I really do have many irons in the fire.  Gail, get blogging!  Until then though, here's a picture of the tree house....

Oh, and I will return with so much more to tell you!  Until then.....

July 23rd, 2012

Not much done on the tree house this weekend.....we worked all of it on the portable sawmill processing everything we had cut and not finished trimming.  I did manage to sneak up there and fit one of the windows, and it looks so cute!  I will post a picture tonight.  I need to trim a bit of the window in order for it to close and latch into the frame properly.  That is on my "honey-do" list for next trip up.  Until then...

July 24th, 2012

I didn't get to post the window pictures last night....a bit too tired to blog.  And, with all this humidity, all I wanted to do was sit in front of the a/c.  So.....hopefully tonight I can do like I promised and post the picture.

Slowly but surely, it is coming together!  I love it.

August 6th, 2012

Well, work we did.....but on the tree house, no.  :(  As sad as this made me, I was still happy to be in our wooded paradise.  We did manage to hike up with a lantern and hang out in there for a while.  The pictures don't really do it justice, but I will post them anyway.

It was just about dusk so the lantern was a must.  It has citronella oil in it which kept the mosquitoes away.

In contrast, here's the same shot with a flash.

Bragging rights here.....there was much rain recently, and even though the windows and doors are not installed yet, our job on the tin roof is quite waterproof!

Until next time.....

September 2nd, 2012

Tree house work was second on the list this weekend!!!  My mom and sister visiting on Sunday for lunch took first place!  I made home made corn chowder and fried hotdogs (one of moms favs).  With bellies full and hugs and kisses to hold me over until our next visit, we were ready to get to work.  Windows were placed and will be hinged, latched and fitted next time.  With the upcoming weather due to the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, we wanted desperately to get it somewhat weather proofed.  Which we did....

It was a time consuming project to say the least.  On top of fitting the windows, trimming the windows and re-fitting them...the hike up and down the mountain carrying them was exhausting!  But, I am not complaining.....really!  It is good hard work with great rewards.

We even managed to get the north wall soffit finished.  The ladders are so long and heavy and tough to move, we decided to do all we could 'one side at a time' and only move them once.  Good idea.  The deck "door" is actually an antique storm door insert a friend gave me a long time ago.  I love that it has been re-purposed as a door itself.  We plan to build the back door out of cedar we have on hand.  It will resemble a barn style door.

Until next time...


September 17, 2012

We worked on the south side yesterday and although it doesn't look like much...trust me, it was much!  We took the windows back out to work both from within the tree house and on the ladders to start with the batting boards.  We also finished up the end trim on the roof soffit and fascia.   I think once finished it will look beautiful!  Check it out...

I'm not sure how much we will get done before snow falls, let's just hope the doors and windows are secured and trimmed out.  

Until next time....☼

October 2, 2012

The two south windows got hinged and hung, but they need tweaking.  I have to chisel out where the hinges attach on the outside in order for them to close properly.  If all goes well with those two, I will move on to the north wall windows after that.  We got all the tall bats nailed up.  Now we just need to cut the smaller ones above and below the windows and the south side will be completed.  Yay!!

 

Until next time...

October 10th, 2012

The project of the day was the entrance door to the tree house.  With the rough cut lumber we had left over, we built a beautiful barn style door.  You know the old saying; "measure twice, cut once"? well...I don't think that applied here.  You see, the door was built square, but the door opening was not quite square.  I remember saying, "let's make sure this is correct so we won't have to heft this heavy door up and down the mountain".  Four trips up and down and four fittings later.....door is in!  I will post pictures as soon as my server will allow me to.

Now that it's in and I am looking at this picture, I'm really thinking it does need a window in the door.  

(I wonder how that's going to fly...)

On to other projects...

While I was fitting the south wall windows, Jerry was continuing on with the board and bat project on the cabin.  I will add photos on that post.  Here's the tree house windows I finished...

 This old window needed a bit of reinforcing....so with my trusty hand drill, I drilled pilot holes for the screws.  The braces aren't that nice to look at, but I will touch them up with some paint to camouflage them later on.

I even put the 1" trim boards up along with small brass hooks to hold the windows shut.  Yes, I am patting myself on the back here.

One last thing we did on the south exterior wall was finish up the batting above and below the windows.

Until next time...

October 21st, 2012

Progress is being made on the completion of the exterior on the tree house.  We finished up the batting on the back side and have moved onto the north side.  I mentioned wanting to put a window in the door, and it seems that should have been planned at the design stage. The wheels are spinning on ideas though.  If you have any that you'd like to tell me about, please comment!

I started a stone stairway towards the tree house.  It needs a bit more work, but take a look...

The bank here gets a bit slick, and with the stepping stones it will be a safer climb  to the top.

Until next time...

January 24th, 2013

Well, the autumn leaves fell and the winter snows have started falling.   The tree house sits in waiting for work to resume in the springtime.  For now though, we visit on occasion to make sure her windows are still attached and the roof is not peeling off from Mother Nature's wrath.  I marvel at the progress of my little oasis in the pines.  As I look things over, I envision all my plans in motion once the weather breaks.  The stairs leading up to the tiny landing at the door.  The deck all decked out in pine and railings.  The interior and all the design ideas rolling around in my head.  Not to wish time away, I wait patiently for spring to break out my tool belt and scratch pad.

 

My attempt at a puzzle panoramic for you! :)

 Until next time... 

Cabin In The Woods...

Even though my first love was the Atco trailer, which I still am planning on giving a name (I already have one in mind for the new decor to follow), next on the love list is the cabin in the woods.  It is in Grafton VT, our heaven on earth.  As we built the cabin, we stayed in the trailer.  I was torn when it came time to "move out" of the trailer and into the cabin.  Now that that has happened, I've never looked back except to want to pretty the trailer up.  Before I go into my story of the cabin however, I will leave you with a current photo of it...

And by current, I mean within the last few years and seasons.  This photo delights me because it looks like a miniature model.  It must have been the way I angled the camera....but I do love it!  Yeah, we get major snow up there.

Until next post.....

July 23rd, 2012

After a weekend at camp, and much work outside, it was time for the usual clean up, do dishes, put things back where they belong and head back down the hill.  While I was sweeping the unfinished wooden floor, I discovered tiny little pin holes and little piles of sawdust in a few of the boards.  Oh NO!!!  Wood beatles??  How can that be?  In doing online research this morning, I've found out it can very well be.  Even with the cold of the winters up there.  So, next trip up, on the top of my "honey-do" list will be exterminating the wood boring beatles.  I am going to try a simple mixture of water and Borax for my first attempt.  If I am successful, I will be putting a sealer on the bare wood for sure!  As much as I love the smell of the wood when we first walk in, I would rather preserve it from pests.  I will let you know how I make out on my next post.  Wish me luck!

August 6th, 2012

Here's a before shot of the floor and its recently discovered occupants "handy work".....

That tiny pinhole in the center of the photo.....is a bore hole from those pesky beetles that I must evict!

First thing to do........inspect floor!  No activity....nice.  Now, I know that doesn't mean they've packed up and moved out.  I did show up well equipped with Borax, bucket and paint brush.  Unfortunately, I was unable to direct my attention to the floor project.  My "honey-do" list was trumped by my honey's do list.  So....here's a couple of photos to show you what we did with (my) time...

 

It probably doesn't look like a whole lot of work, but believe me....just the two of us, in 90 degrees with about 85% humidity....it is!  Thank God for the outdoor shower!!  Once the boards are up, the next step will be putting the batting up to hide the seams.  This will add extra insulating properties as well as match the shed.

And, I think I may want the camp to age naturally like this.  I think....
Until next time.....

August 14th, 2012

Sometimes when you have a list of "things to do", you don't always finish the tasks in the order that they are in.  My perfect example was this past weekend at the cabin.  My planned eviction of the boring beetles was postponed due to a water sample that had to be taken from the well, mailed and reach the lab within a 30 hour window.  Since the flood, many Vermonters have had to have their water tested.  It's quite common and the people who work in the post offices are very familiar with the cardboard mailer and its urgency to reach its destination.  I was very pleased when checking my delivery confirmation online to discover the cardboard vehicle reached its proper destination in 23 hours!  More impressive was the fact that it arrived in Burlington at 7:06am and was at the lab at 7:08am.  Way to go USPS!! 

Then there was my "honeys do" list.....  Don't get me wrong, I know it's a joint venture.  But by bumping up his list, it is causing my list to grow even longer.  I will work around it, and I do.  As a warning to the tenants in my wood floor, I did manage to sprinkle a bit of dry Borax into their "port holes" and broom it in good.  This will keep them out of my mind until the next time up.  I hope.

All my gripes aside, we did progress well on the board and bat project.  Here are a few pictures for  you...

I can already envision window boxes filled with bright red mums!  The windows will have cedar trim.
Thank you to my sister for coming up with us to help.  We worked hard, but we had fun too.

Until next time...

September 2, 2012

We finished up the boards on the back side of the cabin....

Not the best pic with the phone box, but that's the back side of the cabin ready and waiting for Thompsons Watersealer and the bat boards to complete the look.  We still need to do the cabin soffits as you can see.

Until next time...

October 2, 2012

I worked on my solar lamp post project this week.  I just love it!!  Check it out...

The Beech tree came from RI.  It had a bittersweet root growing around it for years and was finally cut down.  Thanks to the bittersweet, it created a wonderful cork screw effect.

I chiseled all the bark off first, then cut the base square and the top angled.  I drilled a hole in the top to hold the shepherd's hook and finally coated it with oil to bring out the luster of the wood as well as preserve it.  I think it is a lovely addition to the area. 

Until next time...

October 10th 2012

While I worked up in the tree house, Jerry finished what he could on the cabins porch side with boarding.  He did a really nice job without me. :)

I like how it has changed the entire look and feel of the outside.  Not that I didn't like the russet color of the T-111, I do prefer the natural look a bit more.  I just realized I have to put up the storm door plexiglass  windows.  We did have to light the wood stove this week.  It was a chilly 40 something in there...brrr!  But, it didn't take long for it to heat up to a balmy 70 degrees.

All the leaves are changing and falling.  It really is a beautiful time of year in VT.  And, I love it. ♥

Until next time...

January 24th, 2013

I know it's been a while since I posted about the cabin.  Holidays and such things in life seem to take over the computer comfort zone....which is sometimes a good thing!  But, here are a couple winter pics to hold you over until I get blogging again...

Until then...

CLICK HERE to follow cabin updates....