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11 May 2015
Must
have been even more wiped out than I thought from yesterday’s exertions; went
to bed at 7:30 last night and didn’t get out again until 7:00 this
morning. A good thing there were, again
today, no stream geese here looking for work.
Was supposed to be a showery morning (it wasn’t), so spent some quality
maintenance time with Mr. Jonsered, who was feeling neglected. Mid-morning the sun peeked out, so continued
putting the Sauna deck frame together.
Got the areas in front of the door and woodshed done and didn’t feel
like wrestling with the section that so frustrated me yesterday, so started
putting on the Clubhouse decking. Glad I
made that decision, as the deck plank width plus spacing is 3/64″
narrower than I was figuring. Doesn’t
sound like much, but that tiny discrepancy results in a ⅞″ narrower deck, which
the framing needs to be shortened to accommodate… or else the framing will
stick out from under the decking, which, in construction-speak, is a
no-no. After last night’s rain, the
mosquitoes made their first appearance of the year, but nothin’ a couple dabs
of DWO couldn’t handle. Tom & Tim
stopped by late morning to retrieve the rest of their “stuff” and give me their
bill for the two holes they made last week.
The amount was exactly what they had estimated… and less than half of
what we had budgeted. Color me
smiling! Dave Todd borrowed my trailer
yesterday and returned it today along with a manly serving of red asparagus
(was delicious with dinner) and some homemade horseradish that will curl the
ends of your mustache, i.e., just right!
And finally, a correction to the blog entry for 5 May: Chree got a
missive from the Town of Leicester today raising the assessed value of our Fern
Lake property by 63%.
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10 May 2015
Completely enervated
and totally frustrated all day. Now know
why golfers throw their clubs in the water; my tool belt would have been at the
bottom of Fern Lake if I had had the energy to throw it that far. In honor of the day, used a two-word phrase
beginning with “Mother” almost constantly.
Started out by taking apart the last pieces I put together
yesterday. That set the pattern for the
day: put it together, take it apart, put it back together. By the end of the agony had assembled eight
(yes, one per hour) pieces of the Sauna deck framing. The first thunderstorm of the season rolled
through just as I was about to test the lake temperature. Decided to cool off with a G&T
instead. MUCH more therapeutic!
9 May 2015
Schlepped
into Goodro’s right after breakfast to pick up all the Sauna deck things I
forgot to order yesterday. Story of my
life! Based on my experience with the
“floppiness” of the Clubhouse decking material and after conferring with Tim
Combs (one of the Goodro’s owners), decided to use 12″ on center joist spacing
for the deck, vice the 16″ on center spacing the manufacturer says is
allowable. Also went to the Middlebury
Hannaford where, surprise, surprise, my prescription processed through just
fine. Spent the rest of the day
installing all of the Sauna deck rim joists that are attached to the
building. Most of that work had to be
done while kneeling, of course, which currently is #2 on my list of least
favorite positions. My wish came
true! The lake water temperature is up
to 66°, so went in for the first dip of the season. Took a looooong time to convince myself go in
past my knees, a sure sign that I’m not as brave foolish as I used to
be. Or maybe not, as I did take the full
immersion cure eventually. With swimming
also not part of my current repertoire, didn’t stay in the lake very long…
8 May 2015
While Tom & Tim
were busy this morning finding another 44 gpm at the bottom of a second 80′
bore hole, I paid a visit to Champlain Valley Orthopedics to find out that what
I thought ails me (old age) is, in fact, what ails me. I suggested a 9mm treatment plan, but the
physician’s assistant ordered a refill of my Vitamin I horse pills plus a
cortisone shot in my hip. Went to the
Hannaford’s pharmacy to pick up the Ibuprofen, only to have Tricare (the
military heath care insurance plan) reject payment. After being passed to three different people
in three different organizations, finally discovered that the Social Security
Administration had informed the Department of Defense that all new Medicare
recipients with January birthdates had a Medicare Part D (prescription drugs)
supplemental insurance plan. Very much
not true! By the end of the day, my DoD
file had supposedly been corrected. Our
government at work! Back at Fern Lake,
Goodro’s delivery truck showed up just as Spafford’s was pulling out, creating
a small traffic jam. This delivery was
all the rest of the materials for the Sauna deck. Based on the cost, I’ll probably have to take
a damage deposit before allowing anybody to actually walk on the deck. Unfortunately, the twenty very floppy
20′ long Clubhouse Brookstone 5/4 x 6 PVC deck planks (better living through
chemistry) had to be moved from the top of the wooden walkway down to the sauna
site by hand. Not the most fun hour I’ve
ever spent. On a positive note, with the
outside temperature in the mid-80’s (and
90° inside Delores), the house basement was a cool and inviting 66°. Now if only the lake were the same
temperature!
7 May 2015
The correct way to put
on flashing is to install the flashing, then the siding. Spent several hours this morning trimming off
the bottom course of cedar shingles on the south end of the Sauna building,
then trying to slide 8″ aluminum flashing up under the next course, with “good
enough for government work” or “looks good from Marty’s house” success, i.e.,
minimal. Then spent the rest of the day
(when not gabbing with Tom & Tim) trying to figure out how a flat deck in
front of the Sauna is going to smoothly intersect a sloped walkway. Started cutting to length the 2x6 pressure
treated rim joists for the deck, discovering that much of a pile of them
critters salvaged from an old (but good????) deck have become infested with
white mold… which has rotted the wood.
Meanwhile, Tom & Tim moved their drilling rig to the spot for the
second well, got set up, and put 40 feet of casing pipe (2 lengths) in the
ground by quitting time. Next length
should be back into water, he says optimistically. Down to Marty & Merry’s for another
fabulous repast, fetching along a delicious bottle of 2013 Schmitt Söhne
Riesling.
6 May 2015
The best $1,000 we’ve
spent… EVER!!!! That being the cost to
modify our Potable Water and Waste Water Disposal System permit. Spafford’s pumped our first well for an hour
this morning and got 44 gpm of absolutely clear water. The water came out of the well at 53.6°F and tested
with 12 grains of hardness (translation: mildly hard and borderline for the
health of washing machines and hot water heaters), no iron, and a pH of 7…
which you’ll remember from your high school chemistry class is exactly
neutral. Before Spafford’s arrived, I
dug a spoils pit for the second well drilling operation. This being Leicester, hit one of them
“nuggets” right where the hole was supposed to be, about a 2 tonner, well
beyond the capability of the Kubota to extract.
Eventually got a hole big enough to satisfy the drillers, but had to go
most of the way to Cornwall (on the New York border) to get there. Hole dug, went into Middlebury to do errands,
including buying a new pair of walking shoes.
Have had three pair of New Balance walkers fall apart in well less than
a year, so won’t buy them again, and won’t buy shoes made in China, but finally
found a pair of Under Armor shoes, made in Indonesia, for a decent price at a
local sporting goods store. We’ll see
how they hold up to the rigors of house construction… Back at Fern Lake, put Zip Tape®
on the Sauna Woodshed roof seams, then attached the metal roofing material
salvaged from the old Dock Shed. Decided
to get creative with the front fascia, so took that down, did some trimming,
and reinstalled that piece. That
completes the Sauna Woodshed project… the only building on the property done
without any outside help. (Hint: that’s
the answer to one of the blog trivia contest questions coming at a later date.
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5 May 2015
Break out the Dom Pérignon!!!! Spafford’s hit first water at 58 feet and was
getting 45 gpm, with no ochre, at 70 feet. They stopped drilling at 80 feet. The water is somewhat cloudy (due to the
drilling) but expected to clear up quickly.
Meanwhile, I spent the day cutting, splitting, moving, and stacking
sauna wood, filling the new woodshed by mid-afternoon. Took six Kubota bucket-loads of wood, which
should be a four to six months supply… and hardly made a dent in the pile of 8
foot logs awaiting their turn in the sauna stove. And in the more good news department, the
Town Lister stopped by today and was shown that there still is no reason to
raise our tax assessment. He’ll be back
in October…
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