31 May 2012

THE EAST WALL IS DONE!!!!  At 6:59 am was on my way back to Fern Lake from Taylor Rental with two sections of staging in the back of the Ranger.  The time is significant only because Taylor, in theory, doesn’t open until 7 o’clock.  But Chris, the manager, gets in very early, so I did too.   By 7 pm the staging was back in the Ranger, ready for return.  Do you suppose they’ll only charge me for a ½ day rental????  Today’s adventure did not require any acrobatics, just a head for heights and faith in Werner Company products… which are expensive, but is some of the best money I ever spent.  Poured a very healthy measure of something black to celebrate surviving this major milestone, then spent a half hour swatting mosquitoes gazing rapturously at the shed while sipping, sipping, slip, sliding, away.

30 May 2012

Around Lake Dunmore / Fern Lake is exactly 11 miles via the ¼ mile long killer hill on Hooker Road.  Started out by going as fast as I could down Marty & Merry’s (paved) driveway at precisely 8 o’clock.  Met Marty head-on at the blind corner as he was coming up the hill.  Exited stage right in the direction of his ravine yelling, “We’re all gonna die!”  Marty was amused and my cardio-vascular system had an early workout.  After biking, went to Goodro’s to get the woodshed trim lumber that got rained out yesterday.  Check Engine light came on as the Ranger and I were trundling down Route 7.  Just lovely!!!!  Set up to prime and paint the trim pieces outside, as the forecast was for steadily improving weather all day.  Barely got everything moved back into the shed when the first downpour began pouring down.  The mosquitoes were horribly, nastily, awfully bad all day.  Caught several of them inhaling the vapors from the ThermACell lantern and put them on report.  Set up the upslope half of the staging / scaffolding / death with any misstep rig that I’ll use tomorrow to finish the east wall.  Put on half of the next course of shingles, which went much faster since they’re already stained.  Decided to stir-fry the chicken I was going to barbeque tonight, when the campfire got washed out by the second downpour of the day.  Note to culinary experimenters: don’t use cinnamon in a chicken stir-fry in place of soy sauce, even if they do both start with an “ssss” sound.  Finished two bottles of Chrysalis Private Reserve wine, for which my liver thanks you.

29 May 2012

Rain showers and thunderstorms the entire day, so took refuge in the woodshed and completely stained (butt edge, exposed face, side edges) 100 linear feet of shingles, the amount needed to complete the east wall.  Had to use the ThermACell lantern to keep the mosquitoes at bay; a liberal dose of Deep Woods Off just wasn’t up to the job.  So I called the BLSC (Brandon, Leicester, Salisbury Commission), who dispatch the mosquito control truck.  They added Triangle Square Circle to the official spaying list.  I’m sure that’s even better than getting tutored!  Staining complete, went into Middlebury for emergency supplies, as I was down to one jar of Honey Roasted Peanuts.  Decided against stopping at Goodro’s to pick up the shed trim lumber, as traffic on Route 7 was creeping along at 35 mph, windshield wipers on high, and with the radio blaring something about a tornado warning for the hamlet two miles south of Fern Lake.  Slithered down the hill in the deluge to Marty & Merry’s for dinner.  The food and company, as always, were delicious and, for some reason, the wine tasted pretty good again tonight…

28 May 2012

A memorial day.  Took apart the Advantech and 2x4 structure blocking the northern woodshed doorway, then sawed the Advantech into the sizes needed to build the two doors for that side.  After solving a most difficult Sudoku puzzle during breakfast, judged that the gods were on my side today (in which judgment, alas, I was to be proven gravely mistaken).  Finished putting 30# felt (tar paper) around the doorway opening, preparatory to installing the doorway trim.  Then remembered that I had used a piece of that trim on the southern set of doors after a measuring faux pas left me with a piece of 5/4x4 that was 1″ shorter than needed.  Bah, humbug!  So took belt sander and Skilsaw in hand and tried to “tweak” the already –installed woodshed doors so that they fit their opening better, i.e., (in carpenter speak) they had a uniform reveal around their edges.  Have you ever laid in the dirt, with the sun beating down in your eyes, being devoured by mosquitoes, while holding a heavy belt sander over your chest, eating / breathing sawdust, while trying to even up a door that refuses to stay in one position?  Try it sometime.  Then you’ll truly appreciate why afterwards I spent a half hour in the lake pulling Eurasian Milfoil plants as a much more desirable alternative occupation.  Pot luck dinner over at Kate & Dan’s, featuring a delightfully chilled bottle of Chrysalis Vineyards Sarah’s Patio Red and a long-awaited chance to catch up on their life theatrical.

27 May 2012

Today was Give Your Buns A Break Day, i.e., no bike ride, so, of course, I woke up at a decent hour. Opened the curtain at the head of the bed and discovered that Hopea Kanootti had taken a midnight stroll, as she was no longer locked to Alverta’s kayak out by the woodshed. Once my heart started beating again, surmised that my neighbors to the south had taken up on my offer to use the canoe. Sure enough, she was moored to the dock down in the lake. Would you like to guess where all the surviving mosquitoes in Leicester have taken refuge? Got two more courses of shingles on the east wall by noon, but my makeshift scaffolding, especially the end held up by my 6′ stepladder, was making even me uneasy as I worked my way ever higher.  Decided to build some cribbing to achieve at least a semblance of stability with the stepladder.  Instead of walking the 20′ to get one of my innumerable clamps, was holding two pieces of wood together while I drove in a screw.  Drill driver slipped and the star drive bit did a number on my left index finger.  (I think it was a #4, but will have to check my list to be sure.) Swearing profusely manfully gritting my teeth, I repaired poste haste to the first aid station (Delores’ bathroom), where thankfully I had put out a red towel.  Blood staunched, got another two courses of shingles put up.  The rest of the east wall (five more courses) will have to be done from staging, as I’ve reached (some would say: far exceeded) the limits of the ladders I have on hand.

26 May 2012

Bad news, Space Cadets, the time warp struck again this morning.  Wide awake at 4:30 and, next thing I knew, it was after 7.  Thirteen miles with Marty (down to Brandon and back) after a quick breakfast.  Alverta arrived mid-morning for some quality cedar shingle staining time.  Mid-afternoon I caught her sitting on the ground taking an unauthorized break, something she is wont to do as the photographic evidence attests.  She claimed she fell, but this was clearly a violation of the union work rules.  Fortunately nothing was broken, only minor blood was spilled, and she made up the lost time at the end of the work day.  With Alverta’s help, got five courses of shingles on the east wall today.  Even though Chris Thiel says they look good from his house, I think the last two courses would make a thrilling roller coaster ride at any amusement park. (Note: Chris lives in Virginia.)  The mosquito control spray truck just came around… to everywhere except Triangle Square Circle. Good thing I’ve got a corner on the Deep Woods Off market.

25 May 2012

A very long day: it’s 9:20 pm and just finished dinner a few minutes ago.  Woke at 5:30, decided that was just too early to arise, and, don’t ya know, next thing I knew it was 7:30.  Must have encountered some sort of time warp. Levitated out of bed, did a zillion chores, gulped down some breakfast, then headed out for a 15 mile bike ride with Marty (visited the Salisbury dump today, a popular tourist attraction).  Got to work shingling at 10 and by 7:30 pm had four more courses on the east wall, for a total today of 33 square feet. Doubt if I’ve achieved “professional” status quite yet.  Late afternoon Dan and Kate arrived at their place for the weekend. Spent a few minutes catching up and got some great news: Kate will be appearing again this summer at the Dorset Playhouse.  Can’t wait!!!!

24 May 2012

A first and two accomplishments today.  First bike ride with Marty… a nice ten mile circuit down to Neshobe Golf Course and back.  Except for a 4½″ trim piece at the top, finished the south wall of the shed. Also finished the first box (2,500 count) of stainless steel staples.  Have almost finished the first gallon of Cabot Weathering Stain, so, doing the math, a box of staples and a gallon of stain are needed for each 200 square feet of shingles. Put the starter course on the east wall, using up all the “bad” shingles left from the contre temps with the New Cedar stain.  As a package of chicken was what fell out (and didn’t land on my foot!) when I opened the freezer this morning, had perfectly cooked BBQ chicken over the campfire for dinner.  And who knew that after a long day working in the hot sun, a gin and tonic could taste soooooooooooo good?!?!

23 May 2012

Picked up two more 1x4x8′ boards at Koenig Cedar, then dropped off the U-Haul truck and walked up to Pete’s RV.  Had a tour of a 2000 Winnebago Adventurer 37G that they have for sale… for $30,000.  Offered to trade them even for Delores.  The salesman got a good chuckle out of that idea. Oh, well, was worth a shot!  And speaking of shooting Delores: a new Onan generator was going to cost $4,000, so that repair got nixed (but more on that later).  The left front hydraulic leveling jack is, as suspected, bent.  A new jack costs $600.  My pry bar works just fine getting that jack to retract, so that repair got nixed, too. Sealing the roof leaks will cost $1,100 and they had to order new gaskets for the air conditioning units, so that repair is on hold until June. Today I sailed away for only $80 worth of “investigation” labor… and they insisted on washing Delores stem to stern (something that was badly needed).  Ye Olde Drooling Shoppe at Pete’s RV has a 3600 watt, 30 amp portable generator that could be mounted in the bay where Delores’ dead generator now reposes. Cost would be about $1,550.  Hmmm…  After stops for propane and ice cream, finally got back to Fern Lake at 2 o’clock.  Had Delores stowed and shipshape by 4, so decided to get another course of shingles on the south wall.  That done, was time to check the lake temperature using, first, a thermometer and, second, the full body immersion method.  Thermometer said 72 and the body said brisk but enjoyable.

22 May 2012

The Real Cost of “Free” Lumber
3 Doug-days of pulling nails
$14.50 saw blade sharpening after I cut a few nails that didn’t get pulled
$562 U-Haul truck rental charges
$232 truck gas (11 miles / gallon with a V-10 engine)
$24 highway tolls
3,200 mg Vitamin I (well over the recommended maximum daily dosage… and didn’t do a damn bit of good)
10½ interminable hours of driving (accidents and construction delays)

2 FULL glasses of wine at the end of the journey

Priceless: keeping all that pressure-treated lumber out of a landfill

21 May 2012

Hello, my name is Julia Nyland… at least that’s what my U-Haul truck rental contract says (discovered long after picking up the truck and leaving town).  Took Tasi and me two hours to move all the former-deck lumber from our Virginia backyard and into the truck.  Stopped raining just as we started and started raining again just as we finished.  Love it when that happens!

15 May 2012

Left Burlington at sunrise, except that it was raining all the way to Philadelphia so I can’t verify that the sun rose on time.  Made it back to Springfield in a few minutes over nine hours… not too shabby considering that trip was 40 miles longer than “normal”.  Left Vermont via the Chimney Point Bridge, a route that I had never traveled before, but which seems to have cut at least 15 minutes off the travel time.  Google Maps says the trip “should” have taken 10 hours and 10 minutes.  Consumed 1600 milligrams of Ibuprophen en route and still was pretty uncomfortable for most of the day… damn sciatica… but that explains the extraordinarily quick time.

14 May 2012

A rainy morning and didn’t feel like doing carpentry, so decided to remove a rock that had sprouted in the driveway over the winter and which I managed to drive over (bump, bump) every time I arrived / departed Fern Lake… most annoying.  As always with the rocks in Leicester, the tip of the iceberg hid a much bigger nugget.  But with some creative use of the Ranger, eventually got that 600 pound critter out of the ground and dragged out of the way.  Have I mentioned lately that I really need a backhoe?  Black flies made their first appearance but were quickly dispelled with Deep Woods Off (aka: Vermont perfume).  After “lunch” (the remainder of my ice cream and some frozen chocolate chip cookies), took Delores up to Pete’s RV for generator, roof leak, and hydraulic leveling system repairs.  Overnight with Alverta.

13 May 2012

Up to Burlington to drop off the Sienna and drive Alverta to my brother’s place in Calais.  There we were warmly greeted by a host of black flies and admired all the improvements Steve has made to the cabin over the last year.  Then we went to a local swamp to collect fiddlehead ferns (which some consider to be a local delicacy).  After cleaning off most of the mud, the five of us (Lynne & Perry had gone up on Saturday to take advantage of Steve’s revamped sauna) went back down the hill into Montpelier, where we enjoyed a late Mother’s Day brunch at the New England Culinary Institute restaurant.  Stuffed to the gills with way too much too-good-to-stop food, Lynne & Perry drove me back to their place, where I retrieved the Ranger and returned to Fern Lake, with no interest in fixing dinner…

12 May 2012

Took shovel in hand and carried out my annual poison ivy destruction mission first thing to get the blood circulating in the sub-40 degree temperature.  Then spent the balance of the day putting shingles on the south wall.  In a stroke of pure brilliance, Marty & Merry suggested a way for me to get the Sienna to VA and all the used deck wood (3 pickup truck loads) that is in VA to VT in one fell swoop, using a U-Haul truck and Amtrak… for a price at least $250 less than making three round trips with the Ranger (which, at best, only gets 16 miles for each $4 gallon of petrol).  And speaking of pure brilliance, modified the old kitchen step stool so that it fits nicely on my extendible aluminum scaffold, giving me a mini-workbench that is so handy when working above ground level.  At quitting time had less than one day’s effort left in order to finish shingling the south wall.  An absolutely perfect day… nice temps, light breeze, and NO BUGS!  Lake temperature is up to 64 degrees… just a bit higher and swimming season will officially open.

11 May 2012

After all the fun and excitement yesterday, for some reason I slept for 11½ hours last night. Consequently, was just finishing the next course of shingles on the south wall when Perry showed up mid-morning to help install the woodshed doors.  With the first door, took some figuring out how to support the weight while gently maneuvering the hinges into their pockets.  A sturdy 2x4 clamped to the people-door ramp, our old kitchen step stool, and a bunch of cedar shims, did the trick.  The second door went in much easier. By noon both doors were hung, albeit with many adjustments needed before they will close properly and show a consistent reveal around the perimeter. One of those adjustments was to put a 5° back bevel on the two door edges where they meet in the middle, something that I didn’t know to do ‘cause I’ve never built center closing woodshed doors before.  Perry offered me his power planer for the job.  "I don't need no stinkin' power planer," he says to himself, "I'll just use my Skilsaw."  The northern door came out pretty good.  But to call the southern door a hack job just isn’t fair; it’s more like a totally botched hack job… from Hell.  Humble pie in hand, will be borrowing the power planer to repair the damage...  But the doors now close and, after some quality time with a wood chisel and rasp, can be latched. Remember that old saw about the silk purse and the sow’s ear?  Well sometimes when you start with junk (a previously abused 2x4 that was of poor quality to begin with), you end up with junk, i.e., homemade door stops that I’m going to rip out and throw into the burn pile, then remanufacture, on the next day the gods are smiling in my direction.  May be a decade or two… But, you know, when you’re totally filthy and starving, having once again finished work at 7:30 pm, Riunite Lambrusco tastes just fine… drunk straight out of the bottle.

10 May 2012

Started work at crack of dawn, having lain awake most of the night thinking about all the things that had to be done before the doors would be ready to hang and having promised Perry (who is VERY busy at the moment) that hanging the doors would take no more than one hour of his time.  Perry showed up at 8:00 to inspect my east wall staging proposal; together we noodled out how to incorporate an additional set of scaffolding to make the staging safer and more user friendly. Perry then left for his own jobsite, indicating that he would be back to return scaffolding and hang the doors about noonish.  While disassembling the scaffolding, stepped in a large (and, I might add, very slippery) offering left by a black lab who lives down the street and who stops by every few days to inspect the premises… among other activities, apparently.  Could things get any worse?  Why, yes, Martha, they could!  Was feverishly putting up the trim around the doorway and mismeasured the northern vertical by one inch. Caught that mistake just before running the saw blade through the wood.  Whew!  Then made the exact same mistake with the southern vertical, didn’t double check the measurement (oh, foolish me), and cut a very expensive 8 foot piece of 5/4 x 4 #1 pine exactly one inch too short.  The atmosphere of the entire county turned blue a moment later and it will be weeks before those particular posterior bruises fade!  Fortunately I had another piece of the same wood, ostensibly for the trim around the other woodshed door.  Had just finished routing out the door jamb hinge pockets (the first time) at noon, so technically the doors could have been hung if Perry had arrived at that point.  As he wasn’t yet present, installed the aluminum door threshold, having first tried to cut it two inches too long… but caught that error before putting saw to metal.  Now 1 o’clock and no Perry, so took a break for a long overdue lunch.  Returned to the woodshed and realized that I hadn’t allowed for the thickness of the hinge leaves in calculating the depth to rout the door and door jamb hinge pockets.  As the hinges were already attached securely to the doors, corrected that little faux pas by routing the door jamb hinge pockets ⅛″ deeper.  Rushed the job (convinced that Perry would arrive momentarily), so those hinge pockets ain’t real pretty.  Now everything really was ready to hang the doors, so decided to fabricate a wooden device to quickly and precisely align the cedar shingles as they are put onto the wall.  Perry says that's how the pros do it.  Got that rig built and was just about to try it out when Perry finally arrived, not having had the greatest of days himself.  By the time we got back from returning Bob Ross’ scaffolding to his place on Lake Dunmore, Perry had to rush off to another commitment.  Tried out the new shingle alignment rig.  Worked horribly!  So started to put up another course on the south wall using my tried and true string line method, when once again it started to rain and I decided I’d had enough fun for the day.

9 May 2012

Another milestone day: cinched the belt in one extra notch this morning!  Finished the first door, then went down the hill to borrow Marty & Merry’s very accurate, but very inconsistent, bathroom scale.  After numerous weighing attempts, estimate that the door tips the scales right around 90 pounds.  That’s one HEAVY door… should be a real treat to install.  Started work on the second door.  Was going along not-so-fat, dumb, and happy (accent on the second adjective) when I discovered that I had used a full-length cedar board where I meant to use scrap pieces (‘cause they get hidden under an edge trim board).  That means that I’m now short one piece of 1x4x8′ white cedar.  As penance, took down the scaffolding used to shingle the north wall, then built a working “platform” for the east wall using the scaffolding, my Little Giant ladder, my aluminum extendable walkway, some planks, and a sprinkling of Holy Water.  I walked the plank several times and didn’t cause any catastrophic collapses or attract any sharks, so may have solved a problem that has been keeping me awake for many moons.

8 May 2012

As forecast, a totally yucky, rainy, unpleasant day in the weather department.  Luckily, most of what I was doing could be done inside the dry, if not warm, woodshed.  Got one (of the four) doors 95% built; only need to do some sanding, stain the critter, and rout out the hinge pockets.  Looks great, but with all the cedar now attached, it either weighs a ton or all the easy living up here has made me considerably weaker than I once was.  Had to use the radial arm saw for the more critical cuts, but obviously couldn’t remove the tarp that is protecting the saw from the unfriendly elements.  So stuck my head under the tarp and had a gay old time breathing sawdust. Also needed the bar clamps that I have brought to Vermont two years running and rarely used, so left them behind this time.  But found that you can jerry-rig an acceptable substitute with two Irwin quick clamps end-to-end.  Mid-afternoon Perry called to offer me a ride to Junction Auto, as he was headed that way. Once there, forked over some more of the kids’ inheritance to get the Ranger back… with assurances that the truck bed is now attached somewhat more substantially to the frame.

7 May 2012

Except for one piece of 4½″ white trim at the top, THE NORTH WALL IS DONE!!!!  Having Bob Ross’ scaffolding to work from made all the difference between a job darn near impossible and a job that took half as long as expected, was totally safe, and resulted in minimal wear and tear on this olde body. Thank you, thank you, thank you Bob and Perry (chief procurement official and man about town).  With two shingles left to put on the final course, Marty came up the hill to invite me to a barbecued leg of lamb dinner… come right now and come as you are.  Had him take some pictures while he was here, then quickly finished the shingling and headed north at a trot.  Merry wisely had me use the laundry room deep sink to remove at least some of the grime from my hands… which will need a change of skin before turning back to flesh colored from gray.  The lamb was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s… and an Otter Creek Cooper Ale slid down real easy, too!  And, surprise, surprise, we had Butter Fudge Fingers and ice cream for dessert.  Dinner ended just at sunset, so I returned to work in the waning light to put stain on that final course of shingles, then secured the worksite for the heavy weather expected to roll in tonight and persist through tomorrow.  Lesson learned: the Man Cave is so airtight that drying the shingles in there over the winter just didn’t happen; should have put the shingles in the woodshed that is, after all, built especially for drying wood.  Second lesson learned: sun and air drying loose shingles (i.e., not tightly bundled like they come from the lumber yard) causes them to warp in all sorts of interesting, but not good, directions.

6 May 2012

Got another course of shingles put on before it was time to take the Ranger up to Junction Auto for restorative welding and pocketbook draining.  Got there 20 minutes earlier than previously arranged only to find Alverta already waiting.  We returned to Fern Lake by 10:30 and I set Alverta up with a cozy work station in the sun where she could apply stain to the shingle butt end grain… a critical but very time-consuming step.  While she did that, I put up another course of shingles.  Then it was time for a huge lasagna and butter fudge finger lunch.  This being a union shop, after lunch Alverta got to take a nap while I applied stain to shingles on the wall.  Perry stopped by to give us each some wild leeks that he had harvested in his secret undisclosed location.  (Hint: it starts with “C” as in Cheney.)  He went away with a food offering for Lynne.  Alverta headed back north at 5:00, declaring that she’d had so much fun she might even come back again… next year.  I continued working until I couldn’t go any higher without adding the next level of scaffolding… a good time to quit.  All told, got seven courses put up today, with only six more to go on this wall.  For some reason I’m just not hungry for dinner…

5 May 2012

Used up a fair number of the “ruined” shingles (the ones with the Lowes Special Wrong Stain) in the starter course above the shed garage door.  Just as I was finishing that work, Perry arrived for our scaffolding liberation mission.  By mid-morning we had erected a wonderful platform just the right height for me to work sitting down all day, putting on an additional five courses of shingles on the north wall.  Doing the math, that works out to just over 30 square feet of progress for the day… not too shabby until you consider that the shed has just over 600 square feet of exterior surface area.

4 May 2012

My reputation for punctuality is in shreds!!!!  Was supposed to meet my mother and brother in South Burlington at 11:00.  At 11:00 I was still in Charlotte (10 miles south) and both of them were already where we were meeting.  Didn’t arrive myself until 11:15, which I’m sure my family (and friends?) will never let me forget.  As the saying goes, “One oh, crap cancels out ten attaboys”.  Had lunch with my mother at Pauline’s Restaurant, one of her favorites, but which I had found to be pretty mediocre previously.  Not anymore!  A fabulous repast for a very reasonable price.  Before departing for points north (and the reason I was running late) got a second woodshed door sheathed with Advantech and then put another course of shingles onto the south wall of the shed.  That done, looked at the time and said, “Oh, crap (or words to that effect), I was supposed to have left 15 minutes ago and still have to change.”  Got back to Fern Lake at 3:30 and went back to swearing shingling. Opened the lower level garage door and found the man cave to be very cool and dry.  A half hour later it looked like someone had taken a fire hose to the walls… they were literally dripping with moisture.  This might explain why some of the cedar shingles never dried out over the winter… and why the Ranger has an advanced case of body rot. Perry came over after he finished work to inspect recent accomplishments and provide his standard consulting services vis á vis work in progress.  He also said that he can borrow some scaffolding for this coming week if I want it for working on the higher reaches of the north wall.  Answered with a strong affirmative (or words to that effect).

3 May 2012

Put the ⅝” Advantech backing on one of the door frames… which added considerably more poundage than I was expecting.  Think I’d better use three hinges on each door instead of the two I had planned on.  Then put some Home Slicker on the shed south wall, finagled the insect screen into place at the bottom, and started laying shingles.  The critically important trick is, of course, to lay each course exactly level, with each shingle spaced exactly 3/16″ from its neighbors, and each course exactly 5 1/16″ apart.  That’s a lot of exactlies and no close enoughs.  Started out trying to use my level and quick square to position the shingles… and quickly ran out of hands. Then dawn came to Marblehead… and I snapped a chalk line between the story board marks at the end of each row and, le voilá, positioning the shingles could be done quickly and easily with one hand, leaving the other hand free to handle the pneumatic stapler.  By quitting time had five courses done and very sore knees.  Then scurried around like crazy for an hour trying to get Delores presentable before Marty and Merry arrived for the grand tour and barbecued spareribs with all the fixin’s.  As always, good food, good wine, and great company.

2 May 2012

Built a second frame for the woodshed doors while waiting for Agway to open. Stephanie Sturtevant called to say she would not be coming to assist me today... assistance that is sorely needed if I’m to make any progress with siding the east wall and the upper reaches of the north wall. At the appointed hour, Delores and I waltzed our way into Middlebury for another $40 worth of propane. While the weather for the next few days is supposed to be warmer, colder weather is forecast for early next week and running out of propane makes Doug a very cold camper.  Returned to Fern Lake by 10:30 and started putting up cedar shingles on the north wall.  By the end of the day had reinstalled the 16 courses that I ripped down due to having the wrong stain.  The Weatherizing Stain, in sharp contrast, looks to be exactly what we wanted.  So I’m now back to where I was on April 24^th.  Marty came up to inspect progress, so having a second strong back available, we moved the radial arm saw from next to the shed to the south side of the driveway.  Two reasons: the saw will be in the way when I shingle the shed south wall and, instead of being protected from rain underneath the roof overhang, the rain from the roof was landing directly on the saw (tarped, but still not good).

1 May 2012

A nasty rainy morning, perfect for reading an Orson Scott Card novel in the waiting area while Todd Desabrais did his magic with the Sienna windshield.  He even transferred the inspection sticker to the new glass.  Returned to Fern Lake shortly before noon, surmised that Delores somehow heard from yesterday’s blog about putting her back into the repair shop, ‘cause now she’s seriously trying to kill me.  “How so?”, you ask.  Well, found a puddle of water on the counter next to the stove.  “Now that’s kinda peculiar”, I says to myself, “to have a puddle of water on the counter like that.  Wonder where it’s comin’ from?”  Don’t ya know, that water was coming out of the electrical outlet into which are plugged the coffee maker and the toaster.  Delores, up to her old tricks… again!  “Why don’t  you have an English muffin with your coffee”, she says, “seeing how it’s raining outside this morning?”  Kazzzap!  Having foiled her evil plot (had a Pop Tart instead), put paint on the woodshed door trim that was procured yesterday… which took forever to dry due to the 100% humidity.  When the rain finally abated enough to uncover the radial arm saw, built a jig for making the frames for the woodshed doors by screwing some 2x4’s to the shed floor. As the jig is exactly the size the doors need to be and is perfectly square, there is a better than even chance that the assembled doors will fit the opening where they will be hung.  Got one done, made entirely out of stock from my used but good, if maybe a bit cement stained, pile.  Also designed a jig for using my router to precisely cut the hinge pockets for the woodshed doors.  Now if I only had my jigsaw (in Virginia, of course) I could actually make the jig…  The we could all dance a jig, ‘cause the door hinges are mounted correctly. Living the motto, “Waste not, want not”, sawed up a bunch of ⅝″ Advantech “scrap” (left from sheathing the shed roof) to make the backing boards that will cover the woodshed door frames and onto which the cedar 1x4’s will be glued and nailed.  Exciting work, but somebody has to do it.