17 September 2015

Got up at 4 (gack!) and was on the road with the dogs by 5:15.  Was so foggy that I drove out of the spot where the Tacoma was parked and immediately got lost in the middle of Steve’s field.  Eventually found the road, went a ½ mile and realized my lunch was still in Delores’ refrigerator.  Got underway a second time at 5:30, found the road first try this time, and then crept down to Montpelier in pea soup fog.  Was in and out of the fog all the way to Springfield… Massachusetts (200 miles).  Found a (too typical… oh, how I hate the DC-area traffic!) parking lot on I-695 in Washington which meant that the last 20 miles of the 610 mile trip took an hour and a half, which pushed the total trip time (with two stops) out to 11½ bun-numbing hours.  The dogs were very happy to get out of the truck when we arrived!  Chree pulled in 45 minutes later (she ran into stop and go traffic on the Baltimore Washington Parkway that I must have been just ahead of, but avoided I-695 ‘cause I called her in time. We finished the last of our Virginia JW Double Black.  Unfortunately, the bottle was mostly empty already…

16 September 2015

Followed by Chree in the Prius, took Delores down to her home away from home (Green Mountain Garage) for some more fixing, i.e., installation of high temperature spark plug wires.  Returned to Fern Lake to pick up the Tacoma, trailer, and Kubota.  Decided to be daring (Danger is my middle name.  No, that’s not right!  Unsafe at any speed is my middle name.  I’m so confused…) and took VT 125 up (and I do mean UP) over Middlebury Gap and down (and I do mean DOWN) the other side.  Made it, but not sure the Tacoma will ever speak to me again.  Got to Calais at 11:30, unloaded, and immediately turned around (in the Prius) to head back to Brandon.  Picnicked along the way in Granville Gulf, a very scenic section of VT 100.  Got back to Green Mountain Garage at 2:30 to find Delores was ready to go.  Chree headed south to visit with Tasi and Rachel overnight in their Williamsburg, MA apartment.  I headed north with the dogs, returning to Calais via Burlington and East Montpelier as, even with all 8 cylinders firing away, there is no way Delores could ever make it over the mountains or up Bayne’s Hill (which the Tacoma needed 4WD to ascend with the trailer and Kubota).  Delores ran like a champ the whole way!  Got back to Calais at 5 and settled in for the duration.  Steve and I went to the Positive Pie Restaurant in Plainfield for dinner.  Good, but not as great as previous visits.

15 September 2015

Took Delores back to Green Mountain Garage to have the leaking brake caliper replaced.  That done, spent most of the afternoon loading up for the logging trip to Calais.  Found that the new chainsaw chain I just bought is supposed to be sharpened with an ¹¹/₆₄″ file instead of a ³/₁₆”.  Bizarre!!!!  Chree and I also finished cleaning the basement, removing several cubic yards of planer shavings and lots of dust.  Then we went for a final (?) canoe ride around the lake, which now is 16″ below the top of the dock and a balmy 77°.  Weather today was about as perfect as it gets!

14 September 2015

Oh why, oh why does Delores hate me so?  Was doing pre-trip checks this morning and discovered that the inside left rear tire on the RV had an air pressure of only 20 psi, i.e., she was a flat.  So called Green Mountain Garage and was told they don’t do flat tires, but to try Rouse Tires in Middlebury.  The person at Rouse said there were some customers ahead of me but to bring ‘er on in.  Major loss of power during that 10 mile journey, same as I was experiencing last year when two of the spark plug wires were disconnected.  When I got to Rouse, having filled the leaky tire to 70 psi before leaving Fern Lake, the tire was again flat and copious amounts of smoke was pouring from that area.  A quick inspection revealed that the brake caliper was leaking fluid onto the hot rim.  Rouse’s found a bad valve on the flat tire, easily and inexpensively repaired, but they don’t do brakes.  So called Green Mountain Garage back and begged them for an afternoon appointment, laying stress on being the owner’s (Chuck Munger) neighbor.  Limped down to Brandon, with the brake pedal going all the way to the floor the two times I tried to slow down, with emphasis on the word “tried”.  Unsafe at any speed, that’s me.  Green Mountain didn’t have the brake caliper… for some reason they don’t stock parts for 1995 F-Series Ford vehicles.  Roy, their new mechanic, found that two of the spark plug boots were torn and burnt / melted.  Green Mountain also didn’t have a set of vintage 1995 high temperature spark plug wires.  Put the needed parts on order and  Roy put some electrical tape on the spark plug boots, used a set of vice grips to pinch off the leaking brake line, added some brake fluid to the system, then Delores and I hobbled back to Fern Lake for the evening.  Did I mention that my middle name is, “Unsafe at ANY Speed”?

13 September 2015

After bed and breakfast, Chree and I drove over to Chatham, NH… which was quite a challenge as the Prius’ navigation system didn’t have that town in its database.  We finally found Kate & Nate’s place (Chree’s niece and husband, whose wedding we attended in Fryeburg, ME last summer).  Stopped there for an hour to admire their 6-week old daughter, Savannah Pearl, tour their house, and see their maple syrup production facility.  Then fought with the navigator once again (ended up back in Fryeburg at one point and knew that wasn’t right) trying to get to Charlestown, NH via the Kancamangus Highway, which would have been a lovely drive had the sun been out.  Had a nice late lunch with Chree’s sister, Anne, and retrieved my Sperry Topsiders (don’t ask).  Then headed for Salisbury, arriving in the midst of a downpour (the only one encountered all weekend… of course).  Quickly loaded up the dogs, returned to Fern Lake (still raining), unloaded (still raining) and… the rain stopped.

12 September 2015

Dropped off the dogs at Lynne and Perry’s mid-morning.  Lizzy and Shlomo immediately started a contest to see who could be the more hyperactive.  Chree and I then drove over to NH.  Do you remember that old Vermont saying, “You can’t get there from here!”?  Well, that pretty much describes the route from Salisbury to North Conway.  Stayed at the Eastman Inn, a bed & breakfast on the outskirts of town.  Late afternoon, went up to the Glen House in Pinkham Notch to attend a fund-raising event for the Mount Washington Observatory, which included a champagne toast at sunset on the summit observation deck.  In the picture is Brian Fowler, MWObs President, giving his toast as the sun goes down behind him.  Pretty spectacular, huh?!?!  A fun evening, in spite of the weather.

11 September 2015

Chree and I went up to Burlington to do errands and review our plumbing fixture choices at the Granite Group in the morning, have lunch with Alverta, and begin the kitchen cabinet design process at Lowes.  On the way back to Fern Lake, Chree and I agreed that we didn’t like the kitchen designer we had been working with, and will start over with someone else at a different Lowes.  Marty and Merry came up for a dinner of Scallops Newberg and other delights (a significant change up from the usual Delores fare… thank you, Chree).

10 September 2015

Frank, Fran, Chree, and I spent an hour late-morning seeing an exhibit at the Middlebury College Art Museum.  The Tarrios departed after lunch and I went down to Pittsford to retrieve the Kubota.  After dinner, Chree and I went over to Glen Peck’s house to see some lighting design ideas that he wanted us to consider.

9 September 2015

After a leisurely pancake breakfast (with real Vermont maple syrup, no less), Frank, Fran, Chree and I drove up to Ripton to enjoy hiking the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail.  Returned to Fern Lake for lunch and I loaded the Kubota onto the trailer for delivery to Townline Equipment in Pittsford for its 200 hour servicing.  Chree and parents met me there so we could continue over to the Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor… always worth visiting.  I had to rush back to Fern Lake for a 3 o’clock meeting with Tad Fyles (Fyles Brothers Propane)… that took place at 4:45.  After starting out thinking we might need a 250 gallon above-ground propane tank to fuel the emergency generator, Tad and I worked our way around to a 500 gallon buried tank… that turned out to be far less costly than I was previously led to believe.  Installation of said tank and the emergency generator tentatively scheduled for late October.

8 September 2015

Chree and I cut the boards for the north sauna wall to length and then installed them.  Thereafter, I put Roxsul into the framing for the west wall.  After a late lunch and some time mis-cutting the first board for the south wall, Frank and Fran (Chree’s parents) arrived.  They haven’t been to Fern Lake since July 2012 when we were starting the wooden walkway.  Needless to say, there’s been one or two changes since then!  Chree and I slumbered under the skylights in the sun room while Frank and Fran took advantage of Delores’ posh (sic) accommodations.

 

7 Septermber 2015

Chree spent the morning cleaning clothes and finding food in Brandon.  I again biked around both lakes in a clockwise direction, shaving a minute off my previous time and, once more, hitting 32 mph coasting down the hill on Rogers Road.  Back at the ranch, I created heaps more planer shavings while awaiting Chree’s return. After lunch, Chree and I ripped all the planed boards to width and then made 11 of them into ship-laps for the north sauna wall.

6 September 2015

Another in a continuing series of absolutely gorgeous days.  Started out with a tour of the premises for all the Lapidii (Marty, Merry, Ricky, Caroline, Kolya, Juni, and Cormac).  Then Chree and I finished installing the sauna ceiling.  While I put the R15 Roxul insulation in the sauna north wall, the dogs took Chree swimming… literally. Shlomo knocked Chree over while she was wading around collecting Eurasian milfoil plants, causing a nearly full immersion.  Wish I’d gotten a picture…

5 September 2015

Went for a solo bike ride again, circumnavigating both lakes in the clockwise direction, which meant going down (hit 32 mph coasting) instead of up the long, very steep hill on Hooker Road.  Finished putting up the sauna ceiling insulation: 12″ of Roxul, which will provide R46 worth of thermal resistance.  Then Chree and I spent the rest if the morning and part of the afternoon putting finishing touches on the boards for the sauna ceiling. Started putting up the ceiling boards mid-afternoon and got three installed before the lake became just too enticing.  Finally got the well water test results back from the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory: all values well below normal limits except for high concentrations of iron and manganese (both of which cause water discoloration and staining). The lab said the water’s hardness is 160 mg/L, which translates to 9.4 grains… and any reading over 150 mg/L is considered hard water. Used a bag-o-fire-starter in a slightly different way this evening (slit the bag open after placing it in the fire pit) and, voilá, we had ignition.



 

4 September 2015

Solo bike ride this morning, seeking the path that “in theory according to Marty” allows one to circumnavigate Fern Lake.  Ended up doing some serious mountain biking (and, no, I don’t ride a mountain bike) and emerged from the woodland trail I was following quite a ways north on the west side of Lake… Dunmore.  Returned to Fern Lake the same way I’d headed out. Chree and I spent most of the day planing and sawing 1x12 hemlock into planks for the sauna ceiling and walls. 'Twas a mite dusty!  Mid-morning Cory Marshall, owner of Marshall’s Alarm Company, came by to talk about the security system we want installed.  Sometime in the afternoon the Goodro’s truck stopped by to deliver another bale of R23 Roxul insulation because somebody hasn’t figured out yet how to compute the square footage of a ceiling and divide that number by the prominently displayed square footage of coverage printed on each bale of insulation.  Late afternoon, Chree and I put Hopea Kanootti in the water for the first time this summer and did us a paddle, stopping for a leisurely chat with Mark and Karen Evans over to their dock across the lake.  New wine-bottle-paper-bag-filled-with- planer-shavings fire starter did not work as theorized.  Does anyone need paper bags for a thousand wine bottles?

3 September 2015

Bike ride with Marty circumnavigated both lakes (Dunmore and Fern).  Then errands in Brandon, a comprehensive Delores cleaning, and some baking consumed the morning.  After lunch, finished the final section of duck boards and started putting in the sauna ceiling R23 Roxul insulation.  About 4 o’clock heard the pitter patter of doggie feet and found that Chree and the beasts had arrived safely after a not quite 10 hour trip up from Virginia.

2 September 2015

New route (Delorm Road) for our bike ride this morning… smooth gravel and virtually no traffic).  Duck boarding all day.  If I hadn’t kept screwing up (somewhat literally), would have had all the sections done.

1 September 2015

Daily peddling exercise with Marty followed by a day of putting duck boards together.  Got three sections (of the seven) done.  Don’t tell Ian, but I really wish I’d had a chop saw down at the sauna building; would have saved a LOT of walking back and forth to the shop’s radial arm saw.  Asked specifically that the Roxul insulation I ordered this morning be delivered to the back of the house, as it will need to be schlepped down to the sauna.  The Goodro’s delivery slip said, “Deliver to the back of the house.”  At lunchtime, found the insulation sitting in what will be the pantry… which is nowhere near the back of the house.  Grrrr!