I'm inching ever so much close to wrapping up the last of the woodworking and painting in the guest cottage at Nordegg. For lack of a better name I refer to it as the Lodge Pohl Bungalow.
On Friday June 30th I felt as though I was coming down with a cold. Probably the result of getting soaked to the skin the night before, when I got caught in that thunderstorm on my evening walk.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the temperature peaked at 30C. I spent the day working in the bungalow but at that the same time, I was also making a batch of smoked candied salmon. I had picked up 50 bucks worth of salmon fillets at Costco, and a day before leaving the city I put them into a brine. I got the recipe from my friend Scott, and it was simply water, coarse pickling salt, brown sugar and maple syrup. I cut the salmon up into 1/2 in strips and put them in the brine the day before I left the city. I had them in a big ziplock bag and brought them out to Nordegg with me. I also brought out my Bradley smoker. I've had this thing for years but it seems that in the city I rarely get around to using it. I figure if I keep it out here at Nordegg it will see more regular use. The recipe called for the salmon to be smoked for 10 to 12 hours at low temperature. During the smoking process the fish is basted a few times with a mix of honey and water. I started at around 9:00 in the morning and by early evening it seemed to be done. I really don't care for fish... smoked or fresh... but my neighbor Rob tasted it and he said it was done. I made this batch for Margarit and the girls because they really like it. I'll chill it and take it back home to the city with me in a few days. Hopefully that earns me a few brownie points to make up for all my misgivings. Sadly, it seems that any points I earn are quickly blown away by my next transgression.......
Meanwhile I kept working in the bungalow. I got hardwood facing installed on the pantry that I had previously built. Then I filled all the nail holes. Then I sanded out all the filler and primed and painted it.
On Saturday morning my plumbing contractor Leonard came out to finish up the last few odds and ends. We had previously been missing a fitting that was to go between the water storage cistern and the pressure pump. Leonard brought this along and installed it. Then we primed the pump and got it going. Everything worked well, and we checked all the lines for leaks. We only found one small leak, at the line to the shower head. This simply needed a little tightening and then all was good.
With the plumbing now officially finished I was able to close in the interior wall between the kitchen and the bathroom.
Worked continued on Sunday and with the paint fully dry from Saturday, I put the doors on the pantry. Then I slid the pantry into place. I also uncovered the fridge and plugged it in.
With that behind me I used up the last of my scraps of aspen paneling and closed in most of the chase that boxes in the plumbing vent. I am short a little bit of aspen, and the next time I come out I will bring more with me. I still have a little stock left, in storage at my Mom's acreage. There are also a couple pieces of aspen needed at the very top of the bathroom wall.
With that interior wall now mostly finished I was also able to install the door jamb in the bathroom. Once that was complete I circled back to the interior doors. The two bedroom doors previously received a coat of primer, and a first coat of paint. But I never did get around to the bathroom door. So on Sunday I also applied a coat of primer and the first coat of paint to this door.
Before I head back home to the city I hope to finish all three doors with the second coat of paint and hopefully install the door knobs.
It's been pretty busy in Nordegg over the Canada Day long weekend. Although the weather was really nice on Friday, by Saturday it really cooled off and we had showers most of the day. On Saturday night the temperature dropped down to a low of +2C, and it only got up to the mid-teens on Sunday. I wasn't feeling great on Saturday night as my cold was getting a little worse. As I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, I could hear the pop of fireworks being set off in the rain, in town.... Sunday was mostly overcast and cool, but by evening the sun started busting out again. Once all the weekenders go home after the holiday weekend it will be a lot quieter, and I may take a break from working and do something else. But, while all the people are around I have no desire to be out and about so I never even left the property through the entire weekend.
Even the wildlife generally stays away over the long weekend when so many City Idiots... Citiots... are around. I saw the usual chipmunks and birds, but not much else was active. On Sunday morning a nice big White Tail buck wandered into the yard and paused right under my Bat House. I got a couple of snapshots of him with my phone... through the kitchen window.
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