Monday and Framing is Underway

As I was packing up on Monday, the crew returned and started working on the guest cottage.  They began framing the walls.  By the time Anna and I hit the road for home, they had the two long walls framed and sheeted and ready to stand up.  They planned on framing the two short walls starting later that day.

Hailey told me that on Tuesday they stood up the walls and she took a few snapshots and sent them to me.  By the time I am able to return to the cottage they will likely have it mostly closed in.

A visit with Frank

My friend Frank decided to blast out to Nordegg for a visit.  Frank is one of my oldest and closest friends and we are involved in Dinosaur Valley Studios together, down in East Coulee.  Frank hopped on his Harley and headed out to Nordegg on Saturday.  It is actually a little further from Drumheller to Nordegg than it is from Edmonton... about four hours.  Frank arrived in the evening, around 7:00PM, and this was his first visit to our place.

We hung out and visited on Saturday evening and had a nice dinner together.  On Sunday we decided to take a drive up the Trunk Road.  We did some fossil hunting in the gravel bars along a couple of the rivers and creeks.  I always knew there were lots of fossils there... mostly marine... but this time around Frank was able to explain and identify most of them.  Its nice to have an expert to explain this stuff.

Sunday evening was pretty low key and we just hung out and visited some more.  On Monday morning Frank packed up and hit the road for home.  Later that afternoon Anna and I also headed for home.  Hailey and her friend Emily showed up just as we were leaving.  The two girls ended up staying at the cottage together for a few days.

Ride to the Top

On Saturday Anna and I took a long ATV ride.  We rode up the mountain behind the Nordegg townsite.  We followed some old abandoned roads that are now converted to ATV trails.  These lead past some old coal mine workings and a couple of other sites.  I'm not sure if those other sites were oil and gas wells, or perhaps boreholes checking coal seams.  In any event it is all abandoned now.

We spooked a Mule Deer buck with his antlers in full velvet.  He was resting in a sunny spot beside the trail when we drove by.  He bounded off into the bush, but on our return ride back down, we spooked him a second time from the same spot.

The view from the top of the mountain is usually quite spectacular.  You can see all the way west to the main range of the Rocky Mountains along the Alberta-British Columbia border.  On this day the skies were so heavy with smoke that there were no mountains visible.

But as a consolation, there were lots of wildflowers blooming all over the place.  I watched the odometer on the ATV and it was a 30km round trip from the cottage to the top of the mountain and back down.  A great way to spend a summer afternoon...!

The Cake

Anna had her heart set on baking a Black Forest Cherry Cake.  She gave her mother a list of all the ingredients she needed and I brought them back out with me to the cottage after my hockey game.  Anna wanted me to give her a hand with the baking, but we didn't get as early a start as she would have liked, as I was helping with the subfloor of the guest cottage.  When she finally did get started in the afternoon, she realized that she had missed adding a couple of the ingredients to the shopping list she gave her Mom.  She was very upset about this.  So, I told her to give me a little longer to finish up helping the guys with the subfloor, and then I would take her to Rocky Mountain House to get the things we were missing.  While I was finishing up, she walked over to Shunda Creek and released the Toad that we had caught.  

I left the crew to finish up the last few sheets of plywood on the subfloor, and took Anna to Rocky Mountain House.  We got all the things that she needed, but didn't make it back out to the cottage until shortly after 7:00PM.  It ended up being nearly midnight by the time she finished baking her cake.  In between that I grilled some smokies and made a big batch of potato salad.  We had supper and watched a show on the DVD player while the cake chilled in the fridge.  Anna decided that she was too tired and too full to have any cake at this late point in the evening.  So, we waited until the next morning and had it for breakfast.  It was delicious, and she did an excellent job.  I'm not much of a fan of sweet desserts but even I liked this one.

Then the next day she passed out slices of cake to Frank, and our next door neighbors Rob and Dan.  They all agreed that it was delicious, and she had to hold some back to make sure that her Mom got a taste.

Mr. Toad

While I was helping the crew with the subfloor at the guest cottage, I glanced down to my feet.  I had seen some movement out of the corner of my eye.  I looked down and there was one of the largest toads that I had ever seen.  He was all dusty and was hopping along beside the footings.  I picked him up and took him over to Anna.  She decided that he needed to be set free, somewhere away from all the construction traffic.  So, she walked over to Shunda Creek, about half a mile away, and set him free.  She set him down beside the creek and he promptly hopped in and swam across.  My girl is such an animal lover and it never ceases to amaze me the feelings she has for them.

Construction Progresses

When I arrived at the cottage on July 22nd, Basil and Dave from Scott's crew were working on the guest cottage.  They had spread the gravel in the crawl space, put down some poly, installed the rim board, bonded the water proofing membrane to the foundation, and rolled out the weeping tile.  I gave them a hand to install some plywood to the interior of the foundation.  They also placed the water cistern into the crawlspace.

On Friday the 23rd they returned and started on the subfloor.  I helped the guys for most of the day and we got the main beam and posts in place, as well as all of the floor joists and rim boards.  Later in the afternoon we starting putting down all of the plywood floor sheathing.  I quit at about 4:00 in the afternoon to give Anna some attention.  The guys finished up the last of the floor sheathing before quitting for the weekend.  They hope to be back next week to start framing the walls.

Blasting Home

On Wednesday July 21st I blasted home to the city.  Anna decided to stay out at the cottage by herself.  The Renegades had a hockey game on Wednesday night and I didn't want to miss it.  I also used the opportunity to pick up a few extra groceries.

Our regular goaltender was unable to make it to the game.  I called on 13 goalies, before I finally found one that was available to play for us.  Turned out he was a young guy, that played Junior B hockey.  He was probably too good for our level of play, but he never really got seriously tested in the game.  We held the Mighty Ducks to just 13 shots on goal, and won the game 8 to 1.

On Thursday morning I headed back out to the cottage.  I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some supplies and made it back out to the cottage by mid-afternoon.  Annelise did just fine on her own.  
When I arrived the crew was working on the guest cottage.  They had spread out the gravel in the basement, waterproofed the foundation, installed the rim boards, and set the water tank.

Hanging Around the Cottage

Anna and I enjoyed a relaxed few days hanging around at the cottage.  We puttered away on a bunch of little chores and projects.  The rest of the pine seedlings got planted and watered in.  And we continued working on Anna's bunk bed.  Everything is now built, except for the final assembly.  That will have to be done back home in the city, when we set the bed up in her room.  We did continue with applying the lacquer finish to all of the parts.  That will take some time as everything needs two to three coats, and we don't have space to lay it all out at once.

My next door neighbor Dan is out with his daughter Arlette, and she has been commanding some of Anna's attention.  Arlette is about six years old and the two of them look pretty cute together.  I think Anna secretly likes getting the attention... at least in small doses.  They have been wandering around together and on Tuesday Dan took them over to Fish Lake to go swimming.

We went out for a few ATV rides, and one evening went fishing to the trout pond over by the Trunk Road.  There has not been any further work on our guest cottage as of Tuesday, but I understand that Scott and his crew are returning later in the week to waterproof the foundation and install the weeping tile.

Smoke

I understand that there are over 300 forest fires burning in British Columbia, and over 100 in Saskatchewan.  We are fortunate here in Alberta that there are only a few.  Not sure what the count actually is...?  But, no matter which way the wind blows, we get smoke.  

When Anna and I first arrived at the cottage on July 16 it wasn't too bad.  But the next day it started to get worse and after that it really socked in.  We continue to get warm winds from the east, pushing the smoke into the mountains.  And there is no rain in forecast.  Seems we will be stuck with these conditions for some time to come.  Below are two photographs, taken a couple of days apart, from the same spot on one of the ATV trails near town.

Back in Nordegg

I spent a week at home in the city, catching up on a bunch of chores and errands.  I loaded up our Side-by-Side onto the utility trailer and hauled it home on July 9th.  I parked it out at my mother's acreage over the weekend, and then took it in to the Honda dealer for service on July 12th.

While I was home I got caught up on a bunch of paperwork and bills.  My friend Arturo and I went out for a photo day trip on July 11th.  The Side-by-Side went in, and I also got the power window on my truck repaired under warranty.  I played hockey twice, and then picked up groceries for the return trip to Nordegg.

On Friday July 16th I got up early and picked up my utility trailer from my Mom's place.  Then I went home and packed all my gear and groceries into the truck.  Annelise and I headed out together.  We made a brief stop at the Honda dealer and picked up the Side-by-Side.  We also stopped in Rocky Mountain House and picked up 90 pine seedlings that I had ordered from Clearwater County.  We finally made it out to the cottage by about 3:30 in the afternoon.

We didn't do a lot on Friday.  We installed a new glass windshield on the Side-by-Side, that I had picked up from the dealer.  I previously had a plastic one installed, that I made myself.  But the plastic seemed to attract dirt, and you couldn't really clean it without scratching it.  Visibility through it became an issue, so I switched over to the factory glass one.  Later that evening we had a BBQ and then watched a movie.

On Saturday morning we headed out into the yard and planted 30 of the pine seedlings.  Then we went out for a ride on some of the local trails in the Side-by-Side.  Later still we installed a fabric roof onto the Side-by-Side.  I had bought this a couple of years ago, and never got around to installing it before.

Sunday was kind of a lazy day.  Anna slept in late, and then we worked on her bunk bed for a while.  All of the parts are now made, sanded and stained.  We just have to attach the folding desk top to one of the end panels, and then we are ready to start applying lacquer to everything.  Sunday was much cooler than it has been in quite some time.  The temperature only made it up to about 18C.  The was a cold wind blowing out of the east that made it really uncomfortable.  The smoke from all the forest fires in BC was not bad for the first couple of days, but on Sunday it really became socked in.  We were really hoping for some rain to wash some of the smoke from the sky, and freshen up the extremely dry conditions.

Construction Progess

I was unable to be out at Nordegg on Monday July 12th but I understand that Scott and his crew went ahead with the concrete pour of the foundation for my guest cottage.  I'm told that everything went well and that there were no issues.  Once that concrete sets and cures a little, the crew will be able to proceed.  There is gravel to be spread inside the foundation, and the interior exposed styrofoam insulation needs to be covered with Gypsum Board sheathing.  The water tank can then be placed in the crawl space, and the weeping tile can be installed around the outside perimeter.  Basic backfilling will likely follow after which the framers can start on the subfloor.

I hope to be back out there at Nordegg once they get going on the framing.  Once we get to that point, things should progress pretty quickly.

We finally got approval from the Provincial Government to opt out of the New Home Warranty Program.  As I am acting as my own general contractor, and will not be selling this residence for at least ten years, we have the option to opt out.  That comes with a $750 administration fee, but at least that is a lot less than the warranty would cost.  With that authorization now in place, we are able to finalize our building permit and proceed with construction.

Model T

I recently completed my 17th watercolor painting.  My last four paintings were done with a combination of watercolor, pencil and ink.  Of those four paintings, this one is probably my least favorite.  I'm not completely happy with the way the shadows around the old car turned out.  But, it is time to put this behind me, and move on to something new.

The original photograph that I based this painting on was taken in the summer of 2018.  It was during a trip to Saskatchewan when the participants in the "Forgotten Prairie" short documentary film made a reunion trip back to the filming locations.  This old car was in the yard that belonged to Jack Zlatner.  Sadly Jack passed away last year, and I wonder what will become of his collection......

Summer Hockey Update

The summer hockey season is now more than half done.  I have only made it to five of the nine games we have played so far.  I need to make an effort to get out to as many of the remaining games as possible.  

After we lost our first two games, and then tied the third, the league moved us down to a lower division.  We are now in the lowest of the five divisions.  I'm not quite sure why that move was made, as we were reasonably competitive, despite the losses.  We now sit in first place in the lowest division, head and shoulders above all the other teams.  We have six wins, while the other teams only have one or two wins each.  Its doubtful that the league will make any further divisional moves as there are only three games remaining in the regular season.