As I tell all my working friends since I retired... every day is a Saturday to me. But for most working people, Saturday is the best day of the week. It is also the busiest day of the week out at Nordegg. All the weekend people come out on Friday evening or Saturday morning, and then head back home on Sunday. I like the weekdays the best as it is very quiet, at least until the kids get out of school.
With the hot, dry weather this June the forest fire risk has increased dramatically again. In fact there are significant fires burning all over Canada, and this year is one of the worst on record. There are no fires burning in the Nordegg area, but some of the bigger ones further north and west are flooding the province with heavy smoke. The fire ban and ATV ban were lifted in our area about a week ago, but a fire restriction remains in place. Fortunately most people are smart enough to not bother with a camp fire, particularly as it has been really windy. There is some rain in the forecast in the coming days so hopefully that materializes.
One of the reasons for my trip out to Nordegg was to be around when the chimney sweep makes his annual visit. One of the neighbors organizes this every June and the cost is quite reasonable as the travel time is split between everyone. The sweep is actually coming out on three different Saturdays from his home in Ponoka, and will eventually do about 40 chimneys.
On Saturday June 10th it was my turn. By luck I was first on his list for the day, and the sweep showed up at my place at about 9:30AM. Soon this task was out of the way, leaving the rest of the day free. I had the chimney of the main cottage swept as we use the wood stove a lot. This year I didn't bother with the guest cottage as we had less than ten fires in the stove there since last year.
Despite the dry conditions a lot of flowers are starting to bloom. I need to take a break from work and get out and explore a little. I know there are lots of bunchberries and wild strawberries on our property. I also saw some arnica, but didn't really have time to look around further. There were quite a few neighbors around and the traffic in the subdivision was more than I am used to. I decided to just keep working and spent the entire day on the pantry that I am building.
I finished painting all the parts. Then I sanded some of the rabbets and dados and test fit everything. It seemed that my planning was all in order, so I proceeded and put the unit together. It is a little more than just a plain shelf unit as there is a cutout in the back to enclose the exposed plumbing vent pipe in the corner of the kitchen. It all came together pretty nicely.
The next time I come out I will need to bring some hardwood to trim the face of the cabinet. After that I can paint the exposed exterior surfaces and install the doors and handles.
On Saturday evening, right around sunset, I went for a short walk. The clouds were starting to build and it looks like we might get that badly needed rain.
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