Happy Anniversary!

No it's not my wedding anniversary. Today marks the 1 year date since I moved to West Jefferson to begin the journey of building our dream mountain cabin. Don't misunderstand, it hasn't taken a year to build, it's just a special day marking my arrival in Ashe County.

August 18, 2011

I little flashback for those that forgot...the photo to the right was taken just as I arrived near town. What you're not seeing is the truck loaded with camper in tow. I was heading into West Jefferson for the very first time. I ended up that night at a campground near town.

Darlene was in an apartment in Raleigh anxious to finish out her last year teaching (June 2012) so my departure was bittersweet.

I had our plans in hand, the funds to build, a few people I knew in the area and that was it.

August 17, 2012

Jump ahead 1 year later and things have changed dramatically. The cabin is almost near completion. The photo to the left shows the electrical cable being buried from the house to the workshop. The workshop is 125' from the house (a good distance if one ever wanted to hide ;^) ).

The guys were back to finish the final grading around the cabin and set the electrical line in also. We've had temporary power for awhile but will be glad to get full power in the next few weeks.

We added some more crush 'er run to the driveway. Crush 'er run is a mix of gravel and other stuff that compacts well and holds up to rain and the weather. We decided not to have the drive paved with asphalt for two reasons...the expense and it doesn't fit with our wanting to keep the cabin rustic.

As you can see, a lot has happened since August 18, 2011...

We see the reality of our plans, the funds are gone, and we have met lots of really nice folks.

For those that don't know, Darlene retired in June from a great 30 year career in education. She does miss the kindergartners but after a short search she's found someone that still needs teaching. I have taken on yet another career change. I was recruited to serve as general manager and CFO for Ashe High Country Realty in West Jefferson. I've been there since July 2, 2012. The business is moving along right on schedule. For those wondering, this is my last career change...I think.

More coming,
D&z

Wet and Wild

Yesterday was Monumental.


Why...because the electricians came to tie in all of the electrical fixtures and setup the panel box. That in itself is a big deal BUT they asked if we wanted the power connected to the cabin. Of course we did but didn't think we were quite ready for such a leap. By 4:30 we had power to our outlets and lights.

Now for those of you that live with electrical power, hot water, running water, showers, tubs, sinks, dishwashers, etc. then you better appreciate those luxuries. An added plus that came with our new found power is the ability to pump water from our well to the cabin.




Again, Monumental! The switch was thrown for the pump and within a few minutes our storage tank was full and we were hosing everything and everybody in sight.

I've harbored a silent fear that once power was tied to the pump we wouldn't have water. The well is about 200' downhill from the cabin and it takes a lot to push that water up the hill into our cabin. I was afraid the pump, submerged 150' into the well, wouldn't be able to shoot it up 150' and then up again another 200'.

My fear was unfounded. The switch was thrown, the storage tank at the cabin started to softly vibrate and within 3 minutes water was flowing like a class 5 rapid.

Now that we have water we don't have to gather our 5 gallon buckets in the truck, drive across the street to our neighbor to fill up anymore. WE HAVE WATER!!!!

Today, our plumber is coming to make sure all is tight when we open the valve to the rest of the house... and that means we'll have water at all the sinks, tub, shower and toilets.

So, the next time you wash your hands, take a shower, or read an interesting book in the bathroom...appreciate your power and water.

More coming,
D&z

Plugging along

We continue to plug along. We completed all the painting that we can reach without a sky hook this past weekend. The cabin exterior is finished up to the wrap around porch and the sheep shed pictured has it's paint, trim and barn quilt.

The plumber is coming today to connect all of the sinks, toilets, tub, hot water heater, pressure tank and well. This gets us one step closer to getting our OK to 'officially' move in. The next step will be the electrician to finish all of his connections.

Once plumbing and electrical are out of the way, we have to have a fireproof drop ceiling added to the basement, gutters, finish the last of the deck railing, add some handrail inside and we should be ready to get our power turned on and water running. We both love camping but we're ready to have some form of normalcy in our lives again.Winning the NC Education lottery would speed up the process considerably...fingers crossed!

More coming,
D&z

p.s. for those wondering: the big D represents Darlene, the supervisor and the little z represents the worker bee!

Tubs, the naked truth and rocks

Kyle and Olesea dropped by to pick up 'Ada' their Roddy after being on vacation for two weeks. We decided that if anyone comes to visit we put them to work. It took four of us to haul our 300 pound cast iron tub from outside up three levels...but we did it! The tub is shown resting, along with the rest of us, in its place in the master bath.

Speaking of baths, we've gotten questions on how we are able to prepare meals, where we get our water from, do we have a 'functioning' toilet and do we take showers? I'll attempt to answer all of these intriguing questions in their order:

1. We have our little camper set up behind the workshop, out of sight, and it serves as our chuck wagon of sorts. We have a small refrigerator the size of a breadbox, a 2 burner gas stove, no oven. Darlene makes some good, good meals in the chuck wagon.
2. Water comes from our across the street neighbor. We load up our five 5 gallon buckets and drinking containers, fill them with water, and then transport them on the back of the truck to the basement. They are used for #3 below, actually #1 and #2.
3. We do have one toilet that is hitched up and functional. It is luxury compared to our old port-a-potty. The water for the toilet is carried up a level from the basement and used as flush water.
4. Do we take showers...you be the judge!

Part of our water ritual is to fill up our shower bag. The bag is then placed on some logs along our driveway, in the sun. Half a day later we have hot water for a shower. If we had lots of clouds, then the water isn't as hot. We hang the bag from the under carriage of the deck and presto...a shower.

You have to keep an ear out for visitors...don't want to scare anyone.

p.s. the black diagonal bar finally came off after two showers :-)

p.p.s. I'm also known as 'the silver haired Chippendale' around these parts.

Recently we struck a deal with some stone masons to install our foundation stone. They've worked for a week and will finish up this coming Monday. All of the rock came from our property or our mountain. Each piece hand picked by Darlene and me. Rock collection started a week before the masons started. We continued to gather rocks while they worked. We count 25 loads of stone. Each load had to be hand carried to a point nearby the work area. Lots of work but well worth the effort.

Our walls actually look like an old hand crafted cabin foundation while most of the cabins on the mountain use flat stones layed flat on the walls with large mortar gaps, a much easier, more conventional, less appealing way to finish the walls.

We have one more stone harvesting trip in preparation for the Monday finish. All in all we saved a good grand doing the grunt work as opposed to buying the stone not to mention the final product is more special being gathered from our own property.

More coming,
D&z

HERcules

Another great day in the mountains. Darlene is adjusting to retirement so much that I had to put her to work gathering rocks.

Rocks you say! Yes, rocks for the basement wall (behind her in the photo). We have 2 masons coming next week to start the walls. We supply the material...which includes the rock. We're harvesting them from the property because we have plenty. We figure collecting for 4 days should do it (finger's crossed).

In other news, I've accepted a position with Ashe High Country Real Estate and started on Monday of this week. I serve as financial officer, marketing and broker. It's an exciting opportunity to, once again, re-invent myself. The firm found me and made an offer. I've been in West Jefferson since August 2011 and have found paradise. It's 'heaven on earth'.

More coming,
z&D

The front door is the item of the day

We worked on the front door today. The exterior is finished except for the area below the threshold. That will be filled in with siding material.

The design around the door is made of poplar siding . The graphic at the top depicts the mountain range we see from our viewing porch. KD, the wonder dog, is guarding the entrance. She's all bark and very little bite...mostly lick!







The inside of the door is finished as well. Trim around the door and wall siding are complete. The door handle and lock set are installed too. The bear we blogged about a few days ago can't possibly get in...unless he has a key :^)

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we head to Tennessee to pick up the last of our locust. Four 8' locust post will complete the entrance area.

I'm going to splurge and buy Darlene breakfast in Boone on the way to Rodney's (he's our locust post guru).


We're very excited because we have company this coming weekend...Kyle and Olesea and Ada, the almost wonder dog, will be visiting for a few days. Ada will spend a couple of weeks with us while K&O jet off to Saint Marten for a much needed vacation.

More coming,
z&D

An exciting day on Maple Tree

Last evening, while in our camper, Darlene reached for the inside door handle and we heard a 'ka-boing'. The internal spring sprung! We could get out but the door would not latch when closed... all kinds of critters could potentially join us in bed!!!

Morning came and I was eager to rip open the lock and fix it...turns out it was a broken spring. With a little finesse, the lock was fixed and we're safe again.







Today was 'front door' day. We decided to install our front door. It has relatively easy especially with Darlene's help holding this, getting that, fixing lunch, etc. It is so nice to have a help-mate after all these months.

The door is almost finished. We inserted foam insulation (yellow in photo around the door) that will solidify overnight and tomorrow we'll add the door stop material and the lock and handle. Darlene will stain it once she decides on the stain color.

The most exciting part of the day besides 'doors' happened during our lunch break. We were on the porch and almost finished when I noticed a tan color with a white tail raised behind the workshop (deer). It was moving fast as it headed to the workshop. We looked to the right of the workshop expecting to see the deer continue on its way when much to our surprise...a big black bear lumbered up the mountain. We think it was a boar (male) because it was large and without cubs in tow.

We watched it as it headed up behind the camper (thank goodness the lock was fixed!!!). KD, the wonder dog, was snoozing on the porch and completely missed the whole event.

Needless to say, we both were excited to see a bear on the property. One thing for sure, Darlene will go out to the camper first after dark ;^)

More coming,
z&D