2021
1-1-21
New Years day we met this Blacktail buck and doe on the way up our hill.
1-4-21
After following a diet for the last week which seemed to exclude anything that tasted good to a diet of nothing at all, I had to have my gallbladder removed.
Dan has finished the main lighting in the basement and has taken care of a few smaller projects.
We have an accent light for the picture arch.
1-17-21
We have propane to the bathroom fireplace.
(Lots of challenges here because of tight spaces).
And we have a porch light for the basement door. Buck will now go out to potty by himself after dark. No more standing out in the wind or rain wrapped in a blanket holding a flashlight!
He loves the snow.
Dan has started wiring plug-ins. This is not as exciting to me as lights but it will be nice to get all the extension cords off the floor.
1-31-21
I am making progress on the bathroom fireplace.
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2-25-21
We finally made it to the dome this weekend. Bruce had plowed the hill earlier in the day, but it continued to snow. The Suburban made it about 2/3s of the way up the hill. Then Buck and I walked the rest of the way and Bruce and Dan brought up the cooler and stuff with Bruce's snowmobile.
After a few trips of walking through the snow, we had a path to the basement door. It wasn't as deep here because Bruce had cleared it earlier in the week.
The snow bank impaired our view from the basement.
The snow slid off the solar panels making a pile at the bottom. Dan shoveled it away making room for more. We never had to run the generator during our three day weekend, even with some grey skies and snow storms. We had plenty for living comforts and tools.
I wanted to go inside the dome but decided this wasn't the best approach.
I packed down a path across from the generator shed up to the front porch.
Buck decided he wasn't brave enough to try the path up the snow bank.
(He obviously doesn't know he's a Saint Bernard!)
Not much of a mountain view today, but the snow is pretty. (Pretty deep, pretty cold, pretty hard to walk in, but also pretty to look at:)
Our woodshed needs sides. I think that will be on the list for this summer.
Inside the dome we spent the weekend on our projects. I worked on the bathroom fireplace and Dan worked on his current project of installing plug-ins.
2-26-21
Right now we have about 4' of snow with drifts up to about 6'.
We will be taking a two week break from the dome for Dan to do an abbreviated tax season.
3-27-21
This weekend Dan purchased this new (to him) Shaper. Already at the dome is his Planer, Jointer, and a (new to him) Table saw. These four stationary tools will be used for milling our Redwood boards into paneling for the dome.
The eyebrow dormers over the triangle windows seems to have done a good job of keeping the snow from sliding down the dome and building up against the windows.
Inside, where it is warm, our projects continue. The mantle, a few more rocks, and a few more pebbles are added to the fireplace.
4-4-21
We can now drive down to the basement door. Time to bring up more materials and get more projects ramped up. (like we were out of stuff to do Haha).
4-9-21
Spring is springing.
4-10-21
Snowing again.
4-11-21
Spring is really springing?
We've been getting a lot of cavitation noise from our pressure pump due to air turbulence in the water. We've lowered the filter and streamlined the plumbing to hopefully help with this.
They framed the last two partition walls in the basement. The pump room wall and a dryer room partition off the bedroom. When I changed the bathroom heater to a fireplace a stackable laundry unit on the opposite side of the wall in the utility room was no longer a great option. So we added this dryer room. A little bit of a sacrifice in the laundry department, but I wanted my fireplace.
One more weekend should hopefully finish the stone work and pebbles on the fireplace. Then onto the mosaic. I've never done a tile mosaic before so I'm excited to start that part.
4-17-21
Even after a week of warmer temps our "front yard glacier" is still a pretty decent size.
Even though we had to have Buck sheared to make him more comfortable (more health issues), he still loves to lay in and eat the snow.
They got the pump room and the dryer room sheeted on the partition wall interiors.
And I finished putting up the rock and the pebbles on the fireplace. I will acid wash before starting the mosaic.
4-25-21
Every week the "driveway glacier" shrinks. I brought my raven statue (who I named BB King) back out to his rock.
Power and lights in the shop!
A breaker panel and box, a transfer switch (generator power/invertor power switch), two lights, and some plugs is a good start.
The shop will have lights and a few plugs available on invertor power or on generator power. The rest of the plugs will be generator power only as the big tools would drain the batteries too quickly.
In memory of Buck.
He will always be in our hearts.
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. " - Anatole France
4-27-2013 to 5-5-2021
Bruce cleared some trees on their south side which improved our reservoir view greatly!
We took our new pellet stove to the dome. They started it outside for a test run since we wont be hooking it up for awhile.
Our new propane kitchen range arrived and we took it to the dome and hooked it up. It is a nice upgrade to my kitchen (temporarily in the basement).
I got a start on my tile mosaic.
And we have more lights and plugs in the shop.
This is Abby.
Our new 8 month old Dutch Shepherd mix puppy.
Mid June and the Bear grass is in full bloom and beautiful.
Dan and Bruce have completed all the building penetrations for the basement vents.
I installed the tile for the tub deck. I had purchased the tile some time ago and changed the plan so I barely had enough tile. With careful layout and measuring thrice and cutting once I made it work.
Can't complain about my cutting station. Except mother nature could cool things down just a bit.
Using my other saw for some pieces and a hammer for others, I made and installed a little more on my mosaic.
Dan and Bruce installed the shower room door. Then they took the door off the hinges so it wouldn't be in the way while I tiled.
Dan cut some place holder boards for my tub backsplash.
He loves his (new to him) Unisaw. He has wanted a table saw upgrade for some time.
I got a start on the tile in the shower room. I am probably the messiest and slowest tile setter ever!
Finally completed a wall.
Abby, a town dog turned country, has figured out the noise in the tree is a chipmunk. And it's teasing her. And If she could climb the tree she would teach it a lesson for being rude!
Earlier this year Dan announced his retirement effective Dec. 31st. While he won't be 100% retired, he will no longer work from the company office. He will relinquish the daily controls and just continue working on finance as needed from where ever we might be!
We have purchased a 22' motorhome in which to travel when we feel it's time for a road trip. I like this size for its ease of driving and parking.
We have also purchased a site at a private campground to park our motorhome. We are going to build a carport and a shed. If we keep the motorhome at the dome it will be snowed in part of the year.
I am making progress on the tile in the shower room.
Dan made a Playdough reservoir to hold water while drilling holes in the tile for the pipes.
My priority is the tile on our shower walls, but when I have a few extra minutes and a little extra thinset I do a little on my mosaic.
We emptied the woodshed in preparation of adding sides. The snow and rain blows in and our wood does not stay dry (and I build my piles too high and eventually they start to lean and fall over).
My plants all made it through their first winter and so far are surviving the summer heat.
We designed the walls of the woodshed to allow us to access three bays (leaving one bay open). This way we can rotate which bay to use (and fill) based on how seasoned the wood is.
We started by pouring a pad for the center post.
Then Dan cut a through mortise in the post.
Then he took out one crosstie, put it through the post, lifted the post, and reattached the crosstie. If you think this was harder than it sounds, you would be correct.
But it worked.
Then the walls were framed.
I finally finished putting up the Brazilian Cherry tile. Now I just have to grout all the walls!
The mosaic tile for the trim was a thinner tile and I had to attach it to a backer board to make it thicker.
After the trim is installed and the grouting is finished, a mortar bed is placed for the installation of the tub.
Time to install the tub.
After the mortar sets up, I can grout around the tub and we can install the faucets.
Yah! It fits!
Now that the shower faucets are on we can use the shower. AAAAAHHHH
I still have to tile the floor, but for now we have a working shower.
And the mosaic is almost finished. The bears still need eyes, and the last batch of mortar needs to cure so I can put sealer on it, but soon I will call it complete.
We have decided on another big change in our lives. We are going to sell our house and move to the dome.
But because we have spent so much of our time in past years working on the dome, we have some deferred maintenance to catch up on first.
Just a few things like:
Tearing off old railings,
Installing new cable railings,
new roofs on all the buildings,
new flooring,
grade and gravel the driveway,
(while the tractor was at the house, Bruce loaded my bears onto the trailer)
put together and install new lights (that's right, they didn't come assembled. My bad),
build and install four sets of new steps,
finally get the finish on eight doors that have been installed for quite some time,
get rid of the last Avocado appliance,
restore the finish on the cabinets, install new hardware, and new countertops,
and with the new lights and floors the kitchen is checked off the list.
At the dome my bears are unloaded and put in their place.
Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear.
We added a second dog to our family. His name is Trevor. He is 1.5 years old and we believe he is a Dutch Shephard/Plott Hound mix.
Abby and Trevor
In between storms, I've enjoyed hiking with the dogs.
11-8-21
Snow.
Dan said this picture should be titled "Procrastination". But I said that wasn't really fair because it wasn't that we wanted to put it off, it just had to make it to the top of the list.
Bruce came over with his tractor and dump truck and moved our wood pile closer to the woodshed.
A little more than halfway up we added pipe supports to the wood stack. I'm hoping by starting a second layer the piles will be more stable and not fall over when I build them high.
Dan and Bruce adjusted the angle of the solar panels and Abby was very interested in the procedure.
Dan installed the plywood sheeting.
Then Dan and Bruce papered it and installed the Hardie siding.
I prepainted the siding before it was installed using paint remnants. Next year it will get caulked and painted.
But for this winter it is a good feeling to have a dry woodshed with enough wood to last the winter.
And while working on the master list, the igniter in the pellet stove stopped making fire and the water heater in the master bath stopped making hot water.
After those things are fixed we decided to clear out a few things.
We decide our waterbed wasn't a good fit with our new home. We took it apart and got a regular bed. And with both the waterbed and the last Avocado green appliance gone we have now stepped into the current decade. (Although I'm pretty determined to keep my basket swing chair).
With a little break in the weather we hauled the timbers for the power shed porch and Dans' timber framing benches to the dome.
With covid on the rise again we didn't want to sit in a crowded auditoriam, but we did want to see our grandsons' band performance. Thanks to a live youtube feed we got to enjoy the perfomance in the comfort our living room.
Dan and I tried to get a photo with our two dogs but it ended up a bit of a wrestling match.
And my mom got to hold her great granddaughter.
Dan's retirement date has been extended a little. He is staying through the first quarter of the year to help with the transition at work.
Dear Santa......
I would like Dan to be retired from work, have sold our house, the snow at the dome melted enough to move, and be living at our dome.....by April?
That's not too much to ask as a Christmas wish is it?
She now has 11 Greats!