2022
First, I would like to say thanks to those who have signed the "Where are you watching from page".
Second, I would like to say that I will get better about updating as we get more active at the dome. Right now we are trying to wrap things up at home and work in anticipation of moving to the dome.
We did get to go up and spend a couple of beautiful weekends in January. We had ten feet of snow at the high point this winter but it is melting fast.
Always learning something new. Like stand clear when digging out spring loaded branches from the snow. Thought they would need time to get their shape back, but nope! They sprang right back!!
I also tried putting black plastic on the snow in the sun.Thought I could melt it off the deck faster. But again, Nope! It just insulated the snow making it melt slower!
Dan spent most of his time cleaning and reorganizing the shop in anticipation of moving. I made the executive decision that it was too cold in the basement to work on my floor tile in the bathroom and spent most of my time hiking with the dogs.
The beautiful days were followed by beautiful nights.
The new Ranger side x side we ordered last fall arrived the beginning of February. With the tracks strapped on back we towed it to the dome.
Dan and Bruce spent a large part of the day changing out the tires for the tracks. Not exactly the one hour job as advertised, but I'm sure it will be faster with more experience.
The whole reason for the side x side purchase was for these tracks. We will now have transportation up and down the hill in the snow when we are living at the dome.
And we can have a little (or a lot of) fun too!
Dan drove up to the porch and picked me up and we went for a ride.
At first Abby wouldn't get in and ran behind for a bit. But she changed her mind at the corner and joined us. Since this will be winter transportation for us it was important for the dogs to be OK with it. So far so good.
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3-31-22
Yea! It's finally here. Dan retired from his "9-5" town job. He will still take care of finance, tax, and other assorted tasks and responsibilities for the company but with way abbreviated hours and remotely.
We celebrated with his office family!
4-2-22 One of Dan's grade school buddies organized a party of a bunch of long time friends, some of whom he hadn't seen in years, to celebrate his retirement.
It was a fun day.
And the sun came out for most of the day.
Doug and Sara are doing a kitchen remodel at their house and we got their old cabinets.
Mike, Dan, and Bruce installed them in our temporary kitchen in the basement.
Someday Dan will build my dream kitchen upstairs, but for now this is an awesome upgrade to our temporary apartment.
We will add some cheap economical countertops.
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We put some cabinets in the bathroom and will install a kitchen sink in it.
There is no water in the rec room. But the bathroom is just to the side of the area we are using as a kitchen. So this will double as a bathroom and kitchen sink.
Right now I am using the utility sink, but it is a little inconveniently located.
We were gifted a get-a-way trip to go relax and celebrate Dan's retirement. We stayed in this cute little tree house.
Then we resumed pre-moving. Shelves from our shed at Kalama to the shop dome.
And an assortment of shelves and cupboards in what will be the root cellar.
Our house is officially on the market!
Middle of May and we still have snow in the shady places...........
And it is snowing.
Dan installed countertops and now I have a very workable kitchen.
With the real snow gone for the season, Dan put the tires back on the Ranger.
And he built shelves for the storage room. Now we can bring up more stuff.
After Dan removed the toilet and I finished precutting and fitting the tile we started installing it.
After the thinset cures I will grout and seal the tiles. Then we can install the toilet. OH happy day!
I am using a two part expoxy grout. It is non-porous so it doesn't have mold issues other grouts can have. Since this is a basement bathroom I decide to give it a try. But it is harder to work with. Using the advice of comments on youtube, I divided it into four parts using a scale. That way I could aply it without it setting up. I still had to really hustle but it was doable.
I found it easiest to apply it with a plastic putty knife. Especially with the irregularly shaped grout lines.
Dan cut the hole for the sink.
And now we have a kitchen/bathroom sink and a beautiful tiled floor.
And the new toilet is installed.
Next is the shower floor. I put a lift on the floor so that my tiles would match up with the bathroom floor and be above the shower drain.
I used cut stones glued on a mesh backer. Some of the stones I peeled off the mesh to use as singles.
I layed the mesh panels down randomly then filled in between with singles to avoid obvious tile seams.
It took longer than I though it would but it was fairly easy to get the stones flat. I left the area for the pebble river.
Then I grouted the flat stones with epoxy grout, mortered in the pebbles to finish the river, and sealed the whole thing. After it cures our shower is ready for use.
The tile/masonry is complete in the bathroom.
We put up a mirrored cabinet over the bathroom/kitchen sink. Because of the tall kitchen faucet we had to hang it off center. It's a little funky but some day it will be just a bathroom vanity and sink.
We added satellite internet. We have internet through our phones but it is unreliable and we needed a backup for Dan's office at the dome.
I couldn't find a tile bullnose I liked to go on the edge of the tub tile so I used some pebbles for the transition.
Even the bears have their eyes now!
We stacked these redwood boards in the shop dome in 2014.
(you can go to page 2014 to see where they came from.)
Now it is time to start milling it into paneling.
One batch at a time, Dan and Mike run it through the planer over and over till it is the desired thickness.
Planing one side to make it flat then the other side to make it flat and uniform.
Lots and lots of planer shavings.
1,071 boards!
After 11 days of planing they are half way through this step and starting the second pile.
August 5th we got a new four month old puppy, Remi.
She is mostly Olde English Bulldogge and Australian Cattle Dog with a little Border Collie and Dogue de Bordeaux.
Not the best timing is an understatement. But she is so cute!
Well, we did it.
We sold our beautiful home on the river. We got married in the back yard in 1989 and raised four kids here. We will miss it, but we have no regrets. With Dan retired we are ready for a new chapter in our lives.
Packing and moving, packing and moving, packing and moving. Where did all this stuff come from????
Because our new house isn't finished yet, and we are living in the basement, a lot of our stuff went into storage.
Remi, always curious, tries to check out each box.
The day after we closed on our house we went to Robbie's birthday pool party and relaxed and enjoyed family.
The kids had a great time and I think the grandkids had a good time too!
September is our first month of officially living at the dome.
We moved the motor home up to the dome to use as extra sleeping area for now. Elk archery season begins on the 10th and we'll have four guys in camp for a couple weeks. Someone stole the catalytic converter off it while it was in storage so we wont be driving it much till that gets fixed.
We sheeted the basement guest bedroom last month and moved our bedroom so as to have more living room space.
The basement bedroom just has a small guest room closet so Dan built an auxiliary closet at the back of the storage room. Once we are moved upstairs to the master bedroom this closet will become hunting/snow clothes closet. But for now it is weclome space.
Dan is not set up in his office yet so we also set up some bunks in there for hunting season.
The horse camp fire has grown and for a couple days we watch fire fighting planes fly down, scoop up water, circle slowly to gain altitude, and fly overhead to the fire. Two planes worked most of two days to help control the fire in the steep terrain.
Most of September was spent unpacking and doing smaller projects to make our living space more comfortable. Dan worked on finishing the lighting in the basement.
Abby and Trevor are adjusting to having a new sister, Remi. And they are all enjoying being at the dome. Moving can be stressful for pets, but they have spent so much time here this is home too.
Toward the end of September Dan and Mike were able to get back to the planing project. The planer can only take off so much width each pass. So to make the boards uniform it takes eleven passes. Five on one side and six on the best side. Using newly sharpened knives (planer blades) for the final pass. They shuffle piles around as they move through the steps.
As we moved into October we were treated to extended summer weather. Which was great because we felt a bit behind getting ready for winter.
We spent our anniversary at home. And were treated to beautiful colors in the sky.
Actually the whole week had wonderful night skies.
Then Mike and Dan hit a chain link buried in one of the redwood boards. After changing blades the planer broke down. Bad switch. Had to go to town and find a part.
I went to the rock yard to find more flagstones to finish the stone steps.
I couldn't find more black ones but I found a few red ones and mixed them in.
The Nakia fire grew in the strong winds of the past few days. The air filled with smoke and the fire grew closer to Renae and Josh's and they had to evacuate. Fortunately the winds shifted and died down and they were able to go home.
Yale lake glowed red from the reflection of the sun, made red from the smokey sky.
Between Dan, Mike, and Kevin they got the planer running again. Back to planing boards!
Just getting in the groove again when the big 10k generator died. The puddle of oil beneath it wasn't a good sign.
Marty and Josh helped us load our antique timbers from the storage unit to the trailer.
Remi is getting old enough to go on longer walks. Took her on her first trip to the pond.
Something has been chewing my plants. At first I thought it was Remi. I didn't think it was a deer because the branches were chewed but not eaten. I put out a game camera and discovered it was a timber rat! It pruned down every plant in my flagstone bed. Dang rat!
November 2nd we got our first snow of the season at the dome.
We got the timbers loaded and hauled to the dome, but not unloaded before the snow. So we tarped them for now.
It was Remi's first snow. She loved jumping and trying to catch the snowflakes.
They installed our propane freezer in the storage room. It doesn't really fit. Can't have it back against the wall or the door doesn't open far. We will move it someday when we get a better spot for it.
We put up a bedroom door. Which is a curtain for now. And some shelves, hooks, and window curtains making our living area better.
And Dan is getting his temporary office set up so he can do more from home.
Our carport at our campsite is finally finished so on November 5th we moved our motorhome off the ridge for the winter. We also moved our project Suburban there for now.
To unload the timbers ourselves (which means mainly Dan) we put pipes under the timber to roll it.
Then we swung one end around to the deck and put it on a cart.
Then swung the other end around and put it on a cart.
We were glad when the trailer was empty and the timbers were all resting happily inside.
It was good timing on the motorhome move because on the 6th we woke to more snow.
It was deep enough that Remi could bury herself in it and she thought that was great fun!
I thought it was great fun because it wore out all the dogs and they had a long winters nap on their favorite fluffy blanket.
I think we had about 14 inches of snow. A lot for this early in the season. But then it warmed up a little and we had rain. A lot of rain. Eight inches in one day kind of rain. And the snow melted. So Dan brought up two tons of pellets for the stove.
Mike and Dan started planing redwood boards when it was hot and worked through the heat. Now it is cold and they are working through that.
They are making progress and the boards are planing out beautifully.
They are making mountains of planer shavings. And snow isn't the only thing that Remi loves to dig in.
I love that I get to spend part of every day hiking in nature with our dogs. It's the 23rd of Nov. and the snow is fading fast.
Hiking on the southern side the next day and their isn't a patch of snow in sight.
We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday at Renae and Josh's place. After dinner the grandkids went out to feed the baby Pygora goats.
The next morning we woke to a little snow, with more in the forecasted near future. We hiked out the back side knowing soon the snow would be too deep to go that direction easily.
The next day the snow was deeper.
But the hike was worth it.
By the end of November we had about a couple feet of snow.
One of my favorite hiking trails in September and in November.
During hunting season Brandon had the opportunity to take a picture of our dome from across the reservoir and sent it to us.
And it continued snowing in December.
Dan and Mike were still working on the planing project so Dan goes down to the gate to pick up Mike in the snowcat.
It would melt down a little, then snow some more. Soon we had a snow pack of about three feet.
The snow got above the deck railings. It was strange to look out the window and see the dogs walking across the deck higher than the window sills.
And finally on December 8th, after 211 hours of planing, the redwood boards are planed to a smooth and uniform thickness. Ready for the next step.
Bruce used the snow blower on his tractor to clear our driveway.
They cleared some space for the ladder and installed the stove pipe and chimney cap for the pellet stove.
And with a pellet stove temporarily installed we now have heat upstairs.
And they hung a string of party lights! Now we can spend more time upstairs working on projects or just hanging out and be comfy.
Even though we have made our living area in the basement pretty comfortable, it is nice to be able to spend time upstairs and enjoy the view.
I drew a tree on a piece of chip board our freezer was shipped in and Dan cut it out with his jig saw. Then I painted it green.
Then Dan attached it to the wall, added screws for the ornaments, and I decorated it. And wa-lah we have a two dimentional Christmas tree that doesn't take up much room.
And with today's technology we got to watch our grandson's band performance from the comfort of our living room. (We still like to avoid crowds around the holidays, because of covid, if we can help it).
We parked the Suburban at the bottom of the hill, and the motorhome and trailer at our campground. But we still had our other vehicles up top. When Bruce got the road plowed (a big job) we got the rest down the hill.
It was a small window to move vehicles as we got more snow the next day. It was a mistake to leave them up top. Deep snow early this year. I thought we would just use the Suburban after snow hit, but I missed having my rig when the main road was clear.
The snow cat is awsome transportation. As long as we can get to our gate at the bottom of the ridge we can make it to our dome!
Sometimes the dogs and I walk down part way and then catch a ride in the cat.
We celebrated Christmas at Renae and Josh's on the 22nd.
We were with all the kids and grandkids. A very special day.
I'm glad we were able to get together early because on the 23rd we had a lot of freezing rain. We had a solid inch of ice on the fluffy snow and where the snow was packed it was ice about three inches thick.
The dogs wanted to go for a walk but they soon figured out that wasn't going to work. We went upstairs and they chased one another around for fun.
On the 28th we had a pretty good wind storm on the ridge, and we were told there was strong winds in town also. The road turned green with blown down limbs.
How many times will nature twist and bend a tree.
And cover the ground in white.
And how many times will nature amaze me.
By the beauty of the morning light.
The answer my friend is howling in the wind.
The answer is HOWLING in the wind.
I didn't have a picture of Dan trying to crawl up this hill to start the generator or I would have used it. LOL