INDOORS in the Great Outdoors

Now that the gaps between the walls and roof have been filled, we are beginning to see (and feel) a difference between the "inside" and the "outside" of the cabin.

So in the heat of July, it seemed reasonable to worry about our comfort level indoors and decided it was time to install the woodstove.

Don't light this stove!

OK to light now!

Oh oh. Better check outside to see if it is really Ok to light that stove:

Looks OK from here!

Well, not really, but almost OK. Note that there is no brace connected from the top of the chimney to the roof ridge. As soon as I get nerve enough to go back up on that roof, such a brace ought to be installed. That unbraced construction seemed of little importance back in the sweltering, still, sunny days of mid-July.

(Since then, some wet and windy weather from hurricane Danny swept through the area while nobody was in residence there. It will be interesting to see what we find when we soon return!)

Back inside, let's look over at an area that Joyce has been working on:

To the left, a countertop to work on and cabinets to store stuff in. Now that is better than sitting on the ground around a campfire! (It's really getting easy to exist out there!)

And to the right, a little workstove to heat up the oatmeal. (Note the replacement of the small quirky gasoline tank on the stove with a small propane cannister. Just twist the knob and light. How easy can it get?!)

Do the tops of the those chairs look ghostly blue? Yes, there is a reason they are not the scratched, repaired, darkened original oak of their previous 50 years of hard use. Joyce figured how to make them look better. And they do! Seats are still original dark oak. That old family table is also being repaired (veneer gluing and surface protective coats, etc.). Maybe this is why I feel easily at-home (and younger) out there!

And swiveling around to look at the other end of the cabin:

Why there seems to be a ladder installed to the loft overhead!

Let's step back a few paces and look up at that loft:

It's not an elevator, but it really isn't too hard to get in and out of the loft, even in the middle of the night. Now the railing at least lets you know that you just crashed through something before you hit the floor in a single big step. ... Or you can use the ladder and avoid having to later repair the damage.

And that about completes another round of constructive construction. Maybe this year we'll even try a few clear days of winter residence out there.

But many inside and outside building tasks still remain ... and, in fact, we haven't even tried to apply any sealant to the normal gaps and cracks yet.

Do you think we'll care about that this winter?

.... to be continued .....

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