Being Thankful

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving on the land this year.  Terry and I were excited to spend 3 glorious days taking advantage of the predicted nice weather.   To our surprise Terry's brother Danny came by with a FULL Thanksgiving meal.  I had asked him if he would like to join us and bring a smoked turkey, and I would bring the rest of the meal.  Nothing better than eating a holiday meal outside just like our ancestors.  Dan took it a step further and provided the entire meal.    

Danny and Terry ready to carve the turkey.

 Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes/gravy, dressing, rolls, AND Pecan pie.

 Ok maybe we did not get much work done if any on Thursday.   But it was nice to sit and chat for a while.  Later Terry's sister and nephew came for a visit too.   I think Terry did get to frame a few more walls inside.
I was able to start "preparing" the front of the cabin for staining.   We bleached the logs on the front of the house. Whew! What work. I am now thinking that all of the marks  bring character to the log home...I am keeping them.    We'll power wash the rest of the house but no more bleach.  One step taken away.   Looking forward to our next warm days to finish power washing inside and out.

    Bleaching the logs..looking a little like a "ghostbuster"

Saturday I was able to learn another piece of machinery.  Terry and his friend George put in 4 windows.  

 The south wall is done now, siding was used to frame in the end gable.

 My sister Melinda and I spent part of the day removing those white tags and staples from the end of the logs.  Thanks to my big sister for her help.

    Terry will continue this week to put the rest of the windows in, framing more rooms, framing in the fire insert for our fireplace, and getting bids for our roof.   I hope to plan a work day soon, if the weather permits.   I am still hoping to start caulking and staining before winter hits hard.  

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING"

Instead of writing about where we SHOULD be in this building process,  I will take a moment to share where we are instead.  Weather and trips have thrown us off  schedule so we are not as far down the road as we would like to be.   We are thankful however, for where we are.     Windows have been ordered and Terry has his plan for our front door which he will make.  

Our BIG push for the next few weeks is to get the cabin power washed, sprayed for bugs, caulked, and then stained.   It would be nice to have this  done before Christmas.   So we are praying for good warm weather to move this process along.  

On the cold days Terry started framing walls inside the cabin.  It is good to see where the rooms will be.  Thanks to our friend Sue who is helping us "design" the layout of the kitchen, mud room, bathrooms and other needed areas. We are thankful for her area of expertise.

 The back of the cabin with a cover porch.  The grandkids will LOVE this!

Side view of our covered back porch.  

Front of the Cabin...it is really beginning to look like a "cabin in the woods"!

Work day # 3 took place with our "life group" from church.  They have been wanting to do a "mission" project for the Armstrong's for quite some time.  We gave them their chance on Saturday.

I encouraged them to bring gloves, wear old clothes and prepare to get dirty.  The "dirty" ten did just that.  They were awesome in providing muscle power in helping to move old pieces of trees and limbs to the "Stump Dump".   This made my day.  We have many logs that still need to be hauled off or cut into fire wood.  This was not a glamerous job but they stepped up to the plate and helped whittle down the piles of logs and brush.    A big THANK YOU goes out to all of you.  

Thank you Emiy, Kate, Ronnie,  Christen, Kyleigh,
Bryan, Eric H, Erik O, Kara and Scott

Getting ready for roasting hot dogs and making smores
We will feed you if you come.

On Saturday Terry and Mike B. worked on the roof.  A biggy for the building process is getting the cabin dried in before winter.  Rafters are up and now on the East side of Cabin "decking" is complete.  Terry will try and finish our back deck so the "decking" can be applied to the West  side of the cabin.  After the decking is done either a tin roof or regular shingles will be applied....I am holding out for the tin roof.   Terry and I love the look and think we would love the sound during a rain storm.

Once the cabin is "dried in" we will begin to prepare the logs for staining.   This is going to require more elbow grease.   Thanks goes out to Bryan and Scott for starting the sanding of the logs.   We will need to power wash, sand, spray pest repellant , caulk and THEN stain the logs, in that order.    I don't think this will be a weekend project.   Calling all hands on deck.

Guess who is standing on the dormer??

Once again I am thankful there  were no injuries on Saturday and people willing  to get dirty.  I am forever thankful for ongoing help throughout  this project.

Dennis C and Terry finished this wall.

      It has been two weeks since our last post of pictures.   Terry is going to let me post because he knows I am a little more "wordy" than he is.  So our update.  Our first log was laid Aug. 15th. and to this date, Sept. 28,   after just 6 weeks,  we have only one bundle of logs left.
     It has been amazing (yes I use that word a lot because it is ) the generosity of friends and family in the giving of their time.  So one more bundle and guess what, we are out of logs.   Terry the contractor, alias my husband, daily amazes me as I watch him through this process.  As we go through this journey we continue to learn more about ourselves and become the person Gods intends for us to be.

  As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I was concerned about how we were going to get the 16" purlins logs up to the highest point.  But on one of our work days we were able to get the two lower purlins up.  The most highest three ridge beams Terry put up on a day he was working my himself.  Not sure how he did it, but awfully glad he remained safe.  I will say he has a guardian angel maybe more than one.   You know Jesus was a carpenter.   I believe He is lending a helping hand.

The purlins are up and ready for the roof.

The master at work..(one of them)

Inside walls are beginning to be framed.

Rafters for the roof going up

One of two trusses went up on Saturday
  Patty and I got to help.

    Our goal is to get the roof on within the next 2 weeks.  This means the rafters need to be finished, decking on top of the rafters,  then the roof.   In order to finish the roof however, 3 window 

dormers need to be built as well as  the "drive through" portico.   Once we get the roof on we will work on putting the windows and doors in and then the cabin will be "dried" in....another monumental achievement we are looking forward to finishing.

     Cooler weather is here which continues to be ideal working conditions.  Looking forward to seeing the leaves turn providing us with the perfect background for our continued work on the cabin.

To God be the Glory...amen and amen.

Second work day ends with a big thanks to friends and family with two huge logs up to support the roof.
Enjoy the pics.

 Greg helping to navigate the 16"x 34 foot log through the trees

 Skytrac is a must

Becky and Patty Bracing the Post

 Brother and sister pulling the log into place

Two roof Purlins out of seven, not bad

     Update on the cabin includes more work needs to be done.   We are in need of another "work" day to make a lot more progress.   Terry, his nephew, and my brother have been working very hard to get where we are today.   The second floor is about ready to be added.  A few more heavy logs to get in place first.  All four walls are up and even some interior framing has been done.   We really need to get the heavy logs up so the fork lift can be returned, an added expense which we did not budget for...but very much needed.   My contractor husband is very strong but not that strong.   And we still do not know the answer to the question posted in the last blog...."How do we get the mother of all logs up on the ceiling?"   I see a crane in our future...another expense not in the budget...but needed.

Most of the log walls are up

Beams and Joists ready for the second floor

Our Character Log in the center of our Cabin

Most of the 2nd floor framing in place
Only 1 beam and 6 more joists

 Terry has been off for 4 days for the holidays.   He is anxious to get back to his building.  I love seeing his excitement  over what has been accomplished and his thought process for what is yet to come.  I love being part of this amazing journey.   I love bringing our friends and family in and seeing how it brings all of us a little bit closer.   Looking forward to the next few weeks as the second floor will be completed and hopefully the "mother " of all logs looking down from the rafters above.

Our First Big Work Day

 Saturday August 16th was a HUGH day for the log cabin.   Starting as early as 7 am, 14 family and friends came to stack logs.  Once again I am amazed at this man I married, the "contractor".   We arrived and saw piles of "adult lincoln logs", but Terry saw hours and hours of preparation to get ready for this day.   Job well done Terry!
After a prayer of thanks and safe watching over, the walls began to come together.
  Men paired up in two's and three's to measure, drill,  cut, stack and insert the 12" screws to keep the logs in place.  The women folk would bring water, sweep the floor, and place rolls of insulation in between the logs.   When it was time to eat,  we grilled up  hamburgers and hot  dogs.   It was nice to have the cover of the basement
providing some shade for the meal.

Lyn takes a break and watches the progress

 The logs we are using for the walls are 9" and come in random lengths.  Some have corner notches and others don't. Even though the walls are 9"' we have some logs which are 12" and others even 16" logs that will be part of our roof system.   Terry knows where each belongs and I am still wondering how the bigger logs are going to stay once placed so high up or the bigger question is, "How do we get the logs up there?"   Once the logs are stacked to 13 high, the the second floor will begin.

 Donna in front of our highest wall.

This work day went pretty smooth.   We had one minor injury and the good Lord was gracious in providing clouds over-head to keep temperatures down just a bit.  We will have many more "work days" with family and friends.   The comment however was made during lunch we need to find some younger "friends".   So we are looking forward to bringing our church life group to share in this adventure.

 Den and Gary, a good team

 We feel very blessed to be able to share with so many friends and family members.   All I have left to say is "To God be the Glory"....amen and amen!

Proud future cabin owners Thankful for Friends

One of the most exciting days for Terry and me was the day the logs arrived on our land.  It was fun to watch Terry as he communicated with the "wood yard" man who informed him the logs were loaded on the first semi truck.   Then talking to "Jose", the truck driver, giving him direction /address to where the logs were to be delivered.  It was quite comical to hear Jose who just took off from Idaho heading to Oklahoma asking Terry what our address was.   Address, do we have one??   Terry had to put our new address in Map Quest to see if it would pull it up.   To our surprise it did not.   So Terry gave him an intersection of our street and the main street it came off of......EUREKA....it showed our plot of land.   Terry was scurrying to find a fork lift to get the logs off the truck and then a "body" who could run the fork lift.   Both were accomplished and thanks to Bryan, his niece's husband, the truck was unloaded.  I was not able to be there to watch the unloading of logs but plan to be there for the second semi coming Monday.

                  Jose standing next to the logs.

                                              Bryan driving the fork lift to unload our home.

 Even though we now have the logs, the basement needs to be framed first.  Checotah, Terry's nephew is helping with the framing.   Even his brother in law Greg came to help.

Next Saturday will be the "log raising" event.   Terry has done a great job of preparing for this day.  Originally we were hoping to have at least have the help of a contractor who builds for Yellowstone log homes but that fell through.   So with the help of family and friends, and Youtube,  we will begin stacking our logs.

More on that to come.  

We love seeing the wildlife at Flint Ridge. 

We also Love seeing these "approval" stickers from the local inspector!

Plumbing is ready for the slab to be poured

Slab is poured.

Time to frame the two basement daylight walls, install the joists and first floor subfloor, because our first truck of logs arrive Monday!  Yea!

Basement Begins

So, the Dozer came out last week and scooped out the hole for our basement, a lot of rock but nothing he couldn't bust through. 

        Our chairs overlooking our home site

Terry in the hole that will be our home

The footings have been dug and poured and forms installed to pour the two basement walls. 

Footings and Frames

One last day of hauling away stumps. A pat on the back to Becky's good friend Patty who help with our on-going clean up of the site.

Becky and Patty

Truck and trailer stuck with a load of stumps.

A little help from the tractor

City Girl On a Tractor

GOOD news, we closed on our loan on Thursday.  After closing (gulp) in Siloam Springs we headed to the land for more "dirty" work that needed to be done.

After the "basement" guy knocked down all the trees where the basement is to be dug,  it is now our responsibility to remove all the "ginormous" trees.   How does one do such a task and not spend a lot of money?   According to the "contractor" (Terry) you buy a tractor and do it yourself.   And of course, call on your friends and family.

Upon arriving at our land for the first time since these gorgeous trees have been pushed down, there it was,  a 2013 beautiful orange Kabota tractor.   It has a front loader on front and a back hoe on the back.  Ah, I'm in love.  Terry gave me a quick 1-2 minute "tractor lesson" and off I went.  Terry would wrap a very heavy chain around a HUGH log and then I would pridefully pull it up the drive.  Timid at first, but within 10 minutes I was pulling those logs like any country girl would.  I'm not sure which gave me the best feeling, knowing I could be helpful by doing it or just being part of the birthing process of our dream coming true.   I look forward to having a grandson on my lap and taking a ride!

Another activity I love to do is using my chain saw.  A few years back after  buying the land we would go and cut down dead trees on our property.    Once again Terry gave me a quick lesson on how to run a chain saw.  So now I have one of my own.  Of course it is a smaller version of the bigger ones he uses.

Terry continues to call upon his family and friends to help clear the area for the basement.  We are ready for the basement guy but guess what, they can't come until a week from Monday.  Patience, patience and more patience will be an ongoing learning lesson for me.   I am very thankful for the contractor and all of his hard work thus far.   I am very thankful to have family and friends, (Dan and Mike) who are willing to help in the dirty work.    Watch out, we may be calling you.