I met up with Stewart at JOIN, a project SJM is doing to create a space to help put homeless people back to work and in housing.  It is on Halsey and 81st.  Of course I got mildly lost.  What did I do before cell phones? It was good to see Dan, Jimmy and Jeremy briefly. They are eager to get back on the mountain and make the deck happen. Amen to that brothers and sisters!!!! 

Very pleasant to ride up the mountain instead of drive it.  Also good to have Stewart’s ear for over an hour. 

Mist all the way.  We went in the Trillium Lake road. Stewart flipped the truck into four wheel drive but found it unnecessary to keep it there. The tire ruts were down to bare road, but elsewhere there were three to four inches of slush. Clumps of snow were falling off trees. We made it to the Project and Stewart backed the truck in to facilitate off-loading doors.  Just as we stopped there was a big kerplunk on the the top of the rig.  Stewart and I both thought we’d hit something, but we were STOPPED!  Just snow falling off a tree.  If we’d been 20 seconds later it would have landed on the ground. 

Ever ponder about similiar situations to that? 

Inside the house was warm.  Without the ceiling fans (they are on order) the upstairs is more than toasty whereas the downstairs can be cool in the corners.  The little space heaters in each room do their jobs.  The interior window framing is simply fantastic…all of it with wood from trees once on the footprint of the house.  They will all be clearcoated and “honey’d up,” making the wood tones similar to the ceilings.   

Todd was working with Bobby in the upstairs bathroom, having installed the chair rail tile above the white subway tile and was starting on the harlequin (think Picasso) diamond tiles in the bathtub surround. The color of the harlequin tile is cappuccino and they alternate mat and glossy. James was in the Raven’s Nest loft sanding drywall in preparation for priming paint. 

Upstairs bathtub surround with its mat and glossy harlequin tiles, chair rail and subway tiles

The tile in the downstairs shower had been grouted. That bathroom is so classy. 

Mikey was back with Jack, Jack being back to his happy self. 

I sat and watched a bit.  Todd, Stewart and I discussed this and that: a back splash for the propane/electric cookstove that will be up against a fireplace wall — what is should look like. What the interior stairs will look like (wood all the way up – probably darkish in color — prefinished if possible).  I have three inherited vacuum cleaners (one each from Papa, Aunt Ruth and Stepmother Helen) and am planning one for upstairs, one for downstairs and one for the garage.  But I don’t want anyone to have to haul a vacuum cleaner up or down the stairs.  Using an old fashioned broom, one will be able to sweep stair crud down the stairs and the landing and vacuum or sweep it up at the bottom.  We talked hardware and doors.  By the time I get back to the Ranch there will be a bathroom door.  Good-bye honey bucket. Huzza. We also taked about upstairs carpet.  The floor is going to be one color of gray carpet but there isn’t enough to do the loft.  Fine.  We’ll put in carpet up there that is sympathetico. 

Corey, our contact at Parr Lumber, got laid off.  Well, we have done out best to keep Parr Lumber in business. 

The breezeway has blue tarps hanging on both sides to keep the snow off it since that breezeway is tile-cutting-central.  It gives the breezeway an erie blue light. 

Interior doors going to the outside are being primed so they can receive a coat of semi-gloss — easy to wipe finger prints from. 

The back bedroom now has a door

Johnny playing his drums in the back bunk room. All the musicians on the crew love the acoustics

Johnny was working on the ceiling of the entry way.  Absolutely amazing.  I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad we kept the old rafters showing, though Johnny has done much of the work to make them pretty, upside down. 

This is Todd's favorite window. You can see the breezeway beams through it.

Entry way with its exposed old growth beams

Bill Crawford, cabinet maker, called to say he couldn’t get a trailer rented for Sunday so they will have to rent it Monday, load it and drive on Tuesday, a day behind what he and Richard had planned.

Jimmy drilling holes in concrete foundation to attach hardware for deck post supports

The fire is burning to rid site of debris. The blue rectangles are a reflection from the masked French doors

The cousins and partners were planning on coming up tomorrow to work on firewood but with the soggy snow everywhere I suggested they come another day, but, as I’ve said many times: we are running out of daylight.  It will all work out. 

Stewart and I left about 2:30 with stomachs rumbling and stopped at the Still Creek Inn where he had a jumbo burger and me a BLTA. By the time we finished eating the mist had turned to rain.  What is it about the Still Creek Inn that makes that happen…increase aqua out pourings? 

More yakking on the return trip and then a brief tour of  JOIN.  The projectis, of course, being done on a shoestring, trying to make it as “green” as possible, using recycled materials and bringing in natural light. 

There is a piece of the JOIN project that is being rented out starting November 1st.  A big room that will be filled with cots.  I think it is called a 7 to 7 where homeless individuals and families can come in a have a warm place to sleep on cots at 7 in the evening and then be gone by 7 in the morning.  I thank my lucky stars I’m not one of those homeless people.  Stewart is putting a last layer of clearcoat on the chipboard floor tonight… probably take him 4 hours after a drive up and down the mountain.  In spite of it being chip board it looks warm and inviting. 

Here come some pictures, some blurry.  It comforts me that I’m not the only one to take blurry pictures.  Thanks, Stewart, for taking the upstairs shots.

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At 7:30 I let the cats out at home.  It was cool, but fine.  I decided to curl up back in bed and re-awoke at 8:30 with the rain streaming down the windows and the wind whipping everything up.  A front had come through.  I managed to get both cats happily back inside, showered and headed up the mountain in the driving rain.  I find it is hard work to drive a big vehicle like a Highlander and keep it from hydroplaning.  By the time I reached the Barlow Trail historic sign the rain was starting to turn to snow.  I made it easily in to the Ranch via Still Creek campground road. 

Bobby, Todd, Johnny and Mikey were hard at work.  Jack was on duty as well, but in the course of the morning he up-chunked, having gotten into something that upset his stomach.  He hung close to Mikey and even found comfort in my pats.  Not his usual self.

The crew is working on framing out the interior main floor windows.  They are really beautiful.  Only the trapazoids haven’t been started on.  Todd says he expects to have all  the downstairs window frames finished today.

The rain, by now was really snow and was starting to stick.  Johnny was calking the transition in the Great Room between the wall and the ceiling on a high ladder.

It is the first snow at the Project where I could watch…nicely warm. I heated up my left over pizza in the garage and watched the end of Perry Mason.  There was close to an inch of snow on the ground by now and I decided an exit strategy was prudent.

I left Todd with my extensive list of things left to do and rolled out.  The Highlander isn’t especially good in the snow so I took the road towards Trillium Lake.  Managed to pull onto Highway 26 with no problems and proceeded to make it back down the mountain at 20 miles per hour, seeing the big rigs stopping to chain up at every pull out. By the time I reached Welches it was back to rain and by the time I was back at my casa the windshield wipers were off.  By the time I decided on a post-white knuckle nap at home, the sun was shining.  

It is the first snow at the Project where I could watch…nicely warm. I heated up my left over pizza in the garage and watched the end of Perry Mason.  There was close to an inch of snow on the ground by now and I decided an exit strategy was prudent.  

I left Todd with my extensive list of things left to do and rolled out.  The Highlander isn’t especially good in the snow so I took the road towards Trillium Lake.  Managed to pull onto Highway 26 with no problems and proceeded to make it back down the mountain at 20 miles per hour, seeing the big rigs stopping to chain up at every pull out. By the time I reached Welches it was back to rain and by the time I was back at my casa the windshield wipers were off.  By the time I decided on a post-white knuckle nap at home, the sun was shining.

Woods behind the garage with snow falling

Finished kitchen window

Detail of finished window

More window detail

 

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Once again rain was predicted but did not make an appearance while I was there. Instead it was a crisp fall day.

The walls of the roll in shower had been tiled except for an inch or
so where the wallls met the floor and Bobby was working on that.  I
really like the way it looks. Classy!

Todd was working on framing the interior windows.  First he was
putting together a four board box that fits in, right next to the
window and comes out to the wall.  He’s using left over tongue and
grove.  He said he always orders between 6 and 10% too much for a
project, especially when working in an isolated location like this
one, so what t&g was not used in the Great Room ceiling or for deck
ceiling, is now going into window framing. I did take a picture of the
inserted frame in the back bedroom, but the camera ate it.

I also took a picture of the tan paint in the Great Room.  It is a
little more green than I had envisioned, but I still like it very
much.  Camera ate that one too.

Johnny was working on priming the laundry room walls and between the old growth rafters.  It looks terrific and I’m pleased we spent the
time and money to keep those Welches timbers in view.  Once again,
thanks to Tom and Burt for saving that old wood for the project.
There were others too…Randy and his sons and I really shudder to
think how many times SJM crew moved pieces of it. In the picture of
Johnny admiring his handiwork you may see some white on the beams. It’s plaster “mud” and will easily come off with water. And the kitchen cabinets are being made from those same dear old timbers too.  And maybe some wooden blocks from Lil’ Girl Kea.

I’ll include a picture of Tom and Burt hooking up the skidder to take
down the shed that was made of the Welches timbers and corregated
metal for the roof with an “eco turf” topping. And another one of the
shed on the ground.

That was today’s crew: Todd, Johnny and Bobby.  The promised deck crew may be a myth. Ditto for the deck material. GOK where James was.

I slipped into the Gresham Home Depot to buy tile for under the deck’s firepit and to find a black electronic lock.  Not sure if I succeeded with the lock.  I’ll have to hold it up to the front door lock to make certain if the color is right, but it will be easy enough to return.

The falls colors remain achingly beautiful to me, especially the nursery plants between Sandy and Gresham.  My mom once made a large rug patterned after agricultural fields as seen from the air — rug has long since vanished, but that combination of color and pattern
inspires me to do some drawing. Let’s see if it happens.

Laundry room ceiling

Back bedroom window frame under construction

Tom Rutledge hooking up his skidder with Burt Darneille assisting

To the left of the red dumpster (where much of the contents of the shed went) is a puff of dust and all the timbers buried under the "eco roof."

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Saturday I’d driven Stepsister Holly and high school chum Emily to see the Ranch. Although it did some spitting of rain on the way up, it was still very lovely with magnificent fall colors.  There are a number of plant nurseries on Highway 26 between Gresham and Sandy.  This time of year these colors and the textures of the neatly lined up plants are stunning.

High school chum, Emily Othus

Stepsister Holly taking pictures

Martha Hart Schulte

After checking out the house we stopped for lunch at the Still Creek Inn at Rhodie.  The sky opened up it poured rain while we cozily ate. Holly’s purse (mini suitcase) tipped over and her cell phone slipped out.  It was later retreived by Craig Mayea, one of the excavators who cleared the Project’s footprint. The mountain community really is small. I love it. 

A bit passed noon today grade school buddy Martha arrived. She had last seen it at the foundations stage. We talked a good deal about the future good times to be had in the house, sitting by the fire eating popcorn and sipping wine while a pot of soup simmers on the stove and maybe bread rises. Then we went off to Govy and ate at the Huckleberry Inn. Martha went back to town to get in a few hours of work and I went back to E. Summit Prairie Road. 

In my absence Todd and coworker Bobby had started to tile the roll-in shower surround. The color of the surround tile isn’t accurate.  Ditto for the tan wall color.  In the photo the tan looks way too green. It is really much more yellow. 

Johnny had been busy painting.  Both downstairs bedrooms are painted as are closets and the tan that will be on the main hall and all of the Great Room has been started.  James polished off the downstairs mudding and commerced to work on the upstairs.  James says there isn’t a great deal of mudding there.  When he finishes he’ll work on painting. 

More tongue and grove was used on the underside of the upstairs front deck.  Todd drilled holes in one of the boards so water will drain through the upstairs deck and lower deck ceiling.  Before the upper deck is laid screen will be applied to the holes so critters and wasps won’t seek to set up housekeeping. 

I took half a dozen picture of a squirrel, none of which are worthy to be added, too small and blurry.  I think the little critter is a Western Gray Squirrel, a native, but I’m going to have to get a better look at the rascal.  He/she spent some time nibbling on a fir cone on the edge of a piece of chip board before devouring cone and seeking sustanance elsewhere.  I think I’ll bring up a last bag of the season of black oil sunflower seeds for the jays, chipmunks and the squirrel. 

I had thought the rest of the crew would be there today, starting on the deck.  But since the decking hasn’t arrived, it was just as well they weren’t there. 

The downstairs bathroom window as been trimmed.  Looks great.  More on-site timber was used. And the Ranch now has a indoor toilet.  Hoo haa!  No bathroom door, but all in good time. The end of the port-o-potty (functional though it is) will be welcome. Tim the Plumber came up and installed said toilet some time last weekend.

Great Room wall color next to the floor tile

Tongue and grove ceiling on the underside of the front small upper deck

First surround wall tiled in rool-in shower. Color is not accurate. There is some lovely blue-green highlights

The downstairs bathroom was handsomely trimmed with on-site planed lumberTHE toilet with a cappuccino colored wall behind it. Paint courtesy of Allen and Judy's daughter Keri, who couldn't use it.

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Predictions of dire storms abounded, but for the most part, it was beautiful at Summit Meadows, though I have hunch that right after I left the skies opened and deluge conditions transpired.  I drove home with windshield wipers on high for part of the way. 

Monday, I transported my wonderful 93 year old mom and 90 year old stepfather Dave up to the Project.  As mentioned previously, my mother tented on the property when she was 14 and later had the opportunity to buy it as a young woman.  She and Dave gave it to my brother when he turned 21, so he would always have a home on the mountain.  And now the dream house he always wanted to build is getting close to being finished. 

I did take my camera with me on Monday, fully charged, but left it in the vehicle and am beating myself up.  I so wanted a picture of my mom there…80 years later. The pictures are in my mind, but not so easy to share. 

When Mother saw the house she looked at me a said: Why are we looking at this house? 

I said it was her house and she said: But it is a mansion! 

It does look enormous from the outside, but inside the spaces really aren’t all that big…it is just the high Great Room ceiling that makes it feel so spacious. The seniors stayed  about an hour and then we retired to the Zigzag Inn where they both did justice to hot roast beef sandwiches, with leftovers for another meal. 

Todd likes to get to the Project late Sunday afternoons so he can get his ducks lined up. After texting his sweetheart by Summit Meadows and the Pioneer Cemetery (where he can get reception), he returned to Hank’s Ranch.  As he was pulling in the driveway he saw two glowing yellow eyes and immediately whipped out a flashlight to reveal a very good sized cougar.  They stared at each other a bit and the cougar suddenly vanished. Tres excitement. 

Today I was back.  Having been sick for a couple of weeks and then two wonderful sets of visitors, this was the first in awhile where I could just hang out, read the newspaper and watch progress.  There is a new crew member, Bobby.  He’s worked previously with SJM and seems to be a good fit — a finish carpenter.  He also plays drums, but says Johnny is much better than he is. 

Monday we are going to have a full crew in place with Jimmy, Jeremy and Dan doing the deck; Mikey doing outside work; James, Todd, Johnny and Bobby doing inside things.  A group photo is in order.  Stewart, it would be great to know when you’ll be up.  It would be super if Pam could come too since she’s been doing lots of behind-the-scenes work, not to mention keeping the books straight…certainly a crew member. 

So…this Wednesday Johnny was sealing walls to ceiling in preparation of paint. Todd was laying downstairs bathroom tile in the shower and helping Bobby plane some lumber (teaching him the ways the new planer works).  This newly planed lumber will frame in the inside of the upstairs bathroom.  Later Bobby was doing some trim work around the backside of the fireplace.  James was doing some of the last mudding in the Great Room in prepartion for paint primer. He is a very patient fellow.

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