The View from Up There

 With the stairs in, finally someone ladder-shy like myself could get up and see the view!

We put in as many windows in the front of the house as we could to capture the valley view... a decision we would actually later partially regret! More on that in far future posts!

A Way Up

 The doorway looks scary I know! But inside good things were happening!

As inferred in the last photos, we had a way up to the second floor that we could ALL use at last.  Yes, the stairs were finally going in.

But plans changed in the type of stairs... instead of the traditional saw-tooth stringers and 1" treads, we did thick, beefy 4x12 treads cut from beams and screwed in the sides by long timber-screws.

 

Here you see the stairs in progress. The lack of bottom steps didn't stop me from climbing on up! 

Our friend from Alaska helped make a jig that put a nice profile on each tread. When I find a photo of the profile (if I find one) I will try to post it. 

We were inspired to change from the usual stair treads by a visit to a local old mill. The industrial stair treads there were shiny coated, substantial pieces of timber and got us to thinking differently. In the end, it is a style that really goes with the house.

Summer "Windows"

 It's nice to go back and think about summer right now, when it is still getting into the 20's at night here!

 If you look carefully, you can see the hanging basket of pretty flowers we were given, hanging off the end of the hammock on the deck. Those flowers were moved about a bit (to get them out of the way) and surprisingly lasted a long time before the deer discovered them. 

 

I look at that pile of lumber in the foreground, and with the current shortage and huge prices of lumber, am glad that we were able to get a house built when we did! We are still in need of lumber this year, but are going to shift focus to getting those piles of rocks and dirt shaped into a nicer landscape. It might be cheaper!

A happy Fourth of July photo, taken by a friend.

Cast Iron Beauty

Lots of photos for you today. I wanted to get this into one post since this all happened in one afternoon.

Beautiful, isn't it? I found it on Craigslist one day, and for a good price. The seller had tried it as a garden tub for an out-door bathing experience, but the bees were a problem.

A quick call and all my fine fellows assembled to help me get it home.

Good ol' minivan. The consensus was that this tub weighed 400 pounds. Not sure about that but it kept that reputation for a long time. It is just one of the items that I can brag on my minivan for carrying without complaint.

A nice steady rain was falling; just in time for carrying a smooth, heavy tub around.

Observe this group carrying the tub up this hill; this scene will occur again many times, with other objects. (Too bad that the van never was able to make it up the driveway.)

All ready to hoist it 3-4 feet up onto the deck, then into the house.

And there it is in all its vintage wonderfulness, and deepness, ah just to think of soaking away stress in it! But I will not get your hopes up. Sighs abound just looking at the photo, but for more than one reason now. In all the time that this tub was on the premises, I never got to use it. That is a story for another, far-off day so you will have to check back in the future!

Coming In

Out to the lake one hot afternoon,to wade and swim. 

Then on to indoor things while the weather turned colder:

A friend who had much experience building stairs lent us his special tool for getting the treads right.

Porch Decking

 

 

As you will see, the porch will help this facade greatly. And of course windows!

The view from the front door opening.

 I didn't get many photos of when the decking was put on, or else they are on someone else's camera. But as you can see we started using the porch ASAP.