Spring at the Cabin

The grass is high with tiny wild flowers sprinkled throughout.

The pear trees are in bloom

and the Cabin Bunny is peeking past the dandelions.

The cattails haven’t taken over the far side of the pond yet


and the view up to the cabin is unobstructed by the summer foliage.

A walk to the well brings a whole new view of the cabin

hidden by the trees later in the season,
and a small stream trickles by on its way to the pond.

And Gary is on the mower.

Spring at the Cabin.

Gary and I have been working together pretty well on this project.  We’ve just about perfected the duct-work making chore to where we have actually run out of material (next delivery is on Monday!).  And don’t forget I know how to read those blueprints with that fun triangle ruler.  I can lug duct work, cut tape and hold things steady with the best of them.  But there are some things that I really just cannot do.  And for those chores, we need just a little help from our friends. For the guys that helped get those units up to the attic -

and then up to their platforms -

Whoot Whooot!
And for the guys that helped lace the (20) twenty foot lengths of copper through the louvers at the end of the attic -


You’re the BEST!
Wayne and Bruce and Wayne and Larry and Jim – we surely could not be doing this without you!

On a slightly different note, today was a tough day in the attic for me. Gary needed help in strapping down the duct work and the plan was for him to screw down the back side, while I screwed down the front side. (In other words, he had to be standing in the insulation, balancing on the beams (the hard side) while I got to stand on the floor (the easy side).) The problem is that the screw gun and I are not exactly best friends. In fact, we’re hardly acquainted. So what goes zip, zip, zip for Gary (and probably most of you out there) goes grind, gasp, glunk for me. We finally decided that he would finish up the strapping while I just took some time to practice.

Just me, the screws, the drill and a 2×3. Quality time.
OK, so it did help some, but when Gary put me to work doing some floor repair I really only had one of those zip, zip, zip moments about every third screw. It was a very frustrating morning, but I suppose the good news is that I really can ONLY get better at this. The other “tough” part of the day was when a sheet of OSB plywood fell over and slid down my shins. YEEEOUCH! Thank goodness for long pants, but I don’t think I’ll be hurrying into shorts anytime soon! So, at the end of that morning, I did what any self respecting girl would do – I took a long hot shower (really wanted a hot Jacuzzi, but that wasn’t an option) and crawled under the covers for a nice nap (I would have eaten ice cream out of the carton, but there was none in the freezer). And Gary did what I don’t think he’s ever done before – he came home with Chocolates.

Dark Chocolates.

Whatta boss!

It’s been unseasonably cold here in Montrose, Pennsylvania this week. As in it’s going down into the twenties tonight cold. But all that being said, the last couple of days have at least been sunny and bright and while we’ve had our jackets close at hand, we’ve had a lovely weekend. I hope you have also! Instead of doing an update that includes words like ductboard and returns and supplies, I thought I’d share just a bit about the town of Montrose, the little corner of PA that we’re calling “home” for the next couple of months.
So. Montrose.

Montrose is located between Scranton and Binghampton, NY in what is considered the Endless Mountains. I love the way this town, which has stayed at roughly at the same population from when it was “laid out” in 1812 to today (between 1500 and 2000), has kept its charm while moving into the the 21st century.

A little of the 1860′s and a little of the 1960′s!
I just love the downtown, with its blend of architecture as it climbs the hill to the town square.


There are lots of interesting shops and businesses along Main Street and it even boasts a movie theater that is playing current movies! And – it’s only $5.00 on Thursdays! (Plus a refillable popcorn for $5.00 which makes Gary pretty happy!)

See the building with the big pillars – that the county courthouse. You see, Montrose is the county seat of Susquehanna County. Pretty impressive, eh?

There is the Civil War Memorial on the village square

and it also has its very own traffic light. (The town, not the monument!)

Only one though. Let’s not get crazy here!

I love the details on those old store fronts, but even more, I love the houses in this town!

Since it was such a pretty day today, we took a little drive to see if we could locate the OTHER thing that this area is becoming known for – Fraking. Or, in more technical term, Marcellus shale drilling. We weren’t terribly successful in finding an actual drilling operation, but we did see a staging area -

and the evidence of a pipeline being put in-

We ventured back one dirt road that looked like it might lead to a drilling operation, but when we came to this

it seemed pretty obvious that they didn’t want any visitors.
Oh well.
Mostly we enjoyed the beautiful countryside, dotted with farms

and occasionally alpaca!

Yes, Montrose is a sweet little town. We might have to drive to Binghamton for a Lowes or a Wal*Mart fix, but I’m happy to report that not 2 miles outside of town is this -

The Ice Cream Stand.
With a $5 movie house (with refillable popcorn) and a nearby Ice Cream Stand, this is a summer that holds great promise!

Side Note:
Saturday was Gary’s 62nd birthday – let’s hear it for the Golden Age Pass for the National Parks ($10/lifetime) and the first SS check that will arrive by the end of June! Happy Birthday, honey!

Yes, this IS how he spent his birthday. What’s a girl to do!

Since this is how the day started -

And it pretty much stayed cold and rainy/snowy all day, I thought I’d just do a simple post of what I THINK Spring should look like.

There. Take that snowy morning.

We’ve had a productive week in the old attic. (You’re getting used to my liberal use of the word “we” , right?)
The attic is HUGE, and it’s a good thing since it will be holding 7 A/C units and duct work for 22 rooms. Trust me, that’s a lot of Stuff. But first it had to be made safe to walk on, so Gary put a floor down the center.

So much better than walking on the 2 1×6′s that constituted the previous walkway.

The other tricky part of the attic is the loose insulation (paper, not fiberglass thankfully!) that also covers the floor of the attic. That would be the mountains of loose insulation.
Once the floor was down, he was on to building the shelves for the duct work.


(Remember that loose insulation? Sometimes it has a very hard time staying on the floor!)

Here they are – just waiting for the duct work!

And here’s the first batch of duct work, just waiting to be hauled up the ladder.

Speaking of the ladder – this is, in my opinion one of the best innovations regarding our attic work -

Ok, so you can’t really see what I’m so excited about here, but the top of the ladder is actually attached to the framing, making it totally secure. Totally. And since Gary (and I, some days)makes any number of trips up and down that ladder, having it nice and secure makes a world of difference. A. World. of. Difference.
So – back to the duct work.
Before we could start with the duct work runs we had to figure out where the rooms start and stop and where the returns and supplies would need to be. And believe me, with all that insulation piled between the joists, it wasn’t all that easy! Once we had a located a doorway center, Gary taught me how to use this architect’s ruler and read the blueprint and he set about marking where he needed to cut holes in ceilings and duct work. He was incredibly patient with me – after all, it involved math.

Here it is – our first run!

I don’t think I’ve felt such ownership in duct work.
And for those of you who might be interested – this is the Return duct work. (I need to keep practicing my A/C words and understanding)
And for those of you who are frightened that the next three months will be filled with only views from the attic – fear not!

See – I am using my camera for other things!
Have a safe week, all!