My Projects

She shed structure’s progress – window view

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It has been nearly two years since I began my she shed project at my mountain cabin property. The she shed structure’s progress has encountered several road blocks along the way. That first summer it took several months, instead of days, to improve the build site and complete the custom designed Tuff Shed properly. Last fall, improvements to Sherry’s She Shed were halted due to the Cameron Peak wildfire evacuation. Then, winter set in. Now, I’m back at it with some help and the she shed structure’s (say that three times fast) progressing again.

she shed structures progress
Adding a window view, Photo by slc

I recently hired a family friend and master carpenter, Matt Tanner, to install a window I purchased at Home Depot last fall. I asked him to install it with the bottom sill about 32″ from the floor so my desk can sit right underneath it. Matt also added 2″ x 4″ bracing around the small windows on two sides of the shed. Little did I know at the time, but I saved a ton of money since I purchased the materials last fall. Building materials are now outrageously expensive.

she shed structures progress
Added 2×4 window blocking, Photo by slc

Once Matt finished installing the window and bracing, I was able to complete the insulation installation. Finally, the she shed structure’s progressing and now it has a window view.

she shed structures progress
New She Shed Structure with a Window View, Photo by slc
she shed structure's progress
Window View, Photo by slc

neighbor's rubbish pile
Neighbor’s Rubbish Pile, Photo by slc

P.S. A hiccup I’m dealing with now is the neighbor’s new rubbish pile on their property but is also near the entrance to mine:

Choose happiness and new lighting

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“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the future.”

–Jim Rohn

As you may know, I recently purchased and moved to a new home in a new town. The home I purchased was not what I was truly hunting for but it was in the right location. The night before closing I walked through the home, the “final walkthrough” they call it. I told my realtor I changed my mind and I didn’t want the house any more. The house was beat up. The trim was chipped, the overall paint job could have been done better by my grandchildren, it seemed darker than I remembered, drywall patch jobs were elementary at best, and the place was just dingy and dirty. Despite the condition, I closed on the home the next morning and got to work. I was determined to choose happiness.

Little by little, I am working to design this shell of a house into a happy home, a home with some class. One of the many things I learned from my past moves is not to wait until you sell a home to spruce it up. The sooner you make it yours the better. One major aesthetic change I made was the main floor lighting.

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Cabin update – waiting

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It’s been awhile since I have written a cabin update on my mountain property. The reason is heartbreaking really. A year ago my son-in-law and I removed the tongue and groove pine and the rodent infested insulation from the cabin’s interior. We stripped it down to the studs. I signed a contract with a structural engineer to begin work on improving the cabin and adding a septic system. I also got a bid on refurbishing the original 1938 stone fireplace. Everything was working according to plan until I received an email from my ex-husband.

It read, “I am retiring in January.  40 years. Per previous communications, I will be filing to terminate maintenance. I am traveling for the next week.  If we can not come to an agreement, I anticipate we will file for maintenance termination in September with a January effective date.”

It could not have been worse timing. I made an appointment with an attorney to discuss options. His advice was to put off improvements until I knew what my income was going to be and whether I would be able to keep the property. So, I cancelled the contract with the structural engineer and put the fireplace work on hold. I was heartbroken. My childhood dream was possibly going to be taken from me. A dream possibly unfilled. I waited to be served court papers.

And waited.

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Becoming a CASA volunteer

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Tonight, I begin my training to become a CASA volunteer. What’s CASA? It stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. I have been searching for a meaningful way to make a difference after retiring from teaching and I believe this opportunity is a great fit for me. I’m excited.

Casa Logo
https://casaforchildren.org/

According to the promotional brochure, “The Court Appointed Special Advocates program recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to advocate for children who have been victims of abuse or neglect. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to represent the best interest of the children. Volunteers visit with the children weekly, gather information from family members, medical professionals, teachers and therapists, and then make recommendations to the court regarding services for and placement of the children.”

In the process of becoming a CASA volunteer, I attended orientation, filled out an application with references, been interviewed, observed court proceedings and had my background checked. Starting tonight, I will complete about 30 hours of training (in person and online). If all goes well I will be sworn in May 29th as a new Larimer County CASA volunteer, but more importantly I can once again make a difference for kids.

If you want to get involved in Larimer County CASA or find out more about it, go to www.casalarimer.com.

Cause for celebration – six week cabin update

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celebration six week
1938 cabin after addition was removed, October 29, 2017, Photo by slc

Six weeks, three 18 yard dumpster loads and 145 “man” hours later, we have completed the demolition of the non-permitted, mold and rodent excrement filled cabin addition.  All that is left is the flooring and the lower level deck.  This accomplishment is cause for celebration!

What I learned from the demolition:

celebration six week
Third dumpster load, Photo by slc

  • Wear protective clothing, goggles, and a respirator.  You can never be too careful as my son-in-law found out when he opted for hiking boots instead of professional work boots and took a nail through the bottom of his foot.
  • Make sure you’ve had a tetanus shot in the past seven years.
  • Try to place the dumpster as close to your work site as possible.  Due to all the large beautiful moss-covered rocks and the slope of my property, we were unable to have it close to the addition.  This less than ideal placement required lots of walking, carrying and pushing a wheelbarrow of debris to the dumpster about 50 feet away from the work site.
  • When working remotely as we were, it was important to bring the necessary tools each day to the work site.  We often needed nails we didn’t have, so I often removed nails from the demo debris to reuse.  One day I forgot to bring the circular saw so we ended up cutting some ceiling joists with a hand saw made to cut tree branches.  We could have left our tools in the cabin but felt that it just wasn’t secure enough.

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The sign I needed

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the sign
Bald Eagle, Photo by slc

Years ago my late Father visited my family in Colorado to help with a basement electrical installation.  I believe it was around Thanksgiving and while having a meal in the dining room, my Father saw a bald eagle for the very first time in the sky outside the window.  He was very moved and excited to see America’s majestic icon.

My Dad passed in December of 2013.  Several months later, I was speaking to my daughter on the phone.  We talked about my Dad and the subject of my receiving a small inheritance from his estate came up.  I told my daughter I hoped to use that special gift to purchase a piece of mountain property some day as my Dad loved the mountains.  Right then a bald eagle flew toward me on the deck and then flew over my house.  I felt it a sign that my Dad approved of my use of his gift.

Last week, I realized I needed reassurance that buying and fixing up the cabin in the mountains was what my Dad wanted for me.  I needed the sign of an eagle.  Today, I got that sign.  While driving home from a beautiful afternoon of work at the cabin, I spied a bald eagle in a tree along the North Fork of the Big Thompson River.

Thank you Dad for the sign and the gift of the cabin in Glen Haven.  I love you for it and I hope you are proud of me!

Peaceful and content – week four cabin update

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peaceful and content
Highway 66 Detour, Photo by slc

October 2nd was the beginning of week four cabin renovation, but also the first day of Highway 34’s restricted usage due to the 2013 flood reconstruction project.  During the week, I worked on projects closer to home and substituted on Thursday and Friday at a middle school.

On Saturday, October 7th, it was forecast to be a balmy 70+ degrees so I headed up the cabin around noon, outside the new normal morning canyon access hours of 6:00-8:30 a.m.  Leaving at noon meant I had to go an extra 25 miles along the detour through the cities of Longmont and Lyons.  Little did I know, “leaf peepers” were also headed up to Estes Park on the same route.

peaceful and content
Fox Creek, Photo by slc

Normally, when I drive directly from my home to the cabin on Highway 34, it takes me about 40 minutes to turn onto Memory Lane.  On October 7th, it took 105 minutes (1-3/4 hours).  I tried to enjoy the fall orange and gold scenery.  The mountains had received a fresh dusting of snow.  I was not going to get stressed out by the huge delay due to the crowded detour.

Once at the cabin, I worked for about 2-1/2 hours on more repointing of the old stone foundation, picking up and disposing of tar paper, siding, and lumber into the rented dumpster, loading miscellaneous metal into my car’s trunk for recycling, and spraying a bleach/water mixture on the original cabin’s tongue and groove moldy pine ceiling.  Not glamorous work but I relished every moment in the warm gentle breeze, utter silence and the picturesque forest.  I didn’t want to leave.  It was so peaceful.

discover peacefulness
slc

Following the pilot car on my way home down the “normal” Highway 34 route (I was within the evening access hours of 4:00-8:00 p.m.), I discovered how truly peaceful and content I feel for the first time in my retirement.

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote,  “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”