Kickin' It Old School

This weekend we were "Kickin' It Old School" at the Blog Cabin! By this, I mean we set the air compressor and nail gun aside and went back to the old hammer and nail. With the modern technology of a nail gun, you can frame a wall in about 20 minutes once all your cuts are made, it all comes together quite quickly. With a hammer, nail and little bit of umph, you can frame a wall in about an hour which is why our fast pace society has taken to the ol' gun in the first place. Even though modern technology has made it easy for us to build bigger structures faster & cheaper, there is something to be said about going back to the basics of hammer and nail. There is something there that you miss out on when using a nail gun. You miss the primitive sensation that occurs when the swing of the hammer gains momentum and quickly connects with a direct hit to the head of a nail. In that instance You become connected to whatever it is you are building. You can literally feel the nail being driven deeper and deeper, sinking itself into the dense piece of wood. Whap! Whap! Whap! Even the sounds the older tools make are much richer than the modern tools. A hammer connecting with a nail has much more flavor than the quick sharp pop of a nail gun.
Growing up, my dad and grandfather were always renovating, building and constructing. To this day the smell of sawdust can take me back 25 years in 3 seconds flat. I can remember the sounds of each tool so vividly. I remember exactly how many strikes of the hammer it took for my father to drive an 8d nail into a 2 x 6(six). I can remember the silly, awkward, wobbly noise the handsaw blade made when it's tooth hit against something hard. The handsaw is another tool that made an interesting sound - a light, slow tearing sound as my grandfather held the teeth to a board and slowly pulled back getting the teeth to bite the board and sink in a bit. Once the teeth were sunken in, it turned into a faster motion to continue the momentum and the cut. When he was almost to the end of the cut is when the strokes would be the fastest until the blade all of a sudden ripped through the other side of the board sending the excess chunk of wood to the ground with a hard THUD.
Building is an art and I sometimes feel that the modern tools are taking the romance out of the build. There is a connection and a passion that is missing between the carpenter and the structure today that existed way back when it took 3 times the amount of time to build a structure or a home. They are right when they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day", but I wonder why those structures able to stand the test of time and the office building that I work in that was constructed 5 years ago falling apart already? Maybe when things are hard, people take pride in them a bit more. Maybe the hard is what makes them great and the great is what creates passion for people. The handsaws and hammers are the canvas and brush for a carpenter. We can replace the canvas and brush with photoshop, but we can't expect the Mona Lisa right? So, today the Blog Cabin paid homage to the tools of the past. We took ourselves back to the grassroots of building and even with kickin' it old school we were able to put up the 2 remaining walls! YEAH! The journey of the day may have taken a bit more time and a bit more umph, but today we built a little bit more love into our little Blog Cabin and we even built memories to go along with it:)
Check it out:

A.P.B. ALERT!! WHO STOLE THE BLOG CABIN???

After a long hard day at work, P & I came home, popped open our email and found this Blog Cabin surprise waiting in our inbox! At first I thought it was photo-shopped, but it's not...IT IS REAL! I am not going to write a whole lot because in this case, the picture really is worth 1000 words! lol, Our Wayne was at it again - he knocked down the remaining portion of the Blog Cabin and this Saturday P & I will be assisting him in building 3 brand new walls and a roof! The only remaining portion of the original Blog Cabin is the floor and that is in excellent condition so, it's a keeper! P & I are a little sad to say goodbye to the original Blog Cabin, but saying goodbye means, the NEW and IMPROVED Blog Cabin is on it's way - YEAH! We will be Blog Cabin Blogging about our Blog Cabin Building Adventure this Saturday...

Stay tuned...
-J

The System of the Septic...

WARNING!! DO NOT EAT WHILE READING! lol Here are a few shots I took of the Septic System install...at least we won't have to mow the lawn anytime soon:) The awesome thing I just found out is that once everything is done, the septic people (1 man by the name of Eddie)will bring in a load of dirt and grass seed to top things off! How exciting! We will have our very own Blog Cabin lawn! Very posh for a cabin if I do say so myself! A lovely green lawn compared to the crab grass and pine needles **sigh** Though...there is something to be said about crab grass and pine needles around a camp. They definitely add to the "campy" feel of the Blog Cabin, but when it rains...dirt, crab grass and pine needles are no so fun - no...not so much:( so, I say, "BRING ON THE GRASS SEED!" :)Here is a cute one of P digging a trench for Our Wayne to complete and bury the electrical for the septic. There is so much I have learned that I never knew about a septic system - mostly because I am not really interested in the behind the scenes of what happens after I flushie, flushie, but because my blog is not only fun, but also educational a little lesson is in order. Here we go...All conventional septic systems have a septic tank, which is usually a large buried rectangular or cylindrical container made of concrete, fiberglass or polyethylene - I dunno what ours is made of, but it's green. Waste water from all plumbing fixtures drains into the septic tank. Heavy solids settle to the bottom (gross) where bacterial action produces digested sludge and gases (double gross). Lighter solids that float such as grease, oils and fats, rise to the top and form a scum layer (triple gross). Systems constructed before 1975 in King County (where ever that is lol) usually have single compartment tanks. Those built from 1975 and on are usually two compartment tanks. OK, enough about the dates and history of the septic - now about the pump tank! Because the Blog Cabin sits on a hill, our septic needs a pump tank. I opened the lid of this pump tank this past weekend and peeked in to see a bunch of different gadgets - fancy! So complex! This pump tank contains a sewage effluent pump, control floats, and a high water alarm (hence the electrical work done by Our Wayne:) The control floats are set so that a specific volume of effluent is sent to the drain field. When the effluent in the pump tank rises to the level of the "on" float the pump is activated and pumps the level of the effluent down until it reaches the "off" float setting. Should the "on" float fail to activate the pump or should the pump itself fail the level of effluent in the pump tank will continue to rise in the pump chamber. When this level reaches the alarm float an audible and visual signal will be activated - LOTS OF NOISE AND SIRENS AND STUFF! next, on to the drain field! The drain field is where liquid from the septic tank flows through pipes in your yard for final treatment by organisms in the soil. Grass and/or shallow-rooted plants are the best covers for your drain field. Ok we got the grass covered...Hmmm...note to self - buy some plants.
So - next time you flusie, flushie, you now have the behind the scenes and have the inside poop scoop on the system of the septic :)

-J

The Meditation Stone

With spring in the air and the newly thawed earth, we brought in the backhoes, broke ground and started the process for installing our brand new septic system! YAY!...and then we hit a GIANT rock! Booooo! This rock was no ordinary rock...oh no...this rock was huge. It was a solid mass of problem that stood in the way of us and our brand new system of septic! This rock meant business, but unfortunately...this rock had to go! Before we could banish this rock from Blog Cabin road block existence, we had to put some thought into this giant rock surprise - for instance, How do we get around this rock? Can we get around this rock? Can we pipe over, under or perhaps around the rock? If not, we have to move the rock...can we move the rock? How would one lift such a large rock? Could it be lifted and if not, do we have use explosives to get it out of the ground? How much does moving or exploding a rock cost? If we move it, where do we move it to? Is it a good looking rock that I would want in the blog cabin yard? If it's not a good looking rock, does the company that moves or explodes the rock take it with them? Does that cost extra? Who can answer all these questions that need answers? Who???
Who you ask...
Ahem... ladies and gentlemen...making his blog cabin season 2 premier: OUR WAYNE!!! YAY! **insert claps, cheering and accolades here**
That's right everyone - Our Wayne is back and he is picking up right where he left off on last years Blog Cabin Adventure! A rock? A rock is no match for Our Wayne! Our Wayne will crush that rock with his bare hands! He will roll that rock right out of our Blog Cabin way because nothing stands in the way of our Blog Cabin Adventure! NOTHING!
So, after 2 days, a few phone calls, a really large machine and $1,100.00, we have a very unique Blog Cabin lawn ornament! Or as my mother likes to call it "An $1,100.00 rock that we can't even wear" - funny right? So, for no extra charge we had our very expensive rock moved and nooked into the edge of the yard overlooking the babbling brook. It's actually a very peaceful place to sit and watch the brook. P & I have named it the Meditation Stone. We have grown to love our pet rock and it has now become a permanent piece of Blog Cabin history.
-J

A New Look...

The Blog Cabin is currently trying on some trendy new Spring templates! Privacy please & no peeking!Hahaha :) Please don't mind the sporadic & multiple page changes that may occur in the near future :)
Thanks bunches!
-J