Smoke Signals

This rural living has a bit of a learning curve.  

Also this house has ... issues.

This stove is not my favourite thing that came with the house.  

This stove may be one of my favourite things that came with the house... only time will tell.

This stove has nothing to do with this post... it's just my new beautiful double oven stove.  

sigh... It's shiny, it's clean, it works without any flames!

or smoke.

However.. this stove is the one currently getting my angry eyes.

Even after sweeping the chimney from up on the roof, dusting, and scooping out the old ashes, this stove filled our house with smoke when we tested it out.  The chimney pipe looks like it's bleeding some kind of evil black goo.  The damper or flue.. the thing in the chimney meant to block off the air so it can bank down, just spins around and doesn't stay still.  

Smoke blows out those dials on the door.  If you open the door, flames burst out and try to singe your eyebrows off.  (Fine for Patrick he has eyebrows to spare, but I'm lacking in that department)

Either operation fix the stove commenced, or we freeze all winter cause I'm not running the smoke monster.

 This section of pipe was supposed to twist left and lift up for taking apart the chimney for cleaning out the creosote buildup.

It didn't twist or lift.  Even after removing the lower portions it just stayed there looking gross.

I had hoped for a bit more furniture and house protection in the form of plastic covering everything but apparently two old paint sheets was all that was necessary.

 It wasn't simply remove creosote encrusted pipes, clean and return.  Once removed the stove itself was assessed.  

There was creosote buildup throughout the stove and the pipe.  The spinning damper thing had to go.

Patrick may have long arms but the innards of the stove are twisted and small and grungy.

With a flashlight and some brushes, he did manage to get a pot full of grimy gunk out of the back of the stove.

In all they removed an almost full 5 gallon bucket of evil black blech.  It was a chimney fire waiting to happen.  

But it is all a nightmare of the past.

This is the new and improved chimney with fully functional flue's and dampers.  Best of all.. no evil, dripping, oozy, nastiness.

This project was Noella approved.

She enjoys a lounging position in close proximity to the roaring fire.

A 'moose' ing

It's Monday night.

I walk around the track at the local rec. center while Duncan has choir rehearsal.

It has become very routine.

I drop him off.

I pull into the parking lot next door.

I head in to scan my membership card.

Then I put in my earbuds and enjoy my 75 minutes of uninterrupted solitude.

Except for the booming announcements of 

"the PAC will be closing in 30 minutes!"

then the 

"The PAC will be closing in 15 minutes!"

and finally, 

"The PAC will be closing in 5 minutes!"

I'm still there sometimes to here,

"The PAC is now closed."

I've been tempted to ask if it's required for her job to boom those messages.  Especially knowing that three nights out of 4, I'm one of only 3 patrons in the building.  There's more janitorial staff than patrons.

It's also the same 3 patrons every evening.

We know it's closing.

We all have earbuds in.

There are clocks everywhere.

We see the lights begin to dim and be turned off in closed areas.

We are not oblivious to the signs.

However it is the only conversation that occurs from the time I drop off Duncan until I retrieve him again.

It's a one way, boomed conversation.

But tonight it all changed!

Tonight after the announced 5 minute warning, I made my final lap and retrieved my coat.

I stopped for a drink of water at the fountain.

Then I made my way down the stairs to the lobby.

I was stopped by the receptionist!

Usually she just waves and smiles.

NOT TONIGHT! 

In fact there were the other 2 patrons at the desk also.

"We need to wait a few minutes before leaving the building.  There are some moose walking through the parking lot."

Well there's a conversation starter!

And it did.  We all chatted about the moose.

And we introduced ourselves.

They asked about my silly walking sticks.. they had been guessing that I was a cross-country skier in training.  

HA HA HA

No.

We all watched out the windows as the moose meandered through the parking lot and nibbled on the shrubs alongside the building.

We had a lovely 5 minute visit. 

Then we proceeded with our evenings.

The moose were still at the corner of the building as I entered my car.

As I left the parking lot, my silent electric car managed to pull up quite close before the moose turned her head to give me a cursory look before she went on leading her calf through the shrubbery and off to the football field behind the center.

To Do List

 The to do list around here is long and growing.

We've had to assess importance and priority to each item on the list.

Some items fall under Big Major jobs that need Patrick and need to be done soon.

Other items, (the ones I really want completed the most) fall under dreams, and can wait until most other items are completed.  Apparently trees and gazebos and charming foot bridges over the stream fall under this category.

Then there are the boring mundane but better get on it quick tasks that eat up all available time.  Such things as clean out the chimney, chop firewood, winterize the water pump, winterize the windows, ... I sense a strong winter theme!  Don't be fooled by the short sleeved shirt... The high all day was only 40*.

All this, amongst the cooking, laundry, dishes, school and driving to town every day (which alone is a 3 hour endeavor)  And there is still some unpacking, settling in to do.. the fine tune stuff like where to hang laundry to dry inside and how to make room in the utility room for the freezer so I won't have to trek to the garage in sub-zero temps for a pound of hamburger.  Oh and the newest headache.  The constant clean up by the front door from people daring to enter and exit the house..  I've never swept and/or vacuumed so much.  There's dirt off of shoes.  There's endless mittens, hats and coats and no where to put them.  There's wood chips and sawdust from carrying in wood for the fireplace. And it's not even winter yet!


BUT...

The garage roof leaking jumped to the top of the Big Major jobs that needs to be done soon list when we discovered;
a. it leaks.
b. the weather was forecasting rain... lots of rain (which was great news for the local inferno 3 miles to the west of us but not so great news for all our belongings stored in the garage)

The garage is a solidly built structure.  It is a great size.  However when the roof was put on they didn't use any of that roofing paper that creates a barrier between the metal roof and the contents below.  So the metal roofing was removed.  The barrier paper was installed over the wood and then the metal roofing was reapplied.

As you can see... the garage door was prepped for painting in my overzealous paint scraping phase.  Now I just need a day of good temperatures.  

As you can see the barn roof still has a gaping hole that is partly repaired and will be tackled ... soon.  (whenever that is) 

All that happens when it rains in the barn is ... mud.

As you can see, Miles is laying down on the job.  Apparently they ran out of screws or nails or something minorly important.  He was waiting for the supplies to be replenished.

It was a very successful day.  The garage was re-roofed.  The barn roof also was completed.  AND... 

the cellar roof was given an upgrade.  

The garage door is still waiting.  

Patrick says painting is my department.

I said I'd like to paint a mural or an optical illusion.

The weather says, maybe next week will have a 2-3 hour opening above 50*.

That's not much time for anything more than a quick coat of paint.

I'm struggling to decide on a colour.... 

I'm still wishing for a mural, but perhaps a base coat would be a good idea for now. 

A little project

Before the weather became too cold and miserable I thought we'd tackle one of our smaller but major projects.  Smaller but not major projects would be cleaning out the dead flies out of the light fixtures.  Big but not major projects are Plant trees and bushes.  Big and major projects typically require Patrick, and include rebuild barn roof or start foundation for Dome home.  

So we tackled this smaller but major project.  In other words we worked on the shed!

The paint was cracked and peeling.  The shed is here to stay so I decided it was worth maintaining.  Some of the out buildings are on the chopping block so time spent maintaining them would be wasted.  

Step one.  Scrape the chipped and peeling paint.  (Our least favourite step)

Step two.  Scrub the shed and get rid of any dirt and dust.  HA HA.. in a windy open plains area. 

Step three.  Local Forest Fire sends smoke our way and temperatures stop cooperating.  Poor air quality and limited hours in the day at paintable temperatures plus the ever looming concern that I'm painting a shed that could be burnt to the ground if the fire made it this far put our project on the back burner for a week.  Then it seemed more likely that we would survive and the temperatures were plummeting.  With the paint scraped off the shed, it was in even more serious need of maintenance before winter.  Time to brave the smoke and cold and finish the job.  

I took safety precautions and wore sun and smoke protection... oh and about 5 layers of clothes.

Step four.  Clean shed again.

Step five.  Edge work.  (technically next step was agonize over paint colours, then proceed to go ahead)  This is the second least favourite step.

Step six.  Realize that with only about 4 hours a day of above 50* temps to paint and due to the uneven surface, roller painting wasn't possible.  The entire thing would need to be painted with a 3" brush.  Dry wooden sheds soak up paint.  Painting was a VERY slow process.  It took a day per side.  Then it took a day per side for the second coat.

Step seven.  Trim.  (the most satisfying step)  

Ignore the unsightly white on the bottom left of the front of the shed.  We ran out of paint.  Paint we purchased in Utah and we won't be back there for 6 more weeks... after any hope of paintable temperatures.

We are just stacking rocks in front of the area.  Perhaps we'll put rocks around the bottom of the entire shed.  

This shed is currently housing a pot bellied coal stove. (complete with dead bird inside when we moved in)  Some boxes of empty canning jars.  Canning equipment such as pots and lids and rings.  Extra kitchen chairs and stools.  It isn't being used to its' optimal efficiency but at least now it will survive the winter in style.

It does make all the other outbuildings look dowdy in comparison.

History lesson

On one of our bike rides through the neighbourhood, Emerson stopped to admire an old-fashioned rest area.  He actually was hoping to use it, but it didn't look too structurally sound.

Whittaker thought they were a great idea.  Of course he's never been found of just peeing on the side of the road or off the porch.  He thinks they should be everywhere.  He didn't quite understand the hole in the ground underneath aspect.

"Who empties it?"

Only you can prevent Forest Fires

And by 'you', I think Smoky the bear means all of us!
Carelessness came at far too great a price.  And not just a price tag of dollars.  Injured people, lost homes, ruined ecosystems and habitats, poor air, evacuations and fear... all are a cost not easily measured.

The fire began about 22 miles from our house and when it was finally contained it was burning about 3 miles away.  It burned over 60,000 acres.

The clouds of smoke were intense.  In the morning the haze was everywhere.  Then as the temperatures climbed the blue sky contrasted with the horrible smoke clouds which we learned were called pyrocumulous clouds.  Driving to and from town was always humbling as we noted how close the fire was creeping each day and as we were stopped at the road closure sign to prove that we lived within the closure but not yet evacuated area.

At one point I believe there were 35 helicopters and 30 water planes; We had our personal air show daily.

We even watched as they went to the nearby lakes and filled up.
We researched how much those helicopter baskets could hold.  The basket dangling below the enormous VLAT (Very Large Aerial Tanks) seemed so small flying over our house every hour.  But apparently they hold 2600 gallons of water.  Not too shabby.  VLAT became common terms as we would ask... 'what flew over?  a reg. helicopter? a plane or a VLAT?'

Miles would say there goes a Venison Lettuce and Tomato bird.

Updates became a daily and sometimes hourly search.

Firefighters posted unbelievable photos

There is a moose running in the center foreground of this photo.  

Wildlife and hundreds of cattle were in danger and many didn't make it.

And then almost as though overnight, the temperatures dropped to below freezing and the rains and snow came and the fire was contained and then declared out.  The town of 2000 had hosted over 1000 firefighters and Red Cross volunteers and then all was quiet.  The local fighters remained to assess damages and maintain the area in case of mudslides and other issues common after a large fire.  There were 55 homes completely destroyed and many many others damaged.  We were blessed that so many volunteers put themselves between us and the danger and the weather finally cooperated to allow the fire danger to pass us by.  

It does have us better prepared for evacuation and definitely more convinced than ever that we'd like to be in our dome.  

Teaching the importance of being careful with fire at cub scouts just a week later was a lesson taken very seriously.  

All together now

For over a year there were moments that I tried to capture in case it was the last time we were all together for a while.  Knowing that the move was 'any time now'.  I was not excited to be moving away from my oldest children.  Children are supposed to leave the nest one at a time, coming home for a home cooked meal, advice and respite from the adult life they thought was going to be so much easier.  But instead the nest was packed up, sold and moved to a remote and frigid location.  Mama bird left as well.  Two were launched in unceremoniously strangely done circumstances.  

So began my let's take a group photo while we're all here mantra. 

I do come by it honestly.

Mum is still trying to grab group shots, whenever she can.

First and great chance was visitors!

Jill, Bailey and Sybil came.

So an evening of fun was planned.  Silly was definitely on the menu!

Patrick was already living in Wyoming so our trip to the Ranch for the eclipse was a fabulous opportunity for some photo taking.

Especially a rural setting photo to prep us for our new digs.

They've grown up way too fast!

It's so obvious that this princess is surrounded by protectors... and jesters!

We seem to have more success getting everyone to give a silly look than everyone smile at the same time.

All together again only a few months later for Whittaker's baptism.

Silly wins out the day again.

All together plus..

Surprise!  Grandma!

Christmas in Wyoming was another photo op.

Oops.. Caleb didn't come straight home from church.  He went to feed Elk with Sam.

Almost everyone.  We'll take what we can get.

Springtime in Utah.

The move is bound to be any day now.

Duncan was home for Spring break.

Better take photos.

Even better.

Take photos and include the Connolly three.

No Photo shoot is complete without all 9 kidlets!

Okay so Patrick was still in Wyoming, so it's a complete kiddo photo.

Any opportunity with most of us warrants a photo!

Off to get a free meal at Chick-fil-A on a HOT July day.

With our cow, sock puppets no less.

"Well this is really it.  The last shot of us all together.  We live in Wyoming now."

I was almost teary eyed.  

It could have been the early hour before Caleb and Sarah left for Utah.  

It could have been the exhaustion of days of packing and moving.  

Then Caleb said, "Yup... all together.  Too bad Miles isn't here. hmm"

Moving Moments

Some of the moving moments that occurred while moving were... well... moving.

Discovering some junk items antiques, on the property.  

We don't have a clue what it does or used to do.  We also don't have a clue how to move it or what to do with it next... but time will tell.

Finding almost everything we didn't realize we needed to unpack and settle in, just lying around the property.  There was a stack of pallets in 'half-pipe gulch'.  Perfect for laying on the floor of the garage to put the items not being moved into the house on so there wouldn't be any chance of snow melt accidentally causing water damage to items on the garage floor.  (This happened when Neal and Nicole moved their furniture into their garage 2 miles from here the year before) (We hope our garage is better sealed but only time will tell)

The boys helping unpack and 'move' the house to the playroom.

Hanging the inaugural load of laundry outside on the clothesline.  It's not my favourite style of clothes line but it will do.... for now.

Organizing the garage.   (the pallets from earlier)

Watching the boys ride the unicycle on an unloading break.  

Not sure why all three required helmets. 

One of my favourite moments.  I kept finding the boys in their playroom just sitting and enjoying some quiet moments.  Definitely a foreshadow of things to come.  They spend every possible moment in here.  Sometimes reading, often building lego or watching the antelope or gophers outside the windows.

Antelope viewing.

I had no idea it would be an hourly occurrence every day.  

Emerson is convinced these are our antelope.  The mother and twins he claims as his can be seen all over town.  We'll be driving home and he'll say. 

"There's our antelope."

When asked how he knows they're ours he says, "The twin babies."

About a mile further down the road he'll say,

"There they are again. Our antelope."

And then again about three miles further.

And finally when we pull into our driveway.

"They're waiting for us!"

An afternoon delight!  We set up the trampoline which has been boxed up for more than a year!

Shh... don't mention that winter could be any day and it will need to come down again.

There was something very satisfying about taking each empty box as it was unpacked and opening the front door and tossing it outside.  After a while when we couldn't find the front porch I had to agree to stack them.

Then three little boys began to take them away.  They had a plan.

Whittaker was hysterical to watch.  He would load up his cart to ridiculous and precarious heights, then turn around and holding both handles he'd walk away.   Not a backward glance.

Oblivious to the falling boxes in his wake.  I wonder if he wondered where they were when he arrived at the barn door?

This is what a corner of the barn looked like later that afternoon.

There's no air conditioning or swamp cooler here.  A ceiling fan and an open window are all that are available when the temperatures soar to 88*.  So the boys decided to fill the pool.

Taking an impromptu break with items found lying around the yard and making a tight rope.

Emerson was a natural.

Finding a cat on a hot tin roof!

No power lines in the way... No anything in the way and plenty of wind!

So at the end of the day... it was time to go fly a kite.