Construction Update

Family and Friends,

We have been having some technical difficulties with our camera, which does not bode well for photographically recording our building adventure. However, we have been very busy with finish work in the cabin. I will post pictures as soon as I have them, but for now a written summary will have to suffice:


• The flooring is in. It was a long and arduous process, but we finally finished the installation.

• We have purchased carpet for the loft and tile for the kitchen and bathroom floors. Though we have not installed them yet, we are on the cusp.

• The kitchen cabinets are assembled. This was a significant accomplishment, not so much on the part of assembling, but more due to the fact that we finally planned, ordered, and received them! In order to reduce shipping costs, we picked up the two pallets of boxes in Spartanburg, SC (about a 2 hour drive from the barn). While it was certainly out of the way, we used this time to visit a building surplus store close buy where…

• We purchased granite tile for the kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities! While this is not as fantastic an accomplishment, they do provide a more complete picture of what the kitchen will ultimately look like when it is completed.

• The interior doors have been installed and all framing is finished. A huge thank you goes out to our fantastic carpenter, John!

• The floor joists were reinforced in the downstairs portion of the stall to keep the upstairs floor from continuing to sag (an unfortunate result of poor workmanship when the structure was built in 2003).

• Collier and I began construction on the “butcher block” bar that we will eventually fit over the half wall above the kitchen sink. This was a very unlikely project until we collected remnants of oak from our flooring venture and realized that we had the materials and vision for a very unique piece of fashionable yet functional art (if a counter tip can be considered such!)

• As I write this update I am in town (using high speed internet to its fullest) and just received our Rennai heaters from a UPS deliveryman, who was so kind as to meet me here rather than at our usual drop off location at the Pilot truck stop. I love meeting people, and this kind gentleman was no exception. We made each other’s day.

• Pine treads and kick plates have been purchased for the stair case. They are a beautiful contrast to the oak flooring and we anticipate them staining quite differently when we reach that point in finish work.

• Grandma (bless her) decided to order some beautiful iron stair rails. I cannot even envision what it will look like with the newel posts and hand rail; pine treads and the contrast of oak on the floor and faux on the walls. It is coming together beautifully and I believe that it will be a lovely representation of our rustic, eclectic style.


While there are still many projects uncompleted, we are coming along and the end is almost in sight. Our next major undertakings are to finish sealing between the wood slats on the exterior of the whole house and then to paint. We have already pressure washed in preparation. Aside from that (it is always a work in progress) we are essentially ready for our final inspection. Fixtures must be set and heat must be installed as well for this to occur.

Which reminds me...we have light! We are now able to work late into the night, thanks to our fabulous electrician. It seems that we are surrounded by talented, kind men in this regard. All of our hired helpers have been so refreshing to work with and they welcome our questions and inquiries. We feel like a team rather than helpless bystanders with a checkbook. Specifically, the inspector, carpenter, sheet rock engineer, and electrician have given us far more advice than we could ever pay them for.

Purple Sky, Mountain Majesty!

This is the view off of Grandma's porch during tonight's sunset/moonrise. The leaves are beginning to turn and the sky was playing in brilliant colors!

Meanwhile, things are moving along down at the cabin. We have begun laying hardwood floors! It's slow going, chiefly because of our inexperience, the rather small size of the planks, and the fact that this is "cabin grade" flooring (which means that we have between 30% and 40% waste). There is quite a bit of sorting to do. Once we finished the hallway things started picking up! Check out our progress...

Cabin Update

Since we haven't had a construction update in a while...

The trimwork is nearly done! Only the interior doors are left. It is so exciting to walk in and see beautifully stained window boxes!

We finished putting plywood up on the interior walls of the stall and workshop downstairs. Next step there is caulking all of the cracks and painting the ugly press board with a nice solid color.

Mom bought cabin grade flooring a few days ago. It is beautiful unfinished oak. This is going to be a new experience for us! We have installed pergo and laminate flooring, and we have refinished hard wood flooring, but we have never installed hard wood before. We'll see how this project goes...

It is hard to believe that we have come as far as we have. We are getting ready to lay flooring! So difficult to imagine that this place that has been sitting unfinished for so many years is actually beginning to look like a home.

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I will take and post some in the coming week or so. We have a very busy schedule for the next few weeks and are scrambling to make it to a final inspection. Collier and I are hot and heavy into school and beginning to tackle the big assignments. Meanwhile, we are getting to the BIG projects at the house, so we are constantly on the go. Our final moving week will be the second week in November, so we must be done by then!

The Green Zone

As Dad so aptly commented, "We could definitely get into this!"

Tractor pulling has become a new family favorite hobby...or is it actually a sport? Trophies are awarded and there is a great deal of competition among the Ringers (professional level pullers who compete at an amateur level). See...we are learning the lingo :-)

Anyhow, we loaded up the tractor and drove to beautiful Hendersonville early on the morning of October 1st. Farm City Day is a much loved event in the mountains and as they say, "It wouldn't be Farm City Day without a tractor pull." We dove back into the Mountain Man Tractor Puller's Association group and excitedly prepared for our second pulling experience.

We can only pull in three weight categories, so we decided that I would pull in the 9,000 lb class (again), Collier would pull in the 9,500 lb class (again), and Dad would make his inaugural pull in the 10,000 lb class! At the last minute Papa was able to enter the 9,500 lb class with another tractor (which actually belongs to Mike McCreary, the gentleman who runs the pulls).

This pull went significantly faster than the previous pull, chiefly because it was so small in comparison. I was the first puller and the only lady to compete. So, I wore my boots, my John Deere socks, and a shirt that read "Put your big girl boots on and deal with it!" I beat my previous 112.6 ft and pulled a total of 160.3 ft!



Collier was the last competitor in the 9,500 lb class and pulled a total of 160.1 ft. Papa pulled second in the same class a total of 152.7 ft.

Dad pulled last in his class and beat all of our distances with a whopping 170.2 ft pull!

So at the end, our lineup was...

Chelsey - 1st place in 9K class
Collier - 1st place in 9.5K class
Papa - 3rd place in 9.5K class
Dad - 4th (no trophy...) in 10K class

Let's just say that Grandma didn't believe Papa when he told her how we fared.



So...have you ever wondered what happens during a tractor pull? What does a "pull" look like? Well, we have Collier's pull on video, so take a look!

Collier's First Place Pull!

When you hear us excitedly proclaiming that Collier is "duck walking" what we mean is that he is tapping each rear break in an attempt to move the tractor a few more inches before the tires started spinning. It is actually a tractor pulling technique.

Now, Mom was recording this video and accidentally stopped the camera before they announced the winners. Thankfully, she still got the announcement of Collier's first place win on camera! It is a precious video that you can watch HERE!

Here's a brief explanation of the pulling process:

1. Weigh tractor and driver. Add or remove weight to suit class.
2. Back tractor up to sled (that's the trailer with the big red thing on it), put tractor in neutral and hold hands up (safety measure for the chain man).
3. Chain man attaches chain to tractor, driver puts tension on the chain.
4. Flagger waves the green flag and pull begins!
5. Driver pulls as far as possible in 2nd gear (2 mph).
6. When tires spin a full revolution flagger waves the red flag and driver stops the tractor.
7. Driver removes tension from the chain, puts tractor in neutral, and holds hands up.
8. Chain man unhooks tractor from sled, and tractor weighs out.

This may not sound thrilling, however it most certainly is when you are able to participate in the pulling! But it is not the competition, or the trophies or the length of the pull that makes this so exciting for us. It is the sheer boyish glee that is written all over Papa's face because we are learning to do this crazy thing. He finds more joy in our successes than we ever could. Even if we never brought home a shiny trophy he would still be "plum proud" of his kids, and that is worth more than anything to us!