It is almost Thanksgiving, and we eagerly await the start of winter. Most of my friends do not care for the cold temperatures and snow, and I tell them "I don't care if it ever snows at home, as long as it snows more up north". And it is true, I don't enjoy scraping my windows early in the morning, or starting the car earlier to allow it to warm up, or worst of all the first snow when practically everyone forgets everything they ever learned about driving. But to me there is nothing more enjoyable than the sound and smell of a freshly started snowmobile, or the first time the throttle is pushed, and the track engages on freshly fallen snow, carrying you across the frozen ground. Down through the fields, into the woods, a certain kind of freedom and peace washes over you and there is nothing like it. Unfortunately, snowmobiling season is short, and entirely dependent on Mother Nature, and as you can see nothing is happening as of yet.We ventured up north this past weekend, with a couple of projects in mind. Insulating the ceiling downstairs was high on the list, as the temperatures were starting to fall and we wanted to cross this off the list because it would help not only the downstairs but upstairs as well. We opted for encapsulated insulation this time, an insulation wrapped in a plastic "sock" if you will. Installing this actually turned out to be very quick, since the ceiling was built with "I" joists, and space 16 inches on center, the insulation rested very nicely in between with no added stapling or other support. Plus, with a R30 value, a great insulator.
The hardest part of doing the insulation was moving all the things around over and over. The snowmobiles and tractor were OK because they were on wheels, but all the little things made it more time consuming. While I did the insulation, Karen tackled the stairs. She was tired of looking at the plain wood stairs, and decided to paint them, which is always fun when trying to remember which side did she paint first when you have to run upstairs.
We worked on a couple other projects, like hanging a corner shelf, moving the pegboard, and I installed a garage door opener, but still have to install the sensors for that next time we go up. There are a couple other things we worked on, but haven't completed quite yet, so I will save them for another blog. I did get out and put the driveway stakes out, and also put up a chain on our private snowmobile trail to deter people from riding across a bunch of stumps and debris we did not clean up in time. I don't expect any real traffic, but you can never tell.
Of course no trip up north would be complete without the obligatory moat snapshots. The water was flowing as usual, a little heavier than the past few trips. You can here the water from upstairs at night when everyone is quiet. It still looks very nice even with all the tamarack needles on the banks. We have been adding rocks as we dig them out of the yard, even though I was told there were no rocks when the land was cleared.
Finally on the trip back there were several areas that there was some serious work going on. These areas were where there have been issues with falling rocks, and one was bad enough to detour us across the median and onto the other side of the highway. At least they were able to use some of the rock taken off the side to build up the median.
The other wasn't quite as bad, but nonetheless required some serious reinforcement to ensure motorist safety. Those are some steel nets that were installed.
So with that I give thanks to the guys who make the roads safe, as well as family, friends and all the little things that make our days a little easier. I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and remember: I am still "Waiting For Winter"
