Northwoods Construction July 17, 2006

Week6day1

Hi, Greg couldn't believe Mike volunteered to put the insulation in the tower. Its got to be the worse job in construction. I watched Greg plumb the half bath-another bit of trouble that he managed just fine. The wiring is nearly complete, the insulation is going in and the drywall starts Wed if all goes well tomorrow. I'm puttering in the mud room, getting the closets ready for shelves, etc. So once again, there aren't pictures worth sending. Work started at 8 this morning which suits everyone but Greg. He's a bit of a workaholic we're finding out.

Rick, Janet and Dick came here on Sat for an overnight. We had a good visit and I think they enjoyed seeing our project. Janet's contract was renewed for another 3 years, so they can stay on in Dubai if they want.

Bed time! Love, Jane

Outdoor Adventure July 5, 2006

So, I get the call... and I'm going back to Chanco for the High Adventure trip after 2 years of not being outdoors. It was an adventure and here are the pictures to prove it. Coming soon are shots of white water rafting and my "traverse." Attached are pictures of me and the kids after caving, rappelling off Ramshead (180ft drop 1000ft above New River), and the traverse between two cliffs (200 ft drop also above the river). Enjoy!

A picture of me after caving... I'm dirty because we had to squirm on our stomachs to get through some spots of the cave! "Climbing half way up" is me in the back wearing blue and green pants...these rocks scraped! The first day we went hiking, you may recognize the bridge from the West Virginia quarter. The rafting trip was a two day- overnight on the river- trip. At the end we went over class 4 and 5 rapids. The famous bridge is where we got out. A couple of rapids were "safe" to swim through, I think that it was fun... but, safe? I swallowed a lot of water, ick. Then, finally, here is a picture of me doing the traverse between the two rock cliffs. I told you I did it! There is a picture of me upside down without my hands, but my photographer (camper) didn't get it on my camera. I will try to track it down at camp. But, I had a good time as you can see. Hope you enjoy!

Penguins July 13, 2006

This is mom's mural that she's creating for future baby Shingadia. It has an arctic theme. Penguins, snow, starry skies, etc. There's more to come, don't fret.

I like the close up of the baby penguin with and its mom/dad. (don't they both watch the baby while the other goes off to eat or something?...you know, March of the Penguins?)

This is how mom is spending her free time right now. Helping to perfect the baby's room!!! Julie has got her in line!

Two Kittens

Suddenly Eric and Kelley have another Kitten named Banjo. She looks like a litter mate of our own Sugar. That's impossible. They were born a thousand miles apart. Judge for yourself. Banjo is shown with the wood floor. Sugar is on a carpet, and also outside on the driveway.

North Woods Construction, Wed., July 12, 2006

Hi, pictures aren't worth sending as there isn't much interesting
going on. Michael and I are doing some wiring with Greg's direction.
The tower's fascia and soffets(SP?) are on. Vapor barriers are with
difficulty, added. The weather is still unsettled, so the rest of
the shingling is being put off till the weather improves. Greg put
up the cable for the still undecided lightening rod. Dad and Clint,
I passed on the info you gave me and also that of a company we found
in Calgary. Greg 's thinking of using one of the old wheels lying in
the drive as the second ground as the "plates" aren't much more than
just a plate. Anyhow, we have time to get more info, we're still
tired every evening so perhaps this weekend. Dorothy took pity on us
last night and cooked us dinner. Very nice of her.

Tomorrow and Friday will be easier days as Greg is only working till
2pm each day. We had been invited to dinner and an opera in Banff
on Friday by Mike's father, but we've decided we need to rest...Rick
and Janet come for an overnight on Sat. and perhaps Dick, too. We
can't do it all just now.

North Woods Construction July 10, 2006

July 10, 2006

We had a good weekend in Calgary and Canmore, the concert great, and also good visits with Mike's family. The Stampede week was just beginning so the Snowbirds gave an air show at the beginning of the parade. We had a good view from Dick's apartment. The second picture was taken from his condo in Canmore where we spent Sat night. We got back to Harrogate on Sunday in time to have Dermot, Anne, their kids and Dermot's brother over for dinner. Today Greg got the stairs in which he had built at home over the weekend. They fit! It's great not to have to climb a ladder up to the roof to get to the tower. It rained like crazy, so the roof had to wait. Its about half done, going slower than Greg had hoped. They have a job lined up the week of the 24th at a lodge they have to fly in to, so the drywall is supposed to get taped and mudded that week (hired out). Seems like a lot left to do before the drywall goes up. Then they return the following week to get the windows in and finish up. We still have the light fixtures to purchase, but I'm sure we can handle that on our own. Big Dave is a guide on Saturdays with one of the rafting outfits on the Kicking Horse river- his raft flipped on Sat and everyone went in, he managed to get 5 clients in, and other boats picked up the other 3. One dislocated shoulder and one bloody face (not him).....he was a bit tired today....mmmm, I was thinking maybe Dorothy and I should try a run-we won 2 tickets for rafting at the chili cook off! But I'm reconsidering!

North Woods Construction July 5, 2006

July 5, 2006
Hi, Looks like nasty thunderstorms await us tonight. No tarps tonight, we're pretty tight, though I'm a bit worried about wind. Michael had the binocs out checking out a fire W of Parson. We like the look of the tower, kinda like an Italian villa. The metal shingles look good enough-they will be most visable on the mudroom. Have to back up quite a way up the drive to get this view of the tower, I used a zoom. The tower is still awaiting ridge caps, but Greg shingled it by himself today.He thinks he lost 10 pounds in the process and he's skinny to begin with. He went through quite a few saw blades. Hope he made it to the hardware store in time tonight to get more. He brought me two sinks he was going to dump....one will be perfect for a studio sink. There was quite a mess tonight to clean up. A dump visit on our way to Calgary tomorrow. Dermot and Anne will come on Sunday which works out better for us. Today was hot again, but perhaps this system will cool things down. We're looking forward to our trip to Calgary, though we have at least one day of shopping to do. I prepare the list tomorrow. The thunder is starting, sweet sleep might be delayed.