Snow!!!!

A whole month has gone by since I wrote this blog! We have been so busy with all the building and permits and choosing things (I love that part - who wouldn't!?) and the colours of the autumn (fall here) changed the scene completely!  This was a view from the dining room window just before the window actually went in!

and it quickly changed to this

 Snow came early this year!  The end of October saw the first flakes and now the lake is freezing over.  I have tried to take picture of the otters (or something like them but smaller?) who sit on the edge of where ever the ice has got to as it freezes across but haven;t managed to get a decent picture yet

A view from the side of the house.  We dropped to -16 a week ago and will be going even lower next week I am told! At the moment it is positively tropical at -2  !!

 Here it is so far!  Not looking too pretty with all the unfinishedness - but it will improve!!  Inside we have a huge log burning stove and the kitchen is coming together.  Hydro finally managed to get electricity hooked up yesterday and the plumbing passed its pressure test too today - we had to quickly drain it all again before it froze and split the pipes!

 So glad that the ground wasn't so frozen that they couldn't get the pole into it!!  So good to have electricity!  Need to choose some light fittings now! :)

We found some crazy marble (granite??) at a place in Kamloops and both choose it straight away - without any arguments! Looks a bit messy in the picture - but really looks great with a light on it.  Would mask any messes too I guess!!! Not that I will make any of course!! :0

Sunrise over an icy lake!  Just can't wait to move in!!!! In a few weeks apparently it will be frozen enough to walk on and people will be out there ice fishing!!!  I should sell mulled wine from the end of the pontoon!

What a difference a week makes!

 This much building happened in one day!  I took pictures of each log being place and...  I had left the card in the computer and my stupid camera let me take pictures and stupid me never noticed .  Ah well!!

 So this is after one day!!!!

 This is the next day

 and this

 This is the amazing cedar which will be in the centre of the living room!  I love it!!  I asked John for the 'funkiest' cedar butt he could find - and here it is!  Fabulous!  That see through bit on the left is called a 'cat's face' we are told and is very rare :)

 Here John is doing something.  Not sure what actually!  Anyway he is next to the cedar that will be to the left of the entrance door.

 The SIPS roof system arrives!

 and the next day the roof is going on!

 Inside the 'sitting room' with a great view of the 'cat's face' and that gorgeous lake

 and here the entrance is completed.  Well, steps need some thought !!

 Meanwhile, the 2" of insulation goes in to the lower floor.  Overkill?  Yes but we don't want to be cold or damp!!

Today the roof is being tiled but I forgot the camera!  I did have my phone though and the Septic field was tested by the Engineer - which was quite beautiful!! A display of little fountains!!!  I will try to get the photos off my phone.  Neil's knees are killing him (kneeling on stones to make the septic field) but he saved us a fortune - so it was worth it - sez me!

Only one week now until we move out of the ranch.  Not into the Lake House of course!  Although I would if Neil would let me! We will be staying with Ed and Megan (own back time!  :)  ) for a couple of months although I think we will be helping the new owners of the ranch with lots of things so will be busy for sure! They are super nice people and will take Clearwater Springs Ranch to the next level!!!

Faster than the speed of light!!!

The framing started to go up in the morning...

and by the end of the day it was done!!!!

 

 In the evening the sky was red and this morning (4th Oct) the weather is lovely and lived up to its promise!  The flooring for the upper floor arrives next and then we are ready for the log part apparently!!! This will all happen at once - the log walls will be built in a day and a half (!) and then on about the 16th the windows will be fitted and on the same day the SIPS roof panels will arrive and be craned into place!  SO exciting!!!!

Up she goes!!!

Now it is all happening at once!!!

The old building came down - one end was already falling down so it didn't take much persuading! It has just been used as a store shed for the last 30 odd years.....

 

and the new one starts to go up!  Richard Bordeleau, who built Ed and Megan's (our son and his wife's) house in Clearwater, is building the basement and is in charge of numerous other aspects of the build.  He and his guys are quick, good and thorough and it is going up FAST!!!

In the above picture that is 'shuttering' by the way - the house is not made of cardboard... I hope!!

 

and back in 100 Mile House Sitka are on the finishing stages of building the log structure!  They will also be fitting the windows to the log part and the roof when they are on site.  Is there nothing they can't help with!?  It seems not!  Lucky us!

The windows are ordered from Rona (they will be here in two weeks) and the AMAZING front door from Gary (Gary's Custom woodwork also in 100 Mile House)is being made and the SIPS roof (from Chad Pasowisty of Corse Construction INC.) is underway and in the middle of October it will all come together and will be SO exciting!!!  Moving in at the end of October - no, of course not, but it won't be long!!!!  By Christmas for sure!!!!

Building Permit recieved today and log house growing fast!

What an amazingly beautiful thing this is becoming!!!  Luckily, we got our building permit today!  Phew!  I didn't like to mention earlier that we were still waiting for it! It has actually been dealt with really quickly and efficiently by the TNRD - especially considering how complicated it is as we are building on a lake and have Riparian things and easements and covenants to deal with!
So on Monday it will be all go - and we shall be in by Christmas!
Of course, we should be celebrating - well Neil is - but I decided not to drink for three weeks for a cleanse. Very bad timing!!!

Sitka Log Homes - star of the show for the second time!

Here is our log home being crafted in 100 Mile House!

When it came to choosing the company to build the log part of our new home there was no contest!! Sitka Log Homes built 'Clearwater Springs Ranch' for us 5 years ago and we asked them to build 'The Lake House' with no qualms at all!  Once again they gave us a really fair price, with no hidden extras and quality of materials and craftsmanship which can't be beaten!  John Johnson of Sitka is a fountain of knowledge and we constantly ask his advice about all aspects of the build and get quick and informative answers!
As you can tell, we can't recommend Sitka highly enough and we can't wait to be the proud owners of another of their wonderful log homes!!!

Paddleboarding on the Lake!

For our 30th Anniversary Neil has bought me pearls.... no nothing like that!  He has bought me a paddleboard!  Wonderful chap that he is!!!

At first it seemed very difficult and I was too scared to stand up ...



but then I got the hang of it and started really enjoying it!!



Even started showing off!!!
It is such a great way to get around!  Quite fast too actually! I didn't even get wet!!!
We are going to buy another and guests can use them next year! :)