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Decking discs and divine dining

It’s been a great spring so far. We’ve had mint from our planters, good times on the green roof and of course the nearly completed exterior siding!
But even among great weekends this weekend was special.

In the work department, Kevin finished some milling and Mike and Malcolm started on the much -anticipated decking.

is that decking going down? oh my so it is!

lovely lovely decking


The work was great but the fun was even better. Saturday lunch was tacos and a fabulous homemade lemon cake that Mike brought. Afterwards we had a lesson in disc golfing on the course that Malcolm designed.  Dinner was some amazing halibut which Malcolm brought down from up north, Then Sunday we had cold smoked salmon, also courtesy of Malcolm and our first inaugural game on the completed 12 target course!

Halibut, collard greens, corn and roasted potatoes onions and fennel
With room for strawberries and homemade biscuits
Work it all off with decking and disc golfing!
Malcolm shows us how it’s done
Looking for lost disks
Watch out for the water trap
Somewhere in the distance is the 11th target!

Now Malcolm says I have bo excuse not to priint out the map and score cards. so watch for that soon!

So to recap where we are as of the middle of June 2013:

  • The exterior siding is almost completed and only awaiting the installation of a bathroom window to be done.
  • The decking in the breezeway and guest cabin area has been started
  • The green roof is mostly planted and growing nicely
  • The disc golf course is finished
  • Life is good!


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Green roof part 2 and lots more visible signs of progress

What a VSOP (visible sings of progress) weekend it turned out to be.

We finished the breezeway roof and planted our first plants. 
We made and planted several self-watering planters
We fixed the broken seats on the boat
We ate great food
We took down the scaffolding off the south wall

We finished the breezeway roof and planted our first plants. 

Maddy and Kevin working on the decking for the roof.
The decking is made in two parts so the underside can be accessed if needed.

We made and planted several self-watering planters

We fixed the broken seats on the boat

We ate great food

We took down the scaffolding off the south wall

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The Shingle Best Weekend of 2012

How many puns can people make using the words shingle and shake? About as many as the hundreds of nails that were used to put up the shingle siding on the power tower!

In addition to the many bad puns our long weekend also featured

trampolining

swimming

boobytrap

and nature bingo!

ready to take the plunge
getting crafty!
We also had lots of neighbours and visitors coming to check out our progress. I am getting quite practised at our ‘7l cabin tour.’ If I had to summarize the things I emphasized most about our building journey they were:
  • Start with things you love. In our case, it was the land first, then the windows which we built the house around.
  • Find some common ground that will shape your decisions.
  • Create a good base camp
  • Enjoy the process!

Big thanks to Mike, John, Maddy and Blake and our land partner Bill who brought the beautiful cedar shakes from Vancouver Island.

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Synchronized swimming and the beginning of the end of the scaffolding!

Another lovely weekend for Halkett Bay Builders!

Maddy finishing the painting the window sills brown

We put our salvaged corplast on the east wall of the power tower. Now both sides of the tower have a nice diffused light during the day and a great glow at night.
and we got started on the siding for the power tower

 

What’s missing from this picture? Scaffolding!! Sometimes taking something down feels like almost as big a deal as building something up! Taking down the scaffolding off the west wall of the cabin felt like a HUGE step forward!

And we still had time for fun and leisure

Lora studying to be our tree expert
Lunch time!
Lora and Kevin practising for the Halkett Bay Synchronized Swim Club!

 

What a fun and satisfying weekend!

Big thank yous to Mike, Maddy, Lora and her amazing gazpacho, Alex for coming over to finish his Chinese checkers game, Mother Nature and/or global warming for the amazing lightening light show.