The Shacktennial

I have returned from a great week in Ottawa, and can no longer hide from blogging. That's not a problem though, now that I actually have a couple interesting things to write about.

The title of this entry was inspired by the fact that a few nights ago, actually it was the night I returned from Ottawa, I celebrated my 100th "Shack Night". For those who don't know, I have a running tally on the sloped ceiling above my bed. There was much pomp and circumstance. Actually, there was not. I went to sleep very quickly.

The morning after my 103rd Shack Night (this morning) brought an interesting sight to my eyes. I looked out the window to be greeted by a bobcat (essentially a miniature front-end loader) tearing up the backyard. I pretty much shrugged and went to go eat breakfast. Nothing really fazes me anymore - I live with my dad. In case you're wondering, the bobcat (which happened to be driven by a former neighbour of ours) was, in fact, clearing the space where we intend to put the new house. Dad said this was the first step. He then said that there were, of course, going to be many first steps. I know this to be quite true. We now have more dirt in our yard than we know what to do with, but we have to keep it so that we can eventually fill the hole that the Shack will leave. For now, the yard has again become a war zone, one which is very difficult to get in and out of. I'm thinking we need to start putting disclaimers on our fence - you (read: "we"...thanks Jason) are not responsible if you get injured or covered in dirt on our property.

Finally an Update!

Yes, it has been two weeks since my last update, sorry to any of those who are hanging on the every word of this blog...

Blogger and I are still having creative differences - that is uploading photos is a pain in the neck because it doesn't seem to work! So the porch-destruction photos and other visual evidence I have captured will not be published for all to see just yet.

Speaking of the porch destruction, it is now entirely finished, as is the dismantling of the attached-to-Shack shed and the woodshed that was just kind of sitting there. So all the destruction that needed to be done seemingly is done for now (one friend of our family suggested I make the motto for this blog "The Squalor's Getting Smaller"). Our yard is even relatively clean after Dad spent a couple of quality days with a large dumpster and an ever-burning fire in the firepit. We also have a really awesome fence, built with old fence-segments and some of that really sweet bright orange construction fence. It remains propped up because of Dad's creative use of rebar (for more on rebar, see my earlier blog entries...Dad still thinks it's going to save the world). It is now much easier for us to keep track of Bruce (our dog), who is, much to his chagrin, unable to escape the property now.

Of course, that is not all. Much exciting progress has been made in the realm of the shop as well. Dad can now work in there at night - because he has power! I suggested that perhaps he should go mad with power... but he's far too busy with the other exciting shop-project, siding! After a long and tumultuous journey, the siding that Dad ordered specially finally made it to our backyard, and now he is working outdoors (with me sometimes) in November. Thank goodness the weather has been unseasonably warm these last couple of days.

That seems to be all for now. This week I am preparing for a leave of Shack-absence, as I will travel to Ottawa the following week to partake in an exciting program known as "Encounters with Canada". So again, it may be awhile until my next update. However, if something drastic and exciting happens before my departure, you'll be the first to know.