The Inspector And Me

So as with any legitimate house-building project these days, inspectors need to inspect things. This we were ready for. Or at least thought we were. The day the inspector was to come, Dad had to go run some errands. He said, "When he comes, just let him in, tell him to phone me if he needs to." I figured it sounded simple enough.

The inspector pulled up in his truck sometime around 1 in the afternoon. I said to him as he got out, "are you the inspector?" His reply was, "Is that bad?" I told him that it wasn't, and showed him into Phase One. This seemed all right to me. But then he started asking me various questions about the house, questions that I wasn't fully confident in answering. I did my best on them, but I felt like a relative idiot. At one point I said, "These things would make a lot more sense if you discussed them with my dad." He seemed to agree, but then continued asking me questions, and I started thinking that I had essentially just told him I know nothing, but he was continuing to try and get information from me.

Eventually, he left, saying he'd phone my dad in the morning because he wasn't sure on some things. I decided that was best. I'd briefly thought of suggesting he stick around until Dad got home, but that proved to be about an hour later, and I was glad I hadn't!

The next day, he came by again. As he got out of the truck, I said, "My dad is here today. You can speak to somebody who knows what he's talking about."

That story is pretty indicative of how Shack life has turned out these last couple days. We have some things that need fixing, so the building is going slightly slower than we anticipated. However, that works out well for me because now I am able to volunteer another week at camp.

In other exciting news, Dad and I experienced a great field trip to Morden to learn about cellulose insulation. We first toured the plant where this stuff is made. It's quite simple, really, a whole bunch of newspapers are shredded into an unrecognizable mass, then this stuff called "boric acid" is added, which is completely environmentally friendly, plus it's a fire retardant and rodents hate it. Bonus. We then traveled to a house being built (still in Morden) to see how exactly this stuff is put into walls. Basically, a mesh is stapled onto the studs, and this stuff is blown in through a large hose that's kind of like a reverse vacuum cleaner. A very educational trip indeed, which also yielded an impromptu lunch with local friends! We get to do this insulation thing ourselves once the things that need a second look have had that very second look.

The Shackblog is going to be down for another couple of weeks, due to my being at camp then going out west for a family reunion. So essentially, there will be no interruption to my sporadic posting!

It's Slightly Bothersome to Keep Digging Things if They Just Keep Getting Filled In Again...

But that's the way it goes, I guess! Yes, it has been awhile since I last wrote about the Shack. Have I been dead? Well, no. But death aside, the house project continues to take steps towards completion. Several of those steps taken lately have involved Raya and/or me digging... a lot! Just today I completed a 2-foot deep by several feet long by less than a foot wide trench from Phase One to the shop that now serves as a place for the electrical conduit. That trench has been in the works for quite some time now, and I hardly got to bask in the glory of its completion at all before we laid the conduit and I started filling it up again. Cruel world.

On the plus side, this trench-digging provided inspiration for creativity late last month. Not being sure where to put the mud we were digging out, and the mud forming into round shapes quite nicely, Raya and I eventually decided that we would create a mudman! This was a lot like the average snowman, except you get dirty instead of cold while making it. And it's fairly small. Below is a picture of us proudly showing off our creation.

Besides the promise of electricity, water has begun flowing in the new world as well! A couple of days ago, Dad called me out to help test/flush out the pipes for the bathtub in the future rental suite. There are not yet normal fixtures on these pipes, so the water was gushing out fairly freely, and I was attempting to contain it using a large bucket. Essentially, I think that experience counts as the first shower taken in the new house.

Otherwise, life just rolls on... when the weather gets as hot as it has been over the last couple days I sometimes reminisce fondly of the days when we lived in a house with lots of insulation and a nice basement. But of course, I must remember we are on an adventure. Good times.