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Friday, August 28, 2020

Chinks in the Armor

Hello Everyone,

Here is what I worked on yesterday, the border on my new pattern called "Crossing the Pond".  I have three sides done, just one to go.


Today I will attach the borders to the quilt.  I also have to make the corner squares.   The entire time I've been making this quilt, I'm contemplating just how I'm going to quilt it.  I have a lot of light space to fill in addition to complex blocks.  My brain has been working overtime in addition to my hands.

Now let me tell you about yesterday, and explain the title of my blog post.  We contracted with a well-respected painter to stain our log home. Our logs are very thirsty and need to be stained.  This is not a trivial matter, and I feel like I'm hemorrhaging money. This is probably going to be the last time in our lifetime that we will have this done.

So, let me set the stage at 7am yesterday morning.  The painters showed up and immediately started working.  We listened to the drone of the power washer from 7:30am to 3pm. The 2-man crew worked so hard all day long.

Our job was to stay inside and wipe up the water that "may" come through the logs.  Well, now we know why it is so hard to keep this place warm in the winter......it's full of gaps between the logs.  We don't have your normal "chinking" like most log homes.  Our logs fit together like Lincoln Logs.  It's a post and beam cabin, so where the beams meet the logs, there are some gaps from the cabin settling over the years.

We soon discovered we had an immediate problem around the front porch area.  I now know where the term "bat sh*t crazy" comes from. The bats enjoy the comfort of our front porch, and poop in the cracks.  That poop was catapulting into the house from the shear force of the power washer.  The poop was coming in from all angles along with the solution of water and bleach.  It was all hands on deck with towels, and the vacuum cleaner.  Mr. Joe always thought I had bats in my belfry, now it's confirmed.

We also had an issue in the master bathroom.  Mr. Joe got a shower without even stepping into the shower.  Twelve years of dirt and dirty water coated him from head to toe.  I now have a very clean bathroom inside and out! Mr. Joe is clean now too.

The painters will be back today to finish power washing the rest of the house, so we will be manning our mops and towels.  The logs will dry over the weekend, then first thing Monday morning the first coat of stain will be sprayed on.....then coat number two will be applied during the week. 

On a positive note, if a fire came along this weekend, our logs are too wet to burn!

Soon,
Lynn

27 comments:

  1. Oh good grief. I’ve never heard of that! Will you be trying to fill the gaps? I hope the stain doesn’t come through into the house. You may both end up with a permanent tan!

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    1. This isn't unusual for log homes Sandy. We were warned ahead of time. The stain will be thicker, and I don't think the intensity of the spray will be as vigorous. Joe will plug what he can reach. Some of the beams are up way too high for him to reach.

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  2. Thank you for making my morning so bright. You are a master of words and I haven't laughed that loud in a long time. Take care my silly friend.

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    1. I'm glad you got a chuckle our of our day, Sharon. Day #2 starts now!

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  3. Bummer! Oh the price we pay for living in wooden houses, huh? We don't have logs but wood siding and it takes a lot of maintenance. Good luck with the staining and hopefully, you'll get the chinks all closed up before long.

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    1. At least we know where the cracks are and we can take care of them before the winter winds and snow arrive.

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  4. Oh Lynn!!!!!! I wish I could use emojis because my post would be filled with both laughing and crying faces!!!!!!! Fingers crossed that the rest of the project goes as smoothly as possible!!!! xoxoxo

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    1. Today has not been smooth sailing. It seems like every corner in the cabin leaks from the high-intensity pressure washer. We've completely run out of dry towels. Even though it's bad luck, the umbrella may come out soon.

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  5. Holy cow! That sounds like the very definition of a BAD DAY! So, now do you have to have the house 'chinked?"

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    1. We don't have any chinking between our logs.....but we need to fill some cracks we didn't know we had!

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    2. Lynn, May the Force Be with You as this task is completed! You are a VERY patient woman! I would have LITERALLY gone bat-$h@t crazy!

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    3. Who said I wasn't going crazy???? I can't wait for this to be over.

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  6. Oh what a vision of you and Mr. Joe (people of a certain age, and I say this with total self-respect ), running around the cabin with towels cleaning up (or being covered in) bat guano on a hot summer day! Where was Zinnie and now Mazey when it came to the bats all those years? I hope you two now have your feet up with a nice bottle of wine...you deserve it!

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    1. Well let me tell you today was the last day of the power washing and we almost broke out the umbrella! Our feet aren't up just yet, but they will be while we enjoy a margarita!

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  7. Lynn, Madrigal received. Thank you - and for the tuck-ins.

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    1. That was fast Nancy considering the current state of our postal system! It was good to hearing from you.

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  8. oh no!!! So sorry for all the bat guano problems!!! I'll bet the sellers didn't tell you about this particular part of owning a log home when they sold it to you!!! I hope today goes better!!!!!Hugs, H

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    1. We did our homework before we bought a log home. The benefits, look and feel, out weigh the cost of maintaining it.

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  9. Oh my!!! I'll bet bat poop is not fun when it's inside your home. Well, it's not fun anywhere, but you know what I mean! Hang in there.

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    1. The poop was easily vacuumed up. Thank goodness!

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  10. I’m glad that you have a good sense of humor- I think I would have been crying! We have wood siding which isn’t too bad to maintain though we do find that solid color stains seem to last best. It’s always wonderful to have the job done! Good luck!

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    1. I'm looking forward to the completion of the work and a brand, spanking new look.

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  11. You know, sometimes we just have to find humor in crap!
    In the last 2 years it was a new $30K roof and then $13K for new carpeting (got 22 years out of both) and it will be the last. I cannot imagine how much taking care of the log cabin will be! I thought I would never recoup the savings but we did! Just takes time. I do hope that you recover from all the bats in the belfry!

    Obviously there will not be any quilting for a few more days!

    But you will certainly enjoy the clean "house"! Hang in there Lynn

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    1. We know this will all be worth it in the end. We have another 6 or 7 days to get through yet.

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  12. Thanks for sharing the latest Wilder Adventure. My imagination was working overtime as I read through the details. Keep on, you two!

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  13. Oh, my! Well as long as you stop up those leaks things should be better this winter. Stay safe.

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