Yessi gets a taste of true America

Yessi and I love our little projects around the Moore Estate. Last weekend we moved a bunch of stuff out of the cabin so we could build a 15' long counter/desk along one wall.  Since Yessi and I are working on so many projects, she needed her own work station and I needed a place to work that wasn't on my drafting table so I could do more drawing.

Yessi does some more work on the Moore tractor.

We got a few BAPOW'S from FrEdLey and hauled them over for Moore shop work.  The barn is a great work space with a large clean concrete floor and big doors that open, large enough that we could work on 16' boards without having them outside in the rain getting wet. (this actually requires 32' of space in a straight line)

Another Falcon first down!!!  Go Falcons!!

While we were working, Lance had some Moore projects to do, one working on his old Ford tractor. We have him a hand replacing a hydraulic line and then decided we'd go the the South Whidbey High School game, as recommended by Gary Piper.  For many years he's been going to the games with Willard and it seemed like a great thing to do--and it was!

It seems Yessi just got off the Plane, and here she is on a Planer again.

The Falcons are a single A team and were playing a well established AA team.  They get another single A for effort, and I feel bad for them because it was the last game of the season and they got destroyed.  As Mr. Piper said during the game though, " cheerleaders destroyed theirs so we're about even"!!!

Yessi in coveralls with yellow tractor, grease on her face and a wrench as big as her arm!  

So, our America day involved driving around in a big diesel ford Truck, milling beautiful old growth wood for a project in our cabin, working on a tractor and going to a football game.  I'm thinking this is pretty American, at least it would be pretty hard to do any of these in China!!

Yessi Ye raps

Yessi, growing up in China, has much different music tastes than mine.  Perhaps you've gone out to a Thai or Asian meal and heard music in the background, part american pop, part ancient oriental, part lost due to language translation?  It's not pretty, in my opinion. So I'm teaching Yessi to Rap.  Of coarse I'm no musician, and when I say Rap, I'm really using the slang for rappelling, which is to lower oneself down on a rope.

Yessi at Mt. Erie in Anacortes, WA, rappelling for the first time ever and not too happy about it.

Yessi has never Rapped before and was very scared.  I thought she might not make it over the cliff edge.  In fact we moved the rope to another set of anchors that had an easier start to help her out.  She was so nervous she was shaking, but we had two instructors, one above (me) coaching her and one below (Ashley of WOW and  DHT) holding onto the ropes ready to emergency break Yessi if needed.

Yessi manages a smile even as she shakes with fear during her first time on a rope, ever.

Like always, Yessi rises to the challenges I present her with and I'm very proud of her for completing her crash course in climbing without a climbing crash, of course!

Fixing up the Bruiser Cabin

High above the little town of Langley, tucked deep in the woods out of sight and far away from the reaches of the sun is a little cabin in the development of Talking Circle.

Scary little unfinished cabin back in the woods

If this building was an old trailer, only the most daring would venture inside.  It's easy to picture a horror movie a midst the large fir trees, with broken glass for windows, the stalker bursting through tattered OSB and an endless chase through the giant ferns.

Tar paper and butyl tape creating a moisture barrier for scary little cabin back in the woods.

 But it's not, it's a cabin, built by skilled carpenters with no sense of architectural detailing.  Cute but unfinished with odd details at the windows, rafters not on lay out, corners framed improperly, and connections between additions unresolved.

Shingles (and Yessi's smile) begin to transform scary cabin to cute cabin.

And for almost 20 years it's been tucked in the woods, half scary dark dungeon, half cute cabin in the woods.  Now, we're finishing some of the more important details to make it weather proof and provide protection so it can survive another 20 years.

Salvaged blue metal panels and black window flashing juxtaposed to weathered OSB and tar paper unter towering fir trees create a contemposcary architectural look.

One of my first recommendations, was to finish flashing the windows.  Ideally, window opening sills are taped with a butyl tape prior to installing the windows, then the windows is installed and tar paper, more tape, and flashing are installed from the bottom up so that they all overlap and shed water to the outside.

Cutest Chinese in the world (Yessi Ye) next to the Cutest Aussie in the world (Benton)  in front of the Cutest cabin in the world (Bruiser Cabin)

We weren't able to do these windows like I would from scratch, but we made them lots better.  And then finishing the siding which included setting sheathing nails, tar paper, butyl tape at the corners and then siding which on one section was cedar shingles and on the addition to the addition, metal siding which was salvaged from Skagit River Steel and Recycling.

This large picture window was transformed from a large whole in the wall to an architectural feature with metal trim and siding.

And it's transformed from scary to contemposcary and when we finish, it will be contemporary.  Given the history, the location, and the color of the salvaged metal siding and custom metal trim (black and blue) I'm designating this the 'Bruiser Cabin'!

Though working on this cabin under large trees is dark, needing lights even on sunny days, it's also very sheltered and dry.  Two days Yessi and I worked on the siding while the heavy northwest fog soaked any object it touched, but under the massive trees which seem to soak up even ambient water, we were able to stay dry.  All in all it's been a very fun place to work, the community is wonderful, the owner is terrific and the improvements look great leaving us feeling satisfied and with enough money for another few weeks!

Bruiser Cabin, Talking Circle, Langley, WA, USA