6/7-9/05 I went up to the property for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

I got a late start because I had to deliver a play house to Kalimba's before I left. I arrived at 1:50 and found a little frog in the gate padlock can. When I moved in, I found that the GFI breaker had tripped and the power was out. I reset the breaker and sort of noticed that the refrigerator had defrosted. It didn't dawn on me that the frost in the freezer part was completely gone. I just noticed some water in the refrigerator compartment and I wiped it up.

After moving in and having lunch, I drove the pickup up to the building and unloaded six sacks of mortar mix. I had no trouble driving up or backing back down.

I called Doug Lewin at the building department. He said that they don't inspect any electrical work and that I would have to contact Labor and Industries for that. He also told me to send in $200 to renew my building permit. I called L & I and found out that I would have to go into one of their offices and buy a wiring permit before I could schedule an inspection.

On the way up to work, I fed a pair of gray jays and a chipmunk. I also admired and smelled some of the many rose blossoms that are all over the place. At one point, I had a chipmunk eating out of one hand while a jay was eating out of the other hand. That's the first time that has ever happened to me. Usually the jays chase the chipmunks away, but this time they evidently were both hungry enough to be tolerant.

When I finally went in to work, I planked and braced the scaffold tower. I set up the short stepladder in the loft so I could use it to walk up and step onto the scaffolding. I also set up a ladder on the second level and leaned it against the RPSL so I could climb up to the top level to work.

On Wednesday, I started out by working on the ceiling slot. I decided to put a 1x2 in the slot before I chinked and leave it there until I install the ceiling boards. The problem was that the slot was too tight in some places, just like it was on the outside. I got Rasputin out and rasped the log ends where they were too tight. That was hard, hot work in a very confined space. I'm glad there weren't many spots that had to be rasped down.

After I had the 1x2s installed between Grid B3 and D3, I installed chicken wire over the styrofoam insulation in the triangular space on either side of the ridgepole. I taped a drop cloth to the fourth log from the top and then I insulated and nailed the three seams between the top four logs. I took pictures of the wall ready for chinking.

After lunch, I set up my mortar mixing batch plant out on the porch deck. I spread a tarp on the deck first to try to keep the deck clean. I had a sack and a half of mortar mix left over from last year and it was still good. Thanks to my measuring system, every batch I mixed was the perfect consistency. I worked until 7:15 and got the triangles and the top three seams chinked. I fed the jays and chipmunks each time I went out to mix another batch.

In the evening when I got ready for my shower, I stepped on the carpet with bare feet and discovered that the whole thing was soaking wet. It was then that I realized that the refrigerator had defrosted completely and all the water had gone into that one piece of carpet. I took it outside and draped it over the back of the pickup so it could dry. I was glad there was nothing in the refrigerator that would spoil. I also wonder what had tripped the GFI breaker. If it happens again, I'll have to pay some serious attention to it.

On Thursday morning, I used a wet rag to clean the mortar dust and drops off the logs. It was easy to clean off with the rag and the end result really looks nice. When all the logs were cleaned, I dismantled the top tier of the scaffolding.

In the process, Larry and Roberta stopped by for a visit. We had a nice chat and Larry admired my electrical conduit work. Then we went down to the gate to see if the frog was still in the can where I left him. He wasn't. After Larry and Roberta left, I cleaned everything up and went down for lunch. The carpet had been in direct sunshine so it was completely dry. I put it back in the trailer. I left for home at 1:20 feeling good about getting back into chinking.

6/11/05 Sent $200.00 to the building department to renew my building permit.