12/30/08-1/2/09 I went up to the property for 4 days: Tuesday through Friday.

I arrived at 12:10. There had been a foot of snow, or more, but the driveway had been plowed out so I had no trouble parking. There had evidently been a lot more snow earlier. I could see that Mike had plowed the driveway further up at least once, but since the last snowfall, he plowed it only two or three pickup lengths in. Bert and Ernie were right there when I parked and got their dog biscuits.

The snow was so light and fluffy I decided against using the snowshoes and just postholed my way up to the trailer. I shoveled the concrete staircase off just for the fun of it. The only problem was that the snow started sticking to my shovel.

When I went into the cabin, I found that Brian had left a voice message on the phone. They were in the area on Sunday and were thinking of stopping in if I was there. I'm sorry I missed them. I hope they came over anyway. I started a fire in the wood stove and went in for lunch. After lunch, I swept off both porches, and shoveled the snow off the top of the mixer. There was a heavy load of snow on top and it had broken part of the cover I had over it. Then I shoveled out the firewood pile so I could get the tarp pulled back and get at the firewood. I carried a few loads of firewood and stored it on the back porch.

I traded out my old electric heater in the trailer for a new one I brought with me. The new one seems to work much better. It heats better and it is a lot quieter. I feel better now that I have a spare.

On Wednesday there was about four inches of new snow. I shoveled the concrete steps clean again and dug out the firewood pile again. This time I stockpiled enough firewood on the back porch that I thought would last the week.

Next, I got the ladder out and shoveled the snow off the privy roof. It was three or four feet deep and very heavy. I worked up a sweat shoveling it all off.

Bert and Ernie showed up again so I went down to the trailer to get them their treats. When I was in for lunch, I happened to see the huge load of snow on the cabin come sliding off. It made a huge pile of snow that avalanched halfway down to the hairpin turn. Pretty awesome.

I waxed my snow shovel by heating it over the wood stove. I used to wax it in the trailer over the gas stove, but it worked much better over the wood stove. I melt paraffin in the heated shovel and smear it all over the inside. Then, with the shovel still warm, I rub a bar of paraffin on the underside of the shovel to wax it good. That should fix the problem of snow sticking to the shovel.

I went to work in the loft and did some insulating and nailing of the seams at the gable peak from up on the scaffold. My right knee was sore and gave me a little trouble climbing up and down the ladders. I went to bed early on New Years Eve, but at midnight, I woke up enough to hear the explosions going on at the neighbor's.

On Thursday morning, it had snowed about another foot overnight. I scooped out the driveway behind the truck so I could get out, and then since the snow was so light, I scooped off the concrete stairs again. The waxed shovel made the job even easier. It was snowing the whole time and my jacket was not waterproof. I was soaking wet when I finished shoveling.

I went into the cabin and dried my clothes around the wood stove. Then I went back to work insulating and nailing seams in the loft. I got all the seams done that require a ladder or scaffold to reach. I quit for the week, had lunch, packed up and was on the road for home at 12:30.

On the way, I talked to several neighbors who were up having fun in the snow. Phil Leatherman told me that both Stevens Pass and the Tumwater Canyon road were closed and wouldn't open until tomorrow. I didn't have much option but to stay another night. Jeannie invited me to dinner at 4:30. I gratefully accepted.

I drove to the schoolbus turnaround, turned around, and drove back to the property. I stoked the fire back up in the wood stove and went back to the truck to get my bag. While I was carrying my bag back to the trailer, Nancy Bartholomew called to me from the road. I invited her to come up and see the cabin. She came up to see the place and we had a nice visit. I took a couple pictures of her in the cabin.

After Nancy left, I went back to work insulating and nailing seams in the loft. I worked until a little after 4:00, and then walked over to the Leatherman's. I met their son, John, and had a great dinner and a great conversation with the three of them. I also hit it off with their beautiful husky named Dutch.

After dinner, the five of us, including the dog, walked back to my cabin so that Jeannie and John could see it for the first time from the inside. I took a couple pictures of them also.

On Friday morning, there was only a couple inches of new snow. I started another fire in the stove and nailed one more seam in the loft gable wall. Then I went down to the driveway and shoveled through a big berm the snowplow had thrown in my way. Then I got my gear back together and left for home at 10:50. I didn't need chains to get over the pass, but the traffic was thick and moving pretty slowly. I guess it's safer that way.