2/28/11 Monday, took the Makita drill to Home Depot, bought a new chuck, and couldn't get the old one off. Home Depot said to take it to Tool Pros in Lake City, which I did.

3/1-3/11 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way I picked up the Makita drill from Tool Pros. There was lots of new snow and the roads were pretty clear so it was a beautiful drive over the pass. I arrived at 12:50 and found that there was 2 feet of new snow on the ground and the driveway had not been plowed.

I parked temporarily in the road and got my shovel out and was soon met by Bert. I gave him a round of hugs and biscuits before I started the shoveling job. The berm was 31 inches deep but it was pretty soft so I was able to get the truck parked by 1:00. I backed into the parking place right up against the snow where I had not shoveled. Then I spent about an hour shoveling around the truck so I could walk around it and open the doors, making snowshoe trails to the trailer and to the concrete staircase, shoveling off the concrete staircase, and making more snowshoe trails from the stairs to the cabin and around to the front of the cabin. This was the first time that I made no trail directly from the cabin to the trailer. This was the first week ever that I have been up at the property and not walked that stretch between the cabin and the trailer.

I cut some wood, built a fire in the stove, and shoveled the snow off both porches before I had a small lunch at 4:00. I'm not used to that much snow shoveling so I was pretty tired. I took a nap and afterward I carried the scaffold braces back down to the crawl space.

On Wednesday morning I called the building department and confirmed that I need a handrail on only one side of the staircase. The guy I talked to, I think it was Charlie, said he would send me a document in the mail that contains all the requirements for stairs and balconies. He also told me that balcony rails must be a minimum of 36 inches high, that handrails and guardrails on stairs must be between 34 and 38 inches above the tread nose. I also got the fax number of the building department, 509-667-6475, where I need to get Tom to send a stamped copy of the staircase specs. I looked for my copy of the specs and couldn't find them. I think I gave my only copy to the building department. I'll have to figure out a way to get another copy.

The temperature outside was 31 degrees and it had snowed another 2 inches overnight. I carried the scaffold frames down to the crawl space from the front porch. Then I went out and shoveled the snow off the mixer before I went in for lunch and a nap.

By midday, the snow had turned to a light rain. I went out and shoveled the new snow off the concrete staircase. Bert and Ernie came by for hugs and biscuits and I even gave them some left over gravy which they love.

I spent the rest of the day making a list of 44 items that I need to do before I am ready for drywall.

On Thursday morning it was 32 degrees and snowing again. I spent the morning packing up boxes of stuff from the bedroom and storing it in the crawlspace. Most of it is electrical stuff and now that all the wiring is done, I won't need it for a while. I want to clear out the bedroom as much as I can both for the scouts, who will visit in a couple weeks, and to begin to get ready for drywall.

I also chiseled part of the loft beam above the living room closet to provide clearance for the drywall. This was one of the 44 items on my list. I left for home at 12:30 feeling good about the new snow and that I am ready for the scout visit.