12/2-4/14 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

On the way I stopped and visited with Uncle Charles for a short time. Then I proceeded over the pass and arrived at Camp Serendipity at 12:20. Ernie was there to greet me as soon as I parked. There was about an inch of old frozen snow on the ground but I was able to park using 2wd.

I carried my bag and cooler up to the cabin and got Ernie his usual biscuits and a tray of gravy. Then I returned to the truck with my Trapper Nelson backpack and hauled up a bunch of canned goods, a big 3,000 piece puzzle Dave had lent to me, along with some other stuff.

The sun was streaming into the cabin and the temperature was about 66º. I decided not to start a fire in the stove right away because it would make it too hot to work in the loft and that is what I planned to do.

I fixed my lunch and was almost finished with it when Ron Sideritz rang the doorbell. He came in and we had a nice visit. He told me that yesterday he had picked up a big road-killed snowshoe hare and thrown it into his truck. I took a picture of him reading jokes off a sheet of paper. He left and drove away, but about 5 minutes later, he came back. He told me that on his way out he had seen a set of bobcat tracks going up toward the creek. He followed the tracks and caught sight of the bobcat. He got the rabbit carcass out of his truck and gently threw it in the direction of the bobcat. The cat then eagerly grabbed it and ran off with it. I know there are a lot of critters on the property but I just wish I was as good at spotting them as Ron is.

After he left the second time, I decided against doing any work in the loft because I was eager to get started on Dave's puzzle. I worked on it for a while and then started a fire in the wood stove.

On Wednesday it was 11º outside but a nice 64º inside. Again I decided not to light up the stove. The temperature was perfect for working in the loft up under the ceiling peak. I used the skillsaw to mill long boards for finishing up the ceiling up against the ridgepole. Then I had my lunch.

Again, just as I was finishing eating, the doorbell rang. This time it was Robert Ferrel. He stopped by to chat about a possible pool table moving job from Priscilla's house. He also showed me the scar from the horrible sliver he had been carrying around in his left little finger. Fortunately he had managed to get it out a couple days ago. He told me a lot of new stories and I gave him a book titled "The Glory Days of Logging" that I had gotten from Priscilla.

Robert left at about 2:00 and instead of taking a nap, I went to work on the ceiling. I finished fabricating and installing all but the last 26 inches. I fired up the wood stove after I finished working on the ceiling.

On Thursday morning I did not start a fire in the stove at all. The electric bill will be a little higher as a result but that is the only reasonable way to be able to work up at the ceiling peak during the winter. I fabricated the last 26 inch board using only a hand rip saw, a chisel, and a block plane. I like to avoid the noise and sawdust generated by power tools if I can help it. It was fun to make that board with its rabbets and irregular shape using only simple hand tools.

With that last small board installed, half of the ceiling boards were installed. That is a major milestone considering the fact that the repair of the roof from the tree crashing through it, and the subsequent logging operation had delayed my ceiling project for nearly a full year. I hope the second half will go a lot quicker.

I am not quite done with the scaffolds where they are, however, because I still have to caulk the ceiling along the Grid 3 gable wall and I have to install the blades on the ceiling fan. Then I will move the scaffolds and begin working on the section of ceiling between Grids B1 and C3.

Before I left for home, I swept the main floor. It really needed it. It still needs to be vacuumed and mopped in spots, but that will have to wait. I left for home at 12:45 happy to be back working on the ceilings.