12/7-11/20 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

The drive over was beautiful. The road was clear, there was virtually no traffic, and there was new snow in the trees at higher elevations. I arrived at 11:30 and brought my gear up to the cabin in three trips. One trip was with a wheelbarrow carrying a chair given to us by Victor and Eileen. I took the chair up to the loft where it will work out very nicely.

After hoisting the flag and lighting a fire in the stove, I had my lunch and practiced the piano. Then I took my nap.

I received a call from Eric Kossian who was responding to my inquiry about insurance for the log home. We talked for about an hour and I was impressed by his knowledge. We will look into doing business with him.

On Tuesday I was up early. There was a freezing rain that was beginning to build up ice on the trees but that diminished before the morning was over. After practicing the piano, I cleaned up the remaining flooring mess from the loft and put it in a garbage bag.

Next, I did some writing, listened to the radio, and worked on a wire woodcarving model. Then I had my lunch and a nap and went outside and split some maple firewood. I posted a 'No Trespassing' sign down by the driveway entrance and then did some more writing. Finally, I bucked up some old tread blanks on the front porch with a Sawzall.

On Wednesday, I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and worked some more on the wire model. I had my lunch and a nap and spent the rest of the afternoon writing.

On Thursday Dave called first thing and we had another excellent conversation. I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, had my lunch and my nap, and split some more firewood. I spent the rest of the afternoon writing.

Since the loft is now fairly well finished, I've decided the next major project will be door casings. I will start with the exterior doors and use Bill's suggestion that I use natural materials. I have some slab remnants left over from ripping flat surfaces on purlins that will make good natural casing material.

On Friday morning there was a beautiful one-inch cover of new snow all over the ground and the trees. After practicing the piano, I went out on the front porch to prepare for working on the exterior door casings. I wanted to use the big sawhorses, but they were loaded down with that big wood block. So, I decided to lift the block off the sawhorses with the porch crane and set it down on the deck in order to free up the sawhorses.

I also decided that as long as I was lifting the block, I would satisfy my curiosity and weigh the block at the same time. So, I got out my homemade scales. I rigged the scales in the crane tackle, lifted the block off the sawhorses , lowered it to the deck, and learned that that block weighs 200 pounds. I was surprised because I had estimated 150 pounds. That is a big chunk of wood.

Next, I went behind the cabin to the scaffolding that was holding a bunch of old scrap wood and pulled out a few slabs that I could use for the casings. I put the slabs on the sawhorses and did a lot of thinking about how I would make the casings.

I spent the rest of the morning vacuuming the first floor , having my lunch, and packing up my gear. I left for home at 12:45. It had been another fun week.

After I got home, I talked with Bill for quite a while and he gave me a lot of good advice on how to proceed with the casing project.