#59 Everything straight or what?

Good news for you: I don't have much to report. 😅 and so hello to this blog post, which is finally shorter.

Unfortunately my audio is still 52 minutes long:

https://tinyurl.com/ypcdjjcn

On Sunday I was able to “celebrate” Thanksgiving for the second time. This North American version of Thanksgiving is much more celebrated here and is a national holiday marked by the typical turkey meal. Unlike in the USA, this day occurs on the second Monday in October (USA: November 23rd), with most people (according to David and Jenny) celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday evening. Like Christmas and Easter, this day is of course not a big deal here. However, turkey was actually eaten.

Unfortunately, dinner was a step backwards because Jenny once again felt the need to talk a lot. Like Christmas and Easter, Jenny once again said that it wasn't what she wanted and that she actually made it much more pompous. She always brings out her best cutlery and makes the best turkey, but the construction...you know, she just doesn't have time for it. I think she just didn't want to admit to herself that maybe she just doesn't celebrate these days and never reveals things in a big way (which is completely okay, I would like to say here!). And so she told me (not lying) for at least 15 minutes that that wasn't what she wanted and that the turkey definitely wasn't that good either.

David got annoyed at some point and kept telling her to please stop saying over and over again that the turkey wasn't good. David then suddenly noticed that Daisy was biting a pillow and Jenny reacted completely exaggeratedly, although David also said again that Jenny didn't have to react like that. I think that was the reason why David left. Unfortunately, he has the bad trait that when he's annoyed by something, he just gets up and walks away from the table. 😅 So I sat alone at the table with Jenny and ate my turkey. I couldn't really enjoy it because Jenny was once again babbling off her standard topics. So I looked at the mountains again and tried to remember the mythology of the mountains. Somehow the mountains are said to have been a couple back then, then they separated and one part took the children with them and that's how the mountain range was created, which is bordered on the left and right by the partners and in between the children, who represent the smaller mountains. Just a typical legend that the ancient tribes used to tell each other. But you can also see the contours of a face, which was probably the origin of the story. However, I don't know the full content and unfortunately I couldn't remember it even when I stared at the mountains. Well, at some point the meal was over and I left. I really have to say that last year I enjoyed Thanksgiving much better with my second farm and visiting the farmer's sister.

On Monday I finished the ceiling paneling in the anteroom. Jenny actually wanted to install a partition wall, which I would have found better, but then she decided against it and so I had to cover the entire ceiling, which wasn't a big problem. But first I built a small corner wall to cover my modestly built house wall. This would have been covered by the partition wall and since this was now missing, I had to think of something else. What's also funny is that I had to leave space on the left side of the pipe, 4 inches to be exact, so that the wood wouldn't ignite. It's just stupid that Jenny herself didn't build her own roof structure anywhere near this distance around the pipe. 😂 But I also have no idea which heating system this chimney belongs to. Now that I had finished this project, things went very smoothly.

I was supposed to put together the new lamp, which is a cheap chandelier hung with lots of plastic bricks. The only “instructions” were a Chinese explanation with a parts list of the stones. The assembly wasn't super complicated, just attaching the stones took an incredible amount of time. At some point this product was also put together and it is always shocking how much plastic is used, especially in Chinese products. It felt like every part was specially wrapped in plastic and then everything was protected with Styrofoam, which immediately breaks down into these little balls and is carried out into nature by the wind. Nice!🥲

Furthermore, the windows were finally installed. 🙌 That was another topic in itself, where it was only when the windows were inserted that it was discovered that the frame was too big and while I was holding the window in position, the necessary boards were quickly cut and with extra finesse and a rubber mallet “hit” into the gap. So all that's missing is a window and then everyone is actually inside. You can tell that, especially when the sun shines through the front window, it gets very warm in this area. Of course there are still 38492374 places where the wind whistles, but it is much more pleasant. 😌

Then I drove to a neighbor's house to pick up wood chips for floor insulation. Oh, I think that was one of my last trips in the truck and I just love driving it. It's much more comfortable than the Jeep and it just feels great to drive. 😁

Before I report on my next project, which kept me busy until Friday, I went to Tatla Lake on Wednesday. A strip of forest was cleared there several months ago and the people left behind a number of logs that the people from Tatla Lake are now allowed to use.

Fun fact (for me): On Google Maps you can see this strip and the piles of wood too, but the picture must be new, which is again strange because the photos of the lodge here are four years old, but the wood is definitely not already there untouched for four years. Funny how Google Maps takes such different photos (so I'm just guessing now).

So David and I drove there and were surprised at how much wood there was. This would be a real gold mine for all German fireplace owners. We loaded the trailer until David's heart started giving too much trouble again. This week I would have actually focused entirely on these logs so that there would be a sufficient supply of wood. I would have loaded the trailer, then quickly unloaded it here and reloaded it and another person could have sawed the logs here. I don't know why Jenny and David didn't do that. They could (easily!) fill up their entire wood storage within that one week and also store logs outside so that they would have enough wood for at least two/three winters. But they didn't, although David unloaded the trailer today (Saturday) and wants to get two more loads next week. I'm still wondering why he doesn't see all the firewood on his property?! But I've written that here many times, so let's move on to the next project:

Jenny told me I needed to relevel the floor and she wasn't kidding. The ground had already sunk extremely after just one year. I had to level the area by the terrace and it's really crazy...but she also said the following sentence: That's because we built in the winter and the ground was too soft.

WHAT YOU DO NOT SAY?! Jenny?! Really?! 😱😱😱 You have no real foundation and are building on the old edge of the lake. It shouldn't be a surprise that the house continues to sink. Getting the floor “straight” again was a bit of a pain. The floor was straight from left to right, but not from front (terrace) to back. So I then attached additional boards so that the floor was straight again from front to back, only to find out at some point that it was no longer straight from left to right. It just took me days to get this floor somewhat straight again and it's shocking how deep the floor has sunk near the walls. 🤯

On Friday the three of us tried to erect a new tree trunk that would be used as a support for one of the terraces. It was once again pure entertainment when Jenny and David threw ideas at each other and had something in their hair. In the end we didn't make it (I think we could do it with the right technology) and David and Jenny now want to ask the one neighbor (where I picked up the wood chips) if he can help with his machine. David was so annoyed by the failed attempts that he then said: We have already invested so much money in the house here, the 400 CAD no longer makes any difference. Where he is right. 😂

And that’s it, work-wise. Furthermore, all I can say is that winter is really progressing. It's pleasant in the sun, but the morning hours aren't quite as pleasant. The fog usually doesn't disappear until around ten o'clock, so it doesn't get much warmer...unfortunately we sometimes start the day with minus six degrees Celsius. Especially in the afternoon with the sun it will still be over 20 °C. Canada – The country of big temperature jumps. The advancing winter is slowly becoming apparent in the animal world. The bunnies are changing color again and I would say their winter fur is about 30% - 40% charged. 😅 The coyotes also come down from the mountains. Somehow they are much more active in the colder months or I hear them more. On Friday morning they were so incredibly loud, it was as if the pack had been right in front of my cabin. 😅 I have no idea what they were hunting.

Otherwise I just booked the flight to Vancouver, which is the first step towards Germany. This topic is taking up more and more space in my head, which isn't a bad thing since I'm now slowly having to confront the idea of saying goodbye, but of course I notice how it's bothering me. But at some point it just has to be.

Before I start the fifth page and it becomes too much to read, I'll end the blog and wish you a nice rest of the weekend.

Samuel🙌