Rain and Drain

January was unseasonably warm in Sointula so we dropped our batts of insulation and picked up shovels and rakes to permanently bury our perimeter drains.  It's a big piece of property, especially when you'r digging holes by hand.

Remember...this is January on the west coast of Canada!

Of course, after laying the pipes in place you have to cover it all back up again, stamping on it LOTS to make it solid.

Don't ask how many wheelbarrows we both packed across our land! 

Jim loved raking and grading our land.  He thanks him Mom for instilling such great passion for gardening. 

Done!  Now we return into the house to finish installing the insulation and vapour barrier before making our suite.

While most of Canada was freezing we enjoyed our outdoor work.  It was dirty and tiring but in six days we had completed what we set out to do.

Work joyfully continues on our house and property!  We can hardly wait for spring so we can start planting varieties of berries.

Until next time.

Jim and Tricia Bowen

Magic Wand to the Rescue

In November Jim and I attended Winterfest and purchased a very special, one-of-a-kind magic wand from a 9 year old budding artist who lives on Malcolm Island. He made our wand using a special piece of branch, mystic gems and magical adornments. We felt certain that this magic wand would help us to make the bulky mound of compressed Rockwool insulation disappear.





This was our massive pile of insulation, which took up the entire kitchen! R22 packages contain 5 batts and R28 batts contain 4 batts.   Ceiling will be R72 when the insulation is installed.

Jim holding the magic wand above the insulation.....

A few key chants, lots of bowing and nodding and bobbing to make sure it would work.

And it did!!!Just like that!!!


Ok...it wasn't quite that simple.  If you want to follow start to finish please continue below....

Our sloped ceiling in late September.  Notice the scaffolds Jim designed.  We've used it extensively ever since.

Jim designed and created the  ribs to enhance the curve of a wave...

And here it is finished with this beautiful, unusual ceiling shape.

Then the fun began right after New Year's.

Each space between the joists consumed 3 layers of insulation with 5 pieces per layer, all individually put in place.

It took a while to get into a routine.  I carried each batt up the scaffold and handed to Jim to be installed.

Batts ready for installation.  We also had to carve away insulation where we needed backing boards.
Time consuming but necessary so things will sit flat when the finished pine boards are eventually added. 

Each light fixture had to be covered in a wooden ring then sealed in plastic.

Once the insulation was up, the whole ceiling was covered in a vapour barrier.  Each light outlet
was gooped up with a flexible caulking so that the vapour barrier is never pierced.

A third of the way into the project, Jim designed and build the wooden box
to contain the future metal chimney for our Pacific Energy wood burning stove.  

Very hard on the neck and back but he managed to get it in place.  The box
was installed, primed and painted before the vapour barrier was added over top.

Getting closer to done!  Jim's working on the first roll of vapour barrier over the kitchen and powder room. 

We moved the rolling scaffolding across the house, caulking all seams after installing the vapour barrier.

Nailing strips of plywood over the caulking to attach the future ceiling boards.

And before you know it....it's done!

And that's how easy it is to put insulation into a ceiling!

Cheers for now.

Jim and Tricia Bowen

Winter in Sointula - Scenic Photos

As promised, here are a few wintery  shots around our property and on Malcolm Island. 

Clear crisp days and beautiful sunsets.

These were taken outside the trailer.  The view's going to be even better from the house, once the windows are cleaned.

Rough Bay at low tide, with the fresh runoff instantly becoming ice.

It was cold if not snowy.  This was one drop of water through a rain pipe.  Over the days it grew to support the pipe.

View from the ferry between Sointula and Port McNeill.

Ok so we got a BIT of snow. Nothing in Sointula but this was in the shade, going to Mitchell Bay for a drive.

Crazy figured maple that would make a wonderful coffee table...if one had time!

Speaking of time - it's the end of Sunday and time for dinner.  Happy February to you!

Jim and Tricia Bowe

Fun with Friends and Neighbours

At the end of January we attended the first annual marshmallow campfire at the beach event.  It was an overcast but mild Sunday afternoon and over 75 people popped by the beach at Kaleva. Deck  chairs and musical instruments were set up around the central campfire for all to enjoy. Two separate 'tasting' campfires were adding warmth on either side of the main fire ring.  Of course we had to purchase the 'samplers' - 4 each plus hot chocolate for $5.00.  Great deal if you love sweet things! We slowly toasted the sticky, tasty marshmallows while kids ran around the rocks and shoreline, friends visited over hot chocolate and hot dogs and we met more locals. So much fun!

The Fluff Sisters in action 

I had a great talk with two young brothers who are home schooled by their mom.  They're both extremely creative and articulate.  I can't remember their names (yet) but we bought a magic wand from the younger brother and an original drawing from the older brother at Winterfest.   They know how to use their imaginations.  Here's an example. As empty hot chocolate paper cups were placed in the fire they quickly burned up into lightweight ash soaring in the slight breeze. To these brothers they were aircraft flying towards the distant shore.  Apparently over 5,000 aircraft were launched that day, with no survivors since they all crashed.  I never knew!

The event was the brainwave of two local women who have started a business making REALLY good flavoured marshmallows.  They launched their business at Winterfest and are selling on line and hoping to sell the mouth watering, gooey morsels locally and at lodges and resorts.  They're the Fluff Sisters.  Sisters in spirit and best friends.  They had sets of 4 marshmallows packaged up for sale at the beach event. There are many types...I remember chai, peppermint chocolate, something like rocky road, vanilla and I tried all I could.

The Fluff Sisters are on Facebook, where I just found their Marshmallow Valentines Specials... Sealed With a Kiss (vanilla bean with a caramel kiss),  Love Potion (pink Himalayan salted-double dark chocolate), Aphrodite's Dream (chocolate - strawberry), Cupid's Arrow (cinnamon hearts), Lets Get Toasted (toasted coconut) and Ticket to Heaven (toasted almond and chocolate swirl).

We're starting to have a bit of routine in our lives too.  This one we like a lot!  Every Sunday morning we meet neighbours and friends for breakfast at CoHo Joe's. It's like Cheers, Sointula style.  Radka and Keegan, our married friends who run the restaurant, happily serve amazing meals and fresh baked goods.   They're always smiling and   enjoy being part of the the Sointula community as much as we do.

CoHo Joe's may be small but it has a big place in our hearts.  Radka and Keegan do a booming business, especially on Sundays in the winter. They're always busy in the summertime.  For us, it's a time to catch up and visit, a time to sit back and relax.

This was downtown Sointula outside of CoHo Joes on Sunday, February 3.  That's the only snow we've had to date!  By the next day it was all gone!

I'm also getting up early on Thursdays to attend a yoga class at 7:00.  In fact, I like it so much that I went today - only to discover that today is WEDNESDAY!!!   We had a good chuckle, when I got back.

There's a story that, many years ago, a woman moved to Sointula who liked cement dinosaurs.  So much so that she created a bunch of them. Different sizes and shapes.  Then she left town and the dinosaurs found new homes around the island.  Here's a dinosaur with a black bear in a flowered shirt - the local mascots dressed for the season.  Someone even changes their attire from time to time.  They're near the harbour at the side of the road, ready to greet anyone going by.

When we move to Sointula we knew that we wanted to be part of the community and to be able to help and contribute when and where we can.  During our 10 months here we've had a few opportunities of  help others and have been helped ourselves.  In fact we've been asked to consider joining a local Board of Directors  but we've declined at this time since we're completely wrapped up in house building.  Everyone we've met seems willing to help each other.  In fact,  I can't think of one time when we contacted someone and asked for help and were turned down.

Recently I put out four phone calls to find help unloading some heavy boards. We would pay for their time, of course.  Within an hour I had four neighbours, friends and acquaintances ready to help us the following morning.

Greg and John, local landscapers and gardeners who are also becoming friends, came over in the the morning to move them.  It only took about 5 minutes and they didn't want payment for it - said it was a New Year's gift.  They stayed a few minutes chatting and checked out the bamboo they planted for us in the fall.  Great guys.  How blessed are we!

Today it is -5C but gloriously sunny!

Our truck windshield - ice patterns. 

While the rest of BC is buried under a foot or two of snow we're enjoying clear, brisk days, amazing sunsets and dry, dry weather.  Snow may come yet but we'll take this sunny cold any day over snow.  Stay warm!

There's a separate blog with loads of outdoor shots of Sointula in the winter.  Enjoy!

Cheers
Jim and Tricia Bowen
tandjbowen13@gmail.com