Monday, April 13th
An early spring?
The snow is all but melted and we're slowly crawling out of our lair. Still, we kept quite busy this winter and we are proud to show you the results.
First, we put up the curtains on the second floor, the huge windows with their low insulation rating were, at night, quickly dissipating any heat gained during sunny days. That way, we've gained a couple more degrees in the mornings, as long as we optimize the opening and closing of the curtains.
I scrubbed and oiled the stone walls on each side of the stairs and Alain moved the elctrical system. You can't see the batteries, wires, controler or inverter anymore! (except for the ground, but we'll find a way to hide it before we do the lime plaster)
We are extremely satisfied with the bread oven and rocket stove. We now have a following and we are planning a workshop in the Outaouais region on June 13th. All the informations, in French, are in this PDF: AtelierRocket.
All winter, Alain traveled back and forth between the house and the garage with armfuls of cedar boards. One by one, he screwed them onto the ceiling on the second floor. He managed to finish it all just in time for the nice weather!
Meanwhile, I was busy drawing up plans because I want to replace the curtains on the first floor with a glass partition to close off the greenhouse section. It's a major undertaking since we have to complete the planter and build the kitchen counter with the sink. We also want to move the water heater into the greenhouse to make more room for the cabinets.
The list of projects for the summer is growing out of control! We want to do tests for the lime plaster and maybe a wall or two. The roof showed some water leakages when the ice melted and we'll need to fix that. A few more shelters would be welcome: for the wood planks, the tractor, the corded wood and for the veggie oil for the car. And while we're at it, a shelter for the alpacas that we might get some day. There's some planting of trees: one apple, one pear and three honeyberries. Gardening is taking more space and time: the seedlings are growing quiclky, next to the lemon tree in full bloom.