Thursday, January 21, 2010

More Mudd

Rain, rain, rain. It has been raining quite a bit and contrary to what one might think it is actually helping make my driveway less of a muddy slip and slide adventure. I think it has pretty much thawed to the point of good drainage. It must have froze deep. It has taken a good long while to thaw. There is still plenty snow out there on the high peaks and even piles of snow remain in parking lots down in town.

Perhaps it will all be gone by the time it gets cold and the snow returns next week. This long drawn out melting really is not the more attractive side of winter.

The mud outside is not of much interest. The mudd inside is looking mighty fine.



One more day of mudding prep work and then the texture is scheduled for Monday.

Drywall mudd like most construction glues, caulks, paints and salves has a preferred operating temperature. Part of this job has involved heating the interior of the cozy cabin. It has been most delightful to see the inside temperature rise to a steady 64 degrees with a small 1500 watt electric heater with a thermostat to cycle the heater on and off. Fear of leaving an untended heater prevented me from trying for a higher temperature.

With the addition of a second small electric heater, the inside temperature has been raised to 70 steady degrees. I like that one small heater is not trying to carry the whole load.

The melt worthy outside temperatures were a big assist I am sure, but it has been nice to see the cozy cabin's insulation doing a good job.



I simply do not have the fortitude of the people who settled these mountains. I am spoiled and need an insulated house. I am all for as much self sufficiency as possible and being prepared for an emergency, but I could not live or die like "the wild man of Cataloochee." Rest in peace Arley. It is obvious you were loved.

9 comments:

Lola said...

It's looking mighty good Christopher. Those little heaters sure do help.
Glad your drive is getting better.
We had a tornado touch down here in my small town. Quite a bit of damage but "Thank God" there was no fatalities.

Siria said...

Hi Christopher! Your interior MUDD is looking great. Looks like you are all ready for Monday's finishing touch. Thank you for the link to the Mountaineer article on Arley. That was really interesting! I can't believe he lived like that all these years. One of the men mentioned in the article that built him the "outbuilding" recently was the man I gave you the phone number for that cleared our road.

lisa said...

The cabin sure is coming along fantastically! I agree, spoiled here too. Much as I like camping (real camping in tents, but with a small inflatable mattress that barely helps), I don't want to live quite so primatively. I absolutely could if I HAD to, but I don't wanna :)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Whoo hooo. Progress!!

thistleandthorn said...

Thanks for the link... Arley sure had one thing right... a wood stove sure will burn you up on one side and freeze you on the other!
One good thing I can say about living in an uninsulated house is this: it really, really makes you appreciate an insulated house! po

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a story! Cozy cabin is lookin good; the progress must be helping your restless spell. We're almost to Feb and Spring is coming!

bev

Christopher C. NC said...

Lola glad the tornado missed you. I had a couple close calls with tornaoes growing up in Florida.

Siria such a small world around here. What resonated with me the most about Arley's story was that people loved him enough to let him be.

Lisa after four days with no power it is hard for me to imagine how someone like Arley did it for so long.

Whoo hoo is right Lisa.

TandT reading that line about the wood stove made me feel better about not wanting one. Maybe he just didn't like to chop wood and mess with a fire like me.

Bev after I did the touch up on the hanging part of the job I was done. I have been watching the mudd go on and the rain fall.

Anonymous said...

I would say you have way more fortitude than most of us, Christopher. And the settlers did not come from Hawaii. The walls look great and hooray for 70 degrees.
Frances

Siria said...

Yes Christopher...they did let him live life like he wanted to live it, but they also loved him enough to always be there for him and knew when he needed help. That is what is so wonderful about the people up there!