Finishing...

Remind me, please, I HATE TO FINISH!

Seems like it should be fairly easy, it isn't.  Just when you think you've got it right, you realize you don't!

A Working Holiday...

I love to visit Logger Daughter and her family.  Scott Valley is beautiful during the spring, the weather is usually nice, and I feel like I'm in a different country!

So, it was Memorial Day weekend - why not visit?   And, I had some business to attend to related to the apartments (like try to get them rented!).  I'd decided to furnish one of the big 3 bedroom units so that it could be rented seasonally by the CDF or Cal Fire, or anyone visiting for a week or so.

Let's see, it's an 11 1/2 hour drive or I could fly - I don't mind the drive if I'm listening to a book (or 2 or 3), and if I have lots of time, but this time I decided to fly.  It's not an easy flight.  You either fly Allegiant airlines from LAX to Medford, or you try another airline and usually see a few other airports along the way and arrive and depart at very odd times. I managed to snag a fairly reasonable flight out of Ontario that went through Portland, OR to Medford and arrived at a reasonable time.  As a bonus, I spent an enjoyable 30 minutes with a very cute, "sugared up" 3 year old traveling with a very harried father!  Can you see that "wild" look in her eyes??  She was very cute and very busy, and she reminded me why people have kids when they're young!

Then, Logger Daughter (LD) picked me up at the airport, we made a quick trip through Costco and headed to California!

Because it was a holiday weekend nothing much was open in the Ft. Jones neck of the woods.  I had to wait until Tuesday to do most of my shopping.  But, don't worry, I managed to fill my time.

Sunday I met a new friend for breakfast.  It's great to hear from her about how she's immersing her newly retired self into the Etna/Ft. Jones culture.  Then, LD and I were off to WalMart to purchase household items to furnish the apartment (kitchen stuff, bath towels, bed sheets, etc.)  After dropping that stuff off in the apartment we headed back to the house and I helped LD with her flower beds.  We dug up what was planted, redistributed dirt and rocks - lots of rocks - and ended up with this (still more mulch is needed):

I cannot begin to tell you how much I hurt after working in her yard all day!  My muscles cried for days!!

Then, on Monday, I figured I'd better get started on a platform bed for the apartment - I would save about $150 per bed if I didn't have to buy a box spring or bed frame.  And, L son-in-law (LSIL) has a mini lumber yard in his back yard!  I didn't have to pay for lumber!  Doesn't that sound like a good plan to you??  

He mills lots of boards, but I'd forgotten that they would be fairly rough cuts.  The components for the bed itself were cut in practically no time.  But, then I had to sand and prep the rough lumber.  Oh my, was the dust flying then!  (And my nose was running like faucet - seems I'm allergic to something!)  I realized I wouldn't be able to get it up the stairs in the unit if I put it together, so, I stained and finished all the separate pieces and put together my "tool box" to take to the apartment the next day (Tuesday - I was running out of time!!).  After spending all day making the one bed, I was kicking myself!  A whole entire day spent planning, cutting and sanding. Logger grandkids were playing and running around and I didn't spend any time with them!!  In retrospect, I'd pay the $150 and not get myself so worked up and worn out, and enjoy the grandkids!

But, we delivered the bed pieces to the apartments on Tuesday morning, picked up mattresses (and the box spring and rails that I did buy!), stopped at 3 different thrift stores looking for lamps (and found none!), then stopped at the CDF and City of Ft. Jones, and Cal Fire to leave a flyer with info about the apartment.  Then back to the apartments to finish the bed frame.  Home to pick up T-ball equipment, back to Ft. Jones for the T-Ball game, out to Etna to pick up a sofa someone generously gave us, back to the apartment to unload the sofa.  Whew!  There wasn't much in the place, but it was livable.  My job there, this time, was done.  

Here's how the bed project rolled:

The legs started like this.  Dale cut them with his chain saw - they were almost perfect!
I think they're cedar.  
I really liked how they looked when sanded and finished, 
but boy were they ugly in their raw form!

Here's a leg in a vice, ready to be sanded with the belt sander.  And, I wish you could see the difference in them sanded!

 

The boards that make up the bed are pine, and they started out like this.   Then sanded, they looked much better (standing up by the door)!

And, I had some good help!
She was a staining pro when she finished everything up! 

Side view, all put together.  There are slats that support the mattress.

It's just a platform for a mattress, but it turned out well.
Bonus - it does what it's supposed to do! 

Wednesday, I stopped by the apartment before leaving for Medford - for just a minute.  Long enough to leave my phone there!  I didn't realize I'd left it, though, until we'd almost made it to the airport!  It took a few days for it to arrive via overnight mail, but I'm back in business now.

My return flight was through Seattle, and, thankfully, was without incident.  It was nice to land in Ontario and know I would be home in 20 minutes.  But, I still think the best way to get up there is to drive.  It's about the same amount of time spent in the act of traveling, I get to finish a couple of books, no one has to pick me up or drop me off at the airport which is an hour and 15 minutes from their home, and I have a car to drive while I'm there.  

I'd be finished with Fifty shades if I'driven...