A New Year a New Coat of Paint

It's going on eighteen months now that I've called this one-room cabin in Colorado home.  During that time friends and relatives have urged me to start a blog.  At first I had no computer.  Then after I snagged one for $100 at the Salvation Army store in Boulder, my unfamiliarity with the technology was a stumbling block.  That old journalism degree and past experience working with typesetters to lay out pages for print media, then moving up to desktop publishing newsletters with Publisher seemed of little help.  I'm still not satisfied with the page design, but hopefully it will do until I develop the necessary savvy to tweak it to suit me or can afford some professional help.  

Why Peek-to-Peek?  This is a play on words referring to the Peak-to-Peak Scenic and Historic Byway that runs from Estes Park to Black Hawk, Colorado, and past the turnoff for the old mining town of Eldora where the cabin is located.   Hopefully there will eventually be an e-commerce tie-in enabling me to display and sell my "junqueing" finds.

When the only things between you and mountain weather are some rough wood slabs and century-old beadboard, the weather forecast assumes a major role in your life.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website, my on-line go-to source for weather reports, is the first thing I check each morning. We are currently experiencing a veritable heat wave here in the Front Range, the first mountain range encountered after crossing the Great Plains heading west.  NOAA is predicting a high of 43 degrees F here today, leading to a high Thursday of 49 degrees F.  That's going to be hard on the ten inches of snow that fell before Christmas.  We have had minimal snowfall so far this season and there are concerns about the depth of the snow pack at higher elevations and the impact that will have next summer on water levels and forest fires.  

What we have had aplenty since before Thanksgiving are very high winds, sometimes gusting up to 100 mph I'm told, with 50-70 mph common.  It makes this little cabin shake, rattle and roll.  I've become accustomed to my bunk, affixed to two cabin walls, moving with the winds, but the sounds take a toll, especially at night.  I sometimes feel as if I were trying to sleep in a trap drum set.  Finally realized a couple of days ago that one of the annoying percussive noises was the toilet lid on the one-seater privy that serves as the bathroom, so have placed a heavy flower pot on that to keep it from fluttering in the wind.  I expect my neighbors are equally relieved.  

Another downside to the wind is smoke blowback from the wood stove that serves, not only as my cook stove, but as my primary source of heat.  Had the chimney cleaned out last fall and considered purchasing a special kind of chimney cap designed to remedy the situation, but the chimney sweep convinced me getting the chimney properly seated in the stove would solve the problem.  He was right up to a point.  But when the winds are really gusting, it is so smoky in here I feel as if I'm living in a yurt.  My eyes tear and my throat is sore the next day.  I think the chimney cap is back on my shopping list.

It should be warm enough today that I can proceed with my interior painting project.  The cabin is uninsulated, so if it's too cold outside, the interior walls and ceiling remain too cold to paint.  I'm about half finished and will be posting befores and afters of the project that started because of a pantry re-do and a need to cover up smoke stains.  

I think a fresh coat of paint is a good way to begin the New Year.  What projects do you have on your list?  

Happy New Year!  Teddee