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Start with a Dream!!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

If you only see an "X" instead of a picture, right click the "X" and choose - show picture.


     Once upon a time there was a girl that grew up in the huge city of Toronto. She was a misfit and always dreamed of having horses and a log house. In grade 6 she built a log house out of popsicle sticks for an art project.
     Everyone bought her horse stuff for birthdays and Christmas. Horses on the walls, in the china cabinet, in her dreams.
     The horse dream was realized in 1979 when she moved to Alberta and bought her first horse, Major. She started breeding Curly horses and was up to over one hundred horses in 2004, winning awards for recognition of her accomplishments.
     In 2005 she started looking for the ideal place to build her dream home, a log house, in the mountains.
     But something wasn't right, something was missing in her search. Nothing motivated her to start.
     She saw lots of places that would work, lots of gorgeous scenery, lots of ideal building spots. Knew that she just wanted a simple, nice log house, but there was a key ingredient missing.
     Then she found it. It wasn't the place, it wasn't the house, it was the heart of a loved one to share it with.
     Hiding away in St. Albert was a kind hearted gentleman named Roland Jean waiting and wanting the same dreams.
     And so the angels of her grandmother and his mother intervened and the fairytale began. They started building a dream home to share and thanked the stars in the heaven above for shining down on their piece of heaven.
August 15th, 2008 in review

APRIL - Get an aerial shot of the land and make a plan. The little black square on the right hand side half way up is where the house will be built. The little pond in the front is where we will build a trout pond. Never dreaming that it will end up being almost a lake!! Top of the ridge is where the quonset will go.

MAY - Start construction on the quonset so we have a place to store stuff while in transit.

First snag. Quonset contractor builds in the exact opposite direction he was told to. Messes up the entire project, but we'll work with it.

Then the power poles are installed and it starts to look like something.

Finding a contractor to build was no easy feat either. We had decided on two to choose from, but were not happy with the lack of replies to inquiries. Then we attended the Log and Home show in Edmonton. Roland had talked about the pine beetle killed logs in BC, but I wasn't sold on having logs with worms in them. But then I saw the home that Sitka built, and I was sold to. Funny thing was the people that started Sitka are named Johnson, the plan we loved turned out to be plan 77 (Sunnybrook77 is my trade email) and they were the only ones at the show that notched the corners the old fashioned way. As Roland said "How many times do you need to be slapped up the side of head!!" We got it.

JUNE - Construction starts in 100 Mile House BC.

then the serious work begins at home. Hire a reputable contractor, Wright Construction, and bring in the heavy equipment. Clear the land around the building site of topsoil, level it off and get going. Well is drilled and are thrilled to hear we have 40 gpm and water at 35', 55' and 85'. Lots of water.

First thing we need is a road. Didn't realize we were going to get the Sunnybrook express freeway!!

That little watering hole we saw in the first pic is now replaced with a dug out, or what was suppose to be just a dug out, then it became a trout pond, then it became the Sunnybrook Lake!! This thing is huge, will hold 2,000.000 gallons of water!!

Updated pictures from Walter at Sitka. Wow, it's really happening.

Everything starts with one step. First dig a trench around where you want your house. Then just make it flat and level. When you know what you are doing it all seems easy! We were so very fortunate that Reo took on our job. Were it not for his wealth of knowledge and ideas things certainly would not look as professional as they do.

While Reo and Devon dig the basement, Shelly is building the lake and I'm moving top soil. When the basement is done it's back to building the road and the driveway.

Shelly in the cat on top of the mountain. This was her first attempt with the huge critter and she did an awesome job. Not sure I'd want to be sideways on that hill.

More updates from Walter. This is such a nice feature they provide. To send shots of our home as it is being put together.

The pads are poured and ready for the walls.

Justin and his crew have the basement walls up in half a day! Now that is performance. Reo digs the trenches and the wire is run.

Friday August 15th. Everything really starts to happen. Walter arrives from 100 Miles House and checks out what we are doing. He gives his advice on some finishing touches and we pick his brain with a hundred questions. Justin and his crew are out putting the finishing touches on the floor. The holes for the piling are drilled for the decks.

Reo puts the finishing touches on the road, ready for gravel. Devon and Reo move the pile of top soil from behind the clay and make the barrier to the world. Original plan was to build the dugout so we had some dirt to block of the noise and view of the road. And it worked.

This was just another one of those moments when you stop and say "Oh my gosh!” Is that really coming here? Is that really ours? Are we really making this happen? So many times it just feels like a project to be done, not really the dream home we are building to move into. And look at the work that Sitka is doing! Wow, it's a masterpiece. We love it!!!!
August 29th, 2008

 
Well -- the house is ready to depart British Columbia!! Wow. so fast. Think we are ready. Will be here Tuesday and then the real work begins.
October 24th, 2008
Progress!! After almost two months of waiting on Justin to do the roof we finally found a professional contractor to start putting the tin on the roof!!


We are thrilled to see green on the house! Organizing other contractors has not proven to be so easy. Everyone is still very busy.
October 27th, 2008
One step forward and two steps back.
 
Finally have some professionals out and they got 4 sheets of tin on the roof on Friday, and then Saturday we had 100 k/m hour winds. The entre $9,000 pile of tin was destroyed. Wraped right around the tractor. And there is a huge picnic table under the pile in the second picture.
 
The wind was so strong there were people calling into the radio station that trampolines were blowing all accross the highways. I was in the city for 9 AM ordering our appliances and could not see accross the road for all the dust and snow that was blowing. Yes, I said the S word. And we don't have a roof, and now it will be delayed again as we have to reorder all the tin.
 
It blew tin all the way from the house accross the 40 acres. Right into the tree line! Didn't think the damage was going to be too much at first, but when we were cleaning it up today noticed that all the sheets have some dents and they are all scratched and ruined.
One day we may have a roof. We just thank our lucky stars that the weather is hanging in as far as rain and snow goes.