Christmas Day, Arthur is firing his bow for the first time

This bow came from an oak log a local tree service dropped off,  Along with couple of bow blanks I cut a dozen 2 inch slabs 7 feet long

Archers 61 inch long bow

While attending an Indian pow wow in Macon Arthur decided he wanted a bow. 

 There was a vendor making them in a traditional way.  We watched for about an hour.  This is my third attempt.  I have yet to determine the poundage

Cheryl's treasure chest

This is a log that I hollowed out using a chain saw and fire, adding handmade hinges and a handle out of saw blades
The chest is 4 1/2 feet long with an inside width of about 16 inches, started out as play time for me but when Cheryl saw what I was doing she wanted it

The tree's keep coming and so the building goes on.

Kevin & Arthur on the sun-room roof. 

The tree's keep coming and so the saw-milling and the building goes on.

Where will it end?

????

Imagination and apparently physics have no end.....

~Cheryl

Cherylwood Forest's Castle

 

I think progress, invention or production should have been Kevin's middle name. I am in awe of the imagination, determination, time, energy, and sore muscles this man puts in for me.....the castle that Kevin built.

.....2 sides of the house are now clothed in wood siding, hand tongue and grooved by Kevin and router The fresh blanks were then blanched with bleach eliminating uninvited mold. Then all set into place

by hand.

We decided to stain the wood rather than paint so took a long visit to Lowe's to pick a color. After drooling over several handfuls of paint chips, I fell in love with a dignified plum and Kevin got busy concocting..... several 5 gallon buckets of mineral spirits and a secret ingredient list....just enough color to bring out the wood grain and give it that dusky evening shade of purple. I think it will be gorgeous with the green tin roof.

No homeowner associations or covenants for us!

As you can see the house and carport now meet at the breezeway. We were thinking about a mote............

….........all for now.

~Cheryl

Calculations, Pulleys & Muscle

Kevin maneuvered this 14 plus foot chunk of wood through the framework maze of the house, over piles of lumber, under scaffolds and around ladders.

Keep in mind this particular beam weighs only around 150 –200 pounds; minimal in comparison to the beams that support the floor or the logs Kevin cut lumber from.

For a minute, imagine the ingenuity and strength needed to manhandle objects this large and heavy, now imagine these tasks being done by only “one” person. Even with the tractor used like a crane to move the logs Kevin still has to engineer them to the mill the same way he sets the beams. It blows me away.

When I come out to take pictures Arthur has a rope pulley on one of the 4x6’s off the wall and Arthur is holding steady this beam so Kevin can manhandle it to balance off the side of the house towards the grotto columns.

The first side is set and clamped into place than the next as the pictures show.

Yeah!

This is the first supporting beam for the Sun Room that runs the length of the southern side of the house, off the kitchen and living room.

The name alone, Sun Room, conjures up all kinds of glorious ideas. With a view of the trees and the lake in the distance see it as a lounge for the soul, a place of contemplation and reflection. I am feeling a soft sigh rest deep inside me.

It makes me smile, this house, this labor of love, creativity and sweat is Kevin’s legacy, one this family will cherish forever. 

~Cheryl

P.s. And when I say beer belly I say it with love. :)

Morningsides

Between the rains and 100 plus degree weather and having to go into the city last Sunday to buy a new refrigerator, Kevin & Arthur have been working on the roof.

The softness of the early day is enchanting to me. So, on this wonderfully cool morning I walked to see the north side stepping into the trees to scope out a view for the camera lens.

I love the peak over Arthur’s room and the high ceiling office to the left of it where I will carry on with my writing adventures and of course continue this blog of Kevin’s artful projects beyond building the house.

South side led my bare feet onto the lawn wet from last nights rain. Here I visit with kitchen daydreams of entertaining and gathering with friends. …or maybe I’ll just it on the deck and write…and let the charm of it all take over me….

This is after all Cherylwood Forest…..

Yes, to me it’s magical; to Kevin with his degree in engineering and Arthur with his love of numbers it’ mostly mathematical. Calculating corners, angles and precision cuts, the hoisted green tin now sets the tone and protects our future lying snug in place boasting smooth overlaps and ridge cap.

Kevin says let the rain come, gutters go up next.

~Cheryl