A Little Trip to Bruder Bear's

Did you miss me??  It was time for a little get-a-way. Dan had to be in McCall to give a talk last Tuesday morning, so we took advantage of that to plan a visit to Bruder Bear's.  We drove to McCall Monday, and following Dan's talk, we headed out for southern Idaho.

John and Karen were both working Wednesday and Thursday, so we had a chance to sit around and enjoy the incredible views from their deck.  Their house is right on the Snake River and the water is wide there due to slackwater from a downstream dam.

Some kind of gorgeous, huh?

John took Friday off and he and Dan began to work on a new dock. Their house is on the bluff side of the river, so they have stairs which zigzag down, somewhat like the stairs on a lookout; so instead of a beach, they use a dock as a sort of deck between the hill and the actual boat dock. The guys purchased the lumber and brought it around in John's boat. The poles for the supports were already in place and working from the boat, they began to attach the 2x8's to form the framework.

Here you'll see John in the boat and Dan in the lower center as they move in the planks:

They were forced to discontinue the plan to use the boat as there were so many other boats on the water that the waves kept John's boat in continual motion, which didn't work too well. Plan B: work in the water.

By eight o'clock Sunday evening, they were done. The frame is ready for its Trex decking. Here's Dan rolling up the tubing from the compressor to the nail gun. You can see the framework behind (the other half is behind the Russian olive tree on the right). I know it looks like it's sticking up in the air, but it's actually me who was up in the air--on the stairs--getting everything in view. The guys were well pleased with their work.

So, you ask, what were Karen and I up to as the guys slaved away? Well, so glad you asked. On Thursday evening, as Karen was fixing dinner, I brought up the subject of the wallpaper on her soffits. Both of her daughters had been "encouraging" her to get rid of it but so far, she hadn't. I sort of lifted an edge and said that it looked like it would be easy to take off. Karen came over, gave it a bigger yank, and we were off. Turned out there was another border underneath, but with a little work and a few hours of time, we got it all off. There was white paint underneath, and with a little touch-up, they'll be good as new.

Saturday, in addition to the dock work, a party was on the schedule. A local reception for the daughter of some friends was on the agenda so Karen spent the morning baking three delectable desserts, and John spent the afternoon deep frying eight, yup, eight, turkeys. We all had a good time at the party, which was held outdoors at the home of the bride's parents, in spite of a couple of rain showers and a beautiful lightning show. Oh, and the father of the bride did a bad slice job on two of his fingers as he carved a turkey. He refused to go for stitches until the next day and wore a lovely gauze mitten the rest of the evening.

As usual, we had a fantastic time at the Bruder Resort and loved every moment. The visit, the fun, the work, and food were all perfect. Thanks, Bruder Bear! XXOO