This ain't no crack shack

Ladies and gentlemen, your friend and mine, Mr. Jim Brader. (applause)
Well, sorry about the delay but I've got parental units coming in from all corners. I sent my parents off for a night at Chena HotSprings Resort for a soak in the springs and personal energy tour from Gwen, the brains behind the company's geothermal power-plant project. My dad's excited to see the operation up close and is looking forward to talking with Gwen. (he has been ever since he started harnessing the power of a tiny, natural spring on our 75-acre sugar bush. It's only enough energy to light up a 60-watt bulb, but it's something)
Sam's mum arrived last night. She's 79 and she's adorable. She lives in a place called Shell Knob (actual name) population: 42 (actual size).
So, now we've got the parents down and siblings to go. Sam's brother and sister-in-law arrive Saturday and my sister comes the following Wednesday. My sis asked if we had cable, if she could bring aerosol hairspray on the plane and if there was a Sam's Club here. Yikes. I told her, no, no and yes, but if she wants to step foot in that place, she'll have to do it alone. I did not tell her that we have no running water, no door on the outhouse and the sun doesn't set until 1 am.
We'll see how this turns out.
So, the new cabin is nearing its first phase of completion. The roof is on, the insulation is in the ceiling, the vapor barrier is on, the gable ends are trimmed, and the doors and windows are ready for installation. Olaf and Cim just have to put the material on the ceiling and the gable ends on the inside, make the stairs and install doors and windows. The trim will go on on the inside and viola, we have a cabin. Of course, there's still lots to do once they're done. We've decided on ceramic tile for the first floor. We also have to treat the logs inside and out, which requires sanding first, install cabinets, counters and appliances including a wood stove and oil monitor, and, well, move in. We hope to be in and done by September.

SIDEBAR: Sam talked in his sleep last night. Actually it was pretty incoherent, so I don’t know if you could call it talking. I was jolted out of sleep by him yelling what, to me, sounded like ‘I dooooo youuuu, I dooooo yooouuuu! Heeya! Hey!’ It was weird. It didn’t even sound like him at all. Maybe he’s possessed.

SIDEBAR #2 Sneaky Pete has developed a golf-ball sized lump on his chest. It might be an abscess or a bee sting because it has grown just in the last couple of days and is rather soft. I will try to drain it today (yummy) and if not, he’ll have to go in and have it removed. If I do take him into the vet, I’ll have him neutered as well. He’s taken a liking to his sister Parker and she’s just at the right age (about six months) for her first heat. I have no interest in breeding my own dogs yet and an accidental litter is not in the cards right now, especially a litter from a brother and sister (cue the banjos).

That’s it for now. Peace and love from the shack without crack. Oh yeah, I can't figure out the video thing, so sorry.