Last week I went to town.  I left Ginty Creek at 4:30 am to make sure I would get to the mechanic’s by 8:00 in order to be the first customer.  I have been unable to open either of the van’s back doors since November.  I arrived back home at 8.30 pm, so a lot of driving and a long day.

I shopped while the van was getting fixed, then drove to Linde Brothers sawmill on the Dog Creek Road about half an hour south of Williams Lake.  The mill produces all sorts and sizes of lumber.  I wanted two thick, long boards to make sides for a set of steps into the attic.  (I also loaded a bunch of 1 x 3s that I will need for a variety of jobs in the near future.)

I did all the sawing by hand.  My chainsaw is incredibly hard to start – I really need a new one.  And I don’t have any other  power tools.  I cut the long boards outside – in falling snow.

I already had the shorter boards.  They were stored under my computer table behind the printer and my income tax documents.  One day I will have proper storage space for all these things.

Et Voila!

Hardly the Loretto Chapel, but then  a mysterious stranger never came by to do it for me.  Perhaps if I had prayed for 9 days……  At any rate, the staircase is solid and functional so it will do for me.