Sauna

 Yesterday I put everything back in order on the outside of the sauna.   It looks pretty good.

The white trim really needs to be done but it looks so much better!

In other list busting activities, I sprayed some weeds and helped Far Guy replace some boards under the lean to that covers the air conditioning unit and we took down all the no trespassing signs so they can be redone.   Far Guy cleaned out all the bird nesting boxes.  

He found this nest complete with little eggs.  Not sure what kind of bird eggs they are??? Any guesses?

Far Side

Busy as a Beaver

 We finished painting the sauna, the paint held out and the rain held off until I was on the front side where there is a huge overhang. We took turns being on the ladder and no one fell!  

After a late lunch we went for a Ranger Blue ride to the hills.

View from the road to the tower. 

Far Side

Making a list

 I started a Fall list in my head...not such a great idea as I have no way to cross it off or scratch it out.

The sauna has not been used all summer...it is  not a summer activity!  I took a broom and swept the walls inside and outside...can you say cobwebs?  Then I gathered all the rugs to wash...and vacuumed up the floor.  I enlisted Far Guy to get the light fixtures down and washed them up.   Today I will return the rugs to the inside and on the bench outside.  Next summer the sauna needs to be painted...but that is a different list...anyways the sauna is ready to use! 

 Far Guy worked on his new old car.

He took the back seat out and was cleaning up the vinyl. 

So far the smoke from the wildfires seems to be staying high in the air...I could not smell smoke at all. 

I took care of some weeds in the rocks and some that were coming up on the patio then I carded dog hair until it was movie time and then I had a nap....I slept right on through some comedy.  

I really must make that Fall list on paper and not just in my head! Half the month is over and it will officially be Fall soon.

Far Side

Sauna Delivery

My baby brother ordered a Sauna and it was delivered last Friday.

It was made in Royalton Minnesota and it is a all Cedar hand made product.

It came on a larger trailer and was unloaded onto this small trailer to make its way down the hill into its final spot.

It was a very interesting process.

Up the ramp and onto the deck

Around the corner into the spot that was designed for a sauna.

The trailer had a break apart axel and with a jack and blocks it was lowered into place.

Here is a peek inside. That is a Swedish Stove there in the middle.  Four people fit nicely…six if you have skinny friends/relatives.

My brother pretending to pour water over his wifes head.

Our parents came to see the new sauna.

My baby brother was quite happy with the sauna delivery….he will be even happier when his house is finished.  I have been the official photographer for 13 months now.  The house is still about 2 or 3 months from completion.

I heard the sauna worked as advertised.

Sauna

The tiny building to the south of the house is a sauna.  Some of you had questions about the sauna…here it is!

We use it quite often in the winter time.

We inherited the sauna, it belonged to Jen and Andy (Our youngest daughter) they were selling their home and the Realtor suggested they sell the sauna or move it.   Andy and Jen built the sauna. So they moved it to our place.  Lucky us!  It has been in the yard since July of 2009.

The dressing room  or pukuhuone. I am standing out by the wind chimes taking photos.

That is the door to the warm part.  The sign says Saunass ollaan kuin kirkosa or Sauna be like a church…Jen made all the signs….she is creative that way.

The benches inside.  The ladle or kippo hangs on the wall…you use the ladle to throw water on the rocks. The brick is attached to a rope on a pulley and the brick holds the door shut.  You wouldn’t ever want to be stuck in a sauna.

There is a special sauna light and a thermometer…150 or 160 is a great temperature.  Loylyhuone means the hot room or steam room.

The sauna furnace…the rocks get hot and you throw water on the rocks for more heat.

Chance usually waits outside the door.

If it is stormy then Chance likes to come into the dressing room and wait.  The overhang is a delightful place to sit and watch it rain too!

Far Guy made the buckboard bench.  We usually sit there neckid and cool off before going to the house. ( Remember we live in the boonies, if someone were to drive into our yard we have plenty of time to grab our going to the sauna clothing…Far Guy has a hooded floor length robe and I have an old nightgown.) In the winter when it is below zero it is a wonderfully short cool down time.  Steam just rolls off of your body.  The sauna has no running water so we carry water in buckets…just like in the olden days.  I have been going to sauna forever…it used to be our Saturday night bath when I was a kid.

I used to collect wind chimes and the sauna is a perfect spot for some of them.

The wood inside the sauna is Aspen on the walls and the benches are Cedar.

Lists

I could have lists of my lists if I let my OCD take over.

So I only have one work list…the fall list of things that should be done…before it snows the snow stays on the ground.  It is cold enough here to snow..tonight we have freeze warnings.

Yesterday we tackled the sauna and gave it a good fall cleaning.  Getting rid of cobwebs and dead ants.  I washed the rugs, windows and the light fixtures.  I tossed some of the wind chimes…they were not worth repairing.  I did repair one…it may make the winter. Next year the white trim will need to be painted and the buckboard seat will need to be sealed again.

I washed the windows in Far Guys vehicle.  Chance helped by sitting in the back seat waiting patiently for the vehicle to move.  He is a real pain in the butt when you are cleaning vehicles…he doesn’t quite understand the concept.

It was too cool to finish painting the garage entry doors and trim. 

We worked on some new signs for the neighborhood.  I wood burned the house numbers… Far Guy is in charge of sealing them and putting them up.

On my photo list was a field of sunflowers.  We found one near Crookston Minnesota last weekend.

  It was not the most perfect field…it had suffered some wind damage.

I was still happy to have found it.

We made a list of everyone we contacted with our address change….good thing too,  we have referred to it several times.  What a pain in the butt..we still have to update our Drivers Licenses.  Just moving the mailbox around the corner created lots of time spent on the computer and on the phone.  I was on hold with one magazine company for 25 minutes before my call was answered in the order it was received…they must have had only one person working.  Let’s just say I abhor classical music and that phone call wait almost pushed me over the edge.

Cold

I caught a cold..a sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, ache all over, headache kinda cold. I have taken up residence on the couch.  I stayed in my jammies all day yesterday. I watched old movies..never all of them just bits and pieces in between sleeps.  I had my stupid flu shot so it cannot be the flu can it?  Jen and Noah both had a cold a week ago when they were here..I guess they must have shared.

Chance comes to check on me every so often, shoving his cold wet nose into my face ..checking on me to make sure I am still breathing. I have a bit of a temperature so hopefully whatever it is will burn itself out.  I went to sauna to kill all the extra germs.

The sauna

I am sure I will be over this in a day or two..or three:)

Back To July Revealed

October 30, 2009  Something is in the air? 

Good guessing, nope not a hot tub room, exercise room, potting shed, boudoir, studio or even a love shack. It is a Sauna! Our daughter and son in law no longer wanted it..so they moved it to our yard. It caused quite the excitement in the neighborhood. My brother Jody offered to do the dirt work and the septic system in exchange for some Saunas! It does not have running water.. we sauna the old way..carrying a bucket of cold water, and a bucket of hot water. It is an electric sauna, you have to turn it on about an hour before you want to go and sweat. You throw cold water on the rocks to create steam.. when you have had enough you soap up and throw water over your body..or run to the house totally naked and take a shower! Twenty minutes in the Sauna burns as many calories as an hour of exercising..who woulda thunk it.

Dressing Room.

Let's Go In!! 

Cedar Benches..and a bucket of water.  The brick on the rope is the counterweight that closes the door. 

The electric sauna stove..the rocks heat up and when you throw water on them they create hot steam. 


I do love taking a sauna, when I was little it was what we did every Saturday night for our bath. Sauna night was an occasion. My brother and I would go, our Mom and Dad would scrub up our hair and make sure we were rinsed off really well and dressed in our Jammie's and then we would trudge up the hill to Grandpas house. ( This Grandma ( my Fathers Mother) died when I was just three years old) While our parents were in the sauna, we helped our Grandpa set the table for coffee and we would play a game of checkers with him in the front room. We would never win those checker games either, but we had fun trying. When our parents came up to the house, we would have something that our Mother had baked..sometimes cookies, sometimes cake..sometimes fresh bread with butter.. and coffee in a saucer. I have been in many different saunas over the years, but that is the one that I think of when someone says "Sauna."


So Far Guy and I go to Sauna at least twice a week ..sometimes more. Chance waits patiently outside. Our sauna has two rooms, the dressing room and the sauna itself..it is pretty small..but it works great. We have steam wars..taking turns throwing water on the rocks. As with anything, you have to start out a little at a time. We need to look for an actual Sauna Thermometer..Far Guy has some wimpy thermometer in there.. I can't see anything in there anyway..it is way too warm to wear your glasses in the sauna. If someone wants to come to Sauna..bring your own cookies, and yes Far Guy and I will wear a towel to sauna when we have sauna company! :)

Happy Snowy Halloween From Chance!  Is this a trick?  Nope..we have snow:(