Like Magic, a Shed is Moved!

Not the most exciting slug line....but then again, it sums up this story!

Friday morning!  What's with this blanket of white stuff?

Can't motorcycle, can't golf, can't RV....cause there is a bit of snow on the ground, and we can't leave for the sunnier US southwest till post Christmas.  Hey, why not move a shed?

This rig will have to move from here today!

Although we live in a rain forest, we do get the occasional skiff of snow.   This little skiff is almost gone now.  We really do not shovel.  As the saying goes here, the rain will wash the snow away.  And it does!

THE OBJECTIVE:  Why not move a garden shed!  Nothing better to do!

The garden shed. (Left the camera at home so all photos were taken with my iPhone)

That's right!  Several blogs back I wrote about the impending move of an 8' X 10' garden shed from a friend's yard to our yard.  I had busied myself with leveling a site in our yard and placing concrete blocks for supports.  The crane trucking firm I retained chose the one snowy day for the move.  Go figure! It offered a pretty fair deal on the condition that the shed would be moved when it best suited them. It suited them this Friday past when the firm had a cancellation, called me, and within 30 minutes, I met the truck and operator at the lift site in White Rock.

Lifted clear over the fence and onto a trailer.

You might ask why the operator chose to put this shed on a trailer rather than on his truck deck?  Good question!  On his truck deck, this load would have been over-height and that would have required moving power lines and obtaining innumerable permits. That was a non starter!

In less than one hour the shed was sitting on the trailer.

Once loaded, I headed for home to hitch up the 5th wheel and move it out of the way to accommodate  the crane truck access to the back yard. By the time the driver secured the shed and drove the 30 minutes to our home, I had our 5th wheel out of the way.

This is a 90 ton crane truck with a Hi-Ab boom reach of 75 feet.

The driver/operator assigned to this task was a great guy.  He had a calm demeanor and was very methodical. That is of critical importance!  He made this job look simple.  And it is, with careful thought and the right tools.  I sure enjoyed watching him go about his task....with a tiny bit of help from me.

This shed is well built - and framed 16" on centre.  It's built the way I would build it.  It is worthy of this move.

Fiver is out of the way and parked down the street.  That's about the extent of our RV adventures till after Christmas!

Crane truck arrives with the load.

Once on site at our place, the operator had to detach the trailer and lift the shed on to his truck deck before backing into the side of our home towards the back yard.

He made quick work of this.

Turned the shed around while on the sky hook.

Shed door is now facing the right way.

With little effort, the load was driven to where the 5th wheel had rested earlier. Notice the driver side mirror had to be closed in to avoid damage to the eave troughs.

Once his truck support jacks were properly placed and the truck was stabilized,  the operator proceeded to lift the shed towards its rightful place.

This is when you really pray that the operator will not damage yours or the neighbour's home.  He had to lift the shed hi up to clear both roof lines.  Easy work with a 75 foot reach.

Projects like this attract the neighbours.  How can it not!  A large crane truck shows up, things get lifted and moved, trucks maneuver into really tight spots and this amazing sky hook makes simple work of moving  a structure. The curious - at both ends of this project - enjoyed the distraction.  It's always fun to exchange thoughts and expressions from the sideline audience.  Hey, I provided some entertainment for friends, neighbours and the curious.  What's not to like?

It's so easily accomplished with the right tools!

It did not take much effort to place the shed on its supports.  My concrete blocks were precise and once the shed was placed, it proved to be level too.  That's kind of important!

Almost done!

Appears to have always been here.  From start to finish - driving to and from both sites - it took exactly three hours to complete the job.  Not Bad!

I took one more photo before moving the 5th wheel back in its rightful spot.

The shed will get new shingles to match our house roof, new siding and soffits to match, a new window on the right side, and once completed, it will match our home.  By early next spring and with attention to proper detailing, it will be properly finished and the back yard will once again be organized.

It will look nice, once the exterior is finished.

Some may wonder why we moved a shed when we could have purchased the lumber and built one?  Well, those who know me know that I love to build things.  I have saw dust in my veins - having grown up in the home hardware, lumber yard, cabinet making operation and construction family business. My intentions were to build a shed from scratch.  When our friend asked to have this shed removed from her yard, I compared the moving costs to a materials package for a new build.  This unit is very well built and it made sense to move it.  It's just that simple! 



Only about 40 more sleeps before the RV Voyageur gang gets to hitch up for the journey south to the sunnier climes of the south west US.  Can't wait!

Uhmmmm, what else can I move while Jeanette is away???????

Thanks for dropping by.

Yesiree! We're still around and about!

How inviting!

Have not had a whole lot to write about these past several days.  Something about this time of year seems to put a damper on outdoor activities.  We did have a couple of sunny days and one of those was immediately taken for a round of golf.  The other day was reserved for a hike on a brand new trail we discovered.

Just a few seconds of momentary distraction led to this.  It's not us!

I did not witness this accident but came upon it a few minutes after the car hit a driveway approach and ended its voyage forever.  I quickly pulled over and asked the driver if he was OK.  His hand was bleeding but he seemed fine otherwise.  Without a cell phone to make an emergency call, I quickly parked out of the way and then called 911 on his behalf.  The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) arrived within ten minutes or so.

He drove a long way, trying to get out of a deep ditch, before hitting head on with a driveway approach.

I observed that the driver had not been drinking nor did he appear to be under the influence of drugs.  He seemed perfectly fine.  He explained that he was reaching for a CD on the passenger floor when he left the road.  Easy to do on this busy road because there is no shoulder to speak of.  In my opinion, the car is a write off.

The RCMP officer arrived and I then left for home.

What is interesting - or sad - about this story is that the young fella tried to get the attention of at least 25-30 vehicles before I stopped.  No one would stop.  How callous!

The driver told me he was heading home to Chilliwack to prep his suitcase to head to his original home in Scotland for a three week visit with family and friends.  This accident put a damper on his day, for sure.

Although it is late fall, there are still some green leaves.

Tuesday proved to be a beautiful fall day.  The sun was shinning, the air was crisp and it was a fitting day to discover another hike.  And we did just that!

We discovered a new trail in the Aldergrove Lake trail head that took us well over two hours to complete.  It's a mix of dense forest and open meadows with steep up and down trails that really offer a nice walking workout.

Jeanette is looking for leaves to step on.  She loves the crunching sound of dried leaves.

A steep downhill (or uphill for those walking opposite from us)

Rain forest ferns thrive in this climate.

I had Jeanette hold up this tree so that I could take this photo.  Always nice to have a partner who is so willing to take on the heavy lifting!  Hey, she is no slouch!

Walked out of the thick forest trails and on to this open meadow.  What a treat!

We ended up on the far side, after a round about trail walk.  The mountains in the background are snow capped.

.....and we were back in the ticket.  Out of the blue was this massive rock.  It's interesting how (or why) it is the only one on the entire trail.

This was the trail.  We'll be coming here often, that's for sure. It's only two minutes from our home.

After that great hike, we headed back for home so that Jeanette could prepare for a very early morning flight out to Calgary, Alberta, where she would join her sister Deb for the four hour drive to their parents' place.  Their father ended up in the local hospital and is now slated to enter a care facility.  The two sisters were going to join another sister, Darlene, to assist with the tasks required to get their father placed and settled.

I'm holding down the fort here.  With the President's Cup  (PGA GOLF) being held at the Royal Melbourne in Australia, I spent six hours watching the Golf Channel last evening.  Although I would rather be there following the golfers (or better yet, playing that course), it's great fun to follow them in High Definition too.  The tournament (as with them all) is held over four full days of golf.

While I was busy working on reorganizing our substantive 'online' music library, I looked out to see this!  YIKES!

Yep!  That's wet snow.

 A cold front came through.  The winds began  to howl, followed by this snow, followed by warming air and heavy rains, followed by calm temps and all of that transpired within about 45 minutes.

I guess we could call this a 'skiff of snow'.

For all of the snow birding west coasters, this is what you missed by not being here yesterday.  Today returned a bright, sunny, fall day.

I have to sign off to prepare for the President's Cup Golf coverage.  I do have a few errands that must be taken of before I can devote the precious time with the Golf Channel.

I would rather be here - live and in person - but the Golf Channel will suffice.

Wishing you all a wonderful day.

Busy Week on the Home Front

Trevor (son in law) and daughter Ginette drove out from Edmonton, Alberta, last Wednesday.

Other than helping a friend with a little project, I managed to get one round of golf in during one of the sunny days, this past week. It was a really nice fall day on the links.  We played Lake Padden golf course in south Bellingham, WA.

Courtney (daughter in law to be) and our son Deni.

Deni and Courtney flew in from Edmonton, Ginette and Trevor drove in,  and our home got quite busy with activity as we prepared to celebrate a 60th birthday for a really close friend, followed by celebrating her and her husband's daughter's wedding.

We had to take a photo of Ginette who is 18 weeks into her pregnancy.  Quite an exciting time.  This will be our first grand child.

Aline (L) celebrated her 60th - or as some preferred, celebrating 30 X 2.  She is sharing the stage with husband Garry.  Because many family and friends had come to the west coast to celebrate their daughter's wedding, the night before was reserved for a surprise birthday party.  It was lively.

Birthday girl and a special cake.

We gathered everyone together and took this group shot.  We are in there somewhere.

Garry and Aline's daughter Nicole wed her best friend, Trevor (another Trevor that is) the following day - Friday at a local golf course.  Ginette was her maid of honour and Trevor (our son in law) was one of the best men.

The ceremony.

Nicole and Trevor - The newlyweds.

Proud parents - Garry and Aline

Jeanette & Ginette, the Maid of Honour.

We took a family group shot before the reception: L-R Trevor, Ginette, Rene', Jeanette, Courtney and Deni.

Deni and Courtney will exchange their own vows next September, 2012, here in the city of Vancouver, BC.

Maid of Honour and the Best Man

Lovely setting at the golf course in Coquitlam, BC

Attending this wedding was like attending a reunion with long time friends.  We got to catch up on everyone's lives.  

Hmmm, I should have come earlier and played 18 holes before the ceremony!

Jeanette and I share wee toast to the day.

Ginette and Nicole

Aline and Garry - Nicole's folks.

Nicole, Trevor and his parents, Kathy and Reg.

Our son in law Trevor with his mom, Sandi.

In conversation.

So, that pretty well sums up our week and weekend.  It was great to have our family over for four/five days.  Celebrating Aline's 60th birthday - followed the next day with the celebration of her daughter's wedding - made for a very festive couple of days.  It was great to catch up with family and friends.

Deni and Courtney had made arrangements to have their engagement photos done by a professional photographer while they were here on the coast. They returned to Edmonton by air while Ginette and Trevor drove back.  They drove out with the trailer to unload some of their stuff prior to their big move back to the west coast this mid-December. It will be nice to have them living close by.

And that was the week that was!

Thanks for dropping in.