I started finishing the outside of the cabin in July I believe. Installed bracing in between the studs so I had something to screw the outside boards into, tar paper, put milled hemlock boards, installed a window, window sills, window flashing, trim for the windows & door, and trim for the gable ends. I did the gable flashing & door trim on Saturday. The flashing on the gable ends really gives the cabin a more finished look. So that's it, the outside is pretty much done with the exception of boxing in the soffits which I'll do next year. I thought I'd feel something (besides the aches and pains from a day of working on a ladder!) but I didn't feel anything really besides excitement to do something else beside working on the cabin. Here's some pictures:
No bottom trim on the door because I'll be attaching a porch there eventually so no use wasting good wood. Pardon the junk underneath, a late, late fall clean-up day is in order before snow flies. I'd like to burn more brush, but it's been too dry here to do that safely.
I added metal flashing to the sill of the loft window because it receives most of the weather all year long. That's all folks!
I have enough left over hemlock siding to do the floor in the loft, so I'll plane it, sand it and install that next year but I'd like it to season inside the cabin for a while longer. I have to cut down a tree this winter to hew into the stairway up into the loft. We settled on the stairs coming up from underneath with a trap door. I'd like to hew a log square and use two section of it as the sides and install steps in between. I'll probably forge a small handrail section to grab on your way down. Lots of cost-free stuff that can be done. I have antique hewed logs inside the cabin that just need to be installed as fake structure to look like the loft is being held up with the old logs. I'll use structural bolts to screw right into the studs, countersink the bolts into the antique logs and then make a wood "pin" to conceal the modern bolts. In the end it should look like a traditionally built structural support. The railing for the loft is easily made from small trees on the property. The next immediate project will be to get the woodstove operational. This way we can enjoy the cabin before it's finished.
It's come a long way from this over the last two years:
Here's where it all started. It was a tiny dream at that point, but we held onto that dream even when people discouraged us or poo-pooed the whole idea. I had a lot of friends help me out and without their help I could not have done it. Our own
@ShawnF even drove several hours to help one Saturday workday. There were some guys that were at every workday I had! I'm still amazed it went from this to where it is today. Keep dreaming is the lesson to learn. We had a vision in our heads and we've stuck to it as much as we could and now we have a little peace of Heaven out there when we need it. Sure, lots of inside work still but that will happen a little bit at a time. I'll take TSC along with that journey too.
Wish I had magnometer pictures. I saw it on the screen and said in my head "Ok, here we go!" The officer said with exclamation "Is that a locking picking set in your wallet?!?!" I replied "Why yes, it's not illegal to possess them unless I'm committing a crime." He raised an eyebrow and said I was right but why would I need them. I just told him "You never know". They know me quite well there at that entry point. They have the most sensitive settings at that point of entry. If I swallowed some metal dust I swear it would set it off. Another time my jacket rang. Well this jacket has a rip open pocket and a holster (empty when entering there of course) so he rips open the Velcro on the pocket and asks me to reach in there. I replied "With all due respect sir, it's an empty holster and I'd prefer you reach in there." 
He was cool so long as it was empty. Ok, one more story..............Same entry point and this time a woman looks into the bin at my key chain and jumps back. You see I have a fisher cat paw on my key chain. With a disgusted look she asked what the heck that was and I told her "Well, my cat Lucky wasn't so lucky last year and got hit by a car so I just couldn't bear being without her." I let that float out there for about 3 solid seconds and then told her I was kidding and what it was. Rats, now I'll have to go out and make more magnometer stories. Hmm, maybe the bear claw necklace will have to make a trip to that government facility in the near future 
