Cold Days & Building Rustic Furniture

We woke to another very chilly morning, with the Rhododendron curled up tighter than yesterday.  But the sky promised to be clear and blue as the sun rose over the mountains.  This photo is the first peak of the sun coming over the trees.

The deck was covered with a thin layer of frost and as the sun's rays reached them, they glittered like stars. 

The day stayed chilly and there was not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky. 

It's been one of those days that being outside is not entirely uncomfortable but my nose, fingers and toes quickly became cold and stayed cold while out there.  I sure did appreciate getting inside and warming up by the wood burning stove, which has been kept heavily stoked from the time we woke up this morning.  This (the currently always warm stove) is a really good thing, because Mountain Man was in the basement (which isn't as cold as outside but it isn't warm either, maintaining at about 45 degrees during the day) finishing his newest piece of rustic furniture!  Everything is made with branches from our woods except for the top, joined with mortise & tenon and some homemade dowels, a little wood glue, some small nails when needed, and a homemade shaving horse to create the skip peel look (click on the links to learn more about them).  It took him about 35 hours to complete.  He is going to use it as a nightstand, which is a really good thing because the small table he is using right now is stacked with books and reading material, as is the floor all around it!

Pretty awesome piece of furniture, wouldn't you say?  This is the second piece he has made, his first was a coffee table we use. 

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f/'s, see you tomorrow,
Lise