Yesterday, I finished off the last little bit of the Avellana’s concrete. The ship is now watertight (or should I say seaworthy?) for the winter. Come spring (when the weather warms up a bit) we will climb back up and finish off the painting. By then the rest of the North Star Suite will be finished up and we will be able to paint everything all at once.

When I designed the Avallana’s transom, I intended this spot to have a bit of filigree. There are a few squiggles on the model to indicate the designs. When it came time to carve the concrete I decided to repeat some of the elements form the North Star’s sign. Guests who happen to look up will also notice two monogramed letters. No, they are not an ode to Harry Potter! The H is for my wife, Hailey, and the P stands for myself. If guests look closely they will also see a heart between our initials.

Hailey ♡ Peter forever.

The Copper Crown’s bedroom turret is looking a little orange these days. It has been coated with a real copper embedded in resin. Next week we will give it a good polish and it will shine right up. Next we will shingle the bulk of the roof and add the sculpted concrete to the crenellations under the copper roof. I can’t wait to see it come together!

My dad (Peter’s Grampa) was a carpenter before he retired. I remember well with each and every house he built the most important thing in his mind was to get the roof on as soon as possible. On more than one occasion he would tell us of his dream to build the roof first and build the house underneath it. That way the workers would stay dry and the house would too. He felt the quality of the house would be better as a result. Unfortunately, he never figured out a way to do it.

As we designed the castle, we were looking for ways to built the more complicated parts in the shop and on the ground. We knew we could do a better and faster job and be safer too. Experience has taught us that it always takes longer if you have to climb a scaffold to work on a project!

We have completed the bulk of the work on the large castle tower roof. The cone roof measures more than seventeen feet across, plus the turret on the side. It is built in one piece but breaks in half to go out the shop door. We’ll bolt it back together again on site before we lift it into position. Most of the shingles will go on while it is on the ground as well.

Each time I see my dad and show him pictures of our work he asks me where we learned to do all the amazing things we do. I answer that I was watching and listening to him when I was growing up. He had many great ideas which I use every day.

In between the larger projects, the inn’s main sign is progressing nicely. Just a few more coats of paint and some gold leaf and it will be ready to beset in place out by the road! That will hopefully answer the main question we get these days… ‘What is this going to be?’

Our little inn is really starting to take shape! Our contractor was kind enough to share this drone shot with us the other day. The aerial view of site reminds us of the model we built as part of our design process. Exciting Times!

Photo Credit: Chad Kloot