Weekend Update - 7/31/2011 Ceiling the Deal

As previouly mentioned, the finishing carpenter(s) have begun work, and the first step is the ceiling.  I found it fascinating as to how they have sorted the planks by length and shade and varied the pattern.  Haven't met them yet ,as I would love to discuss how they select what length when.  The ceiling in the great room and loft are done, they're working on the upstairs bedroom now.

Horseshoes - Fall 1983

Lots of shoes thrown over the years.  In these shots we were set up near the drive at the back of the cottage.

Grandfather and grandson obviously were using the same dress style consultant.  Like grandfather, like father, like son...no point goes unchallenged.

We need to set up a new pitch.



Weekend Update - 7/24/2011

Primary work this last week was the completion of the drywalling, mudding, sanding, and a coat of paint.  Starting to look like living space.

Here's a view from the entrance, looking down the hall.  To the left is the laundry/mud room, a closet, hall to the master bedroom.  On the right is a bedroom/study, full bath, closet, stairs to the lower level.

A couple of shots of the fireplace side of the great room.  There will be a large screen TV wall mounted off to the left.  Wired for surround sound.

A view up to the loft.  On the lower level, the bar area to the left of the hall, kitchen to the right.

The lower level.

This week the finish (fine work, not Scandinavian) carpenter arrives.  The wood ceiling, which includes the great room, loft, and upstairs bedroom should be complete.  Also the front door should be installed.  Then the molding, inside doors and more decisions.  Stain, paint, light fixtures...the list never ends.  Very stressful, but good stress.  Is that an oxymoron?

How Macy Spends Her Weekends

What more can I say?

Basement Progress

With the drywalling complete, the basement takes shape.  It's going to be great space, a huge rec room, two bedrooms, a full bath, and my "man cave".  Here's some pics.

This shot is from the front (lake facing side) looking toward the back.  Doors to the two bedrooms on the right, there's a full bath off to the left, and the utility room/man cave to the rear.  The "mudders" had just completed their work so the fans were helping to dry the mud.

Here's two shots of the rec room area from either end.  Anyone got an extra pool table?

The "man cave".  This is the area where the utilities all reside, I'll have a workbench, and railroad space.  Whether the railroad invokes "eminent domain" or not on other areas of the basement remains an open issue.





Grandparent Fun - Summer/Fall 1981

Hope we have the same good times Up North with our grandkid(s) that my parents had with theirs.

Turning a House into a Home

Here's a start.

Come Fly, Away - Part 2

This keeps getting more bizarre amazing.  Macy was at Ace Hardware at the cash register paying for a tank of propane.  What should be there, like manna from heaven, was the latest solution for the biting fly problem, Deerfly Patches.  You stick it on the back of your hat...not the front, the instructions are very emphatic, it won't work in the front.

First she tried it down on the beach, with minimal results.

Then she wore it on a walk, and voila, it works.  In fact 20 minutes after her walk when I took this pic the flies were still showing signs of life...a fly sadist's delight.

One of our neighbors, Paul Knox, stopped by to say hello...Macy was thoughtful enough to remove her hat.

So here's the bottom line.  Biting flies have been a problem from day 1, we're talking Adam and Eve here.  Despite all the technology and chemicals, it still comes down to sticky fly paper, something my grandfather used when he milked cows close to 100 years ago.

Stairway to Heaven

They've added the stairways to the deck, so the deck is now complete.  We have some grading work to do.  A number of restraining walls and back fill are planned.  We like the way the deck turned out.  Even for the stairs, they used large beams for the support; it's really solid.  The deck is probably three feet higher than the old deck, and extends out an additional 6 feet or so.  You really feel you're above it all.

There are stairs on both sides of the deck.

Here's a shot with both stairways in view.

Up North - Summer 1980

Some shots from the summer of 1980.  What's really amazing from these views is the total lack of pine and spruce trees.  My parents were busy planting, sowing the small transplants we appreciate today.

I love this shot, Heather is totally entertained by Macy's splashing.  Simple joys.



Pontoon boats are now a given for just about every resident Up North.  My parents bought one of the very first on the chain.  It was christened "Hawaii".  They had planned to take a vacation there, but then channeled the funds to the purchase of the boat instead.  Who knows what would dominate the lake scene if they would have gone off to the islands instead, maybe surf boards.

Note the raft far off in the bay...another tale to tell.

Drywall and More Siding - July 11, 2011

Last weekend the drywallers were hard at work.  It only takes a couple of days to hang all the drywall.  Hard to believe given all the ladder work and lifting.  The drywall sheets are 4'x12' and very heavy, can't imagine lifting one to the ceiling.

This shot is of the kitchen area.  Macy has finalized her appliance choices so that's one round of decisions made.   The need to make decisions never ends.  I tuned out when we got to choosing the grout colors.

The siding guys are making steady progress.  They probably have at least two more weeks of work.  The easy parts are done.  Given our hill side site, there is lots of ladder work, and there are lots of angles in the roof line, so a lot of diagonal cuts and custom fitting.  We're really pleased with the outside appearance so far.



Come Fly, Away

Some of you will recall how we handled a nasty biting fly problem along our driveway at our former home on Blue Goose last year.  After much research on the Internet, Macy came up with the sticky stuff on a blue pail approach that many claimed worked.  I put it in the category of the old British April Fools movie on the spaghetti harvest in Italy which showed happy farmers picking it from trees.  It worked, although thankfully our drive and property was very secluded.  (Not sure what tunes Macy listened to while parading up and down the drive)  Have you ever seen Macy so happy?  And the house sold.

Biting flies have been a problem this year on the beach Up North.  Not convinced our neighbors were ready for the sight of Macy parading around the beach with the blue bucket on a broom handle, I turned to my good friends at Fleet Farm.  Voila, the Fly Captivator. 

The flies are attracted by the "Secret Formula Super Fly Attractor" and they fly through vents (apparently by the hundreds) on the top and drown in the secret sauce.  One thing I learned when I read the instructions, is that the approach to catching flies is much like the approach to losing weight.  To successfully lose weight, one must combine both diet and exercise.  To successfully catch flies, you must use the Fly Captivator along with "good manure management"! (I'm not making this up)  Apparently Up North cottage owners are not the target demographic.

After one weekend the results are mixed.  It must take a while for the "Secret Formula Super Fly Attractor" to emit it's alluring stench aroma.  We've caught mostly "no see ums", which any camper can tell you are also a pain to deal with.  No doubt the big guys will follow.  As you can see the Fly Captivator is unobtrusive.

(It's on the small table.)  When the Fly Captivator is half full with dead flies, it's recommended you empty it.  I suspect the concept of unobtrussive will weaken at that point as well.  The Captivator is reuseable, and fortunately I got extra "Secret Formula Super Fly Attractor".  It's recommended you bury the spent secret sauce and the dead flies for composting...although one would think if you are practicing "good manure management" this would be overkill.  Time to Google up this whole manure management thing.

We'll keep you posted.

Cedar on the Side

Just before we left on Tuesday the siding crew arrived and began work.  Just a sneak preview of what you'll see in upcoming weeks.

Sunset Cruise

We've created a new nightly cruise...the sunset cruise.  Now we need to slot this in.  One can only cruise so many times per night.  The 5 PM cruise, followed by dinner, followed by the sunset cruise, may be a stretch.  As we look forward to the days we are spending more on gas for boats than cars we'll work it out.

Deck The Halls

The decking is compete except for the stairs on either end.  Needless to say, with my Mom and Jane up, we wasted no time with the baptism.

Here's a shot from the master bedroom looking out through the screened in porch and deck to the lake...then one in the opposite direction.

Two shots of the exterior of the house showing the deck.  Trying to take these angles consistently, so I can show a progress collage at some point.