April 23 - 24 • We open up for the season.
Lots of snow! The roads are fine, the yard is clear of snow but, closer to the lake and wow! - Bob had to shovel before we could get close to the beach.
The view from the lake side.
A beautiful sunset. A view of the south end and the small amount of open water that formed from the gush of the stream through the forest reserve.
April 29 - May 2 • A week later.....
A lot less snow this week.
More open water but, the lake has not started to break up yet.
The first step: underground electrical cable from the cottage to the accessory building.
Later, to the garage.
And, just like that (Yeh, right!)... the pony wall is up, the cross beam is in place, the floor joists all 16 inches apart, and flooring goes on.
Then everything is nailed securly in place.
The 'basement'. Just enough room to shimmy under to do the necessary plumbing and other ground cover work.
May 10 • Serious construction begins!
We're connected, so new pictures will pop up here throughout the next couple of weeks.
We arrived to find that the ice broke up on Tuesday when high winds quickly dispersed of everything. We still have a 'beach' in front of our place but, the water is deeper - which is a good thing. We arrive to find almost all of the snow gone. Except for about one small pail full still under one tree.
It didn't take long to quickly get settled in, then construction started. I planted a few things (Maltese cross, chives, delphinium) but, will have to wait for the pansies and climbing beans to get in the ground. Last night the temp dipped to -10C --very chilly!
Construction of the first wall.
This one will face the forest.
Nissa is working on the window header.
Everything is squared off. So, now, the sheeting goes on, holes are cut for the windows.
That's Nissa on the left, Bob and Marko with the skill saw.
Yet another beautiful sunset!
May 11 • The walls go up! And, then it's May 12..... and on...
All four walls are up by the end of the day. And, the staining is complete because we do that before standing up the framed wall. The day was a mix of sunny warm and very cool. But, we did not get the snow that southern Saskatchewan received today.
Nissa and Sylvia stain the first wall before it gets stood up. This will be the wall that faces the forest.
The first wall goes up. The second wall, already stained, is visible in the foreground. The old tree house is still standing - on the far right side. Maybe we need to relocate it - the view from the patio door should be better than that!.
Peeking through the windows of the first wall.
The second wall goes up.
Although no one is singing, the work continues with "Shingling in the rain - just shingling in the rain...what a glorious feeling I'm happy again... ". I've been corrected - they were not happy! Rather, they were trying their best to keep their fingers thawed. Marko only nailed his gloves to the roof once.
The patio door frame is carried around to the front. All other windows and the main door are in place.
The rain and sleet brought an early end to the day. Lucy is just as exhausted as the rest of the workers and wants a ride too.
May 14. Today it's: soffits, fascia, touch up of the window frames.
Marko making another precise cut. Again work takes place between downpours!
The outside is finished, - for now anyway. The weather no longer controls progress and, the inside walls go up.
May 15. Wiring, insulating...
(That's Nissa behind the mask and protective eye gear - a.k.a. shades.)
May 16. Sunday - a day of rest (comparatively speaking).
We give thanks for all that has been good and pray that Bob's hands will once again be able to close more than a hammer's grip and that his aging body will straighten up again! It has rained at least once every day since Wednesday, and every night has dropped to temperatures of freezing or below. Today we even had a bit of a thunderstorm come across the lake. We sent Marko on his way home today. He starts a new job tomorrow.
May 17. "Ah? Now which color wire goes where? And, which one do I cut?" (The thick black cable going into the bottom of the panel box is the cable that was buried on April 30.) P.S. The power works!
Can't finish one thing until another thing gets done first. Then, almost at the same time, all of the loose ends are tied - rather, drywall screwed into place and we're almost, almost ready for paint.
May 20. It's been very cold here today. We woke at 6:45 to a showering of wet spring snow that melted before it hit the ground. The sun brought welcome warmth but it did not reach the temperatures of the last couple of days.
Nissa started moving some things in: A rocker from Baba and Dido's basement, a table that our city neighbors were hauling off to the dump, curtains with material from the 70's, folding chairs that Bob received with a games table for his 10th birthday, .....The antique wall paper didn't stay on the wall (Watch for your next gift to be wrapped in it.) - You can tell the decor theme is definitely retro!
6:25 p.m. Bob hangs up his carpenter's apron. He is done. He asks for whiskey! The rest of the touching up here and there, stairs, deck and trim edging, will be up to Nissa and Marko. Tonight he will wash his hands (literally) of all the messy work, bandage them up and will act only as advisor from here on in.
Tomorrow he turns his attention to the garage where he will bring in an electrical line and will wire it up!
May 19. Everything gets painted. You need sunglasses to enter Nissa's sunflower yellow room and Marko's green apple room. The common room is more of a mellow malted milk. Chocolate brown for the floor.
May 21-23. Nissa, Marko and friend Gavril work on the caulking and staining of crevasses and ventilation screening for air circulation under the building.
The 2004 dock gets put together. The railing, boat lift, etc. will have to wait for another day - hopefully one that will be quite a bit warmer