Slider

All right! Most people have seen it "in person" already (quotation marks incorrectly used for Chantal's benefit) but the sliding door for the guest bedroom was one of the additions I most looked forward to and I finally get to talk about it, months after we actually started working on it.

Slider's origins are already clouded in mystery, however. I was supposed to manage a blog by which I would store information for future reference and avoid forgetting such things but alas, it gets neglected from time to time. But we don't quite agree on how the idea came about.

By Christine's recollection, after Frankenshed's defeat, she spotted the track used for its sliding door laying on the ground and said something to the effect that, because it was still in good shape, we should find a use for it.

That's pretty weak, man.

By my recollection, I staggered around the foggy, carnage-strewn battlefield following my final confrontation with Frankenshed. Bloodied, exhausted, shirt torn and drenched in sweat, I collapsed to my knees. Christine ran to me, joyful tears running down her cheeks, carrying a jug of lemonade. After noticing the track laying in the grass, I clutched it in my kung-fu grip, held it towards the heavens just as a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and I screamed that from the evil of Frankenshed, a great good would emerge!!

Something like that.

Regardless of whether my far-more-plausible version of events is the one that actually took place, we bought the lumber for the door in the spring but completed the floor reno and hallway painting first. Then in late June (I believe) my dad got his puttering on.

Tip: Always know where the pencil is. The question WILL come up.

Being in a cottage environment, sometimes you have to make do with whatever you have on hand. Much of the door is held together with glue, so a jug of water and a metal duck contributed to keeping all the pieces good and tight. Actually, they were arguably more valuable to the project than I was.

And I love the result.

Again, it's not quite finished. Christine wants to add a stain but we're a little unsure as to what colour to choose.

And it could probably use...handles. Otherwise it might be tricky to open the door from inside the guest room (which isn't my problem, but still).

Here's a look at it from the washroom, across the very narrow hallway.

Now it is my understanding, based on social media, that if you are holding a cell phone anywhere near a bathroom mirror, you need to do lemon lips and take a picture of yourself in said mirror. So here we go.

I don't get it.

Anyway, one of these days, and it may just be in the winter to avoid the temptation to dive into a huge snowbank and hibernate the season away, we'll complete some finishing touches here and there such as baseboards, quarter round, doorway and corner framing and...door handles. But for now we're happy with the big steps taken this year.

Expanded Guest Services

As mentioned earlier, we had a few guests over the May long weekend.

Since the start of the season, we've had one in particular show up several weekends.  First, he made his way down the stairs from the across-the-street neighbour's property and onto our parking pad.

Then a couple of weekends later, he found himself deeply interested in the bird feeder.

You have to be pleased when a guest enjoys the food you offer.

And he was back again this past weekend, doing much the same thing.

Oddly enough, I first spotted him across the street again, by the parking pad. But when I saw him a few minutes later, he was trotting from where the shed used to be (damn shed...) and made his way to the feeder. I suspect he was there a good part of the night. Christine has named him "Bandit".

But two-legged guest are getting some attention too. We've made a few changes in the guest room too, including some new bedding and curtains...

...we removed the generic white wire shelves and replaced them with yet more previously-useless wood that was stored under the cottage. The brackets are new, of course.

And over the dresser we've added a picture that Caroline took some time ago.

And no, it isn't crooked. Follow the wall lines. Standard disclaimer time: NOTHING is straight in this place.  Unless it's supposed to be crooked or bent, in which case it's probably as straight as a railroad spike.

Here's a closer look. Apologies for the reflection.

Caroline: If there was a special technique or filter used for getting that colour, fill me in and I'll edit it in. I might just do a straight copy-and-paste job in case I can't properly explain your techno mumbo-jumbo, so don't call me names 'cause mum and dad will know.

Hey, you see the three drawers on that dresser? They're routinely empty. Those of you who come a bit more often, or who can and might, claim one.  Make it your "change of plans" drawer. Keep pajamas in there, a toothbrush, whatever.  Just in case you're only planning on dropping by for the afternoon but you're not feeling the drive back. It can happen.

One condition: It has to be emptied by the end of the year. You don't want some critter to make a condo of your underwear for six months.

Late Summer / Early Fall Additions

Playing catch up over here. Those of you on the mailing list should not be surprised if you get a bunch of notices in a relatively short period of time. You might not, but don't be surprised if you do.

There were a number of additions to our little slice of heaven during our vacation weeks. Some were practical, some were decorative. We'll start with one that falls under both categories.

My folks handed over their set of fireplace tools because they're changing their fireplace from wood to gas burning.

Man, they're great (The tools. Well, my folks too, come to think of it)! The set that had been left behind by the past owners was...let's call it "well worn".  The broom bristles were all bent and the head on the poker would constantly become unscrewed, which is EXACTLY what you want when you're literally playing with fire.

These new (to me) tools are sturdier and in far better condition. I already enjoy messing with my fires and this kit made a good thing even better.

Speaking of creating warmth (yeah, that's an awkward segue)...I mentioned baseboard heaters before (pretty sure I did) and they were finally installed in early September.

In addition to the one above, in the guest bedroom, we have one under the dining room window as well, on the lake side. They work pretty nicely, especially the guest room one since it's such a small area.

They look a little odd at first. Even the electrician was a little surprised that they needed to be installed at least six inches from the floor. But since so much of our paneling is the same, they actually break up the pattern a bit.

That's practical. We conclude with decorative.

Just in case we didn't have enough Canada-themed items around the place, we added this one. Christine found it on the Byward Market while attending Caroline's bridal shower this past spring. It sat on our table at home for a while until she got it framed and put it up recently.

Being so close to Halloween, I should do a photo collage of creepy reflections. There's another one.

Plenty more to come once I get some of my pictures re-sized, download some more from my phone, copy a few from Rob and Deb...The blog may not have been particularly active in recent weeks, but we (several family members included) certainly have been.

Never been so excited about floors.

Whooo!!  Chris and I have spent an awful lot of time in Crow Lake lately and made a fair bit of headway into some of our projects for this year.

Christine had some vacation days to burn (must be nice...) so a couple of weeks back, she headed out to the cottage to finish the paint job on the living room floor.  When we next went (I believe on Friday, May 2nd) we were tasked with putting the living room back together that evening.  And I love how it turned out.  If you don't, keep it to yourself. ;-)

Much like our master bedroom floor reno last year, it's actually difficult to display this through photography.  The carpet was old, worn and outdated.  You know, like Joan Rivers, but in carpet form.

So out it goes, slap a coat of paint directly on the wood, throw down a rug we bought months ago and blam, you've got a nice little blast of colour going.  Remove a useless table for a little space, move the map to where people can view it more easily and if nothing else, the room makes a bit more sense. We're not done, but we're much, much closer.

Got a new picture at top right, too.

You may remember something very similar in the dining room.  Christine picked up this print in Mattawa last summer while driving through on her way to (or perhaps from, I don't recall) visiting her dad on Little Tomiko Lake.  It was so "fresh" that she literally had to wait for it to dry.  Here's the artist's website.

So that done, my folks came over this past weekend so that my dad and I could get to work on the guest room floor next (at about a 90/10 ratio, I'm afraid).

Bah, that last shot came out too dark...But anyway, we're going to add a lamp to that piece of furniture at left.  Previously, the lamp rested on a small white shelf unit at the foot of the bed.  Not the most convenient spot.

We popped open a bottle of German bubbly that night (the Germans always make good stuff) as an official 2014 launch mini-celebration.  My folks left late Sunday afternoon but Christine and I stuck around until Tuesday morning, enjoying spectacular weather for the first time in quite a while.

While we were there, Chris' tulips pretty well doubled in size and bloomed.  She also added bird feeders at both ends of the cottage which, of course, were raided in no time.

And now, we've reached the skill-testing question portion of our show.  Can multiple-time visitors identify the following piece of furniture that Christine appropriated into a firewood stand?  It's a hard one.  Hell *I* got it wrong.

My dad's popping over again Saturday so that we can work on the picnic table.  That'll be a nice one-and-done.

We Have a Plan. And a Moose Planter.

That's all you need.

We have a significant list of projects that we want to tackle.  We'd love to do them all immediately, but cost and time have a significant voice in dictating what gets done now and what doesn't. Therefore, we prioritize.

We're going to have guests.  We enjoy having guests (that may seem like a load, coming from me, but it's actually true).  We want our guests to be comfortable.  And to bring booze leave happy.  So since we have flooring left over from last year's master bedroom floor replacement, we want to get the floor done in the guest room too, early in the spring (if there is such a thing as "spring" anymore.  Tough to have faith right at the moment).

The patriarch and I got the ball rolling last weekend. This picture doesn't really do it justice...

...but that carpet was pretty rough. Even for a cottage. And while everyone loves Tupperware containers (?), it's probably possible to find more attractive and functional "furniture".

So the the room has been emptied and the rug has come up.  We had to work in darker conditions than the picture below might imply, because the windows are still boarded up.  And it was colder inside than outside.  But we're men, damn it, and we would not be denied.

The cork insulation base is down and the additional floor "boards" we need were ordered today.  A few weeks from now, we're going to attack that thing for good.  I'm aiming for the weekend of May 10th (write that down, 'ti-père) in the hope that by then we have the water running again so we're not on a schedule.  In other words, people can work at a decent pace, have a nice dinner afterwards and spend the night.

Since we were in the Lowe's / Canadian Tire / Rona money drain triangle area, we stopped by and attempted to price a few other future projects (such as kitchen counter paint kits, for example.  Neat idea).

While doing so, I stumbled into Mr. Moose Planter.

Yes, I know you can see my creepy reflection in the fireplace. 

I was actually walking through an aisle of clearance items and pointed it out to Christine. There were two left and the other had a chunk taken out of it.  Feeling it's rather cottagy, we grabbed the good one.

Funny thing; While Christine was at the cash (I'd seen a shiny object in the distance and wandered off), the person ahead of her asked her what she planned to do with Mr. Moose (our 2013 income tax.  It's a planter, what the hell do you think we'll do with it??).

Upon my return from the cheap DVD bin, I heard Christine's cashier comment on how cute Mr. Moose is (didn't say anything of the sort about her husband, I noticed).

Then the guy in line behind Chris ALSO asked her what she'd be doing with Mr. Moose (find that missing Malaysian Airlines plane.  It's a planter, why do you think they call it that??)

Anyway, for a clearance item, it turned out to be pretty popular among the riff-raff, so Canadian Tire might have misjudged there. Their judgement error is our decorative benefit.  Mr. Moose will be a nice addition to one of the decks, where I admit that sometimes the frog planters make me feel uneasy.

That piercing stare makes you feel guilt for a crime that you did not commit.  And when you look outside at night, and happen to glance at one of those things, you momentarily believe the Creature From the Black Lagoon has emerged from the murky depths to slit you open and feast upon your innards.  It's...disturbing.  Mr. Moose, with his big soulful brown eyes, should improve on that.

The only item on the mental checklist that I was not able to cross off during the visit with my dad was to obtain a brochure listing the events in the area this summer.  We had a terrific pizza at that Maples Restaurant that I wrote about earlier, and while they normally have racks full of those pamphlets at the front door, it was just too early in the year for them to be available just yet.  So that part of the planning will have to wait a bit longer.  No big deal.