Monday, June 03, 2013

Progress

 It's no wonder I'm so tired all week.  We do SO MUCH work every weekend, and have a great time doing it!

Last weekend, we were freezing and wearing coats.  This weekend, we were sweating in tank tops.  It went up to the 90's!  So, a screen door was definitely in order!  Here's a picture of our new screen door... we bought it during the week, and I painted it red and we hung it this weekend.  It's got a very satisfying "Thwack rattle" sound when it slams shut.  I think it needs more spring, to slam shut harder.  I love it.  Two views... from the outside... and from the inside...



Last week's project was HUGE.  It was the three new skylights and the new section of roof.  We might have waited for this project until later, but the insurance was requiring that we fixed the section of roof that was sagging - so in for a penny, in for a pound, right?  The two old sky lights were a mess,  They weren't even really sky lights, they were huge pieces of glass he just made into skylights.  I think he (the previous owner, John, who I never met) had gotten glass windows from a department store that was being dismantled.

We liked the way the huge skylights looked (except for the fact that they were cloudy and broken.)  So when we couldn't find real skylights that big, we decided to go for three instead of two.  And I love the look! It feels like a tree house inside now, with the leaves through the window, and the sun pouring in - it's the southern exposure -- and the ladder to the loft.  It feels like being outside.   Here are two of them, with one blocked by the upstairs bedroom.


Another job that the insurance required?

 Hand rails on the deck stairs - Frank fixed these up pretty quick Sunday morning.  They are a little sketchy, but they should hold up and serve the purpose.  Hope they don't look too close at how old the wood on the deck is... I keep waiting to go through it.

And we were so tired Saturday Night, we spent the evening sitting on the deck with a candle instead of having a fire... :)


A big project worked on this weekend was also the shower situation.

It was very exciting the week that we got water hooked up to the toilet so we could flush.

Then, we got water hooked up to the sink, so we could wash with cold water from the sink instead of using a wash basin and pitcher arrangement...

This weekend, we got HOT water!  However, the shower isn't working yet.  Hopefully next weekend.

And, in preparation, I've scrubbed the tub and refinished the wooden step.  (You need the step because it's such a deep tub.)

I've been thinking about doing this for a while, too:  open up the window.
Previously, this window was covered with plastic.  Because it's REALLY old and it has single pane and a hole in one pane.  But, summer is here!  Let the heat in, right?  It cools off nice in the evening!
So now we can look out into the backyard easier!
 This is the inside of the window, and the outside of the same window.  I know that we need better quality windows so we don't freeze in the winter, but I hate to lose the charm that this window has.  I'm thinking storm windows or something.  I've gotta figure out a way to keep this.

 Our cabin is a bit confused.  It doesn't know if it is a log cabin or a cedar shake salt box.  It's got log siding, shake siding, and plywood siding; it's got brown windows and white windows and sky lights; it has a brown roof on top, and a new black roof down the front. 

It's quirky.  But I love it.

And... last but not least... the new bar.  We're going to leave the Christmas Tree up all year, LOL.