Spoiled? No, our cats aren't spoiled!

Having a neighbour who loves your cats is especially appreciated when we are away!  Cassie makes a trip across the driveway to give them a snack and loving attention, and then leaves a report on how things went.  As you can see, the furkids have developed a taste for the chicken dinner she brings from time to time.

Ahhh, the sweet smell of spring!

The cats were very excited to sit in the open windows and enjoy the scents and sounds of the back yard, when the weather turned warm last week.

Onyx saw something....

We have a fine crop of dandelions in our yard.  I like them.  If not for them, we wouldn't have much lawn.

Snaps sniffing.  Something smells interesting!

Onyx is so very alert when he is looking outside.

I see something edible which also moves slowly enough for me to catch!

A Peek at the Kitchen

Oh my! Saturday was exciting:  getting to see our new kitchen for the first time!  No countertop as yet, but most of the cupboards are in



Carl, Tim and John check things out.  They are looking at the ceiling, admiring the bevelled edges.

The countertop, along with the sink and taps, go in this week.

We left room for a dishwasher:  we like the convenience of one, but don't envision getting one any time soon.  Planning ahead is all.

Iain hooked up the water heater, and we had hot water in no time!  Alas, I for some reason forgot to take pictures of the bathroom (!), so I'll have to do that next time.

Mom's bedroom is complete:  all the trim is on, and the window screens are back in.  The door's on too.

Celebrate, good times, c'mon!

Wiring seems to never end.  Iain put covers on the i.t. jacks, and we got the three-way switches installed for the dining room light.

Installing the ceiling fan in the living room has turned into a major production.  The downrod doesn't have a hole for the set screw, and the junction box needs an extenter ring.  We're going to leave it until Carl has a chance to help Iain with it (he did one at his place already).

Some assembly required.

I'm sure everyone is getting tired of cottage updates, but, sad to say, it's pretty much all we're doing lately! We're finally over the hump and coming to the end of the project, thank goodness.  On Saturday we spent the day fixing a few electrical problems and doing some other things:  We had to put together the laundry tub cabinet so it'll be ready for Mark and Susan (our plumbers).

Iain counting the holes to be sure he's putting the pegs in the correct places.

Iain installed the speaker plates and hdmi plates, so they're all ready for our non-existent 7.1 home theatre system.  We were hoping to pick one up from Air Miles, but they aren't offering one at this time; so we must be patient, and hope they have one someday.

One of the HDMI plates was behind the door, leaning against the wall, waiting for installation.

We got the cabinet together without too much difficulty.  It is styled much like the kitchen cabinets; and, no, the sink is NOT blue - it just still has its protective plastic coating on it.

A nice little cabinet, which we got on sale at Home Hardware.

We now have most of the ceiling lights installed, except for the living room fan (which we had intended to do, but when unpacking it discovered an essential part was missing) and the drop lights above the peninsula in the kitchen.  I think we have more than enough lights; it might be overkill, but I do like to be able to have the place bright when I want it!


The dining table light - I love this light!

After some delay in delivery, the kitchen is supposed to be installed this week.  We're hoping it happens, and are excited - this is the last big hurdle!  Once the countertop is in, our plumbers can finish their work, and the place will be habitable.   Woo-hoo!

The Last Big Push

We had to book an extra day off work to devote to finishing off work on the cottage: our most urgent work, at least, for there is lots left to do. Installation of trim, plumbing of the bathroom and kitchen, kitchen cupboards, closet and room doors: these things can be done once we have finished painting and have the floors installed.

On Friday morning, we had a pair of Canada Geese paddling nearby.  We don't have them as visitors for long, when they do appear.

Once again we were blessed with beautiful weather! It was appreciated on Friday, when we finished varnishing the doors, and were able to have the windows open to air out the place.

Three coats is ENOUGH!!!

When the cement slab was laid, my cousin Hope (first-cousin-twice-removed) placed a penny into it.  I'd thought it was out of sight, under the wall, but found it when I was cleaning up before laying the wood floor.

Hope's penny.

Dodie and Myles kept us fed and entertained in our off-work hours, and we enlisted their help for the big job of installing the click hardwood flooring. I'm not sure what we would have done without Myles' assistance, as we were complete neophytes.

Early Saturday morning, we were up early and at it.  Starting was a bit slow, as there is a bit of planning involved, but Iain and Myles got into the flow in no time.

It snaps together quite nicely!

Myles gives pointers and pitches in.

All of us worked on the floor during the two days it took to install it.

Iain had to do the fine cutting, using the table saw and jigsaw.  Myles ran the chopsaw.  Dodie and I enjoyed laying the wood; it's rather like putting together a vast jigsaw puzzle.  All of us had a hand in laying down the boards.

Iain measuring for a finicky cut.

The underlay had to be cut, laid and taped, before the wood could go over top.

When we stopped for brunch on Sunday, we were mostly finished.  The day was gorgeous, so we ate on Dodie and Myles' deck.

We got back at it, after eating, and were finished by 2:30.

Mom's room, ready for trim and then...FURNITURE!

Iain and I did a pick-up of all our stuff, so there would be room to move for the guys coming in this week.  I doubt the floor will ever look so nice and clean again!

Ta-Da!

We had a big breakthrough at the cottage this weekend: water!!   It was wonderful to just be able to turn on a tap, and because the pump is submersed in the well you can't hear it - a nice change from our old setup.

Iain gives the water a try.

We have to hook up a hose to it and run it lots.  The water smells somewhat swampy, so we are hoping that will fade.  I certainly wouldn't drink it at this point!

The doors were delivered during the week...

Eight doors, ready for varnishing.

...and so was the underlay and click flooring.

All ready to go!

We spent all of Friday finishing up the trim painting, and playing with the water.  There was a little trouble with the well (we are new to this stuff!), but Wayne Marquardt came by with his son and fixed us up again.  Iain also insulated the water line, and we put in a couple of light fixtures.

Dodie and Myles were so kind as to have us over for barbequed chicken dinner, which was fantastic! 

On Saturday, we were able to do one coat of varnish on all the doors.  We're actually using a polyurethane, but I like the word "varnish" better.  Next weekend we plan to finish them.

Doors with one coat on them.

Iain buried the insulated water line as well.  We headed home around 4:00, so we'd have Easter Sunday at home.

Filling in the trench.  Landscaping this will be ... interesting.

Some floor coverings.

We took a quick spin to the lake after church on Sunday, to check out the new floor tile!  It looks great.  Chris Lorbetskie did the installation, and we're very pleased with his work.

Looks happy, doesn't he?

We had moved the wood stove out of the way, so that had to be dragged back into it's rightful spot and reattached to the chimney.

Now that the bathroom floor is finished, all that remains is to install the trim and fixtures.  We still haven't decided on a vanity light, but there is a light in the ceiling fan, so we won't be in the dark.

A happy addition to this room is the wall heater we picked up at Home Depot, on the right.  You can use a timer to give quick heat for a set amount of time, or just set it to come on whenever the room gets chilly.

We also opted for a small tiled area in front of the patio doors - we figure there will be wet feet stopping there!

And a day of shopping!

There is nothing like a shopping trip to relax one!  After several weekends of painting, painting, painting, I enjoyed a fun Saturday with friends.  We stopped for breakfast at the Arnprior Truck Stop before heading off to Ikea.

Janet, Dodie and Wanda

Sally (somehow I didn't quite get her in a pose!), Jennifer and Katrina

Katrina and Alex

We spent hours at Ikea, and I could go into great detail about all that we saw there, but it's much more fun and interesting to experience. I didn't actually buy anything, but got some good ideas for the closets and saw some interesting curtains.  After a visit to Michaels (where Jen, Janet and Katrina were seen with very large wine glasses....) and lunch at Montana's (and several games of hangman) we made a brief stop at the new mall on Hazeldean, where Katrina was picking up one more huge wine glass (not for herself, okay?  she doesn't even like wine much).  Several of us decided a quick dip into the Bed,Bath and Beyond was necessary.  There, I found a bathmat with a microfibre top and memory foam within, which I will be convincing Iain to buy (I have to convince him it's needed).

I'm looking forward to our next semi-annual girls' shopping trip already!

....And more painting.....

We're getting there!  We had just one bedroom left to paint this weekend, and that was done on Saturday.

Iain cutting in the bedroom.

That means that the next step is to paint all the trim.  Trim isn't difficult to paint, but it is both time-consuming and space-hogging.  We set up a system of both working on the same piece, and setting each aside to dry as we painted them.   By end of day Saturday, we had about half of the trim done.

Sunday morning, before taking all the painted trim off the ladders where we'd left much of it to dry.

On Sunday, Dodie helped me paint (an interesting choice for her birthday) while Myles helped Iain with the conduit in the trench.  We packed it in at around 1:00, and there is more trim to be painted next time!  The ice is mostly off the lake, so water is easily accessible.  I am really looking forward to running water in the cottage, however.

That's all for now!

Misty morning

Pics from last Sunday morning: mist rising on the frozen lake.

I just thought these were kinda cool.

The painting continues....

This last weekend we went to the cottage on Friday night, so we'd be able to start working bright and early on Saturday.   Sleeping on the floor for two nights was made much easier by the purchase of a 3" thick pad of memory foam!

On Saturday we did make an early start, but it was quite hazy outside.  That didn't stop us from getting into the painting as soon as we had a coffee in us.

By afternoon, we had finished the entire living/dining/kitchen area's second coat.

We had a visit from Chris Lorbetskie, who will be doing our ceramic tile.  Here, he is working out some figures while Iain puts the finishing coat on the linen closet.

The sun came out in the afternoon, and it was beautifully warm!

This is the new hydro post, installed by James Welk's company.  So nice to have the hydro in, and that work (almost) completed.

After getting a coat of paint on the walls in the utility room, bathroom and mom's bedroom, we decided we'd done enough painting for one day.

Iain fired up the grill and que'd up a couple of wonderful steaks.  So long since I'd had a nice steak, and they were delicious!

There was time to do a few things after dinner, too.  The paint was nice and dry, so we put some of the plug and switch plates on.

A trench has been dug for the well line, that will have conduit laid for the line to pass through.  With the heavy rain last week, and the snowmelt, the trench was full of water, so Iain dug a little canal to allow it to drain off.


Just a young lad playing in the mud...

When the sun started to set, we sipped our martinis and watched a video on the laptop before heading off to bed.  It was a good day!