Two Big Steps Forward

As autumn approaches, we are eager to complete projects that will help us prepare for winter. One BIG goal in this whole remodel was to have an attached garage, which will make winter and cold weather all that much easier. Now that the garage ceiling is drywalled, we were able to get the garage door opener installed. In the photo below you will see Poppy's initial progress last Friday. While I slept all day (I worked both Thursday and Friday nights 3rd shift) he tackled a quiet job (no hammering while I sleep is the one thing I requested this summer). He got the wiring installed for the electric garage door opener. Of course he had not thought about this wiring before we hung the drywall. But, fortunately he was able to access what he needed from above by removing one piece of drywall in a bedroom. So, all the wiring was ready to mount the unit and attach it to the door.

Here you see the button to push as we come out through the utility room to open the door. (Exciting, huh? But it is when you are used to a garage and go through a winter without one!)

This afternoon he finalized the installation. Works great and is so quiet. Now we just need to be able to put the cars IN the garage. All in due time!

Our other current project we started on Saturday. We have been eager to get the front porch wall sided to match the new section. We got started Saturday and worked Sunday until we hit a point where we needed a special piece to go around the outside electrical outlet. Today I picked up the piece so we can finish it up this weekend. It will look so much better and the whole house will be totally sided. Well, it may still be TWO different colors, but at least it will be sided and snug for winter. Our plan is to reside the old section next spring after making a few changes in windows and roof line on the existing section of the house. Again, as our motto has been this past year, "all in due time!"

Hopefully early next week I can post a photo of this finished project so you see the completed look of the porch. Our weather and days for sitting out enjoying the porch are drawing to a close and we savor every day when it is warm enough to sit and relax there watching the lake go by. This was our "living room" for most of the summer!

A Short Report

I want to try to do a better job of keeping things up to date on here, so wanted to report on the past few days. Last week after Shell headed back to NC, it seemed sort of lonely around here. Now here it is mid-September already! You can tell autumn is almost here, as leaves are starting to fall, many are turning on the edges of the branches and in the morning you should see the heat coming off the lake. As the nights cool off into the 40's and 50's, the mornings hold beautiful sunrises with the mist blowing over the lake as warmer water meets cool air. Right now I am looking out on a beautiful evening with the sinking sun shining on the opposite shore. It looks like it is raining on the lake but it is only tiny minnows jumping out of the water as they try to avoid the mouths of the hungry larger fish. Such an amusing sight to behold. But, enough of the scenery, let's take a look at our progress of the past few days!

Shell helped Poppy get started on the master bedroom walls. Now we have gotten two of the four walls totally hung and half of the north wall done. We have also moved the drywall leaning against the last wall so now he can finally get to the electrical outlets and switches that need finalizing. We will insulate this last wall to help keep our bedroom quiet from noise on the stairway and the upstairs bathroom, then we can drywall that final wall. In the photo above you see Poppy finishing up the front wall under the windows.

Today we accomplished the last ceiling job. With the help of the trusty drywall jacks, we got all the garage ceiling hung with no snags. Now we can install lights and the garage door opener, which will be very nice. Maybe someday soon we will actually pull cars into the garage!! That will be one very HAPPY day for Poppy! I know this will definitely happen before the snow flies! We are hoping to get the front porch wall sided to match the green on Saturday, so I will definitely post photos once that is done. Have a great weekend!

Even More Progress!

Despite how busy we've been the past few weeks, we have made marvelous progress here at Loon Lake Lodge. However, before sharing our construction progress, let us take a moment to introduce little Jillian Claire! I spent last week down helping out the new mother and getting to know Jillian much better. It was a wonderful visit and I was thrilled to be able to help out.

Of course I also loved being with Elizabeth and Kate too, they are such darling little girls adjusting to having a baby sister. On Thursday Poppy was even able to join up with us on a trip to the Children's Museum. He had driven a school bus trip down for the day and so we ventured out to meet up with him at the girls' favorite place. He loved watching their enjoyment of all the attractions. Here the three of them worked the Rube Goldberg display to make the pool balls travel the distance and return to go again.

I returned to the lake Friday evening in order to prepare for Labor Day weekend and all the festivities. Saturday we were busy finishing up the drywall in the back bedroom upstairs. Then we worked to clean up all the dust and mess for our company arriving the next day. Late on Sunday afternoon Michelle arrived for a short visit. We were deeply disappointed that Richard could not join us too, but he is quite busy with his schooling, teaching and research at Knoxville where he works towards his masters degree. Shell was amazed at our new wing of the house, which she had only seen in photos. While we waited on her arrival, we got most of the garage ceiling insulated and just kept on working. Not much rest for the weary!

Monday morning early Amanda and her crew arrived for a day at the lake. Here the sisters sit and catch up a bit while watching Libbers play in the sand and shallows. It was so good seeing them able to spend a little time together. It does my heart to good to see how close these girls have grown as adults

Of course, this was Jillian's first visit to the lake. She was all dolled up to be introduced to the extended family. We had my brother and his family here for the late afternoon and evening to celebrate Mom's 85th birthday. It was great to see everyone. We had not been all together for over a year. Here are the cousins all smiling after a big meal awaiting birthday cake.

On Tuesday it was just Shell with us, as everyone else took off Monday night. I had to go to town for a while in the morning and when I returned, Poppy and Shell were busy hanging drywall. Here they are working on the walls high up in the master bedroom.

She is a work-horse, so strong and able. As you can see, Father and Son...ah, um daughter, are very proud of their accomplishment.

So, to summarize, we have all the drywall hung upstairs except inside the closets where we will use up smaller pieces when finished with the walls and large areas. Our bedroom is coming along quicker than expected and today we worked to hang yet several more sheets on the walls. It is very exciting to see it coming together.