A Night with a Legend

You may have read in last night's post that we were unable to see Willie Nelson when we were visiting our daughter because of the weather. Well, tonight we got the job done! Along with six other Loonies, we took off for the big city, a wonderful dinner and a night with a legend.

Here we are after a yummy dinner with lively conversation over food and drink with good friends. Carol, Marlene, Patty, Walt, Chris & Tim, as well as Poppy and myself.

Then it was on downtown to the historic theater to await the concert. As you can see, Carol and Mar were right in fashion with their hats and "Willie" outfits. Mar's kelly green hat actually had lights with the flip of a switch and fuzzy trim around the brim. We could not lose her in the crowd.

Hopefully you can appreciate some of the intricate design and detail in this beautiful historic theater venue. The stage sat awaiting the arrival of our anticipated star. No one could quite imagine the sound Willie could get from that worn out old guitar that stood waiting silently to be secured around his neck with his trusty red,white and blue macrame strap.

He came out in the black hat and started out a bit slow, but before long was in the typical rare Willie form, belting out song after song for a solid 90 minutes non-stop. Although photography was prohibited, Poppy got a few shots from our vantage point in the forth row of the front balcony, perfect seats right in the center of the theater.

He did eventually trade in the black hat for his trademark bandanna, three of which he took off and threw to the crowd in the front row. At the end of the concert he went along and shook hands the entire length of the stage with eager, appreciative fans.

We did notice he seems a bit heavier than in the past, but still able to wow the crowds only as Willie can. Here he is walking off the stage before the house lights came up. A legend in his own right for sure. We were just sorry Shell and Richard could not be here to enjoy it with us.

By the time we had exited the theater and were heading towards the parking garage, here came Willie's bus around the corner and down the street, all to the cheers of fans walking away quite satisfied.

No, we have not fallen off the earth!

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted anything on here! It isn't that the winter has been that busy, just haven't been too motivated to sit down and add progress. At times it seemed progress was just creeping along and it was just a bit frustrating coupled with the dead of a nasty winter keeping us inside so much. Let's see, I left off with New Years, so what kept us going the month of January? We muddled through lots of snow and very cold temps. We continued to hang drywall until we finally had it all up. Poppy got the full bath upstairs and the half bath downstairs, as well as the utility room drywall all taped and mudded, finishing it himself. Then, we finally found a guy who gave us a great quote to come in and finish all the rest! This was very encouraging. The last week of January we flew to Florida, where we helped pack up much of my mom's condo of things she wanted back here in her apartment. The weather wasn't too bad and we enjoyed a little reprieve from winter. She flew back home and we took off the last Friday in January driving her van home loaded to the hilt with lots of stuff. We took a slight detour to go visit Shell & Richard in NC. We drove 12 hours that day and drove right into the "triple threat" as the weather channel called it. The area was being blanketed with snow and ice, as well as wind. We were lucky to even get their home, which is up half way on a mountain highway.

Here you see us the next day driving back towards their place after lunch out for Shell's birthday. There are two good sized hills on this mountain road and they have NO idea what to do with the snow on the roads and have doubly NO idea how to drive on it. Cars littered the roadsides because when they encounter the hills, they STOP at the bottom, allowing no momentum to get up to the top! We had no problem other than the local drivers. Poppy used his typical expertise in driving abilities and we had no problems, but there were quite a few "close calls" and tense moments. It was beautiful once the snow stopped and the sun came out and we had a wonderful visit with the kids, although way too short. We had been scheduled to go see Willie Nelson on Saturday night, but the concert was canceled due to weather, a big disappointment.

This photo shows the hills, which the day before were totally covered with snow and ice...and creeping southerners who can't drive in it!

Once home we geared up to host a Super Bowl party a week later. It was fun, especially watching every one's reaction to the Who's half-time show. You can see above how Carol, a favorite neighbor friend really got into the music! We were disappointed that our Colts did not play well, but it was a great excuse for another party!

The greatest part of February was having Mike come in and finish the drywall. He spent long days taping and mudding all the seams and screw holes. He made it all look so easy and we could quickly tell he was a pro. Poppy picked up quite a few tips that he now uses when finishing drywall. It took three weeks, but there were a few days of heavy snow when he could not come. But, eventually had had it all ready for the Spanish lace ceiling texture. This was quite a process.

In order to protect all the walls from the over-spray, he draped plastic throughout the area where ceilings would be sprayed. This took him one entire day! Looks really funny when he left, sort of like living with the "boy in the plastic bubble" affect.

It took him two days to complete all of this process and each day he left looking like a spotted creature. Here you see him spraying the master bedroom ceiling. This sloppy drywall mud mixture sprayed on to the ceiling and EVERYWHERE else.

When he realized I was taking his photo he stopped long enough to smile and pose. If anyone needs a great drywall man, we can give you Mike's number!

Once he had sprayed on the mud, then he used a big squeegee to knock it down and create the texture. Here he was in the utility room the 2nd day, the last area he had to do. Once he sprayed it he left it sit for a little while. I could hear it "plopping" on the floor and top of covered washer/dryer like big glops. I did not dare enter that room or I would have been covered too.

Mid-February our wonderful neighbors had their annual Caribbean Party one Sat. night. They turned up the heat to high 70's and had island decorations and told all of us to come dressed for the warm "weather." It was a blast as usual and here you see Poppy with Tom & Kent enjoying the freedom of their shorts.

We enjoyed lots of euchre, great food and pina coladas. But, there was not a lot of time for playing and relaxing. Soon it was our turn to get in the new section and resume our progress.

Here was Poppy about a week ago as we began priming the new drywall. We were blessed by some friends who loaned us great scaffolding. Add the 18" roller he bought, it made fairly quick work out of a huge job.

After an entire Friday of painting ceilings, here you see the affect it had on Poppy. Not only his face, but his hands and clothes were covered with paint spots. But, it was a very satisfying evening to see all the progress that was made.

By the end of the weekend, we had all the walls done too. Here he comes downstairs to take a much needed break.

Now we just need to decide on paint colors for all the walls so we can do it all over again with the finish colors. That means we will be setting the scaffolding up one more time in the stairwell for that final coat. Did I mention the ceilings have one coat of primer, then the ceiling white, so he has done them two times! Can you imagine what a pooped Poppy I had on my hands after all of this work? Plus, I do not do much painting. I did help a bit the first day, but after that I was simply the "go for" which has always been my expertise. Now, this weekend he made HUGE progress. Yesterday while I slept all day (me weekend to work 3rd shift) he got the upstairs bath painted the final color! It looks so nice!

Today we hung the light above the vanity and are now ready to find the perfect mirror.

He also got the shower rod up. Things are going to actually be usable!! He has installed the smoke detectors, put trim rings in the can lights and duct grids on the registers and cold air returns of the upstairs ceiling. We will get to laying the Pergo floor in this bathroom soon and it will be about done. It is all so exciting.

One last photo I had to share tonight. We have battled this pesky squirrel all winter as he tried to steal the bird seed from both our feeders. We did everything to prevent him from accessing the feeders. He would even climb the nearby tree, go out on the longest limb and jump on to the top of the other feeder to get his fill. We did a lot of shooing him off when we found him there. But, the other day when all our snow had about melted off I figured he would be back to digging up his nuts in the ground. But, no, he had other ideas. He climbed up the shepherd hook and hung over from the top to pry the seeds out of the little holes in this feeder. What a crazy, hungry and persistent squirrel we have. Yes, winter is about over here on Loon Lake. We had a very early ice off and water is again flowing, bringing the return of the water fowl that we enjoy so much this time of year. We are eagerly awaiting the first sighting of a loon or two. In the mean time, we will continue to finish the new space and plan for changes here in the existing part of the house. Will we ever, ever be totally done??

Happy New Year!

The end of 2009 found us enjoying a wonderful New Year's Eve party at Carol's home along with the fantastic friends here on Loon Lake. This group gathers almost every Friday night through the cold season to play euchre and share fun and food. This traditional party is where we review the entire year via an awesome slide show of photos take throughout the year. Walt puts them all to music and we view on Carol's big TV with lots of laughs and remembrances. This year was even more fun for us after being part of this group year round for the entire year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. The group consists of over two dozen good friends, many married couples, a set of single sisters, a few widowed men and all of our extended families. There was talk this year of a "polar bear plunge" the next day into the frozen waters of Loon Lake. We were not disappointed. A call about 11 am informed us that they had found some open water and we should come watch the brave souls. Poppy ventured out to represent our twosome and took some great photos and video of the amazing event.

Here you see the one hardy female of the group, Lori who "warmed up" with a few stretches.

Here is Lori's mom, Mar, who can always be found sporting the greatest of fashions for any occasion.

Seems the shoreline needed a little persuasion in order to free up the frozen surface. Walt did the honors while still bundled warm.

Soon the guys readied their bods for the icy plunge. Tim (x-marine) and Walt were also the last to ski the lake back on Oct. 18, donning wet suits and stocking hats in 40 degree weather. So, no real surprise here!

Who appears to be urging someone in? Go Lori! I was not there, but I think from the video below, you will see she was the first, the bravest and the one to plunged the fullest!

May 2010 be a prosperous year for all of you. We look forward to further completion of our remodel project here. Poppy has been busy working on finishing drywall in smaller areas. The upstairs bath is about ready for the final sand and priming. That will then enable us to lay the flooring we have purchased for that space and have one almost finished room! He has taped and mudded the half bath and will next move to the utility room. We also have the flooring for the utility room, so we can have two almost totally finished spaces. He is still trying to find a crew to come in and finish the drywall in the bigger rooms, hallway and stairwell. But, he is prepared do end up doing it himself if he can't hire someone willing to do this task. We will EVENTUALLY have this done. We are also working on design ideas for remodeling the kitchen and tying the old space in with the new and finishing the work needed in the existing lodge room we began to redo almost four years ago. So, our goals for 2010 are pretty lofty and we will be working hard to accomplish it all.

A Very Merry Christmas Here at Loon Lake Lodge

I sat down here on Christmas evening to write this entry, and somehow I hit a wrong button and all I had composed disappeared. I was so frustrated I just quit and enjoyed the evening. So now I thought I would share a bit of our wonderful Christmas celebration we had here. Amanda, Mike and the girls arrived Wednesday night, beating the lousy weather we were to get. The little ones were quite wound up as you can imagine. Thursday morning found us uncertain of the road conditions for traveling in to see Gary's mom at the nursing home.

Roads around the lake were icy and we had to go a ways before we decided main highways were clear enough to proceed. It was well worth it and we enjoyed a nice lunch and visit with one of the great grandmothers, who LOVED seeing the three girls.

Above you see the packages under the tree awaiting Christmas morning after we had the three little ones tucked in bed on Christmas Eve. What fun to have so many packages under the tree again, we adults could hardly wait!

With no fireplace, the stockings were hung above the wet bar with care. We just wish the other two felted stockings could have been there, we dearly missed Shell and Richard again this year! But, their stockings were hung above their wood stove in NC for their own little Christmas celebration together. Grandmommy had to go in to work on Christmas eve at midnight, so everyone was nestled in their beds by the time she left. On Christmas morning she brought GG home with her to celebrate the day with all of us.

The kiddos were all awake and eager to enter the family room where all the gifts lay waiting. Here you see the three of them in their matching PJs Amanda had made for this special morning. The room did not stay this neat very long. It was a very exciting morning!

The girls were patient only a short while before they couldn't open fast enough. Here Katers is held in amazement at all the packages. I think Libbers may have still be a bit sleepy, as she waited for Poppy to join her in his chair.

It was very special for all of us to have GG here with us for the first Christmas in many, many years. She loved the mittens and scarf I knit for her to keep warm in this cold weather. Our day was relaxing and topped off with a deliscious dinner in the evening. The next day we prepared for yet another family celebration.

We had Cathy and Pat come for dinner along with Matt and Mike. Here they crank out the fresh dough into spaghetti pasta for our feast. What fun for everyone have a part in this meal. Poppy and I prepared the sauce that morning and Amanda made delishious fresh french bread, piping hot at serving time. I had a couple huge yummy green salads and Cak brought baked goodies and peppermint ice cream to top off the big meal. A very special day with family so dear.

Cak's mom Helen came along too, so it was wonderful for the grandmothers to reconnect and spend time together. Later Saturday night the kids packed up their van and ventured back home on a snowy evening. We were very thankful to hear they made it safely and we slept tight to dream of all the wonderful memories.

Whew, It's Been Way Too Long

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted anything here. Can you tell it is getting close to Christmas? Hopefully your Thanksgiving was a blessing for your family. We had a wonderful time going to my brother's home. We had not all been together for Turkey Day for so many years, especially wonderful to have Mom there with us. Now we are really excited about Christmas. For the first year, Amanda and Mike will bring the girls up here to celebrate with us. That means GG (my mom) will be able to be part of our entire Christmas weekend watching her three great grand daughters, what can be better at Christmas than little children?

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Winter seems to have finally arrived here at Loon Lake. We had a few weeks of delightful Indian Summer with lots of sunshine and warmer temps. But, now we are seeing tiny snow flakes and skims of ice on local ponds. Know eventually the cold temps will take hold of the lake and provide the ice for winter sports fun.

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Our renovation project continues to progress. With Poppy busy days up at the office in Nappanee, his ability to work on things non-stop has come to a halt. Now it is the weekends when he makes his best progress. We have almost ALL the drywall hung. The only places to complete are where the old transitions into the new. We have one wall in the master bathroom water closet where we have left it open to the utility room for a pass through during construction. This means that wall in the utility room, which takes in around the furnace closest also is the largest section that still must drywalled. Last week we had a fellow come in to give us an estimate on finishing off all the walls - taping, mudding and sanding all that drywall would take Poppy FOREVER to do. So, with a crew coming in it can be done in less than a week and Poppy will save all his energy for the finishing work to do with trim, doors, etc.

Here you see the stairwell fully drywalled, all but the last section that will go over the bedroom door and connect to the front lodge wall eventually. One of those areas of transition.

These two photos taken the Friday after Thanksgiving show the front wall of the lodge room mostly drywalled. What a difference this made, the room seems so much larger now. He did this the day we hosted the neighborhood euchre group that night. Made a mess, but he did help clean it up in time for our guests!

This weekend Poppy has been working on the transition between the lodge room and the new section along the front wall. He moved the door that used to lead into the temporary walk-in closet. The door was moved to the back side of the "closet" area where we broke through that wall to access the new section months ago. This will allow him to drywall the rest of the front wall of the lodge room.

Here he is hanging the vapor barrier over the insulation.

Here you can see the relocated door to the back of the closet. It used to hang right there where the 2x4 is still on the ceiling from the framing of the wall that enclosed the doorway.

With the door open at the back of the closet area, you can see the stairwell in the new section that leads up to the bedrooms. This whole area will eventually be opened up to create the area leading to the new hallway at the bottom of the stairwell, outside our master bedroom and the half bath. Can't wait til this is ALL done!

A parting shot for tonight, this beautiful full moon seen through the bare branches of the winter trees. Later in the evening it was sparkling off the entire lake making things all aglow!

Where Have We Been?

Oh, we've been around. Just seems so busy but not with much that exciting. It is hard to understand just where the days and weeks go, time sure does fly by when you have so much on a "to do" list. The weekend after the chili cook-off party, we had the annual PPP. That is known by many around the lake as the Pier Pulling out Party (or in about April, the Pier Putting in Party). This starts with a pitch-in breakfast about 9 and then many hands make light work. Several men and a few women don waders and tackle the cold lake to remove piers, rafts and boat lifts for the winter. When it is the autumn PPP, it is a bit bittersweet, as we hate to see summer end and give the lake back to Mother Nature for a rest period. But, in the spring we joyfully gather to "take back the lake" at the official kick-off to summer fun. That was the 17th of October. Then, that following week Grandmommy took a short road trip down to visit the grandchildren for a few days. What fun to hold the new little one again and see how much she had changed and grown already. Then, when she returned for the weekend, we had two nights in a row with euchre parties to attend, another non-summer activity here with the year round folks. Last night for Halloween, we attended the annual costume party at some good friends' home. They go all out with decorations everywhere you look, each and every room of their home is decorated and there is always loads of fun seeing what costumes are created each year.

Yesterday afternoon Poppy caught this photo, which we thought looked a bit spooky and very appropriate for a Halloween day. He was outside on the deck and Sammy was inside looking out the patio door. The reflection created sort of a surreal image.

Then, when she does come out on the deck, she loves to chase the blowing leaves and eat them. Thus, she is not able to come out much. She just doesn't understand that leaves are not for eating.

Speaking of leaves, here are the hardy few that are still clinging to the one maple out by the lake. Last weekend almost all of them fell in the front yard and we spent a few hours clearing them up. It took forever to burn them, as after the heavy rain we had on Friday, they were still awfully wet. It was more like smoldering, smoking leaves most of the day.

But, as you can see, today there were still a few hardy souls of the maple variety and the beautiful sunny day made for a perfect back drop to Poppy's photo. We spent this afternoon raking, blowing and burning those that had finally fallen in the back yard and hopefully they are about all down.

The finishing of the new section continues to progress well. We are nearing the end of hanging drywall. The master bedroom is about done and then all we have left is the stairwell walls and inside a few closets upstairs. But, before we got the stairwell drywalled, we had a big project to tackle. When the contractor did the stairwell he took the stair treads right out flush with the wall studs. This makes drywalling the stairwell very tricky. So, to make it right, we tackled the big project of rebuilding the stairwell. In the photo above you can see how the treads as they were done originally. We started with the lower section of the stairwell, the first six steps below the landing where it turns.

Here is a shot of the "after" on the lower section. You can now see that the stair tread is spaced out from the wall studs leaving space for the drywall sheet to drop right down along stair edge and also allows for the wood trim board that will also be installed along the steps. It was work, but will be worth it as we finish this section off. Tearing it apart was much harder than putting it back together. But, we worked together and got it done easily.

Here you see Poppy at work as we began to tear down the top section of five steps. The spots you see are the dust particles floating in the air as he pries and pulls and hammers this step loose.

By the end of the day yesterday we had the upper section torn apart so we could begin to redo it. Today we had a bit of time after the leaf raking to install the boards that are the spacers and the stringers are back in place. So now all we must do is trim down the risers and stair treads so we can reinstall them to finish off this job. Then we will continue with the final drywall and feel like we have accomplished A LOT! Can you see why I haven't been here to blog lately? We are just so busy. Poppy has been quite busy during the day with his new job so he is not here to work near the hours he did this summer. So, the weekends see the bulk of our progress and they have been chocked full of social events we don't want to miss. Hopefully I will be back soon to share the finished drywall photos.