Building The Love Shack

Finally, after three and half years of construction, I’m doing what I had set out to do when we bought the Love Shack, I’m sitting and writing at the cottage.

Last week the dogs and I took our first solo trip up for a few days and I was able to get back to editing “Only with Him” the book that has been so poorly neglected with the seven months of construction going on each year. With two days of glorious silence, I was able to get five chapters edited.

Some of my co-works were surprised to find out that I was heading to the cottage alone during the week with the dogs. I smiled to see the concern on their faces. I was sure the dogs and I would be perfectly fine and referred to it as my mini-sabbatical.   After having those few days, I’m planning many more of them.

Romeo and Juliette were good with Tuna Sandwiches for lunch and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for dinner. They sat by my feet the whole day enjoying the sun and the quiet on the back deck and then laid next to the lazy boy chair at night as I wrote. When they got tired, they headed to bed leaving me enough room to climb in with them.

 

This weekend I’m hoping to get at least one chapter done. The weekend is different with lots of cottagers around and of course things that need to be done around here.

While I write this blog, I’m taking a break to hide in my room to write. Not only has my book gotten behind, but so has this blog.

 

Let me try and get you caught up on what has been happening at the Love Shack.

This Cottage Season we have been doing the inside/outside of the cottage. I’m happy to say the main room has been painted. The ceiling has been done white and the walls a slate grey.

 

On the outside of the house, the walkway in the back has been pulled up, leveled and put back down. The back deck has gotten more decoration added and I have started holding gardens for the plants that will go in the gardens once we finish stage two of the back deck.

As I mentioned in one of my earliest posts, that roses have been planted to remind me of my mothers’ gardens and the peonies have been planted along the first part of the back deck like my grandmothers’ backyard had.  Gramma would be pleased with the colors I have found.  Purple, Pink, and Sherbet.

 

The color of the roses will be a surprise to us all as I found them in the garden center with no tags. They were the last two left lone and needed some love. In the tradition of the Love Shack, I thought they would be perfect for here.

Friends and colleagues of mine have been splitting their perennials giving me an interesting collection of plant material. Right now, the Rebecka is in full bloom. The colors are bright and sunny like the personality of Anita who gave them to me.

 

 

I have also planted a Lilac Tree in Royal Purple to represent my friend of almost forty-five years, Cindy who loves Lilacs. She was also our first visitor to the Love Shack, and I had the privilege of showing her the progress we have made this Spring, three years after her first visit.

 

As you can see, my gardens are a special place for me with each item in them meaning something special to me. Like the Love Shack where every item has been hand-picked, so are the gardens here.

I have started an herb garden along with the shed and am hoping to get shed two in this year. It been bought and brought up but needs a concrete pad placed before we can put it up. We’re hoping to make that an early Fall project and next year paint a mural on it.

Once I have the two in place, I’ll continue the garden between as an herb and butterfly garden. We are lucky to have many species of butterfly’s here, but we are also blessed with having the Red Throat Hummingbirds who will also enjoy that garden.

We have also added another birdhouse to the tree of life. I have decided to turn the tree into a mini birdhouse village and have cohorts Husband into helping me build the birdhouses and I will design and paint them.

 

 

I have fallen in love with the Purple Martins who come here early in April and have now left to Winter in Brazil. The birdhouses are being made to specially fit their needs.

 

 

As you can see by this blog, this year has been different than the others. This year we have had much more enjoyment and less work. We also had the family up for the Family Birthday Party. Five birthdays in a few weeks of each other turned the cottage into Christmas in July.

 

 

We have had more overnight visitors this year and yesterday we invited a few neighbors in to see the progress.

The Love Shack feels like a second home. And finally, my place to run away to write.

 

PS: Take a look back at the picture of the Grey Walls. Did you notice something? The hardwood is done in the main room. That’s the last floor to be put in. You know I did a happy dance!