Building The Love Shack

With six weeks to opening the cottage, it was time to sit down and figure out what the big plans for this year would be. After writing the list, we have a direction to start in. We now have our agenda for 2021.

The first thing on our agenda is to get everyone’s water turned on. This year we’ll be starting off at our neighbors cottage and the Warriors Cottage. When we closed up last year, Husband helped the neighbor learn to close off the water system at his cottage. During that close-up he discovered that whoever had installed his water system, had no clue on what they were doing. This event turned what should have been a thirty minute job into a much bigger project. When we closed off the Warriors Cottage, the same thing happened.

So instead of starting our season off working on the Love Shack, we will be first getting everyone’s water open. But before we can do that, we have to update those two systems.

We’re expecting a delivery in the next couple of days here at the house for the Warriors Cottage. The refrigerator that was ordered for them four month ago, is about to arrive. But before be can put that in, we have to pull up their kitchen floor. That water system that needs to be up-graded has spilled water on the floor year after year.

We need to see how much water damage there is and the only way to know is pull up the floor. Once we pull up the floor, we will have to replace it. Then we can install the new frig and stove before the Warriors arrive from Minnesota. With Covid of course, we don’t know if they are going to come in May or when ever they are allowed. But regardless we want to have the cottage ready for them, and fully functional before they arrive.

For the Love Shack, outside is the focus of the year.

We’re starting the season with putting in the raised beds for the community gardens. Then there’s furniture to be made. We started last year with making a Muskoka Chair and now have three more to make for the front deck.

(It seems of all the picture I have taken, this is the only one of the Muskoka Chairs we started last year.)

There are two rod iron tables that I will be painting and replacing the glass tops with ceramic and then, we’re adding a Chimenea to the front deck to have a fire while watching the sunsets.

Husband will be back to deck building this year. We still have a set of stairs to go to the second driveway on the front deck to be added and then back to finishing the closed-in-porch which still needs lighting, a fireplace, screens and two screened doors. The addition of the chimenea will also require a minor adjustment to the front deck as we will have to put down stones to prevent hot ashes falling on to the bare wood.

The project after that is to replace the old side of the back deck which has started to rot. This is going to be turned into the grilling station with a new smoker and new barbaque going in, and add in a garbage station, and you know it, lights.

The goal for this year is to finish both the front and back decks and then add a walking deck to wrap around the side of the house to adjoin the front and back decks. This walk area will making walking back to the grill easier but mostly it will give Romeo and Juliette the whole deck to run and play on. With having the closed-in-porch placed in the middle of the decks, it will also allow me to close off the back deck from them when the grill is on.

On this years agenda we have also added to our list, more trails to walk, more company to have over and more time at the lake. We have had five years of steady construction and have now decided it’s time to play in the gardens and enjoy the environment more. We also plan to spend more time with the friends we have made at the cottage and of course time with the family and Warriors.

Covid has given us all the same lesson. Nothing is as enjoyable without each other. 2021 we are hoping is going to be one of our best years at the Love Shack because this is the year to start to enjoy what we have been working so long on with those who matter the most.

Making the furniture ( add picture of chairs)