Building The Love Shack

I haven’t been writing much lately as there really hasn’t been anything happening at the Love Shack this year to write about.

Besides my garden, which has kept me company all season, the total work at the Love Shack this year has amounted to less than thirty screws being used and a very few boards to add two steps and repair three old boards on the old part of the back deck.

After twenty weekends plus two full weeks, not including, I can’t count the number of days and trips to stores and to brings supply’s down, the Warriors Cottage is completed.

They have arrived and been taught how to get the basic they will need. Their cottage is now totally functionable and in their very good hands, which we will now leave up to them to design, decorate, and build what they would like, their way.

The lovely neighbor who has helped us since day one to rebuild, rewire, replumb and build a whole new kitchen for the water damage disaster also has his new roof on his cottage as his repayment for his good deed.

And now the Husbands has been grounded to his own cottage. He is limited to give less than one hour of help for anyone who needs anything as the wife has said he not allowed to do anymore good deeds.

This experience has fully educated us why we have people coming to the cottage weekly asking to hire Husband for renovation. It has also educated why there are almost no contractors and why it cost so much to get someone to come and work in cottage country’s. If he was to chose to open a business doing repairs and renovations he could be fully booked two years in advance.

But as we’ve learned after working on three of these homes, it is not just the Love Shack that the work turns into something else bigger every day, it is all the houses in the area. The water in the air its self causes part of the problem. Then add in the homes are all older and most have been done by the do-it-yourselfers with no building permits, meaning no codes followed. And if that’s not enough to scare you to death, add in getting the supply’s and getting them there which can take as long as doing the job or longer.

God bless the guy who has been doing the repairs and reno’s in our cottage area for the past twenty years. We fully understand why he has said, please come and take over some of the business. To that we say no thank you, and never again, and may we have your business cards to hand out.

We now also understand why he gives a flat price and no explanation as he once said, “the customers will understand what it takes to do the job down here and how different it is than the city”. We learned this with doing this major repair and it is completely different then doing our own home. And again…God bless him. I hope his clients are kind to him as they should be. He has earned the highest of respect from one contractor to another.

I would be lying if I said I’m not disappointed that we didn’t get the kitchen in our place and the water system for the new garden didn’t get put in and will not happen this year, but it is what it is.

Starting this coming weekend, we might have eight weeks left of working weather at the cottage. We also have company scheduled, many times, and commitments to events. With that in mind, It’s time for Husband to actually be at his own cottage as he has not been there the whole season except to eat and sleep. Yes the garden, the dogs, and my girlfriends have been my companions.

It’s also now time for us to start working on that enclosed porch that has had nothing done since last October when we shut down. I have serous dought’s that we will be able to complete it this year, but maybe Mother Nature will rewards us with some kindness and give us a later season. At least that is what I’m hoping.

Speaking of kindness, our lovely neighbor Kevin finished painting and putting together my chairs for the deck and I did get the old tables painted and replaced the tops with ceramics. This makes me happy as now there is lots of room on the front deck to sit.

For other news, I did Ace my course and am taking four more weeks off of school before I return in Mid-September. I’m personally a little tired from working full time, doing school work and fixing, can say in the blog, that kitchen from hell?

Husband also needs a little down time as he has also been working his full time job Monday to Friday and working every weekend for the past twenty weekends. As I said he is now officially grounded and I will say no, when he does not.

I decided for Christmas this year to buy us a set of paddle boards. Its time to play on the water where the cell phones have to be left behind and enough with all this construction. Next year the word is going to be NO! And again the wife will be the one saying it as the Husband is going to be grounded to his own cottage again next year too. He will be released on good behavior only to play.