Menh

Don't you hate when you have a fantastic idea that, when implemented, leaves you flat?

Here's my super awesome "You're not worthy" solution to the kitschy ropey frames:

Waw, waw, Wawwwwww. :-(

Seashells on sandpaper! It sounded brilliant in my head. It really did.  Now they're just, I dunno, "Menh..." Maybe it's just because they're sitting there all by themselves looking drab and boring? I didn't want them to be too busy because there's already so much going on with the frames.

I'll hang 'em up when we decorate the room, but if they're still not making my Skirt Fly Up™, I might have to find a plan B. Fortunately, at $2 a piece, I'm not married to them.

flying skirts unabashedly plagiarized from pioneer woman.

All is quiet on the cottage front

All is quiet on the cottage front, unless you count "scheming". I think scheming is generally a quiet activity, provided you can contain the outbursts of maniacal laughter that sometimes accompany it.

This weekend (and next weekend, for that matter) was consumed by dance competition, so we won't be getting much work done around the cottage. I'm still gnawing on the subject of the bathroom though. Scheming, even. Scheming that requires graph paper, a ruler and a pencil. You know it's serious when the graph paper emerges. I started to think "there must be a better way" to scheme, and stumbled upon Google's "Sketch up" 3-D modeling software. There are two things you need to know about Sketch-up:

1. It's seriously cool.
2. I can't figure out how to use it.

You have to understand, that's a big admission for me. I can generally noodle my way around any new software, but this one is messing with my head. Maybe it's because I'm doing things in 3-D, but I can't get anything positioned where I want or the size that I want.


I might have to view some tutorials or, *gasp*, read the online help! (no self-respecting technical writer actually reads product documentation. It just isn't done.)

All this to say: I had hoped to show you some bathroom designs and ask for feedback on the merits of each, but as of right now all I've managed to draw is a box with a toilet in it. *insert sound of chirping crickets*

Ya, I'm underwhelmed too.

Maybe when I'm at the dance comp next weekend I can spend some of my free time in the evening poking away at it.

demolition snowballs

Once we pulled the carpet out of the bunk room and washed down the walls, we moved on to the back hall and the shower/bathroom areas. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up the carpet to find cardboard being used as subfloor! But it's o.k. everyone. It was held in place with duct tape. That makes everything alright. *boggle* Truthfully, I wasn't that surprised. This is the Hodge Podge Lodge after all. I laughed about it for a second, shook my head in disbelief, then debated the merits of checking what's under the cardboard.

Realizing I couldn't, in good conscience, leave the cardboard where it lay (tempting though it may be), I peeled back the duct tape and found....

Seriously? O....K..... Strips of scrap subflooring with 1/4" gaps between 'em. If you look closely, it would appear that there used to be a sink in this location! You can just make out the two small holes for the hot/cold water, and the larger hole for the drain pipe. Looking beyond that you see, well, the dirt under the cottage, because the holes go clean through.  

adds "1/4 particle board" to the shopping list.

Moving on to the scuzzy shower area, we peeled back more of the green carpet and found...

YEEEAGGGHHH!! That is NOT sanitary! This, ladies and germs, is why you don't put carpet in a bathroom. Probably just as well I intended to rebuild the shower. It's looking as though it was going to need to be ripped out anyway so new subfloor could be put down. 

And look, a toilet used to be here! That just makes me wonder what's under the cottage in that particular spot. Ew.

I wonder if the bathroom is any better?

Too much to hope for. *sigh*

adds "lots of particle board" to the shopping list

Now that the flooring in those two rooms needs to be ripped out, I'm starting to think a total bathroom overhaul might be in order. If we can find cabinets/counter/sink on the cheap at the Cobourg Re-store then it might be worth it just to junk everything that's there and start afresh.

Of course, that makes me contemplate moving the sheeter so you're not staring at it when you look into the loo...I wonder how much work that would be? Probably a lot. Would need to move the holding tank, move the vent stack.... *ponder ponder*

Ooooo.. or maybe if I just shifted the doorways closer to the back of the cottage, I could put a linen closet in the nook created by moving the doors...of course, that would involve re-routing the electrical for the small panel in the wall there...

$ chaching

$ chaching

$ chaching

Funny how these things snowball, no? One day you're ripping out carpet, the next you're remodeling the entire back corner of the cottage.

Bunk room progress report

We made some good demolition headway in the bunk room at the back of the cottage this past weekend.

It all started with a late-night cull of the hundred or so 1990s relic VHS tapes in the back dresser.  We kept a few, since there's a VCR integrated with the TV they left behind.
Highlights: Galaxy Quest, Mars Attacks, and Return of the Jedi.
Into the trash: 1991 World Series, Something with Goldie Hawn in it, and Rocky V. Among many others.
The captain insisted on recycling the tape cases. Do gooder!

Once the dresser was emptied we carted it, the mattress, box spring, and bed frame into a bunky for storage. Oh - interesting tidbit we learned this weekend: Apparently Peaky is the original cottage! Who knew.

Once the room was empty it was time to tackle the carpet. The spectacularly heinous red shag carpet. It was very satisfying to cut it up with a utility knife! *hack!* *slash!*
It was... dirty. Ick.

With the carpet out of the way, all that was left was to pull some staples, sweep the floor, vacuum up the ants (I suspect they're living in the wall. Dammit. Now they're dizzy and angry, trapped inside a shop-vac), and wash the walls and trim.

Up next: Paint and flooring! Ooo.. Now that's exciting. The bunk bed is painted and ready to be set up. We still need to pick up some inexpensive twin mattresses though. I'm hopeful that we'll see this room finished and decorated on the May 2-4 long weekend. *fingers crossed*

A layer of wax

I wasn't kidding when I said a layer of candle wax is difficult to scrape off a microwave with a plastic knife. Somehow (honestly... how!?!) someone managed to melt a massive puddle of wax onto and all over the microwave. Here's cher capitaine removing said wax.

He swore a little. O.K. He swore a lot. It was a lot of wax. It covered half of the top of the microwave and ran down the sides.

Feel free to admire the nice cabinet doors or chair while you're looking. They're not long for this world.

You can always depend on the kindness of strangers

This weekend we learned about the kindness of strangers. This ought to take care of 1, 2, 4, 10, and 12 from my last post.

Incident #1
The keys for the boat did not come with us to the cottage. Faced with a 2.5-hour round-trip excursion to get the keys, the Captain remembered the former owners of the boat (also on the island) had a spare they were supposed to return to us. Luckily, they were at their cottage when we called! Fraser drove over in his pontoon boat and gave us a key to start the boat. If we didn't feel guilty enough for dragging him across the lake to rescue us, we learned that he was fast asleep when we called because he's recovering from pneumonia. Ugh. We're grateful all the same. Total wait time: 15 minutes.

Incident #2
As we puttered out of Wood Duck Marina towards the island, we got out into the open part of the lake when the engine cut out. Odd. The Captain started the boat up again, and we travelled for another minute or so when it cut out again. "I think we're out of gas." He speculates. And he was correct. *face palm*
Fortunately we had filled up the jerry can en route to the cottage and were taking it over to the island this trip. Otherwise, we'd have remained adrift in the middle of the lake. While the gas tank was being refilled and the oil added to the mix, someone from shore puttered over in their aluminum boat to see if we needed a hand. We were fine, but still, Nice!

Incident #3
We realized the breaker for the hot water tank was left on when there was no water in the tank because the pump still hadn't been hooked up. End result: fried element in the tank. Dang-it. Luckily, one of our newly acquired neighbours heard of our plight and said "Oh! I have a spare one. Hang on and I'll get it for you." A short time later the tank was hooked up with the new element  installed and we had hot water. So Doug, if you ever read this, Thank You! Of course we'll need to replace the one he loaned to us and buy a spare ourselves, but in the short term I am not going to complain. Now, as part of "leaving the cottage activities" we need to remember to throw the breaker for the hot-water tank and unplug the pump. Unplugging the pump is wise if there's ever a plumbing problem when we're not there (in the Hodge Podge Lodge with D-I-Y plumbing throughout? A problem!? Never......); if a leak does occur, it will only leak the water that remains in the pipes, rather than leaking continuously.

Incident #4
The Damned Boat.
First the key. Then the gas. Lastly, when we were about to leave for home, we loaded up all of our belongings and bag after bag of trash and then the boat wouldn't start. We were marooned!
(Everybody wave to the captain, partially adrift and frustrated in a boat that wouldn't start). We heard our other neighbour Ron puttering around his cottage and asked for some help troubleshooting the motor. Nothing they tried seemed to help. It was getting fuel, the spark plug was sparking, it was turning over but it just wasn't firing for some reason! They gave up and we headed inside for an impromptu dinner of "whatever is left in the cooler". Mmmmm. Nourishment. Vegetable soup. Raw carrots. A bit of cooked rice, and half a cup of milk. The captain tried calling Marvin at the marina and the local boat mechanic, but we couldn't reach either. Looks like we're spending the night.

Incident #5
(no photo for this, my energy was sapped. Enjoy a view from the porch in the meantime)

Just as I was washing up after dinner, Ron popped by the kitchen window asking if we'd had any luck. Since we hadn't, he offered to shuttle us back to the marina. So. Nice. Ron, if you or May are ever reading this: Thank You! We left the boat full of junk behind, tied up to our rickety dock and we got back to the marina around 8:30 p.m. So. Late.

We quickly drove to Port Hope to drop off the spare boat key with dad. He offered to head back up to the lake on Monday to go over and try to get the boat started himself. (hooray for rescue dad!) He's convinced the engine is just flooded. I hope he's right! We've heard stories about muskrats gnawing through exposed gas lines, and we have a little rat living under our dock. If he chewed our line, I'm going to brain him with an oar. But I have to go buy an oar first. It'll be very cathartic.

UPDATE: No muskrats will be harmed in the making of this blog! Dad has been to the boat and of course (of course) it started first try for him. I think motors can smell fear. Muskrats, too.

Adventure #2: the list

We're back from adventure #2 at the cottage. Ordinarily this wouldn't be anything worth noting, but in this case, making it back is an accomplishment!

I've so much to write about today I might need to break this up over several posts, but for now let's start with a list. Oh wait, there's something I need to do first. I need to formally un-fire Nicole and Alison. They both gave me suggestions for my rope-y frames. The rest of you are still fired though.

Now back to that list.
In no particular order, here are the things I learned this weekend:

1. Don't forget the keys to the boat.
2. Always check that you have enough gas in the boat before you head out into the middle of the lake.
3. There's poison ivy on the island. 
4. You can always depend on the kindness of strangers. 
5. When you don't know where to begin, just begin.
6. A layer of candlewax is difficult to scrape off a microwave with a plastic butter knife.
7. A grown woman can overcome her aversion to cobwebs and scurrying bébites.
8. Cardboard =/= subfloor.
9. Running water = good.
10. Cottage neighbours are infinitely friendlier than city neighbours. Not meaning to slight my town friends... I'm talking about the next-door variety.
11. When big waves are crashing ashore, tie up the boat so the bow is facing out (otherwise your boat fills with waves!)
12. Have an escape plan when your cottage is on an island, just in case the boat won't start.

Truthfully, any one of those items could form a blog post in itself. I'll start to tackle them one-by-one. Stay tuned!