May 2, 2007

During my two-week vacation to O'Wich, the trees bloomed, the squirrels ate all the feed of corn and oats that we put out for the deer. I enjoyed the peace and quiet between all the things that were on my To-Do list. I will certainly miss being at O'Wich.



A bad day in O'Wich beats a good day in Cicero - hands down!



No noise; no horns, no loud music, no sirens.
No crowds; no rude people, no traffic.



If I click my red shoes together, how long before I can get back to O'Wich???



Until next time, it's this road I must travel to get back to reality.

Thanks for visiting - come back in June!

May 1, 2007

Carlo came back to "Labor Camp" for more torture. He cut the grass - this is a long process due to all the land and all of the trees.



Then, he tethered the new tank down...you know - flood zone. We actually heard that tanks have made their way to the river during flood season.

April 29, 2007

Although you might think that one of Alex's favorite things is visiting O'Wich I'd have to correct you and say that it's reading. After Jackie read this book to Alex for the umpteenth time, it was time for their visit to end. Bye bye Alex! Thank you for visiting O'Wich with your mom! xoxo


Not too long after their taillights were out of sight, my project list came out of hiding. Time to build a bench. Looks simple enough. It took over 9 hours and a little bit of sunburn to realize that offering someone a seat on this bench would be a big mistake. The after picture hides the flaws and unfinished assembly. Help! I need help to build this. The box says "Team Lift" - I think is should say "Team Assembly". Please, whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE A SEAT!


This photo is very deceiving...looks good - from afar!

April 28, 2007

While Alex took his morning nap, I started my day off with a surprise for Carlo. I laid some really heavy 18" pavers along the deck in what was attempt to create some additional curb appeal. Still a work in progress, I am happy with the way step one turned out.


After lunch, Jackie, Alex and I went to the Oschner Park and Zoo in Baraboo. Alex visited with a swan, two white tail deer, two llamas, a timber wolf, a pot bellied pig and a couple of goats. After feeding the goat some goat food, Alex decided to share his own snacks with the goats. He was so proud of himself for sharing!



We drove around for a couple of hours, taking in the sights, while Alex napped before dinner. We ate at the Log Cabin, near the zoo. We thought this was the end of our day until we went to the lot to find the car had a flat tire!


Alex's reaction could be a good indicator of our surprise that all the places we called for repair were closed! So after several phone calls to several places, the owner offered that the cook change the tire. Luckily, he can do more than make a good slab of ribs or grilled cheese sandwich. Once we were on the road, we hit Wal-Mart, just before the tire center was closing and bought a new tire.


We made it safely back to O'Wich - my ever so nice neighbors were both upset I didn't call on them for help. It's nice to know they're there - for next time!!!

April 27, 2007

Jackie, Alex and I went on an adventure drive on Friday. We drove the 10 mile rustic road a/k/a Levee Road, through Pine Island Wildlife Area. This refuge is across the river - to the south - of O'Wich. You can only see trees from O'Wich looking toward it and from Pine Island Wildlife Area looking north you can't see anything because of the levee. But what we did see was beautiful!

And of course, Alex missed it all!

Once we were back at the cabin, Alex checked out the landscaping...

and visited our new park by the river - did you vote yet? See the April 21st entry for your chance to name the park!

Alex is quick and we were worried about his being so close to the edge of the river and he pretty much must have thought the same..."Enough," he said, "I'm going back to the cabin!"

April 26, 2007

The day started out with a heavy rainfall and the propane tank delivery. It was so muddy, the driver's truck was sinking into the ground. He placed the new, larger tank away from the house.


My day ended with the sun coming out and two of my favorite people arriving for a weekend visit. Jackie and Alex made it to O'Wich in time for dinner and a relaxing evening. Alex came armed with several toys and lots of books.

April 23, 2007

Like the bathroom tile job, this job of hanging the pine wall boards was much more difficult than we had hoped or even assumed. There were lots of complications, enough so that we needed to take a 2 day break between installing wall number 1 and wall number 2! But once we stepped back and re-thought the idea, walls 2, 3 and 4 went up in two days. So it took three days to put this all up while stopping to do electrical, eat and visit the neighbors! The wood slats were not the quality we thought and that in itself was disappointing. But once up, the room was a pleasurable transformation.

Not an accurate before, but a before after the insulation went up.

During - while putting up the pine boards.

Not quite an after, but the four walls are done, the sconces are in. Of course, the To-Do list just grew a bit longer; we need window treatments, the ceiling needs the wood slats attached, the ceiling fan needs to be installed and then there's the trim work and a carpet....phew....does it ever end????

April 22, 2007

Look at all the crap under the deck! This is what the seller left for us. We finally were able to get to the garbage dump and left 400 pounds of junk there. No wonder they left it all behind.
We had to load the trailer and then cover it. Hard to believe, there are even garbage rules in Wisconsin!!!


After the dump run, we drove to Menards in Baraboo - where we picked up a shed. It came in 4 very heavy boxes, which are now sitting on the deck. Before we can put it together, we have to build a deck to get it up off the ground. Flood zone control! The shed will be 10 x 7 and even has a skylight! We just added another project to the Honey-Do-List!

Later on in the day, the front of the house got a little landscaping attention as well. It needs a lot more, but this is at least a good start. Hopefully these plants will survive the non-green thumb!

April 21, 2007

In an effort to make the kitchen more functional, I hung the microwave over the stove and installed a light below the shelf. I stole the idea - but I like the way it looks!

Carlo got busy framing in the bedroom wall. The opening you see was once a window. We'll close that up on the other side when we work on the kitchen. Until then, a blind covers it.

We even built a park! We thought a nice place to sit down at the river edge would be relaxing. The picture at the left is the before, the middle is the after. We installed solar lighting along the edge too. It'll be a nice place to end a busy day. Carlo even made me a flower box that sits on the laying timber. We are planning on naming the park...here's what's up for a vote - please feel free to cast your vote in the comments or suggest an idea of your own:
(1) Fallen Timber Park
(2) Broken Limb Park
(3) Pebble Park
(4) Sunset Cove
(5) Lazy River Retreat

P.S. If anyone cares...I like Sunset Cove!

April 20, 2007

What a great surprise! The dining room set is being delivered today!!! However, it won't be a door delivery, or even a driveway delivery. The driver came in a 40' tractor trailer and was not able to drive down the road through the pines...which is almost a mile from where he is staging. So, he waited at the black top and I waited with him, until Carlo got there. Then we put the benches and the chairs in my car and the table in the Tahoe. Another surprise was that we had to put the furniture together! Although the set is larger than anticipated, it'll seat 8 and should fit nicely once we rearrange the rest of the room...great, more work!

Carlo cut some leaning trees and trimmed the ones that were against the house. He cut some limbs from a tree over the back deck - these had to weigh over 15 pounds each per chunk. I can't imagine the damage that there would have been had a storm taken down these trees rather than "Tree Cutter Carlo"!

April 18, 2007

To start off my vacation, my first chore was to tile the bathroom.

Although this post shows it was just a short process it was actually quite time consuming.

For many weeks, before the process even started, I colored grids and copied other tile patterns to get the design the way I wanted it.

It took over 13 hours to set the tiles and over 7 more to grout, which I did a few days later. Then there were the numerous days of wiping and re-wiping the tiles to get the grout and haze off...

I'm sure I will wipe them a few times more!

I couldn't be happier with the tumbled travertine tiles and the look is exactly what I had in mind.

This was harder and more time consuming than I expected - since the bathroom is rather small and it was difficult working behind the toilet. Luckily the toilet was far enough from the wall for my hands to fit.

Now, all that's left in the bathroom is re-caulking the shower, installing a sink and faucet. Getting a light over the sink and an outlet in. Hanging the fixtures, getting a new floor and decorating! Of course, the list is long, because there's always something to do! But the end is nearer than the beginning!