March 15, 2008

Got up early to head home to make it to Genie’s Confirmation Ceremony. When we were almost finished getting ready, the lights started to flicker. I was in the bedroom and thought it was the bulb. I changed the bulb. The light went back on. Then it did it again. I changed the bulb again. Then the light went out – as well as almost the entire house, but the circuit breakers didn’t fully pop. Now this is a huge problem. The furnace doesn’t work, the pump doesn’t work and not to mention ½ of the house doesn’t work. So we un-plugged stuff, and shut stuff off and Carlo even took the circuit breaker box apart to see what was wrong. More flipping switches and turning stuff on and off. Finally the power went back on. Then it went off. Perplexed and concerned, we waited it out. Finally after 45 minutes it came on after a lot of clicking noises. Carlo checked and doubled checked everything and we waited another hour or so to be sure the problem was over. Seemed as if it had and we headed out. Not sure what caused this to happen but we hope it was an electric company issue and that it doesn’t happen again. Fingers crossed that it’s on now.
The drive out the private road was really something. I think our next purchase should be a small boat or wave runner! The impending floods haven’t even passed the banks of the river yet! The water was about 2 feet deep in some spots. But we got out safe and without any damage to us or the Tahoe! The picture in the side mirror is of the private road we drove down - away from the cabin. The second picture shows the ice on the river breaking up. Talk in the town is that a flood is coming. Let's (really) hope not!


We didn’t make Genie’s ceremony but enjoyed a lovely time at her luncheon.

Hopefully our next trip will have more photos and progressive updates!

March 14, 2008

We thought on this day we would get going with putting up the ceiling in the bedroom. Deciding against it for this trip, we got everything ready for next time. We bought the 1 x 3’s, got the tools ready and figured out what we would do. We did trim out the patio door – surprised it wasn’t already done? Not us! We even started going through the scraps of pine boards and started putting them up on the side of the fireplace. The vertical boards, cement board and brick you see will all be covered with river rock - in May! We are going to put this finish up with the pine boards on the 2 outside walls to help brighten the interior and get rid of the orange-ish coloring. Can’t hurt for the extra insulation either.
Carlo attempted to retro-fit an electrical box outside for a light to shine at the side of the cabin. Attempt is the word of the day; the box is too close to the eave to screw on the fixture. This project has been queued to the next ‘sunny day project’ list! (Retro-fit will be our new phrase for fixing the screw-ups from the previous owner – use this phrase for all the plumbing stories that you've already read!)
We rested up and then had dinner at the Portage Family Restaurant rather than fast food. It was good – should’ve had the buffet – there was shrimp and chicken on it!!! Next time!!!

March 13, 2008

We started Thursday off with a visit from Garry and Bernie. These are people that Debbie recommended for doing some work around the cabin. We are hiring them to shore up the body of the house. It was to our surprise and amazement (and shock), that the house is supported by a single 4 x 4 – which is held up by 2 house jacks, which are standing on a couple of cinder blocks on a crack floor – which is not tied into the foundation of the building. With this being said, these guys are going to take care of that and make sure the entire house – to the ends – are supported by 3 – 2 x 10’s – It should be done by our next visit at the end of the month. This alone will be a huge cabin improvement!!!
In the last 2 weeks, the squirrels were at it, devouring everything in sight. They knocked the feeders from the hangers, chewed the wood from a squirrel feeder and devoured a tubular bird seed holder. Even though they were destructive, Carlo refilled their food supply. He secured the feeders to the holders with plastic ties. I’ll bet they won’t let that stop them! The birds did start coming around. There were many different types, including a woodpecker and some small beautifully colored ones – that flew in pairs. Funny about these photos is that the squirrel is in the bird feeder and the bird is in the squirrel feeder. Must be a Wisconsin thing!

We decided to work on some plumbing. We bought new filters for the whole house housing and the hot water housing. What a difference this made. Let’s try to figure out why there were metal filters in a plastic housing that dispenses well water…..hmmmm. This explains the brown water. The new filters made a significant difference. Then we did a water test and it passed with flying

colors!!! This water sample is straight from the sink!

Time to change the kitchen faucet. - the one that was on there was leaking and the dripping was terrible not to mention annoying. This simple chore turned into an additional trip to the store because things weren’t right before we started. Surprised? Don’t be! After washers and fittings and tightening…we were good to go.

Time to change the shower head. Okay, this is sort of funny. The head that was on the shower sucked. Some time ago, we bought a new one. Can’t find it.

Then we bought a rain shower head. Too big for the shower. Here’s another surprise, not really – the plumbing for the shower was wrong. It was too long for the shower which is why the rain shower head is now in Rick’s bathroom – at his house! The shower head we are installing is shower head number 3 and it is a hand held. We think it will help for cleaning the shower. Here’s another surprise, it doesn’t fit. It has to do with the pipe coming out of the wall. So Carlo replaced the piping with some copper stuff he bought and needs to weld. Looks great, but now the handle of the shower head hits the wall and doesn’t spray down. We take our dinner break to head off to Tamarack. As always, great dinner! But on the way home, we hit Wal-Mart for shower head number 4. This one fits greats, works great and even has 2 settings! Yeah!!!! As for number 3 – does anyone need a hand held shower head???

March 12, 2008

What a difference 2 weeks makes. The road 2 weeks ago was so covered and packed with snow it was as though we were driving on a paved highway. Not so lucky this trip…the snow has melted enough to cause the sandy road to become more of a muddy, sinking mess. The 4-wheel drive allowed us to arrive safely, even though the truck did sink into the ground a bit. All our ground covering (leaves) is piled 6 feet high mixed in with snow.

We unpacked, opened the house and then went to get lunch and groceries. We decided to have dinner in and just rest up from the drive.

February 29, 2008

Since we chose to do nothing these few days, naps lasted 10 – 14 hours! We missed dinner all three nights because we slept through it. I’ll tell you, if you get out of doing work at O’Wich all that’s left to do is sleep and eat and you need to be awake for the last. It was very refreshing and allowed us to step back and re-group as far as future projects are concerned. We’re looking forward to getting the ceiling in the bedroom done during one of our next two trips – probably both trips!

Our trip home allowed for more photos; distressed travelers, snow filled skies and signage. It would be safe to say that we accomplished everything we set out to do – nothing!

February 28, 2008

Today was more of the same - nothing! I took more photos and you guessed it...from the look of it, that bench is trashed! I told you not to sit on it!

February 27, 2008

We took photos of wild turkey, the snow piles and the wintery scenery. I was able to take pictures of the squirrels as they attacked the bird seed. Not sure where the birds were. I swear they had a banner to welcome Carlo!!!! We didn’t do anything productive outside of participating in the feeding frenzy. These squirrels were like contortionists…hind legs attached to the tree and front legs on the feeder - they looked weird! They didn’t even flinch when we were out there walking or even driving. It was as though they were daring us; in a squirrel-like way!

February 26, 2008

So – we set off at our regular time after making our usual stops; bakery, coffee, gas station, and bank. Traffic was great considering all the snow we had gotten in the days before and not to mention the “sneet” the night before. Just as Madison splits from 90/94 the entire highway is closed. All three lanes.

Wisconsin State Troopers were on foot and their squads were blocking any possible trickle of traffic. We were diverted to a road labeled “Blue Line”. It is really Stoughton Road, but we had no clue where it went, how long we’d be on it or what really caused us to travel it. And, the GPS was not charging properly!

So, we checked out some sights along the way…trucks and cars and signs and graffiti. Now at this point, my main concern is being able to get an updated photo of “the barn” that (might be) at exit 108, if it’s still standing! So, off we go on the Blue Line for about an hour and it’s maybe 6 miles or so that we were being diverted. After getting past whatever the problem was, we were back on track and yes, I got the photo of the barn!

We arrived safely to lots of snow, an hour late, but we had no agenda, since this was a weekend to “just get away!”
The driveway was plowed and it was a good indicator to envision the thought of a real paved space! We shoveled our way toward the propane tank, under the house and to the stairs. The snow piles were so high and the snow on the ground had to be about 3 feet high. Once Carlo dug out the tank, we checked the fuel, turned the house on and got the water running. Then we headed off to the grocery store to pick up a few things and to stop and visit Paul with bread and to thank him and his son for keeping our drive clear.

Waving "hello" from O'Wich!

Once back, I think I finally found a color for the kitchen cabinets…Haystack. It matches the coloring on the pine cone border and I think it will tie all the colors together, nicely!