September 15, 2007

Rise and shine - it's Saturday morning! Continental breakfast was delicious and it was time to get the day started. Katie and I went to Wal-Mart and dealt with the woman that did not make employee of the month...she wished she had, she was working the crowd, and she must've lost her watch or maybe had no where in particular that she wanted to be, except of course at Wal-Mart! I aged at least 2 months while in her check-out lane! No need to say any more!

Back at O'Wich, Carlo and Rick were 'suiting up' for the chore of the day...The Installation Of The Insulation! They should have made a movie on this subject. They had the costumes for it. They had respriators, face masks, goggles and suits.

The job took about half of the day and then they tackled putting in all new duct work. The mice ate the other stuff. After they were finished with the duct work, they turned on the furnace to check for leaks. However, the furnace didn't work. Our neighbor Paul recommended a place to call - and when they called back, go ahead and guess what his name was...go ahead....right - Bob! We scheduled Bob to come out Sunday morning since it wasn't that cold out.

I weeded out the flower beds ~

Katie and Rick posed for this lovely photo ~

and as it became dark, we started a fire to get rid of the extra wood that was laying around. We had a late night BBQ of chicken, steak, corn and potatoes, and I would like to add, it was quite tasty!

September 14, 2007

We drove straight through and when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised that the grass looked fairly good. So we decided to not cut it - even though I am now the proud owner of my very own lawn mower!Okay, can you tell the difference between these two mowers??? Yes, mine is the green one and Carlo's is the red one....Oh, I know, mine is missing a seat!!! I will add that I was not too disappointed in not being able to give it a test run. As the seasons change, so do the insects that dwell at O'Wich. In the fall it was ticks. In the winter it was mice. In the spring it's voles and ticks. At the end of summer it is the swarming of mosquitoes. Swarms. Yes swarms. I have never seen swarms of mosquitoes before. They are small, very fast and extremely stubborn. They attach to your body like you are a human glue strip. Oh, by the way, they avoid the insect strips that have glue on them that we hung in the house! Let me tell you we can't even count the amount of bites we received because there were so many. Talk about itching and scratching....Where's the Benadryl????

I did manage (with the help of Carlo) to hang my birthday windchimes. They make a beautifully calming sound and I thank my children for buying them for me to celebrate my "big" birthday!

On the inside, I re-hung some decor to

include a porcelan knife my Dad bought for me, a small stitchery piece and frame the kids bought me for Mother's Day.

(Wayne - the collage is worse than faceless children; it's totally faceless!) I will be printing photos before my next trip back to O'Wich!

Rick and Katie arrived in time for Rick to assist with the assembly and installation of the satellite dish. The dish was attached to a 16 foot pole and it stretched high into the sky. Sadly, it still didn't work. And yes - disappointment once again - no satellite.

All was not lost for Rick - he was still able to catch some of the baseball game when we went to Cimarelli's for a late but tasty meal.

July 21 and 22 - 2007

Carlo made the trip alone. Just days before, I picked up all the branches and twigs so he could cut the grass faster. But since there are a 'gazillion' trees, more had fallen in the couple of days between our visits.






Carlo was busy his days at O'Wich. He pressure washed the front porch and sealed it...








he pressured washed the back deck and sealed it...








and he sealed the wood to the shed deck. He said the decks looked great and I can't wait to see them myself!

July 16, 2007

Dad and I enjoyed a wonderful ride. No traffic, nice weather, great conversation! We stopped at Wendy's for lunch - Chili for Dad and chicken breast for me. After we ate, we hit Pierce's Grocery store to stock up on the food for the visit. We bought ribs and steaks! We arrived to the cabin around noon.

When we pulled up, we found the front lawn to still be nicely manicured. It was exciting to see the propane tank was painted to match the color of the cabin. It looked brand new! The grass nearer the river was much taller, but it's been some time since that was cut. All in all, it was nice to be surrounded by serenity and fresh air.

Once inside, it was like walking into a jungle at a zoo exhibit! Dad and I expected to find dead bugs all over - due to the bug bomb we set off during our visit in June. There were none...however, there were white dots all over the couch, chair, rugs and floor. Dad said it looked like a bird may have been stuck in the house since it looked like bird $hit. Dad grabbed the flashlight and searched high and low....actually lower than high - in search of a dead bird, or a bat or even a carcass of the 'crapper'. No luck. Then we cleaned the furniture, the rugs and the floor. We were hoping whatever was in the house wouldn't be visiting us while we were there!

On the outside, we found mounds of dirt. Not sure what those were from, but it looked like rodents. Later we found out they were vole tracks. Part mole, part gopher, part mouse. We never heard any animal noises and we enjoyed coffee on the porch, delicious bbq's and resting! Sadly, I forgot the camera at home.

(We cut our trip short by a day because Dad wasn't feeling well. We didn't know at the time, but sadly, this would be Dad's last visit to O'Wich.)

June 16 and 17, 2007 - Father's Day Weekend

Dad and I went up for the Father's Day weekend.
He wanted a BB Rifle so that's what he got. He spent several hours shooting at different targets! Pretty soon, he'll be back to his 'Marksman' status!

The only work we accomplished while up there was getting the cinder blocks out from under the house to the area where the firepit it. We placed them around the pile, but it still needs to be cleaned up and eventually made a little smaller. But at least the hardest part is done!

This is on Father's Day. We went to a steak house and both enjoyed some yummy, yummy ribs. It was a no-cooking weekend and we just enjoyed the fresh air, quiet surroundings and time together.

June 11, 2007

We made a double dump run and when I say the sellers left us a ton of stuff, I mean they literally left us a ton of stuff - and we paid for it! We have officially dropped off and paid for over 2000 pounds of garbage to be recycled - with a total of four trips spanning from last fall until now. There were two huge triple picture windows and several doors and a stove, tv and pipes and egg crates full of wood. And believe me when I tell you they were using this wood, with hinges and nails and screws, as wood to burn in the fireplace. We cleaned up the remnants of all that wouldn't burn when we cleaned the floor of the fireplace. And we're not really done...we could make one more trip with the odds and ends, but a nice bon fire and a couple of things for our local garbage pickers and the place will be officially trash free! Can't wait.

Lastly, Carlo mowed the front lawn - which is a fraction of what needed to be cut and we trimmed and just did some sprucing up before heading home. It was a great weekend and a lot was accomplished.

Now where's my calendar???? I need to get in touch with the crew!!!! xoxo

June 10, 2007 - part deux

The before and after shots of the much needed shed.
Time to load it with all our junk!!!













You may not be able to make out the inscription under the bottom stair, but written in the concrete it says "O'Wich '07" at the left and all our names at the right...Katie, Rick, Tom, Jackie, Alex, Carlo and Cindy!









And after we fed the crew another promised meal...we took photos down at the edge of the river. It was so wonderful to have everyone out at one time. Not just because we had work to do, but just to be together. I realize they just love working up at O'Wich, but maybe next time they can come just for a visit and a BBQ!