May 10, 2008

The morning started with the O’Wich continental breakfast and after Carlo got back from getting gas we hit the work list. At this point I should point out that Rick is trying to rename O’Wich to O’Work. Not too funny after the second time. But work it was…Carlo chain sawed the wood crib and while Rick motored back and forth with the wheel barrel, Katie carried wood to the fire pit. For every four of their trips, I think I made one. With the fire started and two huge piles to add to it, Carlo, Rick and Katie started the repair of the outhouse stairs and deck. I cleaned up the end of the front side of the cabin and used the leaf blower to spruce it up. They helped me re-line the edges with some logs. They also brought the exterior crawl space ramp back. After our lunch break – which Katie did an awesome job in preparing – we manned the fire, stabilized the outhouse rails and divided and conquered (again) to finish for the day. Rick and Katie attached foam insulation under the bedroom floor from the outside while Carlo and I made a new stair for the back deck. Now the last step of the deck won’t feel like a mini free-fall!
It was about 4:40 and it was time for a little R&R, showers and thoughts of dinner and a relaxing evening.
The evening was spent driving around – far from O’Wich – looking for a restaurant called Barrel House. Take 16 to 82 – turn right. Drive 2 or 3 miles. It’s on the right. No city name – it’s in the country. Never found it. (Once back at home I found we turned around about 1 mile too soon – maybe next time!) We settled on a place we passed three times. Dinner was actually pretty good and then we drove 40 minutes back to O’Wich. Another full day!

May 9, 2008

We got up just in time for the couch delivery. The drivers were here and gone by 9:05. We gift wrapped the old couch and put in on the deck – Tom wants it. Carlo ran to town for parts for the sliding patio door screen and to the lumber yard for wood to repair the outhouse stairs and deck. While he was gone, I cleaned, made the beds and organized. The rest of the day we did some small odd jobs – fixed the screen door lock, hung the rods and mirror in the bathroom, hung the quilt in the bedroom,
brought in firewood and got ready for visitors! Rick and Katie are coming for the weekend and yes…to help us with some chores! Can’t visit O’Wich without doing some work.
Rick and Katie arrived around 8:00 and we ordered from Tamarack. After dinner we played the Game of Life. Rick won. Katie went bankrupt and Carlo bought two yachts and made several donations to an orphanage – all the while his two pink peg kids were on the side of the road – due to stepping back 15 spaces - twice!

May 8, 2008

The sky was a beautiful shade of blue in the morning. We attempted a visit to the Farmers Market, but nothing was going on. So we went to the Levee Restaurant and found out the market starts in the afternoon – sometime between 2 and 4. We decided to find the furniture store and walked 2 blocks from where the market would be. Of course, we were “just looking!” We found a 78” brown sofa. It is being delivered on Friday! Good thing we were just looking! It’s shorter so we’ll gain some valuable floor space. Hopefully Paul and Betty still want a sofa bed; otherwise, into the fire it goes!
Once we were back, it was time for more work. Carlo trimmed out the bedroom door and I made an electrical box to hold the fixture for the bathroom.
We got finished, cleaned up, showed Paul the couch and went to Culvers. After we ate we hit Pierce’s for some weekend edibles and Wal-Mart for a couple of odds and ends.

May 7, 2008

Day of Rest! Or is it?
Carlo installed the bedroom ceiling fan before we left for the day. It looks incredible! I can’t believe I forgot to take of photo of it, but it’s the same fan as we hung in the living room. We went to the Thrift Shop. Nothing for us, but I wanted to check it out. We met Garry and Bernie and had pizza at the Redneck Saloon. Looks like they’re up for the plumbing job! We drove to the Dells to exchange the towel bar for a shorter one. Didn’t do much else except to keep an on the tractor, the birds, the water and the ducks that were swimming at the easement and of course took it easy!

May 6, 2008

We set up our work station for working on the ceiling. By noon it was done and we were having lunch. The river was rising and since the weather was so nice, we could only assume that the dam was opened. There is more water in the center of the property than there was on Friday when we got here. Carlo waded through a$$ deep water to tether the tractor to a tree – just in case! We drove down to the neighbors cabin and found that his property is very low and about 25 feet of his shore was under water, which is why it was coming back toward us. We did get excited to find our flower box – tree trunk and butterfly! How they managed to float through the trees and all stay together is remarkable. Now we need to keep an eye on the water in case we need to evacuate. We parked the truck at the edge of the drive, picked up some floatable things and went back to finish working on the wall. Some cuts were a bit off but that’s why they invented trim! All in all it was a good day. By 7:30 we were on our way to dinner. Now we’re just hoping the tractor doesn’t float away.

May 5, 2008

The day started off with lots of birds chirping, cool air and sunshine! We went to the dump. 750# and $21.09 later it was great to be rid of more junk. We found lots of stuff to dispose of since the flood washed away some of the land. Things we couldn’t budge in the past were easily picked up and moved – and I’m talking about concrete! We ate breakfast at the Levee Restaurant on the way back. It’s a local place, not much on atmosphere (although they did spruce it up some since we were there last year) but 110% on personality. Everyone is friendly and you feel right at home and the food is delicious!
Carlo sealed some cracks in the cinder blocks when we got back and I hung the patio door valance that I made. Looks great with the new vanes and it matches the other valances that still need to be re-hung. Since it’s Monday, General Hospital is on and at 2:00 I found time to watch it as Carlo tooled around on the tractor. He drove around until the mower died – and in true Chris Farley satire – it was “down by the river”. It will be spending the night there! Carlo came back and although there were more glitches, he was able to install the light over the sink. It matches the light over the table and looks great. It replaces the white, ugly spotlights! Hopefully, his taping the wires that were up there will keep the electric from shorting out! We ate a little dinner, watched some TV and called it a night.

May 4, 2008

Once we got moving, Carlo set off to get gravel for the mud ruts that have formed in the driveway. I entered – the place I hate – the crawl space! Although it took over five hours, we are pretty much done working ~ outside ~ for the day. We poured 30 bags of gravel in the drive; barely made a dent but the deep ruts are filled in. The tree bench and many other burnables were set on fire and while Carlo managed the fire, I cleaned up under the cabin. We also cleared a lot of branches from the yard to add to the fire. We moved about 20+ cinder blocks that were in the crawl space. With all that finished we will be visiting the dump tomorrow morning. Carlo has to fix the lawn mower and all we have left for today is the window treatment project. Here’s where I thought the black cloud was lurking but was pleasantly surprised that is was a great day. We worked for 12 hours – we divided and conquered. Under the cabin is clean, stuff is ready for the dump, the big stuff was burned, the tractor is fixed. We cleaned up the front of the cabin. The blinds were hung; the valances and window shelves were hung (and, of course, there were a few glitches which we overcame). Exactly 12 hours after Carlo left for the gravel, we were showered and heading off to Tamarack for dinner. We were starved. Killed off an appetizer and a pizza and we were back home at 9:30 - pain pills consumed and asleep by 10:00!