Anniversary "party" weekend

Ah yes, it's true. A weekend for Bonnie and me to spend together without the kids. Also, this was the first time we stayed as a couple in "Our House".

Friday night, we started off hanging out with the neighbors and then made it downtown. We painted the town and funny enough, when it was time to close-out the night and head home... we couldn't get the golfcart to start. Left with no options, we left the idle golfcart parked downtown and grabbed the island taxi home.

Saturday morning, after speaking to Chris, we learned that you may need to "choke" the golfcart to get some gas flowing before a cold start. Slightly embarrassed by our stupidity, we headed downtown for breakfast, found the golfcart and started it up (after "choking") with no problem. funny.

Bon later went to the beach and I worked on hard plumbing the A/C condensate line (more details below)

Early Saturday evening, we joined the neighbors for some fresh fried fish bites courtesy of Ron and Sandy. Then the whole crew took a golfcart caravan down to the Casino to see the Armstrong Bearcat band.

My stunning wife enjoying a Casino Royale Bloody Mary

 

Casino with the neighbors from the hood

Last stop at "Bag the Moon" for strawberry shots



Cottage construction update(s)...

One of the key reasons why the weekend was a success is because we were lucky enough to get a working shower installed earlier in the week thanks to Tim Arnold. He plumbed up the fixtures and shower head as shown below.

Working shower installed, yes!

 



Every step of the way is a nice step towards completion. However, having a working shower is huge. Big thanks to Tim for getting this done so quickly. 

 

I did spend a few hours on Saturday fixing a problem caused by the a/c condensation line draining directly onto the crawlspace floor. Over the past few days and weeks of running the a/c, at least 1/4 inch of standing water has accumulated on a good portion or the crawlspace and it was not drying up quick enough before more dripped/flowed from the condensation line = small persistent mess. To fix this, I ran about 40 feet of 3/4 inch pvc to extend the condensate line to tie-into the sump pump drain.

 

Next, I worked on the daunting drywall work as much as possible. I covered the attic access above the utility room and framed out the attic access above the main bathroom.

The attic access from the great room has been drywalled shut

I have not got a ton of work done lately, but we have been enjoying our weekends on Kelleys. I guess that was really the plan all along, so this is a good thing.

Next immediate step is to get the insulation situation under control. This includes wrapping the HVAC trunk lines (supply and return) and the ceiling insulation for the entire cottage. This stinks because I thought I had more time to get this done, but with the summer heat now upon us, the a/c is not running efficiently at all with the vaulted ceiling in the great room wide open. Of course the insulation needed for the ceiling (R-30) is way more expensive that I had planned for and installing it will be a serious hassle during the summer months.

Probably taking a break from the island this upcoming weekend...

Happy 15 year anniversary!

Today, June 20th, is our 15 year anniversary. To my wife Bonnie, happy anniversary baby!

Looking forward to another (yes, another) weekend on the island to celebrate. This time we will be leaving the kids home with Bob and Judy. Huge thanks to Mimi and Papa!

Father's Day on the island

We had another family packed weekend up on Kelleys. I did not spent nearly as much time as I normally do working on the cottage. However, I got to hang-out with the family a ton. We were able to borrow the Arnold's golf cart for the weekend. This was a big hit! The kids loved it and now, of course, it is all they talk about.

Golf cart time - look-out world! Anna is driving in the hood



On Saturday, after cutting-in and ducting-up the last cold air return, I started the long and tedious job of drywall taping and mudding.

Started the first coat of drywall mud

I know it will take some serious time to finish the drywall started last month. But when I began to mud, I realized that sheer amount of repetitive work involved. I will be lucky to be done with this mess by the end of the summer. whoa.

As soon as Anna and Sophie got a look at the 5 gallon bucket of joint compound (drywall mud) they had to get into the action.

Anna and Sophie working on filling the screw holes with mud

On Sunday, the family came up to celebrate Father's Day. We had a very nice day, good times and great food. It was tough leaving on Sunday night to head home while Bon and he kids stayed up for another few days.

Father's Day at the Cedar Cottage

Our anniversary is coming up this week on June 20th. Bon and I will be going up to stay at "Our House" for the first time together.

Family weekend

Just spent the weekend with the family up on the island for the first time this season. I still managed to get a ton of work done around the cottage, but I spent more quality time with the family. Also, the neighbors were in full effect having multiple gatherings every night and usually with a camp fire.

On Saturday afternoon, the Arnold's took Sophie fishing with them and their daughter Christina, her new best friend.

Sophie and Christina - fishing

By end of day Saturday, I was able to run 4 cold air returns and finish the bathroom sun tunnels (had to cut-into the new drywall ceilings). The sun tunnels are great source of natural light for both bathrooms.

Sophie and Christina took full advantage of the construction site and built a tent from drywall scraps, very creative little girls.

Sophie in her drywall tent



Bonnie and Anna ran in the Annual Kelleys Island 5k on Sunday. I heard that 900 runners participated this year. Matt and Adrianne Bailey made it up for the run as well.

Anna, Bon, Addrianne and Matt ready for the race

 

Missing the island already. Bonnie and the kids stayed all week. I will be joining them this weekend!