Raking Leaves - Tons of Fun

 Max is always ready for any kind of photo shoot.  Leaves and a big smile.

 Jade... not so much.

 They didn't miss an opportunity to swim.  Just because it's 50 out and the water is probably ice cold doesn't mean you can have some fun with your kong.

 We raked, blew and mulched leaves and came home with a van load to dump out at home.  We figure there's one more trip and then we're all set.

Oh, and on a side note.  John finished the nook bench and we absolutely love it.  Super comfortable, looks great and even John agreed it was a good design move.  Thanks Deb!

We bought a new boat!

 It's a 1998 Four Winns 170 Horizon.

 With an open bow and cushions so the dogs can lay up there and get the breeze in there face.

 There is plenty of seating

 The motor is great and I got it up to 46mph when I took it out for a chilly spin.

 And the best part, it just fits (I mean just fits) into the garage.

Can't wait to take it out next summer!

Painting Round 2 & John's Craftsmanship

We got the rest of the painting and touch up completed.  Ahh.  So glad to have that done.

John's got some work yet by replacing all the brown outlets with white ones.  The fact that he broke a ground wire, lead to some colorful words and the need to bring up wiring next time we head up.

He also got the TV stand done to match the rest of the furniture.

And an entry way bench for us to toss our shoes (after the massive shoe piles that accumulated during the summer. 

We love how the new color looks.  Makes a world of difference.  And now John gets to start on my breakfast nook bench.

Love fall/ winter cottage projects.

Labor Day - Pulling Hoist & Docks Out of the Water

I could write up a whole blog about taking the docks out of the lake at our cottage, or I could go the lazy route and link to my brother's blog where he documents the whole thing.

http://davewirth.blogspot.com/2012/09/up-at-cottage-taking-out-docks.html

For those who might not follow Dave's blog, I would highly recommend it.  Cool stuff, lots of good pictures and antics that always make me laugh.

In addition to Dave and Karrie:

We also had the Hoopers come and visit (Andy, Kristi, Luke & Max):

Highlights from the weekend:
- Seeing it only take 2 tries for Dave to get up on 1 ski and go for a turn around the lake.
- Watching John try and ski and watching the boat struggle to go fast enough for him to cut.
- Learning about my brother's borderline obsession with going #2.

Laughed a ton and had a great time.  Looking forward to next summer and kicking it off all over again.

Painting a Bedroom & Living Room

So last weekend, John and I decided to start in on our winter projects.  These were all the things we didn't want to do this summer while enjoying the lake, but are more than willing to start once it gets cooler outside.

Friday night we got our bedroom ready to paint.  The previous owners were nice enough to have white walls everywhere (or as I call it "insane asylum white").  However, they didn't do the best job when it came to spackeling or covering up nail holes.  So we spackeled, sanded and taped.

On Sunday morning we started painting.  The blue we used is exactly the same blue in our bedroom at home.  We figured, if it ain't broke, don't fix it and since we chose that color when we built our house and still like it, we'd just duplicate the color at home.

My job was to use a pad-device we got at Lowes and using that to cut around the windows and the ceiling.  It took me a minute or so to get it rolling, but once I did, it made painting so much easier.  No cutting in with a brush, no tape. 

We got done in about 1.5 hours and with most of the day left, we decided to get started in the living room and what was formerly the dining room that we call our "in-between room."

Taping, sanding and spackel.  Round #2.  With me on a ladder.  Yes, the one who is afraid of heights was up on the tall step ladder doing edging and trying not to wipe out.

In a subtly only an owner could appreciate, you can see the green that we chose for the living space.  I don't have any final pictures (I'll add those later) because we have one section left to do and didn't put the furniture back so we could let the walls dry completely.

Next time we head back, I'll get the final, updated pictures to share.  So far, we love it!

Water Skiing & Tubing Weekend

I haven't updated the blog in a bit, but wanted to share some pictures from when my parents visited.  We got the boat back from the repair shop, all fixed up and ready to go, so we decided to put it though its paces.

John got up water skiing right away, even though he hasn't done it in a few years.  Took him around 1 1/2 times and I think by the end his arms and shoulders were about done.

My mom got up skiing too.  Took her a few more tries and she only did a little loop, but we applauded the effort.

And since I am not a huge fan of skiing, I decided to test out our new tube.  John was nice enough to whip me around the lake a few times, making sure my arms were as tired as everyone else.

Boat ran great the entire time so for now, we're good to go.

Fourth of July Festivities

We had quite a week of festivities up at the O.N.C (Ostreko Northern Command).  Thanks Mike!

With water ski shows:

Fireworks, campfires with friends, BBQ with family, fishing:

And 35 mile bike rides from Grand Rapids back up to the cottage.

And lots and lots of sun with some great friends - Hallacks, Ypmas, Mike Lacy, Deb & Jeff's Family.

Max... Just Max

It's a good thing we gave Max a simple name that's easy to remember, because when he becomes a famous dog-model it will shoot his name recognition through the stratosphere.

When my brother was up at the cottage, he used Max as a model for taking pictures.  For Max, it was a day of chasing his Kong in the water.  He must have done it over 25 times.  Jumping off the dog and happily swimming back to shore.

Turns out Dave entered Max and his picture into a contest and was made a finalist.  In fact, if you go to the link, Max's profile comes up right away.

Check out the link:
Detroit News - Photo Contest to Celebrate Michigan

Detroit News Article About Max

So now I'm thinking we're going to need an agent, publicist and he'll have to get an entourage of some type.  Maybe Jade will be the first one in his posse.

The Dangers of Fishing

Looking at this picture, one would never think that fishing can be dangerous:

But Saturday morning, that theory was proven wrong.  After our walk around the lake, John decided to do some fishing while I grabbed a chair and started reading.  He got a bite from a perch that was a pretty good size fish.  Proud of his fish, he turned around to show me his catch.  That's when the fish decided to fight back.

The slimy perch scrambled in John's hand and detached itself from the hook.  With all the commotion, John didn't watch the hook too close and this is what happened:

Ouch, ouch, ouch!  That hook was lodged in there.  So John tried to do some self-surgery (because there was no way I was going to be able to slice it out).  He washed it off and used a box cutter to try and cut it out.  After slicing into his hand and not able to get it out, I finally talked him into going to the local "hospital."

So off we go to the emergency room about 12 miles away.  My goal for the drive was to be supportive and not pass out from looking at it.  We checked in and they got John back right away.  The staff didn't seem too shocked and after asking, they see this all the time.

When the nurse asked John what his pain level is, he responded with a 2 out of 10.  I would have been howling and my pain level would have hovered somewhere around an 8 or 9.  They gave him a tetanus shot and then the doctor came in to get the hook out.  I finally saw John wince in pain when she shot his finger up with Novocaine so it looked like a puffy clown finger. 

She pulled and wiggled, once telling John she didn't need his help to get it out and for him to sit still.  Then she finally got it.  John went to grab the lure and she freaked out, stating that she's had people re-hook themselves before.  I'm not sure what kind of moron would hook themselves, need a doctor to help them get the hook out and then grab the hook and re-hook themselves again.  I can only speculate.

So after all that, John's finger was finally free and clear of the hook.  He was feeling fine and I was able to take him home.

And like John, he went back to doing all the things he normally would have done up at the lake... except for fishing.

Nothing's better than free labor

Last weekend we had our first overnight guests up at the cottage.  John & I trekked up to my parents' cottage to pick up their boat hoist, old dock and jet boat that they were so generous to give to us for the new place.

I don't think we realized how handy our trailer would be, but that thing has put on some real highway miles.

So like a little wagon train, we headed out.  Took just under 3 hours to get from Long Lake to Indian Lake with a stop off for lunch on the way.

Then the boys got to work putting the hoist together.  Here's a time-lapse video my brother Dave did of the assemble, which could not have been accomplished without the assistance of my dad and Karrie with her expert interpretation of the instructions and the guy at the hardware store that helped me find some bolts and parts we needed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yRTklcaGzc

You'll notice in the pictures that there is a lot of Max running around with his kong and Jade laying around in the shade doing nothing. 

What's great about having Dave come to visit is pictures.  He took a ton of Max jumping off the dock.  Here's one that turned out fantastic!

 He also took a great picture using some kind of lens that we're actually going to print out and hang on the wall at the cottage.

You know you're getting old when...

1. You go tubing with your niece, fall off once and your arms are in so much pain for 2 days afterward that you can't even lift them above your head without feeling it ache everywhere.

2. You see the clock on the wall that says 10:30pm and you're ready to call it a night.

3. Running more than 2 miles is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest in your mind.  Walking, no problem, but running - not quite.

The only good thing is that having a cottage forces you to relax, recuperate to do it all over again.  I kind of feel like my dogs this week except I can't spend the day sleeping.

Our Weekend Went to the dogs...

This weekend was a full-on weekend that any good dog would love, and ours were no exception.  Warm weather, lake water to drink by the gallons, walks, walks and more walks (about 8 miles in total).  Could a dog ask for anything more?

 Jade was happy enough to find a spot in the grass to lay after taking a dip (not a swim, but an old-lady dip where only the lower parts of your body get wet) in the lake.

 John ventured into the water, and I followed shortly after.  It was cold, but we're hoping that by next weekend it warms up to a great temperature for lounging in the lake.

 By day 2, Jade was ready to find a spot in the sun and do nothing. 

But Max, he was ready to play.  With his new kong placed firmly in his mouth, he was ready for jump after jump to retrieve it until he got so exhausted he'd just flop in the grass and take a nap.

On the road again...

I feel a little bit like the Beverly Hillbillies (without the oil) loading up our van and trailer for round 2 and 3 of carting stuff up to the cottage.

And this time we finally got to take the dogs up (who looked so happy when we left for work today because they could finally get the peace and quite to recover from their weekend).

Our goal was to get all the bedrooms done and we did it!  John built the beds and the side tables for our master bedroom that look amazing!

We also got the bedrooms finished upstairs.  The one facing the water has two twin beds:

And the bedroom facing the street has the queen bed.

Just a few more things to figure out and we are ready to relax.  Well, I'm ready to relax.  It's something I'm going to have to teach John to do.

Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning

First, I'd like to apologize for not having any pictures to share.

Yesterday we went up to the cottage with John's parents and spend the day cleaning, changing locks, washing all the stuff for the kitchen & putting it away, and building the bed frames.

Since the pictures would be of closed cupboards, a nearly-empty living room and beds with no mattresses on them, we figured to hold-off on the pictures until next time we're up there and have actually stuff in the rooms.

It was nice to get in there, have it be empty, almost like a fresh start, so we can start to make it our house.  I didn't realize how much kitchen stuff we had until Martha and I got done washing everything and putting it away in the freshly-cleaned cupboards.  The good news is we still have lots of cabinet space for, what I am sure, are the countless things I forgot we needed and won't remember until I'm about ready to cook something.  Or more accurately, John is about to cook something.

So next time we're going to take another load up and see if we can't get it looking more like a house that's lived in.  Who knows, we might actually spend the night this time.  :)

Welcome to the Lake

So after years (almost 2 1/2) of looking for a place on a lake where John and I can escape to in the summer, we finally found it.  After closing today, we are the proud owners of a new house on Indian Lake in Howard City (about 50 minutes north of our house).

And after the buyers accepted the offer, we set to work filling our house with all the stuff that's going to make its way up to the cottage very soon.  IKEA was so happy to see us coming.

There's almost no work that needs to be done on the place so our plans for the summer - Lounge on a floatie-toy in the lake or relax on our deck with a good book... yep, that's about it.

We'll update more pictures once we're officially moved in.