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!