New Years Eve

Nichiha fiber cement siding is on and Everest vinyl siding going on.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Another angle. No mud today.

We had to drive to Huntington today to file for our property tax exemptions. Can't file for the Homestead since we are allowed only one and have one for the Ft. Wayne property. After that property is sold we can file for a Homestead on the farm...as well as an over 65 exemption after Kathy turns 65 (in a few years).

We drove to the cottage from the Auditor's Office and saw Denny walking on the road. We invited him in to see the cottage. We found Rex working on the plumbing. He hopes to have the wiring and plumbing inspected on Monday. The people doing the insulation are anxious to get in and get their work done. Perhaps they can be scheduled in the next week or two.

We were delighted to see the Nichiha siding was on the front of the house and that the Everest siding was going on. Rex had put some electrical outlets on the outside of the house. They can be seen in the photos - one on the front of the house and one over the walk-out basement where a deck will go and where Rex thought we might want an outlet one day.

Our newspaper box had been vandalized. I think we were the only property to lose a mailbox or newspaper box. We hadn't put our mailbox on the post yet but were receiving The Huntington Tab twice weekly in our newspaper box. Kathy wonders how it is that young people find it entertaining to destroy property. Luckily the cottage hasn't been vandalized. Hopefully the vandals will stay on the road. (Note: there is always a possibility that someone going in or out of the driveway ran into the newspaper box and destroyed it.)

The openings you see in the Nichiha siding on the porch are going to have doors. The front porch is not over the basement, so there is space under it where we can store garden tools, hoses, etc. For now we were told that the neighbor's dog, Reagan, has been busy exploring under the porch.

John Battershell, the cabinet maker, will be at the cottage Monday to take measurements so he can begin making our hickory cabinets.

No propane gas yet.

Roger Smith of Smith Trailer Sales in Monroe is anxious to get the camper to his place to repair it. We have to get the rest of our belongings out of it and out from under it and get the damaged portable porch disassembled. Sounds like a lot of work over the next few days! Bonnie says she is leaving the deck behind at the campground, will attempt to salvage part of the portable porch to use on the deck of the cottage, and will have Roger sell the camper at his camper sales on consignment.

Mud everywhere!

Getting up to the cottage is almost impossible. First ice and now mud!

Wonderful neighbors, Denny Dull and Leann Kline, helping protect the camper.

Denny and Bonnie.

Bonnie and Rex Kline.

A big thank-you to everyone who helped today to cover the roof of our camper with a tarp! Rex and Leann Kline showed up at just the right time to assist with this project. Denny had already made numerous trips to the camper to remove limbs and twigs from the camper. His work included sawing off - close to the roof - the large limb that punctured the roof of the camper. He also monitored the water entering the camper through that hole, emptying the trash can he had placed under that area as needed.

And if that wasn't enough, he even let us drop off our water heater at his homestead today to store in his garage. We got other smaller items into the basement of the cottage, but it would have been almost impossible to get that water heater over the mud and into the cottage.

We rescheduled the delivery of the dishwasher for the 4th time! Hopefully it will work out for next Saturday, but who knows if we will be able to get it into the cottage or have to impose on Denny...again! Thank you so much, Denny, for all you have done for us! We will have to come up with a way to show you our appreciation.

We purchased yet another light for the cottage this morning that we took with us and, after doing a walk-thru with Rex and Leann after we got the camper taken care of, we decided on yet one more light. Rex is trying to get the wiring and plumbing roughed in and inspected before he and Leann leave for China so that the insulation can be done and the drywalling begun while he is gone.

We were late getting back to The Fort, and Bonnie had to scramble to get to her Boars Head performance on time.

Just a brief update

We attempted to drive to the farm on Wednesday. We called Denny to let him know we would be down. He said he felt the roads were too bad. We shopped in Ft. Wayne where the streets had been cleared, and where we only took our lives in our hands on our own driveway and on the streets in our housing development.

While we were shopping at a Lumber Liquidators we found by accident when we rented a van for this Saturday at a van rental across the street from it, Denny called to advise us not to even attempt the drive...that we would not be able to make it up the hills in the area of the farm and campground. He had already carried a ladder to the camper from his homestead to use in an attempt to remove some of the limbs from the top of the camper. He was unable to even drive his van into the campground. That was quite a nice hike for him...carrying a ladder to boot! He had left the limb that had punctured the top of the camper in place so as not to expose a large hole that would allow water into the camper. He found a dent in the roof of the camper near where one of the limbs had punctured the awning. He planned to go back after his lunch to place a large garbage can inside the camper to catch the drips that would be coming through the roof as the ice melted. The ice was quite thick on the top of the roof.

We made arrangements to meet Denny tomorrow, Saturday, to try to get a tarp over the top of the camper. Bonnie will be picking up the rental van and going to Sears to pick up the water heater and transporting it to the cottage. We picked up the microwave and reverse-osmosis system from Sears on Wednesday and also purchased some additional lighting from Lowes. Bonnie still has at least one more light she wants to purchase for the half bath in the loft.

We will be meeting with Rex tomorrow to discuss the need for additional wiring due to the extra light fixtures we have purchased. Rex will soon be leaving for China, so we will be without his services for a while as he and Leann spend time with their oldest son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren in China.

Once again Sears chose a late afternoon-early evening time slot to deliver the dishwasher tomorrow. So, for the fourth time, we have rescheduled the delivery for a week from tomorrow.

Tomorrow, if it is muddy, Denny has graciously offered the use of his garage for temporary storage of the items we bring down. If it isn't muddy, we will maneuver them into the basement of the cottage.

Bonnie is busy with rehearsals and performances for our church's Boars Head Festival Production, so her evenings are tied up through Monday night.

The ice storm

Limbs much larger than they appear. They blocked the road.

Smaller limbs from smaller trees.

Well. Water was struck at 89'. Depth of aquifer is 37'.

Thick ice everywhere. We each fell once. Steps and landing done.

Camper porch was totaled.

Devastation

Denny and Bonnie in background.

Roof

Awning punctured.

Camper roof punctured.

An ice storm hit the evening of December 18th. Our power in Ft. Wayne went out about 5:30 - 6:00 a.m. Friday morning. Luckily, Kathy had purchased a new alarm clock this year that was backed up with a battery. Even though the numbers were not lit up on the clock, the alarm did go off at 6:30. When the power did come on, the clock was the correct time.

Kathy had to be to work at 9 and sat around waiting for her manager, Lisa, to call to tell her to stay home. When she heard nothing by 8:15, she called the library. Tony answered after several rings and told her the library was open. Kathy really had to scramble to get to work on time. Her car was covered with a very thick layer of ice. With no coffee, she was not her usual, chipper self. The pockets of Fort Wayne with electricity were few. Most stoplights had to be treated as 4-way stops. Kathy slowly made her icy way to Georgetown and was delighted to see the nearby coffeehouse open. She stopped in for a huge coffee and ran into Lisa who was unaware that a Level 2 emergency had just been declared. Making her way into the library, Kathy found Lisa trying to find out if the libraries were closed. Lisa was told that, since we had made it into work, we would remain open. We were one of the few branches open that day. With a Level 2 emergency, we should have been closed. Georgetown received many visitors that day who were just trying to find a place to keep warm. The power flickered only once, going off for only a couple of seconds the entire day.

Our power at the villa returned about midnight Friday night. We had our gas fireplace going to keep warm and Bonnie brought Steak 'n Shake home for dinner. We were fairly comfy. Many people are still without power and may be without until mid-week. People have moved into motels or in with friends or family with power.

On Friday, Denny called Kathy to tell her he had walked through the campground and that our portable porch had been totaled and other damage done to the camper by falling limbs. Kathy and Bonnie both had to be places at noon Saturday, but drove to camp Saturday morning to assess the damage at both the cottage and campground. The cottage fared well though some of our beautiful trees along the road took a heavy hit. The camper did not fare so well, and Kathy has contacted our insurance agent and also placed an online claim. We will return on Wednesday, with Denny's help, to clean off the roof of the camper and put a tarp on it to prevent more moisture from getting into the interior of the camper.

Shopping for lighting

The last two doors are in. Nichiha fiber cement siding is stacked next to cottage.

Click on photo to enlarge.

People have asked why there are no windows on the north side of the cottage. The stairways to the loft and to the basement are on that north wall. In addition, a garage, when added, may go on that side of the cottage and will, hopefully, be attached to the cottage with a door (or breezeway) into the house at either the landing to the stairway leading to the loft or the alcove on the front porch next to the closet as you enter the cottage. No decision has been made yet since a garage is not in the budget for this phase of the building.

From this view you can see the kitchen door better on the north side of the cottage. This is where a small landing will be built that will allow us to get into the kitchen and will, eventually, be part of the wrap-around deck that will go on the walk-out side of the cottage (west side).

Kathy's son, KJ, met us at the cottage yesterday and seemed to like it. He enjoyed the view from the picture window, thought the cottage was larger on the inside than it looked from the outside, and was really impressed with the roof angles and the effort it must have taken to install the beam in the cathedral ceiling.

Rex had begun the wiring of the cottage. Of course, Bonnie already has some changes she needs to discuss with him.

Bonnie marked on the floor of the country kitchen where she wants the gas fireplace to go but that might change by a few inches. She also marked where she wants the LP gas tank to go. Kathy got the ball rolling on that on Thursday but has not, as yet, received the quote form Andy Kline, who needed to do some figuring to determine whether we need a 350 or 500 gal. tank.

So yesterday was shopping day and we purchased a ceiling fan for the porch and one for the country kitchen. Both fans have lights. A third fan may go in the basement when we get around to finishing it. Outside lighting for each door was purchased with a motion light selected for the walk-out basement. Kathy found lights Bonnie had purchased for another home she lived in and never used. They will be used in the basement and under the cabinets over the bar to light the bar. All of the other kitchen lights were purchased. A long fluorescent light for the main kitchen lighting, and a light for over the kitchen sink. A light was purchased to light the stairway going down to the basement. Another light that matches the one over the kitchen sink will spotlight the gas fireplace. Track lighting for the loft was picked out and Bonnie feels another track may be in order. In addition, we have one floor lamp and three nice table lamps that will be utilized throughout the cottage.

Bonnie has picked out the two bathroom fans and they will each have lights. Still need to purchase sinks, plumbing hardware, stools, flooring....

Windows, doors and roofing

Colonial Slate roofing shingles, windows and front door. Click on photos to enlarge.

View from NW. Only a door will be on N side of cottage. Small deck will be at door. Wrap-around deck will go across back of cottage under kitchen window one day.

Our favorite view of cottage is from S. Huge picture window, bathroom, porch, kitchen, loft, basement windows, and double doors at walk-out are all in.

Porch will be living room and where dogs and bird will be housed. Window to right part of country kitchen. Siding and through-the-wall AC visible in photo.

Picture window from inside of cottage.

Sleeping loft. Framed-in area is half bath. Windows are on knee wall. Sitting in a chair, you can look out windows and see lake.

Basement will be family room/wine-making area. Will also be wine cellar. Home theatre system will be here. Double doors leading to walk-out and one of windows are shown. Framed in area is utility room. Washer, dryer, water softener, hot water heater, pre-filter system, pressure tank, sump pump, reverse-osmosis system will be in there. Basement will be themed and finished later.

View from kitchen window of sun setting over Timber Lake.

Vent free gas fireplace. Ours will be dark brown ceramic.

Met yesterday with Rex to discuss plumbing and electrical issues - what goes where, placement of electrical boxes, where to turn on which lights, etc. Told him Bonnie had purchased a vent free gas fireplace. Let's see if we can upload a photo of it. Yep, got it. This fireplace will have a remote to turn it on and off and will work w/o electricity. It should heat the entire house if we have the ceiling fan in the country kitchen pushing the warm air down. This is really a nifty little unit that Kathy really loves.

Kathy is making arrangements with Rex's cousin, Andy, to deliver a 500 gal. LP gas tank. The fireplace and cooking stove will be LP gas and we are hoping to take advantage of the lower gas prices right now to get the tank filled. We are also hoping to only have to fill the tank once a year. It will depend on how much we use the fireplace to heat the cottage. Right now it would be cheaper to heat with it as opposed to the Hydro-sil baseboard heat we are going to have installed. (They have silicon running through their tubing as opposed to water.) Here is some info on these heaters:

Inside the heater case is a sealed copper chamber filled with a harmless silicone liquid that will never spill, leak, boil or freeze. It’s permanent. You will never run out. Running through the liquid is a proportional watt hydroelectric element that is only being supplied a proportional amount of power on an as-needed basis. When Hydro-Sil is turned on, the silicone liquid is quickly heated, and with its heat retention qualities, continues to heat after the Hydro element shuts off.

Bonnie ordered the cement siding for the porch and got the whitewash brick that we both liked. That will add some interest to the house. Maybe we can upload a photo of that. Let's see. This will go below the front door, on the three sides of the porch. There will be access at both ends of the porch so that we can store garden tools, hoses, etc., in the space under the porch. We will need to level the dirt under the porch in the spring, put down a vapor barrier, and then put down some stone. Sounds like a project for Kathy. And speaking of hoses, it was decided yesterday to put an outside faucet on the N side of the house near the garden, another near the walkout basement, and a freeze-proof pump near the vineyard.

Fiber cement siding - whitewash- by Nichiha.

We need to purchase the vent fans for the bathroom, the ceiling fan (52") for the country kitchen, the outside lights and interior lighting. Also need sinks and toilets. Guess what we will be doing this weekend? We both hate picking these things out.

Bonnie is getting estimates for insulation and may have made a decision about that. After Rex is done roughing in the electric and plumbing and it has passed inspection, the insulation will be next. This will give Mike, Ryan and Adam a breather. They put the windows in earlier this week on a day that it rained all day. They had to take extra clothes to change into. Then Mike had Ryan and Adam roofing yesterday. Felt sorry for the boys on the roof in such cold weather. Had to take advantage of a day it was above freezing. Mike was concerned the shingles would break if he roofed on a colder day.

No well yet. No septic tank. Still too muddy to put in the tank. Don't know what the delay is with the well.

The dishwasher will be delivered next week. We will pick up the water heater, reverse-osmosis system and microwave next week and deliver them ourselves to the cottage. The water heater could be a trick and we aren't certain how we will get that in a car or if it is even possible to get it to fit. May have to ask for help or rent a vehicle.

Bonnie's new HD TV is incredible. We are currently using only a small inside antenna and get quite a few channels. The HD channels are excellent quality. We will eventually put up a tower so we can bring in more free stations. In the meantime, as promised, AT&T has brought 3G to our area which includes the farm. We have the service but do not use it. It will be our internet when we move and we need to figure out how we can run two computers on one card at the same time. Another job for Kathy.

Still need to get John Battershell to the farm to measure for the cabinets. Haven't ordered flooring yet either. So much more to do.

People still drive by the cottage slowly, sometimes stopping, to have a look-see. Haven't seen Denny and Barb for a while. Must stop down this weekend to see how they are and check up on that new grandbaby!

Tar paper and basement stairs

Ready for roofing shingles.

S side of cottage looking N shows cathedral ceiling and roof line.

Basement stairs are done.

Kathy had to meet a delivery man at the cottage yesterday to receive the through-the-wall AC unit. While there, she took pictures of the progress made this week. The place is really starting to look like a home. When the windows and doors are in and the roofing shingles are on, it will really be exciting!

The well had not been drilled as we expected it to be and it was still too muddy to to put in the septic tank. Perhaps the mud has also delayed the well???

Plumber and electrician, Rex Kline, will be taking a trip in January, so his availability this month is limited. He wants to run the power and water lines at the same time and the delay with the well has held him up.

The two old ladies will probably drive down again this weekend so that Bonnie can see the work. Stay tuned. These are exciting times!

We give thanks....

The sleeping loft looking S. Windows are on W side of loft in knee wall.

A portion of cathedral ceiling beam will be visible at end of project,

encased in wood of some sort. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

View of Timber Lake from sleeping loft.

Main floor bathroom (under loft) will have a pocket door.
Shower stall will be in SE corner near picture window.

Porch (4-seasons room) with windows not yet cut out.
Dogs and bird will be out here.

South side of cottage with porch added. Not all windows are cut out.
Polly Tribolet in lower left of photo.

Another week of progress on the cottage. We met builder, Mike, at the site today and were pleased that he brought his wife, Polly, along.

The rest of the rafters for the main part of the cottage were up and the porch (4-seasons room) was also framed in and sheeted. Everything was neat and tidy and, as always, we were pleased with the craftsmanship of Mike, Ryan and Adam.

It has been too muddy for Rick Bauer to return to set the septic tank and finish his work. The delay in putting in the septic tank means that the backfill has also not been completed. This will prevent Mike from siding the south side of the cottage due to the uneven terrain.

Our expectations are that the well will be drilled by the end of the week, and Mike anticipates having the house dried in by the end of the week also. This involves putting up the porch rafters and the sheeting for the entire roof. He also hopes to have the windows and exterior doors installed within the next two weeks.

Let's talk about Black Friday. Kathy (thankfully) had to work and Bonnie was working from home (on her vacation) and also researching appliances we still needed to purchase. Sears was having a sale until noon on Kenmore products at 25% off. So off she went to Sears and totally shocked Kathy by purchasing a 40 gal. Kenmore electric Power Miser water heater. Good-bye tankless water heater...for now!

Bonnie also purchased a Kenmore dishwasher that has an extra large capacity. The top shelf can be removed and also raised and lowered.

A Kenmore reverse-osmosis system also got the nod because it could be installed remotely and did not have to go under the kitchen sink.

Bonnie chose a stainless steel Kenmore Elite microwave that is larger than the microwave we currently have and should serve us well. All appliances are Energy-Star Compliant.

The only item that was not purchased was the range hood. Bonnie liked a Broan range hood she found at Menards and will most likely purchase it as well as a Broan bathroom fan for both bathrooms because they have low sones which means they are super quiet. A ceiling fan to hang from the cathedral ceiling also needs to be purchased and we haven't found the right one yet. We will need to do that very soon along with purchasing our lighting and plumbing fixtures.

As a special treat, Bonnie also purchased a Vizio 32" flat screen TV, bringing our flat screen TV total to 3. This new TV will go in the rec room in the basement of the cottage along with Bonnie's home theatre system. We have two older TVs we can now give to Goodwill. One of our favorite TVs is a small Sylvania flat screen with a built in DVD player. It was purchased for the camper and now resides on Blossom Ridge in the front bedroom. It will find a place in the cottage though we aren't certain where since we have a larger Emerson in our living room in Ft. Wayne that may go in the loft. Time will tell.

View from the top!

Our camper with portable porch and deck Bonnie built.

Camp Timber Lake and Blossom Ridge Farm (red square).

Click on maps to enlarge.

Topo map. Cottage is approximately where red spray paint is.

Here is an interesting fact we have been told twice now...and that is that our land is located on the highest elevation in Huntington County. Kathy gets really excited about these things. And, until today, we didn't even know there was such a place as Timber Lake Dam! And where is this Lancaster IN that is supposed to be the nearest major town? Roanoke is the nearest town and it is a bump in the road although it does boast two very excellent restaurants and a grocery. Huntington is the nearest town of any size (it has a Super Wal*Mart), and Fort Wayne is the nearest large city (second largest city in Indiana after Indianapolis).

Our picture window is definitely on the right side of the house. From previous photos you can see that we are on the top of something and looking downward as we look to the south.

The lake itself is 8 acres. It is man-made. The two smaller lakes are also man-made. Kathy sees the shape of a starfish when she looks at Timber Lake.

The aerial photo shows that only Denny's homestead was built when the photo was taken. In the aerial photo, the red spray paint is the approximate location where our camper has been for the past several years.

45 years ago today....

SW view. Bonnie and Denny.

Click on photos to enlarge.

SW view. Sleeping loft going up. Bonnie and Denny.

Front of cottage.

View from kitchen door.

Forty-five years ago today I (Kathy) know exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was 15 years old and a junior at Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, Indiana. (I started school very young.) I was sitting in study hall when we got the word that President Kennedy had been shot. You could have heard a pin drop in that school.

Today we went to the farm and saw the progress (still steady) that had been made to the cottage. Denny stopped by for a chat. That grandchild still hasn't made an appearance yet!

The well man called Bonnie and he will not be doing the well next week (he is behind?) but will meet her out there Monday morning to settle where the well will be going.

The window wells are in but no more backfilling has been done and the septic tank is not in.

Bonnie purchased all but 1 gallon of the rest of the paint we need for the cottage today and we may purchase our water softener tomorrow and the pre-filtering system since they are on sale through tomorrow.

Flooring and paint

Flooring with paint samples.

Flooring

Click on photos to enlarge for detail.

We finally have some photos that give a better representation of the flooring and paint samples that will go into the cottage. Bonnie is still not happy with the way the colors photographed and she is correct...they are still not right, but closer than photos we had for an earlier post and did not use. At least they will give an idea of what we are doing.

Flooring (clockwise from upper left):

Handscraped carbonized bamboo. This will be the flooring for most of the main level of the cottage. Note the interesting markings from plant. This flooring is too light to suit Kathy but it is something she can live with.

Tile. This is not the Snapstone tile we are getting but is approximately the same color. At $5 per tile, we will not be able to use this as liberally throughout the cottage as Kathy would like which would be the entire main floor or at least the kitchen and bath. It is slated for the bathroom and, eventually, at the entrance to the house in the four-seasons room.

Enviro-Cork (Vision). The cork, which we had originally wanted on most of the main floor, will be used on the stairway to the loft and in the loft.

Natural hickory. The natural hickory is in the photos to show what the custom cabinets will be made of. Kathy is hoping the cabinets will be much more interesting than this sample, with dark streaks and knot holes aplenty.

Paint (from L to R):

It was interesting to read about the paints from the company we had hoped to purchase them from. They had the paint divided into 3 categories with each category representing a personality type. We have kept those descriptions and, as it turned out, we just happened to choose two paints from each category.

Vata individuals are light and dry by nature with a general tendency to a thin frame and low body mass. Skin and body functions can benefit from vigilant hydration. Balancing techniques can reduce anxiety. Deeper, darker colors suggestive of moisture can create balance. (We decided that Kathy's personality was most closely a Vata.)

Our Vata colors are (from L) Namaste and Autumn. Kathy considers Namaste a very pale dusty rose. This color will be the main color on the walls throughout the cottage and the one color we forgot to buy last weekend!

Autumn is the color of cream (Kathy's description). We had this made into both ceiling and trim paint.

Pitta individuals may develop occasional inflammatory conditions. They have a general tendency to a moderate, athletic frame with a muscular body mass, and a sharp, energetic personality. Cooling therapy may lower a tendency toward irritability. Balance may be derived by colors that cool, moderate, and soothe. (We decided Bonnie was most closely associated with a Pitta personality.)

Our Pitta colors are (continuing to the L) Prana and Satya. Kathy loves Prana and considers it a dull grape color. She wanted something purplish in the cottage to represent the vineyard. This color will be used as an accent color in the loft on the knee wall. If any of the colors did not photograph well, it would be this one. It looks too blue in the photo and less purple.

Satya is another favorite of Kathy's who loves terra cotta and considers this a very pale terra cotta. This color will be the accent color on the main floor and will be used on the south wall where the picture window is and will wrap around and be used on the east wall of the downstairs bathroom. It was to go in the kitchen on the east wall with the hickory cabinets, but Bonnie is considering a cherry tile backsplash like she put into the Blossom Ridge (Ft. Wayne) villa and this will look better on the Namaste than the Satya.

Kapha individuals have a general tendency to a large frame. Emotional nature tends toward calmness and steadfastness. Stimulating therapy can avert tendencies toward inertia and lethargy. Balance can be derived by using mobilizing colors such as bold, stimulating, and bright accents. Midtones and pastels may create the best color schemes.

Our last two colors are Kapha colors and are Mist and Discover. The Mist is a light green and will be used as an accent color in the downstairs bathroom with the Discover, a pale yellow-green, being the primary color in the bathroom.

Going up!

NW view. Walkout b'ment on W side of cottage.

Kit. door on N & double glass doors @ walkout.

Click on photos to enlarge.

W side of cottage. Retaining walls are done.

SW angle. Note bathroom window and HUGE picture window on ground floor.

SE view. Large picture window on S, window and door on E side of house.

Note footers (columns) for front porch/4-seasons room.

View of Timber Lake from kitchen window on W side of cottage.

View from picture window (S).
Denny and Barb's homestead with vineyard to the left.

View from bathroom window (S).

Once again much progress was made during the week ending last Saturday. Or is it because we drive to the cottage once a week that it looks like a lot has been accomplished?

So the retaining walls have been poured and the framing on the main level of the cottage is up. This week we expect the rest of the framing to be up. Some footers (concrete columns) were poured for the front porch/4-seasons room. This will be on the front (east side) of the cottage, will not be over the basement, and will add some interest to the appearance of the cottage by changing the roofline. This room will be heated, have nice, large windows, have the main entrance door to the cottage, a small closet, and will probably be where the dogs and bird will be contained. As pets cross over The Rainbow Bridge, better furnishings can be put into this room and it can be converted to a much nicer living room.

The main level will have a cathedral ceiling because of the sleeping loft. It will be fun to watch this come together.

The well should be drilled next week, perhaps even on Monday.

We bought our paint last Sunday while it was on sale. When we got home we realized that we forgot to purchase the 3 gallons of paint for the majority of the walls! Bonnie will pick that up soon.

Decisions have been made about several items.

Water softener and reverse osmosis drinking system: Unfortunately we will not be able to afford Kinetico during this stage of building and can, perhaps, upgrade one day. Bonnie chose a Morton space-saver, on-demand regeneration water softener that we will purchase from Menards, while the reverse osmosis brand she chose is made by Whirlpool. She is hoping to use a whole-house pre-filtering system with replaceable cartridges to filter the water before it gets to the water softener and water heater.

Air conditioner: We will not be doing central air in the beginning, choosing, instead, to order a through-the-wall (not set in a window), 12,000 BTU, 230 volt, remote-controlled, Frigidaire AC that will be installed in the loft since cold air settles.

Water heater: Bonnie won the battle here and is ordering a Takagi tankless on-demand system which will need to be dealer-installed. With the average mean temperature in the area of the cottage being close to 50 degrees, to raise the water temperature to 120 degrees, it would produce 3.3 gallons per minute. We never have two water-use appliances going at the same time, so having enough hot water should not be an issue. To put this into perspective, Bonnie wants our readers to understand that the newer faucets and showerheads sold today are set to a Federal standard flow of 2.5 gallons per minute. Greener yet would be adding a regulator that would set the flow 1.5 gpm.

Heat: Heat will be Hydro-sil electric baseboard heat. It uses silicon in it's copper tubes which are C-shaped and wrap around once inside the baseboard. Bonnie ordered a portable, digital unit to try out on our Blossom Ridge porch to see how it does compared to the electric baseboard heat currently in the 4-seasons room. This unit will be used in the basement of the cottage. Other non-portable units will be purchased for the cottage - one each for the loft, bathroom, living area and porch. Bonnie will be calling to inquire about some fully-warranted, never-used, scratch-and-dent units offered by the company. Future heating plans call for radiant floor heat in the basement and, maybe even other rooms in the cottage. The tankless hot water heater is large enough to handle radiant floor heat when we are ready to install it - another reason that swayed Bonnie to go tankless.

Flooring: Bamboo, ceramic (Snapstone) tile, and cork will all be used in the cottage with bamboo in the main living area; some tile in the bathroom and, eventually, at the entrance to the porch; and cork up the stairway to the loft and in the loft.

Bonnie wants to remind people that we are using cork and bamboo because they are renewable resources. Bamboo is a grass that grows 3' per day and you can actually hear it growing. The graining in the bamboo we are getting runs horizontally within the plank and each plank has strips that are joined similarly to fine hardwood furniture using resins.

A decision was made to drywall and paint the porch even though we would rather go with knotty pine or cedar or some other type of tongue and grooved wood. That floor will be unfinished to begin with since the 3 dogs will be out there, and will be painted with floor paint similar to our current 4-seasons room on Blossom Ridge. The basement floor will also be unfinished for now and, perhaps, it will be painted also.

Studding will be put up in the basement and the decision was made to go with a vapor barrier and fiberglass batting insulation. Finishing of the stud walls is yet to be determined.

Additional framing will be done in the basement near the same area as what will be a small utility room. Bonnie plans to enclose another small portion of the basement for use as a wine cellar and it will include some bare wall on the north side of the cottage under the stairs. Cool and dark is the hope. This will also be left unfinished, to be completed at a later date.