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!