Just about done

Everything's slowed down considerably here at the cottage, and with good reason: We're done. No, we're not so naive to think we'll ever actually be done, as in for always and forever, but for the most part, we can now proudly hoist the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner and be secure in the knowledge that we've officially closed out this phase of our cottage rehabilitation project.

Why, just look at the kitchen:


... and compare to the kitchen we moved in to:

Almost done

We're just about finished. Here's a view of the lake:

Easy access to the throne

Al's been spending the last couple of days hanging doors. For a little cottage, we sure have enough of 'em! Nine interior doors, in fact. All of the original doors have been gone for quite a while (the notable exception being the bathroom door, for modesty's sake). A couple of the old veneer doors were put on special temporary assignment as dumpster ramps, for it was a lot easier roll a wheelbarrow chock full of debris up a ramp than it would have been to yank it up to the floor of the dumpster. The new doors are solid, a classic six-panel design. They'll serve as particularly sturdy ramps in, oh, about a century.

Although we're doing one-for-one replacement of all of the doors, we've slightly changed the position of one, and modified the swing of at least two. Take the bathroom, for instance. When we moved in, to enter the tiny bathroom you'd push the door inward and to the right. The bowl was hidden by the door, so you'd have to shut the door whenever you felt the urge to relax on the throne. It entailed a small bit of maneuvering.

We changed the layout so that we still push the door inward, but it's to the left. It gives the room a whole new feeling! Now you can access the throne without needing to shut the door.



Why you would actually want to do that is beyond the scope of this post, however.

February update

Winter's chill and snow have slowed work a bit. Here's the view of the deck through the kitchen door tonight:


But there has been significant progress in the kitchen since our last installment:

Ready to throw in the trowel

Our friend Eric has nearly finished our fireplace:


He'll be back tomorrow to set the hearth stone in place, then Al will attach the mantel, and the fireplace store will put the front back on.

Special props to my friend Jim, who suggested the title of this post after building his own fireplace.

More buried treasure

After seeing the posts (first and second) about some of the interesting artifacts we've recovered while deconstructing the cottage, lots of people have asked "how much money have you found?" Visions of sacks of Franklins lining the walls helped fuel the actual demolition process. Quite frankly, Franklin, we would have been very happy with just a few C-notes.

Well, I hate to tell you the final results: we uncovered very little currency... and that's a real shame, especially considering how much we're paying for all these renovations!

Perhaps someone can tell me whether this aluminum coin is legal tender. Somehow, I doubt it.

Happy colorful new year

Almost a month has gone by since our last update. The drywall crew finished just after Christmas -- they were busy hanging, taping, mudding, sanding, texturing, priming... and reading this journal. What a small world!

Our friend Naomi found us a good deal on paint. The timing was perfect, for the walls were ready and Mrs. Yuhas had plotted out the motifs for each of the rooms. (Mrs. Yuhas now answers to "Queen Motifa.") Here's the kitchen after we got through with it:


Remember the pink room? It looked like this before we moved in:


Hold on to your hat -- it's no longer pink!


Here's the green room when it was still green:


... and today -- not a speck of verde! Alex had fun in this space:


I'm overjoyed by Queen Motifa's color selections, but feel a tiny bit bittersweet about the radical changes, because my former names for all the rooms will now be a little more difficult to justify. Those who have followed this journal since its early days can perhaps appreciate the angst rising within me prompted by all these changes (newcomers to the Cottage Archaeology blog can catch up by reading this post from August). So it's with a great sense of joy that I can announce that the blue room has become the "new hue true blue" room! Mrs. Yuhas updated the scheme to better reflect 2008's sensibilities, naturally, and two of the walls are a tan color. Here's Cassidy in the former vivid blue room:


We rang in 2008 with a makeover of the new hue true blue room:


Can you spot some of the other changes? There's a whole new door, and it swings the other way. This required us to move the light switches to the other side. But the biggest change is the floor is now several inches higher -- it now matches the height of the kitchen, and the deck outdoors. This little modification kept Al busy for a while. It's all in a day's work for Cottage Archaeology Man!