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Sunday, March 19, 2017

A Cabin Weekend

We were able to put in two days at the cabin this weekend (well, all five of us on Saturday, and then just Luke and I went up on Sunday, after church.)

I cannot tell you the good feelings I have about this cabin…  AND THESE SENTIMENTS after a very tough week in finding out the new “glitches” and “money-pit” items that we ran into from our contractor’s viewpoint.  But tonight, as we were putting the boys to bed, they were talking about the cabin – summer – friends – fire pits – river walks – being able to finally sleep up there…  It is “magical” to them, and I know keeping the cabin in the family, was the right decision.

THIS WEEK:
Our contractor went up and did a lot of demo work.  Kitchen cabinet removal, bathroom vanity demo, removal of the floor “stuff” that we couldn’t get up.  He also worked on the cabin siding (removing the rotted plywood, etc.)  BUT, he let us know that there is a bad crack in the kitchen floor – one that will impact our ability to use tile.  So, we either need to use a flooring that isn’t our #1 choice and/or have “specialty” people give us a bid on fixing the foundation.  UGH.  The words “fixing the foundation” makes my blood pressure soar (I can literally feel it.)

But he said – back in “the day” the DIY jobs, worked, but not something that would be up-to-code requirements now.  Totally understand that… and my great-grandfather did this as they had money – as a side project.  So, certainly wouldn’t expect it to be rock solid 70-years-later.  It was, after all, “a true mountain cabin.” 

So, we are working on all of that now.  Decisions, priorities, budgets, etc.  This isn’t our first re-model rodeo though, so we sort of know the ropes.  And we want this done right – no temporary band-aides.  So we might have to make some trade-offs.  We are praying and hopeful we can get all of this figured out okay (given we really would like to be able to use it in the “near” future.)  For us, this investment is about family/friend time.  But – I am also realizing that the “time” we are investing in “working” up there – is just as cool as the time we will have to enjoy the finished product

Saturday =
It was POURING down rain.  I mean pouring…  so outside projects were not an option. 

We tested some floor removal “stuff.”  Spent no time at all on it, after realizing it was pointless.  Tar doesn’t come up (even after watching YouTube DIY videos showing otherwise.)

Samuel tested another paint color (though he needs some skillset improvements on his attention to detail.)  J

We moved a bunch of  our stuff into Ruby (some main items that we needed to get shifted for the remodel.) 

Rachel left some peanuts for the squirrels!

Sunday =
I honestly had no plans to go up on Sunday, but started thinking about it while in church....  so oscillated and finally decided "yes."  But we had to stop by the paint store, so we didn't leave until 12:30pm or so.

When we got there, Luke and I painted!  We had one goal in mind, and that is all we focused on.  And we were still back home in PDX, by 5:20pm (one of the reasons I love this location.)  We are now 80% done with that room, and it felt good!  It was a beautiful, sunny day today, which made it all-the-better -  Mt. Hood was glowing with sunshine.

We also were able to go “sneak” around the brown cabin a bit.  There have been visitors up there all weekend (we think they VRBO it) – but they left before we headed home.  We couldn’t see in much (drapes were closed) but it looks like they have left a lot of the “same” décor in there.  SIGH… sort of hard, but also glad we are still right next to it!  Luke and I talked about the history on the way home.  He said he wanted to save his money so that he could “buy back” the brown cabin.  He is a sweet boy…


SATURDAY TRIP

Dining Room

Testing Paint Colors

Workers!


Feeding the squirrels
Kitchen cabinets gone - and the "ick" getting cleaned up.


 SUNDAY TRIP


Stopped at Starbucks (of course!) 

Love him!  I didn't know he was painting this on the wall.  :-)


Almost done painting!  The river is in this view!  :-)

The Brown Cabin (after the cars finally left!)

The While Cabin:  Frank & Ruby (3/19/2017)

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