Monthly Archives: April 2014

easter at the cabin….

Posted on April 29, 2014 by the coleman cabin

After such crazy weather this spring, we were thrilled to have sunshine and 70 degree temps for Easter Sunday, which, of course, is perfect weather for hanging out at Colemans Lake with the fam! My eldest sister’s two kids, Maharlika and Zarek, as well as my middle sis’s twin girls, Emily and Erin, had all spent Saturday night with us. Easter morning the kids all piled into Maharlika’s car, while Dave, Mom, the three pups and I, all loaded into the van and headed down to the cabin for a full day of fun.

We started the day with an Easter egg hunt, because, even though the “kids” range from age 13 to 20, you’re never too old for that, right? I had stuffed 92 plastic eggs with candy the night before, and, once we arrived at the cabin, hid them randomly around the outside. (We forgot to recount the eggs once the kids were done to see if they’d found them all…. yep, still finding eggs there every time we’ve been down this week.)

: Maharlika, Emily and Max, head for the propane tank to see what might be hiding there

: Max takes a minute to text his new girlfriend, Isabelle, while simultaneously gathering eggs around the scaffolding

: Emily discovers a few eggs hidden under the pile of left over roofing

: Zarek follows suit

: hey look, there’s more under this pine tree

: Maharlika ducks under the front porch to see what she can find

: Zarek hits the jackpot under the porch

: Max, still texting Isabelle…

: Grandma Ginger watches as the kids continue their hunt

: Emily finds more up on the porch

: Erin discovers more eggs around back

: Dave, the hounds and Grandma Ginger hang out on the porch while Emily dips into her stash

Next on the agenda- we head over to the picnic area on Waffles Ridge for a cookout.

: before heading up to the picnic area, we take a minute to give the pups a little water from our newly working well

: Dave tests out our water to see how it tastes…

: not bad for well water!

: Dave gets ready to throw the burgers on the grill

: Max, Emily and Erin grab drinks while Zarek and Maharlika hang out at the picnic table

: Waffles stands by, ready to help Dave, while Ginger and Erin pull stuff out of the cooler

: waiting ever so patiently to be fed….

: Jill, Erin, Emily, Max, Zarek, Maharlika & Dave

: Grandma Ginger works on her latest project as the kids work on the eggs….she never leaves home without her knitting…or needlework…or quilting….

: Pancake wants to know why he’s the only one tied up

: looking back up at the picnic area from below

: hi Dave!

: not wanting to leave anyone out, we have the kids all try the fresh squeezed water… Erin first

: then Zarek…

: Max…

: Emily…

: and Maharlika…the conclusion…it tastes like water 🙂

: Pancake’s too busy rolling in the cool moss to try out our new well water

After lunch, it’s time for our annual deviled egg eating contest…

: first, we have to make the deviled eggs

: Maharlika, Emily and Erin get busy peeling eggs

: Zarek joins in while Max supervises

: Emily cuts the eggs in half and removes the yolks

: Grandma Ginger works on her latest project as the kids work on the eggs….she never leaves home without her knitting…or needlework…or quilting….

: the rest of the bunch bow out of the contest early, leaving Zarek to beat Dave’s record of twelve deviled eggs in a row

: come on Zarek, just one more and you’ll hold the new record

: Dave laughs as Zarek struggles to swallow his thirteen egg…

: Zarek, regretting eating that thirteenth egg….remember, it doesn’t count if you throw it up

As Zarek struggles to keep down his thirteenth deviled eggs, we here a splash, followed by much giggling from the girls down on the dock. Uh oh. Surely someone’s phone didn’t just go in the lake?!

: Erin jumps in the lake to try and retrieve Emily’s phone

: after locating the phone, Erin grabs Emily’s foot and pulls herself back up onto the dock

: Emily continues to laugh while holding her water logged phone

: somebody get that girl a towel!

: do you think it still works?

: still laughing, Erin wraps the towel around herself while Emily tries to dry her phone off a bit

: Zarek (still feeling pukey) and Max join us on the dock to see whats going on

: Dave and I leave them to hang out on the dock while we head back up and rejoin Grandma Ginger at the picnic table

: back up on Waffles Ridge, we look down and see the kids all happily hanging out together…we smile and think, yes, this is what this place is all about….creating memories to last a lifetime….

After the kids hung out on the dock for awhile, and Zarek’s wave of nausea passed, we pulled out the toys….

: Zarek takes his first spin on the ATV

: yep, I think he liked it

: Emily tries out the ATV while Max follows behind on his dirtbike

: Grandma Ginger snaps a view photos of Max and Emily

: Daisy says, wait for meeeeee

: Maharlika eyes the ATV but decides to take out the kayak instead

: um excuse me people, I’m still tied up here at the picnic table

: Max takes Pancake down to the spot where we first found him a year ago….this is his first visit back to the lake since then, which is why he remains on a leash

: the pups all follow while Dave and Maharlika take the kayaks up to the lake

: Dave helps Maharlika onto the kayak

: off she goes…

: Emily and Erin follow Maharlika out in the two man kayak

: Grandma Ginger watches from Waffles Ridge

: Dave gets the fishing poles ready for Max and Zarek

: Zarek stands by, holding a hotdog for fishing bait…Waffles hopes he’s holding it for her

: Maharlika tries to bring the kayak in while Erin and Emily try to push her back out 🙂

: Erin decides to sun herself on the dock, so Maharlika jumps into the kayak with Emily

: Dave sets up Zarek and Emily ontop the dam with fishing poles

: time to put the toys away and pack up guys!

: the kids bring in the kayaks from the lake

: the sun is starting to sink lower in the sky as we pack up…

After a full day of fun we pack up and head for home. As we drive off, I think about the summer ahead and look forward to spending lazy days watching the kids hang out together, bonfires at night, waking up in the mornings and looking out at the lake ….

replacing the siding and testing out the well…hooray, we now have water in the house!

Posted on April 17, 2014 by the coleman cabin

Another eventful weekend at the cabin! Now that we have power coming in to the place, we were ready to test out the well, but never having had one before, we weren’t quite sure how it works. After a brief conversation with our trusty contractor, Todd Hawkes, we realized all we had to do was hook a hose to the small water tank in the basement and then flip a switch in the circuit box to turn on the pump to the well….lo and behold, it worked!

: first, flip the switch that powers the well pump

: next, hook the hose to the water tank

: aaahhhhh, we have WATER!

: ooooh, I hope it doesn’t stay this color!

: whew, it does run clear

Next on the agenda was to finally tackle removing, and then replacing, the log siding along the right side of the great room window so that it lines up with the siding on the left. When the builders originally placed the siding, they ended up with a one + inch gap between two pieces on the right side and rather than fixing it, just cut a thin strip of siding to fill in the gap… unfortunately, we didn’t notice it till they were gone. Although we briefly considered leaving it, we knew it would always bug us if we didn’t go ahead and make it right. In order to correct the mistake, we figured out that if we just spaced out the siding pieces about an 1/8 of an inch more than they had been, it would make up the difference and line the two sides up properly. Thankfully, it all went as planned and, aside from the precariousness of having to work from the third level of the very wobbly scaffolding (which was much higher than in looks on camera!) it worked out perfectly and now we can move on to finishing the stain on the outside.

: Dave begins the tedious job of removing the siding

: as expected, the pieces rip apart as he removes them so we’ll have to cut new pieces

: this shows the thin strip of siding that had been used to fill in the gap

: from inside the cabin…

: he’s much higher than he looks in the photo and this was before adding the third level of scaffolding!

: moving right allong..

: Dave, cutting the new siding pieces

: prepping for the first new piece to go up

: now, let’s see if our plan will work!

: up goes the first new piece, spaced out a little more than before

: nailing it the first piece….

: so far so good!

: ready to put up the third level of scaffolding

: careful Dave, don’t put it through that window!!

: a little nervous about the unsteadiness of the scaffolding, Dave begins to remove the last of the siding

: having removed the last of the old siding he moves on to replacing it

: excellent, the last piece fits in perfectly!

: nailing in the last piece

: Dave is much relieved at this point that he will soon be able to come down to stable ground 😉

: and, it’s done

: SO much better and you can’t even tell that it’s been spaced apart on the right!

Our other tasks of the day were to finish connecting bathroom the vent pipes, wiring the outlets in the basement and to begin sanding the deck rails.

: while Dave was tackling the siding issue, I began the tedious task of sanding the deck rails…taking many breaks to photograph Dave’s progress, I only got as far as this one section

: Dave finishes the task he had begun last week

: connecting the pipes for the bathroom vents

: on to wiring the outlets

: attaching the wires to the socket

: first outlet done, ten more to go!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, replacing log siding, The Coleman Cabin, wiring electrical outlets | Leave a comment

after months of all work, we finally get in a little play time as well!

Posted on April 8, 2014 by the coleman cabin

Although we did spend the first part of the day Sunday working, we decided to break early to get in some ATV action, and then ended the beautiful spring day with a little fishing as well.

First on the day’s agenda was to put up scaffolding on the back deck. We have discovered that the log siding on either side of the great room windows does not match up and that the builders have put in a 1-2 inch strip between two of the siding pieces on the left in order to make up the difference. In order to make it look right, we’re now going to have to strip off the log siding on that side and replace it before we finish staining the outside. Our intent was to go ahead and tackle that project but after getting the scaffolding up, decided to put it off for another day and work on a few simpler projects instead.

Our dumpster was removed last week but we still have a ton of scrap wood to get rid of so decided to go ahead and build a fire in order to burn some of it. Max and I were put in charge of cutting down wood pallets and tending to the bonfire.

: Dave uses a torch to start the fire

: Max gets a lesson in splitting wood for kindling

: good work, Max

: burning nicely now!

: Max tends the fire as Dave works under the deck, drilling holes for the bathroom vents

: um, Max, you’re supposed to be tending the fire, not playing your DS

After starting the fire, Dave went to work drilling into the basement wall, under the front deck and through to the inside, in order to make openings for the bathroom vents.

: the pipes come down from the bathrooms above and run along the basement ceiling

: the drill is too long to fit between the deck support and foundation wall

: Dave switches to a smaller drill to get the hole started

: once in part way, he can switch back to the larger, more powerful drill

: as he makes his way through the eight inches of wood, he chisels out the sections that have been drilled

: and he’s made it through!

: the end of the vent and cover, ready to go into the hole

: excellent work, Dave

: from the inside, the vent end is ready to be connected to the existing pipe

Bathroom vents taken care of, Dave moves inside to do some framing in the laundry room.

: rather than dropping the entire ceiling to hide the HVAC, we opt instead to box it in

: view of the new box framing from inside the laundry room

: look, we have a working electrical outlet in the laundry room!!!

These two tasks crossed off the list, it’s now time for our first trail ride of the year!

: thankfully, the ATVs all started right up after being stored all winter

: time to helmet up

: and we’re off to the other side of the property

: a little marshy back here in the woods

: hmmmm, this is not what we were expecting the trails to look like!

: Max pulls up beside me…yep a little muddy

: Max decides to take his dirt bike for a quick spin as well…he’s way out grown it since last year!

: somehow, Dave didn’t get nearly as muddy as Max

: after much fun slipping and sliding in the mud, it’s time to put the vehicles away

About an hour of sunlight left, we decide to get in a bit of fishing before packing up.

: Dave picks out lures for all of us from his tackle box

: Max heads off to find a good spot for his first cast

: patience, Max, patience

: Dave and Max both ignore the “no walking on the dam” sign and head on top of the dam to fish

: Dave and Max, from the front of the dam

: Max catches the first fish of the day!

: still new to fishing, Max gets a lesson in removing the hook

: after succesfully removing the hook, we threw it back into the lake

: not to be outdone, I catch the first bass!

: as the sun sinks lower in the sky, it illuminates the lovely moss along Waffles Ridge

: looking back up at the cabin from the old road to the dam

: the view of the cabin from down near our dock

After a full day, we packed up and headed for home…

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin, Fun times at Colemans Lake | Tags: ATV trail riding, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, fishing at Colemans Lake, putting in bathroom vents, The Coleman Cabin | 2 Comments

it’s official, we have power!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by the coleman cabin

In honor of this momentous occasion, a few words from the cast of The Electric Company:

we’ve got the power!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Leave a comment

poles…we have electric poles!

Posted on April 1, 2014 by the coleman cabin

Dave’s folks were down visiting from Pittsburgh this weekend. Fortunately, after a week of rain, it finally let up and they were able to go down to check things out at the cabin.

: Dave’s parent’s, Frank and Betty, possibly our number one blog followers ;-), check out our progress in person!

Two poles were placed by Southside Electric on our property this past week, one on either side of Colemans Lake Road, and lines run from the existing power pole to each of these. Power lines will be run from the second pole, underground and to the house, in the next week or so. We’re pretty excited about this because once we have power, we can start spending the night. Woo Hoo!

: pole number one, located on the far side of Colemans Lake Rd

: pole number two… power lines will run underground from here to the cabin

Shower pans were also placed this week…we’re getting there slowly but surely!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, log home construction, Southside Electric Cooperative, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

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Monthly Archives: April 2014

easter at the cabin….

replacing the siding and testing out the well…hooray, we now have water in the house!

after months of all work, we finally get in a little play time as well!

it’s official, we have power!

poles…we have electric poles!

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