JANUARY
I took Boy #1 and Wondermutt to visit DaCabin for a couple days.
There wasn't much snow on the ground, but there had been some freezing rain recently.
Driving in on the private road was like going through a car wash, with many branches and small trees brushing against the car as we drove.
So, once we were in and had a nice fire going in the wood stove (and some Ma Deeters pizza in our bellies!) we walked back out along the road trimming the low hanging trees and branches as we went.
Dad, can you remind me again why we come up here?
Later I walked alone down the path to the little creek...
Upon returning to the cabin I found my son and Dog-O had both found something to keep themselves occupied...
This is a photo of the old wood shed taken in 2021.
At that time I decided to build and stock a new wood shed so I could use up that old wood, some of which has been in there for decades.
Here is the old shed again, January 2023. I've made significant progess burning up that old wood.
I estimate there's enough wood left to get through one more winter.
Next it was time to take Ol' Sparky the Stove out to pasture.
I put one of my favorite cabin toys inside...
...and now Ol' Sparky is out of his misery.
FEBRUARY
Dog-O and I went up for a couple days. First thing on the agenda... get a nice fire going so we don't freeze to death.
Then of course we had a little playtime...
The old muchas sombreros curtains have been hanging for decades. They were decomposing where they hung, but now they've both been replaced with curtains better suited to a northern cabin...
The next morning the temperature was just right for my daily shower...
Not too hot, not too cold...
AAaaahh... REFRESHING!
MARCH
The old ceiling fan had seen better days. My father's pragmatic solution to its wobbly ways was to shore it up with some pieces of cardboard, a stick, and some stabilizing wires. In the course of painting I broke the controller on the wall and the fan was reduced to only one speed - THE LUDICROUS DEATH SPIN!. You probably wouldn't want to be anywhere inside the cabin if one of those metal blades -or the whole damn thing!- came flying off the ceiling.
Decapitation imminent...
That old fan is scrap metal now and has been replaced with a nice new fan.
In late March Dog-O and I visited DaCabin for a couple days.
Piles of falling firewood had been pushing out the walls of my dad's old wood shed for decades. I had finally burned enough wood that I could make repairs to one of the walls.
F-U-C-T
Better...
Ta-Da!
The next day Wonder-Mutt and I had to book it outta there as a snow storm rolled in.
Shoulda brought me snow shoes, yah.
APRIL
This is how my dad put together the back side of his wood shed...
Another professional job by Mr. Fixxitt! Note the attention to detail.
Now it looks like this...
I removed another piece of useless furniture from one of the bedrooms, a nightstand.
It was properly and mercifully disposed of...
...and is now out of its misery.
R.I.P.
MAY
The ceiling light in the living room was an ugly old thing from a bygone time.
For the love of god, what monster is still selling these?!?
I constructed a new light fixture to replace that ugly-ass old thing from the '60's...
Now THAT'S classy, baby! Ooooh Yeaaah!
New floor tiles are being installed in my dad's bedroom...
I've never installed ceramic tile before. I hope I know WTF I'm doing...
The door into the kitchen was overdue for a touch-up. I sanded it down and applied deck stain...
...while the supervisor monitored my activities from a spot in the shade.
May 24... another cabin visit and work continues on the floor tile installation...
About 25 or 30 years ago my dad had the chimneys re-built. At the time the mason told him he would have to water seal the bricks every year or they would fall apart. It would seem my dad did not heed this sage advice. Something had to be done as the decomposing bricks were starting to allow water to leak into the attic.
So I hired a local fellow to tear down the bad bricks and rebuild the chimneys above the roof line.
JUNE
The mason did a nice job re-building the chimneys above the roof line, but those gray blocks were a bit utilitarian in appearance.
You know, like Soviet Era Russia Housing aesthetics. UGLY.
So I applied a bit of paint.
Hey, if it's all white with you, it's all white with me!
Oh man, that joke never gets old!....
THIS guy was a LOT of help...
Don't worry dad, I'm keeping an eye out for daanger... bearss.... cougarszZZZZZzzzzzzz.....
JULY
I took out another old double-hung and storm window, replacing them with a new casement window.
Holy mackerel! Did somebody plant a new tree out there!?
I began removal of a double hung window next to the kitchen door, to be replaced with a picture window.
AUGUST
I installed the new picture window for the kitchen, but the wood trim available at the cabin wasn't the right size.
Fortunately the window is well protected under the porch roof so the trim could wait.
The new tile floor installation in my dad's bedroom was completed and the room put back together.
SEPTEMBER
It took a couple visits to finish the trimming and painting around the new picture window.
NOVEMBER
There was another broken window in the kitchen that my dad "repaired" by applying silicone to the busted-ass pane of glass.
Between the cracks, silicone, exterior storm window, and years of neglect (see: no window washing), the view was pretty badly compromised.
So, once again I purchased and installed a new vinyl replacement window.
Good grief! Who knew there was a forest out there?
DECEMBER
I trimmed out the new kitchen window that had been installed during my previous cabin visit.
MORE TO COME....>>>>>>>
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