OP
OP
There's a lot to unpack in this post. A ton of things have happened this summer, and there are tons of updates to the property, and the situation with my Uncle.
To be blunt, I just learned my uncle passed away this afternoon unexpectantly. He was the only family member remaining on my mother's side of the family. I'm deeply saddened by his passing, and his daughter confided in me that he'd been exhibiting dementia-like symptoms with everyone this past year, not just me. This explains a lot.
Our big project for 2023 was stain!! We took two weeks to power wash, allow the siding to dry, then apply stain. Three coats was brutal, and it's expensive stuff (around $150 gal). But the results speak for themselves.
We are always looking for perfect decor items, and scored a couple really heavy metal artwork pieces. We hung the giant bear over the stairs, and a large metal valance over the basement bar area.
We snagged some additional snowshoes of FB marketplace, and we hung them near the poker table. We relocated the "Lienie's Paddle" from this area to the area under the stairs (along with a new wooden bench I refinished).
Check out this amazing night shot of the rear of the cabin. We installed some solar lights for the patio area.
We always take time to enjoy the areas amazing trails, whether mountain biking or ATVing.
Developing solid local relationships allowed us to get a huge 8' deep hole dug for $400, and all plumbing work done for around $300 (over a weekend). $100 in parts, and this was the cheapest excavation/plumbing repair I've ever had. I swear if I had a plumber come to our main house to look at a leaky faucet, I'd be billed $1200.
Here's the new hydrant installed in the garage. This included a heated tape that should prevent future freezing, even though the pipe goes down 6' under ground level.
The mower caused us grief this year. Several things went wrong with it, but none were major. First, I replaced all three blades (simple), then I needed to repair the tires, which were tubeless and had slow leaks (we took them to a shop and got tubes put in for $15 each). We then had the drive belt break, and that was a PITA to replace. But now it drives much better.
We had my cousin Troy visit with his family. Troy is the only remaining family member on my dad's side of the family. His wife and daughter enjoying a jump off the pier. On a side note, Troy is the one who got me into poker, bought me my first set of chips as a groomsman gift. Granted, it was dice chips, but the case was nicely engraved and everything!
Here's our families out ATVing, stopped at a secluded WW2 bomber crash site memorial.
Our journey has been tough this year. Lotta work, but the cabin is in a good place (physically). With the economy and lack of snow at the cabin, it's been slow for rental bookings. This means a tough stretch of covering two big mortgages. Hopefully the snow starts to fly and we get some snowmobile bookings.
Now with my uncle's passing, it's a bit weird. We definitely had a strained (pretty much non-existent) relationship this past year, but I was never really mad at him. It was the other way around. He was mad at me, and now it appears as if there's family-wide acceptance he was suffering from more severe dementia that anyone would admit. This explains a lot. Onward!!!
To be blunt, I just learned my uncle passed away this afternoon unexpectantly. He was the only family member remaining on my mother's side of the family. I'm deeply saddened by his passing, and his daughter confided in me that he'd been exhibiting dementia-like symptoms with everyone this past year, not just me. This explains a lot.
Our big project for 2023 was stain!! We took two weeks to power wash, allow the siding to dry, then apply stain. Three coats was brutal, and it's expensive stuff (around $150 gal). But the results speak for themselves.
We are always looking for perfect decor items, and scored a couple really heavy metal artwork pieces. We hung the giant bear over the stairs, and a large metal valance over the basement bar area.
We snagged some additional snowshoes of FB marketplace, and we hung them near the poker table. We relocated the "Lienie's Paddle" from this area to the area under the stairs (along with a new wooden bench I refinished).
Check out this amazing night shot of the rear of the cabin. We installed some solar lights for the patio area.
We always take time to enjoy the areas amazing trails, whether mountain biking or ATVing.
Developing solid local relationships allowed us to get a huge 8' deep hole dug for $400, and all plumbing work done for around $300 (over a weekend). $100 in parts, and this was the cheapest excavation/plumbing repair I've ever had. I swear if I had a plumber come to our main house to look at a leaky faucet, I'd be billed $1200.
Here's the new hydrant installed in the garage. This included a heated tape that should prevent future freezing, even though the pipe goes down 6' under ground level.
The mower caused us grief this year. Several things went wrong with it, but none were major. First, I replaced all three blades (simple), then I needed to repair the tires, which were tubeless and had slow leaks (we took them to a shop and got tubes put in for $15 each). We then had the drive belt break, and that was a PITA to replace. But now it drives much better.
We had my cousin Troy visit with his family. Troy is the only remaining family member on my dad's side of the family. His wife and daughter enjoying a jump off the pier. On a side note, Troy is the one who got me into poker, bought me my first set of chips as a groomsman gift. Granted, it was dice chips, but the case was nicely engraved and everything!
Here's our families out ATVing, stopped at a secluded WW2 bomber crash site memorial.
Our journey has been tough this year. Lotta work, but the cabin is in a good place (physically). With the economy and lack of snow at the cabin, it's been slow for rental bookings. This means a tough stretch of covering two big mortgages. Hopefully the snow starts to fly and we get some snowmobile bookings.
Now with my uncle's passing, it's a bit weird. We definitely had a strained (pretty much non-existent) relationship this past year, but I was never really mad at him. It was the other way around. He was mad at me, and now it appears as if there's family-wide acceptance he was suffering from more severe dementia that anyone would admit. This explains a lot. Onward!!!
