A modge podge of updates

First up:

Ah, our Garden Shed, retirement home of f-RAT (feLION Rodent Annihilation Team). Built by LR Contracting. I have always coveted the Sheds on the covers of the gardening magazines. Lonnie and his crew did an outstanding job. I just absolutely love this building. To the left of the building is a pile of fencing. In front is all our garden accents and f-RAT training equipment: stairs to scale, tiles to crawl through on one's feLION elbows. We also see that I've got a little blue board insulation that I have yet to cover up and put in the catnip bed. 

So, The Husband has been taking down the f-Rat pen from the Gibsonburg Farm and moving it up here. He's got one more load of fencing to bring up. This is pretty amazing as the pen is 60 x 130 and he's been bringing it all up in the Prius. The Prius is quite cavernous in addition to being able to put $6 worth of gas in it and go 80 or more miles. It's looking like four Prius loads brought all that up here. 

This weekend (remember our weekends are not on THE weekend i.e. Saturday and Sunday) The Husband will be finished taking down the pen in Ohio and bringing it home. WHICH MEANS, that we'll be done with that project and we will be putting together the frame for the EOS and getting the tractor out to drill some holes for the mount and getting all the mount lumber and hardware ordered. While the tractor is out, we'll be covering up the blue board and getting the Garden Shed and surrounding area ready for the f-RAT training ground and garden. Next, will be getting the mount all built and sunk and digging the 50 feet of trench for the loop and then we'll call in Roger.

The EOS is much needed as I officially declared the heating season over around May 12th. I've had a couple of tepid showers and one WHOO-HOO THAT'S COLD! shower and it is going to be WHOO-HOO THAT'S COLD! showers until the EOS is up and running. 

And then we have this:

Reference this post towards the bottom. You're looking for NEWSFLASH.

My first clue, exposed fabric with the underlying stone, that we may have yet another problem with another contractor's work.

My second clue, an exposed pipe that The Husband stuck his nose to, gave a whiff and then reeled back so fast he nearly broke the sound barrier. Note the cut on the right. (You should be able to click the pic for an enlargement.)

I'm going to stop here for now. 

Swindled? Emphasis on Question Mark

As Paul Harvey said, "Now, the rest of the story...." As much as I want to just put the construction/remodeling debacle/adventure behind me so I can heal, it's not over. We've been having some trouble with our Loewen windows and doors.

Water stain on one of the Garden Level Sliding Glass Door - taking on wind and water

Loft Level door, taking in air at the top.

Taking on water at the bottom.

First, I had a loft door that operated. Last Winter/Spring while Eric and Jake (Christopher Arden Homes, Perrysburg, Ohio) were working on the cabin, they opened the door and closed it. When I looked at the door, I saw that the visquene covering over the insulation on the walls had wrapped around the jamb. I went to open the door to remove the offending visquene and the door wouldn't open. I told Eric that the door was stuck. He wanted to know if I had the keys. I did not  know where they were at the moment. I still don't know why he needed the key when I would have had to open the door to put the key in it and the door wouldn't open. They ended up removing the door via the hinges. So things got marred up a little but the door was open. Well, then I found the keys and stuck them in the door. And there they still hang a year later stuck in the door. I can open the door but I dare not operate the locking mechanisms (lift the handle and throw the thumb latch to lock.) Last Summer, I kept reminding Eric that the door needed fixing. On Eric's last trip here to COMPLETE the cabin, he asked for more money and he wanted it up front. The Husband and I were a little confused by the request for money up front. We had always paid him without his prompting and he had been paid everything as originally agreed but some of the work apparently was more than originally planned. Our only question for Eric was, does this money FINISH the cabin. He told me yes. We were waiting for our equity loan to be deposited so we couldn't pay him BEFORE he was here as he requested. He did drive up without being paid first. When he got here, he reminded us that he wanted payment and could Mike (who was down in Ohio at the time) drop a check off to his wife (remember they are from Ohio). Mike did. That Friday, at the end of the day, Eric declared the cabin finished. I was shocked and completely thrown off balance. Eric had always treated us decent. Or so we thought. The cabin was not finished. The door was not fixed. The trim was hanging from the ceiling. The doorway and windows jambs in the mechanical room were not built out and trimmed. They were supposed to build a door for that doorway. I have a punch list with a bunch of little things. Even though I was distracted by nausea in the pit of my stomach, I managed to get out, "What about the ceiling? The trim in the living room is not as we discussed?" I was really shocked and confused. Eric said, "We'll be back." I mentioned, "You can fix the loft door then? You're going to talk to Scott about getting whatever parts you need?" I got a "yes." Then I went back to Ohio to see my family and spend my birthday and our anniversary with The Husband. The Husband dashed up to see the cabin while I took care of the animals in Ohio. He was flabbergasted. The Husband never saw the mess everyone made as I had usually cleaned up after everyone before I went back to Ohio to take care of the animals while Mike dashed to the cabin to see how it was coming along. This time, I left the morning after Eric and Jake left and did not stay and clean. Eric and Jake had came up later than they said they would originally and I had already missed the opportunity to meet up with some friends from high school because of it. I wasn't going to spend my birthday alone too. So The Husband was flabbergasted and on the other end of the phone I got to hear, "How is this finished? What the hell is the deal with the ceiling?! First, Dudenas' crew left drywall hanging from ceiling and now these guys leave the wood trim hanging?! They couldn't help you pick up some of this mess when it was their last trip. You're going to have to call Roger and see if he can come out and help you with this heavy stuff. I don't want you to hurt your back. That's all we need." (Quick side note: When I say The Husband dashed up to see the cabin, I do mean dash. For us, all the time spent apart was really rough for us because we do actually like each other. Yeah, kind of strange for a married couple. Anyway, the dash included driving, seeing the cabin, and dashing back so we could have a little time to together. That dash took the entirety of one of his weekends off work which was one of our weekends together when we already had been apart so much. He wasn't aware of the mess and therefore did not make plans to stay at the cabin to pick up a big mess. Hence, the need for us to hire someone to help me when I got back to the cabin after my birthday and our anniversary rather than him doing the picking up. He truly did not have the time.)

I put in a call to Eric asking him if he would come back in October rather than November. I tried to entice him with "Bow Season." I don't remember if he was on a roof when I called but it was something like that and he said he'd call me back.

After hanging out with The Husband and our animal family for three weeks, I went back to the cabin and got to work. I was completely exhausted and felt like an idiot. All I saw was all the stuff not done that we paid for. I started cleaning up all the mess I could. For the heavy stuff, Roger came in and helped me. Roger's brother, John, also came in and helped me. Disclaimer: Don't do this at home. OSHA, look over there. Okay, everyone else can take a quick peek and and then act natural.

Yikes! And no, John was hitting his brother with the broom while he hammered the trim in. John held the trim flush against the ceiling for Roger while Roger wielded the finish nailer like Sylvester Stallone wields a machine gun. 

LR Contracting was building the Garden Shed. Thankfully, they were handling 99 percent of the job. I had ordered the materials and only had to call 41 Lumber to let them know when were ready for more materials. My tractor skills pitched in to lift a pallet of shingles off the supply truck up to the roof of the Garden Shed. Other than that I was left to my cleaning. While I was cleaning the mechanical room walls, I couldn't get the dirt to come off some sections of the wall surface. Upon closer inspection, Eric had installed 3 sheets backwards. Dammit, dammit, dammit. We had waited to install the water tank so this stuff could be put up without the water tank in the way. Now, I had the wall wrong side facing me behind the water tank, another piece I get to look at when I'm at the sink, and another piece I get to see when I walk out of the room. I was finding all kinds of little things. I've got drywall screws exposed, etc. etc. I called Eric and left a message regarding the backwards installation and that we needed to have a difficult discussion.

I was up against our deadline for The Husband's year in advance scheduled vacation, our move the animals date. I slowly realized that I was NOT going to be able to get the cabin completely done before we moved the animals in. I really did not and still do not want construction going on in the house with the animals and our furniture and belongings moved in. It's dusty, disruptive, and terrifying for the animals. In my attempt to get things wrapped up as much as possible, I called Scott regarding the broken loft door. Scott was our  Loewen window and door salesperson at Toledo Overhead Door, Toledo, Ohio. When I told my version of what was wrong with the door and how it happened, I was told that was not what Eric told Scott. It was because I didn't have the key to the door. I keep forgetting how everything is my fault. Again, the door was stuck shut and the key would have had to been used from the outside. This door leads to a balcony and there was no ladder around tall enough to access the balcony. It was such a cock-n-bull, weasel-y excuse, I couldn't believe my ears. It sounded like we were all trapped inside the cabin because we locked the doors and couldn't figure out how to get out. Kind of like locking yourself INSIDE your car. Even though Eric is an installer for Toledo Overhead Door, he was on our time clock when he broke the door so Toledo Overhead isn't responsible for the repair. Fine, assholes that have our $50,000, I need a Loewen tech out here to fix this $1700 door.

Then we got busy moving the animals in. We really weren't ready for Winter like we would have liked to have been but we were in. We were in the cabin along with a lot of outside air. As you already know, I've got the wind blowing in through the loft knee wall storage. I've also had wind coming in through our very expensive Loewen windows and doors. You can also see in the pictures where I've got water coming in and sitting in the sills and eventually will rot out said expensive doors. The kitchen window whistles. Both The Husband and I are very disappointed in our Loewen windows and doors.

Now, Spring is in the air and as I don't need to spend so much time doing my Winter chores, I'm ramping up to work on the cabin. Again. Still. I called Scott. I told him that I didn't know what the warranty was on the windows and doors but they are leaking. He said he'd check into it. I reiterated twice, if not three times, that I did not know what the warranty was and still all I got was that he'd check into it. I should have directly asked what's the warranty. I got a call yesterday from one of the guys, Ron, at Toledo Overhead Door. Ron was the Loewen Rep for 16 years. He did NOT ask me what problems I was having. He cut this customer that spent $50,000 at his store off and TOLD me what to look for on the windows and doors to see what the problem is. He asked if I could get him some pictures. You want to see what the problem is, fine, I can understand that. I emailed him the pictures. Then, I called The Husband. He was on his way home from work. I updated him on the status of the continuing "spend $50,000 on windows and doors and get no service saga." He remembered he had seen that there was a Loewen dealer in Marquette in his previous efforts to get help with the loft door. He said he'd try to swing in there when he got to Marquette. He met with Tim Lammi of The Window Store and Home Improvement Center, Marquette, Michigan. We very much appreciate the time Tim took to explain Loewen's and its dealers' warranties and how the warranties claim process is supposed to work. You may want to get out a barf bag. Imagine if you will that you buy a car. You get home and the next day the car doesn't run. You take a bus to go talk to the people where you bought your car. When you get there, they are gone. No sign that any business was ever there. The wind blows a candy bar wrapper by as you feel your stomach wrench and you reach for a barf bag. You spent your money on a car, the cars got problems and you've got no recourse. You've been swindled. This is how The Husband and I are feeling after Tim explained that 1) You should have a copy of your warranty with a warranty number and order number. We, of course, never received any warranty paperwork. We have to call yet because as Tim further explained that sometimes the dealer does this for you but you should still have a copy; 2) Loewen warranties the parts; and 3) the dealer has their own guarantees for the labor and they vary. WHAT?! We were NEVER told this. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! Because of logistics, we had Dudenas' crew install the windows. Had this warranty information been explained to us we definitely would have made different decisions. Which is probably why it wasn't AND STILL HASN'T been explained to us by Scott of Toledo Overhead Door. We feel Scott was not forthright with us by not disclosing this warranty information at any time during our sales meetings. Because, in subsequent discussions with Scott, there has been no mention of warranty claim procedures, other than he'll check into it, and, in light of this new information and what it means, Mike and I have that gut wrenching feeling in the pit of our stomachs that we've been swindled. Both Scott, Toledo Overhead Door and Eric, Christopher Arden Homes, have our money and we're waiting for calls for them to correct their respective situations. The question remains, have we been swindled? The ball will remain in their courts for awhile longer. Then I will pick up the ball and start writing letters to the BBB. I'll be calling Loewen at the corp level. Links will be activated on this blog so the search engines can find the bad press. I'm TRYING not to get my knickers in a bunch. I have seen that any company that rips us off, will rip off others. A company can only do that for so long before they reap what the sow and they end up going under. I try to remind myself of the companies that ripped us off and that are now no longer in business. It works itself out. Meanwhile, we're trying to give our fellow human beings a chance to make good and emphasize the question mark.

Little Miss Pissy Pants

Okay, so the ex-contractor called again so my bad attitude and "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is all locked and loaded. He would "appreciate" a call back. Well, you know what buddy, my husband and I would have appreciated you getting off your lazy butt and getting our job done and not making it personal. Remember this guy would call my husband and complain about me. He wasn't doing his job and I'd start getting on his case and he'd call The Man and ask him how he could stand me. You know, I'm really pissed so here you go: Don't hire Dudenas (emphasis on the ass) Contracting for anything. This first picture is what I got when Dudenas put the drywall up on the ceiling. That is a piece of drywall just hanging there. It was not only like this for four weeks before Dudenas offered to fix it as I was having them load up their stuff and snow was falling but it was hanging like that over the appraiser's head when she was out for our appraisal. Gee, I wonder why our appraisal was so low. Gee, I wonder why the bank wouldn't do anything other than extend the construction loan for six months at a cost of $750 plus interest. Gee, I wonder why the bank said, "You are having someone else come in and complete the cabin, right?" So, Duden-ass, you know what you can go do. Now, the second picture is where Eric and Jake make it all better for me. I had a choice of paying to have Duden-ass' work torn down to rehang the drywall so you couldn't park a semi between the sheets or pay for something to cover it up. I thought it'd be quicker to just cover it up. It is nice to be stunned for the better. I am loving my ceiling. You see what I got from Duden-ass when I told them that the appraiser was coming. I told Eric and Jake the appraiser is coming and he's on it. "Okay, they like to see this, this, and this" and that's what he's doing. Here is a bit of advice and I canNOT stress this enough, ask for home owner references and call them. It is not enough to ask your building department if there have been any problems with the contractor you are considering. You need someone in your shoes, the home owner, to tell you about their experience. When you're taking bids and asking when they can get to your job is a good time to find out if they are getting more work as a result of the work they are doing. This is the key. Eric and Jake go into people's home's to install windows, doors, and kitchens for some retailers and get asked back by the home owner. Those are the guys you want. Run from contractors that tell you time and material. Do not let the work proceed if there's no proposal for the next phase of the project. Kick them off your property if they don't get you a proposal and want to go to time and material. A professional that knows what he's doing can tell you what it's going to cost you. Look for a company where the boss/owner is a hammer swinger. Otherwise, you get someone lazy and full of hot air making empty promises. Find out how these guys treated other owner's property. Were there cigarette butts all over? Did they chew tobacco and spit in out all over the place or in a cup and leave the cup around? Did they leave food wrappers and their own trash wherever they were standing? They should be cleaning up at least weekly or more often if the mess is a tripping hazard. Find out their break policy. Duden-ass' guys took at least two breaks a day - 15 minutes each times 3 guys times their hourly rate. Over the course of our job it added up to $5000. That's a lot of money to have dismissed as "as you claim." Hence, the Little Miss Pissy Pants and my not caring what Duden-ass would appreciate.

Break out the 'kinis

The sun is just blazing through the morning fog and heavy frost. The forecast shows sun all week and temperatures later this week hit 36. I got some sleep last night. I started out a little rough with a lot of coughing and choking but finally fell asleep. I slept for six hours straight. The apartment was super quiet so I was able to sleep another two hours. I think I've been keeping everyone around me awake with all my coughing so when I finally slept, I think they did too. My bad. While I'm not really up to running around all over the place, I'm going to anyway. I've got videos to return. I'm down to one serving of chicken soup so I need to get more groceries. I need to get some contractors garbage bags. Sigh. Stuff that's just not recyclable. Double sigh. I need to check out the driveway at the cabin and make sure it's clear. My plumbing helper is coming out Wednesday evening to help me finish up the plumbing. The wood guy will be here sometime this week. Eric and Jake will be back mid-next week which works out perfect so I can get all my work caught up and done and be ready for them to continue. I have another helper that will come out this weekend to help me finish hauling stuff out that doesn't belong in the cabin. Yes, I'm still cleaning up after our ex (contractor). Correct, nobody picked up after themselves last year. It was strange. On the last bill from our ex, he wrote on the bill that he didn't charge us for the last day when they came out and cleaned and cleared their equipment off the job site. Um, what cleaning? The only thing they really cleaned out was our bank account. There are piles of stuff under the snow where the job site trailer was parked all summer and fall. The cabin was full, and I mean full, of trash and unused and partially used materials. It's true that I saw they were throwing a bunch of stuff in the back of the pickup and taking boxes of nails out of the cabin that I paid for but at that point I just wanted them off my property and out of my life. Still, it's strange what people consider to be doing you a favor. Speaking of favors, I'm really missing The Man and Beasts so today's picture comes from the archives of feLIONs and features Emerald Starr, or Emmie, as we call her, doing me a favor and helping me with my art journal.

Thoughts of Spring

March, everyone, March! Wow. Spring is right around the corner. I know that we can still get lots of snow but we finish moving in 90 days. That is if we finish things. That is if I ever get over this darned cold and get my work done. Right now, I am absolutely burning up. But this is the break through I needed. Apparently, adding more whiskey did help. Between the whiskey and eucalyptus, I drifted off to sleep smelling like a drunken koala bear. I also hit the orange juice a little harder and steamed my sinuses. I was thinking that I could really use a sauna so I put a pot of boiling water in the sink, hung my face over it with a towel draped over the back of my head. It worked like a charm. It took away all that sinus pain. Sometime during the night, I felt all the congestion break up and I'm breathing easier now. I almost feel more exhausted though. I'm supposed to meet the electrician out at the cabin this afternoon. We all know my feelings regarding those guys lately. I did get more of the story from The Husband as to what happened when he was here and how plywood ended up on the wall. Seems these SOB's think they are too good to lend a hand when needed. Our ex (general contractor) did not have the wall that all the electrical is going on ready. So, it fell on Mike. Instead of the electrician giving Mike a hand, he told Mike, "It's not ready for me; I'll be back in a couple of hours." How absolutely lovely. So, Mike put the insulation up and then proceeded to carry a 4 x 8 (or are they 5 x 8; anyway) sheet of drywall down the stairs by himself and hung it by himself while he screwed the thing in by hand with a manual screwdriver by himself. The electrician came back and Mike wasn't finished yet so he helped put a few more screws in. Oh, you're all heart. I wondered why Mike was commenting on his back being sore when he got home from all this. I stopped in to the electrician's on Friday to schedule them for next week which is this week. I said that I needed a couple more wires added to the front porch for a couple more lights. Their response, "oh, yeah, we didn't do that last time because you had all kinds of stuff on the porch." No, I didn't know what I needed out there yet and our ex didn't have the joists doubled up out there yet so we couldn't add the wires yet. I just needed some wires added and yet I had to listen to a bunch of BS. Why do these pain in the butts feel the need to throw it all back in your face? Nothing is ever their fault, they can't do anything to help out, yet I have to clean up after their messy butts. I want to replace these guys but any other electrician doesn't want to touch another electricians rough in work in case there are problems because it will be the other guy's fault and I'll be the one stuck with paying for and fixing the mess. Kind of like right now with this plywood on the wall and the subpanel not mounted the way we wanted it mounted and now the system is all up and running. Needless to say, I haven't felt very motivated to write the check these guys are wanting. Which, by the way, in checking over the bill, there were mistakes. Math errors and the rate wasn't what they quoted us. We brought that to their attention. Oh yeah, they raised their prices in the fall but they'll honor their quote. Then, what we haven't talked about, they have down a certain amount of hours which, of course, is higher than the hours I have. That's right world, I kept track. I wrote it all down. Now what do we do? Not to mention you charged me for each little wire clamp thingie when they were littered all over the floor of the cabin. Several got stuck in the shop vac. Slobs. Wasteful slobs. Wow, I am feeling better. Just better enough to be cranky. Needless to say, I'm going to have to cancel these guys for today. I did not get the porch cleaned off over the weekend and if someone came out and copped an attitude about having to work under those conditions, I'd get so pissed that I think I would single handedly unravel the thread that's holding the Universe together. So, let's turn our thoughts back to Spring. Today's picture is brought to you by Lake Superior. I took it last summer when I needed a break from the construction BS and went for a walk along the shore. Just a couple miles down the road from The Secret Cabin.

Weeeeeee!

goes the snow as I clear off the driveway at The Secret Cabin.

Well, after being here for four full days, on day five today, I was finally ready to go out to The Secret Cabin. Today was also a day filled with weird little "thingies". Keeping in mind that I'm one of those people that gets tangled in tape if I tear off a piece longer than an inch, I had trouble getting the garage door open so I could get the Jeep out of the garage. Just a little ice and I only needed to put a little more umph into it but because I was having a really, really hard time with just the thought of going out to the cabin, I didn't want to give myself any excuse to put it off any longer and self medicate with something sugary. Going to the cabin was going to face my failures. Oh, yeah, sign me up for that. Sigh. I fought tooth and nail everyday for five months to get this place done so we could move in last year. It didn't happen. I failed. More important, though, I didn't want to hear, see, or feel the echos of last summer and fall. Homes have vibes. Before anyone gets all, "Yuck, I don't want to read woo-woo crap," consider how it feels to walk into a room where there has recently been an argument. "You could cut the tension with a knife," is a saying most of us are familiar. That's what I'm talking about. The Husband and I love this place. Never in our wildest dreams did we think a place like this actually existed yet alone that we would get to live our dreams. This is where The Man and I are going to party like rock stars and grow old together. We're not leaving until they find our dusty, spider webbed, intertwined old bones and haul us out on a stretcher. I was so afraid that the cabin and property that Mike and I love so much was going to be ruined by all that went down there last year. Yes, it was that bad. I wasn't physically attacked but I was emotionally attacked and mentally ridden into the ground. Constantly. I have to remind myself that The Husband is used to getting compliments regarding me. Last year was the first time in twelve years that he's received any complaints. He got plenty of them too and all from the same person. I thought it was against "guy code" to say anything bad about a man's wife to that man. I cling to the compliments that The Husband did receive from three different people from three different companies. After taking a little break over the holidays and then coming back, things have changed. They're the same. Oh, so the same. Yet, as I discovered once I got back to the cabin, which I discovered unlocked, only after discovering and scaling the two and a half foot snow hill left by the plowing of the main road blocking our driveway, which was yet again only after discovering my new snow shoes were both right feet, which I discovered worked better than two left feet, I have a slightly different perspective. I was more sad than angry. Oh great, the grieving process hard at work. Anger, sadness, guilt, etc. So, I was with sadness. That was until I got to the Lower Level (walk out basement) to, yes, discover more damn work for me. Dammit, dammit, god f'ing dammit. How many f'ing damn times did I tell the damn electricians that I didn't want that done that way and what kind of f'ing idiot puts shit that close to a wall that needs to be insulated and drywalled yet. And you took up some of my wash machine space-someone is going to die dammit! Tape measure broke? Missing? Too damn lazy to use it or your f'ing brain?! Ugh! It's not fun doing or paying for this stuff the first time yet alone redoing it dammit. Gee, I wonder why this is taking so long and costing so much. Hmm? I'm fighting this battle all by myself. The Husband was standing right there when all this went down. He told them also. But that's not enough. You've got to plant your feet in the ground like an old oak tree and say, "No." Then say, "No, that's not what I want," Then say, "No" again and again and again. And then say, "That would be f'ing ugly. I don't f'ing want to look at that shit in my house. I'm the owner and I sign the checks f'ing dammit." Then you get to mill around after they've blinked and glared at you for getting all super bitchy for no reason at all and make sure they do what you asked and not do what you asked them not to do. Michael is not used to that kind of crap. He tells the pilots how to fly. They either listen or kill themselves and a bunch of other people. (Wouldn't that be a cool skill to have with EVERY ONE that has well functioning hearing?) Not only did I grow up on a farm, work on a farm, and now have a farm and I'm used to wading in a pile of shit, I also was a secretary. Hear me ROAR. That reminds me I need to make an appointment to go get my blood pressure checked. Anyhow, homeowners under going construction/remodeling should be awarded a kill somebody-get out of jail free card. It wouldn't completely stop some of these "professionals" but it would be a kind of Darwinian way to eliminate some of the bad ones so they don't bother you or anyone else so it could be justified as a public service. Because I thought of this, I get more than one card. The important thing, though, I discovered our cabin is still The Secret Cabin that we love which I discovered before I discovered I couldn't get the gate to close on my way back into town no matter how much umph I used.

But wait there's more....

The Husband took two more of our elder feLIONs to the vets for their check ups. Poor Guy Cat. He hates going to the vets. We have to put an extra towel in the carrier so he can burrow under it and hide. Did you know that if you don't look at someone they can't see you. Both, Guy and Grant got a clean bill of health. Kind of helps me put things into perspective. Good news about our feLION family members from the vet makes any day a great day and life is right for The Man (aka DaddyCat) and me. So a shout out to everyone at The Fremont Animal Hospital in Fremont, Ohio. HELLO!

And to finish off a pretty, darned good day, I went to the artists' circle tonight at the Calumet Art Center. Artists just hang out and talk. It's so nice. We can talk about color, shape, composition, how the light and shadows play, etc. and no one thinks your weird or if someone does think you're weird, it's perfectly okay. If someone would have told me that I would be hanging out and talking and becoming friends with these amazing artists that are so well traveled in their careers, I would have never believed him/her. Wow, we've discovered home too.

Fried Wifi Brain

Cripes. Mike and I are super exhausted. We've seen each other for four days in the last five months. It is Winter in the Keweenaw. So, while we had planned on having the cabin done by the last week of October (our very latest, back up deadline if we didn't make the other deadlines) so we could move in, here it is December with lots of snow so we called it quits for the year. I am going to refer to this part of the cabin remodel as Faze I - Rough in with emphasis on the word "rough" and declare this phase over. I leave the Keweenaw this Saturday and fly back to Ohio. Mike will come up to the cabin the week of Christmas and finish hooking up the solar system. Our plan is that he'll be back in time for Christmas Eve. Then, Mike and I are going to take a little break from the construction stuff and start back up when we feel ready. The contractor that we had working on the cabin this year is all cleared off our property and it's a big relief. We are talking to another contractor for the finish work.

Getting a little on the side

Ya know, I find myself saying things that are weird to say about this whole construction drama. So, things are NOT working out with my current contractor and I want to toss him out and fire his ass. It's so reminiscent of a bad relationship break up only he never bought me a ring to throw at him as I stomp indignantly off into the sunset. It's hunting season. This current contractor's usual level of lack of customer service has left me alone for two weeks without any workers or any work being done. What's a girl to do to fill her lonely, quiet, construction worker-less days? Not let the job site get cold. That's for darn sure. The last shipment of Loewen Windows came in along with a couple of guys to install them. So, yes, guilty. I'm guilty of cheating on my contractor with another contractor. So, these new guys are amazing. We stopped work and went into town for lunch. We went our separate ways for lunch and I was took my sweet old time as I usually do with my other crew. I had lunch. Set my fork down between bites. Chewed slowly and thoroughly actually tasting my food. Then I ran some errands. Then I drove within the speed limit. Good thing the old ticker is still a work horse. I'm still suffering from a little disbelief though. Eric and Jake were done installing the windows. As if that weren't shocking enough, they were, get this, cleaning up. Then Eric said, in slow motion with the camera in tight on a shot of his lips, "Is there anything else you would like us to do for you while we're here?" After, visions of laying on the ground and getting the electric paddle treatment to the chest cleared my head, I responded with an intelligent, "Uh, no?" After as much a recovery as anyone in my shoes could make, I was able to point at the cabin and kind of stutter, "Come back to UP? Proposal to finish cabin?" while refraining from throwing myself down on the ground and holding them by the ankles and crying, "Don't leave me; finish my cabin, please." So, I'm getting a proposal. And so, yes, I'm guilty of courting another contractor on the side while I'm still hooked up with this current contractor. My new contractor has a cooler truck too! Na, na, so there.

Fall y'all

First, a quick word on the weather from UP North: Wa! (local saying meaning "wow"). For the rest of us, the word ugly will do the trick. Lots of cold, wind, rain, sleet, and snow. Even people who have been here a while are saying it's unseasonably cold right now and that it's pretty unusual to see color on the trees and snow on the ground.

I am flying to Ohio today so that I can take care of the animals while Mike comes UP here and installs the solar panels. Since my last update, the electrician has wired the cabin and I have been working on the plumbing. Yep, I can "sweat pipe" meaning solder. I also know how to glue together the black ABS piping too. I do have an experienced guy who is the brains and the brawn of the operation but technically because I, the owner, pulled the permit means I, the owner, have to do the work. I did that because we were getting ridiculously high estimates for the plumbing and the plumber I hired already had one part of the job wrong and had a mouth I didn't want to listen to so I wasn't going to torture myself or anybody else and ended that immediately.

The guys started the barn last week, are working on it this week, and will probably be working on it again next week. Geez. Then we're back in the cabin for insulation and drywall with a two week break for hunting season. Apparently, they shut the UP down and go hunting. After, that it's December. Yep, December. We should have our last shipment of windows waiting for us (they come in opening day of hunting season) and we'll get them installed and that will be it for the year.

Hollywood Hell Week

Except not in Hollywood and no future singing sensations. Where is Simon Cowell when you need him? I'm on week 2 at the cabin. Last week was ugly. Job foreman would NOT listen, gave me a lot of grief, and was just plain snark-y. I blew up and swore like a sailor. It didn't work. Unless, I was going for high blood pressure readings. When things weren't ready for the heater mason, I called the construction company owner and told him things weren't going well. Didn't get much response so I brought in a couple of guys to help me. Nope, not to proud to pick men up off the street. When owner got there yesterday morning, I let him know he lost the additional work we have and that he'd have to earn the next stage of the job. He said that wasn't fair. I told him that he'd learn to take me seriously and that's the way it was going to go. So going for the wallet worked and I got more guys and everyone got the lead out and busted butt and the job got caught up. So, I'm thinking positively now and expect things to go well. Here's a little sneak peak at the lower level heater. This is after like 5 hours of work - and they had to set up all their stuff including shoveling dirt to be able to get into the basement and move all their block by hand because I couldn't get the job foreman to do it.