Behind the scenes...what you didn't see!!

Hard to believe, that just one week ago, we got the keys to our a-frame cottage. 

These last few months have been filled with lots of inspections.  We knew structurally it was fine, it just hadn't been updated since it was built in 1964.  You ALSO had to see past the cobwebs, inches of dust and stinky carpeting. 

 One of the first things we did, was to remove the two cupboards that obstructed the view of the lake from the tiny kitchen.

Not afraid of hard work (Chris and I have lived in four different dwellings in our twenty-two years of marriage) we just needed to put on the safety glasses, purchase a ton of cleaning supplies and fire up the shop vac.

Chris was in charge of removing the carpeting and the tack strips, while I was removing all the zillion individual tacks.  I won't lie.  We were disappointed to see lots of black adhesive over the original pine floor.

The girls loft flooring was in mint condition and we were hoping that the rest of the flooring was just as lovely.

Knowing that we wouldn't have time to sand it out last week, we decided to cover everything with protective Red Rosin paper.  

We temporarily then brought in a few pieces of furniture (enough to get us through the week).

The lower level was tackled next.  More stinky carpet was removed and the walls were freshly painted.  Goodbye STINK!

The refrigerator, stove and bathroom were also scrubbed down and then we focused on the plantings and upper deck outside.

We even planted a few flowers to go in the hosta bed.

Last and most important to Mr. Chris, the boat lift needed to be fixed so that we could protect our precious blue boat.

Despite all our sweaty labor, we did manage to find time to relax.  Cups of hot chocolate were enjoyed on the back deck.

There were frozen coke errands to run, boating opportunities and fireworks to enjoy over the lake.

Over this next week, more electrical upgrades are being completed, a new water heater is being installed and Chris hopes to tackle sanding the floors.

Thank you for all the sweet comments and support about the a-frame.  I hope you don't grow tired of our rehabbing adventures.
XOXO