Note: Kerri's mother, Amy Elaine Martin, who had been a great help having the kids for several weeks each summer to allow us time to work on the cottage, died in December of 2007of cancer. Without her help, the project would not have been possible.
Well, here we are at Year 7. Hard to believe.
Last year, we finished with:
"We have hot and cold water, a shower, toilet, and kitchen and bathroom sinks. We have lights and receptacles. Next year, we will start out occupying our cottage and we will be able to enjoy the water and wind even more."
Well, I am glad to report that this is exactly what we did; we scaled back a bit on the projects, enjoyed life with family and friends more and stayed at the cottage every night we were there, from our first to our last, just as we had planned.. We were becoming a bit concerned that as the project continued for years beyond our original expectation, the kids would grow up thinking of the cottage as the place where they sat around and sweated while mom and dad worked and sweated. So we invited friends from Tennessee to visit and had the kids' cousins over for a few days and nights and did more boating, fishing, and swimming and generally enjoying life on the fringe of technology. Well, mostly on the fringe, with the exception of Nintendo DS and Gameboy and the occasional dash to town for Paul to keep plugged in on his students back in Tennessee. But cell coverage is pretty minimal with our network and there is no cable TV or cable modem, and no landline phone or AC. That last one had a lot of people wondering if we were sane, but we figured that not having AC would insure that we were outside and in and on the water a lot and that has proven to be the case.
Last year, Paul vowed it was his last with the yearly construction narratives here on the web; however, several people asked about our progress so we decided to post pictures of the finished work without the construction details and just comment on the differences between this year and last. So with that, below are the pictures of the cottage work and some general photos of the good times. Hope you enjoy them. Let us hear from you if we haven't in a while. Paul's email address (in scrambled email form to thwart 'net bots) is:
pdf_at_utk_dot_edu
(To send email, leave out the underscore marks and change the words for the symbols to their obvious symbol counterparts).
Hope you enjoy the pics!
Front, now (on left) and last year (note the gabled awning on the right side, "fly" rafters on the gabled ends, and the front steps). I think of all the things we added, visitors have appreciated the steps the most.
Rear and side view, this year and last (added the steps).
Bedroom, now and then (painted and added headboard and shelf).
The kids' (bunk) room looking due south.
Bunkroom again, now (left) and then (added curtains, wall decoration).
East side of bunkroom, now and then (added four bunks with opening portholes for each occupant). We've done some additional work since the "now" picture was taken so they look a bit different now.
Close-up of cabinets and countertop added to kitchen.
Kitchen, now and then (added tile to floor, small cabinet cluster, and countertop. Also have primed but not painted wainscoting). The fridge will eventually go in the space to the right of the sink.
We went to Edenton across the Sound on a day trip with our friends from Tennessee.
Fiona at one of her many birthday celebrations. Looks like everyone but Fiona is going to blow out the candles.
Our yearly trip to the ocean, about a one hour drive east. This year, we did two day trips instead of staying overnight since it was pretty close.
Fiona is all smiles as she works on one of her many writing projects.
Gareth looks partially beaten by his many trips running down and crawling up the dunes.
Gareth and Henley chilling out of the sun and water for a while.
Gareth and Oliver building castles.
Gareth with the fish he caught.
Gareth on one of his many kayak adventures.
Gareth and Fiona and cousins try to catch another big one.
Fiona with her birthday gift, soon to be a Guitar Hero. It is so gratifying to hear her sing and play along to "Talk Dirty to Me".
Michael and Henley trying to reach China the hard way.
Henley has almost made it to the top while the boys languish at the bottom of the dune below.
Fiona on one of her several jet ski training mini-trips.
Kerri at the end of the boardwalk next to the dunes.
Two tired pups at the end of a long day of fun in the sun and surf.
Kerri and Jessie in the front yard near the mimosas. Jessie definitely misses the freedom of the rural life more than anyone, as she now readjusts to life in the 'burbs.
So long for this year. Hope you catch a big one of whatever you are fishing for.