Moving Along Slowly

(Can you tell it's feeding time?)

It's not easy being old. You move much slower and if you do too much you ache in places you had forgotten you had. Odd muscles begin to scream and new ailments seem to pop up. Since when did I ever have hip problems? Starting about two weeks ago! Near as I can tell from internet research, it's probably some type of bursitis from overuse but I woke one night in excruciating pain in my left hip and radiating down my left leg which prevented any sleep. That was when I was in the middle of moving tons of the stick piles to a massive bonfire for two full days, which was nothing but bend over, pick up, lug, toss, and turn around and do it all again as I sweated profusely while standing next to a 2000 degree (at least) blazing inferno rendering coals over a foot high. It was easy the next morning to stick a dry piece of branch into the coal/ash pile and poof--it would take off again. 

My other recent task was to work on our sitting area. Marc had ordered some gravel with lots of larger cobble in it so we had picked out the larger rocks into a discard pile. I decided to use them to spruce up the cut bank which was cleared long ago leading down to the lake. I built two flanking dry stack walls and also used some smaller gravel to fill in and expand the area which dropped away steeply. By doing this we will be able to install the largest boulders as a fire pit in this area after the bug tent is moved. It will go elsewhere. After carting rocks and shoveling gravel for two days to accomplish this I was able to truthfully answer my doctor during my annual if I was doing any weight bearing exercise for my osteoporosis! I want to add some small plantings to the side hills behind the stones but don't know if that will get done this summer. Whatever goes in there will likely be the extent of our "landscaping" here. I have enough to maintain with the two acres in Waupaca every time I go home. 

Our main endeavor of course, has been continued progress on the shop. The roof trusses came in and Marc's contractor friend came with a helper to install the sheathing and roof paper. After that, Marc worked hard to finish off the gable ends and do the headers for the man door and the oversize garage door, which he just finished installing. He still needs to get that actually hooked up to the opener when he returns from an unexpected speed run to Waupaca. 

You see, our RV fridge unexpectedly died. It had stopped running on electric about a year ago and now won't run on propane either. Fortunately, since we have an extra refrigerator at home, he is there now to pick it up and also bring back the pontoon. The fridge is actually the one in our house with a decent size freezer so it will be set up in the shop to do until we can move into our new RV. 

Next up will be tackling the metal roof installation. Roofing is expected in on July 7th. In between we'll likely get started on installing the siding. 

Slowly, as we have time, we're also working on selectively clearing out the hillside which sits between the bog and where our RV will be placed so it opens up an expansive view to the lake. It'd be nice to have it all placed by my next post! Marc has found that the forklift really helps in knocking down the smaller diameter trees. 

A surprise visit by a snapping turtle one morning! 

Getting Started

 

It feels like it’s been a long road to get to the point where we could finally start shop construction. We were late getting to the property this spring due to the amount of snow and cold and once here, we encountered many downed trees that needed dealing with. In addition, we continue to thin out dead and dying trees, particularly certain species like the popples, which are tall, spindly, weak parasitic trees of other desirable trees like the maples. Much of my work time is spent looping off branches and making fire size pieces, where we continue to have all day bonfires on burn days. Certain treetops I use to further build up and sustain our “brush fence” which we use to keep roaming dogs out; we also got the gate totally secured with wire surround so they can’t walk around that. 

At first, I was all about the forest and tall trees but now that it is getting thinned out, I must admit I like it better; the land becomes more usable and hopefully, it will cut down on the bugs by providing better airflow. The mosquitos and gnats are horrendous this year! There is one more large section I had wanted to remain natural because it provides a real barrier from views from the highway but I’m now giving thought to clearing that out as well. Maybe not until next summer though! 

One good thing about the delay in building from last year is that lumber prices are now around one third of what our quotes were last year. Marc debated going the package route but found buying things individually was a better deal so he started with the framing and sheeting lumber for the shop walls. Since he is doing this alone, he decided to do them panelized, which means he is building them in sections on the cement slab—something much easier than being up on a ladder trying to hold lumber himself while wielding the heavy, huge nail gun. It’s an act of “McGivership” though for him to figure out the way to stand the walls on his own and get them level. It proved to be very difficult and heavy so he’s going to decrease the size of the sections from 12 feet to 8 feet. By the way, the walls are also 12 foot tall!

Within a week or two he hopes to borrow a forklift from a friend who lives an hour from here which should greatly help in the building once the trusses arrive. When the garage shell is complete, we can turn our attention to leveling, compacting, and getting utilities to the point of where we intend to place the new park model and he can then move it from Waupaca and get it set and blocked. Next after that, he intends to build a deck for it. On his next return to Waupaca, he will bring the boat up as we’re hoping to get out on that when we desperately need a break from the work. All in all, it looks to be another really busy summer for us in the Northwoods, but it’s sure heaven to be here again!

Delayed

 

As you’ll see in a moment from the photos, winter just doesn’t want to give up as yet in the Northwoods. Marc checked out our property about ten days ago and there was lots of snow left. We just did get rid of the last of it here in Waupaca but the ground is still frozen or a muddy mess so we still haven’t been able to retrieve our new trailer from its current campground. About the middle of March we needed to visit it so Marc could shovel snow off its roof as we feared it was getting too heavy.

All of this will put us substantially behind on our start for the build season. In addition, from the looks of the property, there are now many downed trees which will first need to be taken care of before we can even access it with the larger trailer. Marc estimates May before we can gain access to the lot to get started. As you can note from the picture of our gate, which is about two feet off the ground level, it’s definitely going to be awhile! At least it appeared as though the RV made it just fine through winter under its new shed although the flatbed trailer didn't get through unscathed. Yes, that's two trees that fell on it....

It's been a long winter!

“You can't always get what you want But if you try sometime you'll find You get what you need”, Rolling Stones

 

It’s been a winter of soul-searching for ideas, wants and needs for our up north property and hasn’t ended remotely as I ever imagined it would. Let me explain.

When Marc worked in WI back in 2007 he badly injured his right rotator cuff in a silly move. After seeing numerous surgeons who said it was unfixable, he managed an appointment with the orthopedist who treated injuries for the Green Bay Packers; arguably one of the finest in the Midwest. It was fixed, but with the caveat to take it easy on it as the way the procedure had to be corrected left no room or chance of ever fixing it again in a reinjury.

Building our RV shed last Fall, hurrying to get it done, Marc pushed himself beyond what he should have and his shoulder has done nothing but nag him with pain all winter. I know he began questioning just how much he was going to be capable of this year in terms of building, so to try and “help out” I kept reducing the size and scope our project to where I finally suggested just a 16x24 foot one room cabin! He still seemed non-committal, given his first priority is to finish building the shop this summer.

So, in the meantime, my thoughts turned to earnestly searching for instant housing; everything from tiny homes, park models, and manufactured homes. If anyone has paid attention to the price of these in the past two-three years, they have skyrocketed to absurd levels. After months of scouring new and used listings for a park model I finally just found a very nice used unit in TX that was in our price range. But an exorbitant transport bid ($16,000!) knocked it out of the park for us. Our former park model was a 2007 model and those are being listed for more than what ours cost new and many were only in so-so condition and would have required lots of renovation. Forget about purchase of a new one—something sticks in my craw about paying over six figures for a structure with wallboard walls and pressboard cabinets.

Three days ago as we’re sitting through the big Midwest snow storm, Marc suddenly came across a Facebook Marketplace listing of a destination RV (similar to the one we had) which is in a campground three miles from us! Yesterday we took a look at it and it was pristine (a 2021 40 foot model) and a great deal pricewise as well. The owner had been trying to sell it since last summer so was getting very motivated, so we decided to take advantage of that and made an offer, which she quickly accepted.

Will it be my ideal; the thing of my dreams? No, but….It will serve the purpose of comfortable seasonal housing; it will be relatively easy setup for Marc; and it conserves money we don’t need to spend yet allowing for us to also spend some for what we still need to do, which includes a new set of steps to the dock and a little remodel to the unit’s kitchen. We’ll be possibly ditching the cooktop and RV oven in favor of a full size stove/oven and also I’m not living with plastic countertops so those will likely be replaced with butcher block.

We have until mid April to get it removed from its current spot. In addition, the owner included a large deck and Rubbermaid shed which we’ll need to tear down and transport north. 

On another note, back at the end of October we finally broke down and ordered a new car. Although it still runs like a champ, I’ve been driving my Saturn for twenty years and we figured now might be a good time to get a backup. Our new, loaded Subaru Forrester (if it’s my last car I’m having leather seats dammit!), finally arrived at the end of January. It is so filled with electronic gadgetry I’m still not comfortable driving it, so for the most part it has sat in the garage and I’m getting around on all our salt-laden streets and highways in the Saturn. We did have the new car undercoated, which they guarantee against rust for ten years. Since it will be our last ever car however, we will baby it and keep mileage down and use the Saturn as much as we can until she gives up. My luck, that thing will just keep going and going because that’s the way she’s always been!

We await Spring thaw with anticipation and I’m getting really anxious to return to the land of pine scented air and the call of the loons.

 

 

My Winter's Work

 

We’re enjoying above average temperatures in Wisconsin so far this fall and winter, other than a bad bout of minus temps for about a week awhile back. The snow hasn’t been too bad either. Both Marc and I have been keeping busy with our hobbies; his in the basement doing woodwork and mine in the sewing room continuing to produce things for the humane society auction coming up in February. Our winters are pretty quiet for the most part and spent close to home, dodging the public and not getting sick. 

I do a combination of mainly bookmarks and various sized art quilts, using both fabric and sometimes felt and wool. I’m not at all precise or precious about what I do, but they do seem to appeal to folks offering a sort of primitive, rustic charm. I know for sure I wouldn’t have the patience for real quilting like my mother and Marc’s mom used to produce.

These are just some samples; I've made many more!

Marc started off making salt and pepper boxes for a friend and his sister, then graduated to doing some cutting boards. The last attempt was the one he did for us for the RV and I think it turned out spectacular! He’s now building bird houses and toothpick holders for the shelter auction as well.

 

There will be another vaccination clinic at the shelter (offered to the public at cut-rate prices) at the end of January which I will help with and then the auction in late February but after that it will likely be June before I participate in much more for them. June is rummage month and I should be able to spare a couple days to make the trip down from the Northwoods to help set up or cover one day of the sale.

That’s all for now!