Since June, I've spent as many weekends up at the cabin as I can. Through the first part of July, I worked on getting the electrical rough in done. I had to do a lot of studying to figure out how to do the wiring up to code. After a couple of weekends, the rough in was done, but we were right in the midst of Minnesota's government shut down, so I couldn't get it inspected. Finally, the government got their act together, and the inspector came by. After a just a few minutes and a few questions, the inspection resulted in a pass with no corrections.

At that point, I was able to go ahead and put in the insulation and sheet rock. One weekend, Jim came up and helped get the countertop and sink in.

For the past two weekends, I've been doing the insulation and sheet rock - just Luke and me. It's tough work especially with the heat. At this point, nearly all the sheet rock is hung (but not taped). That really makes things feel more finished.

I'll only have one more weekend this summer to work on the cabin before I'll need to stick around home to wait for the arrival of our boy. It's been a big year!

Cabinets, Holding Tank, and Tiling

On Memorial Day weekend, the whole family went up to the cabin. The highlight of the trip was installing the oak cabinets that Jim had built over the Winter and Spring. They are really top-notch - better than the cabinets we have at home!

Mike brought up some materials to rough-in the water supply. We needed to get that in behind the cabinets, but we won't be able to hook them up until we get power, a pump, and a pressure tank next year sometime.

We also took the Crownline out on Pokegama. We found a perch hotspot, and all of us were able to catch a few. There were more than enough for a fish fry - nothing's better than some nice big perch.

A few weeks later we went back to be there for the holding tank installation. It was bittersweet to see the heavy equipment tear up the ground around the cabin to make room for the truck to bring the tank in. As the crew showed up, one of them said, "So, we're going to make things a little less green for you today." That really was the case. At least the extra room will make it easier to drive around.

The holding tank will be the most costly thing that we'll pay to have done rather than do ourselves. We will still have to pay for the electrical hookup, but after that it'll be all us!

We also finished up the slate work for the hearth and backsplash for the stove. This was our first experience with tiling, and it turned out pretty nice for a couple of novices.

A Huge Difference on the Outside

Mike and Jim came up to the cabin to help with the siding. Mike and I worked up on the plank while Jim cut the pieces and passed them up to us.

We got a good portion of the siding up on Friday, but Saturday started with rain. We changed plans and decided to put in the waste/vent plumbing to stay out of the rain. That kept us out of the rain for the most part, and now we're ready for the holding tank installation that should happen in a

few weeks.

Sunday we woke to snow. Snow! In May! In spite of the snow, we tackled the siding up on dormer, and we got most of it done before Mike and Jim had to leave.

The following weekend I went up alone and finished up some details - a little more siding and a lot of staining. I also installed a toilet, so we'll be completely ready to go once Larry gets the tank in. I never thought a toilet would look so good.

The lake was showing some signs of spring. There were several pairs of ringneck ducks and a few mallards and wood ducks. A pair of swans showed up and made a lot of noise. And a single loon called for a good part of one morning.

With the siding and stain on, I think the cabin looks great!

With Marie working so hard on her dissertation, I've had some time to get an early start on the cabin this year. Even before it was warm enough to work outside, I was in our garage at home and at Jim's place cutting and finishing wood pieces to build the stairs . The first weekend that seemed warm enough, I hauled those pieces up to the cabin. I guess I still have to learn that the weather up there really is a little different than down in the Cities. I was surprised to find way too much snow compared to what I had at home. With some help from a kind neighbor, I was able to get the trailer close enough to then carry all the pieces in.

The stairs went up just like I had planned. The loft space feels much more useful now!

A couple weekends later I went up again and did a little more work on the loft and on the soffits. I'd never really noticed soffits much - it seems like one of the details of a house that I just take for granted.

That weekend I also put up the trail camera. I changed its location from last year, and it seems to really be better now. In just five days I captured deer on five different occasions.

On my third weekend up there this year, I had the siding delivered. We decided to use log siding. Even though it will be a lot more work than vinyl siding over time, we think it will give the cabin a warmer, more rustic feel. By this point, the snow was pretty much gone, and the weather was very comfortable (but more rainy than I would like). Over the weekend I sanded each of the 130 siding pieces and put stain on the backs of about two thirds of them. It was very tedious, and I'm glad to have it behind me. However, I did get to put up the siding under the patio during a rainy Sunday when I couldn't continue doing the staining. After all the prep work on the siding, the process of putting it up seems to go very fast, and is very rewarding. In three weeks, we'll have a "crew" up there, and the rest of it should go up. It should look close to finished (from the outside) a month from now!