The Cottage Updated

It is still winter and we can't do much on the Cottage till spring. (March) Some progress has been made and we are now in the process of lining up people to do some electrical and plumbing work. Since it is a summer cottage there are certain times we will need some kind of heat. You know, like early spring and late fall when it is chilly. We found a great deal on a propane fireplace with fake logs. It has the remote control to turn in on or off, up or down. It looks like real logs burning yet it will give off a great amount of heat and take any chill off the Cottage. My wife found it at Lowe's and it was marked way down to $249 from $700. We met my brother and sister in law at Lowe's as they had to be consulted. They are our partners in the Cottage. They loved it and agreed to get it. I told them I would get the price down more as this was the last one in stock. Most large retail stores would rather get rid of any left over stock than have to pay inventory taxes and/or store it. It is cheaper to sell it for less in this situation. I talked to the clerk and asked very politely if it could be reduced more. He checked his inventory price list on the computer and told me we could have it for $200. Later my brother in law said to me, that he never would have thought to ask for more of a discount. He knows that my wife and I are great shoppers for just about anything we buy. When we find something we really want and there is no discount, then we pay the price for it. Many times if you ask for a better price it will be reduced. If you don't ask you won't know. That is from us being in the retail business for so many years. We also bought a very nice Loveseat and Chair for the Cottage at a great price.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week my nephew and friend tore down the kitchen and back porch of the Cottage and hauled it to the dump. We will be building another bedroom where the kitchen was and a new screened in porch where the old one was. It has a great view of the open property, the large Oak and Maple trees, then the woods in the distance. The Deer are everywhere as is many birds and other animals.

We are building the kitchen in a more convenient place with new appliances etc. We are upgrading the electric to 240 so it will accommodate the Electric Jennaire Stove and Wall Oven. A new bathroom will be installed also. My brother in law and I can do a lot of the work and we are looking forward to doing it. Of course our main thrust is to get the kitchen and bath in this spring, and the rest can be done whenever and not be under any pressure to get it done in a hurry. All of the painting has been done inside and out except for the big sliding doors and windows. I still have to take them to work and strip the paint off. I have done so many doors for other people and now I will get a chance to do my own.

The sliding doors and windows I am talking about are original to the Cottage and is made of wood and glass. The doors still have the wavy old glass and are attached to a track above the doors. The top of the doors have the rollers which fit into the track and roll from side to side to open and close. All of the original Victorian like hardware is still there. I would like to get up there this coming week and remove the doors and windows so the work can begin.

There is going to be a lot of work to do and I am looking forward to get started. We are not under any kind of time frame and that makes it a pleasure. I have been taking photos of the Cottage as we work on it, and as soon as I learn how, I will post some.