Oh Wow!

I left him alone! Holy Cow the floor is going down and looks great. Loving it.

Catching up...

It's been a while. We've been hard at work. The kitchen is coming along nicely. Remember the old brown kitchen when we started this adventure. Now painting cabinets, painting all the hardware, moving cabinets around and hanging up the doors once more.


Before....

Primer coat...

Bring on the cloud of paint...

Now there is some color...

And finally...hang those doors

Finally !!!!! Painting !!!!!!!!!

So this morning at Lilypad, we cleaned. And cleaned. And cleaned.

So after lunch we could start painting. I cannot believe this day is finally here.

It's getting whiter and whiter in here. With cabinet doors on the floor to paint and making sure he gets all those cabinets, inside and out. Today is the day we get to see some progress. It's been a long wait.

Even the bathroom is changing is shades.

Shopping, and then some

This is not my idea of a shopping trip, but it has to be done. It's time to buy concrete board for the bathroom tile flooring, countertops for the kitchen, and paint for the entire house as it is getting close to time for all of this. I don't know about you, but this looks like a lot of work.

Hmmm, this will be our next big purchase. Not today, just looking...

Oh, how did this get in here? A much needed refreshment.  Just part of the shopping trip.

Just A Short Time Ago

It's hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we had this view of the Tree House. Now the beautiful leaves are gone leaving bare trees and sticks all around. I may not be a fan of the cold winter months, but I can still enjoy the warm comforts of home. The Tree House is like a home away from home for us, even though it is so close.

Think Spring

Getting a start on the garden at Lilypad. Moved an entire dump truck of dirt with a shovel and wheelbarrow to prepare the depth of the garden. We created the gravel path a couple of weeks ago and then had to wait for the dirt. It may not look like much, but it's coming along nicely.

Then we added plants. It's all pretty shaded here, so we have a few oak leaf hydrangeas and lots of hasta plants lining the garden. Oh and I hope you remember Gnorman, the Gnome. His house is right there on the left in this bottom picture. It is painted with all the fun colors of the cottage. I think Gnorman will love it. He won't be moving in until spring. Who knows, maybe he winters in Florida :)

The Upper Deck

                   The upper deck is finally finished! Remember what it used to look like?

Yeah, the old rooftop that blocked the view and all the light from the cottage.

Then the roof was gone and the decking began. The view is getting better and better.

And now it is finished with stairs and railing all around. The view is fantastic and the light in the cottage is unbelievable now. Beautiful day as well.

                                         

                                          I think we should go there right now for a cocktail :)

Lilypad Greeter

Get to gnome the newest Lilypad resident. His name is Gnorman and he is on his way home and will be in the garden waiting for your arrival.

This weeks episode

Remember this boat house? Just blocking so much of the view and so much light from the house. We just weren't fans of this roof.

This week was time to make that an upper deck. And of course the stairway to heaven, no pun intended. This should be a great addition to Lilypad, along with a nice place to enjoy a view of the lake. The railing will go up next week to finish it off. That should make a grand finale.

A little color.

Shutters add a big pop of COLOR. I sure hope the neighbors understand.

The Deck is Looking Gooooood

Remember this? The water side of Lilypad was pretty plain with no deck and ugly walkway down by the water that needed removed.

 

We decided to not only replace the old walkway by the waters edge but also put a nice deck and steps up to the front door.

 Notice the bench seating across the front of the deck. I think it will be so pretty with some flower pots and maybe some outdoor cushions to sit on.

The painting is coming along nicely. We have all the siding painted and some of the shutters. Still waiting for the rest of the shutters to come in so we can get them painted. More to come :)

AQUA !!!!!!!

Yes, Lilypad is taking on a new look. It's headed for a bright, cheerful, fun vacation color. Aqua is the word of this day and we are loving it. Don't know about the neighbors......but this will be fun anyway. Looks like we will be painting two coats so wish us luck. Meanwhile maybe we can keep you entertained with some other activities going on as well.

Power Washing Day

This week looked like a good time to power wash the house. Next, we'll do some repairs, and then PAINT!

Hmmm, do you think there is an improvement? That right side looks a might grungy.

You also stir up some creepy crawlers when you bring in this much water. This little frog was just the start. We also found a salamander. I'd never seen one, but I was too slow with the camera and he disappeared before I got his photo.

So I Says To The Guy......

See these bushes?

They got to GO!

So here is the after, without the old bushes.

There were also some bushes on these corners of the house. All they did was block the view and crowd the area, in my opinion. I'm glad to see them gone. Next we will get to work on the bottom deck. Keep watching :)

Ah yes, and a pergola

We love to recycle. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors and their new deck, we got their old pergola. They helped us cut it up for transport from his house and then we redesigned it to work at Lilipad. Yes he is driving a golf cart with the pergola on top. And his head sticking out through the holes. What a riot!!!!!

Although Tarry tried to kill me, (it's so much heavier than I though) it's up, and it looks good. Thanks to even more of our great neighbors, they showed up just in time to replace me. So I got to watch them lift it up and attach it to the house. Lucky me :)

We Need A Deck

Every good cottage needs a deck....right? So the building begins. This is very scientific, checking the view from a sitting position. It had to be done :)

On to the flooring. 

 This deck is beginning to take shape. The bottom deck? Hmmm, not so much

Flooring finished. All in a good days work, or 2.

Hot or Cold

Heating and air conditioning loaded into the house this week. Boy does this stuff fill up the room. I guess we will be working outside for a while. Oh, but it's gonna be cool in the summer.....and warm in the winter. That's always good to know.

Fireplace? I think not

 Okay, we'll start this with a little before and a not so after photo. On the left is what was sold to us as a fireplace. Now, as you may notice, on the right the door and window are gone and a fireplace is going onto this wall. After removing the carpeting, which was glued down (ugh) and the paneling we found some drywall. Someone used every scrap they had to do this job, but we managed to putty it all into place.

Oh, and notice the ceiling fan with no blades. That was an added bonus.