This recent goal / frenzy to fix up the cabin was triggered by friend, Jim when he and Doc went to a men’s retreat earlier this year. Jim suggested that he and his wife come over for a weekend and work on our cabin. A date was set for late August.
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Background here:
We used to do 2-3 L.O.V.E. weekends each year with Jim and Charlene. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? We would go to their house in Las Vegas and work on their projects, they would come to our house and work on ours. Over the years we have cleared yard debris, laid a block wall, hung ceiling fans and lights, gutted a bathroom, dealt with wasp nest bulges at the cabin and many more things. Tasks which would cause friction in otherwise happy marriages, become “adventures”. Laughing Over Virtually Everything! We hadn’t done any such weekends for several years.
This past weekend Jim and Charlene really went out of their way – exemplifying love put into action. After a full day of work in Vegas, they drove out to the cabin in Crestline (several hundred miles). They paid for a dog sitter to watch their dogs and then packed tools, meals, Charlene’s sister Sharon from Albuquerque, snacks, prescription strength Ibuprofen, sleeping gear and linens --- all to help us out for a weekend! Talk about Love In Action!
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Saturday morning we all got up ready to work hard. Doc and Jim needed coffee in order to function (as well as some nails for the pneumatic nail gun). Of course we had a coffee pot going in the kitchen, but for some reason Doc insists upon getting it elsewhere. (And for coffee he is allowed to do that) ;-) Doc and Jim went to Starbucks at the grocery store in Blue Jay. Doc spotted at dime from 15 ft. (Coin #1). Then at their McDonalds snack stop there were 4 pennies, a nickel, and three dimes at the first window, plus 3 pennies at the second window (Coins #2-12). The rookie is now teaching other people! (They did finally make it to the lumber yard for those nails).
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The men focused on cutting and laying baseboard moldings throughout the loft and bedroom areas. (There had been none).
The ladies focused on essentially a top to bottom cleaning and polishing of everything. Got the bedroom finished and figured the bathroom should be a quick and easy task - it snowballed. There was a metal wall heater grate which I couldn’t seem to get clean. I asked for suggestions. Charlene asked if I really needed to keep the heater? Good point! I’d never tried using it! Duh! The coils were busted and it didn’t even work!
Lesson here: How many things around us aren’t working positively for us yet we don’t even notice them, we tolerate them, or perhaps we get irritated by them? What if we CHANGED them?
We made a bold decision to turn off the power, remove the wall heater and then deal with the gaping hole in the wall. There were numerous new ideas. We finally decided to install beadboard wainscoting. That would hide the hole as well as lighten the effect of the dark brown walnut paneling.
A trip to the lumber yard for materials was non-productive.
After so much expended energy, Sharon needed a chocolate fix. I figured a convenience store would provide that – and I prayed for some coins as well. Sharon did find a penny! (Coin #13) (See photo). Share the JOY. At least that provided some validation to this whole crazy story. Just what would YOU think if you were on vacation at your Sister’s house, but then got dragged several hundred miles across state line and forced to work from sunrise to well past sunset by a crazy woman with Penny Fever?
Charlene searched the exterior tables for a penny, but only saw blobs. I looked there and found that blob, but looked closer to see it was a penny. (Coin #14)
We headed down the mountain for Home Depot. Temperatures were over 100 F. We were tired, and Sharon was wedged in a little spot behind the passenger seat for the whole trip. Talk about Love in Action! But we found the wainscoting, molding and Liquid Nails. We were hoping our ideas would be attractive and functional. The project took a few hours, but the bathroom is better for it J
Another Lesson: CHANGE can improve function and aesthetics.
Charlene prepared a wonderful dinner so the rest of us could maximize our working time. The crew continued to work until they started dropping off one by one. By 9 PM the rest of them were all out for the night.
Total for the day: 14 coins Q (0), D (4), N(1), P (9) = $0.54
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