Hello Again all so happy to be writing again.

Spring is arriving on the Island now and we are very pleased.

 Our Daffodils are coming up
At the beach the ice has melted and the seals are back.

I had a visit from this little fellow, he fluttered down by our front door  as if he wanted in and  then settled on 

a chair on the deck.  When I went to get the camera he flew into the tree.   He is an evening Grosbeak.

Pretty little fellow  

these are some May Flowers we found.  I had never found them growing so Alan helped me find some.  Now I see them in the woods everywhere.  They smell heavenly.

This is the root from the path to the park, my Sister Judi stubbed her big toe on it last summer and her nail came off.  It is growing back now, the nail that is.  Alan chopped the root up and as you can see below it was sacrificed to the fire gods.

 ba-bye rooty no more toes will be mangled by thee.

Well I guess that's all I have to say for now  ta ta for now  happy spring!

a blustery day at the cottage

It is a blustery day here at sanddollar cottage.  Nicki came down for a treat and we walked around the cottage and then I shoveled off some of the deck.

she got her treats but didn't want to leave so she laid down and had a rest

this is the lane way  since I took the pictures the wind has really picked up and its really blowing here.

Hope Alan takes his time coming home in this.

this is how our cottage looked when we bought it. the side of the cottage had the furnace and water heater in the little room.

this is the little room below, then the oil tank was below the bathroom window and the storage room was beside that with that ugly roof between.

this is what it looked like in the winter with the propane tanks   

 this is it with the siding on it

 and with the oil tank gone and with the little roof gone and the storage room gone.

the new bathroom window and back door 

 the storage room is gone to make way for a back deck later to be a screen porch

 now the siding is all finished on this side.  It just leaves the back of the house to do.

 this is a new picture of the cottage with a new screen tent so we can sit out and enjoy the lovely breezes next we will be fixing up the outside of the deck to make it look nicer, lowering the railing and getting rid of the lattace work on the bottom. Not sure what we'll replace it with but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

 Isn't it just lovely.  Alan has done such a wonderful job at all of this, I've helped where I can, mostly painting and holding boards etc.  I wonder what he'll find to keep him busy next summer?

 Oh yes he also put in a front walkway and steps.
We have been enjoying our walks on the beach as well as working on the cottage.
We are counting down the days til our wedding day, 19 from today.  I'll have to post some pictures for you all to see, if we get any taken.
Well that's all from us at Sanddollar cottage

continuing renos

So Alan has been quite busy over the last month or so   the latest thing he has done is the screen door.  Isn't it lovely?  

It was purchased for a great price at a building supply store and he installed with a few added touches, the bar across the screen to prevent hands from acidently going through the screen, the threshold and the snap closure.  Pretty nifty huh?  A cottage door.

He was so proud to have turned the second corner with the siding.  So on the front of the cottage he installed all 4 windows where there were 3 and the little window over the sink as well.  The small section  is the area where the hot water, and water pump are and he has completely rebuilt this area.  the taller one beside it is where the furnace is.  

this is the wall of windows in the livingroom.  There is still some work to be done landscaping.  Looking great.

this is the corner in the living room, notice 2 windows instead of just one.  

So he got as far as the furace room door with the siding. 

 Next is the tear off the little roof over the bathroom window, replace that window and rip off the storage room, close over the doorway and replace the window in the spare room with a door to the back yard.  Then put 2 windows n the bedroom and put the siding on the last part of the side and back.  

We may not get it done before the wedding in just over a months time but thats okay.

  

My part in the siding installation was to hold the end of the board when Alan was cutting it, to calk the joints and touch up the paint in some places.  

We will be having a visit from Signe our friend and neighbor from Walthen Drive.  She has gone back to Denmark to live, so it will be nice to see her again. She won't bring Sally though so we'll miss her.

We are still enjoying walks on the beach, but not as many as we also have preparations for our wedding to do. Lots of folks will be visiting and staying in some of the cottages in our area. It will be wonderful sharing our day with many loving friends and family.  Beach ceremony and then a bbq here at the cottage.

I'm also excited about my hip replacement in Aug.  It will be so great when I have full used of my hip again and can go kayaking when I like.  I have a lot of trouble getting out of the boat, so I haven't ventured out yet.

This is the latest in the year the boats have been left unsed.  Next year that won't be the case.

Well I guess that's it from Sand Dollar Cottage for now.

Cheers to all     Janet

our little cottage put back together

So this is the kitchen dining room, ceiling, windows, wallpaper & wainscoting all painted and finished up. The furniture is all put back and now our little cottage is homey again.

The Living room has the ceiling and all the windows and most of the walls painted.

Next to tackle is the bathroom & laundry room.

there will be more changes I'm sure but for now it looks great to us. Today the sun shone and it was 18C with a light breeze...lovely day.

That's it for now from Sand dollar cottage.

the continuing saga of renos at Sanddollar Cottage

Hello All we are back at the renos here at Sand dollar cottage, mostly finishing up what we started in the fall.

This is the new door, installed but not yet finished inside.


















This is the new door now finished! Alan did all the hard work I did the easy stuff, painting.

The Kitchen windows are still a work in progress

There's Alan working hard finishing off the window

these are the livingroom windows yet to be finished on the inside

These are the livingroom windows finished on the inside. Didn't Alan do a great job framing them in. I painted them. Aren't they lovely? now to rearrange the furniture, but before that finish the baseboards too.

We hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. We walked on the beach and climbed the rocks for an hour this am it was sunny but the wind was cold. Then we gathered up a bunch of sticks and twigs from the yard and I had a fire. It was just grand but we didn't have any hotdogs to cook. Oh well next time.

Well I guess thats it from the cottage.

Hope the Easter bunny finds you all next weekend and remember its all about new beginnings and Life. Ta Ta for now Janet

some more improvements

Well here we are at reno central again.

this is the heating duct in the kitchen, no range hood over the stove. this is the before picture

these are the after pictures. Notice the air duct is boxed in there is now a beautiful range hood and the second shelf is up, as well as the wall is finished beside the pantry shelf.

Carpentry work and wiring by Alan my sweetie, and I did the painting and generally assisted where I could.

we walked on the beach Thursday evening,

March 22,2012. Alan had shorts on and we walked in the water. The temp was 22 C. So beautiful, maybe that was our summer. Lets hope its a sign of things to come