Winter

So much snow!

We're in the thick of the snowiest winter here since 1996. And, while we are all for the adventure of living "way up north," and the season so far has been beautiful, I have to admit, it has also been a challenge.

Recently, Ben and his dad made the trek up to take a look at how to jack up the house and re-build the post/beam/joist system in the basement. After a few hours in the house, they came out to head back to TC and found this:

Seriously!?

Needless to say, they had to dig.

We've continued to get up there every weekend, but it's not easy. We have to constantly dig a path to the front door, dig out the snow that has accumulated on top of the dumpster trailer, and keep moving to stay warm! (That's the easy part;).

Intersection of Kitchen & Garthe is a snow tunnel

To keep up the momentum, we've been removing the three brick chimneys from inside the house. We estimate there may have been as many as 8-10 wood stoves in the home at one time. Unfortunately, the chimneys are no longer serviceable (in fact they no longer even extend out of the attic) and don't fit in the new floor plan, so down they come!

The trailer is nearly full but now there's no way American Waste will be able to get it out until we are able to clear a path from it's parking spot in front of the house... 

Pitching bricks from the attic down the hole from the first
chimney we removed.

While its stuck here, we've also been throwing bricks into the trailer from
an upstairs window. Works pretty well!

This is the brick landing spot on the first floor

Of course, there's lots more to do. We'll be getting back to tearing plaster off the walls upstairs next. We may have to wait to haul it out until we can get a new trailer in, however. In the meantime, we're working on getting permits and a loan for the new construction portion of the project. We've gotten bids from a few great contractors that we trust, but we always struggle (read: choke) with the "real" costs versus our typical "do-it-yourself" approach. Stay tuned for work-bee opportunities!;)

So, we're trying to strike a balance this winter between continued forward motion on the house project and enjoying the season. In addition to TONS of snow, Grand Traverse Bay is also frozen and is a fantastic natural play ground. Here are a few pics from the last few weeks...

On the ice at the end of Old Mission Peninsula

Old Mission Light House

 

Bruno & Addi at Old Mission

Until next time, stay warm out there, friends!