February 28th, practically March 1st and you know what that means...Spring!
2012 is going to be a good year. Not that 2011 was awful, but just just looking at those numbers standing next to each other....2 0 1 1. It's lacking the courage and solidarity of the book-ended 2's.
First order of business: We are still at the lodge. No move in this year and we certainly aren't planning on it. The days are fickle enough that any snow or rain accumulates, and then stands on top of the frozen earth. That makes for a slushy way in, and in short order, a rutted road. SO... we're walking in most days, but it's good exercise, and the temps are pretty swell too.
Can't complain about the temps inside either....the dual heater setup downstairs can bring things up to temp in real short order, and it's been comfortable enough upstairs that we catch at least one or two flicks a week on the big screen.
On the CS3 front, the upstairs has been idle, ready for insulation and drywall. I'm on the fence because I'm still waiting on glass to close the place in. One freak slush/rain/snow storm comes through with the right amount of wind and suddenly I'd have soggy walls. No thanks.
Downstairs, the insulation is in. The drywall is up. The garage doors are functional. The pegboard is fastened. 2/3 of the floor is epoxied (now for 50F+ temps so I can finish it). And 3 cars are stored comfortably for the winter.
And it's no surprise the hours at work take their toll on the home front. It was only this past weekend where I had a Saturday off that cooperated with the weather. I decided a couple weeks ago to design and build a cabinet for downstairs in the lodge. This cabinet will take the place of the blonde shelves that act as the current room divider. Those shelves will move to CS3 and the cabinet will become a display case for the dining side and both storage and "closet" space for the laundry side.
Now, that's a lot of physical storage, so to give it some visual appeal means some slightly more complex cuts. That's where Saturday came in. 7 sheets of birch plywood later, I've got 90% of the cabinet cut. Then Sunday was sanding, pre-staining and then the first coat of stain. More to get done this week between errands, shopping and improving weather.
So what's on tap for 2012? We will be fast approaching 12 months of construction on CS3. Sure would be nice to get that place finished this year and the lodge tidied up.
Since Cara's car took a hit from a chump in a Lumina-styled Regal, we've been on the hunt for a new car. I think we've finally run the numbers and narrowed things down.
Lots of "over the winter" research on the computer project. More books ordered, more books read. More ideas to toss around. Even ordered some sample parts for evaluation (not impressed). Probably won't be this year when I start final design, but a long research phase never hurts.
More to come......
