Deck Raising with Mike

Mike gave me some deck building 101 classes this weekend. Here is the result. (he was only here for two days plus a morning and an evening)!

I had the posts in and pea gravel done last Wednesday

On Thursday evening we hung the beams onto the posts

Everything was leveled with Mike's laser level

Friday we got the joists in place and squared.

We went on to put in posts and bracing to hold them tight.

70 deck boards later we were ready to start laying the flooring

That didn't take long. We ate dinner on the deck on Friday.

Saturday we worked on railing and stairs

We can't believe we got this much done in a weekend. I now have some painting to do and finish up with the railing and some finishing touches! That Mike, what a guy!!!

A beautiful day up north

We've had a couple of gorgeous days here this week and are trying to make the most of them.
I have been busy putting posts in for our new deck and today Nancy and I spread pea gravel on the base. We are ready for Mike to come up on Thursday and we will start framing and building on Friday.
After working and eating lunch we headed for Lake Michigan and enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine. What a glorious day!

I spent a couple of days setting the posts up last weekend.

Today we spread pea gravel on top of landscape mesh to keep the weeds down under the deck.

After lunch it was off to the beach.

 

Shalda creek is runnng along the beach for a couple of hundred yards this year. We had to wade across to sit on the edge of Lake Michigan. Bugs were not bad at all today with a nice breeze blowing.

My throne awaits!

And you thought I was done for the summer!

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything here, but I was taking a break from the blog.
We have been in the "up north" groove lately with work several days a week, and Traverse City shopping, and friends and family visiting on the weekends.
I finally got my permit approved by the county and the new deck will be on the agenda for the next couple of weeks. We hope to be sitting on it for fourth of July weekend.
We have been down state a couple of times since we got back from our winter trip and have seen the kids and grand kids to celebrate birthdays that have gone by this year. Everyone is doing well and making progress in their lives and careers.
Becky and Dave have accepted an offer on their house and are working with a builder to build a new house in Ann Arbor Township. They will have a busy year ahead of them.
We haven't had very many beach days yet, as the temperatures are just starting to get hot the past two weeks. It seems when we do get to the beach the flies and bugs are bad. It has been a wet spring so maybe that has something to do with it. The cherry farmers should have a good year with a normal spring and no crop last year the trees should be ready to produce a bumpier crop and the warehouses are empty and will accept all the cherries they can get. The corn and hay should be good too with the rain and cooler temperatures we have been having.
Hope everyone will plan on coming up to see us this summer and spend some time. We are always glad to have company and the boat is ready for the water.
Hope everyone is well.

Settling In at Last

We are starting to get nestled in again in the north country. It took a while to lose the wanderlust that goes with being on the road for three months and waking up in a new place every couple of days. We are starting to get back into a routine and are getting into spring clean-up and back to work mode.
We are in the process of getting permits pulled for building a deck on the back of the house and are getting excited about starting that project.
Next weekend will bring some of the kids and grand kids here and we are so looking forward to visitors throughout the summer.
As the weather gets nicer we are getting out for walks and bike rides and today rode the Heritage trail from Glen Arbor to the sand dunes. The second phase of the trail construction, from the dunes to Empire is scheduled for this summer, but so far we don't see any progress at the sand dune end of the trail.
Here are a couple of pictures from today's ride...

The birds on the pier heads at Glen Haven. They still have snow fencing up, but I hope they don't get any!!

I have been sitting in the woods hunting the elusive wild turkeys the past two weeks (to no avail), but today I found out that they are hanging out at the sand dunes!

The sand dunes were starting to get visitors, but I was amazed at how small the hills look. It seems that every year they get lower and lower. Is it from all the climbers pushing sand down hill or is it just my imagination?

 

Rainy Friday for Traveling

It started to rain last night and we are getting a much needed light watering. The temperatures are falling for the next few days after getting into the seventies again yesterday. The trees are beginning to leaf out in earnest now and in about a week everything should be nice and green.
Today we are heading south to visit with the kids for the weekend. We are celebrating birthdays and are anxious to get together with everyone for a couple of days. We have a lot of catching up to do!

Settled in and settling down

My, my, how the days have changed. We don't get up each day with a sense of wonder at where we are this day. We are back at home now and getting settled in to the routine for the summer. We have been cleaning up the yard and getting everything put away from our winter travels. The truck has been swept out and cleaned up, and the van has a new oil change and is ready for service. The camper is vacuumed, washed and parked for now. I am nursing a new crop of grass where we put the patio next to the family room.
Nancy's working this weekend at Good Harbor Winery and I start back at Anderson's IGA tomorrow. We are putting plans together to get permits and estimates for the deck we will build this spring, and there are turkeys to chase during the month of May. Time too, to get the boat unwrapped from the long winter and ready for cruising on the lakes this summer. So much to do and so little time!
The weather is warming up nicely, and we are supposed to be near seventy this week with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast. (Sure, it always happens this way when I plant grass seed!) Oh, well, if it was rainy we would be grumbling. Now we just have to get the leaves to sprout out so things start to get green.
We are planning a trip to southern Michigan next weekend to see the family and can't wait to hear every one's stories of what is going on and the events of the winter. I know a lot has happened since we left and can't wait to get caught up!
Tom and Evey, say Hi to Mickey Mouse for us.
Happy Sunday to everyone and I hope all is well!

Home! Back in the North Country!

We packed up camp this morning at South Bend, Indiana and drove east to Middlebury for a tour of the Jayco RV facility there. They took us for a tour of one of the factories where they do all of the sewing for carpeting, furniture, and cushions for all of the Jayco campers being built. Jayco not only assembles campers, but also builds most of the components that go into them. Next we went to a building where they assemble the premiere fifth wheel campers. It was interesting to see the materials and processes that go into putting together the campers.
We were done with the tour at about 2pm, then ate lunch and started driving north. From Middlebury it was a straight shot up 131 to Michigan then through Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Cadillac and on into Kingsley to pick up our cat from Stan and Jacob's house. We wondered if Dusty would still remember us. Once Nancy picked him up he seemed to be all right.
We drove to the house and saw a few piles of snow that hadn't completely melted yet! I was hoping we were done with that! With warm weather forecast through the week it should all be gone soon.
Now we have to get settled in and get back into a routine so we can get on with the summer.
Glad to be back.