January 2023 Lodge Update

Over the last two years, my plans for this property have evolved at least a dozen times. I stopped telling y’all, “Here’s the new plan” after around the third iteration. I decided it would be better to move forward with whatever work I could accomplish until the storm that kept tossing my life in different directions passed and I felt confident that my plan was a PLAN. At some point in the last year at least part of my “plan” solidified and I’ve been working toward that goal. I realized after my last post that I never shared that goal with you. The face I’m making in the below photo was captured by my camera on a tripod taking a picture every 30 seconds. I’m pretty sure that expression lives on my face 80% of the time while I work because I’m choreographing a dance that jumps from phase 1 of project 12 in room 6 to phase 4 of project 3 in room 2…and so on. March is quickly approaching and that is the deadline for my new, new, new, new Plan!

The Plan

Wes and I are moving into the main floor of the residential portion of the Lodge. Then we will rent out the house that we’ve been living in. Back in October when we made these arrangements with our future renters, March seemed like a really feasible date for having the kitchen, pantry, laundry room, and one bedroom and bathroom completed so we could move in. I’m not sure how complete anything will be by March 1 but we’re working really hard to get as much as we can as close to done as we can. Pretty much every day I say to someone (or just myself), “I’m getting too old to work this hard”!

Also, I think I still plan on having B&B guests at some point. The second floor of the residential area has two suites that I planned on using for that. I’m going to have to have lens replacements in both eyes. That will require me to take some recovery time so I’m just focusing on March for right now.

Halway Finished Pantry

I started building the pantry cabinets while waiting for the fasteners I needed to build the final kitchen project. After being sent the wrong fasteners twice, I was too deep into the pantry to divert my brain energy back to the kitchen so that last project is still on the to-do list.

My mentees are super competent and proving to be very helpful! They come at least once a week and help me cross quite a bit off my lists.

Living Room

I’m not hoping to have the living room completed before March but the bookcase wall is something that has been in progress for a while because it’s something I can have helpers work on when they are here and I’m not able to teach/guide them through a new skill.

Bathroom and Bedroom

We literally JUST started working on our bathroom. Most of this was done in the last three days. Wes and I installed GoBoard and waterproofed inside the shower while Traci mudded the drywall on the outside.

For now, the bedroom is where we’re setting up the tile saw. There’s not too much to do in there beside install doors and floors. Outside that it’s just bringing in furniture so I’m not worried about that room. Even if we don’t get doors up right away.

Laundry Room

The laundry room is pretty small so not much needed to do in this room I do need to order appliances so the floors do need to get done asap. I had Traci help me prep and level and that’s as far as that room has come along.

Kitchen

The last project needed in the kitchen was building a suspended ceiling to hold a flush ceiling mount range hood. I procrastinated this project for a long time because it was one I had to basically invent. It felt really daunting so I searched and searched online for a glimmer of a starting point. I mulled over lots of possibilities until, eventually I came up with an idea that I felt confident enough in to use as a base for a plan and trusted that I would figure the rest out as I went. I won’t tell you any more about the suspended ceiling project until the hood is successfully installed. That is scheduled for this Wednesday so cross your fingers it doesn’t all come crashing down. I’m 99% positive it’s a good plan but, I mean, do I ever really know? Time will tell.

I was feeling rather good about our progress until writing up this post and now I feel a bit sick in my stomach. That could just be leftover from last night and that second glass of wine though. Wes has been helping out A LOT these last few months and is ready to go finish waterproofing the shower so we can start tiling tomorrow.

I’m getting too old to be working this hard. 🙂 I’m having my first eye surgery in April so I’ll get a little rest then. lol