Cottage Check-Up

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Dear Sisters,

What a week! The sun’s been out, the skies are clear and it’s beginning to look a lot like spring in New England! Yahoo! I hope you’re getting some signs of spring in your neck of the woods too! We’ve been anxious to get down to our little slice of heaven for a while to see how the little Sea Horse survived the winter. With the improved weather conditions (temps in the low 50’s) we made a day of it last Sunday. My hubby and I brought my sweet mother-in-law along for the ride ( she just turned 92 ) to check-up on the cottage. Come on in for an off-season sneak-peak!

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We stopped at a favorite lunch spot along the way and grabbed a seaside picnic to go.We each ordered a lobster roll with a side of tossed green salad and a steaming cup of New England clam chowder. Yum!

003-001Our tummies were growling by the time we got to the cottage so we ate first and assessed the damage after our bellies were full!

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It’s can still be quite chilly in the cottage this time of year where it’s not insulated so we brought along our new friend Mr. Heater Buddy to help take the edge off the cool air. It runs off of one propane canister and can heat up to 200 square feet. Wouldn’t it be perfect for glamping too?

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After we ate we went out to look for any damages to the cottage and we found a few right off the bat. The gutter must have come loose during some of the high wind storms we had so we propped it up with a stick and there it will stay until we go back for a work day.

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The trim on this side of the cottage is in dire need of painting. The windows are original to the cottage. They’re the kind that work on a pulley system inside and they don’t work correctly. We have sticks to prop them up when we open them and they need painting too. If I told you how many years that project has been on the to do list you’d be ashamed of us!

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On the front side of the cottage we found a broken window. It’s hard to say what happened exactly, but the crack could have been caused by temperature changes between the double-paned glass or maybe something flew into it. All in all we skated by without too much damage or big expense.

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The clothesline is ready and waiting for wet bathing suits and beach towels.

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Can you guess what this weird-looking reddish plant is? I wasn’t sure myself at first glance. It’s right where the neighbors rhubarb plants grow on the other side of our stone wall. I thought it might have been rose hips that had fallen to the ground but a closer look confirmed that it’s definitely rhubarb! Mine at home is starting to come up too but it’s not red like this. Soon it’ll be time for Strawberry-Rhubarb pie!

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I was so relieved to see that my little patch of tiger lilies survived the cold winter. Note to self: plant more tiger lilies.

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This is our shed. It’s a sad lookin’ thing isn’t it? We’re lucky to have it. It used to be in our neighbors yard and when he did some remodeling recently we offered, (okay truth be told we harassed him until he finally just gave in) to take it off his hands and he agreed. It needs some TLC big time! With a new roof, some new shingles, fresh white paint, and a new landing in front of the door it’ll be good as new!

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The community fire truck is housed at the back of our lot. My brother-in-law is a retired fire-fighter and he keeps the truck running and the water-tank filled in case of a fire emergency. With so many cottages in close proximity with exterior gas tanks it’s a good feeling to know we have some protection close by if needed.

025Mum and Boz ( my handsome Yankee ) stayed nice and toasty inside with Mr. Heater Buddy while I took a little stroll around the neighborhood.

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This male juvenile Red-winged Blackbird posed for me as I walked by. It’s easy to tell the younger birds from adults because the small area on their wings is a muted golden-orange color. When they mature it turns to a flashy, bright primary red which makes them an easy mark for the lady birds!

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As I walked along the dirt roads I counted the number of sounds I could hear on one hand. The tide was out and it was a gentle surf so the sound of the waves hitting the shoreline was very faint.

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Birds chirped, chatted and chimed and then I heard the mourning dove’s coo announcing mating and nesting season. Did you know they mate for life, just like swans?

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My shoes made a soft, squishy sound in the sand and as I got closer to the beach the waves got louder. This corner is a natural gathering spot for whatever the sea tosses up. We always find plenty of driftwood, lobster traps, buoys, seaweed, old shoes, fishing line, rocks and all sorts of other beach trash to treasure piled up there.

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The beach was practically abandoned. Just the way we like it!

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I hope you enjoyed your shoreline visit too! Until next time…

Take time to find some quiet and breathe. It’s just plain good for ya!

BEACH BLESSINGS and MUCH LOVE,

Sister Deb # 1199

PS. The Beach Life sign in the top photo was a gift from farmgirl sister Joan Price. She made special just for me in a craft swap we participated in on Farmgirl Chit-Chat. Isn’t it the cutest? I just love it! My hubby took the boat photo and of course I love that too!

  1. Sandy says:

    Looks so fun! Can’t wait to get to our lake place when the snow is gone and the frost comes out of the ground. Be careful with that heater! Don’t want to put that fire truck to work. Also about your windows, on Rehab Addict on HGTV they showed how to replace the rope and get the window working again, maybe you could find a tutorial.

  2. Joan says:

    AHHHH what a restful, pleasant day I just had, tripping along with you. All my favorite things at the beach. Look forward to many more. God Bless.

  3. Adrienne says:

    What a wonderful place you have! I had a Mr. Buddy Heater in my RV and attached a line with a 5-gallon propane tank to it. It was much thriftier than replacing the small green canisters. Just a suggestion. Also, the damage to your house was minimum and that’s a blessing for spring. The shed looks yar and with minimum work, will be as shipshape as your cottage. Yay Spring!

  4. glenda woodward says:

    Thanks for sharing. It looks wonderful. I wish you had our 90 degree temps.

  5. Linda Baker says:

    Oh so glad the beach cottage made it though the winter! It is the part of your property and stories that I like best!
    Wish we could move our town cottage to a beach, but it is just about sold so we will keep our main country place and move on to visiting new places.
    We visited Park City, Utah last week. Beautiful country!!

  6. drMolly says:

    My I envy you the seashore. I’m a west coast girl, but live on the east side of WA state – quite near where MaryJane is :~) – but love our Pacific seashore & visit as often as we can.
    And yes I knew about the morning doves – we have them here, too & we love to listen to their gentle calls.
    I am glad you didn’t suffer much damage to your quaint & beautiful cabin. Enjoy!

  7. Diana Henretty says:

    Loved your post, the scenes brought back precious memories for me of growing up in San Diego, Calif, in the 50’s, taking the city bus to the beach to just sit on the shore all day long. I can still smell the bonfires burning there in the sand at night.
    Our home in the Ozarks is now finally feeling spring, it was a long, long winter, with cold days and nights, but its almost time to plant now, we can hardly wait!
    Joyfully, Diana, Noel, Mo.

  8. Dolly says:

    Thanks for the tour. Your place is beautiful.

  9. Bonnie Ellis says:

    Deb…just thought I’d let you know you don’t have the oldest unfinished projects. We’ve been married 52 years and some of ours are from before we got married.maybe some day they really will get done. Your place by the sea looks pretty good considering the horrible winter we’ve had. Minnesota has hard winters too. But at least you have sand. Roads cost a lot more to repair. But, spring is finally coming and we farm girls will git’er done!

  10. Betty Benesi says:

    Your little heater is cute, but I don’t know if I would use propane indoors. Our little cottage was built as a vacation cottage in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Los Gatos, Ca. It too is older, probably from the 1920’s. It does freeze here in the winter and we have no central heat. We had propane tank when we moved in 2 years ago, but the heating system it was hooked up to was so scary, that we had everything removed. Now, we have a new very small (looks like a heater vent) wall heater upstairs with ceramic wall heater panels downstairs. Space heaters are used in the bath. We use our wood stove for heat when it is very cold and it can be quite toasty in the winter.
    Your cottage sounds so cute and I envy you being near the ocean. How wonderful and lots of good memories for your family.

  11. Sandi says:

    Hello Deb, Good to see you’re at the beginning of your cottage season! Here on the Cape we have the same signs of ‘finally’ Spring. Our little cottage on wheels raring and ready to take off at the end of next week for a little ‘southern spring’. Isn’t it nice to begin again!

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