Hello Kentucky.

We're back from our longest trip to the cabin and we got a lot of maintenance
done. We arrived on August 25th, about 5pm. We were greeted by weeds almost completely covering the upper driveway. The weeds on the flatland near the road were a good 4-5 tall. We went down the lane and the weeds were as tall as the truck windows. But as we neared the bottom flat area it got better. We knew we had our work cut out for us. 

We started unpacking and I suddenly got a phone call from a local number. It was our neighbor Terry Stewart calling to say he saw our gate open and was wondering if we had people there or he would be calling the sheriff for us. I explained that we had just arrived and I thanked him for keeping his eye on the place. It does make you feel good to know that you have a neighbor that watches over your place while you are gone.
Terry mentioned that he saw the tall grass at the top and on the lane and that his wife Dee would take a swipe at it with her tractor mower the next day. 

She did show up and quickly took care of the weeds and grass covering the lane. She started to cut some of the higher weeds at the top landing but soon realized that her mower would not be able to do the job. She mentioned that they were going to be getting a new bush hog in the next couple of days and they'd be back to mow that. We couldn't thank them enough for their help and you can tell that Dee sure loves to operate her tractor! You couldn't ask for better neighbors. We wish we were able to visit the cabin more so we could visit with them more often.

The next day we met up with our great worker, Ronnie Young and he said he'd be over on Sunday to start bulldozing and trenching the area for the new water line. Sunday afternoon I heard him unloading the dozer and I drove up to greet him. He said he'd make quick work of clearing the hillside so his backhoe could start digging the trench. He made one pass with the dozer and I heard him say, "Oh oh". He knew right away that something had went wrong and soon discovered that a hydraulic line had broken and the dozer would have to go back for repairs. So that gave us time to get the required paperwork taken care of on Monday and early Tuesday morning Ronnie was back and tearing up the hillside. 

Me and Ronnie Young

Dewey Driver lending a hand.

Me, Dexter and Dewey supervising Ronnie.

By early that evening the water line was installed and hooked up and working perfectly. Of course we had plenty of supervision by another neighbor, Dewey Driver and we met a friend of Ronnie's, Dexter, who made sure he offered Ronnie his advice also. 
All done. Now we had county water and would never have to rely on the old well and pump system. What a relief that was and we couldn't have gotten a better fellow to do the work than Ronnie. He sure has helped us out a lot with all types of work and he'll always be our contractor of choice.

Ray and Connie going for catfish.

We celebrated the new water line by going to visit Mammoth Cave on Wednesday. It was a nice trip and we had an interesting tour of one of the caves.

Then on Friday we were visited by Kim's dad Ray and her sister Connie. We went to Ray's favorite place in the area to eat, The Campus Fish House in Hanson, Ky. They spent the night and left late Saturday morning. 

Rick & Merlene

Later that afternoon our friend Rick and his girlfriend Merlene arrived and stayed until Monday afternoon. We all went and ate at one of our favorite places on Sunday, Penneyrile State Park just outside Dawson Springs. They always have one of the best Sunday buffets around and the view from the lodge dining room which overlooks the lake is really spectacular.

Our next guests were Kim's sister April and her husband Danny. They arrived Tuesday, spent the night and left after we had breakfast the following morning. 

April had two surprises for us when she arrived. The first was her commercial ice-ball machine which crushes ice just like the family's favorite ice-ball shop, 'Sweet Tooth',located in Newport, Ky. You know you're ate up with ice-balls if you buy your own commercial machine! It is a hit with the whole family. 

Quilt made by Connie.

The second surprise was that she brought along the quilt that Connie had made for Kim. Connie led us to believe she had weeks left to finish it so when April brought is along it was a huge surprise to us. 

Kim's blue cabinet.

Also, during their visit Kim managed to find a cabinet that she was wanting to put on the front porch to hold some of the tools and supplies for around the cabin. We looked at a lot of antique shops around the area on our side trips for the right one and finally found the perfect one right near us in Madisonville.

During April's visit we had Ronnie bring in two truck loads of gravel and recovered the lane and part of the parking area. That really improved the appearance and will make driving in and out much easier. 

I have another story about April's visit which I'm saving for another post.

One of the drawbacks to getting the new water line installed was that we now have more water pressure than we did using the well and pump. We noticed that the kitchen sink had a leak around the faucet whenever you turned on the water. The faucet was a cheap one installed years ago and the part needed was very hard to
find and quite expensive. So we decided to replace the whole faucet. We ran into town, picked out a much better looking faucet, went back and we installed it. The kitchen sink is now back in perfect working order.

Then on the second day after the new water line was working, Kim thought she heard a small drip coming from the bathroom closet. After further inspection and removing the water heater out of the way, we discovered a wet spot on the inside corner, next to the wall facing the kitchen. It was obvious that the leak was most likely coming from one of the 90-degree elbows and that it was in the wall somewhere behind the paneling. 

To gain access we would have to remove the paneling on the bathroom wall, a section of the drop-down ceiling and then still be guessing what part of the wall it was behind. After seeing how the incoming water lines were coming in from the outside it was clear that the simplest fix would be to cut the pipes, drill two holes through the logs, connect two 90-degree elbows and run the pipes under the kitchen sink and connect them to the faucet. It actually was quite simple and would work great. 

But I didn't have a drill and bit large enough to go through a 6" log. So after checking with Ronnie (you see how handy he is?) we got a lead on a good plumber. I had been wanting to find a plumber that was both reliable and discreet about the cabin's location. (Since it can't be seen from the road we like to keep it's existence known to a handful of people.) 
Now, I must tell you that this problem occurred two days before we were to go back home. We contacted a local plumber, Roy McGregor and he adjusted his schedule and agreed to come out the next morning. 

Feeling that the problem would be fixed quickly the next day we relaxed that evening and went to bed around 9pm. When Kim went into the bathroom she found that the light wasn't working. I checked further and discovered that the main room ceiling lights, the refrigerator and the furnace were also on the blink. Great. Out of the clear blue. Since nothing could be done that night we plugged in the fridge with an extension cord and called it a night.

When Roy arrived the next morning he agreed with our decision on rerouting the plumbing lines to the kitchen sink and said he also knew a little about electricity. He discovered that half of the main breaker panel was not working, meaning that somewhere from the main power pole to the breaker box there was a problem with one of the two incoming lines. 
This was a problem requiring an electrician and Roy gave us the name of a man that he said was reliable and would fix us up. That reassurance made us feel good and we said I would come back up in a couple of weeks and we'd get together and fix the electrical problem and do some preventive maintenance on the plumbing. 

Even though it sounds like we had a lot of small problems on our trip we actually got a lot of major work done and the remaining problems are small and we feel we have the two guys that can fix everything. 

So we packed up on Friday and left late that night. We had a great time and enjoyed staying there for over two weeks. It seems the longer we are there the more we think about how nice it might be to live there part of the year, splitting it with our Florida home. We just have to figure out how Kim can get retired!

All in all, a great trip to our lovely cabin and we are already looking forward to our next trip. Thanks to all our Kentucky neighbors who helped us out: Terry and Dee Stewart, Dewey and Susan Driver, Ronnie and Tammy Young, Roy McGregor and all the nice friendly locals that we meet throughout our stay. 

Here's a few pictures of our stay at the cabin. Enjoy.

Kim with one of our puzzles we put together. "Going West"

"Deep In Deer Country".

"Surprised".

Ray, Connie and Kim playing cards.

My Colorado and ray's Silverado.

One of our 3 hummingbird feeders.

Ray, Connie, Ken

Rick and I trying to get the tractor to run.

Holy Smokes!!

We know what we're doing!

Rick and Merlene with Susan Driver's horse.

We saw plenty of hummingbirds.

Me eating at the Penneyrile lodge with the lake in the background.

Me riding Rick's 4-wheeler.

No trip complete unless you shoot some guns.

"The Grand Tetons".

April playing with two pups at Whittaker's Gun Shop.

April posing with the new gravel drive.

April and Sabel.

Her new toy, the ice crusher.

April and Danny.

Kim helped out on the dozer when Ronnie took a break.

"Peaceful valley".

Dee & Terry Stewart

Missing The Place...

It seems like forever since Kim and I have been to the cabin. I left there late late year after running up to winterize the place and turn the heat on. That was a trip by myself and I'll be finally going back there the first of next week. Again, alone. 

Kim and I just completed a three week vacation out west to see some national parks and she has used up her vacation time until later this year. I know the grass and weeds are shoulder high by now and I have to get that water line dug and installed. A load of new gravel on the driveway is also needed. So I have some work to do and the bad part is it is going to be so hot. 
My son William and his family are running down to the cabin this coming weekend and he plans to do some weed-whacking and clean up so that will be a big help for me. My friend Rick is coming to Florida for the summer and might be riding with me to the cabin but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. 

It will be so nice when we can figure out a way to get Kim retired as early as possible. Then we can go there more often and the maintenance will be so much easier then.

So, I'm hoping things go smoothly and I can get back within a week or less. 

Getting Ready For Winter

 It has been quite some time since my last post and a lot of things have transpired over the months. First and foremost is the fact that we finally sold our Coquina Key house! We had a hectic three weeks or so getting things packed and ready to move. Not to mention that we made dozens and dozens of trips from that house to our mobile home in Clearwater. It could not have gotten done under that deadline without the help of Kim's sister April. She worked hard every day for 10 days and had to put up with my frustrations and being overwhelmed by it all. I finally did what most men do in that situation and said, "What do you want me to do next?" The last couple of days we were also helped by another sister-in-law, Michelle, and April's son Douglas. They were a big help doing the final cleanup and packing. So it is done. We are moved. I can breathe.

After getting settled in to our new place I knew that I had to make a run to the cabin to winterize it since the weather up there was starting to get very cold at night. I had two main goals: Insulate the new water pipes that Jimmie and myself installed months ago and to finally put the right gutter guards in place to stop all those leaves from clogging up the gutters. As it was, you had to clean them out 3-4 times a year and they would always be full. Could it be from all the trees that surround the place?? So after using a great gutter guard I had found for the mobile home I thought that they would work great for the cabin problem. And they did. After some small snipping and modifications they fit nice and tight and the gutters will now be leave free! That makes me feel great about  not having to haul out the ladder and fool with that mundane task each time I go there. And I'm sure William will be pleased as well. He and a friend had just cleaned them out a few weeks before I went there, and yet, they were almost full again. 

My friend Rick White came down late Friday evening and stayed until Sunday afternoon. He was a huge help and he really made the cleanup effort go a lot quicker. Saturday we blew leaves covering the parking area and all the way up the lane. We used the weed-eater and the mower to cut all the tall grass and weeds growing up the lane and at the top of the drive. It really looked great when we finished. I only wished it looked like that whenever we arrived instead of looking that good just when we have to leave. With Rick's help the gutter work went easy also. 

Of course, in the evening we made our usual trip to Hanson, Ky to eat at The Campus Fish House where the catfish can't be beat. We discovered after walking inside that the decor had been changed and new faces greated us. The server explained that she and her husband had just bought out the previous owner and had taken over. The menu had a few changes to it but the catfish had remained. We ordered that of course and it was almost like the other visits, very good fish. The only drawback was it appeared that the breading was a little lighter in color than the old owner used and maybe that's what made me think it was not quite as good as before. But we enjoyed every bite and I'll make the trip back there each time I go to the cabin.

On Saturday I had put out some corn and a mineral block at the usual deer-feeding spot just off the lane near the cabin. We can always count on seeing deer there on our visits. Sunday morning it didn't appear that any deer had found the bounty and I assured Rick that they would find it before long. Rick finally left Sunday afternoon and just before dusk I had went out and sat in my truck to listen to the NASCAR race on my Sirius radio. While sitting there facing the feeding spot I saw three large deer crossing from the hillside and walking across the lane toward the feeding spot. One of the deer walked over and started eating but the other two started walking up the lane toward the cabin, and toward me sitting in the truck! They didn't appear to be frightened of the house or truck and obviously they didn't notice me sitting there staring at them. They walked within 20 feet of the truck and one turned around and went back and started eating with the one that was already there. The last deer walked toward the fire pit and went around the backside and crossed the creek slowly strolling around the other hillside. After a good 15 minutes or so she fianlly walked back to the others and ate a little corn that was up on the road. I took a few pictures of all three using my cell phone and I'll post those as soon as I get them uploaded, although I'm not sure how well they turned out considering the lighting. But it was a nice treat to watch three deer walk so calmly around the place and eat the corn that I had left them. Another reason why I love going to the cabin.

 I'm not sure when the next trip will be up there for Kim and I but I'm sure Will, Lindsey and the kids will make it back there before we do. It's always sad closing it up for the winter and I worry about the freezing temperatures it's about to go through. But I look at it as I went there to add a few more covers on the ole girl and tuck her in for a long winter's sleep. Its the hybernating cabin. Looking forward to waking her up next spring. 

When It Rains......

Well, the cabin has water! Cold water, but that will work for now. 

Kim and I arrrived mid-morning last Friday and tidied the place up a little and late that night Jimmie, Michelle, and Aunt Audrey showed up with their rescue van, filled to the brim.

We spent the first five minutes unloading their luggage and personal items. The next 15 minutes were spent unloading Jimmie's plumbing/construction/demolition equipment. 


The next hour was spent unloading the food that Aunt Audrey brought for their 36-hour visit! Yes, we had food left over! Audrey brought along some blackberry wine and you can see her toasting in the picture above with me having gave up and hit the sofa. She wins!
                                                                                

After taking a break from unloading the food, Jimmie went straight to work checking out what to do first in the bathroom. We made our plans to get started first thing in the morning, although he started tearing out the fixtures right away. 

Once we got into the project we found our leak, right behind the vanity. Jimmie made a quick repair and with our fingers crossed we turned on the water to check our work. We no longer had a leak! At that location. But just to the left of that spot we discovered another. Then another. And another. Always repairing, turning the water on, finding the next leak, turning off the water, repairing and on and on. 

And, to make matters worse, did I mention that it rained the ENTIRE time that they were there? No, that doesn't describe it.... it POURED most of the time! Forty-eight hours in a row! Rain, rain, rain. Everytime we had to turn the water on to check the person was getting wet. Every trip to the outhouse... wet.

We later talked to a neighbor who told us that he knew a local woman that was 100 years old and she told him 

 that was the most rain she had ever seen at one time! The picture to the left taken from our truck shows the water covering Buttermilk Road. Yes, there's a road there somewhere. 

Later in the week Kim and I attempted to drive over to Pennyrile State Park for a late lunch only to find that two different roads leading there were completely covered with many feet of water.

After working all day Saturday and into the night we finally thought we had all the leaks repaired. Unfotunately, after doing all our water checking for a whole day the main water line was dry. We had been operating the water just off of gravity and not using the pump to supply the water. So I went to turn on the pump to do our final check and of course it didn't work. It came on but didn't pump any water. But that was another problem to be fixed the next day. 

Our neighbor, Dewey Billy, wasn't home because of the water blocking the road. He is the pump/well master and knows how to get it to work. We kept checking his house throughout the day but he was gone for two days.

So without a final check, Jimmie, Michelle and A.A. packed up  and pulled out Sunday morning. And Dewey finally made it home and gave me a hand at the pump and it started working. 

Kim and I did a final water-leak check and we saw NO leaks. At first. After looking very close I saw a stream of water so small it looked like a mosquito's urine stream.  (I'll explain in another post how I know what that looks like). 

Where was the leak? Right behind the vanity. The vanity that we had just put back into place and hooked up again. 

Without going into more detail because I can feel my blood pressure rising just talking about all of this again, I'll just finish and say we repaired that leak and one more. We did one final water check and all was dry! We installed the vanity again, turned on the water and started filling up the toilet tank. It filled. And filled.  And filled. Absolutely no leaks but it wouldn't stop filling up, water constantly ran and went into the overflow. 

After a couple of calls to Master-Plumber-Man Bob Watson in Florida we discovered that the entire inlet valve had a zillion leaks in it! OK, enough. We had the tank full and we turned off the water to the toilet. That would allow us to use it during the night if needed. We would go into town in the morning and get the needed replacement parts. And we did. It's fixed. 

The plumbing problem is over, at least for the cold water. But Jimmie visually checked out the hot water lines and they looked good. He installed the new water heater, hooked up the new electric and it's ready for the final plumbing connections and we should be in business. But that will wait for my next trip in late fall.

But in the end it was well worth it. We had a great time visiting with our three helpers, eating all the food, and telling stories. We met three of our neighbors, one of them Ronnie riding in on Blaze.

Kim put up her three new hummingbird feeders and they got a few visitors. We cut a little grass, although the rainy weather prevented me from cutting all that I had planned. 

We cleaned up, put things away and said goodbye to our favorite getaway spot. We left Tuesday afternoon and went on to northern Kentucky to visit with family and prepare for our trip with April & Danny to Niagra Falls Saturday morning. Oh great.... more water!  

                                                        Goodbye for now, stay dry!