Happy Halloween

Just took a look at the weather forcast for the next 10 days up in Minnesota. Looks like it'll be in the 30s if we're lucky. Being between two lakes, if it says it's 30, it feels like 20. BRRRRRRRR! Guess I'll just have to pack plenty of warm things. We had so many trick or treaters tonight that we actually ran out of candy. I don't think that's ever happened before. Anyhow , still just looking forward to the trip. I'd hoped to get more comments and ideas on here before leaving, it's still not too late! Love to hear from anyone reading the blog. Right now I'm trying to decide on what all to try and take up with me this trip. I'm just going in a van so space is there but limited. Anyhow, Happy Halloween :)

Fishing, Swimming, Riding Motorcycles and Golfcarts

I was just thinking that I really haven't said much about all the things I love to do when up at the Lakes. My parents have two cabins up there that I spent every summer of my life in. So, as you can imagine, tons of my best memories are from summers in those beautiful little cabins. When we were young, we didn't have anything up there like we do now. No electricity, no running water, no bathrooms * an outhouse, so it was truely primitive. It's only been in the last few years that my parents got electricity and bathrooms. Still and all the place really hasn't changed much. Everyone that goes there spends their time swimming and fishing, water skiing, jetskiing, riding every imaginable thing with wheels, telling stories , playing cards, and eating really too good. When I'm there in the summer, I spend a lot of time floating on the lake, swimming, fishing every night. Now that we've built this house, they'll be plenty more than play for us to do when we're there. But , being out in the middle of the woods, right inbetween two lakes, even work is pretty much a pleasure. I'm getting more and more excited about leaving next week. I leave wed night the 7th . It's going to be cold though, brrrrrrr!!!! and hey everybody, Leave Comments! don't be shy!! I really do hope to get ideas from people on here :)

Septic

Let's talk about septic systems. I don't have a lot to say here , except that I have experienced having a tank that has to be pumped out often. My parents cabins sit on such a small piece of land between two lakes that they had no option but to get tanks that had to be pumped. Since having the system installed the price of pumping has gone up every single year. I knew I wouldn't want to deal with that in my house. In fact, just the thought of dealing with a big truck trying to get to the house and the cost and so on , made me cringe. Thank goodness we were able to get a drain field . Up north and being so close to the lakes , there was a question that we'd be able to but, we were lucky. All I can say is that if you are building and there is any way to getting around tanks that have to be pumped out, get around it.

Finding a Builder

Something I really didn't go into was how we found our builder. After reading a few blogs one thing that stuck for me was to ask around. Simple as that sounds, it's probably the best advice anyone could take to heart. If you're just getting started on planning a vacation home or planning to build any home, talk to people. Find out who builds what in the area. Take drives and go out yourself and look at each builders work. Is your time frame an issue? If it is, that's anouther thing you should discuss right away with each builder. For me time just wasn't an issue and as it turned out, everythings gone ahead of projected schedule. But do talk to people, the more the better. Personally I had to find out my options on septic systems, how to get electricity to the sight, and legal setbacks from the lake before anything got started. I did find that just by asking local residents , everyone was happy to talk about both good and bad experiences with builders. So ask! information is your best friend when getting started on a building project. You'll find out quickly that each builder has a reputation that they either stand or fall on.

Blueprints and Plans - more thoughts

Just a few more thoughts on blueprints and plans for anyone just getting started. One thing I noticed right away about Bob the builder was his willingness to use the plan and also to vary from it. From the start he asked if there were any changes we'd want to make and suggested a few. My thoughts on this are that if you find a plan you like, and a competant builder, your builder should also be able to modify your plans to suite you even more specifically. So, don't be afraid to ask questions and if you really trust your builder, ask him for his advice.

Blueprints and how the Floor Plan was decided on

This is backing up a bit but I was talking with a friend who wanted to know where I found the blueprint for the house. It wasn't easy. You'd think with all the access on the interenet that finding a floor plan you could use and enjoy would be easy. I found endless isles of partial plans and places that wanted you to pay for plans . Finally I stumbled upon Menards websight. I knew what I wanted the minute I saw it. Mind you , If you went and looked at the picture of the house on thier sight, it wouldn't look much like my house will when finished. But, the floor plan was just what i wanted and it had the long covered front porch too. The biggest change I made was the exterior. Menards shows thiers with plain siding. I opted for a frame house with Half Log siding. I also more or less spun the floor plan around because we wanted certain views from certain rooms. Anyhow I'm rambling, but, my point I guess was that with patience and persistance , you can find free plans just by looking on the internet. It worked for me :)

Getting ready for the next trip up north

Well, I'm starting to get nervous. My 17 year old son doesn't want to go with us on this trip because of hockey and his girlfriend and friends and school . Gotta love teenagers. Anyhow, I'm not sure what to do about either leaving him at home alone or making him stay with my parents but I'm sure that'll all work itself out. As for the trip, I'm not as sure. The piece of furniture I bought is so big that only a rented truck will do to get it up there. I also have beds to move and so on but I'm afraid to take it all up already when there's still so much work to be done. It's going to be chilly , that's for sure. I'm excited as much as anything just to get up and see it again. I'm going to use this week to try and pack up my van and make sure everything's all set. I'll take plenty of pictures and post new ones when I get back :) Oh, and I bought a tonnnnn of candy for the trick or treaters this week , hope we get bunches!