Dear
Schubkegel Family Members,
I thought I would give you a summary of what went into the process of opening up the Floyd Lake Cabin this past weekend. It was a cold, rainy weekend, but I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do. This will definitely be a long, drawn-out description of the events, but have "NF", humor will be injected to keep things moving. I've boiled the whole cabin-opening process down to "just" 25 points. So, strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride!
1. I arrived at the FL Cabin at about 11:00 AM on Thursday. My first order of business was to take the Checkmate boat in to the fiberglass repairman named simply "Paul". I still don't know his last name. So, I put the battery in the Checkmate, hooked the trailer up to the Trailblazer, and drove it over to Paul's place. Besides having the longest ponytail I've ever seen on a male, Paul was able to hoist the boat up and determine that it would cost $900 to fix it. Ouch. He said he thought screws from our boat lift "bunk" had done the damage. I checked on that when I got back to the cabin, and he was definitely accurate. I left the Checkmate with Paul, and he said he'd be able to get it done by the end of June. Tim, I'll talk with you to see when you're going to be there in June, and then let Ponytail Paul know when you need the boat. I’m sure we’ll become good friends.
2. When I got back to the cabin after dropping off the boat, I turned on the water in the big cabin. As always, I held my breath until I realized that no pipes had burst. Lieutenant Schubkegel, you did a nice job blowing the water out last Fall. Two things that I did notice after turning on the water. The first is that the light in the laundry room isn't working. Did you try replacing the light bulb? Before you ask, yes, I tried putting a different light bulb in, but it still didn't work. The second is that the circuit breakers for the hot water heater keep tripping off. Hot water heater circuit be trippin’. We knew that had happened off and on last summer. This is something that needs to be checked out. Otherwise, the water was returned to the pipes with no major mishaps. Whew!
3. Next, I took the dock inserts from the sunroom and inserted them into the dock. This went off without a hitch until I got towards the end of the dock. That's when I dropped my screwdriver into the water. So, I had to go get my swimming suit on and get into the water. Let me just say that I nearly died of a heart attack when I entered the water - it was COLD!!!!!!! Good for the circulation J.You'll hear about how I learned from this experience, and figured out a better way to get things out of very cold water later.
4. After the dock inserts were in, I decided to look at the "bunks" (I guess that's what the things are called that the boat sits on.) on the boat lift to see if there were any screws sticking up. On one of the "bunks" there were three screws sticking up enough to scratch and gouge the bottom of the boat. I decided to take the "bunk" off and take it into J and K Marine (more on that later). While taking the "bunk" off (which was not an easy job) I twice dropped my wrench into the lake. This time, however, I got smart and used the fish landing net to scoop the wrench out of the water. It shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks. I could say something here but will not.
5. Vacuuming and straightening up the sunroom was next on the docket. There were lots of leaves, cobwebs, and dirt on the sunroom carpet. After the vacuuming was done, I situated the furniture in the right places and put the furniture covers (actually old sheets) away. Very nice.
6. Then it was on to the deck out back. I swept the back deck and then put the wooden tables and benches back onto the deck. Those tables and benches have definitely seen better days, but everything is in place on the back deck now.
7. The side deck (I like to call it Tim's deck, since he built it.) was the next to get some attention. This deck was also swept, and then I put all of the chairs that the roofers had left on the grass over the winter back onto the side deck. We could definitely use some new chairs (just my opinion, of course). Ditto that sentiment.
8. I then proceeded to sweep the back entry to the sunroom, where the old mosquito repelling fan used to sit. This area was very full of leaves and other refuse. It looks very nice and tidy now. Nice … in three days it will be back full of cobwebs and mosquitos.
9. The canoe needed to be put on the lift and the paddleboat needed to be put down by the lake, so I muscled both of them down there. Not an easy task, but my short, stocky build definitely helped. Having a low center of gravity was beneficial. Just think if we still had the sailboat!
10. Next I did something that the girls and I like to call "stick patrol". This basically consists of picking up all the sticks that have fallen over the Fall and Winter that need to be picked up before the lawn is mowed. I guess I never realized how many branches and twigs can fall over one Winter. There's definitely a nice pile of sticks and twigs to serve as fire starters this summer. Extra nice work.
11. Mowing the lawn "Part I" took place next. I mowed the third of the lawn nearest to the road during a fairly steady downpour of rain. I'll admit that I took a couple of breaks to get out of the rain during "Part I". Then, I decided that the other two-thirds of the lawn could wait until Friday. Great thinking and I agree with your “dividing the lawn into thirds” method.
12. After listening to the smoke alarms in the big cabin beep for most of the day, I decided to by a couple of 9-volt batteries at Walmart. I guess I haven't bought 9-volt batteries for awhile, but $7.45 for two batteries? Ridiculous!! WalMart is sticking it to us. Yet those batteries could save a life. But, after I put the new batteries in the smoke alarms the beeping miraculously stopped.
13. Opening up the old cabin (otherwise known as Jean and Mitch's place) was the next thing on my list. Priming the pump went well and water has been restored to the oldest cabin on Floyd Lake.
14. Opening up the new cabin (or should I say "Swiss Chalet") and turning on the water in it went equally without incident. Glad the underground hose is still functioning.
15. After 14 other things were done, I felt that the Lund boat had waited long enough. It was time to put the Lund into the icy waters of Floyd Lake. My backing job was flawless, and the Lund was released into the wild. The Lund belongs on Floyd – no doubt about it. After a few pulls, the trusty Johnson motor roared once again. Excellent! The problem was I couldn't keep it going. I think we need a new hose between the gas can and motor - the one we have kept falling off and the motor kept stopping. YES – that was an issue last year, as I needed to hold the hose and steer the boat at the same time to go across the lake. At one point I looked for back-up hoses at WalMart (had none) and never got around to checking a marina. J & K probably has one for $320.00 plus tax. So, I row, row, rowed the boat gently to the dock. Wow, what a workout. I got the Lund safely onto the boat lift and put the tarp over it to protect it from the piercing rays of the sun, which might appear above Floyd Lake sometime yet this summer. Thanks for the TLC.
16. Putting the registration stickers on the Lund was the easiest job of the weekend. Enough said.
17. I needed to take a drive, so I took both boatlift "bunks" into J and K Marine and explained the problem to them and how it damaged the boat. I ended up talking to a guy in the service department named Doug and also one of the owners of J and K. The owner agreed that they would fix the "bunks", and they're going to consider whether or not they'll do anything else to help us with the fiberglass repair. I wouldn't hold our collective breaths, but maybe they'll even pay for some of the repair of the boat. They're going to get back to me. That would be a nice gesture, since the boat lift came from them in the first place and apparently caused some of the damage. Did “Doug” have a ponytail?
18. When I arrived at the lake, I noticed that the float for the septic tank near the new cabin was up. After an afternoon of telephone tag with Anderson Septic, a cool dude named Jason came and pumped out the tank. All septic tank guys are cool. Jason also provided me with some interesting information on why the float could be up already when no one had used the cabins yet this year. His fascinating explanation enlightened me to the fact that water from the melting snow this spring seeped into the tank. Septic tank dialogue can be and certainly is fascinating in and of itself. I didn't realize that could happen, but apparently a septic tank has some cracks and holes - at least that's what Jason said, and it sounded believable. I suppose Mitch could tell us whether that's really true or not. Let's talk about it around the campfire over the 4th of July! I tell you, I learn many new and useful things "every day".
19. I then remembered that there are two screens that need to be put into place on both sides of the crawl space of the big cabin. They replace the insulated boards that are usually there in the winter. So, I switched the screens for the insulated boards. Let me just say that that crawlspace/basement area is really, really creepy! I spent some nice hours under there a few summers back.
20. Mowing the lawn "Part II" was the next thing to do. The middle third of the lawn was definitely the thickest. Several areas needed to be gone over twice. But, mowing the lawn is nice, mindless work. Stay tuned for mowing the lawn "Part III". I cannot wait! …
21. I did a little raking next. The area between the lake and the sunroom was full of leaves because that's where the boatlifts and docks sit during the winter. While raking this area, I looked at the nice wooden swing hanging down from the large tree. It saddened me when I thought of little Jack falling off and hitting his head last summer. Jack, I hope you're not suffering from any post-concussion symptoms. I took about three wheelbarrows full of leaves from this area and dumped it across the road. I didn't get any blisters from the raking, so I'm pumped about that. Blisterless is best.
22. Mom S. suggested that I should check on the condition of the bunkhouse, so I did. I am happy to report that the bunkhouse is in great shape and there are no signs of mice infestation. I also took the boards off the outside of the bunkhouse windows. That was enough time in the bunkhouse for me. The less time one spends in the bunkhouse, the better.
23. Mowing the lawn "Part III" was next. This was, by far, the most rewarding of the lawn-mowing segments. I'm not sure why, but it just felt really satisfying. After the entire lawn project was done, I stood back and admired what a beautiful lawn we have at the cabin - except the areas where the roofers drove their trucks and trailer. But, I'm sure it will fill in over the course of the summer. I’m getting emotional …
24. On Saturday morning I did the job that all of us wish we could do - cleaning out the gutters. Boy did I scoop some sweet stuff out of the gutters! Four pails worth. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain - those gutters are clean and the downspouts are flowing freely. By the way, I also picked up many stray pieces of shingles that were left up on the roof. You'll thank me this summer when you won't be getting hit by those pieces falling off the roof during extremely windy periods of the day. Always remember - I'm here for you, family. You’ve got our back – we’ve got yours!
25. The last thing I did was sweep out and straighten up the garage. What a fitting end to a great Cabin Opening weekend! Nice! The only thing missing is finding a drowned chipmunk in the toilet like we did a few summers ago, but your time at Floyd sounded much nicer.
Well, thanks for hanging in there. Let me know if you have any questions about anything or think I should take up a novel writing career instead of teaching. I'll keep in touch with J and K Marine and Ponytail Paul, and we'll get that Checkmate and boatlift up and running before we get up there. Take care!
I thought I would give you a summary of what went into the process of opening up the Floyd Lake Cabin this past weekend. It was a cold, rainy weekend, but I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do. This will definitely be a long, drawn-out description of the events, but have "NF", humor will be injected to keep things moving. I've boiled the whole cabin-opening process down to "just" 25 points. So, strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride!
1. I arrived at the FL Cabin at about 11:00 AM on Thursday. My first order of business was to take the Checkmate boat in to the fiberglass repairman named simply "Paul". I still don't know his last name. So, I put the battery in the Checkmate, hooked the trailer up to the Trailblazer, and drove it over to Paul's place. Besides having the longest ponytail I've ever seen on a male, Paul was able to hoist the boat up and determine that it would cost $900 to fix it. Ouch. He said he thought screws from our boat lift "bunk" had done the damage. I checked on that when I got back to the cabin, and he was definitely accurate. I left the Checkmate with Paul, and he said he'd be able to get it done by the end of June. Tim, I'll talk with you to see when you're going to be there in June, and then let Ponytail Paul know when you need the boat. I’m sure we’ll become good friends.
2. When I got back to the cabin after dropping off the boat, I turned on the water in the big cabin. As always, I held my breath until I realized that no pipes had burst. Lieutenant Schubkegel, you did a nice job blowing the water out last Fall. Two things that I did notice after turning on the water. The first is that the light in the laundry room isn't working. Did you try replacing the light bulb? Before you ask, yes, I tried putting a different light bulb in, but it still didn't work. The second is that the circuit breakers for the hot water heater keep tripping off. Hot water heater circuit be trippin’. We knew that had happened off and on last summer. This is something that needs to be checked out. Otherwise, the water was returned to the pipes with no major mishaps. Whew!
3. Next, I took the dock inserts from the sunroom and inserted them into the dock. This went off without a hitch until I got towards the end of the dock. That's when I dropped my screwdriver into the water. So, I had to go get my swimming suit on and get into the water. Let me just say that I nearly died of a heart attack when I entered the water - it was COLD!!!!!!! Good for the circulation J.You'll hear about how I learned from this experience, and figured out a better way to get things out of very cold water later.
4. After the dock inserts were in, I decided to look at the "bunks" (I guess that's what the things are called that the boat sits on.) on the boat lift to see if there were any screws sticking up. On one of the "bunks" there were three screws sticking up enough to scratch and gouge the bottom of the boat. I decided to take the "bunk" off and take it into J and K Marine (more on that later). While taking the "bunk" off (which was not an easy job) I twice dropped my wrench into the lake. This time, however, I got smart and used the fish landing net to scoop the wrench out of the water. It shows that you can teach an old dog new tricks. I could say something here but will not.
5. Vacuuming and straightening up the sunroom was next on the docket. There were lots of leaves, cobwebs, and dirt on the sunroom carpet. After the vacuuming was done, I situated the furniture in the right places and put the furniture covers (actually old sheets) away. Very nice.
6. Then it was on to the deck out back. I swept the back deck and then put the wooden tables and benches back onto the deck. Those tables and benches have definitely seen better days, but everything is in place on the back deck now.
7. The side deck (I like to call it Tim's deck, since he built it.) was the next to get some attention. This deck was also swept, and then I put all of the chairs that the roofers had left on the grass over the winter back onto the side deck. We could definitely use some new chairs (just my opinion, of course). Ditto that sentiment.
8. I then proceeded to sweep the back entry to the sunroom, where the old mosquito repelling fan used to sit. This area was very full of leaves and other refuse. It looks very nice and tidy now. Nice … in three days it will be back full of cobwebs and mosquitos.
9. The canoe needed to be put on the lift and the paddleboat needed to be put down by the lake, so I muscled both of them down there. Not an easy task, but my short, stocky build definitely helped. Having a low center of gravity was beneficial. Just think if we still had the sailboat!
10. Next I did something that the girls and I like to call "stick patrol". This basically consists of picking up all the sticks that have fallen over the Fall and Winter that need to be picked up before the lawn is mowed. I guess I never realized how many branches and twigs can fall over one Winter. There's definitely a nice pile of sticks and twigs to serve as fire starters this summer. Extra nice work.
11. Mowing the lawn "Part I" took place next. I mowed the third of the lawn nearest to the road during a fairly steady downpour of rain. I'll admit that I took a couple of breaks to get out of the rain during "Part I". Then, I decided that the other two-thirds of the lawn could wait until Friday. Great thinking and I agree with your “dividing the lawn into thirds” method.
12. After listening to the smoke alarms in the big cabin beep for most of the day, I decided to by a couple of 9-volt batteries at Walmart. I guess I haven't bought 9-volt batteries for awhile, but $7.45 for two batteries? Ridiculous!! WalMart is sticking it to us. Yet those batteries could save a life. But, after I put the new batteries in the smoke alarms the beeping miraculously stopped.
13. Opening up the old cabin (otherwise known as Jean and Mitch's place) was the next thing on my list. Priming the pump went well and water has been restored to the oldest cabin on Floyd Lake.
14. Opening up the new cabin (or should I say "Swiss Chalet") and turning on the water in it went equally without incident. Glad the underground hose is still functioning.
15. After 14 other things were done, I felt that the Lund boat had waited long enough. It was time to put the Lund into the icy waters of Floyd Lake. My backing job was flawless, and the Lund was released into the wild. The Lund belongs on Floyd – no doubt about it. After a few pulls, the trusty Johnson motor roared once again. Excellent! The problem was I couldn't keep it going. I think we need a new hose between the gas can and motor - the one we have kept falling off and the motor kept stopping. YES – that was an issue last year, as I needed to hold the hose and steer the boat at the same time to go across the lake. At one point I looked for back-up hoses at WalMart (had none) and never got around to checking a marina. J & K probably has one for $320.00 plus tax. So, I row, row, rowed the boat gently to the dock. Wow, what a workout. I got the Lund safely onto the boat lift and put the tarp over it to protect it from the piercing rays of the sun, which might appear above Floyd Lake sometime yet this summer. Thanks for the TLC.
16. Putting the registration stickers on the Lund was the easiest job of the weekend. Enough said.
17. I needed to take a drive, so I took both boatlift "bunks" into J and K Marine and explained the problem to them and how it damaged the boat. I ended up talking to a guy in the service department named Doug and also one of the owners of J and K. The owner agreed that they would fix the "bunks", and they're going to consider whether or not they'll do anything else to help us with the fiberglass repair. I wouldn't hold our collective breaths, but maybe they'll even pay for some of the repair of the boat. They're going to get back to me. That would be a nice gesture, since the boat lift came from them in the first place and apparently caused some of the damage. Did “Doug” have a ponytail?
18. When I arrived at the lake, I noticed that the float for the septic tank near the new cabin was up. After an afternoon of telephone tag with Anderson Septic, a cool dude named Jason came and pumped out the tank. All septic tank guys are cool. Jason also provided me with some interesting information on why the float could be up already when no one had used the cabins yet this year. His fascinating explanation enlightened me to the fact that water from the melting snow this spring seeped into the tank. Septic tank dialogue can be and certainly is fascinating in and of itself. I didn't realize that could happen, but apparently a septic tank has some cracks and holes - at least that's what Jason said, and it sounded believable. I suppose Mitch could tell us whether that's really true or not. Let's talk about it around the campfire over the 4th of July! I tell you, I learn many new and useful things "every day".
19. I then remembered that there are two screens that need to be put into place on both sides of the crawl space of the big cabin. They replace the insulated boards that are usually there in the winter. So, I switched the screens for the insulated boards. Let me just say that that crawlspace/basement area is really, really creepy! I spent some nice hours under there a few summers back.
20. Mowing the lawn "Part II" was the next thing to do. The middle third of the lawn was definitely the thickest. Several areas needed to be gone over twice. But, mowing the lawn is nice, mindless work. Stay tuned for mowing the lawn "Part III". I cannot wait! …
21. I did a little raking next. The area between the lake and the sunroom was full of leaves because that's where the boatlifts and docks sit during the winter. While raking this area, I looked at the nice wooden swing hanging down from the large tree. It saddened me when I thought of little Jack falling off and hitting his head last summer. Jack, I hope you're not suffering from any post-concussion symptoms. I took about three wheelbarrows full of leaves from this area and dumped it across the road. I didn't get any blisters from the raking, so I'm pumped about that. Blisterless is best.
22. Mom S. suggested that I should check on the condition of the bunkhouse, so I did. I am happy to report that the bunkhouse is in great shape and there are no signs of mice infestation. I also took the boards off the outside of the bunkhouse windows. That was enough time in the bunkhouse for me. The less time one spends in the bunkhouse, the better.
23. Mowing the lawn "Part III" was next. This was, by far, the most rewarding of the lawn-mowing segments. I'm not sure why, but it just felt really satisfying. After the entire lawn project was done, I stood back and admired what a beautiful lawn we have at the cabin - except the areas where the roofers drove their trucks and trailer. But, I'm sure it will fill in over the course of the summer. I’m getting emotional …
24. On Saturday morning I did the job that all of us wish we could do - cleaning out the gutters. Boy did I scoop some sweet stuff out of the gutters! Four pails worth. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain - those gutters are clean and the downspouts are flowing freely. By the way, I also picked up many stray pieces of shingles that were left up on the roof. You'll thank me this summer when you won't be getting hit by those pieces falling off the roof during extremely windy periods of the day. Always remember - I'm here for you, family. You’ve got our back – we’ve got yours!
25. The last thing I did was sweep out and straighten up the garage. What a fitting end to a great Cabin Opening weekend! Nice! The only thing missing is finding a drowned chipmunk in the toilet like we did a few summers ago, but your time at Floyd sounded much nicer.
Well, thanks for hanging in there. Let me know if you have any questions about anything or think I should take up a novel writing career instead of teaching. I'll keep in touch with J and K Marine and Ponytail Paul, and we'll get that Checkmate and boatlift up and running before we get up there. Take care!
Your friendly cabin opener,
"Dr. Dave" Biedenbender
P.S. I bought some new golf clubs on the way home at Scheel's in St. Cloud. Now it's time to golf! Well worth it!
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