Saturday, May 1, 2010

Camp










The previous post referred to our family's cottage on Sebago Lake in Maine. My brother has it now...third generation. My grandfather bought the property the year I was born. !($^ to be exact. He built it himself with help from his sons. It was battleship grey with red and white trim the whole time we were growing up. He kept it rustic and lived in for most of its life. We did a lot of work when my dad inherited it. New well, kitchen, bathroom, windows, doors, shingles, roof, paint inside and out. Lots of improvements. We enjoyed the projects.


The improvements were good, but there were structural issues which needed to be addressed. As nice as it looked, it would only be a matter of time before the building's inner core would be its undoing. The camp was sitting on boulders and rock piles, shimmed up with wood, jacked up in places, and becoming structurally unsound. It needed a foundation. There were no supporting beams, and the wood used to build it was not thick enough. It's a wonder the front bedroom was still upstairs.

My brother Bill, a builder, set about making it a year round residence. I'm sure there were times when he felt like the main character in the movie Money Pit! There have been years of projects, but the place is safe, sound, and SOOOOO cute! He's still working on it, and I'm thinking it'll never be 100% complete because the man comes up with the most awesome ideas! Out comes his paper and pencil, a sketch you could frame as an artist's rendition, another check list, the table saw, boards in the appropriate sizes, hammer, nails and other tools. The end result is always phenominal. I'm proud of my brother and his gift!

Thank you for making it possible for family to enjoy water, relaxation, boating, friends, great food, fire pit evenings, the hammock on a lazy day, and breathtaking sunsets for years to come.