Winterizing

We went up to the cottage last weekend for Rod's birthday and to do a little winterizing.  We also  brought very little with us in terms of supplies.  We were only there for one day.  We brought cream for our coffee and stopped along the way for a quick lunch in the car, picked up pastries for breakfast the next day and went out to dinner that night.  We only really needed pjs and a change of underwear and socks.  Oh and dog food.  But we forgot that.  That's how light we were packing.  We forgot food for our dogs! We went to a good little Mexican restaurant in Claremont called Revolution Cantina.  It was fun because it was the day after Halloween and also Day of the Dead so the restaurant was all decorated for the occasion and the waitstaff were all wearing day of the dead masks.  The food was great but the margaritas were just ok.  I was starting to get sick, so maybe that's why.  I went to bed at 8:00 and Rod stayed up with his girls watching Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Someone was tired from Halloween the night before!

Yes my selfie camera lens needs to be cleaned!  

Back at the cottage we had a few things to do to winterize the place.  We had to check on the spray foam insulation that was added to the underside of the house, see how the heaters that were just installed were working, and add an alarm that will call us if the house gets too cold.  We also put away the boats, although we left out the canoes if someone is feeling brave and wants to go for a paddle on a warm November day.  The paddles, oars, outdoor furniture and hammock are all tucked away safely for the winter.   We put the hammock in the house near the washer and dryer.  We've had mice eat our hammock before at home when it was stored in the garage during our kitchen renovation and we didn't want this hammock to suffer the same fate.

Hopefully this new spray foam insulation will keep our house
and pipes toasty warm this winter!

System is set up to call us if the temperature drops below
45 degrees or if the power goes out. 

Of course my idea of winterizing involves greens and decorations.  I wanted to get greens in the window boxes before the soil freezes.  I don't really want to go crazy in terms of decorating for the holidays at the cottage since we aren't going to be there for Thanksgiving or Christmas but will be back and forth during the season.  We also don't have a lot of storage up there for a lot of extras so I want the changes to be minimal but also to reflect the seasons.  I want the house to feel cozy and wintery.  Ready for cold or snowy days at the lake.

The girls helped collect berries and greens and handed them
to me up on the ladder doing the front window boxes. 

Next time we have to get rid of those leaves.
It rained and snowed a bit while we were there so they were too wet to blow or mow.  

We also made some quick little changes inside on the mantel.  Rod has always had a thing for deer decorations.  So we bought this guy for NH while shopping on Friday for Rod's birthday at Marshalls.  We saw two real deer on the side of the road on the way home from dinner.   The girls were thrilled.  Lindsay said it was the first time she'd seen them in the wild.  Last time we were up we saw a porcupine on the way home from dinner.  Apparently that is the time of night for animal sightings.  She did have her camera aimed out the window the day before hoping for a moose sighting.  Maybe one of these days we'll see one!

Of course those turquoise, green and red felted mittens had to come to the cottage too.  

Rod bought me these antlers for christmas last year.  He was at an antique store picking up a vanity I had been admiring online to surprise me for Christmas!  (Aw shucks!  I love it!)  And he happened to spot these antlers and thought it was just what I wanted for a pinterest project.  (I had a silver deer or antler set in mind for christmas decorating).  Needless to say the girls and I were grossed out and these real antlers were relegated to the garage.    Haley recently said they creep her out in the garage, plus she needed space for her dad's Bruins wall she made him for his bday, so they came to NH.  I actually kind of like them here.  Maybe just for the winter months.  I also think they will look much cuter adorned with a plaid scarf or perhaps will work well as a scarf & mitten hanger.  And I'm not convinced some paint won't be involved in their final look at some point.  

These snow shoes came with the house and I replaced the
ski NH pictures they had here with ones that were more our style.
They are always there year round but maybe I'll have to find
something summery to switch them out for.   Off to pinterest to start looking! 

We also added some more blankets around the house.  Including this wool MacLeod plaid one from my mom.  Anything to keep us cozy till the house warms up.  Outside we added twinkle lights to the bushes at the waters edge and I want to add some to the dock too.  I think it will look so cozy to look out there on winter nights and see them twinkling through the snow.  

Indoors I've been wanting to add a shelf in the kitchen above the artwork so we made one for the time being from an old in our basement at home.  We added a few decorations to make it colorful and cottagey.  It was just what that corner needed.  To tie in with the white cabinets and to finish out the space.  We also got some stacking stools too to add more seating in the kitchen for when we have a crowd for supper or for when we want to sit while preparing dinner or are just hanging in the kitchen chatting with the chef.  

Upstairs I added some Annie's chalk paint to this wood mirror we had found in the barn.  Painted it while it hung right there on the wall.  Two coats and done.  A quick ten minute fix.  It makes it stand out on the wood wall and I like the cottage look.   And I had the paint out anyway to touch up the wood plugs on the headboard we had made and been meaning to finish.  Love chalk paint and the ease of usability!  

Funny that my idea of winterizing and Rod's idea of winterizing are two completely different things.  A fun getaway weekend to celebrate a great guy.  A little relaxing, some work, a few projects, a bunch of games of Sorry, and a gorgeous sunset on the drive home to top it all off!  Happy Birthday Hon!