TRASH INTO TREASURE

A sneak peek at our winfall,
and an action shot of
Jukebox helping his Dad!
TAKEN: May 30th, 2026

As the saying goes, "one person's trash, is another person's treasure." Which was 100% applicable in removing this almost brand-new kitchen for reinstallation in our cottage.

In all my years in high-end custom homebuilding I have never return to a cottage prior to its demolition for personal salvage. But as we prepare to gut the cottage for resale, a new kitchen was going to be one of our largest expenses.

So, when one of our project managers mentioned that an NHL hockey player we are building a new cottage for was ready for demolition, I asked him to send me photos of the kitchen.

Once I saw what was going to landfill, I booked a U-Haul, enlisted Jukebox to help, and hatched a plan.

The important thing my hatched plan lacked, was how difficult a task it was going to be and how I totally missed the mark on how long it would take to disassemble, load and then offload all the items into our garage at the house.

In the moment, my travel buddy hubby and I wished we had rented a larger vehicle because we would have removed some windows and the patio doors as well.

Filled to the brim with a nice kitchen, custom millwork vanities, expensive ceiling fans, shelving and bathroom light fixtures - we headed home.

Not bad for a whopping $130 U-Haul rental and some quality time with our boy!

Thanks Jukebox... Your help was truly appreciated!!

WELL, HECK!

Miya keeping her tail on the pulse
of squirrel central!
TAKEN: JUNE 8th, 2026

Back at the cottage for another Saturday trying to figure out more hot water issues, the thunder rolled. 

We had hydro at the cottage but shortly after dark my Facebook Messenger began to blow up with our neighbours letting us know there was a situation at the house; approximately 18 kms away.

In two stages of very loud cracks our driveway tree came down. Once we confirmed that the bulk of the tree was setting on the roof, but hadn't gone through, it was decided there was nothing we could do that night in the pouring rain.

I guess you can say we have been lucky in the fallen tree department. We fell and process trees that may be a threat annually... but it apparently this one had stayed off our radar.

In hindsight, I used to see a ton of squirrels in and out of the thing but never realized that if they were running a local recreation center out of the trunk, and that we may need to investigate the overall health of the tree.

That said, once we pulled the main branch off the roof by using the trailer hitch on the car, we began limbing and moving those branches into the gully. Before long, it was ready for bucking.

As usual, I voluntarily took on the labourer role, and the guys got their dueling chainsaw going. 

Buddy down the street brought his four-wheeler with a trailer to claim the free wood and just like that it was all cleaned up.

As far as the squirrels losing their recreation center, I have made a note to self to watch for where they gather next.

Not only will I strickly enforce NO parties after dark... I also will make sure they are not over occupying close to any eve of the house!