This summer has been a busy one, as you can see from the lack of posts. The other problem, from a creative perspective is that most of our trips have been the same - head to Galiano, work on the property and the cottage; do some hikes and go for a swim; maybe have a friend or two visit.

I have photos from 4-5 similar trips to share. So instead of going chronological, I thought I’d try a few posts built on a specific theme - starting with a cottage update. So for this post, I’m going to go through historically and try and find a bunch of photos that shows the progress we’ve made on the cottage over the past 2-3 months.

I’m not sure it’s going to work, but I figured why not give it a try? Here are some updates on the progress we’ve made.

Late June

As you can see, the grass is still nice and green at this stage. The primary task we had after delivery of the cottage was the skirting around the base to keep the weather and the critters out. We actually got the sides and the front done fairly quickly.

Late June

Once the skirting was in place, we then completed the look with gravel around the base. Again, to seal it in and to provide the aesthetic we were looking for. It’s going to be a pain keeping the grass out…

Early July

We finished three sides, then ran out of material. The hardware store also did not have any more, so we had to order it and wait… with the challenge getting supplies, it took longer than we would have liked. Plus we finally had some friends come visit, so we had a few weekend where we couldn’t work.

Early August

We finally got the back side done. This was tough as it involved cutting around a few infrastructure elements (propane pipe, electrical) and building an access door. It’s not perfect, but it looks pretty good. Just don’t look too closely.

Early August

Once the last pieces of skirting were up, we could finish with the gravel around the outside. And once that was done, we could spread the rest fo the gravel to complete the driveway up to the shed. We’re quite pleased with the finished look!

Early August

The last piece on the outside was to get up the gutters. Two, 20’ long pieces made it a bit of a tough task for the two of us, but we got it done!

Early August.

You can see the downspout - we just need a temporary rain barrel, and we’re all wrapped up for now.