Summer 2005 started with a visit from Smitty; he finally gets to enjoy the space he helped pioneer.

As pilot of the Electric Launch "Sky Captain," he gains his maritime legs touring with Lou around the lake.

Lou's feet in the boat . . . .

A little wind, my first time piloting--a nearly hopeless proposition.

Work could then begin on our "L" shaped dock, which ended up as three main sections, plus a 5'9" bench and a 4 x 6' "transition" piece to step on and off it.  The dock sections' frames were made with treated and sealed 2 x 6" and the striders of composite Trex boards:  Trex is very durable but considerably heavier than same-sized wood.  Our greatly over-used garden cart once again rose to the occasion by getting strapped beneath each section to roll down to the shore.

A week later, with additional materials and special brackets acquired, I built and installed Lou's birthday present, a dock bench.

Here's the finished result--a great place to have a cup of coffee at dawn , a favorite beverage at dusk, or to watch the loons as they raise their chick:

Troy and his young assistant Pete showed up and finished the lake porch steps--doing his usual fine job:

By far, the biggest project Lou and I tackled was "facing" or covering the cottage's concrete foundation with cultured stone:  we had never mortared or grouted--we are very pleased with what we accomplished, but will never, ever do it again--this is hard work for the amateur, especially as first-timers needing to develop a "feel" for both properly mixing and applying mortar and fine-finishing the grouting.  We started on the fireplace chase, thinking it would be a small, lesser noticed area for our first attempts.