MNDRIFTERS: Busy August

My lovely sister Gio.

August is nearing its end and you know what that means? Pumpkin spice season!

August has been a very busy month for us. We decided to take a break from the outdoor projects and started to get some work done on the inside of the cabin. First order of business was to get the cedar boards up on the ceiling in the living room.

Lisa is getting pretty good with the nail gun. She no longer screams when it goes off.

Working on that high ceiling is always a challenge but we got that done. Lisa then started staining like a mad woman. Once she had enough boards stained, I started to hang them up on the kitchen wall. She went with a different color for contrast and it really turned out great.

We were on a roll and things were moving along well so we continued around the south wall.

Also the area above the cabinets needed to get done. That was not fun working over those cabinets.

That was about 2 weeks worth of work. Out of the blue we got a call from our asphalt company saying they were in the area and were going to do our driveway. Yay! We have been waiting all summer for them to get to us and this was going to be our last big project.

Before.

After

I think it looks great and we got more than we had planned, but that is a long story that I beg you never to ask Lisa about. For everybody's sanity, please don't ask her. Don't!...... Zip it!.......... Zip! We needed a break so we loaded up the camper and headed out for some laughs and debauchery. Once back home we decided to start some more outside projects because August was nearing its end.

We have a fire ring out back and wanted to improve it a little.

We haven't planted grass back there yet so I took my tractor and leveled the area better.

It's taking shape.

Finally the finished product. Not bad for a couple of amature landscapers. Ironically though Minnesota is in a burning ban statewide so we can't enjoy it yet. Once that was done it was time to get ready for some VIP's.

First up on the visitor list was my sister and her husband. Jeff has never been to our super secret undisclosed location ever. But once the background checks were completed, the non-disclosure documents signed along with covid paperwork, quarantine requirements met, he was allowed to enter the property. Which was great because it was a lot of fun. Maybe they could even help us hang up our new microwave?

Many alcoholic beverages were consumed, even against the surgeon general's warning. We went for an ATV ride around our property to show them the land.

When we were out on the ATV's, something caught Jeff's eye in the woods. He saw a Chicken in the Woods mushroom. So we went back to harvest that for them.

Here is Jeff killing a poor innocent tree fungus.

Once they surgically removed it from the tree we brought it back and soaked it in vinegar to kill all of the bugs that lived in it. Gross! Once soaked, they diced them up and marinated them in garlic, olive oil and teriyaki sauce and then thrown on the grill.

Then they attacked them like a Husky eating ham. (Inside joke). They said it tasted like chicken.

I did not eat any for fear of my life. I am extremely allergic to mushrooms and any other form of tree fungus. One bite would kill me. I'm also a firm believer that not everything was meant to be eaten. Like mushrooms, cow tongue and pigs feet. Just a few examples.

After that, Jeff wanted to play some bug zapper tennis. I think it was the mushrooms talking but I went along with it. We were both quite good. He said he was like Billy Jean King. Whoever he is?

I have to admit that he kind of looks like Billy Jean King in a way. The competition heated up and both of us were in rare form.

It was a fun 2 days, but like they say, "all good things must come to an end". They left bright and early the next morning vowing to do it again. We then had to get ready for our next VIP's coming in the next day. I had to go close the gate and put out the signs.

That's right folks! Jim and Barb were on their way. We got a message from them that they were going to stop by on their way north. Then it dawned on me. He said that he put a GPS tracker on our rig. Never had I thought that that was part of his diabolical plan to find our super secret undisclosed location.

They arrived on Tuesday afternoon and were just going to stay overnight. It was really quite the low key kind of affair. We didn't do much but hang out and visit. They inspected our work on the cabin. There were no words muttered like "Let me help you with building something." or "Let's hang your microwave while I am here." Nothing. True to their words, they left early the next morning.

Before they left though, they had a Lisa sandwich for the road.

Friends like them are hard to find. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives, especially since we never asked. They have left a lasting impression on our hearts. Much like the lasting impression their truck has left in our BRAND NEW ASPHALT! I noticed that when they visit us it is for hours, while when we visit them it is for days. Things that make you go hmmm?