So, we are only about 2 months out from being listed on AIRBNB.  We are doing a few last minute pushes to meet our own self-imposed deadline.  Here are some of the latest updates. Without further ado. Added some new lighting. Had an electrician add in a few more convenient outlets, including one in the entry that really brightens things up and adds some stairway lighting at night. A few bathroom accessories. Some cute little signs that let everyone know we are on a septics system.  This is the one in the main bathroom. This is the one in the master bathroom. Some cute hanging light over the dining table.  Great for games. And some combo luggage rack / clothers hampers in all the rooms. Stay tuned next week to see how our new coffee bar turns out. See ya'll soon.

They are starting work on another roadway leading to our lakehouse.  The last one shaved off 10 minutes form our trip.  Let hope this one does the same.  Highway 205 from Lavon to Rockwall is going from 2 lanes to 4 lanes with maybe a turn lane also.  For those of you coming from Dallas on I-30, or elsewhere this will mean nothing to you.  But we are pretty excited about it. Here is the map that shows the construction project.

We used the long weekend to finish framing out the bathroom mirrors. Below you can see the before and after pictures. And if you like this look, I can make some you too. All you have to do is measure your mirror, pick you size and stain or paint color and then checkout.  Click below for the Etsy link. Eaty Page - coming soon This is the master bathroom. This is the guest bathroom. We also had an electrician install several new electrical outlets. Woops. Forgot to take pictues of that. I will post those next week.  Hope to see ya'll soon.

  Of course in all this heat, the upstairs A/C would choose to go out on us.  The unit for the upstairs is pretty old and it will need to be replaced but thankfully not today.  Condenser capacitor was bad.   Not a super huge hit.  But all is well again.  Yea!

 The "Potato Chip" has arrived. We brought back this fun toy from our most recent trip to Cass Lake, Minnesota.  This boat was built by my dad in 1958 in shop class in high school.  He got the drawings and blueprints from an advertisement in the back of a Popular Science magazine.  I have fond memories of zooming around the lake on this sucker when I was a child and cannot wait for my kids to have the same thrill.  If the lake is calm, it's really a rocket.  Here are a couple more photos.  Just need a motor now.  Anyone have a 7-10hp hand controlled boat motor for sale at a reasonable price?  Leave me some comments or drop me a line. Have a good week.  Stay cool.  It's HOT out there.  Hope to see you all soon.

  You got some good recipes? So do we! Check out our new Cookbook. Here is where we will share some of our favorites as well as some from our friends and family and past guests. https://chilcottage.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html And if you have some great recipes.  Post them there too.  We would love to see them and try them out! Hope we see and hear from you soon!

Another great birthday celebration at the lake.  So far we have had several family get togethers, 2 birthdays, and 1 family reunion and they have all been great. Come celebrate your next special event at the Lake Tawakoni Chilcottage.  We are still booking out 6 months in advance but hurry up and book before the end of December. Our special friends and family rates end December 31st. We will be going public on AirBNB as of January 1 and the rates will increase to match other properties on the lake. My baby girl is growing up so fast.  

And now it looks like we are doing a dock remodel too.  Along with all the house remodeling that we are doing, it's really adding up. But it's really starting to look nice too. We are going to replace all the failing wooden hand railings with weather-proof metal pipe railing.  Like the picture below. All the existing wood will be power washed and stained.  Any aging or warped boards will be replaced. There will be new stairs and railing running down to the water.  3 new piers to brace up the existing structure.  And more secure stairs going up to the 2nd level. Eventually we would like to replace all of the aging wood with trex, add a double jet ski hoist and launch, and a closet to store lake toys and fishing poles in.  But you should have seen the price that they wanted to charge for all of that.  It was insane and will have to wait till next season. We might have to close off booking out the house for 1 possibly 2 weeks, in order for us to be there ...

 I am in the process of updating the website.  Be sure to check out all the new LINKS on the LINKS page.  Link. Get it? Haha. The STORE  is going thru updates also, And be sure to get those RESERVATIONS in before the summer ends and those kids have to go back to school.  Kidding! Feel free to book whenever the calander is open.

The free golf cart that one of our neighbors gave us (from www.nextdoor.com ) needed a new battery.  Well we finally got one! And we could not believe it, the beast actually runs!  It still needs a little body work, but after a bath it looks pretty good.  And boy, Little Mule is a rocket!!! Here are some pictures of the new upstairs curtains we put up.  The ones over the closets are temporary until I get a chance to cut down some doors that I was given off of Freecycle ( www.freecycle.org ). Here is one of our neighbors that came over to say "HI". And with the Little Mule, it's so much easier to trek down to the dock at night.  Here is a picture that I took Saturday night.