Jan & Steve's Lakehouse on Belleau Lake

08/06/2026

Lol I was listening to different audio tracks offered for this reel and accidentally selected this track. I can't delete or change without deleting the reel and reupping. I suggest turning the volume DOWN. :-)

08/06/2026

Last weekend's family photo dump!

07/27/2026

In other news.. The well water was throwing fits until I finally swapped out some couplings and clamps. It had been sputtering water and air whenever it sat unused for a couple of hours. I knew it needed more attention but was at a loss until I upgraded hardware to brass and stainless along with beefier coupling clamps. It all seems to have been working long enough that I felt comfortable backfilling the access hole I dug weeks ago. I'm checking that one off my list. I used a few hours today repiping a replacement whole House water filter. This one is MUCH larger with a lot more filter area for greater flow rates and I increased the pipe input and output sizes to the water heater input and the cold water to the rest of the house. Running cold water now will not impact the hot water flow in the shower anywhere near as much as it did before!

07/26/2026

Our new Lakehouse family room seating is in place! This one features recliners, comfy arm rests, cup holders and a storage bin between the two seats. The previous "L" shaped couch went to our daughter & son-in-law's basement and not only fit perfectly - but was proclaimed to be "the best couch in the house" by our 2 grandsons. Thats a wiin for everyone. :-)

07/05/2026

This just popped up. 11 years ago

05/31/2026

It seems this page of ours got deactivated during wintertime and it went unnoticed by me. Until now. LOL Here's what's happening.. for those that missed it on my personal page.

Memorial Day 2026 felt like it came about a week too early (and more like a month early by temperature) and opening up was supposed to be easy. It was not. We have water issues (lack thereof that is). After struggling about 10 hours over the holiday weekend and debating on going home we were able to stretch out a few garden hoses to connect a neighbor's outdoor faucet to ours and feed water to our house. So - we have water - just not our own. I had a local contractor come out to look at it and he suggested a new well point - at a cost of about $4k. I removed the old one and installed the one I currently have with a friend of mine by hand about 10 - 12 years ago - so I know how to do it.. saving $4k is plenty of motivation :-)

I have since dug down about 3 feet to reveal the vertical pump pipe.I've disconnected the horizontal pipe going to the house at the union. I've erected a staging over the hole and wrapped a nylon sling around the pipe to connect a come-along between it and a 4" x 4" timber on the staging to pull it up and out.

Rain interrupted my plans yesterday and today looks threatening. I want to be able to remove the old well point and send the new one down immediately after in "one swoop." I used the crappy weather to obtain all the parts, pieces and tools I'll need to do the job several different ways (should the way I planned require a change) since getting materials requires a minimum of 3/4 to 2 hour round-trip ride (and that's IF they have what I need!). I'll have to return unused parts to a couple local hardware stores and both Home Depot and Lowes 30 miles south in Rochester at the end of this ordeal.

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03/02/2023

Look what showed up in my feed! LOL

08/31/2019

Wow.. another Labor Day weekend is upon us. Where did the summer go? Just 3 more weeks until the official arrival of fall. Ugh. Reality check: Christmas is only 116 days away!

07/08/2019

The fireworks on the lake took place Friday night. Once again, right in front of our place. It was a great show that I steamed live - but couldn't "save", NEXT time - I'll save before I share it! We had a bunch of people on our beach watching - many old friends and some new ones, too! All in all, a really nice display. Jan and I have vacation this week, so we're here!