Cabin Update

I haven't blogged about the cabin in a long time so I'll give you an update. While the boys were at summer camp, Tom & I spent a few days at the cabin. It was a nice get away. The cabin stayed completely clean, I didn't have to wash very many dishes, & was able to just sit & actually read a few magazines & did a crossword puzzle. Don't get me wrong, I love the boys being there but it was a nice time for just us! When we're not there, our neighbors keep an eye on the place for us & have been really helpful to us. Tom will mow their "yard" for them when he mows ours, & Mark will make sure we have diesel for the tractor. He's always good to call us if he notices anything "off" & has been a good neighbor. Below is a picture of the outside of the cabin with the deck.

Deck with chairs & fire pit.

We found hammocks several years ago on a clearance rack for like $4 each.
Tom & I finally hung two of them.
Me in the hammock

Tom in the hammock!

Tom & Me

The table area!
This area is very small & we're trying to think of a table/bar or something that would make better use of the space but for now...This is it!

The kitchen area. If you notice the curtained area to the right, that is the bathroom; complete with toilet, shower, sink, & hot water heater! We've tried to figure out how to put a door on the bathroom that would be conducive to the area. The kitchen is complete with refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, 2 burner electric stove top & 4 cup coffee pot. We purchased the sink from an antique shop. It was taken out of an old house. It's a single basin sink with built in drainboard. It think we paid $45 for it. We love it because it's old & unique.

This is what we've come up with.

We think it will work.

I do miss my little curtain though.

The living room area...which is really just one room and not a very big one. The couch is a family "heirloom" It's a hide-a-bed & originally belonged to Tom's mom. It's not the greatest "print" decor but it's a top of the line hide-a-bed & it gives us 2 extra sleeping spots. The quilt on the wall was given to me by my Grandma Mel. I think she said her mother or grandmother made it....so it's really old. Most of the decor is stuff we had left over or rounded up. I'm sure you all are thinking...yep...it looks like it, but most of the items have a story or a meaning behind them or they're things we thought were "cabiny"

Upstairs...this is Tom & my side of the room!

Upstairs...this is the boy's side of the room.

Our cabin isn't much & it's come such a long way from a shell. We've done a lot of work on it and it's a great get-a-way. It's almost to the place where we could let people use it because it's almost self sufficient. We would like to have a washer & dryer there because it would make it much nicer than hauling clothes home every time, but that is in the future. We recently covered the septic tank with dirt. The septic tank sits directly behind the cabin. The photos below were taken while I was sitting on the steps. When we had the septic put in, the guys couldn't bury the whole tank because there is a rock under the tank as big as the cabin & he said we would have to dynamite it out. We decided that dynamite that close to the cabin probably wasn't the best idea so it was left sticking up out of the ground. We are covering it with dirt here.

Now we have our very own "Toltec" mound. Our future plans are to continue the deck around the back of the cabin to hopefully build a small room to put the washer & dryer. This will cover the mound & it will hardly be noticeable. Hopefully that will take place next year.

In this photo, you can see the small shed behind the tractor. We had this put in to store the diesel & gas & small equipment in. The tractor is sitting beside the shed. We plan to build a covered carport there to keep the tractor under. That is a plan for the future as well.
Another thing we're considering is to take the balcony at the top of the cabin & enclose it. At first we were against it but we've found that we hardly ever use the balcony & that it might better serve us as a small room for another bed & a closet. We will take the windows and move them to the front of the balcony area & it will give us another 6 feet of room upstairs. We're still considering...we'll see. Currently the cabin will sleep 6. We have an extra twin sized mattress that is on one of the beds that can be taken off & put in the floor so technically we can sleep 7. If we enclose the balcony that would give us 2-3 more beds depending on how we design it.

One other thing we've toyed with is getting goats. We would like to install fencing in a small area & get goats to clear that area then move the fencing as the areas are cleared. That's just a fleeting thought but it is a consideration.

The cabin has been a fun project for us. It's been fun working on something that is ours. Not for a minute would I imply that it's been easy but it has been fun. We've had some really good times up there & are very thankful that God has allowed us to have this adventure in our lives!