Friday, July 20, 2012

Cabin In The Woods...

Even though my first love was the Atco trailer, which I still am planning on giving a name (I already have one in mind for the new decor to follow), next on the love list is the cabin in the woods.  It is in Grafton VT, our heaven on earth.  As we built the cabin, we stayed in the trailer.  I was torn when it came time to "move out" of the trailer and into the cabin.  Now that that has happened, I've never looked back except to want to pretty the trailer up.  Before I go into my story of the cabin however, I will leave you with a current photo of it...

And by current, I mean within the last few years and seasons.  This photo delights me because it looks like a miniature model.  It must have been the way I angled the camera....but I do love it!  Yeah, we get major snow up there.

Until next post.....
July 23rd, 2012

After a weekend at camp, and much work outside, it was time for the usual clean up, do dishes, put things back where they belong and head back down the hill.  While I was sweeping the unfinished wooden floor, I discovered tiny little pin holes and little piles of sawdust in a few of the boards.  Oh NO!!!  Wood beatles??  How can that be?  In doing online research this morning, I've found out it can very well be.  Even with the cold of the winters up there.  So, next trip up, on the top of my "honey-do" list will be exterminating the wood boring beatles.  I am going to try a simple mixture of water and Borax for my first attempt.  If I am successful, I will be putting a sealer on the bare wood for sure!  As much as I love the smell of the wood when we first walk in, I would rather preserve it from pests.  I will let you know how I make out on my next post.  Wish me luck!

August 6th, 2012

Here's a before shot of the floor and its recently discovered occupants "handy work".....

That tiny pinhole in the center of the photo.....is a bore hole from those pesky beetles that I must evict!

First thing to do........inspect floor!  No activity....nice.  Now, I know that doesn't mean they've packed up and moved out.  I did show up well equipped with Borax, bucket and paint brush.  Unfortunately, I was unable to direct my attention to the floor project.  My "honey-do" list was trumped by my honey's do list.  So....here's a couple of photos to show you what we did with (my) time...

 

It probably doesn't look like a whole lot of work, but believe me....just the two of us, in 90 degrees with about 85% humidity....it is!  Thank God for the outdoor shower!!  Once the boards are up, the next step will be putting the batting up to hide the seams.  This will add extra insulating properties as well as match the shed.


And, I think I may want the camp to age naturally like this.  I think....
Until next time.....

August 14th, 2012

Sometimes when you have a list of "things to do", you don't always finish the tasks in the order that they are in.  My perfect example was this past weekend at the cabin.  My planned eviction of the boring beetles was postponed due to a water sample that had to be taken from the well, mailed and reach the lab within a 30 hour window.  Since the flood, many Vermonters have had to have their water tested.  It's quite common and the people who work in the post offices are very familiar with the cardboard mailer and its urgency to reach its destination.  I was very pleased when checking my delivery confirmation online to discover the cardboard vehicle reached its proper destination in 23 hours!  More impressive was the fact that it arrived in Burlington at 7:06am and was at the lab at 7:08am.  Way to go USPS!! 

Then there was my "honeys do" list.....  Don't get me wrong, I know it's a joint venture.  But by bumping up his list, it is causing my list to grow even longer.  I will work around it, and I do.  As a warning to the tenants in my wood floor, I did manage to sprinkle a bit of dry Borax into their "port holes" and broom it in good.  This will keep them out of my mind until the next time up.  I hope.

All my gripes aside, we did progress well on the board and bat project.  Here are a few pictures for  you...


I can already envision window boxes filled with bright red mums!  The windows will have cedar trim.
Thank you to my sister for coming up with us to help.  We worked hard, but we had fun too.





Until next time...

September 2, 2012

We finished up the boards on the back side of the cabin....
Not the best pic with the phone box, but that's the back side of the cabin ready and waiting for Thompsons Watersealer and the bat boards to complete the look.  We still need to do the cabin soffits as you can see.

Until next time...

October 2, 2012

I worked on my solar lamp post project this week.  I just love it!!  Check it out...
The Beech tree came from RI.  It had a bittersweet root growing around it for years and was finally cut down.  Thanks to the bittersweet, it created a wonderful cork screw effect.





I chiseled all the bark off first, then cut the base square and the top angled.  I drilled a hole in the top to hold the shepherd's hook and finally coated it with oil to bring out the luster of the wood as well as preserve it.  I think it is a lovely addition to the area. 

Until next time...

October 10th 2012

While I worked up in the tree house, Jerry finished what he could on the cabins porch side with boarding.  He did a really nice job without me. :)
I like how it has changed the entire look and feel of the outside.  Not that I didn't like the russet color of the T-111, I do prefer the natural look a bit more.  I just realized I have to put up the storm door plexiglass  windows.  We did have to light the wood stove this week.  It was a chilly 40 something in there...brrr!  But, it didn't take long for it to heat up to a balmy 70 degrees.

All the leaves are changing and falling.  It really is a beautiful time of year in VT.  And, I love it.
Until next time...

January 24th, 2013

I know it's been a while since I posted about the cabin.  Holidays and such things in life seem to take over the computer comfort zone....which is sometimes a good thing!  But, here are a couple winter pics to hold you over until I get blogging again...


Until then...

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Loving the Blog.... Can't wait to read more on the progresses

Gail Mitchell said...

Thank you so much Lisa! Stop in anytime. There's always something new to post.