Monday, August 24, 2015
The Future
Chris and I have been drawing our vision for the "real" cabin on bar napkins for years, always looking to the future.
Now, the future has become the present and it's all beginning. This fall we are having a septic installed (plan already approved by the state of VT), and then next spring we are set to pour a foundation and begin building a more permanent place for us to enjoy (we've already cut down several hemlocks from the property to be used as timbers in the post and beam house). We have designed this cabin in our minds for years, drawn it on bar napkins, but now we have an actual architect who has begun creating our plans. While the plans are not finished, and are a work in progress, they offer a glimpse into what the near future may hold for us.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Trail Work and Fireworks
Typically, Chris and I get up to the land some time in June. It's always my favorite trip of the year with him. The weather is perfect and we always have a blast. This weekend met my expectations. We saw some crazy lightning on the way up and made it all the way to our driveway before the skies opened up. And when it did, it poured. In just running from the truck to the cabin, I was so soaked my tee-shirt was stuck to my body.
We spent most of the weekend working on the trails. We're trying to widen the trails so the tractor can get all the way around. Ideally, we'd like to be able to get an excavator to the back plateau and have some trees cleared in order to one day have a field back there.
Chris spent much of the weekend on the tractor while I was always 50 ft. in front of him, removing trees. The tractor did well pulling up stumps and grading the trail. We took a drive to NH Saturday night and bought loads of fireworks. We stopped for dinner and some beers in Brattleboro and when we got back to the land, it was dark, and we shot off some serious fireworks.
We met with Jesse on Sunday morning and got a game plan for moving forward with the bigger cabin, septic, and foundation. It's exciting. We also weedwacked the clearing. It sucked. It took forever, and the grass had grown so high that it was nearly impossible at times. It will be a miracle if we don't get poison ivy.
It was a pretty simple weekend, but it was a blast. Having the outdoor shower now is truly a game changer. If it's a sign of things to come, the future looks bright.
We spent most of the weekend working on the trails. We're trying to widen the trails so the tractor can get all the way around. Ideally, we'd like to be able to get an excavator to the back plateau and have some trees cleared in order to one day have a field back there.
Chris spent much of the weekend on the tractor while I was always 50 ft. in front of him, removing trees. The tractor did well pulling up stumps and grading the trail. We took a drive to NH Saturday night and bought loads of fireworks. We stopped for dinner and some beers in Brattleboro and when we got back to the land, it was dark, and we shot off some serious fireworks.
We met with Jesse on Sunday morning and got a game plan for moving forward with the bigger cabin, septic, and foundation. It's exciting. We also weedwacked the clearing. It sucked. It took forever, and the grass had grown so high that it was nearly impossible at times. It will be a miracle if we don't get poison ivy.
It was a pretty simple weekend, but it was a blast. Having the outdoor shower now is truly a game changer. If it's a sign of things to come, the future looks bright.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Three and a Half Years Later
Well, it took us three and a half years, but our dream of completing this cabin is nearly complete. And so, with one dream complete, we set our sights on the next. But first, we look back.
I think back to when we first began and I can still remember digging the foot holes for the initial foundation. I can remember carrying countless sheets of plywood up the driveway in ankle-deep mud and working an entire weekend in the pouring rain and then sleeping in a water-soaked tent. I can remember making the decision to change courses and turn the "shed" into the "cabin". I can remember wearing three layers of clothes, gloves, and two hats to sleep in an unfinished and open cabin in below freezing temperatures. I can remember installing the wood stove on the coldest day of the year, with no option but to complete it that day. I can remember laying across the roof, installing felt paper or shingles. I can remember sitting in the bed of the pickup on a freezing January morning, making sure the wood we bought didn't fall out on the way home. I can remember going over drawing after drawing on bar napkins with Chris as we sat at dinner. I can remember driving to Connecticut to buy the tractor. I can remember putting up the portable garage, thinking at the time that it was so huge and now it can't fit everything we own. I can remember putting up the shiplap in the cabin, first on the ceiling, then on the walls. I can remember hanging drywall, sanding drywall, painting drywall, ordering stone for the chimney, cutting it, and handing it to Chris, piece by piece, for him to install. I can remember driving to buy the mantle, only to later learn it was filled with carpenter ants. I can remember the excitement we shared flipping a switch and turning on a light in the cabin for the first time and the decision to remove more trees and add more culverts. I can remember getting a well, and choosing its place, and filling my cup for the first time. I can remember the walks late at night after we first pulled into the driveway, each eager to see what work had been completed. I can remember the conversations, excitement, setbacks, and hurdles we overcame along the way to get us to this point. And now I can remember installing wood floors and cabinets because we just did that!
I can remember these memories and so many more and they are all locked safe in my mind. For three and a half years we have looked to the future, but now, the future has become the present. These memories come with great satisfaction, but the greatest element to the memories associated with this project is that they are shared with Chris and that we accomplished these things together. For better or worse, through Bigelow work grooves, disagreements and challenges, we did it together and it has been incredible!
The future is bright and while the cabin isn't technically "complete", we both agreed that this was probably the last weekend where we go up together and work on a project inside. It's on to the bigger things, most notably, a "real" cabin. Foundation this fall? Maybe, just maybe.
I think back to when we first began and I can still remember digging the foot holes for the initial foundation. I can remember carrying countless sheets of plywood up the driveway in ankle-deep mud and working an entire weekend in the pouring rain and then sleeping in a water-soaked tent. I can remember making the decision to change courses and turn the "shed" into the "cabin". I can remember wearing three layers of clothes, gloves, and two hats to sleep in an unfinished and open cabin in below freezing temperatures. I can remember installing the wood stove on the coldest day of the year, with no option but to complete it that day. I can remember laying across the roof, installing felt paper or shingles. I can remember sitting in the bed of the pickup on a freezing January morning, making sure the wood we bought didn't fall out on the way home. I can remember going over drawing after drawing on bar napkins with Chris as we sat at dinner. I can remember driving to Connecticut to buy the tractor. I can remember putting up the portable garage, thinking at the time that it was so huge and now it can't fit everything we own. I can remember putting up the shiplap in the cabin, first on the ceiling, then on the walls. I can remember hanging drywall, sanding drywall, painting drywall, ordering stone for the chimney, cutting it, and handing it to Chris, piece by piece, for him to install. I can remember driving to buy the mantle, only to later learn it was filled with carpenter ants. I can remember the excitement we shared flipping a switch and turning on a light in the cabin for the first time and the decision to remove more trees and add more culverts. I can remember getting a well, and choosing its place, and filling my cup for the first time. I can remember the walks late at night after we first pulled into the driveway, each eager to see what work had been completed. I can remember the conversations, excitement, setbacks, and hurdles we overcame along the way to get us to this point. And now I can remember installing wood floors and cabinets because we just did that!
I can remember these memories and so many more and they are all locked safe in my mind. For three and a half years we have looked to the future, but now, the future has become the present. These memories come with great satisfaction, but the greatest element to the memories associated with this project is that they are shared with Chris and that we accomplished these things together. For better or worse, through Bigelow work grooves, disagreements and challenges, we did it together and it has been incredible!
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