It is Getting Close!

  Today marks 39 days until we move into our cabin. Both of us are getting anxious, nervous, and excited. Not necessarily in that order, depending on what we are currently confronting. No, we still do not have running water, although we have been promised that by August 1^st water will be hooked up and running.  We also don’t have siding yet but it is scheduled to go on the weekend of August 12^th.

I still have to minimize so many parts of our collections that it is a daunting task. I am reducing what used to be a kitchen with service for 24 down to service for 4, and over 3000 square feet living space to just under 330 square feet. I think that it is safe to say, I am having separation anxiety from all my stuff, and we have not even moved in yet. But I am excited, and for now unlimited storage space is God’s special gift to me.

Our cabin has been years in the planning. Long before we put our house on the market in Vermont, we dreamed of living in a little cabin in the woods, of establishing a sustainable homestead, that had a small environmental footprint. We drove our kids crazy with our “what if” dreams. To be so close to what our Sweet Breanna calls our “mid-life crisis move”, is surreal.

Frequently, after an evening or a weekend of working on the cabin, Terry and I sit back and look at how far we have come. We are reminded that we have not been alone in the process. So many of you have contributed in so many ways. We cannot look around our property without seeing the footprints of our dearest friends. Whether it is a cleared area in the lawn, roof trusses that needed building, window that needed setting, my day-lilies blooming near the driveway, birthday, anniversary, or holiday gifts that have funded front steps, ceiling fans, and bathroom mirrors, advise on how to finish something, or prayers for us as we progressed, so many have contributed to our little dream cabin. We thank you for being a part of our dream. The participation of our precious friends makes our space in Monroe even more special and we cannot wait to share it with you!

~Julie 

A Walkway In The Woods

A Walkway In The Woods

         As the interior of the cabin is getting so close to being finished, we really needed a way to get from the driveway to the porch without tromping through the mud. Julie and I figured out what we wanted and I pick up a few of the bricks and pavers so we could get an idea of what it would look like.

         The next weekend I had some great help building more of the walkway! I wish I could tell you that the walkway was finished, but I still have about 8 more feet to go before the porch. If all goes well I hope to have it finished this weekend. Enjoy the pictures.

~Terry

Every Step is One Step Closer

Every Step Is One Step Closer

So once again I am ridiculously far behind on my blogging. Sorry.

As I write this, we are now under 50 days from our move-in date. Our original target date for move-in was August 1^st. We shifted that to August 25^th because our youngest daughter Breanna will be moving into her college dorm room on August 24^th. By extending our move-in date, she will only have to move one time. In other news, our youngest son Corey moved into his own place about two weeks ago. One step closer to being empty nesters! As exciting as the idea is, we always miss our kiddos when they move out on their own.

         So here are a couple of projects that we have been working on. First, we got the stairs installed on the porch! We spent quite a while walking up a cobbled together 2x4 ramp to get onto the porch, so it has been nice to have stairs. The other plus is that the addition of the stairs helped to make our very narrow front porch feel much bigger. Now we need to add hand rails on the porch and stairs (inspection requirement) and we will be done with that part.

         Quite a while ago Julie and I purchased two antique railroad lanterns at an auction. They have been mantle decorations for years and we decided to bring them back to life for the cabin. I was able to re-fit the wick area to add a light socket and wired it through a hole in the tank portion of the lantern. With that done, they were fitted with LED bulbs and are now fully functional lights. Once the siding is installed on the cabin, they will hang from wrought iron hooks on either side of the front door and be wired into the switch. They look great and I can’t wait to see them in place.

         The last update is on our well. The first well company I hired turned out to be busy enough that our well was not that important to them. After a six week delay and another promise of “in the next two weeks” I changed well companies. I have been assured that we will have a completed well no later than August 1^st. At this point, we need to keep that in our prayers.

~Terry