Sunday, July 25, 2010

Two Seasons Later: Cabin Re-cap (by popular demand!)

  Hey All,
Well, it's six months later.  The house is still standing and doing just what it does.  It's doing it right now.


  I officially moved into the main house during the wintertime, into Emily's old room.  Emily's room was ideal in every way.  It had heat, was heated, and was warm even when it was cold outside.  Among this, the home's former diner room offered a view of the backyard and cabin, was accessible from the outside, and kitchen-adjacent!  


A sunny winter day in the cabin
was really wonderful.  The south-
facing wall caught a lot of light.
Sadly, holding a full-time
job left me very little light
during these months.
The experience had by this
point taught me the importance of
calling in sick when my mind and
body demanded it.  I highly
suggest everyone do the same,
today maybe.  Call in
tomorrow, have a
good breakfast.


  Keeping the cabin warm during the nighttime was very difficult.  Conserving fuel limited my time in the house and my insulation methods were lacking.  I had never hung the new door, never replaced the windows, and would find large holes letting in cold air on a daily basis.  My bed, previously a plywood plank that doubled as a work table (see bed in table mode in photo right), was substituted with used couch cushions lined up at the foot of the hearth.  Sleeping directly in front of the fire was perfect in that I could add wood to the stove without getting up, losing body heat and in which clearing the table became unnecessary.  I was also losing a lot of body heat out the bottom of bed/table, which was completely uninsulated.  The floor was very warm and dry.
Hauling wood home every day was a serious chore, and having fires with friends sparked anxiety as I watched a few nights' worth of wood being burned in a few hours.  


Sophie stays warm by the light


We had an epic New Year's Eve party prior to my retirement to more conventional living quarters.  It was a beautiful night full of friends, drink and fire.   A year of haves and have-nots ended with an abundant chorus of popping champagne corks, coating the ceiling of the kitchen with bubbly effervescence.  As many pointed out, "It was literally raining champagne!".  That night the stove in the cabin burned long and hot with resident fashion designer Brian Stanziale manning the tinder.  It was undoubtedly the hottest it has ever been in the little shack, and my guests appropriately responded by consuming food and drug in decadent quantities.  We started cooking steak chili before dawn and it was done near sunrise as I finished up a cat-nap.  Yum.




Coming Next:  Snow gives way to Spring