Of Logs and Cabins and Such

Last week was a full week with such a variety of activities I hardly know where to start. Perhaps I'll work backwards and start with the logs. Larry and our son Derek got the last of them in place yesterday--a lot of heavy lifting, dirt and sweat went into getting this part of the project complete.

 This is the front wall; there will be a porch running the length of it. This is about 22 feet long. Larry will be going back to trim the log ends; since we didn't put the logs back in the original shape and position, they didn't fit exactly like they did in the old cabin. We also had a lot of loss--some of the logs had extensive rot and could not be used, others we were able to use by cutting out the bad places and using the solid parts for the short sections we needed. Some will still need work filling in holes, etc. These were not in as good a condition as the first cabin we took down, but we were able to get enough to complete the room. We had none left over, except some scraps for firewood. It was close as to whether we'd be able to finish or if we'd have had to find another cabin somewhere (actually we have spotted two but right now we're not really wanting to get into another tear-down project!).





 
This looking out the front window, right into the apple tree and the grape arbor. I'm thinking some bird feeders are in order here. The porch, of course, will have some rockers and probably a resident pair of binoculars.

 

 

 

And this is the side facing northwest; it's about 16 feet long. Windows and doors have a couple advantages: they allow us to use some shorter sections of log which helped to make use of the ones with bad places in them, and it also made it a lot easier on the log lifter!










 I love the way the logs come together in the corners. The handwork of men 200 years ago or more has stood the test of time.

I need to get out under the apple tree to take a picture of the room from outside. I was busy cooking yesterday while the guys worked--first a good breakfast of eggs, grits, fried apples, bacon, cider, coffee,toast; then dinner of beef stew, bread and apple pie. Someone has to feed the crew, right?

The poutin' house, the little cabin Larry moved last winter, is still on hold until we get this room under roof. Then Larry will get back to work on it. He wants it to be fairly sealed in by deer season so he'll be working on the chinking.You can barely see it in this photo, down in the woods to the left.

Here's a better photo of the poutin' house. I love the way it seems to fit so naturally into its surroundings. When it's finished, it can be a primitive guest house, for those who don't mind very simple living and a woodsy atmosphere.

Next post, I'll catch you up on all the storytelling last week. And then there was the canning I did, and news about my antique mall booths...several posts, coming up!







Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Mishmash Days

This week has been such a mixture that the best word to describe it is a mishmash. Garden work, including picking and freezing broccoli, picking raspberries, lettuce, green onions and herbs as well as the usual hoeing, watering, replanting, and mulching has been the top task for the week, not unusual for this time of year.

The gardens are in better shape than I can ever remember them, except for the potatoes. Once again we've been hit hard by the Colorado potato beetle which has pretty well destroyed our crop for the second year. Fortunately we don't eat many potatoes, but still I hate the waste of time and money these bugs have caused us. Larry broke out the bad poison finally and the bugs are gone, but I'm afraid the potatoes are ruined. We may get a few messes of new potatoes from them but that will probably be all.

 Larry has been in the gardens after finishing the subfloor on the new log room. The photo is granddaughter Haley and two of her friends who helped put the joists and plywood down. Teenagers are great workers! Yesterday and today Larry's been back at work on his poutin' house, finishing the plywood floor, the front door, and getting ready to put in the windows. He also cleaned up around there--it was a right mess of wood scraps, bits of log, etc and he was worried about snakes. So he took the weedeater down and cut around it and cleaned all of that up.


We'll get paint for the floor tonight, then we can actually move the furniture in after it's painted. We don't plan to put down any other flooring for the time being; I'll just paint it and that will be that, maybe add a rug or two. The goal is to keep this cabin simple. It will have a twin bed with drawers under it (where the air mattresses can hide), an end table, a drop-leaf table, two chairs, a couple rockers, some shelves and hooks on the walls and some lamps and that's about it. Larry will build a porch on the front where more rockers will be added. This is to be a simple, rustic getaway with a path out back. Eventually we'll run gas and electric down there, and maybe water (or just put a tank up on a rack for gravity feed).

I'm still working in the flowerbeds and spread 20 more bags of mulch this week. I still need 5 to complete the job. It's been nice to have Tommy home to lug those bags around for me--he puts them close to where I need them and that saves me a lot of time. I'm puzzled as to why my cats, or maybe it's the dogs, are digging up some of my new plants. They don't dig a big hole, just enough to pull the plant out of the ground. I was pretty aggravated this morning to find my new rosemary dug up and many of its branches broken. Does anyone have an idea why they are doing this? So far they've dug up about a dozen different plants; I've been able to save some of them but others have been lost. Tis a puzzlement to me.

Watering takes a lot of time. This morning I hand-watered my flowerbeds with fertilizer, then turned on the sprinkler. Now it's raining and I am one happy woman, I can tell you. No matter how much watering we do, nothing equals a good rain. This photo is of my "volunteer" pot on the porch. Do you remember the moss gardens I created last winter? This pot grew a beautiful wild mint plant and a sunflower, all on its own, so I've left it be.

I am also working on updating my records for my re-selling business this week. I don't like doing data entry but it must be done. I am working on a way to print out labels for my items from the spreadsheet instead of handwriting them as I currently do. It should save time and be easier for customers to read if I can make it work like I want it to. I am going to start taking my computer with me when I go to my booth, too, so that I can make sure I add any changes to the spreadsheets.

My records are way, way behind. I love finding stuff, I love arranging it in my booth and I like selling online but I hate the paperwork side of it. My business license arrived today--that has been holding up the Spencer booth--and now of course it's too late to get that project underway this week because the WV Writers Conference starts tomorrow and that's where I will be. At least this step is completed and I can move forward. I have almost finished painting shelves for the new booth and they came out pretty well. This green unit was a gun cabinet, apparently, and still has the holes in the top shelf! I'll cover that with something, or maybe I'll find the holes useful for display. What would I use them for, though?

Still need to finish the bottom of this kitchen cabinet. I debated for months as to what color to paint it but in the end left the red back and went with bright white. I think it's probably the best choice if I decide to sell this cabinet. The hardware needs to be re-installed, the bottom part painted and then it is done.

This is the third shelf for the booth. I am planning to take other furniture to fill the space, along with the usual glassware, kitchen items, etc. This booth project will have to wait until later next week, however.



We've had some nice visits with family this week, too--granddaughter Jordan and her husband and daughter came for a hot dog roast Sunday evening (I managed to burn boiled eggs so I knew it wasn't a cooking day for me), and last night we went to Derek's for some of his superb grilled steak and chicken, along with grilled bread, roasted veggies, and three kinds of salads. It was a feast, I can tell you. This get-together was for everyone to say good-bye to Tommy; he'll be leaving for California next week. He was accepted to grad school there and has been busy job-hunting. We've been juggling the computer and internet between us as he hunts for a place to live and submits job applications as well as information for the graduate program. So my computer time has been more limited than usual, which is not a bad thing because I've been catching up on lots of other tasks. Computers are amazing tools but they can certainly suck up time like a vortex. We're going to miss Tom--this is the longest he's been home in years and it has been nice to spend time with him.

The weekend will bring the Writer's Conference and immediately after a trip to Virginia for me as my granddaughter Kate is graduating from high school. I'll get back in time to see Tommy off, and then? A week of open days looms, and I am sure I will find plenty to fill the time.



Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Back in Blogland

It has been a hectic few days as I tried to complete four grant applications, all due at the same time. My mind is boggled, to say the least. But they're done and I can raise my head from the keyboard a moment and breathe. And notice that this is mighty fine weather for the end of January/beginning of February. It makes me uneasy, to be truthful. I found pink primroses blooming today, and the flowering quince or japonica is also in bloom. Usually I have to bring some branches in to force them into bloom this early.

Will we suffer for this weather later on? I wonder. I just read a book called the Great Blizzard, by Jim Murphy. In it he notes that the winter of 1887-1888 was extremely mild, with little or no frost or snow in New York City. And then on March 10, the blizzard struck with a fury unknown before or since, dumping snow and blowing so hard that there were 50-foot drifts in places. I hope that this history does not repeat itself. What a disaster that would be today. Or perhaps we're better prepared for it? One point he makes in the book is that country people were better equipped to manage since they always kept a good store of food, whereas those in the cities expected to get their supplies daily. Would our country people be as ready now for such a storm?Some will, but many have left the old ways behind and are as reliant on the grocery store and power companies as those poor people in 1888.

But enough of that. What comes will come and we will get through it one way or another. I have been busy but I did take time to notice a beautiful sunset this week, and to walk down to see Larry's progress on his poutin' house. He's building a rough little cabin in the woods from a small log building given to us by a neighbor. He took the building down earlier this month, and now he's putting it back up. It's small, all right, about 14x16, and it will not be fancy, but he's having a blast and I think he is looking forward to having this little getaway place.

And today was a real treat: great-grand-daughter Cadyn came to stay for a few hours! We had a wonderful time. I was still piecing together the last grant but she jabbered along and talked to the dogs and took pictures with my camera and was just a very good girl. When I finished we went to town to drop off the grant at the library and had dinner with my friend Suzette. I asked Cadyn if she wanted to eat, and she responded immediately, "Yes, Chinese." She's not even 3 years old! I am sure I didn't know about Chinese food at that age. And this photo? I took one and she looked at it and she said, "Granny! I had my binky in my mouth!" We had to do a re-shoot. Geesh.

What else has been going on? Lots of eBay, a little junking, and a new-to-me bed! I'll post pics later, but I am so happy with it. I'd bought it at a yard sale in the summer--it went with the new dresser we just put in the bedroom. I have had the same bed since I married my first husband when I was 17 and I am so so tired of it. I honestly never really liked it in the first place, not being a lover of maple furniture, but it was free and it was really a good spool bed and it has lasted wonderfully. I can't tell you how happy I am to have this lovely new bed, though.

A flat tire, writer's group, a big house-cleaning on Sunday (because a friend was coming over and boy was this place dusty), work on the couch project, sending out contracts for storytelling, another 2000 words on my novel--that and grant-writing about sums up the past week. Tomorrow I get to see my sister Judy, a reward for this past week of nose-to-the-grindstone. Then it's on to send out publicity for summer and fall programs and working on upcoming performances and workshops, and finishing the new CD. And maybe, somewhere in the next few weeks, we'll put out the lettuce bed if the weather stays good.

Five Minute Friday: Grow

I found The Gypsy Mama's blog through Colorado Lady. Each Friday she write for 5 minutes--no edits, no thinking it out, no longer than 5 minutes. I'm going to give it a try today, so here is my 5 minutes on the topic she suggested:

Grow

It means more than a garden. It means more than height or weight or bank accounts. It's inside, in our minds. And it might be the most difficult kind of growing there is.

Each year I plant my gardens. I start hopefully with seeds in early spring, carefully pushing them into greenhouse pots, worrying over them until shoots appear. Then it's out to the garden: plant, weed, hoe, till and eventually, harvest.

New ideas need the same care. Plan first. Think it through, consider all the options, then move forward, planting the idea and letting to develop into action. Tiny steps first, then refining, weeding and developing into a project. In the end, perhaps there is a harvest, a reward for the work put into that first tiny seed of an idea.

The new log room is one of those ideas. We saw the old cabin many times and each time we passed it we would say, "Someone needs to tear it down while the logs are still useful." The more we said it, the more we realized that we would be the ones who would do it, if the owner would let us have the logs. We tried to contact him, to no avail. And then one day, miracle of miracles, he was home. Yes, he would let us have the logs if we cleaned up the mess.

We did. The logs are here now. The foundation is laid. Now we need more fertilizer (the green $$$ kind) to buy the floor joists and subfloor. But the idea is still growing. It's got roots now in the concrete that is embedded in our soil. A new room grows.

Stop.

That Old Newspaper from 1942

These speak for themselves, don't they? These are from the newspaper we found between the floorboards of the cabin we're dismantling.

The war took the headlines,

but local news continued on its gossipy way,

and people still shopped for all kinds of things: like washers.

Laundry still had to be done, even by bachelors,

and I would imagine that these baby chicks would have been a hot commodity in the days of rationing.

Political cartoons kept people entertained,

and Eleanor did her part to keep them inspired.

People still pursued their vices too!

Life went on, even when times were hard and things were scarce.

More photos of this old paper tomorrow. 

Saturday News

We worked at the old cabin site Saturday, still cleaning up the scattered lumber and pulling up the floor. While removing the last of 3 layers of linoleum, Larry found this newspaper sandwiched between linoleum and wood: March 2, 1942, when the US had only been in World War II a few months. The paper is very brittle and has many holes (looks like it was chewed by mice) but it is certainly interesting. I will post other photos of articles this week.

This is what the cabin site looks like now. Still more flooring to remove, and then we will disassemble the fireplace and move the stones to our house to rebuild. 

We took a different route to town, the road through the Twin Rocks which is usually not passable. It was dry and in fairly good shape, although there were some deep ruts here and there. The rocks, sadly, have been further defaced by people who feel the need to establish their presence via cans of spray paint. It's sad to think how long these rocks have stood guardian over the road and now they are being ruined by a few mindless visitors.

 Further out the ridge road, the views stretched for miles.

Bright blue chicory lined the road in some places.



We spent the evening cooking and visiting with family and friends, a relaxing time by the firepit to end a really good day. The moon was bright but the forecast of rain for Sunday was like whipped cream on top of the evening's dessert.

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

It's been a busy weekend, with family in to help with two big projects: tearing down the log cabin and making cider. Both got done. Here are some picks of the cabin project:

Step one: using ropes and manpower, the guys lowered the logs from the second floor.

Oh, and poles to slide the logs down on. Here the guys are getting ready to slide the second log down the poles, with Derek holding onto the rope to control the speed at which the logs slid down. You can see the notches for the roof rafters in this log.

Hard at work preparing the next log to be sent down the poles.

This log was heavy so Derek went up top to help while the younger crew held on to the rope. Believe it or not, this method worked very well.

While we waited for the truck to come and move logs out of the way, the kids got busy tearing up the floor of the old kitchen--all that was left of the kitchen, actually. Haley swings the axe to break boards loose. They also picked up two huge bags of trash from the area, with the help of Amy and me. We need this area cleared so we can move the chimney later on.

This gives you some idea of the overall condition of the cabin. It's rough, no doubt about it, and as we worked it became so shaky to go inside that we opted instead to pull the remainder of the cabin down with Burt (the Big Ugly Red Truck).

You can't really see the rope and chain that are hooked to the cabin and pulling it into that bowed shape, but...

...it worked!

The kids were instantly climbing up, just to see whatever there was to be seen. Not much, really.

Then everyone pitched in until the mess was almost totally cleaned up. Here Derek and George discuss which logs to move next as Diane and Amy work on cleaning up the remainder of the flooring. We still have a good bit of cleanup to do but we got much more work done Saturday than I ever expected. It was a totally good day all around and the weather was perfect.

The logs arrived home courtesy of Tim's big truck. What a good friend! He and his wife Diane worked right along with us to get this big job done.

Now the next part--finding the money to build the foundation and put down the floor so we can start stacking logs up again. There were quite a few in poor condition, so figuring out how to use what we have to build a room on the house will be a jigsaw puzzle, but we think we have enough good logs to get it done.

There are more photos to share and I will try to get to them tomorrow. For now, night-night! This ol' granny is right tired!

Vintage Thursday: The Log Cabin Project

At the cabin yesterday, we continued de-construction:

What looked like this in April...

Looked like this yesterday evening.

The large opening was created when we removed two windows. One of the windows used to be the front door the cabin, as we found out when we tore out the window's framing. The stone used for the doorstep was still in place, and when we tore out the cobbled-together wall under the window we found a broken spur. I wonder how old the spur is? We can use it, I think, as a hook in the new room we plan to build with the logs.

The entry was probably moved because the road moved, something I often notice in old country places. The road now passes on the other side of the cabin, so they turned the entrance to face the road and used the old door opening for a window, probably after the kitchen addition was built (you can see some of the kitchen's wall on the far right of the first photo. It was the first thing we tore down).

Talk about vintage! Don't you wonder just how old this mud chinking is? Since the cabin is supposedly over 200 years old, then the chinking is probably about that old too, although some of it may have been replaced over time. All the chinking had been covered over with scraps of wood at some point to keep out the cold.

At the end of each evening's work, we haul away a truckload of junk wood for the bonfire piles at our house or at Derek's, and usually several bags of trash. BURT (for Big Ugly red truck) is getting a workout.

We'll stop work over the weekend but may be back to it on Monday. It's exciting to see the logs emerging from the accumulated trash, tacked-on additions and chinking covers. We have at least 10 more truckloads of trash and probably almost as many loads of good one-inch oak boards to haul away before we actually get to take down the logs, but we're getting closer. I'm knocking on wood that we'll meet our September 18 goal.

Speaking of knocking on wood, did you ever wonder where the expression comes from? We've said it all our lives, or the variant "touch wood." If I find money, I always try to find oak to rub with my right hand. Now where did I hear that? My mother, Englishwoman that she was, was the source of many of these traditions/superstitions, at least for me. But I wondered about the idea behind these sayings, and here is what I found:

The Islamic Bulletin website gave this explanation for "knock on wood":

"When someone is thankful for something and hopes that his luck will not change he says, "Knock on wood" and looks around for some wood to knock. The origin of this belief goes back to the time when people in Europe thought that gods lived inside trees. If the wish were granted they would touch the tree again to thank the god." The Catholic faith has a different story connected to the practice, however, linking it to the wooden rosaries used long ago.

Wikipedia lists similar superstitions in countries all around the world, so if you're a knocker like me you have a lot of company. Touching wood is a British version of the same practice, and according to Michael Quinion: "There is, I’m told, an old Irish belief that you should knock on wood to let the little people know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. There’s also a belief that the knocking sound prevents the Devil from hearing your unwise comments."

I think I like that explanation the best of all. I'll be touching a lot of wood in the coming weeks, so I'm hoping to be the beneficiary of whatever good may come of it!

Back to the Cabin

Larry had good reasons to stop work on the cabin: a--too hot; b--too much garden; c--too high a chance to encounter snakes; d--lots of storytelling (he's my roadie!); e--too much grass to cut, and f--lots of company this summer.

Now the garden is pretty much fried in this unrelenting heat, the company, grass and traveling have slowed down and the evenings are cooler. The snakes are still a possibility, of course.

Sunday morning we were there bright and early, trying to beat the heat. The cabin looked just as we had left it. Since Larry and Aaron removed the tin roof in May, the logs have been exposed to the weather all summer. That's actually a good thing. A lot of the dirt, bugs, dust and unidentifiable stuff washed away in the rain so it looks better than it did before.

We still have a lot of work to do. Our goal is to have it ready to disassemble the weekend of September 18 and 19, when we hope to have several of our sons available to help. To get there, we needed to get the roof rafters down, take off all the bits and pieces of lumber that have been tacked to the logs over the years in an attempt to stop the drafts between the logs, and remove all the one-inch oak boards from the inside of the log walls.

Roof rafters coming down!

Larry and I got the rafters down Sunday by hooking a rope around them and pulling them down with the truck. It worked beautifully. He's been working on the oak boards inside and has the second floor almost completely finished.

It's funny and an eyeopener to see what the people who lived in the cabin used in between the logs to stop drafts. The logs were chinked with red clay mud at first, apparently, and as time passed different residents filled in gaps with whatever they had at hand. Newspapers, burlap, old clothes, corncobs, duct tape, Prince Albert tobacco cans, chunks of wood all found their way into the cracks and were then covered over by boards nailed over the cracks. I can't imagine this worked very well and I'm sure it created a haven for mice, snakes and other creatures, as this photo attests:

Another interesting part of taking a cabin apart is to see the construction methods. This cabin was originally pegged together with wooden pegs. Can you imagine patiently whittling a bit of wood into a round shape to use as a super-sized nail? I'm saving some of the pegs just because they remind me to be patient, take time and things will come together. We're saving the roof rafters that are still in good condition too. These poplar poles were carefully hewed flat on one side to allow for the roof boards to lay flat. I believe the original roof was probably shake shingles, or perhaps boards that were lapped over each other. The last owner put a new tin roof on it about 20 years ago and the tin is still in excellent condition--so of course he wanted to keep it to re-roof his barn. Darn it.

Tonight we worked at the cabin again. I drove straight from work, meeting Larry there. Nothing like a sandwich and iced tea carefully prepared by my hubby (what a guy) after my 50+mile drive. A quick change of clothes in the front seat of my car (yeah, you should try that sometime!) and I was ready to go.

We finished up working and I got the camera out for a few photos for tonight's blog. I laid my camera on the front of my car and it rested down in the well where the windshield wipers hide and I thought, "I'll remember to get that before we leave." Did I remember? As those of you who follow me on Facebook know, I did NOT remember. My camera rode about 15 miles over rough bumpy roads and up and down hills, snuggled down beside the passenger-side wiper. I would have been sick to have lost or damaged this camera because I just bought it this spring and like it very much. The things we do when we're tired and preoccupied!

We hauled off a full truckload of scrap wood, old wire and one huge bag of trash. I wonder sometimes if we will ever finish hauling off trash, but the end is now a faint glimmer at the end of the tunnel. A few more evenings like tonight and I think we'll make our deadline.

Cabin Update

It's time for another look at the log cabin we're in the processing of disassembling to move to our place and add to our house. We haven't worked on it much lately because the gardens are keeping up hopping and I've had several storytelling commitments, a trip to Virginia and the writers conference to keep me away from home.

Still, it's coming along. Here's a look at its current status: