On Saturday we went to a local bar for a pig roast dinner. We met friends there who had been up at their cabin for the past month. Unfortunately it was a different month than we are spending at our cabin. Talk revolved around which cell phone company provided the best cell phone and internet access in the area. Conversation also included what equipment was needed to connect to cell phone and internet. There is almost no coverage in this area without antennas and boosters.
This morning we went out to breakfast which was a real treat. I enjoy going out for breakfast. It is my favorite meal to eat out. There are not many places in the area of our cabin that serve breakfast and then it is typically only on the weekend.
Saturday night is usually sauna night for us. Since we were gone on Saturday night we took our sauna on Sunday night. The Finnish way to take a sauna is to go from hot to cold three times. This involves going from the hot sauna into the cold outdoors, snow or even a cold lake. We sometimes just go from the sauna to the cold outside and sit on a bench until we cool off.
LeaRae Keyes
www.cabinstuff.com
We went to visit our friends who had been up for a month. They generously shared food they had not eaten with us to take home. We now have enough food to eat for about a week. This will help us get by without having to shop for much food for at least a week.
LeaRae Keyes
www.cabinstuff.com
We left last night for a month at the cabin. We had hoped to leave by about non, but didn’t get packed up and ready to go until about 5:00 pm. At any rate we did manage to leave on Friday. We are planning to be at the cabin for the next 30 days and I will be blogging about our experiences.
By way of background, Chuck, my husband and I with help from his brother and his wife have built a cabin on a piece of property we own in a remote part of Northern MN. It is 40 acres of land on a small 42 acre lake. We are 3 miles down a logging road that is quite bumpy and requires a high clearance vehicle to drive down this road. We own an SVU so we are able to navigate the road. We are “off the grid” meaning we are not connected to utilities. We have solar panels, batteries and generators. We have a well with a hand pump, an outhouse, and a sauna.
LeaRae Keyes
www.cabinstuff.com
What does the end of summer mean to you? After Labor Day, it often seems as if winter is just around the corner. For me Labor Day marks the formal end of summer. As I’ve gotten older, it seems that summer goes by, more and more quickly. I am once again sad to see it go. Then the summer also means waking up to cool temperatures, morning fog, and mist rising off this surface of the lake.
For my husband, Chuck, this is just the beginning of his favorite season, fall. I think he would be happy to sit in the woods and just watch the trees turn color and the leaves fall off.
Does the end of summer mean it’s time for you to close up your cabin? Since we are off the grid, there isn’t a lot we need to do to get ready for winter. We tend to continue to use our cabin in northern Minnesota until we have too much snow fall and are no longer able to easily get into the cabin. There is 3 miles of rough walking road to get into our cabin. So, once any amount of snow accumulates we need to use snowmobiles to get in, which results in multiple trips to get our stuff food and pets into the cabin.
What does the end of summer mean to you? Does the end of summer affect how often you go to the cabin? What else changes about cabin life for you in the fall and winter?
LeaRae
www.cabinstuff.com
I came across these calculators and wanted to share them with you. I wish I had found them sooner. They would have been helpful as we are calculator materials. I hope you are able to use them early in your cabin building process. http://alsnetbiz.com/homeimprovement/calculators.html
LeaRae Keyes
CabinStuff
On this day after the shootings at Virginia Tech, I sit here still in shock over the massacre.
The thought that keeps running through my mind is that we are never promised another day. We do not know what tomorrow may bring so we need to make the most of today. Therefore, it is so important that you not put your dreams on hold.
If you want to build your dream cabin (or for that matter, any cabin), do it now! Identify the steps needed. Break those down into the smallest steps possible. Take a step every day, or at least every week, to make your dream a reality. If you don’t know where to start, go to www.CabinStuff.com for ideas and resources.
LeaRae Keyes
CabinStuff
Welcome to “Cabin Dreams“. The official blogging site for CabinStuff.com This is where I share my thoughts on being a cabin owner. This blog is for cabin owners, those who want to be cabin owners and those who are just interested in cabins in general.
I hope you enjoy this blog and it’s features. It’s free, it’s open to CabinStuff members and non-members, and you can post your own entries and add your own comments.
This blog is moderated. That means that your posts won’t show up until approved for posting by me or my designee. You will need to register for this blog, separately from CabinStuff, to be able to enter comments.
Feel free to post messages on any cabin-related subject. But, be nice – no profanity, no name calling, no commercial posts.
LeaRae Keyes
Executive Director
CabinStuff.com