Tour the main floor

Close up of a Japanese fishing basket.  The metal electric plate came off the temporary power box (back when our cabin electricity consisted of a heavy-duty orange extension cord that ran from the box into the house....) The loon on the metal plate mimics the loon decoy... 

Dining room nook

Crystal in a log cabin? Why not?

That's an antique cottage cheese (pun intended) dish..

from Schenectady, NY... 

some more wedding crystal, and a handpainted vase with a rustic theme..

The amber candy dish was found on the cabin's property, 

in a cardboard box buried in the dirt.... 

This charming cabinet came from Tony's family where it was last used as a basement toy cabinet.  This piece has traveled from NY to  NJ to FL and now back to NC.  We think this piece is finally at home in NC.. 

Over the cabinet is a James Abbott McNeill Whistler etching 

of a London view (yes, that artist who painted Whistler's Mother). 

The other painting is Hokusai's Boy Viewing Mt. Fuji. (The original

 is in the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC). The placement of these 

two prints together wasn't intentional but interestingly enough, it

 is common fact from Art History  class that Whistler was influenced 

by Japanese artists, in particular Hokusai.  

Looking into the dining room from the kitchen

Who wants a cup of tea?  or hot cocoa? Plenty of tins.

The shelf was handmade and came from my 

grandmother's home in Schenectady, NY.

The red sign above the shelf displays 

a Wright family supper time prayer:  

We thank thee, Father, wise and good, 

 for home and friends and daily food.  

 Bless to our use this food we take 

and keep us all for Jesus' sake.  

The faucet shines and stands guard over the sink on its distinct angle...

A stove backguard from Ikea...perfect.

A little scrap piece of  washi paper covers the switchplate.

An old wooden shutter from our Marietta house. 

Daughter Chandler's horse barn...now living on top of 

the fridge.  This was one of her last childhood "toys..."

A really good Goodwill find!  ...the antler light over the front door entrance.

  

A model log cabin glammed up with some NC gems.  

The old model locomotive is from Schenectady, NY...nearly 100 years old. 

the Publix Pilgrims are ready for Thanksgiving....

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Remember the staircase wall where we put the mini TV ?  Here's the staircase wall now:

The step tansu from Japan in the den on the staircase wall.  The iron base lamp 

was a find at the Habitat for Humanity Store in Asheville.  It's from the Grove Park Inn 

in Asheville...when the Inn got refurbished, the Habitat store got their donations.

a couple of  iconic Japanese Daruma dolls

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The Daruma doll (達磨 daruma^?), also known as a Dharma doll, is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma), vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered an omocha, meaning toy, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. The doll has also been commercialized by many Buddhist temples to use alongside goal setting.  First you blacken in one eye when you make your wish/goal, then you blacken in the other one when your wish comes true or your goal is accomplished.  

* * * * * * * * *

Think one of these Daruma dolls marked the construction of the cabin?  Nope.  These dolls are representative of our boys Alex and Brendan....first for getting into college and then for getting out...on time. And getting jobs.  Yay!

This old floor lamp was given a second life thanks to a little rope... 

...and a unique stone with a pre-drilled natural hole...

The 2nd floor stairway landing...cricket bats from New Zealand,  some worn canoe paddles, a homemade polo mallet, mancala board.  And can you spot the mini wooden lacrosse stick?

Looking up towards the loft. You can see some 

pretty hefty bolts holding those beams.  A couple of vintage 

lacrosse sticks frame the old reproduction telephone.

Vintage postcard from my vast collection suits this twig frame...

You can check out some of that collection on my other blog: 

http://postcardsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/

Tour the downstairs

The bow and arrow was salvaged from the Benihana Buckhead (Atlanta, GA) Restaurant, 

when it was being torn down... Behind the  bi-fold doors is the washer and dryer.   

that's the door to the bathroom... The photo on the left was

snapped by Tony in the Adirondacks in the early 70's...

A handy map for kayaking the Tuck

Looking straight down the hall into the bunkroom.

Ikea to the rescue with the Hemnes Bunk.  

Perfect for a small bedroom.

Under those banners is the fuse box.  The utility room is behind that wall.

The banners and the brilliant carp (as window treatments) 

are used to celebrate Boy's Day, or Childrens' Day  

in Japan, May 5th (Fifth Day of the Fifth Month).  

Children's Day (こどもの日 Kodomo no hi^?) is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5, the fifth day of the fifth month, and is part of the Golden Week. It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. It was designated a national holiday by the Japanese government in 1948.  Sekku means a season's festival (there are five sekku per year). Tango no Sekkumarks the beginning of summer or the rainy season. Tan means "edge" or "first" and gomeans "noon". In Chinese culture, the fifth month of the Chinese calendar was said to be a month for purification, and many rites that were said to drive away evil spirits were performed.Although it is not known precisely when this day started to be celebrated, it was probably during the reign of the Empress Suiko (593–628 A.D.). In Japan, Tango no Sekku was assigned to the fifth day of the fifth month after the Nara period.

Until recently, Tango no Sekku was known as Boys' Day (also known as Feast of Banners) while Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri) was celebrated on March 3. In 1948, the government decreed this day to be a national holiday to celebrate the happiness of all children and to express gratitude toward mothers. It was renamed Kodomo no Hi.

Before this day, families raise the carp-shaped koinobori flags (carp because of the Chinese legend that a carp that swims upstream becomes a dragon, and the way the flags blow in the wind looks like they are swimming), one for each boy (or child), display a Kintarō doll usually riding on a large carp, and the traditional Japanese military helmet, kabuto. Kintarō and the kabuto are symbols of a strong and healthy boy.

Kintarō (金太郎^?) is the childhood name of Sakata no Kintoki who was a hero in the Heian period, a subordinate samurai of Minamoto no Raikou, having been famous for his strength when he was a child. It is said that Kintarō rode a bear, instead of a horse, and played with animals in the mountains when he was a young boy.

^{Mochi rice cakes wrapped in kashiwa (oak) leaves—kashiwa-mochi (just like regular mochi, but is also filled with red beans jam) andchimaki (a kind of "sweet rice paste", wrapped in an iris or bamboo leaf)—are traditionally served on this day.}

^{(Thanks Wikipedia)}

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Right next door to the bunk room is the second bedroom. 

This  mirrored oak armoire was purchased in the 1980's 

       at Farcher's Grove Auction in Union, NJ.  The piece went 

to FL (Seaside rental property) for several years before ending up in NC. 

LLBean duck decoys on display.

A college trunk (circa 1974) turned upside makes a nifty end table.

.

Window treatment over the double doors.  Put together with two 

different sets of cast off drapes..

A collection of old crocks...

Gemstones and shells collected over the years.  

River stones, quartz crystal, snowflake obsidian 

(third box in the middle row), rubies and more.  

Most treasures  found at the gem mine in Franklin, NC

A look into the downstairs bathroom.  The map is of of Haiti 

and the Dominican Republic.

A simple Ikea shelf comes in handy for storage  and hanging towels. 

Always important to have a place to store toilet paper!

The antique watering cans are from NY and GA.

Take a peek inside...

Resting the yoke upside down made it easier than trying to rig some 

heavy-duty  hardware for hanging it somewhere since it's so heavy.

Got the idea at the Three Eagles Outdoor Store in Franklin, NC...

Finishing Touches

The kitchen takes shape.  Sure beats an extension cord for power and 

a camping bucket for a sink!  We picked out the cherry cabinets from Lowe's...

and a grey Silestone countertop.  And look! A dishwasher!

The sink. The story behind this is....the template for the sink cut out was placed backward, therefore there wasn't enough room for the traditional placement of the faucet in front of the window.  Pure human error.  What's that saying? Measure TWICE cut ONCE.   A little bit of brainstorming  with the installers and we came up with a faucet placed off center.  I love it!  Gives an uninterrupted view out the window.   The fact that re-cutting the sink hole  would have pushed the countertop install back about six weeks helped with the brainstorming.  Not to mention another day off from work and a trip to the cabin. 

...reflections...

A pensive Mochi (the family dog) 

takes in the quiet beauty of the morning, 

just a few steps away from the cabin door.

This photo taken in April 2011.

What is she thinking?

Isn't this going to be fun?

.These photos taken between 2002 and 2003..

A kitchen with fridge! microwave! electricity!  

Of course electricity via the orange extension cord 

running from inside the house and tying 

into the power pole outside.  

Top: Chandler and her friend Jordan setting up camp on the back upper deck.  

Right: Looking down on the sleep site from the loft. At least we had a plywood (dry) floor.

* * * * * * * * 

If you click on the BLUEPRINTS tab you can see that we made some significant modifications to the cabin from the original plans.   The one night we all spent in sleeping bags on the back deck turned out to be serendipitous.  It started raining in the middle of the night and we awoke with water dripping into our faces from the uncaulked area of the porch roof.   We dragged everyone inside, and threw ourselves down on the plywood floor in the kitchen area.  The next morning we were awoken by glorious sunshine streaming in through the windows... and right then we decided that we were going to nix one of the ideas we had of turning the now dining area into a bedroom.  And we needed to replace the standard windows  with french doors to capture the beautiful view and light. So, alll it took to change those plans for the better?  A little night rain.        

Cots in the loft.

All the comforts of home:  a TV!  and a toilet! 

That round glass-topped patio table in the future kitchen 

eventually made it to Okinawa in Alex's military household shipment...  

* * * * * * * *  

Top:  the Suburban car TV/video player we would bring inside.  Resting on top of a tool box.  That's the future staircase wall behind the TV.  Up to the loft and down to the basement. 

Bottom:  The green portapotty in all its lonely usefulness.  Doesn't it appear  to be standing guard on the property?  Right next to the all-important power pole.  Oh, how we rejoiced when we were able to 

call the company to remove the portajohn because that meant real indoor plumbing!  

* * * * * * * * 

The younger you are the more fun you find in mundane things like washing dishes outside.  Note the amber glass lidded candy dish. The dish was discovered  in a box of other miscellaneous dishware...half buried in the dirt near the site of the portapotty...don't know for sure but I have suspicions of the box being residual flotsam and jetsam from a broken homeand marriage...  which is what originally precipitated the sale of this property to us. 

* * * * * * * * 

      

The cabin naked, without chinking.  I kinda like this bottom photo for the contrast of light and dark.  You can really appreciate the primitive beauty of the hand hewn logs.  You can also imagine Abraham Lincoln living in a house like this.  And reading and doing his sums by firelight.     

* * * * * * * * *

About a year into it, who were we fooling?

One day a headline from a NYTimes article 

(Escapes, Friday,  November 23, 2011 by Joanne Kaufman) 

took the words right out of my mouth:

 For You, a Dream.  

For Them, Bo-ring. 

The weekend home is fun for the family, until the kids hit adolescence.  Then the groaning years begin.

How true we found that to be.  Completely forgot to take into consideration the massive time commitment required of school sports (forget about parents having a life of their own on weekends),  calendars chock-full of all kinds of other activities, and worst of all, remembering that the last thing adolescent kids want to do is family activities and hanging with their parents.   Ouch.  

For teenagers, friends back home are much more interesting than your dumb house

This is going to be one long project.