...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.

The adventure begins...

Page 1    

Seaside is a wonderfull place too get away.  But sometimes you don't want to get away and go to the Beach!   Sometimes you want to go to the mountains camp out, go on a Hike!  And somtimes you want to stay at a moutain house not igsactly camping is your thougt.     

Page 2  

You want a montain house  yeah thats your thought  get awaw and go to a montain House not seaside or Georgia  you need a montain house So very very bad but where will you find one?   North Carolina is pretty but mabe not or mabe so  then is sold  North Carolina there's your new house!     

(sic)  Chandler, 2000,   age 9  

The rear balcony deck taking shape...

The view of the loft...and that's Brendan in the corner...

The view of the rear of the cabin...

In the beginning....

When we discovered the cabin it was just perched in its naked glory on the mountainside with a beautiful view of the valley .  Due to unfortunate personal circumstances, the previous owner/builder was forced to stop and sell in the middle of construction.   So we decided to take on the project of completing this cabin.  Something for the whole family to get excited about!  Some good family time...especially for a family that enjoyed camping together.

It was a primitive structure.  The Appalachian- style hand hewn logs 

were rough but beautiful pieces of art.  All that was missing was the 

chinking in between to keep the birds and other critters out.

the little gem on Platinum Road

Tuckasegee Cozy Cabin

It has only taken eleven years but the little log cabin at the top of Platinum Road is finally....finished. It's been five years since I first posted in August 2006 that it had taken six years to complete up to THAT point. Reality: an ongoing project. This humble abode started out as a hand-hewn frame structure that looked like Abraham Lincoln's childhood cabin. Wildlife loved the place, b.c. (before chinking). Birds, bats and bees found lots of places to perch and fly around. Mice too, had the run of the house. A contractor even told us of a bobcat sighting in the driveway. Fortunately now windows and doors are in place, and the cabin is chinked. Furniture and rugs adorn the place and make it cozy. There are even blinds and curtains on windows. No more orange heavy duty extension cords, no more green porta-john, no buckets of water needed to wash up or brush teeth. The cabin has electricity and true indoor plumbing, yeah! The log walls are massive-- their uneven texture and size add character. The stone fireplace beckons you to throw on a log. Come and visit! Sit on the back deck and view the mountains in the distance. Listen to nothing but quiet as you read a book in a comfy leather armchair. Embrace the darkness and count the endless stars which decorate the night sky. Welcome to Tuckasegee. C'mon and visit this area of NC...known as Western North Carolina.