Another Trip Round the Sun

October 08, 2023

Another Trip Round the Sun

In 13 days, it will have been one full year since we made an offer on our little slice of heaven. In two moths time, it will have been one full year since we officially took ownership. It still kind of blows my mind that we did it; that we took the leap to make a shared dream come true. I spent a good many years being told that I would never be able to do something like this, so I take a lot of pride in this unassuming cabin.

We haven't been up there nearly as much as I would have liked, but we're making do with the time that we can find. If I had my druthers, I'd be up there every week, hell, I'd be living up there. For the time being, that's just not plausible, so we have to be satisfied with short, infrequent visits.

So, what has transpired over the past 365 days? Well, we met, and have started what I hope is a friendship with our "down-the-road" neighbor, Nick. He's super friendly and very helpful and has been patient with our questions. He and his wife have been hospitable and welcoming. It's very much appreciated. We haven't officially met anyone else on the road aside from a quick wave as we drive by but I'm sure as we spend more time up there, we'll get more acquainted with the other dirt roaders. The property next to us was sold to, apparently, a couple from California. Maybe they're planning for their getaway like we are. There's another property of 27 acres that just went up for sale a little ways down the road and I wish like hell that we could buy it. Believe me, my wheels have been turning, but I see no way to make it happen right now.

We've cut more wood, built a "bath house" addition, built the beginnings of Frank's shed with materials that were left on the property and, unfortunately, identified some issues with what we were told was a root cellar. We finally pulled up the floorboards to pump out what we expected to be a water-filled hole under the cabin. When we lifted the boards the day we made an offer, we saw a fair amount of clear water under there. I can't say we were totally ignorant of what lay beneath our cabin, but I certainly didn't take as good a look as I should have. When we went back up with our pump, ready to get rid of the water, we found no water (aside from an inch or so) but a keel shaped hole under the entire cabin! I'm not quite sure what in Odin's name was going on under there, but it surely explained why the cabin floor was so bouncy. That and the fact that she used only 2x4's as floor joists.

OK, problem identified, but what was the solution? First, Frank used some of the leftover 2x4's that were there to make some support posts. He nailed two together to make homemade 4x4's, and placed them under the cabin on some of the cement post blocks that had been left behind. Certainly not a permanent solution, but it would lend some extra support under there in case something started to shift. Our long-term, permanent solution is to go back under there and start cementing. We're going to square off a section of the hole under the center of the cabin and lay some stone and some waterproofing membrane. Then we'll cement a 4' x 8' section. Once that's cured, we'll put more permanent supports there. Then we'll work outwards, repeating the process so we have a nice, squared off and cemented crawl space. It's actually more than a crawl space, probably about 4.5' - 5' high. Once that is done and all set and cured, we can get down to brass tacks and lift, baby lift! Yup, the cabin needs to be jacked up so we can slide 3, 6x6 posts under it, running perpendicular to the joists. We're also installing some venting under there to help with dampness, and we'll probably throw some insulation up under the floor. No small job by any stretch of the imagination, but something that we are more than capable of doing. We've already had the stone delivered. We also spread some of that around the perimeter of the cabin to help with drainage and that issue will be further helped when we install some gutters. It all seems daunting and undoable, but taken a bit at a time, it's manageable.

I don't know what our timeline for all that is. I doubt it'll get started this year, so next spring is looking like go time. I'm hoping everything stays stable until then.

In the meantime, we found a cookstove! There is a wood stove there, but the top is small and not really useful as far as cooking. We've been looking on local classified sites and Facebook marketplace for antique cookstoves, but they go pretty quickly most of the times. This past weekend, I saw one for cheap money, so I jumped on it and we got it! It's a White-Warner stove that dates to around 1939! Apparently, it was a company out of Taunton. Pretty cool that it's a local stove. I'm taking it as a sign that it was meant to be ours. The name Warner also has meaning to me. My Dad's family had a cottage up in Warner, New Hampshire that we used to go to. I loved that place. Our little cabin is my version of that place. So, again, maybe another sign.

It needs some love an attention, but it's in very good shape for it's age.

It's not shown in the pictures, but we do have the leg portion that it sits on and the back shelf piece as well. That's not rust either, it's a brown/cream color. There's still coal in the fire box, so I'm not sure if this is actually a coal stove. I'm going to assume that it is. I have the name of a couple of stove restoration companies and I'm going to send them the pictures and ask if they have any info on it. I'm not opposed to coal. It may actually be easier for us at the moment seeing as how we don't have a good supply of seasoned wood. A couple bags of coal will last us a good long while up there.

I'm excited to be able to have a place to cook inside! I love the fire pit and definitely still want an outdoor oven for the summer, but let's be honest, I don't want to be outside in cold, wet weather trying to start a fire, let alone cook on it! We have an electric hot plate, but it's a pain to use with the generator.

We've done some stuff, but there's so much left to do! We look forward to it all though because it's all for the benefit of us. This is our dream, and we look forward to many more trips around the sun, making it better and better. Here's some pictures from the last year. Just about brings a tear to my eye.