Our weather hs been alternating between snow (we had our first snowfall a few days ago) and southeast gale with torrential rain. Today, however, dawned beautifully blue and clear.
Continue reading “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Windows”
Category: Homesteading
Our Adventures
Winter Solstice
We celebrated our first winter solstice at the cabin today. From here, we can look forward to the days getting longer. I’ve always struggled with the short, dark days of winter, and always feel uplifted as we round mid-winter solstice and start heading into spring.
Mad Shopping Spree!
We were starting to run out of supplies again, and our list of required building materials was growing, so it was time for another trip to Campbell River. However, no more dark drives over icy roads – we were going to stay in a motel this time, and enjoy our first showers since May!
Moved In At Last!
Although we now had our wood cook stove in our cabin, we still had a long ways to go before the cabin would be warm enough for us to move in.
In Search of a Wood Cook Stove
When we were still living in Prince Rupert, we had become quite interested in getting a wood cook stove as an auxiliary source of heat for the upstairs of our house, and also as a stove which could be used during power outages (which occur frequently in Prince Rupert). After much investigation, we decided that we really liked a stove called the Baker’s Choice – an Amish made stove designed and manufactured in Canada by a company called Suppertime Stoves in Ontario. This stove is a durable, functional (but not fancy) airtight wood stove made from welded steel plate, and has been recommended by many homesteaders, both for heating cabins and as an excellent stove for cooking. However, before we actually purchased a Baker’s Choice stove for our home in Prince Rupert, we decided to sell the house and begin our adventures with simplicity and sustainability.
A Roof!
Friday, November 13th we finally got the roof on our cabin. For some people, this may have been considered an unlucky day, but for us, it was a very lucky one indeed!
We’ve Been Busy
We’ve been busy critters. As it turned out, all the materials required to build our house took three loads (Moody Blue towing our herring skiff) to get to our site, rather than the originally estimated two. It’s amazing how much stuff it takes to build a 20′ x 20′ cabin!
A Solid Foundation
Houses, like relationships and careers, need to have a solid foundation if they are going to be able to stand the test of time. Unfortunately, foundations are often under-appreciated. Most people take them for granted, or can’t even see them, until there is a problem. So, wisely, we have decided to spend a great deal of effort making sure that the foundation for our cabin is strong and solid.
Cabin Designs
Building a cabin in a remote location, even if the cabin is “prefabricated”, is not a simple task. As we start to build our cabin, I am reminded that this is the end, not the beginning, of a process that has been underway since the start of this year.
A Start to Our Cabin
It’s been a long, hard week of hauling. First, we hauled all our furniture and belongings out of the hold of the Moody Blue and up to our sheds. Then, we took the Moody Blue and the Kipper’s Folly to Kelsey Bay to pick up the first half of our cabin materials.