TammyE's Profile

Lovely things in a lovely space. Exactly what an apartment tour should be.

Contemporary modern = sterile

Mid-century modern = sexy

Thanks so much for all the kind words. I was as surprised as anyone when I saw our cabin pop up on my AT Facebook feed today!

I think John has answered all the questions but this one:

@emmy1218: You're right -- Dobbs is a Portuguese water dog (aka best dog ever). Last month we had a huge scare when he was diagnosed with a tumour on his spleen. At first we were told it was inoperable and he had only a few weeks left, but then the vet took another look at his bloodwork and thought it was worth a shot. So Dobbs had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and last week we got the biopsy results back and he got a clean bill of health! We're so thrilled. He's been in our family since he was a puppy, and even though he's ten and a half years old now, we're not ready to say goodbye. He is truly the best dog in the world, and we're looking forward to many, many more cabin visits with him.

A couple of months ago, my husband and I repainted our bedroom a much lighter colour (think of the inside of a cucumber). We kept our bed, night tables, and bureau, and we re-hung two large photos of our kids as babies, but we kept putting off bringing the other furniture back into the room or hanging anything else on the walls. Slowly we came to realize that we actually liked our semi-bare room, and the fact that the only "decoration" is photos of the two things that are most special to us.

(The room also has lovely wooden floors and great light. I'd be lying if I said that these weren't major aesthetic contributions, as well.)

With our room now radically decluttered, it's so easy to keep clean and tidy (in contrast to the rest of our house, which... well, let's just say "We have kids" and leave it at that), and it really does feel like a calm sanctuary at the end of the day.

Oh, and one last note about the propane appliances: the tanks (one for the fridge and one for the stove) are safely housed outdoors, and the propane is fed into the cabin through appropriate fuel lines. Just so you know. :)

My kiddo is embarking on year 3 of using the same bento-style lunchbox from Laptop Lunches:

http://www.laptoplunches.com/

We just pack real food, not pre-packaged: sandwiches, dried fruit, cheese cubes, pita and hummous. It's pretty easy, actually.

Funny, I was talking with my five-year-old today about how obsolescence is now designed into our gadgets, and the environmental impact this is having. It's a shame that so much money is spent on designing the outside of the item and so little attention is spent on making the inside last. Obviously it's because we as novelty-seeking consumers are all hungry for bloated, feature-rich gadgets, so we have only ourselves to blame.

Any stranger who takes someone else's photo -- child or adult -- without asking permission first is guilty of rude and inappropriate behaviour and deserves whatever angry reaction they receive.

Having said that, I've had strangers ask me quite nicely if they can take a photo of my adorable children doing something adorable, and I'm generally cool with that. :)

A further note re: the propane stove. John reminded me this morning that we have not one but two CO2 detectors in the cabin, one for the fridge and one near the stove (plus a smoke detector), because at least one person in this relationship is nutty-paranoid. :)

Whoa... you guys are way too nice. We're going to have to get a bigger cabin just to fit our great big heads!

To answer your questions:

Terry in Silver Spring said: Is that the parents bed up in the loft? The kids sleep on the trundle bed on the main level? Does that mean the parents and kids go to bed at the same time each night for the most part?

Yup, the boys sleep down below and we sleep up top, but we don't go to bed at the same time. After the kids go to bed, John and I hang out around the firepit, drinking cheap beer and roasting more marshmallows than is probably good for us. We often get visits from other weekenders, too. Gambier is sparsely populated, but everyone is super friendly and very social. It's awesome.

OlaLovesDesign said: And love the rebar idea --- can you post/send some closer-up photos of that? I think of Rebar as white or yellow. Yours looks.... brown? Did you paint it or buy it that color?

Ours is plain old untreated rebar from Home Depot, which means right now it's a bit rusty and we need to treat it with some kind of clear protectant. The best pictures I have of it are here and here.

bzb said: I am very interested in the rebar solution as well - how did you attach it to the posts?

Stefan and John painstakingly drilled holes through the posts, being super careful to take proper measurements to make sure everything was going to line up, because you only get one chance to drill properly, and these were kind of spendy 6x6 cedar posts. Then they threaded the lengths of rebar through the holes, starting at the outer edges of the corner posts.

Splaine said: I noticed the camping stove you have on the counter. Is this a propane stove? Aren't those dangerous to use inside because of the fumes?

Technically, yes, you shouldn't operate a propane stove in a confined space, but we're banking on the fact that our cabin, while protecting us quite well from the elements, is hardly what you'd call airtight. We do at least half our cooking in our little makeshift outdoor kitchen, and when we do need to use the stove indoors, we keep all the windows open.

clchilds said: Also wishing I had a Stefan in my life! Does he get to visit?

Everyone needs a Stefan in their life. Seriously, we can't stress this enough: without Stefan, this cabin never would have happened. Not only does he have cabin privileges for infinity, he'll probably build his own little treehouse dwelling somewhere on our acreage someday -- hopefully soon!

pearmelon said: Can you use the cabin year-round, and are mosquitoes a problem?

Mosquitoes aren't a problem (thank god and the local bat population). We get a few at dusk, but nothing we can't stand. To answer your other question, right now we just use the cabin in the summer and during mild weather in the late spring and early fall. We're looking into getting a teeny little propane heater – the kind used on boats – as early as this fall, so that we can lengthen the season. We might also use the cabin as a base camp for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing when the boys are older.

angfish said: can you tell me where you got your bedding from? i love all of it!

Good old Ikea. John was kind of reluctant to get our bedding there, because even though we like Ikea stuff just fine, it can really dominate a space with its overwhelming Ikea-ishness, and we didn't want our cabin to look like something we assembled out of a flatpack box with an allen key – y'know, KABINN. But you can't beat Ikea's prices for bedding and after long and painful consideration, we finally agreed on some duvet covers we could all be happy with.

kelmit said: btw, by my math you actually have 192 square feet, not counting the deck.

Doh! That's because I goofed and said the sleeping loft was 6x12 and it's actually 6x10. Duly corrected now.

And mrsyow: Thanks for the tip about hanging bamboo blinds to cover the fiberglass wall during peak sun times. I hadn't thought to hang them OUTSIDE the cabin. Genius!