One Year on Flat Top

Hard to believe it was a year ago today that we managed to get our U-Haul off the muddy, snowy mountain roads, and returned to Flat Top to spend our first night in our new little hunting shack. This was then:

And now (well, actually this was taken in the summer):

We spent that first night in the cabin sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I wore my winter knit cap to keep my head warm overnight; I think the original wood stove was putting out more carbon monoxide than heat. We had to chip ice off the rainwater barrel to get water to flush the toilet. We had to haul in drinking water.

What I'm trying to say is we've come a long way.

Tonight is about as cold as it gets here: 20s or high teens. But the new wood stove does a pretty good job of keeping us toasty. We've got the NFL playoffs on the "big screen."  And dinner will be steamed Asian cod, but first we're about to go down to our "neighbors" (they come up from Florida twice a year in their RV) for a beer.

So after spending 364 days a year feeling like we're never getting enough done, tonight we celebrate. Cheers to our first year!