Fellow Cabin Renovators

It takes a certain kind of person to take on a cabin in the woods. That's apparently why we got along so well with our latest visitors, former co-worker Jackie Crosby, above, a Star Tribune business reporter, and her man, Chris. About the same time that we moved to the Tennessee backwoods, Chris and Jackie bought a heap of a cabin on a Wisconsin lake. So for four people who didn't know each other all that well just a few days ago, we found a whole lot in common.

On Monday and Tuesday, after they drove up during a trip to Atlanta to see how our project was coming along, there was lots of talk about septic tanks, propane tanks and creative repurposing of supplies. They tore down the cabin on their lakefront lot and have been building a new one that incorporates a super cool "Weehouse," a modern architectural pod -- check it out on her blog: lovelesslake.blogspot.com.

We both apparently have been thinking about building adirondack chairs; Chris wins the creativity award for  his plan to build some out of old snow skis. And they were helpful with ideas for our kitchen remodel, which is next up here on Flat Top.

There was also lots of talk about beer, because Chris is about to launch into homebrewing. We brewed up a batch while they were here, just to show him how easy it is! They were even good sports when we told them about our latest fitness effort: 25 push-ups before every homebrew.

Both were also quite forgiving of Nick the Dog, who begged for food incessantly from them, then ungratefully bared his teeth a couple of times. And we thought Nick was getting more socialized. ... Luckily they're dog people.

And as they say in the South, they're good people.

Oh, and one more thing. Look what they brought in their luggage! Sweet gifts from my sweet sweet friends, Courtnay and Leslie! Thanks so much, ladies!

  

Spring Break

Leave it to us to persuade the Balafases to spend their spring break in the backwoods of Tennessee. But we think once the week was over, no one was too disappointed with the adventure. Well, maybe Tiko, their white fluffball of a dog, who by Day 4 was sticking real close to their car so he didn't get left.

We fished, shot up some things, even baked cookies and sticky buns. Dino did a lot of grilling for us, and believe me, no one went hungry. Well, maybe Matthew, but he's a teenage boy; he's always hungry. There was card playing (and sadly, yes, videogame playing), catnapping (that's Karen in the hammock, above), hair braiding, hiking and even tractor rides.

And they also took one for the team (for any future visitors, that is), checking out Chattanooga's famed Ruby Falls (worth it if you've never been in a cave) and Rock City (sooo not worth it).

Some photos from the week:

Shooting clay pigeons

Tascha, our skeet thrower ("Pull! ... Yes, NOW.")

Matthew taking a 12-gauge butt to the shoulder

Ceviche and cervezas on the front porch

Tascha making the famous Balafas cookies

Matthew on the iPad

"Hunger Games"-crazed Tascha braided a "Katniss" in Nan's hair 

Nan's braiding attempt in Tascha's hair

And Tiko, in his safe place, watching Dino ride the tractor

Guest Bedroom: Before and After

Before: Flying squirrels living in the ceiling; walls covered in wood planks of all sorts of sizes, none of them the same; half-dozen leaks in the roof; a light powered by an extension cord; vinyl tiles atop laminate atop rotting subfloor.

And after (OK, the desk isn't finished yet. Get off our backs!):

Now accepting reservations. Mid-April and mid-June are already booked! Not to mention today's arrival of the Balafas family!!

Welcome Home To Us!

These beautiful hot-pink azaleas were a welcome sight Monday, when we returned to the mountain after two weeks in Texas. Gorgeous!!

Ahhh, Texas! Nothing like two solid weeks of crowds, traffic, chores, countless meals out and family to remind us why we retreated to the mountain in the first place! OK, OK, the family, meals and chores weren't so bad, but the traffic and the crowds? How did we ever deal with all those "too many people in the world" on a daily basis?

As soon as we got home, we cracked open a home brew and took our positions on the front porch, listening to the birds and soaking up the sunset.

But our moment of rest is now over. We're cranked up in visitors-are-coming mode. Our good friends from Minnesota -- Karen, Dino, Matthew and Tascha -- are coming on Monday for spring break, and we can't wait to see them! (Bonus: We're getting a clay-pigeon thrower thingee so we can all shoot stuff while they're here. Believe it or not, we haven't fired off any rounds in the 14 months we've been here. Oddballs, we are, by Tennessee standards.)

And the guest room is SO almost ready for them. Yes, that's right, by Monday, I'll finally get those before-and-after photos posted.

Sneak Peak of Spring -- and The Room

While we were busy working on the guest room, spring officially arrived: My peach tree has blossomed! For you gardening types, I'm also eagerly awaiting my first hellebore bloom. Very exciting stuff! ("Yawn," sez Mason.)

As for the bedroom, we're getting so close! Here's a sneak peak of the new whitewashed wood wall, paint and carpet:

We're working on the finishing touches now: the built-in desk and the closet shelving. Of course, poor Mason is still trying to build stuff while I'm dragging in rugs and chairs and artwork, and sweating over real important stuff such as bedskirts and curtains.

We're making the desk out of some of the wood planks that we took off the walls (do I get points for repurposing, Lo?). I know the wall planks had a cabin charm to them, but the main part of the cabin has the wood planking throughout, so we thought the guest room could use a bit of relief.

 The new desk planks are on their 3rd coat of varnish; I think one more will do the job. See:

We promise, the official before-and-after pix are coming soon!

Why So Quiet?

So why have we been so quiet the last couple of weeks? This is why:

Welcome to our drywalling hell.

While remodeling the guest room, we decided to remedy the fact that there are no closets in our little cabin. None. Some of our clothes hang from electrical conduit that Mason tacked up "temporarily" in the loft on our second day here -- the pipe is still there, of course -- and the rest remain sorted in the plastic bins that we moved them in. The vacuum sits wherever I find a bit of space, as does the beer-brewing equipment. And our camping gear, golf clubs, sewing machine and such are all stuffed in a hidey hole underneath the stairs. Hmm, I guess that's kinda like a closet. So I lied. But I digress.

Shaving about two feet off the entire east wall of the room, we created a wall that will have two closets (one dedicated to beer-making equipment), a desk/shelving area (under the window) and then a giant triangular storage area up high. For those who have mudded drywall, please sympathize that my vision for this Wall O' Closets failed to fully realize what it meant to tape and bed about 40 outside and inside corners.  Then there's all the new drywall throughout the room, which used to have a particle-board ceiling and wood planking on the walls.

I'm the mudder, because I'm the only unskilled laborer in the household; Mason's skills are much too valuable to be wasted on such lowly work. (Besides, he's busy building the crawlspace skirting around the house.) I'm nearly done with the second coat of mud, leaving just one more to go before we can paint. (The color I picked out is called Gray Squirrel, in honor of the flying squirrels we evicted from the room during the remodel.)

Then we have to decide what to put on the floor. And build the desk. And do the trim.  And  it looks like we have more visitors coming in April, so the clock is tick tick ticking.

The Things You Learn

So the Realtor we used to buy our little cabin in the woods came by the other day, because the small cabin at the end of our road just went up for sale. (Any takers?) Mike isn't like any Realtor I've known, starting with his 6-foot-7 or 6-8 height. (I've never seen Mason look short before.)

So we chitchatted with Mike about what we'd done to our cabin and how we were adjusting to mountain life. Clearly an avid hunter, he quizzed us on the wildlife we'd seen. That's when I asked about what animal was making a screech that sounds like a woman being attacked. It's the one unsettling sound we've heard that we couldn't pin down.

"Bobcat in heat," he came back quickly. Apparently it's mating season. Mike then told us about how he killed a bobcat just the other day (I know, I know, fellow gentle animal lovers, but this IS Tennessee), and out of the front seat of his giant truck, he whipped out this speaker-looking box connected by a long wire to a  remote control. He pointed the speaker out toward the timber company land that borders our property and hit a button.

Out came that shriek from hell (it's how you "call" the soon-to-be-shot bobcat), and boy, Nick the Dog did not like it one bit. He focused on the box, barking, fur up on his shoulders. Another shriek and he cocked his head intently, staring at the speaker box sitting atop the truck bed.

So this is how bobcat hunters (and other hunters, as the box had about 50 settings; besides "bobcat in heat" it also had "regular bobcat") attract their prey. Punch another button and the speaker will beckon coyotes, wolves -- all sorts of woodland creatures.

Bambi, you've been warned.