A weblog about sustainable living, micro architecture, cabinology and design while at the same time documenting life in a small family cabin in the middle of Saskatchewan.
With the main room of the cabin only being 14x18 for a grand total of 252 square feet, space is in short supply. In that limited amount of space, we had beds for both boys, a couch, kitchen and eating areas. It was crowded. This summer Jordon and I decided to go with bunk beds for the boys until we get the loft space built. Until then we decided to get rid of one of the 3/4 beds and put Oliver one a fold out mattress on the floor. This would give us space for a living area and more room to eat in.
I have wanted an antique chest for years and Jordon found me one at the Salvation Army that be bought. We had Lee bring it up on Thanksgiving (full of stuff of course) and it provides some storage and is our new coffee table.
Next year is the year of the loft. It will be 16 feet wide and 7 feet deep. Big enough for Mark and Oliver to crash in and it will add another 112 feet to the cabin.
We spend the weekend out at the cabin which is our latest weekend yet. We drove out Friday night after a really long week. There was a funeral, sick kids, me being sick and a lot of stress. On the way out, I stopped by Indigo! and bought Jordon a copy of The Cabin by Dale Mulfinger who also wrote Cabinology as an anniversary gift. We got in after dark and while Mark took Maggi for a walk, Oliver fell asleep on the sofa while we warmed up the cabin and hunkered down for the night.
On Saturday the plan was to head to Regina and then Moose Jaw for The Tunnels of Moose Jaw. The best laid plans were changed and instead of Moose Jaw, we took Oliver to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. Actually it was Mark and my first time as well and he had a blast, mostly because Mark was such a great older brother with him. We did some running around in Regina where Jordon bought me a “W” Saskatchewan Roughriders keychain and Mark a “M” one. We also bought Oliver a rubberized LED flashlight so he can go out and explore Arlington Beach with Mark (Jordon bought Mark a new flashlight last week). By the time we were done, we headed back to the cabin for dinner and then coffee with Dennis & Wilda Camplin while Mark and Oliver tried out their new flashlights.
The weather was nice for being this late in the season and we didn’t even use all of the heaters we had up there. It was cool enough that Maggi spent both nights in the bed snuggled up to Jordon who several times tried to get her down. All of Maggi’s affection is linked to the temperature. In the summer she doesn’t care if we live or die but as summer turns to fall and hot nights turn to cool ones, she becomes your best friend again. While Oliver never sleeps in our bed at home, he got uncovered and dove into bed. Four in the bed was a little much for Jordon or I.
This morning we got up early and started to pack up for the return trip back to Saskatoon. While Jordon and I were cleaning, Mark and Oliver headed over to the park where Oliver was loving the swings. It started out well…
but ended badly.
I don’t think it will be our last visit up for 2011. If it is still nice in two weekends we may head up again and if not, we’ll shut it down for the season then after one last day trip. Here are some photos of the weekend.
We were planning to head up to the lake on Friday but Markhad a football game in Martinsville (which they tied for their first non-loss in two years). After the game the plan was to leave by four but in reality we left at six. After a quick supper at Pips Esso in Watrous (they have a Subway), we got into the cabin at 8:00 p.m. Soon after that Jared/Kathy/Soren/Nathan Siebert came by for some coffee and a snack. This changed our Thanksgiving plans drastically as Jared is allergic to dogs and our cabin is quite small. It meant that we left the dogs behind. Maggi was initially upset but when we got home we could see our bed was well slept in so it looked like she survived.
Sunday morning was chatting with people, going to walks, and more chatting. Lee and Brittney came up for the afternoon and pretty soon it was time for dinner at Kinney Memorial Lodge. They packed 250+ people in for a Thanksgiving supper and it was excellent as always. For both nights up there, Oliver had a horrible time sleeping. Rather than let his crying keep all of Arlington Beach awake, we put him in bed with Wendy and I, something we never do. He kicked me for six straight hours. I asked Wendy is he kicked her and the answer was no, she turned his back towards her and let him kick me all night. Nice.
The plan is return for a final long weekend on October 21st to the 24th. Football is done and if we get some nice weather after that, we’ll come up for a Saturday or something.
