End of the Road Ranch
We've moved into the Claim Shanty!! {
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
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We made it! The “claim shanty” is built and we have moved in and are mostly settled. Life is taking a different shape as we are adjusting to the new demands of life in a small cabin with limited resources.
Some of our, or rather, my original ideas and plans changed as we were in the process of building, many of which were just a result of better understanding dh’s plans. Here are the basics of life around here: The cabin is 16’x16’ with a loft that is about 16’x11’. There is a small bathroom with a small shower and a toilet; it even has a pocket door on it thanks to a friend who saw one at a yard sale and thought of us. We have a few electric outlets around the cabin, 2 at the countertop on the kitchen side of the cabin and one on the office/desk side. We are still running a business out of the house so we fit the desk and 1 file cabinet on the short wall of the cabin (between the bathroom and the loft stairs). There is a built in dining table with a bench at one side. I’ll get 1 or 2 small chairs for the other side when the weather cools down, but right now we sit outside almost all of the time. There are stairs going to the loft (DH didn’t think that a ladder was a good idea with me 7 months pregnant and with the 2 toddlers); they are small and steep but so but better than a ladder.
There are 6’ covered porches on both the front and the back of the cabin which really add to the living space, at least in the warm weather. The front porch really is the living/dining room right now. The 2 rocking chairs and the picnic table are our current couch and dining table. The back porch is like my work space. There is a small Lady Kenmore washing machine which I found at the local thrift store for $10 (it can only handle about 2 pair of jeans at a time and you have to switch the hose from one faucet to the other for different water temps.), a refrigerator/ freezer combo, and an upright freezer all on the back porch. My clothes line is just off the porch and we have moved the stainless steel countertop and the propane burner to this backyard area to form a little summer canning kitchen.
 It is very cute and so far I haven’t felt like it is cramped or too small at all, but when I am trapped inside with 2 toddlers and newborn this winter I may feel differently. DH had the foresight to set us into a small clump of trees which gives a lot of protection from the sun (the back porch area is shaded all day!). He milled all of the wood for the interior and exterior siding out of local logs! He calls it “ a rich mans claim shanty”.
Right now I have been doing all the cooking/ baking in either a crockpot or on the campfire. We have just secured a wood burning cookstove for wintertime, but it is too hot to use it right now. I have never hung out laundry before, and so far I am enjoying I immensely. I find that even though basic tasks take longer, I have more time to relax since there is so much less to care for. Life has a very different pace, and I am enjoying it! { Post a Comment } { Last Page } { Page 8 of 24 } { Next Page } |
The bedding and all of the clothing are in the loft. We put memory foam over a down mattress for our bed and it is very comfortable. 
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