Guess where we went this weekend! And guess who forgot to take pictures again! This old one will have to do. Other than being leveled and having the blocks removed from the yard, it looks the same.

You don’t know how much I daydream over this place. Far more than the actual house we’ll be building on the same acreage in another couple of years. The man wonders about my sanity whenever he realizes I seem more excited about the cabin than the house, but the house intimidates me. Last time I was around for the actual building of a house, my job involved screaming, “Mommy! Scorpion! Kill it-Kill it-Kill it!!!!”

But the cabin I can handle. The minute we saw it, I knew where everything would go, how I wanted it finished, and how I intended to use it–at least for the short term. MSB’s brother and grandson are helping us finish it out. This weekend the man and I went through and showed BIL where all the plugs, lights, and light switches would go. The two men, who know all things “construction,” argued with me about where I wanted the door to the bathroom. But the two men, who understand reason when they hear it, agreed with me when they heard my explanation.

Same with the way I wanted to set up the kitchen. The men figured I’d want the sink at the window. They thought I’d arrange the appliances to maximize my view of the great outdoors while I cooked, but no. I wanted to maximize my view of the great outdoors while I had my coffee. Since there’s no window on the other side, we’d be sitting at the breakfast table staring at the wall if I had let the guys have their way. Funny thing–I’d mentioned to MSB long ago, when we first found this cabin, that I would like a window opposite the one in front, and he disagreed with me. The guys, bless them, were so adamant about putting the sink under a window that BIL is going to put one in for me. Gotta love that guy. It won’t face much of anything but grass and the power plant a couple of miles away, but that power plant is uber-cool at night. Lit up like Christmas all year long.

I had a hard time visualizing how everything would work in the bedroom, despite the graph and careful measurements. When I look at the graph, then look at “reality,” the two don’t mesh for some reason. So, this time, I took an old quilt to lay on the floor where the bed would go and am happy to report that everything is going to fit just as I’d hoped.

BIL did mention something I hadn’t thought of–closet space. I’m amazed I haven’t been drummed out of the Sisterhood for not thinking of that myself. There won’t be much space for hanging clothes, but I don’t think that’ll be a serious problem, since we’ll only be actually living there for a few months while the house is being built. Meanwhile, it’ll be used as a weekend retreat, so it’ll be fine.

I’ve had such a blast shopping for it. Since it is just a cabin, I’ve been looking at small things: a cute little stove, sink, and fridge. We picked out a 19 gallon water heater, not my idea of fun. I’m still campaigning for the 30 gallon one. We found a terrific small-space shower stall and the cutest bathroom vanity. When you consider how everyone tends to be moving toward huge bathrooms–en suites–with a garden tub and separate shower and double sinks, this little thing is going to seem the height of “roughing it.” But our four foot by ten foot bathroom space is perfect, enough room for all the essentials plus a tiny closet space.

We’ll be insulating and paneling the place soon. It’ll be wired by the time we do, and we’ll be able to hook the generator to a central location that’ll run the whole cabin when everything is in. We have to go slow, as the money comes in, so the pole for the electricity won’t be erected for another couple of years. We hope to put the well in next year, so this year, we’ll be innovative with our bathroom needs. The actual kitchen appliances won’t go in for quite some time, but we’ll have generated electricity, so I can rely on my slow cooker,  single electric burner, wok, fondue pan–even a small microwave–for cooking if I need to. And a coffee maker. This is me we’re talking about. There must be a coffee maker of some sorts.

I picked out the material for the curtains. Now I just need to pretend I can sew well enough to make them. And if I botch up the job entirely, I can buy ready-made and hang them instead.

So much more daydreaming to do! Switch and plug plates, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures. I’m shopping for new and unusual–but inexpensive. The guys think I’m getting carried away, but this is practice for the real thing. Next home construction I’m involved with, I want to do more than scream at scorpions.