Decorating the cabin with history

I love history - especially learning about the early pioneer times. Our log cabin is located in an area which was once a lumbering town in the late 1800's. History of our town reveals there were draft horses pulling stacked logs, log cabins dotting the area and one-room school houses. I went to our local museum this past summer and had them scan some historical photos for me that I could frame and put in our log cabin. I'm going to group them into 2 areas in our home.

Greg hung this first group of photos in our hallway. I just love having this piece of history in our home. My favorite is the horses with the logs. (You can click on the photo to see a larger image.)

Another day in the log cabin kitchen

What does this red squirrel have to do with this post? Well nothing really, except I thought he was cute and as I was watching him eat all the suet cakes meant for my birds, I decided I needed a little treat myself from the log cabin kitchen!
















Please have a seat. Pretty soon those pumpkins will be gone and it will be time to get the log cabin decorated for Christmas! Also, I'm starting to crave cranberry pecan bread that comes out from my favorite deli this time of year. Stay tuned, I'm going to have a giveaway of that special bread!







I found the log cabin Christmas serving ware at Kohls! Perfect for my abode! Now they need some cookies - something easy and quick to make.









Have you tried this Nutella stuff? Hazelnut spread with milk and cocoa....yum! Well let's spread this on some soft ginger cookies. (Repeat SOFT ginger cookies - not those spicy ginger snaps that I don't care for.)
















I have a confession. I was too lazy to make homemade soft ginger cookies, so I made them out of box. (Really, I do know how to cook...) Well take 2 cookies, and spread the nutella on one - then stick them together.









I like the combination of the ginger, hazelnut and cocoa. Plus I like the fact that I was munching on cookies less than 30 minutes after the craving set in! And really....I will have more sophisticated recipes coming up in the future.....

It's here!

My sign has arrived for our log cabin! I can't say enough how happy I am with it - thank you Matthew! The Loons' Nest has now been officially established. I can't wait to get it up north this weekend to hang it. What do you think?

Guests at the Log Cabin - Part III

I have to say one of the best parts about having this log cabin is all the friends that want to come visit us! A log cabin on a lake is certainly more enticing than my suburban home downstate. I love showing them around my town. My friend Kim and her boyfriend Mike came to visit us for a couple days - and I think Kim is competing for best guest of the year. She brought enough food to feed Greg and I for the next several months! (Either that or maybe she wants to move in.......she did have a lot of luggage with her...hmmmm.....just kidding Kim!)


I'm constantly looking for new items to add to my guest room to make it more cozy and inviting! I think warm blankets and decorative touches help.














I had this little gift box filled with goodies for my friends when they arrived. I think they liked it!











I was happy we were able to take our friends to one of our favorite places - Hartwick Pines State Park. It's nice when your friends enjoy the outdoors as much as you do.

A snowy day is good for reading!

I think a snowy day at the log cabin is reason enough to cozy up with a good book! Maybe it's age, but I now tend to gravitate toward non-fiction books, usually stories involving involving nature, wildlife, survival and travel as well as every log home book I can get my hands on. A while back I had asked everyone for some book recommendations that would be good to read at the cabin - I've been slowly knocking down the list. I think Jessica at Five Pines had recommended the "Indian Creek Chronicles" to me. I loved that book - it was a funny but warm story about a 19 year old college student working at the dept. of Fish & Game.
Have you come across any new books that you've read recently and would recommend?




This is our lake. Our cabin is off in the distance.



>







I just finished a new book that came out based upon the journals of Dick Proenneke - "More Readings from One Man's Wilderness." I put the link for this on the sidebar. Excellent book if you like stories about self sufficiency, simple life and the great outdoors of Alaska. Now I'm picking up Walden (again!) by Thoreau.

Also, it's nice to grab a warm, purring cat to read with. I think he likes when I read to him...












But I bet Marvin is still thinking about that feathered owl I took away from him!

First Snow at the Log Cabin!

I woke up to our first snow at our log cabin! It was so beautiful with the snow flakes dusting down. The birds were all a flutter around our feeders - Juncos, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Finches, Woodpeckers and more. This is what I've always envisioned - have a cozy log cabin in the snow covered woods! Time for some hot chocolate and Christmas music! (I am allowed to play Christmas music right now...right?)