Going "Up North"

As I am getting ready to go "Up North" tomorrow to check on our cabin, I am reminded of a poem I discovered at a little shop in Gaylord. It perfectly describes the feeling I get when I'm in Northern Michigan.

Up North

It's the place people go to escape...
A place made of cabins, pine trees
and lakes.
But, no matter how far you drive...
There's no sign to say, "you've arrived,"
So, just follow your heart til you find...
your special place that brings peace of mind.
As you breathe in the air and unwind...
Your cares are all left behind.
It's no mystery where the "northwoods" start
When you're "Up North" you'll know...
in your heart.

-Suzanne Kindler 1996

Log Cabin Themes

When I look through all these log cabin books and magazines, everyone seems to have a theme for their log cabin. The theme helps determine how you will decorate your place. There's themes such as a southwest flair, a ski lodge (I saw one place that had the criss crossed skis above their main entrance), country, rustic, some combine the rustic with traditional, etc. Others involve their interests or collections. I saw one log cabin that had bird houses and bird prints incorporated throughout their rooms. I'm not sure what my theme is yet - but I did decide what it would be for the bathrooms. I love wildlife so one bathroom will be a moose theme and the other will be a loon theme. Maybe nature and wildlife is my theme?!

Cabin Expectations

I was full of excitement as we made the 3 hour drive up north. (If my husband had let me drive, I swear I would've made it in 2 1/2 hours!) Every time we open the door to our cabin, I'm always happy to see the new thing that the crew has completed and how the cabin is coming together. This time didn't disappoint. The extra stain coats had finished being applied to the interior and the logs looked beautiful and golden. They also used the extra logs we had left over and built a half log interior wall in the basement. We hope to finish it in the near future. Other items completed included the hanging of the antler chandelier and the carpet being installed in the bedrooms. I think I went too light on the carpet and will now be annoyingly asking all guests to remove their shoes before they go in there. The hubby and I wimped out and bought a bed to sleep in the cabin this weekend. (Hopefully the Gaylord building inspector isn't reading this as we don't have our Certificate of Occupancy yet....). Since we have no curtains or blinds up, it was great to lay back at night and see all the stars through the windows.

(More cabin updates & pics tomorrow!)

Cabin Progress

From the pictures, you can see the log cabin is coming along. All the doors and windows have been framed. This past week the crew completed the sanding, staining and clear coat on the interior. Tomorrow the kitchen counter top may be installed if it's delivered on time. We went with a black laminate top to match our future black appliances. Granite won't be in my budget for another year. I'm hoping the carpet guys show up on Saturday to complete the bedrooms. We purchased it from a local business around the corner. I was glad to get the carpet from them because 1. They were nice, 2. The price was reasonable and 3. They had a great dog (a vizsla)I was playing with in their warehouse while I was selecting the carpet. So in all actuality, it was probably the dog that sold me the carpet! We are driving up north tomorrow (pending the big snowstorm they are predicting) and will be sleeping on the floor of our cabin in sleeping bags. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend.

Lighting Up The Cabin

I didn't realize how expensive the lighting would be to decorate the cabin. With a log cabin, you can't just get ordinary lighting. I felt I needed a selection of wood, animal theme, rustic metals and antler type lighting to obtain the woodsy feel. My builder was rightfully pushing me to get the rest of my lights this week so the elusive electrician would appear and finish the job. (I didn't have enough lights there previously to create a sense of urgency.) I ended up buying lights from four different sources -Lowes, Home Depot, a local Gaylord store and Black Forest Decor (online store). Interestingly enough, the Lowes & Home Depot in Northern Michigan carried a good selection of rustic lighting, things I have never seen downstate. I purchased the moose light pictured here from Lowes to hang over the stairway. I also purchased a moose vanity light for the bathroom for only $79. (I do have a thing for moose!) This was a great deal compared to the other vanity lights I saw online between $300 - $600. At Black Forest Decor, our antler chandelier was on sale for $294. But I did make a mistake in not ordering enough chain to hang it from our high ceiling so I put in another order today.

Alone in the Wilderness

If you are searching for a great and inspiring log cabin documentary, then I highly recommend "Alone in the Wilderness" the story of Dick Proenneke. Dick was 50 years old when in 1967, he set off to Alaska to build his own log cabin. It is amazing to watch him prepare the logs, fashion door latches and kitchen tools out of wood and live off the land. I especially enjoyed his footage of the moose, bear and other animals he encountered.

"To live in a pristine land unchanged by man...
to roam a wilderness through which few other humans have passed...
to choose an idyllic site, cut trees and build a log cabin...
to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available...
to be not at odds with the world, but content with one's own thoughts and company...
Thousands have had such dreams, but Dick Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin, and stayed to become part of the country." -Sam Keith

Here's the link to the video: http://www.dickproenneke.com/DickProenneke.html

Staining and cabin progress

Well....the hubby encountered a little problem while we were trying to stain the bedrooms. First the logs are first lightly sanded, second - the stain is applied and then you use the clear coat. When he was using the clear coat - it was bubbling and looking like glue in the cracks of the logs. (It's inevitable with logs that you get "checking" which is small to medium cracks in the log.)So we stopped and we're going to contact the stain company tomorrow. I don't know if it was from being too cold or being shook up as we drove the 3 hours up north.

On a positive note, the maple flooring was installed and looks beautiful. Also, the builder selected nice 6 panel doors that look perfect in the cabin. Even the electrician made a little progress (2 switch plates and my wall sconce being installed.) I'm hoping he makes an appearance on Monday to make significant progress. I am especially looking forward to seeing how our antler chandelier will look in our dining room once it's hung. I think it's a rule that if you own a log cabin that you must have an antler chandelier as well as a deer head.