On the Map!

We didn't have a street sign so we applied with the county 911 and they ordered and put one up for us.  Tom added our house number so now if there is an emergency, 911 responders can easily locate us.

This has been our first full week staying at the cabin.  We've had long weekends, but no full week.  It has been nice to relax and enjoy the time and each other. 

We met with the cabin's original builder, David Hodgson and have contracted with him to build an oversized, detatched, one-car garage beside the cabin.  We selected our garage door, windows, exterior door and applied for the building permit.  Once David gets the approval from the county, he'll start building.  We're excited to have some outside storage.

We've had rain almost everyday, however, just short showers mainly in the evenings.  Awoke to a rainy morning, but it appears to be clearing off.  I have some bulbs to plant and some bushes to trim so I hope it dries off a little.







McDonalds in West Jefferson had the most beautiful tulip beds I've seen this year.  I just had to stop and capture a few photos.

First Snow

It started snowing late last night and the wind howled.  The forecasters were calling for up to 60 mph winds.  It's still quite windy this morning.  Not exactly sure how much snow we got because of the wind - maybe 1/2 inch, but it's enough to make most of the ground white.  It's 17 degrees and the snow still appears to be coming down but the way the wind is blowing, it's hard to tell. 

The gas logs are working great and the HVAC was professionally serviced yesterday so we should be toasty warm.  It's not to get above freezing until Sunday so the white stuff may be around for a few days.

December

We had a nice Thanksgiving at the cabin with my mother visiting us.  Finally got some artwork on the walls.  The Christmas Tree Harvest is a lithograph by Lenore Dupree, an artist in West Jefferson (http://lenoredepree.com/), the fall Christmas Tree farm is by Virgina Wright-Frierson an artist from Wilmington (http://vmw-f.com/), the bear print was a personalized print given to us by David and Jeanette Hagwood.  The quilt from the Bob Timberlake collection had hung on the wall in our first house.  It was packed away and I decided the cabin was the perfect new home for it.  I think it looks pretty good hanging from the upstairs landing.

The fireplace has been a MAJOR project.  We had the gas log insert replaced with a sealed unit.  It required an outside exhaust so a vent cap was added to the chimney.  The new insert was a little smaller than the old so we had to rework the stone surround.  After two days of work, our marriage was still intact.  As you can see, not bad for two amateurs!  

This has been a weekend to just relax.  The morning sunrise reflecting on the mountains and sky in the west was just beautiful this morning.

We're looking forward to getting back in January for almost a full week and hopefully we'll see some snow.

Live View

Tom set up a web cam this weekend.  Sorry some of the detail is lost through the screen, but you can still see that today is a really pretty day.

http://184.0.15.35:1025/
Click on "View Video" to see the live view.

Birthday Dinner

Tom took me to dinner at J&J Chophouse in Jefferson.  The food was delicious.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JJ-Chophouse/220184997997863?sk=app_117784394919914

Frosty Morning

Woke up to 27 degrees F and frost on Tom's truck.  B-r-r-r-r

Tom spent a large part of yesterday stripping and refinishing the front and back doors.  The wood was very weathered and needed protected.  I chose the stain color and Tom did the work :)

I spent most of the day yesterday in the kitchen cleaning out and organizing cabinets and drawers.  It was fun to unpack items I had purchased for the past several years and finally get to use them in our cabin.  I was excited to unpack the mugs we'd bought in Seagrove and the bear pillow from the NC Museum of Natural Science. 

When Tom finishes installing a new phone line for the fax, we'll go in to West Jefferson for the rest of the day.  I want to visit the Farmer's Market and a used bookstore downtown - maybe grab some lunch.

Sunday Morning

What a beautiful morning!  The sun is shining, reflecting off the orange and yellow leaves and the sky is a clear blue.  A little too cool to sit on the front porch, but the view from the dining room table is just as amazing.  As I read my Bible and the Fingerprints of God study group lesson for today, the words of the Psalmist come to mind, "When I consider your heaven and the work of your fingers,... what is man that you are mindful of him?"  The beauty surrounding our little cabin is just a small touch of what God created for us and he says that we are are ruler over it all... stewards to care for it and value it.  Tom and I are very thankful for the blessing God has given us and for the gift of this special place.