family | Song Dog Journal

Now that we’re getting settled in to our new home, now that we’ve gotten the log cabin organized and looking like a home, Sarah and I have been able to spend some time in the Miner’s Cabin getting it ready for residents. The beautiful old shack has been used as a storage cabin for the past fifteen or more years, and my goal is to get it back to roughly how I remember it being, back when I was little. Add a little pure imagination, some historical instinct, and I’m hoping it will be a lively, beautiful little place.

When Dad was in his early twenties and working on the Burlington-Northern Railroad, he lived in this old shack, and even through the winter–So rest your minds, it is livable. In spite of there being no plumbing. It needs new wiring and the wood burning stove needs maintenance, but the roof is new and the structure itself is surprisingly weather-tight.

My project this afternoon was to get my sewing cabinet set up. The cabin has three rooms–A living room, a bedroom, and a lean-to. The lean-to is where I am hoping my sewing things will get to live. Although it is a little hard to see in the picture, there is a glass-front cabinet against the wall to the left. About two weeks ago, Mom, Sarah and I boxed up all the old jars (you’d be amazed how many there were!), and separated the keepers from the pitchers–Or, rather, the ones useful for canning from the ones we probably wouldn’t want to use for canning. Of the ones we wouldn’t use, I confiscated some and now can use them for sewing organization! With all the extra jars cleared out or put to use, and with the interior dusted and wiped down with oil soap, it works nicely as storage space for sewing notions.

The shelves are the perfect depth for my overlock thread, as well as my normal sewing machine thread. There is an old spice rack and a curio shelf that I’m hoping to put to use for sewing supplies as well. Jars and baskets help organize buttons, sewing needles, machine needles, thread, sewing tools, and ribbon and trim. I’m looking forward to getting my sewing table set up, a gift from a dear woman back in Champaign for whom I did quite a bit of sewing work, and being able to sew away out here!

Such a cozy little cabin–A cozy cabin needs people to live in it.

When a family of six moves from a four-bedroom, 2100-square-foot home to a two-bedroom, 800-square-foot home, some serious downsizing must occur. For months leading up to moving, our packing was as much figuring out what not to take as it was figuring out how to pack what to take. It turns out it really is possible to live a) out of boxes, b) with most of your books packed away, and c) with significantly fewer things. I have come to not really like things. Yes, I have my selection of special things, but so often, things are just a cheap way to spend hard earned money.

With two (small) bedrooms and six people, there was already a math problem. We’re planning on utilizing the Miner’s Cabin across the driveway, as soon as it is cleaned out, and currently one of the six is still in Illinois. One of the bedrooms is being used as an office, which leaves…well, one bedroom, and a very spacious loft.

So Sarah, Anna, and I have turned the loft into a surprisingly workable bedroom and living room. It still needs a little work, but with the beds tucked away under the eaves (we learned quickly to instinctively duck when walking around the loft), the whole middle of the room is open and airy.

An old double bed that was apparently built into the loft (it isn’t coming out without the help of a chainsaw) was turned into a day bed, and we’ve already used it for some cozy girls’ movie nights. Our clothes are still in boxes in the one remaining corner, and concealed behind an accordion screen. We had plenty of book-sized packing boxes which Anna and I turned sideways and stacked to use as makeshift bookcases, since it isn’t standard to make ones to fit under the eaves. Some people might not like the idea of sleeping with the mattress on the floor, but all of us have found it surprisingly pleasant. Our corners are cozy and quite personalized. And there is really nothing more pleasant than falling asleep to the sound of rain pattering on the tin roof, just a foot or two away.