The things we take for granted in “civilized” life!
Winter has finally returned to Michigan’s far-north. Snow is falling steadily as I write this, now measuring five inches with more to come and temps falling to 10 degrees. But the real headline here is something indoors at Camp Many Moons…something most of you take for granted, which hasn’t existed here until now. A washing machine!
I’ve been spending half the year here for several years and have managed to live without them all this time. Nope, no laundromats for me. We’ve been washing in buckets and hanging on clotheslines. It feels like a luxury to throw sheets into a machine! Another big milestone.
Since my last post, we’ve also finished painting walls (whew), prepared the porch ceiling for installation, and received a visit from some Great Loop boating friends. The story below…
Ah, modern conveniences. They fit perfectly in our small mechanical room, The thing about living “rough”…you really appreciate the conveniences when you get them. I was thrilled to receive these for free from our new neighbor, who found them too large for his small cabin.
We met Bob and Dianne from SoulMate near Chicago in Sept. 2021 as we prepared to enter the inland river system in our boats. We last saw them in the Florida panhandle in late 2021. More than two years later, we enjoyed this reunion at our unfinished house on Huron Bay as they stopped in during a road trip. You really do make lifelong friends on The Great Loop. (I gave a presentation about it last night in a nearby town; that brief is posted here.)
For a week or more, Huron Bay was ice-clear. (Not today, though–this picture was several days ago.) That brought Trumpeter Swans close to our shore. We’ve been hearing them, but what a joy to see these 25-pound birds close-up, as they generally stay near the head of the bay.
The swans stick their long necks underwater to feed on the grasses in the sea bed.
As winter descended again, we were glad for the in-floor heat as we brought these sheets of engineered wood in from the patio, where they’ve been resting on sawhorses for months, in order to paint them this dark brown. I chose the color to match the house trim and it’s always a relief to see that the color works in actual use.
Those brown sheets will soon cover the ceiling of the 72-foot porch. (Jeff used the snowmobile to drive from his cabin to the house this day because his truck was busy delivering water to his cabin. He fills a mobile water tank at my well here and then hauls the tank on a trailer to his cabin to fill his underground tank. Yes, he really does haul his own water. That’s “off-the-grid!”)
Indoor painting has been a lot more difficult than painting an outdoor ceiling. A few posts ago, I admitted to a screw-up in the main bathroom, which was the first room we painted. We re-did it all, in a better paint and less startling color. This is called “Reclining Green,” which is more muted than the former Eucalyptus. I plan to recline in the bathtub while admiring the color! Though I may cover much of it with a nature wall mural. We’ll see.
The bedroom was the last to get painted — in two shades, as in all the major rooms. Here, I vacillated between greens and blues and ended up in blues with green undertones. Moody Blue on left, Quietude on right. An appropriate combination, don’t you think? 😉 ) I did a count, and realized that I bought and “tried on” 13 paint samples —one-quart containers costing $10 each — in various shades of brown, green and blue before finally settling on two of each. It was tiring but necessary. You have to see a color on the wall, in various types of light, before you can tell if it will work. But when it came to repainting the bathroom, I just picked one!
People ask me why I’m not living in this house yet. Here’s why. Still very unfinished–and dusty! This is the loft. I have been sweeping and vacuuming, but drywall work leaves such a mess. (Not to mention, I have no sink yet…much less a kitchen. And we have only two outlets working.)Roscoe has been “acting old” lately – because he is — but this morning he looked through the door of Jeff’s tiny cabin (which is where we are both staying) as if to say, “Let’s go already!”
And so we did. Look at him, acting like a puppy. It’s so hard to watch a pet age and so wonderful to see them like this again. I think one reason he was “blah” yesterday is because of our long walk in the woods … longer than I intended, because I lost one of my yak-tracks (the studded things you slip over your boots when it’s slippery). I retraced our steps in the snowy woods, twice, until I found it half-buried. I’m glad that we now have snow covering the ice.
It snowed so heavily yesterday, it was like looking through a curtain. Dry, fluffy snow is one thing that pulls me here in the winter. It was a long wait this year.
The view from the road toward the bay this morning. The snow is still shallow, but it’ll deepen with time. (I hope.) You can just see the frozen bay on the other side of the porch.
The view through the patio door this morning. I often bring Roscoe down here from Jeff’s cabin so he can be near us. Now that we have snow, I’m going to put his harness on him and my snowshoes on me and head into the woods. Once the bay is fully-frozen, I’ll go out there with him on skis. It hasn’t gone well in the past. 😉 I’m trying to trigger his pulling instinct when I’m on skis but he’s understandably confused, since I fight against that same instinct when I’m on foot!
Meanwhile, I continue to support Finnish-themed events in my hometown as able. Next up, Sauna Week! It will be fun. I’ll post some pics. (You wonder if we plan to put a sauna on the waterfront. I don’t know yet. I grew up with a sauna so it’s not exotic…and I hate being hot. 😉 )
Wow!!! So much progress! It’s thrilling to see the colors, remembering how the process of choosing began quite a while ago. I would love to have all that snow to play in – as long as I didn’t have to drive! I bet your talk was well received – did your friends visiting attend?
love, t
Thanks! My visiting friends did not attend since it was a local women’s club. It was a great audience and very fun. I made some new friends which is good!
Wow, Mary! Things are really moving along on your cabin. I love the wall colors. It does take time to get just what you want. Glad you and Jeff were able to spend time with your Loop friends, that you are finally enjoy more snow with Roscoe and ended up with a free washer/dryer. Those small pleasures!
I’m sure your presentation went well too!
Hugs,
Lyn
Yes, those conveniences remind me why I’m doing this… so that I never take life for granted! Or friendships either. Thank you for yours. (And the talk did go great. I’m so out of my element while building, so it felt good to do something I know how to do — and that give something to others.)
For Many Moons 
Wow!!! So much progress! It’s thrilling to see the colors, remembering how the process of choosing began quite a while ago. I would love to have all that snow to play in – as long as I didn’t have to drive! I bet your talk was well received – did your friends visiting attend?
love, t
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Thanks! My visiting friends did not attend since it was a local women’s club. It was a great audience and very fun. I made some new friends which is good!
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Wow, Mary! Things are really moving along on your cabin. I love the wall colors. It does take time to get just what you want. Glad you and Jeff were able to spend time with your Loop friends, that you are finally enjoy more snow with Roscoe and ended up with a free washer/dryer. Those small pleasures!
I’m sure your presentation went well too!
Hugs,
Lyn
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Yes, those conveniences remind me why I’m doing this… so that I never take life for granted! Or friendships either. Thank you for yours. (And the talk did go great. I’m so out of my element while building, so it felt good to do something I know how to do — and that give something to others.)
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