Cabin Fever

If it's this time of the year, it means the opening of Lakeview Cottages is just around the corner. Which means that getting all the cottages ready for our rental guests is a lot of work for our owner group. I mean, these cabins were were built in 1914 to 1917 for the workers building the dam at Huntington Lake. And when you see the sign that says "modern cabins," it really means that somewhere in the 1940s, plumbing was added. Hey, I am NOT complaining about any kind of plumbing that brings me hot water for my shower and a toilet that works. Even if my shower is made of galvanized tin with a cement floor.

Here we go with some of the best things of Lakeview Cottages.

The view. We are 50 yards from the water. So this is the view I had all weekend from my front deck.

Cabin G. Okay, I'm a bit prejudiced in this regard, shower and all. Although as an owner group we own shares in all of Lakeview Cottages, when we are here on working weekends and in the off season, Cabin G "belongs" to Mark and me. And we've become really attached to it. Since we want to keep the rustic feel of the beautiful knotty pine walls, most of us are adding little things to "our" cabin that will make it feel more homey when we are there, and will enhance our guests' stay throughout the summer, like more shelving and lots of hooks for hanging things.

I love my happy little bear on the end of a chain that turns on the light in the front bedroom (sorry for the blurry picture--he wouldn't stop swinging).

Our cozy kitchen. Okay, so we have a full-sized refrigerator, and we do bring up a microwave...we also cook on what basically amounts to a three-burner camp stove. With more galvanized tin for safety...

Oh, and this is the view out of our kitchen window, Cabin F. Nice.

The denim quilt that covers our bed. I made this for Aaron, thinking he would take it to college with him. It was too big, too heavy, whatever. So now it's on the bed in Cabin G whenever we are staying there.

See this big round log? My friends, Maggie and Sue, actually rolled it uphill from the waterfront where our boats are docked, all the way up the terraced steps, to the road, where Mark and Maggie's husband, Mike, took pity on them (after questioning what they were doing??), loaded it in the back of the pickup and drove it to Cabin G. For some reason, this old smooth and weathered log just makes me happy.When the Forest Service mandated that we cut down some trees, they were turned into benches, so now each cabin has one by the firepit, and this one is ours.

And a few things that are changing at Cabin G.

The skirting around the outside front of the cabin was looking pretty trashed. So it got ripped off, and in the process of putting new skirting up, our cabin was leveled. Turns out, one of the front corners was being held up by this boulder. Yikes!

Which is now part of the new landscaping...

Although perhaps there needs to be some more thought given as to location...

Cabin G seems pretty happy with her new skirting, which has now been painted brown.

And the shower. We keep this thing scrubbed and cleaned. But honestly, as far as the ick factor--these pictures really don't do it justice.
but when we left on Monday, this is what it looked like. Out with the old and....

....well, all I can say is stay tuned!

And the best part of Lakeview Cottages--sitting out in the sun with friends.