Cottage Life

Anonymous

Cottage Life

Anonymous

Just wondering how many of you love the cottaging life? Spring is just around the corner and with the few recent sunny warmer days I've been starting to get the itch to get back to the cottage. Do you call it a camp or a cottage??? How about sharing our cottaging life? Funny stories, best recipies, big fish tales, what to do when the lights go out........and of course our famous outhouse stories if you still have one that is?? Time to get fired up for the trek to the cottage!

wetcoast

goodmorning viv,

here i am at the computer and there you are. I'm thinking doesn't that crazydaisy every sleep? But then here I am as well. I was thinkin if we had a big enough bon fire we could bring spring along a little sooner. We had plus 8 weather today and absolutely gorgeous blue skies compared to your warnings all over the east. Spring isn't coming soon enough for me.

Anonymous

LOL............hahahaha.....I'm a night owl, I guess you are too!! Okay...time for bed! Think I'll stay under the covers in the morn if that storm hits! Get my cottage books out and put on a fire!

Anonymous

bump

abbadoodles

Hi, cottage people. 

I don't have a cottage but have fond memories of going to my aunt's place at "the lake."  (in Rhode Island) The family used to swarm into it on weekends but hardly anyone ever stayed over.  Too small.

Anyway, one of my most special memories was doing belly-flops off the dock and having my great uncle and second cousing "praising" my form.  I was so full of pride.  Little did I know they were teasing me because I didn't know how to dive!  Ah, well, no harm meant and we had loads of fun.

I'd love to hear others' cottage stories.  It's getting to be that time of year.

Tina

Anonymous

Just got my new cottage life magazine and am ready to devour it as I am getting the itch and ready to shake off this winter.

I remember a couple years ago when we first bought our fixer upper cabin on the lake and grandma had to come and inspect it. Now grandma grew up in the north on a farm with no indoor plumbing so her first place of inspection was off course the outdoor LOO. Off she trudges out to the back 40 and ever so slowly opens the door to the loo expecting snakes and other wild things to jump out at her. After having a good look with a somewhat silly look on her face but with the voice of authority from childhood experience she grandly announced that we were the proud owners of a "TWO HOLER"

I have never really figured out why some LOOS have one hole and some have two! What's the benefit in having two?? Is it for those spooky late night runs so we can take someone with to keep us company?? haha....anyway it's nice to be able to choose a side!

sahalie

What a great thread.

I LOVE Cottage Life and anything with cottage in it.

I have a wonderful farm with a cottage on it that I rent out.

There are two homes on the property and while it's a massive amount of work to care for we love taking care of it.

We have ducks, chickens, and assorted doggies.

It is so peaceful there and I love how green everything is now.

In April and May the grass will grow like crazy and the mad mowing begins.  Time for the tractor.

The cottage is very old but we have had more fun fixing it up but keeping the original design and flavor.

No outhouse on the property, so far.  : )

The ceilings are high, the kitchen is tiny, the eating area where the appliances are is huge, creaky floors, tall skinny windows, old time everything. 

We love it.

Viv, thank you for starting this wonderful thread!

XOXO to all our Cottage families

Anonymous

Sahalie........sounds wonderful.......ours is a project in the making....let's us test out our skills where we wouldn't dare try at home........carpenter wannabes....LOL

Our secondary LOO is a composting toilet......eeeewwwww.....I call it " THUNDERJUG"! We try to save her for middle of the night wakeup calls for those who fear the thought of late night prowling creatures and a mad dash to the back 40 with flashlight in hand! HA! What our imaginations draw up when it's dark and your alone out in the bush!!

sccruiser

Oh yes, however we enjoy the cottage life every day. Our cottage may differ from yours, but 18 years ago we bought this "cottage" as our first house. And now we can't bear to think about selling it or thinking about where we would move next. We go and look at places, but we come home and stare up at the huge Redwood trees behind us and all around us. Some are 150 feet high.



We have done a lot of work on our cottage as we have replaced almost all the windows for dual pane (as well as adding bay windows in the front room), removed linoleum and carpet--replaced with hardwood floors, put in new septic system (we do have indoor plumbing--no outdoor LOO for us), added decking, driveway, terraced front yard w/custom shed (no garage), new driveway and cottage garden stone walls, remodeled the kitchen (galley type, so easy to cook in), central heating system, remodeled master bath (with jacuzzi tub, etched glass door and ceramic tile with radiated heat (which the cats live on in the winter), new pump and well with 2 storage tanks (took out the old one), and backyard retaining wall with landscaping.

Even with all this, it still looks like a cottage. All the other houses are two story and rather imposing. Of course we are just one story but away from the others on an acre plus of land. Barely see other houses through the trees. It is quiet and peaceful. The deer travel through the backyard every day, and the racoons come visit us at night. In the summer the town is very hot but we are in a microclimate and our temperature always stays about 15 degrees cooler.



It may sound fancy but it's not. And I can truly say that every night we came home from work was like a mini-escape from the traffic and job; and the weekends were our home away from home expect for the one best thing--we've only had to clean one home all these years!



I just retired and we are going to stay here until dh retires which will be a few years. We raised our daughter here, and there are so many lovely memories in this home. We have tried to maintain the integrity of the "cottage" from the garden to how we decorate with a combination of antiques and contemporary furnishings.And we can't move in the near future, as I still have the north side of the house to landscape. We will be putting in a meditation garden with a small labyrinth. I can't wait to spend every summer day out there.



Thanks for starting this thread. I hope my cottage life fits in with all of yours! It's the best, isn't it?



grace

anneshirley

Sort of an outhouse story.  We were looking at houses in Montrose, Pa.  One of them, very large Victorian had a special feature.  The original owner had a slew of children and was well off in those days.  In the yard there was a very long Victorian building, same design as the house.  It was nine outhouses in a row, sort of the like the modern concept of each bedroom with its own bathroom--only you had to go outside. I wonder if they were ever occupied at the same time!

Our cottage is a house in Maine, close to Canada.  It's huge, but it probably cost less than most cottages in other states.  It has a Mansard roof, was built in 1859, and has lots of charm, but also lots of work.  Ceilings are 12 feet high in some rooms so very hard to heat in winter, or I should say very expensive, particularly with heating oil getting close to $4.00 a gallon.  I'm going back in May and can't wait.  Garden needs lots of work and I'll be asking lots of advice about that when it's closer to summer. No outhouses.

Anonymous

Grace...there's nothing else like it! My favourite time of day is when the sun starts to go down and the lake becomes like glass.....my favorite time to go out for a paddle! Then grabbing a coffee to watch the rest of the sunset and listen to the loons start their calling. Finally before retiring I like to walk to the end of the dock at look at the still moonlit night and up to the heavens with the millions of stars...the longer you look the more there seems to be. There's nothing better for my soul than the peace it brings!

sahalie

Hi again cottage ladies,

Well Viv, I ran to the store and bought the new March Cottage Living.

It has a few pages of catalog homes and the story behind them.

We were told by older relatives that our little cottage is a Sears Roebuck catalog home.  I need to go to the county and check the records. 

Some of your cottages sound so wonderful.

Grace, I would love to come sit in your gardens.

AnneShirley, our ceilings are 12 feet too. 

Our renters love our little cottage and keep it spotless and in such great care which makes me extremely happy.

Viv your "thunderjug" description made me laugh my socks off.

It reminds me of trying to find the outdoor loo as a child at camp.

Scary to say the least.

Our little wonderful cottage is very small.  Two bedrooms, living room, large kitchen with sink and pantry in small room off to the side and one very unique bathroom. 

We did put a very nice large deck on the back and new front steps on the front.

I did have some of the windows replaced because the old original sash windows wouldn't stay open on their own.

Actually we gutted the little gem and without jeopardizing it's unique flair we redid the entire inside with paint, carpet, flooring.

I just love this thread.

anneshirley

Sahalie---I love painted floors.  The floor in the kitchen area that we made into a sitting room is painted, but that was mainly because there was a large area where a wood stove had been and it had a large patch of scorched wood.  Also, it's oak and had been repaired many times, so refinishing it wouldn't have worked. The dining room, which has a relatively new pine floor, needs to be refinished but I'm wondering if maybe we should paint it instead--a lot easier than refinishing.  My husband is going up in April to do the floors and fix some other stuff; he would love not to refinish the floor.  Any thoughts, should we or shouldn't we.  The room is about 22 x 13.   

mke

In Minnesota and Wisconsin they call them cabins.

We used to go up to my husband's grandparents place, no one lived there all the time, but lots of people used it - $1 per night per person to cover the taxes.  It had an outhouse and one year there was this enormous improvement - a heat lamp.  What luxury, especially in winter!!  Sometimes there was a bear out there, but just a little black bear.

Bliz

Around here people have river "camps".  It can be anything from a a mere piece of dirt to tent, travel trailer, permanent trailer or actual structure. 

We are fourth generation "campers".  It saved my soul last year with the bc dx.  I have a teardrop trailer that I sleep in, for the privacy and close proximity to nature. 

Also fired up an old boat so I have freedom to explore on my own.  It made all the difference through dx and treatment. 

When I was a kid we had an old streetcar converted to living quarters and kitchen.  Also had a two holer.  All I could figure is some were okay with sharing the bathroom experience.  

It's almost March and time to think about opening up camp.

sahalie

AnneShirley,

I too love painted floors especially on the old original wood flooring.

I would definitely paint the floor and see how you like it.

If after awhile you don't think it's what you want for your floor then you could always cover it. 

Do you still have the wood stove? 

Brick or slate would be great under and behind the wood stove.

Do you have a design you've created to paint on your floor?

I bet it will be fantastic!

sahalie

It looks like we have all sorts of gems here as "cabins" and "cottages".  Both equally wonderful.

My grandparents had the most wonderful cabin up in the hills from a river.

We loved being there.  Breathing in that wood smell as we would first enter the cabin. 

The huge river rock fire place and assorted furniture finds from wicker to homemade pine pieces.

We loved running through the redwoods and hiking down to the river.

Cabins and cottages.  Both amazing no matter how big or small.

I sure wish we still had that cabin. 

Sierra

Cottages can be so much fun

except for squitters.. mosquitoes..

sometimes

I loves sitting around outside

at one of those old picnice tables with a

plastic cloth on it.. remember those

and the greatest potato salad ever

with hot dogs or hamburgers.. mustard, relish

the whole deal

when I was in New England

we had clams, and..

corn on cob..

it was scrumptious...

the smell of the lake

and waiting a few hrs to go back in swimming

as a child

))

anneshirley

Sahalie, we have two wood stoves, Jotul's that we purchased this year, as the others were all removed.  And we have nine wood-stove hookups, one for every room except the pantry and bathrooms.  Legally we can't use them all, as we have only three chimneys (and one is for the oil).  I'm trying to come up with ways to hide the hookups, which are ugly.  Pictures mainly; fortunately my husband is a painter.  The stoves work very well but because they're small they need frequent feeding, and I forget, and have to start from scratch when they go out--a royal pain.  We found a few very large pieces of slate in the yard and painted them black with stove paint.  They look great. 

My husband is a painter but he doesn't much like doing stuff around the house, so if he paints the floor it will probably be one color.  I'd love something with a design--maybe I can convince him. 

We went away in the summers to Pennsylvania--small rural town, used outhouses, and washed in the Delaware river every morning, and watched the soap bubbles float down the river.  We'd brag to our friends in the City that we had an outhouse.  They were all envious.  Can't imagine using one now though. Life was wonderful back then, wasn't it? 

Anonymous

Anneshirley.......painted floors are great especially with old furniture or wicker. When we first got the cottage we started going to auctions as well to look for some unique old pieces of furniture to add charcter to the place.....sometimes I get overzealous at the auctions and kick myself after for buying to much or stuff I didn't really need and just liked. It's addictive going to those to look for stuff. I've made some really good scoops tho so I'm happy. One of my prizes were a couple of antique chamberpots with lids and all that I got into a bidding war on with someone else wanting them....well I won out! That was one of my first cottage auction buys......I was so excited....and just to be a pest I went home and told my daughter I had bought her something for the cottage.......presented her a pottie......hahaha....should have seen her face!! Priceless! They are handsome display pieces in the bedrooms.....even grandma thought so!

Anonymous

Bliz.....go figure...I still can't figure that either, one weekend when a few of us girls were there we made our last dash to the LOO in the dark all huddled together around the dim light of the lousy flashlight like big chickens. Taking turns one would go in while another would shine a bit of light since there was no light in there. When it was my sisters turn she made some witty remarks about the 2 holer and proceeded to invite the other girl in to use the other hole.....well needless to say we were splitting ourselves with just the stupid thought of it and why the 2 holes?? I think any night animals were scared off by us. One of our projects for this year was going to be building a new luxury LOO, but, we need to get the sauna done first!

anneshirley

Thanks Viv, I like this thread.  How many people here are gardeners?  I'll need lots of advice this spring, as the yard is a mess.  Not sure what flowers are there, so we'll have to wait until spring.  I want an herb garden and peonies, and roses.  Probably sunflowers.  Not sure about the soil; it's in Washington County, Maine just one mile or so from the ocean.  I hear the soil is not good.

sahalie

Hi girls,

Anneshirley, I bet your gardens would be beautiful with native flowers to your area.

You can run and sprinkle seeds.

Herb gardens are wonderful.

I love to garden and am in my yard here at home everyday.

It's like therapy for the head.

When I go to the farm I feel such peace. 

It kind of tells us what needs to be planted or taken out.

I hope that makes sense.  We just planted four more Redwoods.

Go Maine native and you will have a gorgeous garden.

abbadoodles

So, are we talking about not just summer cottages and camps but the cottages we live in full-time?  I can chime in there!

Mine is a Cape Cod "full Cape" which is center entry, two windows both sides.  But, it's been added onto over the past 240 years with an ell and many "warts." 

Yes, it's in the country.  That's why we don't have a country cottage; heck, there are two campgrounds in my town.  People come HERE to come to the country. LOL

Woodstoves:  We used to use a green enamel box Jotul - bought in 1977.  It's been recycled to an outbuilding my dh uses as a workshop.  Now we have an new, dark RED enamel Vt. Castings.  This stove really rocks!  We've gone through over 10 cord of wood so far this season!  Keeps the entire downstairs warm and whatever wafts upstairs is just enough for sleeping. 

Gardens:  mostly dh does them.  I am the rabbit keeper.  Have many angora rabbits and spin their wool.

Tina

anneshirley

Tina, how often do you have to feed your stove?  I'd love to find a stove that would burn about four, maybe five hours, without our having to add more wood.  The small Jotul we have lasts an hour, maybe two, at most.  At the same time, I don't want one that will force us out of the area because it's so hot.  Do you live in New England?

abbadoodles

Anneshirley, yes in N.E. 

How often you have to feed your stove depends upon many things: species of wood, degree of dryness of wood, size of space heated, possible adjustments (to dampers), etc.  Not to mention that, as I've found, starting and keeping a fire going are more art than science.

Softer woods, like ash, burn faster than maple, which burns faster than oak.  That's just for starters.

Your wood must be properly seasoned, as you probably know.  For ash, you may be able to get away with a few months, if split.  Oak needs one to two years.  Firewood that isn't dry enough will tend to smolder rather than burn.

With our Vt. Castings Encore, to keep a large area warm enough I feed the stove every couple of hours when it is very cold outside.  That is with the secondary damper closed quite a bit and the main damper closed.  So, there is not a lot of draw.  If I wanted a bigger fire, as when it is colder than a witch's you-know-what, I would play with opening the dampers more.  You probably know the drill already.

That being said, at night dh generally gets up after about four hours and feeds the stove.  In our situation, that keeps the central heat from going on.  We set the thermostat at 58.

If we had a smaller space to heat, we wouldn't have to feed the stove so often.  Oh, almost forgot.  In order to move the heat away from the stove and into the rest of the room and towards the thermostat, we use a small Vornado fan on low or medium.  On low you cannot even hear the thing.  Wonderful product for about $39.00.  We have I think five of them to use during the summertime.

So, that's it for starters.  Any other questions and I'll be glad to answer but maybe others here don't care much about the mechanics of heating with wood.  You can PM me anytime.  Glad to talk.

Tina

sahalie

Hi cottage and cabin ladies,

Guess where I've been all day?

I am so relaxed and didn't even need a nap.

The weather is gorgeous but just a little windy where the farm is as we are about 12 miles from the coast.

Wood stoves are banned here in the area of California where I live.

Wood to buy here is prohibitive. 

Tina,

Yes we are talking about cottages we live in or own. 

Also cabins families go to for R&R.  Both are so very special.

Your "cape cod" sounds wonderful.

anneshirley

Sahalie--sounds like you had a lovely day.  I envy you.  I'm stuck in the city until May but can't wait to get out into the fresh air.  We love to take drives to the fishing villages near us, and watch the lobster boats come and go, and buy from the day's catch.  It probably makes sense to ban wood stoves for the environment, but in Maine wood is inexpensive and the price of oil is outrageous, and the winters are so cold.

Tina--Wow, ten cord!  Shows me how little we know.  We thought we'd get away with four or five when we planned to stay the winter.  Your stove sounds awesome but it's probably too large for our spaces.  Thanks for the tip about the fan; we'll buy one (or two) when we return.  Even in the spring and summer we need to heat the house on the chilly days, and there are lots of those.

sccruiser

Well, we left the cottage today and took a 6.5 mile walk on West Cliff. Big expensive houses on one side, and the cliffs, beaches and ocean on the other. it was warm and sunny. We've been feeling a need for the sun since we don't get direct sun on the house until April.



Lovely 75 degrees and lots of visitors here from over the hill (San Jose CA) area. Lots of families, bicycles, dogs and surfers. We only live 15 minutes from this little jewel. Our dogs love to smell the iceplant all they way along the path. I can only imagine what those smells mean to them, as I can't smell a thing. I suppose they have an idea of all the other dogs who had been there before them.



It was a lovely day, but tomorrow we must get the garden pruning done and into the composter. Ahhh, we will enjoy the smell of the earth and the redwoods tomorrow!



grace

ps: no nap for us today either, and I am off to bed--very sleepy.

Anonymous

Hello all my fellow cottage/cabin lovers.

Upon reading your woodstove talk it brought back the memory of the woodstove our cabin contained when we bought it. It was a home made job and looked similar to a locomotive engine, was huge for the space and no treat to look at. Needless to say the insurance company said to pitch it! Well it was quite a stuggle dismanteling that sucker, putting it on it's side and having to roll her out the door, I thought it was going to go thru the steps! It now sits out at the edge of the lot and makes a perfect burning barrel for waste! Since then we opted for those cute new electric fireplaces which heat the area nicley(we close in nov. and open in may) and serve the purpose for now, also no worries about the young ones burning the place down if they are there alone! We have also decided to go with an electric sauna heater for same reason......saftey, altho I love a wood fired one more!

Grace.......I'm so envious you have 75 degrees weather!! I guess I was just born in the wrong hemisphere! Can't wait to get out there and niether can my dogs!