We have been living in the cabin on and off throughout the winter, depending how far below 0°F the temperature dipped. It took a little bit of time to get into the swing of things, but now we have a good system down. A fire is still needed most nights and we fall asleep to the sound of peepers.

There wasn’t much to work on during the harshest parts of the winter. I have noticed since returning from our trip, it is difficult for me to just sit around and be idle for long, but the long and very cold weather has zapped a lot of our motivation. With spring finally here, I feel the need to be constantly doing something. Before, that would be cycling, writing the next blog post or exploring a new place. So, in order to have another project, I have begun putting up the interior walls.

Camelot

We were originally going to put up some free wood from Chandler’s uncle, but upon further inspection, the wood might have mold in it. Not wanting to take a chance, our next cheapest option was spruce and hemlock shiplap. Jeanne and I took a field trip to the lumberyard and discovered it would fit our needs perfectly.

The shiplap went up quickly around the door. I had no problem lining the boards up straight and made good time. When I moved onto the next wall, things went downhill. I was using longer boards and things weren’t lining up so nicely. The boards are slightly bowed in different ways and I found myself halfway through and very unhappy with the results. I ended up taking down half the wall and starting over.

Shiplap wall

Stove and finished wall

Once I convinced Chandler and Tayler to help, it was smooth sailing. The second wall was done in a day. The next wall has a stove pipe running through it and needs to be disassembled. We got about three inches of snow last week, so the stove is still being used. Whenever summer arrives, we’ll get the interior done.