I’m going for Peter Cundall. Burke has always annoyed me to a degree, and I am a fan of Pete. If those two are at loggerheads over the logs, I’m with the blooming marvellous man.

When we first moved into this – er -cabin on December 31 2007 (Monte’s 21+10th birthday), it was a pretty sorry site. Now, although no McMansion (which I actually despise), to be sure, this little cabin, with the help of the trusty caravan, helps us to maintain a level of comfort and warmth whilst we prepare to build the actual house.

Speaking of speedily, cheaply built dwellings, our little cabin will one day serve as a guest house. We’ll call it “Fangorn Cabin” and there will be enough beds to sleep about 4 people. It’ll be nice to have people to stay. Also, it will serve as a studio, where MG or I can escape from the house to have some quiet time to pursue things like crafts, preserving foods or working. Already places at Fangorn Cottage are filling up (seriously), so if you have a date that you would like to visit and stay, let us know. We’re thinking we’ll be out by late next year, but we’re hoping that we’ll be out (and in the new – slightly unfinished – house) by next winter. [Add on the extra decade it takes to finish a building project, and make a date to stay with us at Fangorn!] ;)

My good old husband has done a lot of work in this little space we call home. He put windows in the bathroom and in the room that is now the playroom. He laid insulation and floor boards (yay Ikea) over the entire cabin – bar the bathroom. He installed a kitchen sink and lined the walls of the playroom with pretty blue insulation, with silver stripes (tape) for a bit of effect for the children. Good old Monte has finally put all the power onto batteries, apart from the washing machine. We are now on solar and wind power. We have diesel generator that has kind of kicked the bucket, but when that is up and running it will be a good back up for the batteries.

It is such a relief to sit in silence and watch a movie. Having lights on all the time (not acutually *on* all the time, but powered) is really convenient. For one minute, I praise our little sojourn into the world of minimal power. Then I complain. It’s a difficult thing and every day I feel challenged. I’d love to power up the vacuum and do the floors good and proper. I’d love to get the sewing machine out and sew up a few bags and dresses and skirts. Now the sun shines through the windows, I feel like sewing! I do sew, by hand, on the couch by the window, but it takes longer, and I am an instant-gratification crafter. Quick beads, quick knits, quick crochet and quick sewing.

So here, in our little cabin, we plan things for the future. Predominantly these plans reside in the residence (“Fangorn Lodge”) for which we wait almost patiently. The plans are currently sitting in a pile of papers with the desk people at council. We’re going ahead with getting quotes for all manner of things: plumber, concrete, trusses, windows etc. It’s getting exciting; getting these things done gives us a great feeling.

Today Monte, Georgia, Matty and I were at the house site. It was the middle of the day and it was very sunny. Georgia lay on a picnic rug next to the ute. Matthew ran around getting dirty and throwing rocks into puddles: “Splash!” he’d shout, with glee. The reason we were up there, aside from just hanging out and checking out the view (which we frequently do), was to measure out the house area (again). I have never been a fan of maths, but I’m glad Monte remembers some simple equations (they spew from his mouth), because we had to work out the “hippopotamus” (hypotenuse) of the house area. It was fun. I did a bit of a prance around the rooms in my house-to-be. “This is the laundry and this is the kitchen,” that kind of thing.

Housing. Something that this western world takes for granted. When I complain about my little situation, I remember the people in this world who have far less than I. We are actually quite blessed.