More about Zombies

I stumbled across this article today. Enjoy some intellectual musings about one of my favorite topics. http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/pop-vox/2010/10/27/when-the-zombies-come-i-ll-be-ready.html

Winter Plans

Ray and Thor went up to Camp last weekend to take down Fort Awesome. The tent is packed away for the season and things are pretty well buttoned up there for winter. We would still like to put siding on the outhouse before the snow flies if the opportunity arises, but it can wait until spring if need be. It's weird to have so many things checked off the to-do list. It's a good feeling, I feel like we've accomplished a lot and deserve a break. Luckily, tv has cooperated and there is a new show I super excited about. Has anyone caught The Walking Dead on amc? It's a totally amazing new zombie drama. Ray and I are loving it and I highly recommend checking it out. Good writing, great characters and stomach turning zombie scenes. What more do you want on a Sunday night? We're getting tons of good survival tips but I think we already knew the most important one: when things go bad, GET OUT OF THE CITY! http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/

Bittersweet

It was a busy day at Camp Freedom last Friday. We were able to finish the chow house. It looks great and is going to make camping there so much more enjoyable! We installed a counter, bench and several shelves and hooks. We will be able to cook and clean up our meals out of the wind and weather, as well as have a place to store all our gear. After finishing up the work, we started to break down camp for the winter. It's frustrating to finally have everything set up just right and then have to pack up! The foundation is in and it looks great. I am so relieved we didn't try and do this part ourselves! The contractor installed about 20 concrete piers that will eventually support the cabin. He also laid down a thick plastic vapor barrier and covered it with several inches of gravel. Seeing the foundation made the whole cabin building project seem much more real. It was easier to visualize the size of the building and imagine what it will actually be like. While we were inspecting our progress, it was hard not to reminisce that only a year ago, the only thing on the property was a fire ring. In one year, we've put in the driveway, the outhouse, Fort Awesome and the Chow House. Unfortunately, we were forced to admit that the wetland walkway was a failure. With all the fall flooding we had, the whole thing was swamped. We did, however, make good use of all the lumber. It was reused as the siding for the Chow House making the total cost of that building about $50. We decided to put the dock project on the back burner and revisit it after the cabin is completed. Thinking about all we've accomplished this year makes me realize that it's good that we are forced by the climate to take a break. We need to rest and save our money - it's going to be a busy spring!

My Morning Has Taken an Interesting Turn

I was trolling the craigslist free postings this morning and came across an ad giving away free plywood, lumber and foam insulation. Ray called the guy this morning and apparently, it is a roofing company that has somehow accumulated all this material and needs to clear it out. Ray and I are hurriedly looking into renting a large truck to haul as much as we can carry from St. Paul to C.F. Luckily, we all have a four day weekend starting tomorrow (Minnesota Educator's Convention - no school) so we have some time to deal with it. We were planning on heading to Camp on Friday anyway to inspect the foundation that should be completed. The trip may be a bit more strenuous than I had originally anticipated. I'll keep you posted on this potential Craigslist score!

***Update - It's a no go :( Someone was able to get out there first and snatched it out from under us! Man, you have to be able to work fast to score the free stuff!

What Were You Doing At 10:10 on 10-10-10?

Hope you were having as much fun as us! Happy Birthday, Eric!

New Chow House is Nearing Completion

We got away last weekend with our good friends, the Schausts, for a glorious fall weekend. The leaves are a bit past peak at this point, but it was still beautiful. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed warm, sunny days and cool, star-filled nights. We went to the 40th Anniversary celebration of our favorite meat store in town. They had a big brat fest complete with a live polka band. It was nice, but we didn't stay too long. The dogs were panting in the car and we were anxious to get back to work on the Chow House. With Eric and Elena's help, we were able to make major progress. The roof is on and 2 of the 3 sides are completed. Ray is hoping to head out there Saturday to finish it up. He just needs to finish the back wall and install the countertop and shelves that will serve as a work surface and storage. The last photo shows how we close up the front side. We are hoping it will keep the interior somewhat dry between visits and over the winter.

Work Weekend

Ray worked on the new Chow House this Saturday and I am happy to post some pictures of his progress. We are planning on spending the weekend out there next week to hopefully finish it up. Right now, the long term forecast shows sunshine, lows in the upper 40's and highs in the mid 60's. The fall colors are at their peak and the mosquitoes are finally gone. There is an anniversary festival at our favorite town meat shop on Saturday and it feels like everything is coming together for a fun and productive weekend. If anyone out there is feeling like a fall getaway, (think huge bonfire, hot coffee splashed with a little Jameson, chili bubbling in the dutch oven) we would love the company!

Grown-Up Linclon Logs

In addition to getting the building site ready for the foundation, Ray and I have a laundry list of projects to finish up before winter. One of the most important ones is the new and improved Chow House. We have an old tent that we call the Chow House where we store all our cooking supplies, chairs, coolers, etc. It is located near the fire ring and far away from where we sleep, so if there are any critters looking for a snack in the night, they would be far away from us. The tent was pretty old to begin with and it is really on its last legs now. We knew that we would need a different set up next season and we also need a storage building to keep all our supplies in over the winter. We had been kicking around the idea of buying a shed, but the nice ones run about $1000 or more and that was just not in the budget right now. We came up with the idea of building a 3-sided Adirondack style shelter that can serve as the summer kitchen and also double as a storage building in the winter. When we are ready to leave for the weekend or close down for the year we will just tarp up the open side. This is what the building should look like when we're finished. The plan is to build in lots of shelves, storage pegs and a wooden counter top. The amazing sink Ray built will also live in it. We got the basic frame up this weekend (four corner posts and horizontals across the front, back and sides.) We are using felled trees for the frame and will side it with salvaged lumber. It will have a simple plywood roof covered with roll roofing. It certainly won't be 100% weather proof, but it should be a far cry better than the sad old tent we're using now. You can see said sad tent in the photo of our progress. We are basically just constructing around the tent and will dismantle it when the building is done. It's hard to see in the photo, but Ray carefully carefully cut notches in the logs with his chainsaw and a hatchet. The logs are fitted together and then we drove in huge metal spikes with a sledge hammer to hold the operation together. The corners are also braced and tied together with ropes. The roof and siding are really necessary to keep the whole thing solid, so I'm kind of nervous that we might find the whole thing on the ground next time we head out to work on it. Building with logs was an eye-opening experience. When we talk about the cabin, people often ask us if we're building with logs. After working with them for one day, I can say I am extremely glad that we are not. They are extraordinarily heavy and even the straight ones aren't really straight. It's kind of fun using materials off the land for this scale of building, but give me regular old 2x4's for anything much more substantial.

Hired

I think we just hired a concrete contractor last night. We talked to two different guys. They both visited the site and submitted bids for the work. We liked the higher priced guy better. After receiving the lower bid, we went back to the first guy and asked him if he would do the work for the lower price. He agreed. We're happy because we hired the guy we liked at the price we liked. I suppose we should be getting three bids on jobs like these, but both contractors came in pretty close, so I feel like we are getting a fair price. He is writing up the contract and going to be putting it in the mail soon. We are still waiting for the paperwork on our building permit and don't want to start anything until we have that in hand. To be on the safe side, we told the contractor we were looking to start work around the middle of October. That should give us plenty of time to finish up any last minute paperwork, as well as give him plenty of time to finish up before the ground freezes. I am so relieved to be passing off this job to a professional. For us to pour these footings ourselves would have been backbreaking. We have done a few footings in the past (for the front porch of our house) and it's not complicated, but hauling concrete is heavy and dirty. We have no access to water there right now, so I was pretty stumped as to how we were going to mix it. We had talked about hauling water up from the lake, but it has so much sediment in it, I think we would have had to filter it before it could be used. Not to mention that if the concrete cured wrong because of the water, we would have had thousands of pounds of bad cement to haul out. Also, if you get the concrete mix on your skin, it can start to burn pretty quick and with no place to wash it off, that could have been a real issue. This guy has a bobcat and a concrete truck. What would have been weeks of hard labor for us will be done in a few days. This seemed like an obvious time to hire out.

Have I Mentioned That I Love Craigslist?

One of our goals in building the cabin is to use as many salvaged materials as possible. I wish I could say that it's because I want to keep perfectly usable materials from ending up in the landfill, but in reality, it's because we're cheap. We have big dreams and a tiny budget. So every 2x4 and every sheet of plywood I find in the alley is just one more I don't have to buy. We are also paying for this project in cash as we go. That may mean it takes a bit longer, but we will own it free and clear when the project is done. That said, I have been trolling the craigslist free page for months looking for windows. They are a huge expense and I was hoping to find a way to save some money there. When people are replacing the windows on their house, they will sometimes post the old ones for free on craigslist. The problem is often times the windows they are removing from their house have no business being anywhere but the landfill. In other words, they are crap. Today was a different story. A fellow d-i-y-er and self-professed craigslist junkie in South Saint Paul had a garage full of windows that she herself had scored on craigslist thinking she would use them to build some kind of sun porch. She hung on to them for a while, and eventually realized the project wasn't going to happen and she needed her garage back. She said the guy she got them from took them out of his house because they were "hail damaged." There may be a ding or two on the vinyl, but they'll work for me! The tag on one of the windows said 1996, so they're pretty new, wood on the inside, white vinyl on the outside. They have the nice dividers between the panes of glass so they're smooth to clean, but look charming. They even have full screens! The only thing is that they're huge. They are much bigger than what we would have chosen, but that's not a bad problem to have. Better too big than too small, right? Maybe my architect sister can help me tweak the plans to accommodate ginormous windows . . .

Accepted!

The kids are back in school and the weather is turning cooler. We probably only have a few weekends at camp left this season and we still have a lot we'd like to accomplish before the snow flies. Our main goal is to get the concrete footings, which will act as the foundation of the cabin, poured. We have bids from two concrete contractors and we are anxious to choose someone and get the ball rolling. We can't do any work, though, until we have the building permit. We can't get the permit without building plans. Ray spent all of Labor Day Weekend hunched over the kitchen table with a ruler and a pad of graph paper drawing the plans. He nervously sent them off the building inspector last week. Some of you know our history of ignoring the permitting process in the past. We're not that into asking permission before doing things! Since we've never been through this process before, we didn't know how much detail we were expected to provide. I think it's safe to say that Ray erred on the side of caution and provided the inspector with page after page of clear, detailed drawings. I only included a few here. The inspector called shortly after receiving them to let us know he'll issue the permit just as soon as we write him a check. I know Ray was extremely relieved. If we can get this step done this fall, we will take a nice long winter break, saving our energy and money for the spring!

Rutabaga Fest and More

We just got back from a glorious weekend at Camp Freedom. We had by far the nicest weather of the whole summer. Up until now, it has rained every weekend we have been there. It's gotten pretty laughable. Every time there is a storm in the area, we look at the weather radar and there is a big purple blob right over Camp Freedom. Luckily, this weekend was a delightful exception. The weather was sunny, warm and dry. The evenings were cool and crisp, with just a hint of fall in the air. We spent a lot of time chainsawing. Ray felled several trees earlier in the summer that we needed to deal with. We chopped and stacked them so they would dry out and be ready for splitting sometime in the future. The whole family pitched in and made light work of a big job. We also met with a concrete contractor who is interested in helping us pour the footings for our foundation. We are anxiously awaiting his bid and hope we can afford his help. The real highlight of the weekend was the Rutabaga Festival. There were many events all throughout the weekend but we just went to the carnival. There were rides and food vendors that rivaled the State Fair. The boys favorite ride was the Gravitron. We had to bring Georgia with us since there is no place to leave her at Camp. She is not the kind of dog that normally gets to attend events like this so we were a bit nervous about how she would behave. She was a star. She behaved like a a perfect lady and made friends everywhere she went. People kept stopping to oooh and ahhh over what a pretty dog she is. She ate a corn dog off the ground and got to have her own bottle of water off a paper plate. We all had fun, but there is no contest about who had the best time.

The Reason I Have So Many Gray Hairs

School's Approaching!

Summer has just flown by and the kids go back to school next week. Where has the time gone?? Thor just got back from 2 weeks at his beloved Camp Warren in northern Minnesota. He spent his time there riding horses, kayaking, swimming, exploring the woods and just generally having a great time. Sleep away camp is an amazing thing and I highly recommend it for kids. It has been one of the most powerful forces in Thor's development over the past few years. He always comes home so self confident and with such a strong sense of himself. I can't think of a better thing right before starting Middle School! Guthrie has also been busy this summer. He recently finished an extensive reading class at St. Thomas University. That's right, he's a Tommie! He worked his tail off both at his class and at his weekly piano lessons. His piano teacher encourages her students to try out any other instrument they are interested in and has a large selection at her house from which to choose. Guthrie has enjoyed messing around with both the trombone and the saxophone. He has talked about wanting to learn guitar, but I'd like him to learn a few more of the basics on piano before switching. He has had a pretty academic summer and is in great shape to rock third grade. I couldn't be prouder of that kid's work ethic. I think I was about 20 before I actually learned how to study. We haven't been up to Camp Freedom for a few weeks but we are heading there this weekend for a last hurrah before school starts. This weekend is the Rutabaga Festival, Cumberland's yearly town celebration. We are excited to see what that is all about and I will certainly blog all about it when we get home. Even though we haven't been up for a few weeks, Ray and I have been steadily working on plans and paperwork. We applied for and received our land use permit. That means we officially have permission to put a building on our land. That was a pretty simple permitting process. The next step is the building permit which should be more complicated. We are also meeting a concrete contractor up there this weekend to get a bid on some of the concrete work involved in putting in the foundation. I'd love to farm out some of that back-breaking job. We'll see if we can afford some help with that or not. It is still our goal to get some footings poured before the snow flies. It is finally starting to cool off up here and the thought of doing some work up there is kind of appealing. In the heat of the summer, I'd rather sip a beer and swing in the hammock, but I find the cooler weather to be invigorating. If we have the foundation done this year, I think it would be pretty realistic to get the frame of the building up next season. I can't wait!

Paulson Family Mini-Reunion

Ray and the kids recently spent the weekend at Camp Freedom with a few extended members of the Paulson clan. Ray's dad, sister, niece and her boyfriend came up from Nebraska to visit camp and see what Ray's been working on lately. The bugs were pretty vicious this late in the season, but everyone managed to have a good time, cooking, playing cards and catching up. Grandpa Ray even tried the zip line! I know it meant a lot to Ray to be able to share this place with his family and I hope they will continue to visit and keep up on our progress.

Birthday Adventure Camp

We just returned from an exhausting and exhilerating weekend celebrating Thor's 11th birthday. They all seemed to have a blast and it was so gratifying to see Camp Freedom used in precisely the way it was intended. We gave each boy a small pocket knife and upon arrival at Camp, the first order of business was to start making weapons. They quickly amassed an arsenal of swords, complete with duct tape handles, spears, daggers and killing boomerangs. They decided to go on a Minotaur Hunt when it started to get dark. They enjoyed archery and the bb gun range, as well as the zipline and other classic camping activities like fire-making and toasting marshmallows. I spend a lot of time with young boys and I have developed a few theories about them which are surprisingly counter-intuitive. Boys can be crazy and ridiculous and extremely difficult to manage under certain circumstances. But what I have found is that the minute you introduce a little bit of real danger, i.e. fire, guns or knives, in a controlled environment, they immediately become mature, respectful, and eager to hear what you have to say! Rather than vilify their desire to experiment with these things, showing them that we trust them enough to teach them how to use them safely, seems to have a wonderful effect on the boy's self-confidence. Camp Freedom has given us the opportunity to give our boys some real freedom and independence and allow them to experiment with many activities that would be impossible in their urban neighborhood.

Simon

Simon is already a proven outdoorsman who has been camping since before he could walk. It was no surprise to me that he was quite at home at Camp Freedom and was a real asset to have around. Cheerful, cooperative and helpful, Simon really seemed to enjoy all that Camp has to offer!

Oscar

Eager to develop new skills, Oscar quickly absorbed all the tips Ray had to offer about shooting and using his pocket knife. Ray even let him take down a small tree with a hatchet. Oscar turned out to be quite a good shot and by the end of our weekend he was picking off cans with surprising accuracy!

Sam

Sam, a thoughtful and sensitive boy, always made sure that everyone, including younger brother Guthrie, was included and having fun. He was a bit cautious when he first tried out the zipline, but quickly discovered how much fun it is! Sam is extremely imaginative and thoroughly enjoyed being possessed by a gargoyle during the minotaur hunt.

Kyle

This was Kyle's second trip up to Camp and he is always a great camper and a good sport. Some of his pictures are from his first time up. Kyle wasn't overly impressed with our bb guns because on his family trips, his dad, an avid hunter and sportsman, lets him shoot 22's. That was alright, though, because it left him plenty of time for his favorite activity, the zipline!

Roadside Attraction

I came across this scene on the way to Camp Freedom over Memorial Day weekend and have been meaning to blog about it ever since. During the holiday, the couches were filled with sunburned, shirtless drunks shouting at cars and pumping their fists in the air. I was slightly offended when a neighbor of mine referred to Wisconsin as the "Arkansas of the North," but unfortunately, scenes like this do nothing to refute his claim.

A new spin

Hello friends, Ray here reporting on a successful weekend of manning around in the woods with some trusty friends. Camp freedom didn't let us down. This trip was markedly different from others though (in so many ways...). most of my time there has been with family, or one other family, or possible just me and one friend there to complete a certain task or job. I think we spent more time sitting around and talking and playing games than I ever have before. In some ways it was a typical trip - it rained each night, we ate nothing but sausage (and a few token grilled vegetables), and the wildlife was everywhere.... but in many more ways it was brand new again. New, thanks in no small part to the particular guests! So different was this trip, I don't think I even turned on my chainsaw. Unheard of! It doesn't quite feel like Camp Freedom if there isn't some wood to be cut, but maybe that just means that it was actually vacation..
Never content to rest, though, on this trip I also packed up the sink and the stand and the boys helped me lug it down the hill. I think it's a nice addition to the common area.

Everything Including the Kitchen Sink

I was recently in Chicago for a few days, visiting my mom. When I came home, this was in my backyard. Some friends salvaged this great double bowl, cast iron kitchen sink for us from some relatives who were remodeling their kitchen. They thought maybe we could use it in the cabin kitchen. I was excited about that and stashed it in my garage, imagining we would use it some time in the future. Ray had other ideas. This set-up will sit outside the camp kitchen, also known as "Chow House." It can be used for hand washing, dish washing, fish cleaning, etc. The water sits on the shelf above the sink and has a nozzle that can be turned on. The water drains out of the sink normally, but rather than going into a pipe, it just drains into a 5 gallon bucket underneath. When the bucket fills up, it just gets emptied. All the lumber for the project came from discarded pallets that we didn't use for the wetland walkway. The rough edges on the "countertop" were lovingly hand-planed and polyurethaned by Ray. When the cabin is built, it may not have actual plumbing in its first incarnation. I imagine this kitchen set-up may end up being moved indoors one day, or we may create something similar for the real kitchen. Just because there is no plumbing, doesn't necessarily mean there isn't running water!

Kings of Cumberland

We are fast approaching the 1 year anniversary of Camp Freedom. I discovered the real estate listing on the Internet around this time last year and it seemed to fit all the parameters we had established in terms of location, size and price. We quickly arranged a visit and just as quickly, we all four decided that it was the right place for this project. It just felt right. I really don't believe in a god or fate, but I do believe that when you're on a positive path in your life, there are signs of it all around if you just pay attention. There have been many serendipitous events surrounding our acquisition and enjoyment of Camp Freedom that have always made me feel very confident in this decision. Thor often reminds me that we happened to sign the purchase agreement for the property on his 10th birthday. The town of Cumberland which Camp Freedom is located in is nicknamed "the Island City," which also happens to be the nickname of Minocqua, WI, which is a town that also holds great significance to me. Ray ran into a man at work wearing a Rutabaga Festival t-shirt, which is Cumberland's main summer festival. So imagine my delight when finding our family name in some town history on the Cumberland's Chamber of Commerce website. Not only are the names familiar but the spirit of the characters involved really resonate. Please check out the link and pay special attention to the last paragraph. Happy 4th of July to you all. I hope you are all fully embracing your freedoms! http://www.cumberland-wisconsin.com/

Bureaucracy

I am getting anxious to break ground on the actual cabin and before we can do that there is a ton of paperwork we have to wade through. If we want to do any building this summer, I figure we had better start the permitting process asap because there's no telling how long it might take. It would be so frustrating if we finally got the ok just as the first flakes start to fall! Right now, we are getting ready to submit our Land Use Permit Application. The Land Use Permit gives the township a rough idea of your intentions for the land, what kind of structure you are planning on putting up, where it is going to be situated, how close it will be to the road, or your neighbor's property. Of course there is a fee attached depending on the proposed size of the building to be built. I don't think we will have any issues with this step in the process. The main thing is that they want to make sure you have adequate distance between your building and everything around it. Camp Freedom is large enough that it easily meets all the setback requirements. After we file this and receive the Land Use Permit, we can apply for a building permit. That should be a little more complicated. We're not sure if the township needs to review actual blueprints before issuing a permit. We are describing this structure to anyone who asks as a "hunting shack." There are lots of rustic shacks around with limited utilities and let me tell you, they weren't built using blueprints. We do have building plans, we're just not sure how official they have to be to please the permitting office. If our experience with the outhouse permitter is any indication, as long as the check clears, it passes.

Blogger Glitches

This is a test post. My last few entries have not been sent out to my email subscribers. I am posting this to see if it is sent out via email. I am wondering if I need to mess with my settings or if that was just a glitch.

Target Practice

I mentioned last week that Elena got an air rifle for her birthday. Guess what is now at the top of Thor's birthday list? Elena is an amazingly good shot, although judging by the picture of her, maybe it's not a surprise. Eric better stay on her good side! When I was searching for an image of the Daisy to put on last week's post, I found that they also make a pink air pistol that matches her gun. I might have to get that to complete the set! Many cans were shot and no one was hurt. Huge success! I even shot a can on my first try!

Camp Freedom Flag Raising

Scout Craft

As I have mentioned, we got quite a bit of rain last weekend at Camp Freedom. We keep a few tarps up there to string up to make rain shelters. I asked Ray to start putting up some tarps so we would be ready in case the rain started. He agreed and grabbed his chain saw. First, he built a ladder so he could get high enough to string the tarps. Last time we were there, he just climbed on Pete's shoulders. This seemed to work better. Thor was brave enough to test the ladder. I would not have been that brave. But the ladder held and proved very useful for many projects such as hanging Guthrie's bat house. Ray also installed what is being called Security Level 1, which is a gate down by the end of the driveway. We used some left over cable from the zip line and some timbers I found in a free pile in St. Paul. The sign reads "Sorry we're closed." I wanted something friendlier than "Keep Out" or "No Trespassing." It has a padlock on it so a car can't drive in. Here's Thor locking up for the first time on our way home that weekend. Other than that, it is just a psychological barrier. Of course, anyone could just walk around it, but like I said, the gate is just Security Level 1. This is Security Level 2 -