The Little White Cabin: Team Building and a Treasure Box...

We spent another day at the cabin... We are trying to do all that we can on the "demo" upfront, to help save a bit on cost. And even though it is very hard work, I know we are going to look back on the experience and feel good about doing it this way. We are making some good family memories - sort of a "team building" experience. I know we will look at specific areas of the cabin (in the future) and say: "remember when we had to..."

Today, we made the trek up while it was snowing (it was really pretty with a light dust of snow falling on the Salmon River.) Grandma Bonnie was in town so she was able to go up too, and see what a "crazy" mess it is right now! We finished getting all the tack strips out and also removed the river room carpet. We found plywood sheets under the carpet in the river room and decided to get them out (getting rid of anything we can that will help improve it for the long-haul!) Underneath that though, we found it was very black - at first thought it might be a tar/glue, but then ended up wondering if it had been part of the fire (it seemed sort of like charcoal and burned.) Not sure... I sure wish I could ask my dad about so many things...

We also got brave enough to open up a hole to view the space under the house (living room.) We were searching for smells, the source of dirt, and whatever else we could find. I have to admit I was a bit freaked out to open it up, but I took the vent off, removed the stair and Samuel and I just "went for it." We really only found a pillow (?) that we pulled out of there! Odd.

Anyway - in the mail, we also received a "treasure" box of papers from my mom. Deeds, land plots, pictures, work contracts, etc. I LOVE THIS STUFF! I could sift through things for hours and read all the details: people, addresses, family signatures, my dad's handwriting on so many documents, etc..

She also found some of the old comic books! We had 2 stacks (from my memory) of REALLY cool, old comic books. My sister and I would spend hours reading through them. They were a part of the "cabin history" and so neat that mom still had some of them. They will be making their way back up to the mountain!

Also... she sent some pictures from the past. Bitter-sweet, as my dad is in each one. I wish we could be in this project together - it's how it probably should have been. And maybe the reason this cabin adventure means so much to me - and why it has to be done absolutely right.