Tag Archives: cabin life

Painting Wilsonia Cabin Life

My friend and regular commenter on this blog said that she thought one of my photos would make a nice painting.

Isn’t that something?? I already painted it 2 years ago!!

It was a gift for my wonderful hosts at one of the cabins in Wilsonia.

This scene epitomizes cabin life to me: welcoming, relaxing, patriotic, simple, traditional, comfortable.

As I progress in my painting skills, this now makes me cringe ever so slightly. Rather than beg them to return it so that I can fix what bothers me, I will simply be thankful for growth.

Cabin Photos That Won’t Become Drawings. . .

. . . because they are about color rather than detail.

(This one would work, but I don’t need the book to have more pages – these decision are DIFFICULT!)

Cabin Life in Wilsonia, Part Two

As I explore Wilsonia, meet people, and bother them about their lives at their cabins, I realize I am experiencing my own version of cabin life. Here is the continuation from Monday’s post.

10. Meeting the delightful owners of Leaky Hollow and learning of their lives, both cabin and “real”. What gifted and creative people, and such an interesting cabin!

11. Meeting Carol in person! She called me out of the blue last year, and it was a privilege to meet her and hear about all the cabins in her family.

12. Talking to someone (who did not introduce himself) about the roads of Wilsonia. He was in disbelief when I told him that many of the cabins share the same address numbers, differentiated only by the road names. He said it wasn’t possible. Clearly, we have different maps!

13. Listening to a presentation by Eric Blehm, author of The Last Season, a book about the search for a missing backcountry ranger. I had no idea that a similar search was taking place in Mineral King at the very time of his presentation. It didn’t turn out well either.

14. Visiting with Joanne, who finally has a cabin after years of only having a lot. What a wonderful lady!

15. Having breakfast with my hosts – cornmeal pancakes!

16. Working out details with the cantankerous, clever, unique and hilarious Dennis, whose wife is a saint, about how to draw his cabin. I am still amazed to have discovered them, because I bunked with their daughter at summer camp in the 5th grade.

17. Meeting Norm, who was very polite in spite of the fact that I failed to recognize him later when he was wearing a hat!

18. Working out details of how to draw another cabin with the very interesting Corky and Larry. Truly nice people with a life of variety. We enjoyed our conversation very much, because it is always refreshing to meet people with shared values.

19. Meeting Mary Anne and re-meeting Mary Ann, who was very kind and understanding about how I am designing the book. Wilsonia is full of very classy people.

To be continued. . .

Cabin Life in Wilsonia

The goal of The Cabins of Wilsonia is to present a picture of cabin life in Wilsonia. It can apply to cabin life in a mountain community in general, and of course I am hoping it will appeal to a broader audience. But, that would be a side benefit.

I had a cabin life in Wilsonia for 4 days in August. Here is what my cabin life looked like:

1. Staying in the cutest cabin in the entire village! (Yes, I am a little biased.) If I stayed in any other of my “favorite” cabins, (the count is now probably up to 8 or 10), I would say that one was the cutest. “Cute” is a dumb word for a cabin, but I’m hoping you get my true meaning – charming, perhaps? Captivating? Enchanting, even?

2. Dinner outside with Gus, Barbara, Uschi, Charlie and Dutch, followed by great conversation around a campfire. A small group is such a good way to share ideas because there aren’t multiple conversations happening at the same time. We brainstormed about the upcoming Wilsonia centennial (Anyone know if it will be 2018 or 2019?? For sure?) and discussed the Park’s ownership of 12 cabins.

3. A tour of the newest cabin by the owner, Dutch, revealed some very very beautiful details by the master craftsman, Mark Vetter, whom I have not yet met.

4. Oops, a tree holding power lines crumbled, causing the closure of roads surrounding 14 cabins. This resulted in a fun visit with Penny and Gwen and Dolly and Jessie (the latter 2 are dogs), in which I got to see Gwen’s very authentic cabin interior and a fabulous quilt that was put together by the Wilsonia sewing ladies. (Not called that – maybe called the “Quilter’s Guild?”)

5. Learning about 3 logs that cross the meadow by Hazel, Laurel and Brewer streets. Every time I learn a new connection, I understand the layout of Wilsonia just a little bit more thoroughly.

6. Realizing there are some beautiful things that will not make it into the book, and deciding to share those photos via the blog.

7. Running into my friend Russ from Three Rivers! He regularly visits and maintains a friend’s cabin, and is definitely in the market for one of his own. (Have one for sale or know of one? Please email me so I can put you in touch with Russ!)

8. Sampling gooseberries – yes I’ve had them before and they are weird and too much trouble!

9. Realizing the book needs more pages, accepting the fact that there will be more than 230 drawings now, and redesigning. It is weird to sit at a Wilsonia cabin and work on the computer, but easier than at home when I know I could and should be drawing AND having the phone ring in the middle of deep thought. It is easier to work away from the studio. Who knew that cabin life would include computer work?

To be continued. . . my cabin life is apparently very very full!

People Say the Darndest Things

Remember that book by Art Linkletter Kids Say the Darndest Things?

I don’t. I just remember the title. Who was Art Linkletter anyway?? (We didn’t have teevee until I was in 5th grade so I had to sneak-watch at Grandma’s or a babysitter’s or a friend’s. . . Now I never watch. Don’t ask me anything about teevee because you will be simply astonished by my ignorance.)

Sorry. I got lost.

On someone’s cabin porch . . . that location keeps the deer from eating the flowers.

On my recent visit to Wilsonia, I interviewed people about cabin life. I had a list of questions to get people thinking.

One or two people answered a specific question, but mostly they just started talking. I’d listen, and suddenly I’d hear a gem. They’d be talking, and I’d be scribbling as fast as possible.

We all talk a little messier than we write, sort of jumping around and repeating a little, maybe a little out of sequence at times. Because we are conversing, we can ask one another questions for clarity. When someone repeats something, it is for emphasis, or perhaps to remind himself what he is trying to convey. Very few people report their ideas or experiences in sequential order, so it takes some intense listening to figure things out.

People talked, I listened, scribbled, translated, and then read it back. We all laughed, and then I asked permission to use the quote and their names in the book.

Here is my favorite so far:

We would have invited you to breakfast, but it was too cold.

I wrote it exactly as he said it, and we all knew what he meant. The inside table only seats 2 people; when there are guests, everyone eats outside. This quote takes a little different translating than the ones where people are relating a story. (Were you wondering what it meant?)

Cabin life is a fun and lively and interesting thing.