When I started the book The Cabins of Wilsonia, the winters turned dry. I had planned to take a few trips in during winter to photograph some cabins in snow, but there wasn’t any, not in any of the three winters while I was designing and drawing.
Three different cabin folks offered me photos of their cabins in the winter. The strange thing about those cabins is that all three are in a row in Wilsonia, although each one is on a different road.
Here is the first one.
Hillcrest cabin in winter
A friend recently sent me this photo.
What a place of honor! Of course, it could have been just set up for a photo shoot, but still. . . this cabin looks to be the perfect combination of rusticity with elegance. And knowing my friend, I’m sure it is fabulous!
You too can have your own fancy looking book called The Cabins of Wilsonia. (But you’ll have to find your own table-top easel.)
It has been almost four years since The Cabins of Wilsonia was published. This summer it occurred to me that the local libraries, both in Tulare and Fresno counties ought to have copies.
I called the Tulare Co. library not knowing who to speak with, and the one who returned my call was my old friend Carol from Redwood High School, class of ’77. We see each other occasionally, and it is great fun to have that old connection. She said to send a couple of books to the library so the review committee could decide if it would be beneficial. I was able to take them to the local branch and have the inter-library delivery service get them in the right hands.
Then. . . crickets. . .
Two months later I called Carol and asked her who to talk to. She sent me to Jonathan, someone I would have had no way of reaching through the library’s phone tree. (See? Who You Know always matters!)
Jonathan and I had a great conversation about cabins, cabin communities and Wilsonia. His next door neighbor in his hometown had a cabin in Wilsonia! He told me the man’s last name, and I sent him to page 117. He can’t remember if this was the cabin or not, but will ask his former neighbor when he sees him next.
We also discussed cabin leases, learned that we had both worked at Hartland Camp, and he told me of a book coming out soon about Big Creek, a Southern California Edison mountain community near Shaver Lake. I have several friends who grew up there, so I am interested in that book.
Stories, connections, things in common. . .
. . . and pretty soon, or maybe even by the date of this blog post, The Cabins of Wilsonia will be available through the Tulare County Library System.
P.S. I LOVE libraries and grew up with the Ivanhoe Library as my primary source of books. The first time I went into the Visalia Library, I was beyond thrilled!
The Cabins of Wilsonia was published and arrived in December, 2014. After about a year, this blog went into a coma. A series of phishy sounding emails arrived, which caused me to make one of those long-waits-on-hold type of phone calls, and as a result, this blog has been revived!
Just over 3 years after receiving the book, I’m happy to resume writing about it.
I sold enough to cover my expenses; thank you for asking.
Many of the original drawings remain; again, thank you for asking. You may email me at cabinart at cabinart dot net (written that way for web security purposes) if you are interested in a particular cabin drawing. Why email? Because the contact form is not working, and I’d rather write a blog post than make another one of those long-waits-on-hold type of phone calls.
(Yes, I assume a great deal about the thoughts of my readers. Don’t worry–I am not a mind-reader.)
There are still books available, now at the bargain price of $50, including tax and mailing (in the USA only). This is the page for that transaction.
The process of publishing the book was HUGE. It took four years, and in another post I will list the things that came out of the experience.
Sometimes I get emails or phone calls asking where to buy the book, The Cabins of Wilsonia.
The 2 short answers are:
Amazon is self-explanatory if one shops online. Here is the link. The Cabins of Wilsonia
“From me” has options:
The book is $81, which includes tax. I will pay the mailing costs, and no, I don’t charge a “handling fee”. (Doesn’t it bug you when a company says “free shipping” and then tacks on a “handling fee”?)
Here is another handy Paypal Add To Cart button so you don’t even have to test out any of those other methods.
Remember in the olden days before computers were common? The idea was that computers would simplify our lives, making everything instant and easy and paperless.
Have you fallen over laughing? Or are you banging your head on the wall?
What does this have to do with The Cabins of Wilsonia?
The book is for sale. You can buy it from me in person, use Paypal through this blog (that button that says Add to Cart), or mail me a check. You can even email me using the contact thing at the top of this blog and we’ll work out something.
But why isn’t it on Amazon yet?
Because it is complicated.
I’ll eventually get it there, but since I’ve been rebuilding my main website since October, I’m kind of tired of messing around on the computer.
Simplify our lives? Hahahahahahaha!
Happy to provide a laugh for you today. 😎
Are you wondering why I have been silent? Easy answer – I had nothing to report.
Now I have 2 things to tell you and one reminder.
1. The book printer agreed to have the book binder ship directly to me. The proposed date of arrival at my studio is November 21. Time will tell. . .
2. The book printer is sending me the cover sticker. According to UPS tracking, it will be at my studio on Wednesday, November 12.
After the books arrive, I will order shipping boxes and then will apply the cover stickers and sign books and ship to those of you who pre-ordered, Lord willing and the creek, et cetera. . .
Nope, you don’t get to see what it looks like until it is in your hands! Maybe I will post a picture of one on this blog, but I think it will be more fun for you if you first see it when you open your box. (I don’t know about you, but I certainly could use a little fun around here!)
The reminder: The early bird price of $70, including tax and mailing, is good until November 19. You can mail a check made out to Cabin Art, P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271 or use the Paypal button here and your Paypal account.
Sometimes, no matter how much planning is done, no matter how many assurances are given, things don’t go right.
The printer said it would take about 6 weeks to produce the books, so when I sent the final product off on July 18, it seemed reasonable to expect that we’d have The Cabins of Wilsonia in hand by mid September.
After receiving the book, the printer told me that they cannot bind my book and will have to send it to an outside source for that very important step. That added some time, but they could not tell me how much longer.
A few weeks ago, the printer notified me that the outside binder will not have the books finished until November 19. The printer needs to do one final step before shipping them to me, and then it will be a minimum of 5 days in a truck before the book arrive in Three Rivers.
My idea is to ask for the binder to ship directly to me and allow me to complete that final step. If they agree, that should put the book in your hands around Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, I don’t know when the books will be ready or in your hands. All I can offer is one of my favorite cliches: “More will be revealed in the fullness of time.”
The good news is that I have reinstated the early bird price of $70, which includes tax and shipping. This price will be good until November 19. If you would like to pre-order a copy of the book, the check can be made out to Cabinart and mailed to P.O. Box 311, Three Rivers, CA 93271.
When things don’t go my way, I often reassure myself that no one died and no one got cancer. Thank you for your kind patience and please administer dark chocolate.
The Wilsonia quilters have about 25 painted quilt squares hanging around the community.
I showed you about 10 or 12 so far. Here are the final 3 to distract you as we all hang around wondering when The Cabins of Wilsonia will arrive.
The colors are not true here. It is actually purple and teal, and teal is my FAVORITE color. So, as much as I love blue, I’m sorry you cannot see the accurate colors of this square. It was the first one I saw on my last visit, courtesy of my hostess.
I can’t believe I missed this one on my travels! (Thank you, Gus for taking these 2 photos for me.)
I want to sit beneath this square (diamond?) and knit. The originator of this square and owner of this cabin has a wonderful sense of style!
NOW is the book almost here??
This cabin looks worn out. I thought it belonged to the Park Service, because many of the neglected cabins do. It doesn’t. It is in some sort of family dispute.
I am in some sort of delivery dispute. The book The Cabins of Wilsonia WILL be delivered, but no one can say when.
Here is what I’ve been told:
1. It went on the press on the night of September 11. (Don’t know how long on the press)
2. It will go to an outside binder, but no one can say how long that company will take. No one is saying where that company is, so there is no information about shipping to and from them either.
3. There will be work done to finish up the cover back at the printer. No one is saying how long that will take.
4. It will take about 5 days in a truck after that.
I spent 3 years making something, and then turned it over to strangers far away who will turn it over to other strangers even further away. I don’t remember the stress, angst, and flat out anxiety of this part from my other book. But, my other book was printed in California, it only took a year to do, and I had a partner to share the burden with.
Am I beginning to look like the cabin in the drawing above? Don’t answer that, please!