huff, huff, hu, hu Happy New Year

Whew! Let me catch my breath for just a second.

I just got back from a week in Winter Wonderland.

I left the big city, where I'm working right now, and headed up to da Great White Nort on Dec. 27.

The farther along my drive I got, the deeper the snow got. I was itching to get to the cabin and for recess to start. Upon arrival, Pete filled the water jug, I stoked the wood stove, and filled the wood bin with fire wood that we had to excavate from under 15 inches of new snow. Yeeeeeeehaw!

This rustic cabin has been in Pete's family since the 1940's. Since then, Pete's parents have built their retirement home next door but we "boys" still shack up in the old cabin. The original design of the cabin was build from some plans and drawings of a chicken coop. Some minor modifications were made to the overall dimensions and electricity wasn't installed until the early 1990's. Prior to that, light was from gas lamps and hurricane lamps.

We "boys" absolutely love it. Stoking the fire to keep us from freezing is all that's needed to keep the man cave cozy and...well, cozy.

After a couple days of skiing, hunting, ice fishing, and snow shoeing, the old cabin gets a nice lived in feeling...and smells of men, dogs, and beer. Thank goodness for the hot shower next door. Whew.

New Year's eve was spent at a neighbors house for a feast of roast beast, grilled veggies, and swill. I was the designated driver so I limited myself to just a couple drinks. The size and strength of those 2 drinks is not entirely known but I do have total recall of the entire night and I only had to drive one quarter mile down a wooded lane from the banquet back to the cabin. Ain't not'n like da nort woods.