Thanksgiving in the Woods

The last time we were up at the cabin Will discovered that the old foundation that our shed was temporary sitting on is very close to collapsing.  Some of you know that Will built this shed with the intention of moving it up the hill on our property some day - the shed is actually designed to be moved.  I just asked Will why we didn't just build it where we want it, and he says because the ground isn't level, but I think it is because we had our huge burn piles in that spot (I'm sure there is a blog post with the burn piles somewhere on this blog).  Anyway, we are pretty sure that the combination of the weight of the shed and all the stuff we have in it along with the several feet of snow that will likely fall this winter would lead to the final demise of that foundation.  So, we went back up to the lake over the holiday to move the shed.  Here is the shed - this photo was taken from the warmth of the cabin.

This will be the last time we drive in to the cabin as the road isn't plowed in the winter.  Since we can barely make it up our road in the summer with our VWs, we rented a big truck to both get us in and out of the property and to pull the shed.   Before moving it, Will had to empty it out - it is amazing how much stuff we had inside of this shed, which is the same size as the cabin 8x12'.  Will had to empty it by himself, because Anders wasn't interested in sleeping, so I was babysitting (although one of my employees informed me today that it isn't babysitting when it is your own kid). 

Ok, here are a few shots of the great shed drag.  It went very well, but we couldn't put it exactly where we wanted to because the ground isn't level there (still) and we need to build some sort of foundation for under the shed this next summer.  

Here is what the shed was sitting on.

As you can see there is snow up in northern MN.  We had about 2 inches when we arrived and I suspect it snowed another 2 or so before we left to come home.  The fresh snow was very pretty on the trees.  

And on the Hardy Boys boat...

And on our steps...

And on Will's wall.

Here is how we got water for the few days we were up there.  At the end of that path on the ice is a hole, which I dropped the lens cap to Will's camera in right after taking these pictures.  Luckily it floated.  

Here is our lovely Thanksgiving dinner.  Will had chicken and I had soup.  We both had mashed potatoes and wine and for dessert had some tasty Oreos.  

Anders, Lucy and I spent a lot of time hanging out inside.  I got out a bit during the cat naps Anders took.  Anders noticed his hand and could be found staring at it, while giving a black power salute.  He also seems to have discovered his ears and finally seemed to notice Lucy, who made him smile a lot.  I have no pictures to prove any of this stuff.

  

I knitted a baby hat and this hat for my mom (I like the pattern so much, I need to make one for myself).  

We have a few tightly packed groves of spruce trees, so we cut our own Christmas tree while we were up there. 

 

Notice my lovely outfit.

I chose a Charlie Brown tree - they are so packed in there that one side has barely any branches.  Oh well, that will be perfect for against the wall! 

Will went ice skating and made this cool pattern on the ice.

Finally, we ended our trip with a visit with OB, Kathleen, Hazel, Cy and 3-week-old baby Graham.  We are hoping that Graham and Anders will have lots of fun together growing up.  The baby hat was for Graham, but I didn't take a picture of it.  These are a couple of great pictures - Graham seems to be busting some moves, I think he will be well known for his dancing.