Welcome to "The Lodge"

Welcome to "The Lodge!" This is where we've been living since December. It's a 6,000 square foot house located on 5 acres - it even has a red barn! Sounds cute, huh? And it could be - could be - after a lot of work and a huge investment.

Imagine a home where someone got ambitious and decided to start remodeling the entire house all at once, and then stopped. That is what "the lodge" is like. Walls mostly mudded, but not done. Flooring that is peeling or cracking all over. Electrical outlets that aren't covered. Wall covering that's older then me that they started to pull off, but then stopped.

There is not a single screen on any window in the house - which means this time of year you either leave the windows closed and swelter (air conditioning is extremely rare in Alaska) or you open them and let in all the bees, wasps and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes here are big and plentiful. Andy tells us that one year he kept count of the number of mosquitoes he killed in one season - until he hit over 1,000 and stopped counting. We are constantly opening windows, closing windows, and killing bugs.

So, if you are feeling frustrated with your home or lack of decorating budget, sit back, put your feet up, and let's laugh together as we tour, "the lodge."

We'll start with the family room.



This is a HUGE room that is surrounded by windows and wood paneling. I don't know how big it is, but to give you an idea - it holds two full-size sofa sectionals ("pit groups"), three full size desks, a "book nook" for the kids to read and still has room to run and play. The overall "rustic" look and all the panelling made us dub this house "the lodge."

The flooring here is subflooring - that's the stuff you put flooring on! It has a nice big fireplace and is the room we really do live in. This room sold me on the lodge - I had visions of a roaring fireplace and lots of family togetherness this winter. And it was defiantly "kid friendly" - no worries about the boys ruining anything, there wasn't anything to ruin!



Notice the "fancy" chandeliers? There are three of them in this room. Check out the light bulbs - there are three amber "tea lights" and two flood lights. The other chandeliers are also a mis-mash of light bulbs - or missing light bulbs as well. It makes for an interesting lighting element for the room!

This is the way more than half the outlets are in this house. We thought - hey, no problem, we'll just pick up outlet coverings and cover them ourselves. Oh - but take a closer look. See all that sheet rock? Have you guessed it? Yup, they wired the outlets, put on the sheet rock, and then - oops, it was too think, you can't attach the outlet covers without a really long screw!

Let's move on to the kitchen.

You all probably know that I live in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking, make most things from scratch, and avoid pre-made meals as they taste too "processed" for my liking. Because I'm home, I have the chance to make homemade meals and enjoy doing so. I found this kitchen to be sufficient for my needs with two exceptions.

#1 - there is no dishwasher. OK, technically there is a dishwasher but it is a portable one and when you connect it to the sink water flies everywhere. So basically, I am the dish washer - three meals a day, seven days a week, at least five people at each meal. And, remember, I'm not a fan of pre-made meals - that means pots and pans for every meal. I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much I am sick of washing dishes!!

Which leads to #2 - the kitchen sink.

The sink is small - camper sized - with no disposal. More reasons why we call this "the lodge"!

This is a good example of what most of the walls are like in the house.

Here's the main bathroom. There is one in the basement but it's very scary and only used in time of extreme emergencies! Notice the fancy wall covering on the right - I don't know what this stuff is. It's hard like some sort of a siding but "decorated" like wallpaper. Also notice the lovely mudding job and more non-covered outlets.

The bathtub. It's still only has the cement board covering on it so we have to cover it all up with dry towels when the kids take a bath - just try telling a 2 and 3 year-old not to splash! The jets don't work - but it's big and fairly deep and is the other thing that sold me on the lodge.

The last reason we call this house "the lodge" is because it backs up to woods and then a gorgeous mountain. Yesterday Ben looks out the window and says, "Mom! There's a horse in the backyard." I look and tell him, "That's not a horse, it's a moose!" Just in case you've never seen one, a moose is bigger then a horse. Here's our moose in our backyard.

I should have gone outside to get a better picture - but I admit to being chicken. These guys are big!

So, there you have it. As soon as I get back to my cute little home in New Hampshire I'm going to open all the windows and do a load of dishes while I walk around and admire every covered outlet and finished wall! We'll be home three weeks from today! Can't wait!!