Homestead sweet home – A tour of my humble shack in the woods

For my very first blog post, I thought it fitting to talk about my little homestead up in Pennsylvania.

My grandparents bought this little trailer back in the 70’s from a couple that no longer wanted it. The wife wasn’t the outdoorsy type. My grandma, Meem said she raved about not being able to keep the carpet clean because leaves are always getting tracked inside. I’ll admit, it drives me nuts as well, but what are ya gonna do?

The trailer is an old Crestline that is stationary and does not move. Pap, my grandfather and Meem added a closed front porch with a fireplace and voila, more room. The front of the trailer is just a wood frame and storm windows. A determined bear could lean on it and the whole thing would probably collapse. lol. On cold nights we close the trailer doors and keep it warm since the front isn’t insulated. It ain’t the Ritz Carlton, but it works.

Inside is a treasure trove of expired home decor and second hand love. Meem has lovingly furnished it with all of her leftover bits and pieces. There is actually some pretty cool stuff up there. A JC Penny Fall/Winter catalog from 1982 is on the book shelf in the kitchen. Original board games from the 1950’s. We even have a set of Jarts. Shh! Don’t tell. I swear we’re careful with them. 😉 The stove is an old Hotpoint and let me tell you – That thing gets crazy hot. The door gets almost as hot as the oven. Old school. It’s a smaller width with 3 burners, but you can still put a turkey or roast in it, just have to put it in turned vertically. I dig the stove. Speaking of hot, Meem also has a nice collection of old electric blankets. Newer ones are made to not get as hot and they tend to die very soon. Not these ones. Holy smokes. Huge fire hazard? Probably.

The camp has electricity and running water, but we can’t drink it. No matter, though – It’s my pleasure to get fresh water from a spring up the road. Clean. Full of minerals and vitamins. I alternate between two springs near me to make sure I’m keeping things varied.

There is no cell service at camp. My cousins have a camp right next door and they have a landline. Yes, I just said landline. When I’m there I grab their cordless and BOOM, instant phone. No one can leave a message, but it is very handy to have, especially when you’re there alone. I’ve been waiting to get internet up there since, oh, forever… Too many trees for satellite. However, this year Exede Internet is supposedly going to have a new satellite up and I will have a great view of the southern sky. Now, you might be asking why would I want internet so badly in my place of peace and quiet? Because I need it to do my work. I build websites and must be able to access the interwebs. My husband is a carpenter and is also in the Army reserve. He will go on a deployment in the future which will leave me alone for a very long time. If I have internet at camp I can stay there for the entire season (we close the camp in the winter). I can’t imagine being able to stay there and do my work; Looking out at those mountains and coding it up… Hell yes! BTW, I swear like a sailor. I will not drop the F bomb (it may be implied, though), but I make no promises on the rest… 😉

Below is a photo gallery of my camp. Please don’t laugh too hard. It’s a roof over my head and it stays warm. It’s all I need.