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Every year, for most weekends, my family goes down to our Cottage.
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It’s a camp at the end of a dirt road deep in the woods. Our land sits on a mini-peninsula at the edge of a lake. We have views of the water from 3 sides of the Cottage.
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The woodshed/ice house. The tub on the side has seen many kids bath times!
This camp is over 100 years old and was built as a summer house for the original owners who also used it as a hunting camp. There are long, low benches under the windows in one corner that are called ‘dog beds’ because they were for the hunting dogs to sleep on. The wood shed is actually an ice house where they would push it out on the frozen lake in the middle of winter, cut large chunks of ice and fill the house. Then when summer arrived the ice was covered with sawdust to keep it from melting and that was the refrigeration. The kitchen is a separate building (so the heat from the wood burning stove wouldn’t heat up the main cabin) and there was/is an outhouse.
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My Dad took apart the table top and refinished it
This cottage, at the very end of the dirt road, is like a step back in time. Granted, it’s now got electricity and indoor plumbing, but we do not allow tvs, toasters, microwaves or anything like that. The radio picks up the olympics if the summer games are on and the occasional Red Sox game if it’s a ‘big’ one but other than that we tell the kids it doesn’t work.
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My husband built the beanbag toss board & I made the bean bags
It’s been in my family since at least the 1930s. My Grandparents met when my Grandmother rowed across the lake to see who was working at the Tech Camps across the way. My Grandfather was there and, as they say, the rest is history.
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My little brother (he’s in his 20’s now!) made wire flowers one summer as decorations
Each child has spent countless weekends/weeks here in the summer and this is where we usually take our ‘vacations’. It’s at least a 2 hour drive from our house but worth it to have the quality time together.
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There are a few cabins close to ours and the owners formed a very loose ‘camp association’ long ago. They purchased a ‘buffer’ zone of land around the association and pay to maintain the road. Just up the road are a retired couple from Virginia who spend their summers here from June-September. Their cabin is just as old as ours. We love them as our ‘summer neighbors’ and she is always baking cookies for the kids or tending her flower gardens.
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My Dad made these chairs on the deck
Our Cottage is owned by my Dad and his brothers now that both my grandparents have passed on and it will probably be passed down to myself, my 2 siblings and our 3 cousins after that. Having 6 people ‘own’ it might seem crazy to some but we all have a love of this place and working together to maintain it and use it isn’t hard to do. All 6 of us are adults now with jobs, school, kids, significant others, etc. and all but my sister and I live over half a day away (most live out of state).
Yet, it still works.
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My grandmother made these curtains
Bringing my husband down here the first time we were 14 years old. (Remember we dated in high school for awhile?) The sandy beach a little ways down the lake is where he kissed me for the first time. Bringing him down here as my husband was (obviously) a different experience. Since he and I are the ones who come down the most without my parents as well (my sister comes down with my parents usually) he has had to learn many things about opening the Cottage up, turning on the water, fixing things, etc. The boat, the paddle boat and all of that has to be maintained each summer and usually there is something that needs painting, fixing, or replacing but sooner or later it gets done.
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My Uncle re-shingled the kitchen
The photos I’ve included in this post are of things that I know who did them. The captions tell you the name or relation of the person who fixed it, built it, or put it there.
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My Uncle found this driftwood tree and hung it as art over the fireplace
I can find something that reminds me of almost every relative of mine here. My mom swears she’s seen my Grandfather’s ghost when she got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I wouldn’t doubt it because this place is where I would come if I had the choice. Image may be NSFW.
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This is the mirror in the kitchen my Papa would shave in front of every morning
Quiet, peaceful, chock full of family memories and a place to learn about family, food, nature and fun.
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Loons at sunset on the lake
Do you have a family place that is meaningful and special to you?
Have a happy day,
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