Vermont Spring | RV There Yet?

The official start of Summer might still be weeks away, but in our little corner of the world, big plans are afoot! I’ve often said that in my ideal world we’d be someplace warm for the winter, but up in Vermont for the summer. We’ve figured out the “warm in the winter” part (well, it’s mostly warm here in Lindale in the winter), but the summer in Vermont presented a little more challenge. Since our cabin is a family property and used by three generations of Dwinells, it was not available for us to just hang out there all summer. (Though truth be told, we’d be more than happy to do that!) So we signed up for May (when there’s not such a demand since most of the kids are in school) which gives us the honor of opening up the cabin. Gary gets the water system up and running, while I’m inside tackling the dead fly bodies, cobwebs, and any other surprises that be waiting for us! We truly love The Cabin in May, when the trees are just beginning to wake up, and the beautiful ‘bones’ of our landscape are visible! Our niece, Christiana, who lives nearby in Bradford, was up last week (it’s always good to make sure the road is passable and things are generally in good shape!) and she sent along this picture –

I am so ready to be there!!

So that takes care of most of May. We head to Ohio over Memorial Day weekend to watch granddaughter #3 graduate from high school and spend a week or so with our Columbus (area) crew! Looking forward to lots of beautiful family chaos there!
In June, we’ll be back in Vermont, staying at our niece’s house in Bradford while she enjoys some vacation time. We’re calling it ‘housesitting’ – but it’s such a blessing for us to be able to stay there. A huge perk of June is that my sister and hubby will be at The Cabin for a couple of weeks during that time! Pretty sure we’ll be able to get in some good sister time!

July was presenting a bit of a challenge, but we put a little ad in the local whatever (you know – Responsible 70-something couple looking for short-term rental…willing to do renovations, etc.) and that did give us a couple of options. But it was actually the time-tested “friend of a friend” connection that found us this sweet three-bedroom cottage to rent for July and part of August. And the location is excellent – less than 10 miles from The Cabin!
Bonus for being in the area in July is that both of our Ohio families will be at The Cabin during the month. So we can spend time with them, but not crowd them. (Plus, we get to go home to a flush toilet. Just sayin’!)

We’re pretty excited about these Summer Plans! We’ll be stopping to see friends and family in the coming and going travels, so let me know if you want us to try and stop by! We are very thankful that these plans have come together so very nicely, and we will once again avoid a Texas Summer. (I’m sure it will happen sooner or later, but not this summer!) We leave TOMORROW!! Today is worship, lunch with friends, final loads of wash, and wrapping up the packing. Leaving your home for four months in the Texas heat requires many boxes to be checked. And really lovely neighbors!

Which brings me to my final point. You know I’m excited about spending the summer in Vermont. All of the above plans are answers to prayer. But our little Texas neighborhood has certainly found its way into my heart, and I will miss the dear folks we have come to love here. Truthfully, we will miss our little nest and the community around it.

I’ll try to keep up the blogging (sporadic though it may be) throughout the summer. But I’m also bringing my sewing machine, so we’ll see how it all works out!

I think the dryer just beeped – better get back to it!

As always – thanks for stopping by –

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

Maybe if I had gone with the “Every Day in May that I’m at the Cabin” blog post goal, it would have been more attainable. By my count, though, I only missed 7 days and that’s still a pretty good streak for me! Even if each day did not include an official blog post, May was still a very good month! For one thing, we got to watch SPRING happen! From our first morning –

to this morning –

it’s been amazing to watch the rebirth of the season unfold!
The main cabin construction project went from this

to this!

There is still some interior work to be done, but the outside is complete! Great job, Gary!
While he was busy building a treehouse for (we hope) generations to enjoy, I was busy taking big pieces of fabric, cutting them into small pieces, and then sewing them back together for The Graduate’s quilt.

I think she knows how much love and prayers were sewn into that quilt!
I’ll be honest – Gary worked much harder up here than I did. But then again, he always does! The beauty of The Cabin is that we each get to do what brings us joy. I’m quite content to wake up to the sound of power tools (or weed whacker as was the case this morning)

because I know that is what makes him happy. And I think he’s happy to let me sleep until I wake up (could be 6:30, could be 9!), putter around the cabin, do a bit of gardening, catch up on some reading, and generally enjoy the cabin ‘my way’!
We’re down to our last two full days here (we head back to our June SOWER project at Montrose Bible Conference on Saturday), and I’ve actually convinced him to do something fun (as in not project/chore related) tomorrow. So we’re heading to the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. In all my years of coming to Vermont, I have never been to that museum, so I’m looking forward to it! Since we’re out-n-about we may also be checking out some Restores looking for some flooring for the treehouse, but I still think it’s a pretty good compromise!