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September 27, 2007

Blog Cabin 2008: A quick update

Hi everyone! It's never too soon to start thinking about Blog Cabin 2008. Just yesterday, we had a wonderful meeting with a log home company. In the coming days, we'll be sharing more details about them and our partnership. The exciting news is that they have some amazing innovations and opportunities for our cabin next year. Building green is a very important part of their philosophy. We're anxious to hear more about their ideas and share some of your green ideas with them. That also means we'll be able to let you vote and decide on even more features for our cabin next year. We've also been reading through your ideas about the perfect setting for next year's cabin...be it a lake, on the beach, on a ranch. We're currently looking at land and should have an announcement very soon. Keep checking back!

Tonight is the big night. At 9:00, we're excited to unveil the magnificent finished cabin that you designed. You should all be proud of your hard work. Your creative ideas, recommendations and advice have been valuable and will make this an amazing home for the lucky winner. If you missed any episodes, you can catch them all this Saturday starting at noon. We're having a Blog Cabin Fever marathon! And you can still enter to win through next Wednesday (10/1). And in just a few weeks, we'll be revealing the winner!

Freddy James
DIY Network Programming
Blog Cabin Planning Team

Posted by rlubke at 3:25 PM | Comments (67) | TrackBack

September 19, 2007

Wow. You're good.

Hi Everybody,
Wow! Your food talk is amazing! You’re the best food-talkers ever. Don’t stop, please. I can tell you guys are as in to this as I am and that makes me so happy.

Sometimes, in a sweepstakes situation, people just want to win in order to get the monetary value of something. As soon as they win, they sell the prize to the highest (or most convenient) bidder. Well, it is a random drawing, and far be it for me to suggest what you should do with your personal property.

But I have to admit it makes me feel really, really good when you guys daydream about life in your new log cabin. You know, because we all put so much effort and heart into the building of it, it’s really nice to hear you celebrate the real (non-monetary) value of such a special home.

One week from tomorrow night you’ll get to see the cabin completely finished. (I’m so excited to show it to you and see what you think of it! I would show you right now if I could, but then I’m the type that would give you your Christmas present early because I’m too excited to wait.) In the meantime, we’ve got some porches to screen in, some landscaping to do, some special painting, and 3 more DIY guest experts. Yea x 3!

Until then, please keep sharing your log cabin fantasies with me. For all the hard work I put into it, your stories are the best reward I could possibly imagine. (Ok, I’m getting a little sentimental, I know, I’m still tough though. It’s just that I actually care about that darn cabin, and all y’all too.)

Keep in touch!
Amy

Thursday night you'll get to see Jason Cameron build this bench.

Posted by adevers at 3:44 PM | Comments (108) | TrackBack

September 7, 2007

Blog Feast

Hi Everybody!
Ok so you saw the kitchen, what do you think? Can you imagine yourself cooking delicious food and hanging out with your family and friends there? (Gotta love the open floor plan, yes?)

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a cook. I'm way more comfortable in the woodshop than I am in the kitchen. But I do love to eat, and I love the ritual of mealtime.

I love the gathering of people (whether it's just the two of you, or a houseful of close friends and family.)

I love the pre-dinner drink. (Cold beer in the summer, red wine or scotch in the fall, a Manhattan during the holidays.)

I love the smell of garlic being sauteed, the sound of vegetables being chopped... the sizzles, sounds and smells that permeate the whole house and add warmth (both literally and figuratively.)

And then there is nothing better than sitting down together with your favorite people and enjoying their company and a nice meal at the same time. It's an easy formula:
Good food + good people + good conversation = Can't be beat. (You thought I was going to say "good times" didn't you?)

I can't imagine a more perfect setting for the aforementioned than our cozy Blog Cabin. And believe me, I've imagined the scenario a few times because I'm so in love with the place. But alas, the cabin is not mine. But it could be yours, so I'm going to have to live vicariously through you.

Have you thought about the first meal you would cook in your new log home? Indulge me, please. Tell me all about how you picture your first Blog Feast in graphic detail. Mmm.

In October when the winner is announced it'll be autumn in the Smokeys, which means it'll be getting dark earlier and the air will be crisp. You may want a fire in the fireplace...

By the way, I'm free for dinner.
Amy

Posted by adevers at 11:46 AM | Comments (104) | TrackBack

September 4, 2007

The road of good intentions should be paved -- including the Blog Cabin driveway

It's been a long time since I have visited the Blog Cabin. So, I decided to impress my new boss with a drive through the mountains to take a look at the cabin.

It was a great afternoon -- hot but no humidity. The drive was amazing. I sometimes forget how spectacular the Smoky Mountains are. The cabin did not disappoint. It is beautiful. I wish I was eligible to win it. I want to move to the mountains now and commute to work. The cabin is perfect except for one thing -- an unfinished driveway. It will soon be paved.

First, let me tell you about my new boss. She is smart, patient and pretty much perfect. You will understand why I am kissing up after reading the rest of my blog post.

We get to the Blog Cabin site and the driveway has gravel on it so I figure, my big six-cylinder truck can make it up and down just fine. I'm feeling pretty good driving my truck on the winding country roads. The only thing missing was Willie Nelson on the radio.

After our tour of the cabin, we start up the driveway to leave and guess what; my studly truck can only make it up about two-thirds of the driveway before the back wheels start spinning. I bet I tried to climb the driveway 10 times before I sheepishly called a tow truck to rescue us. Talk about embarrassing experiences.

To make matters worse, a group of folks drive by to check out the cabin and here I am providing laughs for what seemed like a 100 people (actually it was four). What are the odds of people driving by right at that moment? We were in the middle of nowhere. Plus, it cost me a $100 to get the tow.

Typically, people don't remember me after meeting me the first time. I'm pretty sure my new boss won't be saying that. I'm the type of person who doesn't make much of a first impression --neither good nor bad. I'm pretty quiet and introspective so it takes awhile for people to get to know me.

While driving back to the office, I figure my dreams of advancing my career are dead, and I need to practice saying, "you want fries with that?" So if any of you fellow Blog Cabin bloggers are hiring, let me know :)

My new boss was great about it. She really has the patience of Job, and fortunately a great sense of humor. I'll be catching holy hell about this for months if not years. Before I even got home, she sent an email mocking me. I like her style.

Never fear, soon there will be a perfect driveway to go along with the perfect cabin. In the meantime, I'm sure this experience will replace my stress dreams of having to go back to high school to take one more course. Now, I'll be dreaming about tow trucks and gravel roads.

The irony in all this is that my favorite song is "Car Wheels on Gravel Road" by Lucinda Williams.

Ron Lubke
DIYnetwork.com

Posted by rlubke at 9:04 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack