Cowfeathers Island

Island living! Sun, sand, water, fronds, waves, margaritas... okay, Cowfeathers is not an island (unless crops are water and chickens are sandpipers). And although we do have sun and wind regularly, I don't think anyone could mistake our little creek for a body of water. So, although we are not on an island, we do have an island. One of which I'm quite fond.

When we moved to Cowfeathers, the house had two bedrooms. The toddler boy had one, and the parents had the other. That left two little girls with a hallway to share. We tucked beds into the eaves of the hall and tromped over toys, clothes and treasures to get to the bathroom. It was evident that a remodel and addition would be a fine consideration. I'm sure I'll discuss this period in Cowfeathers morphology in further blogs, but let me say here, many thanks to my Dad, who was a huge influence in getting the addition ball rolling with creativity and enthusiasm and also to Architect, Shawn Baird (check out his website, Fusion Design, it's excellent) for his insight and expertise in making what I wanted possible.

In any case, many parts of Cowfeathers got a spiff, including the kitchen. The original kitchen at the farm was, of course, a summer kitchen and not attached to the main house. Somewhere in the mid 1800's, I envision a windblown, blue-lipped, hand-chapped farm wife declaring she'd rather brave the ravages of fire than to have to go outside to get to the kitchen one more time! Thus, the main house was connected to the kitchen. Then, in the early 1960's, when Cowfeathers still had a kitchen pump and an outhouse, the house was abandoned. For 25 years it was empty, save for the raccoons, cattle, and a brief stint as a flophouse for disillusioned, under ambitious local teens with a few electric guitars and an endless supply of native datura. This was a blessing in disguise, as the house skipped the 1970's era of strip and stain. This was  tragic disease whereby historic, aesthetically beautiful farm houses were gutted in order to "update" them with fake wood paneling, clam shell molding and cemented on linoleum. Whilst other local farms were denigrated thusly, Cowfeathers spent this era getting covered in cow pies and bat guano. So, when Tom K. and his wife, who worked for a county historic society were hunting for a property to restore (not renovate) in the mid 1980's, they happened upon this little gem (a kind of treasured island) and did a wonderful job ridding it of the cows and making it quite habitable. (They did not however rid us of the bats- blog subject of the future, but not for the squeamish.) They did a great job with the house, but the old kitchen was a bit tired by the time we bought the place. The K.'s must not have been foodies, as the room was small, very dark and unfriendly, with cheap cabinets and no insulation. To give you an idea of how cold it was in the winter, we lost power before Christmas in 2005? at 10 a.m..  By 3 pm, the kitchen was 31 degrees Fahrenheit. So, making a kitchen I wanted to spend time in was a priority. Still, my budget was tight. REALLY tight. When the builder was coming up with his estimate, and I told him I was redoing the kitchen from the studs up on a tight budget, he budgeted in 16K. I told him his tight was different from mine. I was talking less than 1K. And I did. Ripped it out to the studs, built it back the way I wanted it. Mostly, I wanted and island. And I mean an ISLAND. Not one of those dinky things from Ikea. So, after I built the sink and counters, installed the appliances, I took stock of my available space and got creative. I found a 12' long butcher block top on ebay from a machine shop that was being liquidated and bought it for $200. Unfortunately, it was in Chicago. So, my blessed brother and sister in law who live in that fine city, figured out a way to pick it up and store it in their garage. Next, my husband went to a meeting in Chicago, and instead of flying, took my minivan-and yes, I did know it would fit a 4' by 12' piece of thick butcher block, and he drove it home. Good man. Next, I called my Dad! He and I like doing projects together, and this was a good one. He and my Mum came for Thanksgiving, and the two of us created a masterpiece of islandom.

Three years later, we continue to be island dwellers- no hammock, but certainly center stage in the Cowfeathers kitchen!

After assembly, Thanksgiving 2007

Cowfeathers island, today.....