Friday, October 8, 2010

Blog Cabin 2011 Coming to Mathews



This week's Gazette-Journal confirms that the DIY Network's Blog Cabin will feature a Mathews County home located on the Mobjack Bay in Susan.

The shot above is not from that house, but just play along.

Since most of the three of you who read are not from Mathews, I should explain that Susan is a place, a post office, a don't blink otherwise you've just missed it area in Mathews.

Since I no longer watch TV because I'm addicted to the internet I confess to being a stranger to Blog Cabin. Evidently the network purchases a property, fixes it up, and films an entire series around these renovations.  In the end, the house is given away to one very lucky sweepstakes winner.

This is all very, very exciting for those of us who want our own reality TV show and feel convinced we have all the makings right here under our noses who live in the county.  In addition to having a major network in our midst for months on end, the show will be great publicity for the county.  Perhaps most importantly, the show will also provide jobs and the experience of a lifetime for some of our local bloggers? contractors.  

Given the enormous culture clash these DIY'ers are bound to experience, I thought we could ease their transition by giving them some tips on how to survive in Mathews.  Let's see if we can get a good list going.  


Here is a start, in no particular order:

1.  Toss all GPS units into the Mobjack Bay, because they might actually work down there in the mud but they will not work in Mathews.  That GPS Lady thinks she knows what she's talking about, but she's full of hot air and hush puppies most of the time.

2.  Eat all the Thai and Vietnamese food you can before you arrive.  There's a delightful Thai restaurant in Gloucester, but that is probably 20-25 miles from Susan.

3. Unless you have helicopters dropping in supplies (and if you do, please request sixteen cartons of Vietnamese spring rolls to be drop-shipped over the 23076 zip code), you will drive more than you breathe.  

4.  Insects and assorted infestations are a fact of life - your life.  They will live with you.  No matter what the season, you will be overtaken by insects.  You cannot win, it's futile.

The current season is fruit flies and spiders.  Welcome them with open arms.  You might find crickets in your suitcases too.

Winter places the welcome mat out for mice, who will find your place warm and inviting.

Spring brings ants, killer mutant ants like you've never seen.  When you are overtaken by them, and you will be, consult with me.  I have the solution which involves a multi-faceted approach involving Terro and nuclear weapons.

Summer means mosquitoes, May flies and dementia horseflies.  Because we do not want to scare you out of the county, we won't talk about these just yet.

5.  Don't leave trash outside overnight.  Although bears have yet to cross the county line from Gloucester, we do have bear-sized fiddler crabs raccoons and opossums. What they don't eat they will happily and unabashedly sprinkle anywhere in a half-mile radius. If you don't want your neighbor seeing it, do not put it in your trash.

6.  You may wish to erect your own cell phone tower at the work site, otherwise just go ahead and install a land line unless you know smoke signals, Morse code or have tapped into your ESP capabilities.

7.  Relax and get ready for a slower pace of life in an isolated area with far fewer of the so-called luxuries but chock-a-block full of wonderful people and gorgeous, undeveloped natural beauty.  If you need a tour guide, CBW is your gal.

In the next edition of Tips for the DIY Network in Mathews County, we'll cover storm survival tactics and ways to entertain yourself when the current goes out and the tide is so high in the back yard you need hip boots to get to the car.

Dear Reader Three Readers - Please add to this list of things the DIY people will need to know to make their stay more enjoyable here in Mathews during the upcoming season. I'll keep a running tally and publish updates periodically.

Dear DIY Network:  You will love Mathews, and I for one think you might not ever want to leave.

Welcome.

45 comments:

BayBrowder said...
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BayBrowder said...

Since there are no operating motels in Mathews (there are a few excellent B&B's), the DIY crew needs to restore and renovate (or demolish and rebuild) the Islander Motel, Restaurant, and Marina complex before they go to work on the Blog Cabin.....this will create even more jobs for local workers and provide the DIY crew a great waterfront place to stay.

Kay L. Davies said...

I like the idea of the DIY crew DIY-ing their own motel, restaurant and marina complex, so they'll have a place to put their bodies, their appetites, and their pleasure boats. Few DIY crews are given opportunities such as these and they will thank you later, much later.

K

Occasional Kate said...

Oh man, could you imagine a makeover show doing the Islander? Someone call Ty Pennington!

As for tips, I would say certain words should be avoided, like rivah, village, and a slew of others.

Ann Marie said...

the first time one of them says "rivah" I will personally shove my tri pod up their ass.

I still am not as "excited" about this as i would like to be.. maybe when I mean the crew it will be better. Right now I just have a not so good feeling about this.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

8. Bring your own water. All drinking water in Mathews is lethal.

9. Above water is also horrendous for your hair. Be advised that anything you have professionally done (color, etc.) will be rendered null and void after 1.5 shampoos with Mathews water.

10. Please renovate the Islander. I will help write the movie that needs to be done about what it was like in its heyday.

11. After that, please travel to Gloucester and renovate the skating rink. Then convince the owners to reopen it for business. I want to practice for the roller derby team I want to start.

Thank you.

deborah said...

They love Mathews just as it is, so they need to try to leave it without a huge amount of changes other than giving people jobs, adding to the county's revenue and fixing the Islander. Step lightly DIY!

hmmm, I plan on winning this house, no need for anyone else to enter:)

Jamie said...

If Ty Pennington is fixing up the Islander I will sacrifice my job to become his personal assistant. I also think they should forget their sweepstakes and just give me the Blog Cabin so I can finally move down there. I'm so in for the roller derby.

Mental P Mama said...

Triple yes to the Islander! And the GPS and cell phone tower;) I have never heard of it either. They should film the brick house while I redo it. And they pay for it....

Daryl said...

I love Mathews and I have learned to be patient with mobile phones because sometimes at just the right angle you can get reception momentarily ... or you can always drive to Gwynns Island where on the beach you have perfect connectivity for phone AND internet.

I dont recall ever drinking water in Mathews ...

Meg McCormick said...

2b. Amend to include the air-dropping of large bags of freshly-fried tortilla chips from Chevy's or Rio Grande or whatever their favorite Tex-Mex restaurant is. Salsa, we can cover. Noe Noe and I can make that. But the chips? Not quite as easily.

6b. Amend to suggest they try two tin cans connected by some string. Or two-way radios might work in a pinch.

OMG, if Ty Pennington came to renovate the Islander, I would totally hip-check Jamie into the water in order to get close to him. Then I would probably kidnap him and bring him back to my house, which is in serious need of renovation. OK, I'm kidding. I probably wouldn't hip-check Jamie. But I might throw an elbow.

Jamie said...

@Meg- Bring it! I have mad Ninja skills. But better yet, let's work together to get him squirreled away in some remote location. I'm sure CBW can suggest a place.

Trisha said...

How fun! It will be interesting to see how things progress as the series is being shot!

I love your list for the crew. I am sure they will find it very helpful!

Daria Linsinbigler said...

I'm excited to have them here. Though I may be biased since I sold them the house. I think it will be wonderful for viewers to see that small town living still exists. I know the executives that I worked with were true lovers of history so I know they will respect and value our county. As for their list of what to expect-you had me cracking up...so true!

foolery said...

This whole thing is gold. Daryl's comment made me make donkey noises. I thought I'd outgrown that habit, but no, I haven't. Thanks for all the laughs today. Please dangle your fine selves in front of the producers as often as possible to let them know the valuable resource (and talent pool) they have in you funny, funny locals.

Bluebird49 said...

Oh my. All the beauty I've enjoyed via your blog, imagining the peace and quiet and friendly people---how will it be the same after this?

I guess I should be amenable to change. Should be really ...um...interesting to watch.

Meg McCormick said...

@Jamie, you're right, we need to work together. But we don't have to share him with everyone else, do we? No, no, I didn't think so.

Seriously? I love the idea of DIY renovating the Islander! How COOL would that be? Let's sell the concept to them!

Country Girl said...

I would love to have a home in Mathews. Despite everything mentioned, it's simply beautiful.

AverettLadyNana said...
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AverettLadyNana said...

Water Moccasins, Copperheads, Cottonmouths,...
(the above are snakes just in-case a comehere or even a none native to tidewater area doesn't know what they are)

Would love to see the Islander fixed backup to it's Glory Days...fond memories...

oh and it may help if they watch that Swamp Show catching alligators in Louisiana so they can start fine tuning their ears to the accents they will hear by natives...for some reason I can understand what they are saying on that show and have to translate to my husband, s-i-l, grandsons, etc. poor souls they grew up in NN.

Anonymous said...

Dear Life in Mathews Gal,

Your blog is SO witty.... I'm not counted as one of your "three readers," but right before I moved to Mathews (a few months ago), I googled Gwynn's Island, and your blog popped up. I've been a (spotty) avid reader ever since!

You are funny. aaannnndddd, your critter part scares the crap outta me b/c thus far, you've been right on. I've never seen so many bugs in my life. Please, God, do NOT let my house become infested with rodents b/c I canNOT handle that on my own!!! ha ha ha.

-new gal

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Dear New Gal - Welcome to Mathews and welcome to the war against insects. Terro will be your friend in the ant battle. The rodents are not such a big a deal (unless you count musk rats, but let's not for now) - mice, etc. will come inside when it's cold but they leave in warm weather. Ants on the other hand, will never leave unless you wage full-on war.

Thanks for commenting and hope you stick around and become my fourth reader. - cbw

Tes283 said...

Hello,
Good to met you,

I did a search for more info on the DIY home and ta-da...you. What a wonderful wicked sense of humor. If you are close enough to the old Tatterson farmhouse, please take pictures. Or give more history?

Do you know what the address is of the old place, so I can find it and spy on the site from above??

If you post more about the DIY home, then "them" will come to visit your blog.

Thank you for the laughs.

adele said...

Glad I found you all.

Plan to visit it periodically to get feedback on how things are going there with the Blog Cabin & how you all are surviving.

Terrie said...

Any little airport nearby. We live in Southern Maryland near the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River. As the crow or airplane flies Susan is quite close but to drive we have to go north than west then South then East.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Tes, I know how to get to the vicinity but do not have the address.

Terrie - There are no airports in Mathews, although one landed at Ward's Corner once much to everyone's surprise...The closest major airport would be in Newport News, about an hour away.

Trudy said...

stumbled accros your blog.Make me reader #5. Very funny!

Anonymous said...

This looks like the town where Gilmore Girls was filmed, am I right? I am from SW Florida, know all about flies of all sizes, snakes of every variation, gators and of course our worse twice a year visitor, love bugs!!!! Do you have a grocery store, a walmart or target??? You make it sound like it's really in the middle of nowhere. I'd love to see the home on google, anyone got an address or lats and longs??? Thanks!!!

flagal said...

This looks like the town where Gilmore Girls was filmed, am I right? I am from SW Florida, know all about flies of all sizes, snakes of every variation, gators and of course our worse twice a year visitor, love bugs!!!! Do you have a grocery store, a walmart or target??? You make it sound like it's really in the middle of nowhere. I'd love to see the home on google, anyone got an address or lats and longs??? Thanks!!!

flagal said...

PS Yes, I was anonymous, but the word verification said I didn't fill it out right, so I copy and pasted, I'm not really that lame.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Flagal, the closest Wal-Mart is about 15+ miles away and Target is about double that and then some...we do have two grocery stores and a Dollar General, one of my favorite stores.

We're definitely off the beaten path.

The Blog Cabin is located south of the area we call the Court House, which is our version of a downtown or commercial district (albeit a very tiny commercial district - don't blink or you'll miss it). The house is located on Route 603 Bellevue Road, although I don't have an address. I have been to the property, however, and can vouch for its beauty.

Good luck to all the entrants in the contest.

flagal said...

Thanks Chesapeake Woman, I've really been enjoying all of your comments. Sounds like a great area with even greater people. Who says being off the beaten path is all that bad anyway. Have a great weekend!

ALM said...

Ever since DIY announced their latest location as beautiful Chesapeake Bay, I have been following your [irreverent ramblings] blog. If you are indicative of Mathews County residents, I can’t wait to call [the sanitarium] Susan home! Ok –I have to win first, but my [bribe is in the mail] fingers are crossed…

Please, Daria or one of my future neighbors, batten down the hatches at the blog cabin and move my outdoor furnishings out of the floodplain before Irene hits. I’ll reciprocate with bootleg [Ty] Thai. And lots and lots of [alcohol] insect repellant…

[sorry for the oddly placed brackets – my strikethrough tag was rejected :p]

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

ALM - Thank you for reading and commenting! Yes, I am one of many patients here in the ward. Mathews is chock full of characters, all of whom have a great sense of humor. (It's a requirement in order to live here. If you don't have a sense of humor you won't be able to cope with fiddler crabs in your garage or mosquitoes the size of buzzards in your bedroom or ant colonies taking over your kitchen, etc. Or hurricanes. And now earthquakes.)

We are preparing for the storm and hopefully someone is taking care of the Blog Cabin. That back yard will be flooded, for sure.

Please be sure to remember your buddy CBW when you bring your bootleg Thai to Mathews!

Anonymous said...

You are so funny! On a serious note, would like to know how everyone made out with Hurricane Irene. I've been wondering about tides and rain storms. If the water isn't any good - what do you drink? Do you have to get bottled water? Whats the winters like down there - tolerable? (I live in Maine right now) Thanks for all the info - but where do you go for fun!!!

racquel said...

Your are so funny!! I had just entered the sweepstake and wanted to see how life in Susan was from the "natives" point of view and you had me cracking up. I still hope I win though, if only to meet you.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Anonymous - we made out just fine, but then again we are very used to bad storms, mostly nor'easters that cause lots of flooding and wind damage. Irene brought lots of wind and rain but not a whole lot in the way of damages to structures. Mostly downed tree limbs and loss of power, which when you're on well water and a septic system means no running water.

Speaking of water, even though I have a filtration system on my well water, I still drink bottled water. I just don't trust water that looks and smells like mine does. Others have better quality water and have no problem drinking from their tap. I'd rather drink from the natural spring we have at the end of our road than drink the well water on our property, but again that's just me.

Winters here are generally mild. We might get the occasional bit of unbearable cold but whatever we call cold is probably considered tropical for those who are used to winters in Maine. In general, we enjoy a bit of a cold snap, a very brief spring, and then Amazon Jungle heat and humidity starting spring and running through October.

Racquel - Thanks, good luck to you. Whether you win or not I'm pretty sure you'd be underwhelmed at meeting me, but we are quite the cast of characters here! If you're ever in the area and want a tour, let me know. With Mathews, I'm pretty sure you'd be impressed. It's definitely a very special place.

Anonymous said...

Aha - Finally tracked the DIY Blog House 2011 address down on Google Maps. The Satellite image is a bit out of date but all of the coast and major trees match.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1209+Bellevue+Road++Susan+Virginia&hl=en&ll=37.347352,-76.318009&spn=0.001525,0.00269&sll=37.347532,-76.317273&sspn=0.000762,0.001345&vpsrc=6&t=h&z=19

Enjoy!

Pete.

ALM said...

Pete - Thanks for the link! I did a little Google Map sleuthing as well and had narrowed it down to that property (the roof line is a dead give-away) but the size of one neighboring property threw me - is that a parking lot? Oh, well, the more the merrier; I'll be sure to mix an extra large pitcher of Chesapeake Bay Breeze...

Deacon Maccubbin said...

I've really enjoyed reading this blog. I stumbled upon it thanks to the HGTV promotion, but it brought back lots of childhood memories. Both sets of grandparents had retired to Mathews back in the 1950s and I visited often up until my late teens. Frank and Hilda Walker and George and "Mommie Mac" Maccubbin were their names. The Walker place was down a long road through the woods and looked out over the Elizabeth River (looked very much like the HGTV house!). They were active in the Baptist church, grew their own scuppernong grapes for wine, had some sheep and chickens, and fished and crabbed the river. The Maccubbin place was on Put-In Creek where we fished a lot. We spent many Thanksgivings and Christmases there. Used to love going to the lunch counter at Hudgins (?) drug store for an ice cream or shopping in the general store. I miss it.

Anonymous said...

I have stumbled upon this blog by way of BLOG CABIN 2011. I must say I have laughed ...gotten tickled...and imagined living amongst the personalities depicted here!!! It has been FUN to Dream about Blog Cabin being my future home!!! This little BLOG just helped me Dream even bigger Dreams of what My Families life would be like if Dreams became a reality!!
What adventures we would have!!! What new critters/varmints to get used of....some of the varmints/insects we are already accustom too. It's the Bay/Sea going type that we would learn about!!!
Power outages,well water,no cell service etc...No Problem!! Here we deal with the same!! Actually enjoy the down time!!!
As far as the people of the AREA...as depicted in this blog...OOO my seems like my quirky (something that is strange/not normal but cool)personality would feel at home amongst the people of Mathews!!!Thanks ya'll for contributing to the Dream World!!!LOL
Just A
HILLBILLY
Dreaming A Little DREAM
Have Awesome Day!!!

Anonymous said...

Just entered the contest. Sure we be a great place to keep the wooden sailboat I'm building!
I think I found the house (pre-renovation) on google earth.
Coordinates 37° 20' 50" N 76° 19' 4" W

Steve Hale said...

Wonderful blog have entered the contest and was curious about the area and found your blog. My hobby is revolutionary war reenacting, so well versed in visiting the time without service. If you see a colonial soldier looking lost that will be me. NOT TELLING MY WIFE ABOUT THE BUGS, shhhhh. To see what we do check out www.libertybellshop.com that is the wife and I.

Anonymous said...

Can someone please tell me the address of blog cabin?

Anonymous said...
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