Friday, February 22, 2008

a mokki -- a place of one's own

It's been a little noisy in the house today. We're face to face with two very determined 4 year olds who are insistent that they are in charge; but for at least 14 years they can't be in charge if our house is to survive.

It's noisy enough at times to make me yearn for a place of my own. And then in that moment I saw a story about a man, a great living American who strikes out and has a carpenter build a little space for himself (complete with bathroom, kitchenette, and DSL) while telling his wive he's building a storage shed in the back yard of their Arkansas home. The New York Times Home and Garden section, published February 21, 2008, details his exploits. Philip Besonen, who wrote of his own secret efforts, explains simply...
I wanted to build a cottage in our backyard. The problem was my wife. I had to do it before she noticed.
I don't know quite why I'm so jealous. A buddy in Fargo has a little shed in his backyard that's mostly forgotten, but this cottage, modeled on a Finnish Mokkis (pronounced like hokey) built right under the nose of his wife without her catching on at all has really gotten my imagination running. Who knows--maybe I'll build one of my own some day. There's a great picture of a mokki on Wikipedia. for now it's just kind of neat to see one man pull of such an accomplishment without his wife figuring it out until the very end.

2 comments:

Pastor Eric said...

Wow..I love it...and I love that little mokkis on that island even more. But I don't think I could get away with building something like that in the backyard of the parsonage. More than just my wife might notice.

But having a little get away is important. There is a room next to my office that is not being used by anyone that I am slowly turning into a personal study (or mokkis if you will). The problem is that it is more of a storage/catch all place than study. I might have to do something about that.

Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

My family is of Finnish descent, perhaps I can use that little tidbit as an arguement for me to have one.