Our cabin is 20 feet north of our home in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis. We bought it from Plants and Things when our two girls were small enough to walk through the front door. They are now college students.

The cabin was built with excellent craftsmanship by the Amish and brought to our home on a trailer. We had to take down part of a chain-link fence and a hedge to place it in the backyard. My husband, Ron, built a foundation of gravel and landscaping bricks. Our neighbor Leo built wooden steps for the child-sized front door and the adult side door. Bachman's made a landscape plan including a pine tree (to give it the Up North feel) and steppingstones from the patio by the back door of our house.

The cabin came with a plywood floor and ladder to the loft. Ron insisted on adding carpeting and shelves. I sawed a few inches off my dad's World War II Army cot to make a couch/bed.

The girls and I spent a few summer nights sleeping out there. Ron used to enjoy an afternoon nap, too. We added electricity for lights, radio, heater and a fan. There were even speakers for watching DVDs on our old laptop back when that was a thing.

Although there is no pond by our cabin, we have two water features in our backyard — a fountain (Father's Day gift) and a wishing well designed and built by our daughters and their dad.

These days the cabin is mostly just a giant lawn ornament. I still enjoy sitting on the cabin steps soaking up afternoon sun almost any time of year.

Vicky Ercolani, Minneapolis