First cookout on the deck!!

Gas grill works great. Susan is grilling veggies, and we also grilled some almond crusted flounder.

Amish Country

Here are a few pictures of Susan's new craft table; we had it custom made in northern Indiana's Amish country, also depicted here. Three beds, one dresser, one computer table, one office chairs, eight plastic lawn chairs, five plastic end tables, Susan's sewing machine cabinet, her craft table and some assorted small items (including Addy's and Elena's play table and chairs) were crafted in small workshops adjacent to the homes shown here.

Upstairs Balcony

Now you can see what the upstairs balcony railing looks like - those are stained locust posts holding up black metal, child-safe railings. In this picture you can also see the door to one of the guest rooms, and the linen closet. The staircase to the 2nd floor is on the right - it is open to the ceiling and has two landings, for easy access.

We have granite!!

Granite was installed yesterday, so now all the sinks are in, as well as the gas counter-top range. Lots of details still, but occupancy inspection is scheduled for Friday. We went to Spruce Pine yesterday to purchase mattresses, which will be delivered next Tuesday. We also have the furniture scheduled for delivery next week, and we may move that up to coordinate with the mattresses.

Birthday Present

Check out this handmade Amish cherry desk chair Mom bought me for my birthday!! We also went right to an Amish workshop and picked up bunkbeds for the grandkids as well as another Amish dresser for the "bunk room." And, we got a cool wooden hanger for the quilt Helen is making for the cabin.

Cabin Picture

Here's a nice view of the cabin as it looked several weeks ago. Our neighbor across the road, Keith Phillips, whom I grew up with at Cattail, took this the 2nd week of April. Notice the porch now on the upstream side. This will have a ramp to it. The cabin looks a bit small in this picture, until you notice how tiny the people are on the far left!! Trust us, this is no "cabin!"

Randy, our builder, told us yesterday that the siding is on now, and this week they will start the stone work on the front. They also plan to finish the back deck this week and start the drywall next week. He also reports that the grass is up!!!

Here too is a picture I forgot - this is a child's oak table and chairs, made by Mr. Bontrager and his sons. Perfect for finger painting!!


We are returning this Saturday to get me a desk chair and more patio furniture, as well as a quilt hanger. And of course we will stop at an Amish bakery for hot cinnamon rolls and coffee! Maybe even pick me up a birthday pie!

Amish Furniture from Indiana

We’ve been having a wonderful couple of Saturdays driving up to Amish country (Shipshewanna) and tracking down the last furniture we need for the cabin. We’ve been actually going directly to the workshops, usually down very long farm lanes, thus dealing directly with the craftsmen and eliminating middlemen and showrooms.

Here you can see mom sitting on one of our new patio chairs, right at the workshop. Six green for the deck and two red for the front porch so we can watch the kids and grandkids arrive. These are made from recycled plastics, and we are getting matching end tables too.

Also pictured is a hall tree we picked up Saturday, along with a footstool. We’ve met a Mr. Ervin Bontrager , who with his 12 sons operates an incredible workshop. He actually jumped in the back of our Jeep and drove with us to the patio chair place (he doesn’t do plastics, just oak and cherry; the plastics take a special shop, with an oven, etc.).

This coming Saturday he will help us with a desk chair, bunk beds and another dresser.

We also tracked down another Amish craftsman, who is making mom a custom sewing table and a craft table. Paul Miller already makes the sewing tables, but didn’t know what a craft table was. When he saw mom’s pictures, he said, “I can do that.” Maybe he’ll be able to start a new line!

This has been a lot of fun, networking with the Amish, and the furniture of course lasts multiple lifetimes – this is an heirloom project, all around.