We went to visit an old friend of the family today, to say hello and sell him some girl scout cookies. His house is way off the beaten path, so im pretty sure he doesnt have too many visitors. Visiting Mike is like stepping back in time, in a wonderful way! His house was built in 1910, and its like taking a trip to the old west.
Mike lives a very simple life...when we stopped by, he had just finished baking a fresh loaf of bread and had beans simmering on the stove (and what a gorgeous stove it is...dating back to the 1920's).
He has no television and no electricity, though he does have a few gas lights in his home and solar power in his shop when he needs it. That little radio on his table is about it as far as modern conveniences go (though he did add indoor plumbing for a shower, toilet and sink).
He has a piano, a banjo and a guitar when he wants to jam...but he is an incredibly skilled craftsman and makes beautiful things as well as being the neighborhood handyman.
When i first met him, i wasn't quite sure what to think...we had a very unusual conversation about history, and he was quite heated and opinionated about something that we strongly disagreed upon...but i figured it was a small community, and it was best to just let it go. Im sooo glad i did, because ive met a really interesting character that tells the best stories and just adores Jordyn. After all...we're all a bit quirky :)
Jordyn loves visiting Mike too...she thinks his house is really cool, sort of like a museum. I had never seen his bunk house, so we checked it out while we were there.
The brass bed in this room dates back to 1842 and comes from Birmingham, England. He has another brass bed in the main cabin from 1890, but this one had an adorable quilt on it too. See those curtains...Mike made those out of the flour sacks he buys to make his bread. There are a couple bags sitting on the table in his kitchen (in one of the top photos), and i was sooo happy to see that he uses the bags for other things as well. waste nothing. I obtained a few of these flour sacks from him and hope to make a little something out of them in the future.
Meanwhile, it was getting late, so we took a quick swing out in the yard, and then sold Mike a box of Samoas :) Thanks for the fun Mike! Have a fabulous weekend!
4 comments:
Love the cozy home. I think it would be neat to take a step back into time like that...though I'm sure I would miss a few things like my internet.
what an interesting man and an amazing cabin he has. personally i think living a life like that might make me go crazier than I already am, haha, but i so admire someone with the skills and guts to do it. thank you for sharing a look into a real mountain mans way of life. Hugs!!
What a cool cabin! Love it and love the story about Mike.
Now that's interesting. Nice cabin and love the snow, we never get snow anywhere close to that thick lol. I'm near Houston and what a treat that would be. I bet his well stocked with cookies to last the Winter :)
~Randall
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