Our dream of a little mountain home is getting close to reality. We are building a garage apartment in Laurel Springs, NC, which some day will be attached to a larger log cabin home. When that happens, the room over the garage will be my sewing studio! You can bet I have asked for lots of built-in storage and electrical outlets. Last week the builders finished framing the windows and adding doors and hardwood floors. On Saturday, a crew of family and friends hung the sheet rock in the garage, led by able master carpenter Jason Hall, my sister's son. Our volunteer electrician got stuck with the duty of installing the screws with the electric drill, since at 6'9" he can reach the ceiling without standing on a ladder! Thanks, guys! My father came over for lunch on Saturday. He lives in a retirement center in Boone, about 45 minutes away. It is so great that he will be close by when we are visiting the mountains. Until a couple years ago, I had always lived close to home, but he finally sold the family house in Cary and moved to Boone, where two of my brothers live. The picture above shows my sister Katy with my father in front of the cabin.
The mountains are definitely showing signs of the spring season with ferns, trillium, may apples, and even dogwood blooms. The dogwoods look like the frost got them, because all the white petals had a brownish tinge. But, it is nice to see new leaves on the trees and a little sign of greenery! The beavers have started work on this year's beaver dam, just below our lot, which will provide us once again with a swimming hole once the weather warms enough to brave the mountain waters. Last year we had fun throwing tubes in the creek and floating around on hot days.