A winter amish adventure

We took a few days off for some rest and relaxation in Amish Country. An important second birthday party postponed our start. However, since our choices for arrival were either late Saturday or Monday around 3PM, we chose the former.

The Charm Countryview Inn Bed & Breakfast was everything it advertised. Our room, Dorothy's Domain, had a fabulous view of the wintry landscape. The weekday breakfasts were indeed three-course home cooked extravaganzas. The atmosphere was quiet, restful and peaceful as expected. There are no televisions. We could have found a newspaper but chose not to.

Sunday was spent putting together a puzzle, eating at a local steak house, playing Scrabble and conversing. It was an unusual Valentine's Day for us.

On Monday and Tuesday, we shopped at old haunts and new places. My husband found the leather belt he wanted that was cut to his size on the spot. He also located the two-buckle over-the-boot snow boot that eluded him around here.

We discovered Keim Lumber in Charm. That was because of conversation around the breakfast table. The business looks like just any lumberyard until you drive back a bit. Then this gigantic quite new building appears. My husband called it the Cabela's of lumber companies. Inside, we found more choices than we knew existed. There is a room filled with exotic woods. Fabulous colors and grains and all shapes and sizes. Amazingly beautiful woods.

A bargain room is filled with everything imaginable. Two complete front doors with side panels, overhead glass were there. They were formerly display items. Many of the items were former displays.

The best part is I was able to order a 30" double towel bar. I think I could have ordered it from somewhere around here but no one knew or read or found the information this clerk located.

That was the best part of Keim, the help provided. The store personnel were not pushy but they were there and ready to answer any questions. They also deliver to Oak Harbor.

I purchased a copper rooster weather vane for my husband as an early birthday gift. He's wanted one for a long time. They had a large selection and he found just what he wanted. Now the challenge of installation looms. That will be another story.

It was fortunate we took the truck. We needed the four-wheel drive several times. The amount of snowfall in the area was double of what we have. Maybe more than double. We drove through canyons of snow that buried many a mailbox. Some were visible because the residents shoveled out around the boxes. Some were just posts where mailboxes once were. The fields of snow-covered corn shocks were incredibly picturesque. Not that I brought my camera, but what a picture they made.

This was my first winter adventure to Amish Country. The snow made it look completely different from the other seasons. Our innkeeper told us mid-May is his favorite time of the year. I must admit, spring is a favored time of the year.

We'll just have to return to see the scene he described and discover the flowers blooming in the space around the inn.