My Dad's Better Than ... Well ... You Know

As the only daughter and only child of my father, I never had to share his attention with anyone except my mother. And she seemed to have a way of captivating him that took me years to truly understand - years of being married myself, and to a man very much like my father.

My dad is a quiet man of many talents, and one of these is his superb woodcrafting abilities. Nearly a life-long passion of his, he is a perfectionist when it comes to many things and the furniture he has made over the years is a testament to that. Those of us that he loves (and love him) have been fortunate to be recipients over the years of many of his very special creations. He is a humble man, thinking that what he does is no big deal, even though we assure him it is.

Our home is filled with his works: a 3-section wall unit that holds many of my books and our television (and a cat now and then), built-in bookshelves along a stairwell wall, a cedar chest that doubles as a coffee table, a grandmother clock, a built-in desk and cabinets that house my Classic Pooh collection, a bookend that holds five wine bottles, and an inlaid walnut Reuge music box.

The star of our collection is our bedroom set which he made in 2000, to copy Thomasville's Encounter collection that I'd seen at Kittle's, and was a gift for our 25th wedding anniversary.

Photos taken in 2001

These are just a few of the things that we're fortunate enough to have in our home. Earlier this year, Dad made me something else that was a special request - a porch swing. When Kara, Jenna and I took a garden tour in Ft. Wayne a few years ago, one of the homes on the tour had a swing on their front porch and Kara remarked, "Mom, you need one of these on your front porch." Brilliant, that girl!

And now we have a porch swing, a la Dad:

But wait! There's more!


A matching chair!


Let's put it all together now...

Romie has decided that a matching rocker would be rather nice and Dad has graciously agreed to make one this winter, when he spends more time inside, in his fabulous woodworking shop.

Now lest you think that my dad has never said no to me, I assure you that's not true. I asked for a pogo stick for Christmas when I was two and I didn't get it.

Thanks, Dad. I love you!