Our New Home

A pile of lumber arrived on Labor Day of 2022. I was surprised Menards delivered on a holiday. Our construction crew began working on our new home the next week, and we moved in on our 42nd anniversary in January 2023.

I tossed in a photo of the project midway. Zook Builders were our contractors. We couldn't have been any more pleased with their work. They are in much demand in our Mennonite community, and we were super happy they agreed to take on our project. 

In the photo above, notice our old farmhouse with new construction only a few feet away. The old farmhouse was already standing when my wife's grandparents got married and moved here in 1916.

We bought this Amish-built bed from Midwest Woodworks, an Amish furniture store west of Kalona. The mattress is from an Amish-owned business in Indiana and is hand-stitched, almost like a quilt. As you can see, our little ornery dog, Wesley, thinks we built the home for him, and we merely stay here as his servants.

We took these pictures the day we moved in. We've had a chance to add a little decor to improve the ambiance since. If you want to see our Amish-built hickory cabinets a little closer, check out the builder's website.

Heritage-Kitchens_Amish-Made_Kalona-IA_

We feel quite at home here already. My wife and I have been talking about adding some cedar shudders to match the cedar posts. Notice the old windmill hovering over the house. My in-laws were still using the windmill to power their well until shortly before they moved to town in 2000. 

Our hickory theme spilled over onto the front porch with this bent-hickory porch swing and glider. You might notice our bar stools in the kitchen are also Amish-made bent-hickory.

Hickory rocking chairs are a long-standing Amish/Mennonite tradition. We have two in our home. One is a family heirloom from my wife's Mennonite family. The other rocker was a wedding gift from my parents. We sat in a set of these rockers for our wedding ceremony. 

Here is a link to a blog I wrote about our Amish-built, 20-foot-long table.

Amish Built Table

Our "finish carpenter" drove a buggy from his home to ours. He tied his horse in our barn. You can see my horses in the background eyeing the buggy. They seemed to enjoy having a horse visitor trot into the lane. 

Coincidentally, our Amish carpenter grew up in the home where my wife's great-grandpa and grandma raised her grandma Katie. The same grandmother who moved to this place in 1916. 

Here's our wedding photo. We headed to the Amana Colonies after our wedding. As you might know, I write Amish fiction, but my latest novel has an Amana Colony setting.

Novels by Thomas Nye

Remain True

Remain True: Amana-

The newest by author Thomas Nye.

Remain True was released on January 31, 2023

Leaving behind the crowds of Chicago and a failed relationship, author Timothy Hayes enters the Amana Colonies hoping to escape reality and find inspiration for a novel. Smalltown Iowa proves an epic failure with social distancing. Social awkwardness, however, is at an all-time high as a host of quirky neighbors crowd Tim's personal space. A beautiful photograph of an Amana woman becomes an inspiration for his writing. As he gazes into her eyes she seems to stir and come to life. Past and present collide when Elise steps out of the photograph and into Tim's life. What part of reality will Remain True? 

 Order today on Amazon: Remain True: Amana

Or, order a signed copy directly through Thomas Nye: How to order a book

(Copies ordered through Thomas Nye will be delayed until a book shipment comes in on or around February 16th) IF you can't wait to read Remain True: Amana - order through Amazon and it will arrive in a couple of days! 

Winter's Short Days

 
Winter in the Midwest can be brutal. Amish families endure the elements in a way most modern Americans don't have to. Can you imagine hitching up a horse after dark on a cold winter's night just to go to your children's school function? How about when the temperatures are below zero, there is ice on the road, and you have no heater or defroster in your vehicle. Don't forget there won't be electricity in the barn or any turning on the lights quickly so you can see what you're doing while you hitch up the horse.

Horses, however, are tough creatures. They, like buffalo, can calmly nibble at grasses on a snowy field when the temperature is below zero. They willingly pull a buggy through a curtain of snow. The picture above was snapped during a moment when the wind chill was negative 20 degrees. If you pass a row of buggy horses waiting at the hitching rack they all have a nice warm blanket wrapped around them. No kidding, Amish folks are quite devoted to their horses' well-being. 

Amish Children find fun games to play outside during cold weather. This hand-held game connects the players, unlike most hand-held devices children are connected to these days.

My wife and I enjoyed some hand-held outdoor fun a few weeks ago as we walked from shop to shop in the Amana Colonies to complete our Christmas shopping.

Winter days are short but the season can seem long while we wait for spring to bring new life to our fields and gardens. May I suggest a great pastime for those long winter evenings by the fire?

Why not curl up with a good book and a hot cup of something delicious to drink.

Here are some links to learn more about my Amish novels:

Books by Thomas Nye

Thomas Nye on Amazon

Barnes & Noble Thomas Nye page