Country Neighbors Homepage

"Hello Patrick, Joan, Sean, Jason, Ben, Victory,
Valory, Jeremiah, Gabriel, Matthew, Verily. Did I
leave anyone out. Oh yes, Grandma. I just want to
thank everyone for a wonderful time, and Valory
watch the mail!. The response we are getting on
the stairway is unbelievable, the city council
woman wants channel 12 and The Flint Journal to
do a film and story on your family about the
stairway, I suggested to wait until the kitchen
and sunroom is done and she thought so to. Gene
[the builder] gave the stairs and railing a 50 on a
1 to 10 scale, and for him that's huge. Sunday,s
sermon was on being Grateful and Thankful, and
we Verily are. Because of the stairway we now
have a complete vision for the rest of the house,
Anna does want you to do the countertops,we also
thought a smaller scale railing for the large
opening to the sunroom,it would be two 8ft
railings with a 6ft opening in the middle. When it
gets all done we are going to have two dinners in
the house, one for all our p artners and one for
the major funders in Flint. We'll I don't want to
give everything away, there has to be some
surprises. I hope to be seeing you and your family
soon. Dan & Anna"

Dan & Anna are a really remarkable couple; they run "Noah's Ark"
in Flint MI. They both are bus drivers and spend there free time
helping troubled youth in an area that Dan calls "Ground Zero"!
We are so honored to be a part of a really special ministry.

Dan & Delores took a big jump of faith with us: he had bought these "close
out" black fluted metal tube-type spindles at Menards, and to top it off,
they were too short. We needed at least 28" long to meet code; they were
26". We came up with an idea to make the top and bottom rails extra large
and, to make it look like "we meant to do that", we flattened the top rail on
our bandsaw. This made it great for entertaining! It all turned out
"Show-Room" quality.

"Patrick,
Here are some photos of your
installed stairs and the rest of
the house. We closed last
month and the new family loves
the stairs. We are looking at
more land and maybe two more
houses next year. We loved
your stairs and the service. We
will surely call you again when
we get to that stage. Feel free
to use any of these photos on
you web site or advertising.
Judie"

"Pat and Joan,
I feel as if I got to better
know you through your sons.
What wonderful young men.
How proud you must be. My
parents and I were in awe of
Ben and his abilities at such a
young age [18]. I was truly
filled with joy at the
completed project and I must
say that it far surpasses
anything that I have ever
seen before.
I will keep in touch with your
family and hope to someday
meet you folks. Best wishes
always, Cat."

Tom & Cat (cute eh) took the plunge and pretty much let us design
everything (from 700 miles away)! The challenge was to come up with a
look that matched a 20-year-old cabin; a cabin that was a little too
rustic for Cat. The spiral and railing were a great upgrade.

Janet's place was a big job. She wanted just about everything we
are known for: Railing with lots of character, a half log mantel, a
half-log stairway, and kitchen and bathroom counter tops (made
from one piece of wood!). These were covered with a two-part
epoxy resin that should last a lifetime. The stairs and railing are
what we call "Sap-Stained and buggy". A few bugs did, in fact
hatch and hit the screens, but they were of no consequence. Janet
just whacked them with a broom and that was that. The most
persistent pests are powder post beetles which don't like pine.

Patrick,
My husband and I really love how the stairs and railing came out! They are beautiful.
They add a dimension to our log home that really completes the feel of the home. We
especially really love the tree trunk post at the base of the stairs. You say you do
"mild to wild" and it is just enough of the touch of the wild that it is really unique.
People coming in to our home have remarked how it defines the whole room. We also
love the way you were able to combine using the log spindles on the stair railing and
the metal spindles on the loft railing. You were so very willing to work with our ideas
and suggested great ones of your own. In addition, the craftsmanship and finishing
were top notch. It was great working with you and Country Neighbors.

Dolores Trese and Dan Bonner

"Patrick! What a beautiful place to relax, read, eat and enjoy nature without the bugs
in your food. A great 'addition' to my home. It feels and is used like another room for
family gatherings and a place to relax and enjoy the flowers and the pond.

Everyone who sees it remarks how beautiful and well built it is. I just love it.

By the way, I had a pond put in with a waterfall, the whole back yard is just beautiful.

Thank you so much for enriching my life, I will enjoy and I hope other will enjoy it for
years to come.

Marlene Dau"

Three-Legged Two Tiered Table

This table was a joy to make. Everything fit well and it is well balanced. The
platters are willow and the legs are black locust. The finish is an all natural
Amber Shellac. It measures 24" in diameter (counting the legs) and 6 feet
high to the top limb. The platters are 9" and 20" off the floor. Asking $650

Ben made this two tiered pine table, which is a takeoff on a design of mine,
except it has a neat enhancement; one leg only goes as far up as the
bottom platter for easy-access. Nice going Ben! It has a honey colored
varnish finish and the pine is what's called "sap-stained"; If it was a
hardwood, I suppose it would be called spalted.

We took it to the Artist Market in Ludington and it sold as soon as we
brought it in. That was a nice surprise. So, it's here just for looks!

I donated these two "Split-Slab" end tables to a Silent Auction - all proceeds
went to the local hospice. Somebody got a great deal! The auction was out
on the grass under a big tent. I'm guessing the reason people didn't bid higher
is because these tables don't look like they'd sit level (with out rocking on
two legs) but they were as flat as a pancake. I'm happy two got blessed.

Where did the name "Country Neighbors" come from?--

One sad day, both Joan and I were weeping because we had just, inadvertently,
poisoned our ducks (Diazinon� in grain granule form - I buried it one inch deep
so that only the ants could get it - so I thought), AND, we had killed our
goats the previous month by foundering (we put two beautiful yearling
Nubians in a pen right next to the grain ben). How were we to know that in
one day, goats would over eat, bloat and die - right before our very eyes!
Nobody, (except the vet, afterwards,..., $95 bucks afterwards) told us "IF
THEY EAT LOTS OF GRAIN THEY WILL DIE!" It was extra hard on us
because the ducks and the goats were gifts from folks in the neighborhood.
That little one acre place is now just a suburb of Boulder Colorado, but then,
when it was just us and three little boys, it was an out-in-the-country
unique little subdivision filled with wanna-bees just like us.

We were both blowing our noses and wiping our eyes when Joan said "We need a
neighbor that will tell us these things!", "Yeah" I said "not just a neighbor,
but a Country Neighbor", "Right! - One that will help us along the way."
That's what we are trying to be. That's what it's all about.