"The Sleeping House", the small building George Robert Winn (aka PA & my father-in-law) slept in as a boy, with his brother Peyton. PA recently reminisced about this place: He carved the name he wanted to be called into the wood- "Bob", there were screens all around...lots of fresh air, he woke up to snow or frost on his bed covers & there was a small woodstove to take the chill off those cold winter nights.

As Daniel and I made our way painting this old, and somewhat tired, farm building this summer we discovered carvings in the siding PW+JA, BAJ+JC & EFW and a big blockish R. Wouldn't it be fun to see back in time when those were so fervently carved. I can surmise that the R is Robert, and PW is Peyton Winn, and EFW must be Ellen, Bob and Peyton's sister, but who are JA, BAJ & JC? This little building isn't standing exactly straight, and the floor is not level, but....oh.....the stories it could tell!

This summer Preston found some used fir 1x4 tongue and groove lumber (salvaged from an old elevator near Helix) and determined it would be great flooring material. When progress on the floor in the barn came to a standstill, because of potential building code hurdles, Preston decided that The Sleeping House would be a great place to use this wood. He put it on the floor and walls. When he was done the cabin looks pretty darn good. We will leave the rafters as they are (including the big ol' nails that, I suspect, were used to hang clothes on). I like how it looks old.Preston is going to add trim to the corners and few other "finishing" details, we will give it all a light sanding and maybe some sealant finish.... oh... and I need to vacuum the cobwebs & dust.

I am going to plant some old fashioned iris and daylilies around it to perk it up a bit on the outside.

I think this little building is standing a little taller today, what do you think?

We are hoping that it will have many more stories to tell as a Grooms Cabin.