August Special!!

Good News!

There are a few weekdays available at the Lilypad cottage in August. We would like to extend this special to you in hopes that you have time for a quick get away. 

***Reserve a two night stay at Lilypad and get the third night free!***

                                            or

***Reserve a three night stay at Lilypad and get the fourth and fifth nights free!***

Shoot us an email from this website and we’ll take care of the details

Tarry & Polly

Banana Pancakes

What do you do when a guest leaves you bunches and bunches of bananas? Make banana pancakes! And freeze them of course

Alex's Lemonade Stand

We are very excited to have these children at the Tree House and hope that you can stop by, 

either by boat or car.  Love to see a big turn out for these kids. 

What a great and positive thing for them to be doing. 

Flowers

So the flowers are in the ground and it's time for some funshine. These should look so nice once they get some sun and water. A little color looks so great

and after all that work...it was time for a little fun.

New Trees

Oh yes! We planted 3 new maple trees today at Lilypad. It's going to take some time but we will have shade. I am dreaming of big beautiful trees in my future. :)

Making something out of ...

So you think all the time, "I could do that", "I could make that". Yep you probably could but the question is "Would you?" 

Well we did. I'm so proud and happy with the work Tarry has done at Lilypad. He built the headboard for the bed out of pine boards and painted it my favorite color. I love it :) He also made the frame for the beach print on the wall out of trim from an old house. He is so creative and yet particular about every detail and outcome. I give him grief all the time about saving old things, but it sure worked out for the better this time. Even the night stand was reclaimed. 

What A Day!

What do you want to do when the cold weather changes to warmer sunnier days? I can hardly wait to go to the nursery and get some flowers. I know that I'm still a little bit early, but I can't help myself. The colors and the smells as soon as you walk in are just so beautiful. It's crazy how much they have here.

So today I talked Tarry into going to get a ceramic pot to make a fountain for Lilypad. They had so many pots it would blow your mind. All colors and shapes and sizes....and prices as well.

This guy just cracked me up. He is just my speed but not big enough for what we needed.

I spotted these guys from the car! Giant whirly-gigs! Loved these as a child and still do.

These tulips are so cool. Right along the drive when you pull in, and such a cool, cool color. I've never seen this color before. I might have to go back and get some of these.

What a great day. After getting on the road this morning and driving to New Carlisle, then to Urbana to get some Mumford chips :) and finally out to Tarry's folks to visit outside of St.Paris. Finally back home at 5:30. Wow, just wow

First Time

First visitors to Lilypad last weekend. They seemed to have a great time. Fortunately, they had a beautiful sunny weekend and were able to enjoy the outdoors. Grilling, fishing etc etc...all the things we think of for summer. And it's only April! Love it. And here we are this weekend with another beautiful sunny day :)

Just a good idea to keep an eye on the weather and check that calendar for a great weekend :)

So if you didn't make it to the open house...

We had a great turnout for our open house to Lilypad over boat show weekend. Thanks to everyone who make it. It was a beautiful couple of days, nice sunshine and decent temps. So unlike any other boat show weekend in the past :)

If you didn't make it to see the cottage, you can still get a good look at the progress. Room by room...this is the kitchen, start to finish.

Dining Room Finished?

We are ready for the open house on March 7 & 8! But....I'm only going to show you one room at a time. This is the dining room from the start to the finish. 

 These are all the furnace parts before the install. That also means you will have central air in the summer. That's always a good thing.

Painting the cabinets made a huge difference in the light in this room. No more darkness.

Lighting, furniture, new flooring, and just all around decor.

The fun stuff for me......not so much for Tarry. Too bad

Tomorrow? Bedrooms or maybe bath?

Progress Report

It's time for a progress report. The living room is finished! I thought you might like a reminder of where it started and where it is now. Remember "Open House" Boat show weekend. Noon to 3:00 pm March 7th and 8th. Hope to see you

Butcher Block Counters

We are getting so so close. Today Tarry oiled the butcher block counter tops for the first time. The color just starts to pop as soon as he starts smoothing it around. Only 2 more coats to go and they will be finished. We are cleaning and installing appliances as well. Like I say, we are SO close.

The Lilypad living room

Now, think back to the beginning of this living room. A door and a window to nowhere and that beautiful gas heating device. Yuk. Carpet.....I hate carpet.

Using our shiplap to accent the fireplace and create a background for the wall above.

Purple glass tile!!!!! Yes!!!! 

Now paint, and paint, and paint.

Now that the carpet is gone, we can install the new flooring. Hickory. I love it.

The finishing touches to the mantel. Galvanized metal. We had our nephew (in law) make this for us and it is awesome. Thanks Luke. Here is it and we love it. Check is in the mail....Hahahaha