Sweet Frankie's Cabin of Dreams

Hold on to your dreams...because they just might come true!  My friend Charlotte knows that from first hand experience. 

Charlotte is a kind, gentle person who loves her family and the simple things of life.  She's a lot like her mother...Sweet Frankie...who grew up on the farm in a little cabin...very rich in love.

Charlotte's dream has been to someday have a little log cabin of her own to relax and enjoy the quietness of the country.  Her husband, Jerry built a small room onto the back of their house and put in some ceiling beams and a woodstove to give it the feeling of a log cabin.  But Charlotte still dreamed of her cabin in the country to remind her of Sweet Frankie.

Last week Charlotte called and said, "I have my little cabin!"  I was so happy for her!  Her daughter, Cheryl had recently married and moved to a beautiful old home in the country with her husband.  The farm has several outbuildings and it turned out that one of them was a little log cabin that had been covered in wood siding many years ago.  They asked Charlotte if she would like to have the little cabin as her getaway from the world place....and that's how Charlotte saw her dream come true!

Since then, Charlotte and Jerry have been painting, washing windows, and turning an old vacant log cabin into Sweet Frankie's cabin of dreams.  Charlotte loves antiques and brought some of her collection to the cabin.  It's all finished now except for planting flowers outside.  

Yesterday, she invited me to go on a picnic at the cabin.  It was like being transported to another century.  It was a hot, humid day at my house in town so I dressed to stay cool but wondered if we might spend the day sweating and swatting mosquitoes.  I wasn't prepared for the wonders of the entire day!

The first thing I noticed when we got to the farm, which is way out in the country, was the temperature under the tall, tall walnut trees was at least 10 degrees cooler than it was at my house.  There was a breeze blowing...no humidity that I could feel...and no mosquitoes!!  But the best part was inside...

It was like stepping back to a simpler, quieter century!  Charlotte and Jerry had painted the old beadboard walls a sparkling white and decorated the cabin with treasures from the past.  The well insulated log and wood walls kept it cool inside.  The  large windows with their original wavy glass stood wide open letting in the breeze and the sound of the jar flies singing in the walnut trees.  Only 1 car drove down the gravel road the whole time we were there.  You couldn't help but relax and be thankful!

Charlotte had prepared lunch...delicious hoagie sandwiches and chips in little tin buckets that she had painted and decoupaged for her 3 girls when they were young.  Her ice cold homemade lemonade was already there waiting for us.  I must have had 6 glasses...it was so good!!  Dessert was chocolate brownies with rich chocolate fudge icing.  Yum!  But the best thing was the care and love that goes into everything Charlotte touches!

Charlotte's also an excellent writer.  She has a notebook filled with wonderful stories about her mom, Sweet Frankie, growing up on the farm.  Her writing reminds me of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her "Little House" books.  After lunch, Charlotte sat in her rocking chair and read several stories aloud to her youngest daughter, Jeri Leigh and me.  They were stories she wrote for her grandson, Mark, when he was younger about the nighttime antics of the scarecrow in their backyard garden.  With the help of a friendly fairy, the scarecrow was able to hop down from his pole and run around all over the neighborhood after everybody else had gone to bed!  It was a treat to be read to...like listening to ocean waves...relaxing and soothing.

This picture of Charlotte and her mom, Sweet Frankie, now sits on the mantle in the cabin.  It's a dear, tender picture of a young mother with her baby close to her face.  A rich legacy of love...passed from mother to child.  Charlotte continues to generously share her legacy of love and simplicity with everyone who's fortunate enough to know her.

Thank you, Charlotte, for the loving memories of yesterday at Sweet Frankie's Cabin of Dreams!