Home Sweet Home

Students help Lake woman turn ‘Bucket List’ item into reality
    The recent hit movie “The Bucket List” got Sharon Lindsay thinking.
    “I pulled out a Bucket List I had made about 15 years ago of things I wanted to do and see before I die,” Sharon explained. “Some of the things I had done; some I hadn’t. And as I went up and down the list one thing kept popping out at me-- a playhouse.”
    Sharon had always wanted a playhouse to enjoy with her daughter, and maybe someday a grandchild, but the house had never materialized. Now that she was able to afford a playhouse she was determined to make it happen.
    If the house is as much fun as the process of creating it, she’s in for a great time.
    Sharon took her ideas for a playhouse to Clear Lake High School, where building trades instructor Lothar Meyer drew up plans for the eight-foot square building with a two-foot porch on the front. Meyer then involved his Woodworking I and II students in figuring angles and truss placement to finalize the plans.
    Eleven students went to work on the house in December, framing the building, installing windows and a door, shingling the roof and putting on siding. Some materials for the student project was donated by Farmer’s Lumber and S&S Construction, owned by Tim and Doug Smith, donated the windows for the house. Sharon purchased all other needed materials. Others who have seen the playhouse have even offered to help by painting the trim.
    Within weeks the playhouse will be moved to Sharon’s Clear Lake yard and she is anxious to begin finishing the interior with the many finds she has made at consignment shops.
    “I walked into a store one day and just inside was a wooden play kitchen set. I was so excited! It had to be a sign! Now I’m busy painting it and getting all kinds of things ready to decorate with,” she said, noting spray paint has given new life to many tired, discarded pieces. A handmade quilt featuring cherished photos will be used on a daybed. Flower boxes will dress up the curtain-clad windows.
    Sharon intends to spend many hours in the playhouse with her grand niece Brandi Janssen. Brandi and her parents, Jamie Althaus and Rob Janssen, stopped at Clear Lake High School with Sharon last week to see how the house was progressing.
    “Thanks, boys,” two-year-old Brandi told the workers.
    The students and their teacher appreciated the thanks, but said the project has been a lot of fun and very worthwhile. Meyer noted some school districts have built homes in the past, but today’s costs and house market have made re-sale difficult.
    “These types of houses and projects will sell,” he said. “The kids jumped right on this project and it’s great practice for them to develop building skills they will use when they leave CLHS.”
    Meyer noted the City of Clear Lake and others have expressed an interest in having students build more of the playhouse-size buildings.
There’s no place like home for these dogs
    Josh Rembe has designed and built the home of his dreams. Make that the home of his dogs’ dreams.
    Rembe said the addition of a second dog to the family meant not only twice as much food and attention was needed, but twice as much space-- at least.
    “I sold my old dog house and figured I’d just build a new one, said Rembe, park ranger at Clear Lake State Park. “A friend suggested a two-story house and the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.”
    And the more he ran with it.
    Now Rembe’s Weimaraners, Katie and Hannah, are romping in and out of their two story, vinyl-sided, home with a picture window view of the lake. The design includes ramps and stairs leading to the top floor, where a large boxed bed is situated.
    A thermostat keeps the indoor temperature of the fully insulated structure at a constant 60 to 65-degrees and a 10-inch oscillating fan in the peaked ceiling keeps the air moving and comfortable. Another heater keeps an outside water dish ice-free on the concrete run.
    A door on the backside of the 10-foot tall house gives Rembe access to clean the house from top to bottom.
    The builder estimates he spent about two months of time and $1,000 on materials for the dog house project, but he considers the money well spent. The dogs are safe and comfortable.
    “Sometimes when we pull the car in the drive we see them sit up from their bed and look through the window at us,” said Rembe.
    No doubt, their tails are wagging.