Sure it looks big, but the camera adds ten pounds.

This is either the huge block of wood that is going to become my fireplace mantle, or the stick I'm going to beat Sturges with if he ever tries to come visiting.

        But seriously folks, the fellow shown here is Carl (or is it Karl?) the Amish cabinet maker who's building my kitchen cabinets and library shelves, and providing the mantle piece. Pretty cool, huh?

Big update: I have been told by Stacy, she who is overseeing the finishing of my house, that I got the name wrong. The Amish fellow who is making my cabinets and bookshelves and such is named Jake, not Carl -- or even Karl. How I got Carl from Jake I cannot begin to fathom. And, as if that wasn't enough, this isn't Jake in the picture. It's his number one son named Raymond. Boy do I feel uninformed and un-authoritative.