Dear Readers of this Page,

Thanks for your interest!

We are the Shinnlinger’s, a family of 4 living in rural New Hampshire, our interests are varied and certainly keep us entertained.

Dave and I met in Eugene, Oregon where we lived for 10 years. When we had children we decided rural living was appealing, took the plunge and moved to NH where Dave grew up. We took over his family homestead, splitting the 40 acres with his parents.

Our original plan was to built a straw bale home with the existing timber frame from the 200 year old farmhouse After inspecting the frame however, we decided it would be better if it was torn down than upgraded (the framing was weak and it needed  A LOT  of work).  What to do? Why, buy a portable sawmill of course and build our own!

As fortune would have it, an enormous and powerful storm blew through our area in 2007 bringing with it mini tornadoes. Lots of trees were felled in that storm, thankfully there was no real damage to any structures. Viewing this as an opportunity, Dave got to work harvesting downed trees, they were destined to be the timber frame, flooring and siding of our new home.

In 2011 we moved into the new house with upmost floor incomplete. As typically happens, we became comfortable and STILL haven’t completed it. Eventually it will be done though, perhaps even before our daughters are ready for college in a few years.

Besides building our house, Dave is a school teacher by day (High School Woodshop) with varied interests that include collecting rusty metal to be crafted into art one day, old cars/trucks/tractors/anything with a motor, networking, building stuff and generally reviving things that other people view as useless. He’s the king of upcycle and self admittedly realizes that there is fine line between collecting and mess making. Dave is a giant red head with a big personality and big heart and is active in the community in all the ways that I am not. If you see him around, ask him about his latest ‘Shinn-vention”.

We have two daughters that are growing up strong and well. At age 11 and 12 they are already pretty skilled at
driving a stick shift jeep! One is quiet and unassuming, likes to sew and plays crazy-good basketball. The other is on-the-go with a creative force to be reckoned with.

As for me, I guess I would fall into the category of organizer, cook, beekeeper, gardener and artist.  I am, at times, insufferably demanding and can be rather introverted but can certainly be outgoing and pretty funny. I guess you would say we have balance?

A desire to work towards sustainability and provide healthy food for our family is our driving force. We started with laying hens and moved into raising pasture raised chickens as a healthy meat source. We now have a vegetable garden with increasing yield and are trying our hand at beekeeping.

We always seem to be up to something, feel free to follow along!

Yours,

Deb