Greetings from Ohio!

I have been in Ohio for exactly one week now.  It certainly is a different pace of life here.  I find it very relaxing, but do miss the variety of retail stores that I have readily available in the Puget Sound area.

I have been to The Dutch Kitchen twice within the last week.  The owners, Elvin and Esther, are very nice people and quite willing to share their experience with operating a new business.  Their business is slow right now due to lack of tourists in the winter months.  It allows me to spend more time interacting with them and learning about their views.

Their cafe is in a larger building that houses crafts on consignment from various vendors.  There is a nice collection of fabrics, threads, and handmade clothing items (see the pictures below).  With skylights and a few gas powered lights, the building is quite dim inside.

Esther and Elvin ride their bikes four miles from their home to the cafe each morning in order to arrive at 6:00 a.m. The cafe closes at 2:00 ad Esther rides back home to start on her household chores.  This is the routine Monday through Friday, except for two days during the week that Esther takes off.  Elvin is there Monday through Friday.  Two other individuals own the craft store which allows Elvin to run errands when needed. 

I would love to post some pictures of Elvin and Esther, but their beliefs discourage taking pictures of themselves. Please feel free to post any questions that you might like me to ask them.  I will update each week as much as possible.