It's A Wee Bit Hot Out There

The week that The Boy was gone started a cycle of rain that we were in for another week. It also included high humidity.Needless to say,it put a damper ( no pun intended!) on the outdoor plans. It put us a couple of weeks behind in laying down the loam and seeding. Last week,the chance of rain lessened as the week went on,but the temps have been in the 90's,with over 70% humidity-which put the actual temperature around 100 degrees. Rick has been out there,determined to get the loam spread as best as he can. Scoop up a load with the tractor,dump it in the area,and spread it out manually. I have been telling him to come inside where the AC keeps the house nice and cool every so often to rest a bit.He has been drinking plenty of water. We have also been fighting with the pool. We bought Green to Blue from HTH. Unfortunately,it didn't say on the bottle that it's not for use for a cartridge filter system,and that you need a material vacuum system for your pool. It broke down the metals,etc in the water and made them settle,but because our filter is not designed to pick up this sort of material well,when we vacuum the sediment spews back out of the outtake into the pool again. I finally looked this issue up last night,and found out that we have been using the wrong chemicals. Sigh. So we blasted the pool with chlorine,and have to start all over. I joked that by the time we can use the pool,the weather will turn to cold and rainy. Live and learn. I am hopeful that we can get the pool functioning for this coming weekend. We are having our Boy Scout Troop to the house for their Year Planning Weekend. It would be nice for them to use it.If not,then we do have the beach down at Sunrise Lake.

I think The Boy came back a carrier from NYLT,because on Monday at Yoga,My Dear Friend Michelle mentioned that her son,Ethan,who was at NYLT was sick with a cold. That night,I started having a scratchy throat,and by Tuesday AM I felt like I was swallowing glass. I was in bed for three days,even most of the Fourth,so it didn't feel much like a holiday for me. I did make some potato salad,and we had chicken ka bobs and corn  on the cob with the salad. We set off some fireworks (no ordinances here in town,though anything after 11:00 PM is noise nuisance)which is our yearly thing. Each day I do a bit more,not to over do it. My poor garden was so sad and full of weeds-Friday I got out there and weeded,finally. The Girls loved the weeds. The mornings are a bit rough.It takes a while for my head to clear,and I am bit stuffy,Mostly I just feel tired all the time,but I just putter along and yesterday was the first day I didn't nap or lay down.

The broilers have all been processed. Rick vacuum sealed them,some whole as roasters,some cut up. It took him over 6 hours to do it. We had about 28 broilers,give or take. We did lose a few over the course of time. That seems to be normal. Michelle and her hubby  were kind enough to lend us their homemade chicken plucker,and it was a time saver. The plucker is all clean and under cover. We just need to return it,I think it will be sometime this week.

In between rainstorms,I have been able to pick a couple few things.......

Some German Chamomile . I used my tea infusers to dry out the flowers. You can see the dried ones on the right, and the freshly picked ones waiting to be dried on the left. I am going to try some Chamomile tea this year.

This has been the best year for our strawberries so far. I have made it point,no matter what the weather or how I feel,to go out and pick the ones that are ready.I wash them,pluck the stems (which I then compost) and put them freezer bags.I am hopeful that I will have enough of my own berries this year to make jam with them.If not,I will have to go to the local farm and get some to combine them with. We have three harvests,and this was a sample of what I was gathering during our first.It has since gone down to just four or five berries at a time,but now we are getting some new blossoms for the second harvest.

We have invested in a roadside sign. We put it out on on the Fourth. Folks have been slowing down when they pass,which is good. Yesterday I sold three dozen eggs.We will have a regular sign by the road with our farm name,and this sign will be used just for what we are selling,which will increase with time.

Hopefully everyone out there is staying cool...if you work outside, please don't over do!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

It's In The Genes!

I think many folks in my family are a bit surprised at the turn my life has taken. Chickens? Goats? Sheep? Making my own soap? Composting?

Considering that I grew up with only a cat,never had a garden,and would much rather purchase food than grow it,I can understand why some are surprised.

Part of why this path has been chosen is because...well...since Rick cannot work,and I stay at home as his caregiver,we had to find something to do. Something worthwhile,that gave us (especially Rick) a sense of purpose. He needs to feel useful. Not being able to work really bothers him.He's worked since he was a teenager. Hanging around doing nothing has never been his style. 

I talked to him one day a few years ago about maybe doing more here,for ourselves. Let's start a garden,I said. Let's get some chickens and eat our own eggs. I was inspired by friends and websites. We have the time,let's do the most with it.

He was all excited about the idea. A reason to get up and at 'em in the morning! Something to look forward to! A goal!

We started with a garden,and chickens. We expanded to turkeys for a few years,and last year decided that we didn't want to do turkeys anymore. We have herbs,strawberries,blueberries,blackberries,and raspberries.Next Spring,we will have three Nigerian Dwarf Goats,and,hopefully,a couple of sheep. The goal with these is make goat milk soap,raw milk cheese,have raw milk,and spin my own yarn.All these are with the intention of selling what we don't need. Right now,we are planning our barn and milking area. 

Rick is very excited. He says he's always wanted a farm of his own. Now,he has one,even though it's only on .68 acres of land.

Going through our family genealogy,it's really no surprise that we have chosen ( or fallen into) this path of life. My ancestors were all farmers in Canada,or agriculteurs. When they immigrated down to NH,however,they started working in the cotton mills.My grandfather Charrette (my Mom's father) did grow up on a farm eventually had his own. My oldest brother,Valmore,is an agronomist. Rick's ancestors were some of the original settlers of this country,so farming has always been in his blood.One of his ancestors owned the biggest fruit farm in Stratham,NH at one point.

One never knows where life will bring you,or what path you may follow. When a door closes,a window opens. Rick suffered a brain injury,which was our closed door. Our little Cöpse Clearing Farm is our open window,with sunshine and a lovely breeze coming through.

It's Official!

After several attempts at registering a legal trade name for the farm (mainly so no one else could use it)we finally came up with a name that wasn't taken. It's amazing how many names were similar to the ones we wanted. We would've had to add more descriptive words or received permission from the person(s) to whom the name is already registered.
We tried:
-The Little Yellow Farm (nope,there's already a Yellow House Farm)
-Humble Beginnings Farm (nope,there's already a Humble Beginnings store)
-Shaw Family Farm (nope,there's already a Brian Shaw Family Farm)

Needless to say,this was a tad aggravating. We wanted to name our farm and sell any products under that name. Was that too much to ask?

After the last rejection letter came from the state,I sat and thought. It had to be something different. Hmmm.I thought of our last names,Shaw and Lessard. Maybe the meaning of our names could offer an idea:

Shaw: one who dwells by a cöpse or thicket,dweller by the wood
Lessard :someone who dwells in a clearing;to grub up or weed out

That was interesting,I thought. A cöpse (pronounced cops),I discovered,is a small group of trees. Well,we have a small group of trees right on the corner of our property. We also live in a clearing. Hmmm. A homage to our ancestral names,and the perfect description of where we live. Cöpse Clearing Farm! It was unique. It was personal. It was perfect. It was catchy. It had to go through!

And,voila',it did!

We got the paperwork in the mail today from the Secretary of State of NH. Our trade name is officially Cöpse Clearing Farm,and I am the proprietor.

Now to design a sign........

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Inner and Outer Peace

Many things have been going on lately...here at home,and in my head.

I have begun yoga. My Dear Friend Michelle told me that she is enjoying her class,and I should give it a try. I love it. I told our instructor,Laurie on Monday that it has helped me tremendously in finding inner peace and relaxation. I practice lyengar yoga,which focuses on posture and breath control. I can get very sore after our classes,but I love it.I look forward to our twice a week class. Granted, I can find relaxation going outside and listening to the birds singing,seeing the blue of the sky and the white of clouds,and watching the green leaves moving in the breeze,but this gives me a bit more of a foundation,as it were. I seem to be more relaxed,and I use breathing techniques that I have learned when things start getting stressful for me. I send my breath to the parts of my  body that need it,I get rid of the negative thoughts,and I feel so happy and one with all that is around me. This has been a big help in my quest to be a better,more positive person. I catch negative thoughts or bad feelings and turn them around.Such a wonder!

Rick has been working on the yard,grading,etc,and we are planning how to set up new walkways. We have areas that just don't seem to like to grow grass,no matter who much seed we  have put down in the past,so,instead of fighting against the nature of our land,we have decided to embrace it and work with it.Plans are underway for our next project,the mud room. The windows are all screened-they are more or less screens with wood framed around them-and we have to cover them with plastic each winter. We are going to put in real windows,a real door,dry wall,and flooring,as well as electrical outlets and make it a year round mud room. We are going to put new porch steps as well. After that is done,our next big project is painting the house. Then it's getting the basics of the goat/sheep barn set up before the snow flies.

Yesterday we went down to my Mom's a picked up dresser that she is getting rid of to use in our bedroom.Her house is sold,as long as the loan goes through.It only took a week and half on the market to find not one,but two buyers.She is going to move in with my sister and brother in law until they all move to TN in the fall of 2014,so she is getting rid of everything that she can. We are redoing the bedroom,so the dresser comes in handy. We had a dresser,once,but it was a big old dress that took up too much space,so we got rid of it and we used the two closets for all our clothes,putting the clothing that we would normally put in the dresser on the shelves in our respective closets.Then we wanted to switch things up again ,downsize and use one closet for our clothes,and one closet for storage (blankets,etc).

I have mentioned before that our bedroom is one of,if not the,most neglected room(s) in the house. It hasn't been painted 2006.Things get thrown in there. The elliptical machine,which took up a lot of space in front of Rick's closet (which is another reason we wanted to combine into my closet)was nothing more than a place to hang clothes. I always had the best of intentions to use it,but Rick finally put his size 12 foot down-we either use it,or we sell it. I had to decide. After much hemming and hawing I finally came to the reality that if I have only used it perhaps a grand total of 20 times in over four years,then we should probably get rid of it. Out came the elliptical. We packed away any winter clothes we wanted to keep and donated the rest.( Remember, we only have two closets right now. When the mud room is finished and a closet is put out there,then that can serve as our winter coat storage).The winter clothes are going up in the attic today. The big old gun safe,which is also in our room because we have no other place for it,is going to go into Rick's old closet. The shelves,etc are going to get ripped out and revamped. The room is going to be a haven,not a  confused mess. It's been an embarrassment for years,which is why I always keep the door closed!

Here's a sample of the hideousness of it....
I needed a table for the DVD player and the cable box after we took the bureau out. (Yes, I know it is not considered a good thing to have a TV in the bedroom,but I enjoy watching it in bed at night. Plus,when the Menfolk have their hunting/fishing shows going in the living room and I want to watch a home improvement show,I can go into this room for refuge!) I had this little table so I used that. Note the lamp on the floor that I still haven't rewired after three years. So lovely...NOT!!!!

Here is the area now.The walls are going to be repainted. The color is going to be very similar to the jewelry box on the bureau,and the bureau it's self is going to to painted and I am going to put new knobs on it. I am still mulling what kind to get. The floor lamp that is next to it will probably go into the mud room when it's finished. The teddy bear was a gift from Zach a few years ago.You can see just a bit of the old table to the left. That is going into the garage.If I use it in the house I will put a nice cloth over it so it will look pretty.

So,as you can see,I have been working on inner and outer peace. What are you working on?

Have a Fabulous Day on this Fabulous Planet!

Around The Farm

Yes, it's been forever and a day since I posted last. I have been reading,planning,and doing a lot of thinking...as well as planting,etc.

Our big project of late was fixing our leach field. It died on us. There is nothing like sitting out on the deck with raw sewage bubbling up from the septic tank a few feet away. Ah,the fragrance!!

We had to rent a couple of pieces of equipment for the job,and happily,our neighbor  Kelly is licensed to do such work. So,even though it rained all day on Saturday,he and Brother B were out there digging away. We had to buy a few truckloads of gravel and sand,plus the french drainage pipes for the job.

This is what the leach field area looks like now.

The front yard after the machines went back and forth in the rain:

The corner. the gravel and sand were in our driveway,and this was the only way to get to it. Looks like some loam and reseeding will be in our future!

Even though the yard got tore up,it's A-OK. It needed to be done. Of course,if the weather was cooperative,it wouldn't have been so bad.

There are some great signs of spring:

The green beans are coming up:

The broilers are getting big:

The leaves are out!

The strawberries are flowering:

The lilacs are in bloom and their fragrance flows on the breeze:

We have a little bird's nest on the rafter of our wood shelter. The bird flew away just as I was taking the picture!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Blackboard Door Project

One of the things that Rick has to deal with on a daily basis is his memory.We have a dry erase calender on our fridge,and Rick has an IPOD with alarms to help remind him when he needs to take meds,etc.We have used lists and post- it notes. He also has me to help with reminders :)

The problem with the calender is it's only so big,and with Dr appts,Boy Scout events and meetings,as well as Zach's after school activities and my various things,it tends to leave very little room. Post- its tend to get overlooked,because they are small. Lists,even though they only have a couple of things on them,don't necessarily get looked at on a daily basis. And,I admit,some days my thoughts are other places and I fail with reminders.

I was trying to think of something that everyone could use,and that Rick would notice,even enjoy using. One day,I realized that I had a great space that was not being used to it's potential-the door to our attic. All I had on here was a bill holder,which held bills (obviously),stamps,the check book,and address labels. Well, I could certainly clear out a drawer in our sewing table for that,so that's what I did.

The next step was figuring out exactly how to do it. I didn't want the space between the boards as part of the blackboard,because it would 1) be a pain when writing, and 2) I didn't like the way it would look. So we decided to buy a board and blackboard paint.

When we went to the store,we discovered that they already sold prepainted blackboards,and that they were actually cheaper than buying a plain board. The problem was they weren't in the best shape. We decided to buy the prepainted board,and just go over it with blackboard paint. We still saved money,and I can use the blackboard paint for other projects.

Rick measured the door,and cut off the appropriate amount off the long side of the board.I wanted it big enough so we could write day a whole days schedule,and it would be in writing that we could read! We also bought nice bright chalk colors. Rick used screws to screw the board onto the door,and he found some longer screws for the door handle,since the old ones weren't long enough to go through the new thickness. I used one coat of blackboard paint,and covered the screws as well.

Voila' !

So Rick knows what day it is at a glance,we have "Today Is" with the day of the week posted. Any activities or chores that are to be accomplished that day are listed. As you can see from above,the only thing that was mandatory the day this board was made was wishing Rick congrats on his retirement!

It wipes off simply with water and a rag. Rick loves it,and likes using it. The space is now used for good purpose!

I would be remiss if I did not mention how grateful and happy we are that the final suspect in the Boston Marathon Bombing was caught alive so we can know why this horrendous act was done and there can be some justice. We have much thanks to law enforcement,who worked hard to bring this to an end. We are also proud of our own Nashua NH SWAT team who helped down in Watertown,MA. Our heart goes out to the family of the MIT officer who lost his life,and we are praying that the MBTA officer who was shot heals quickly.

Justice will be served.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Boston And The 24 Hour Tabloids

I want to take a moment to express our anger and sadness at the bombing in Boston.

The Boston Marathon is over a century old,and it's a very big day in the city,because it falls on Patriot's Day,which is a MA holiday.The kids get the day off from school,and the city is in a very festive atmosphere.

I had brought Zach to the dentist,and the TV was on the news. The bombing had just occurred,and no one knew for sure what had happened. Then,things unfolded.

I must say that the news channels,more specifically the 24 hour ones (some more than others), seem to be more interested in  ratings and getting the story first than they are in facts. Any tidbit of info,mostly not checked for accuracy,is aired. Journalism is not suppose to be speculation.  It's suppose to be fact. Sadly,in this day and age,these channels are usually nothing more political propaganda machines,trying to scare people into believing ridiculous things.The internet is no better.Sadly,many fall for it,hook,line,and sinker. I am constantly amazed and saddened when I hear people-good people-repeat things as if it is fact.Hate, fear,and paranoia seem to rule the day.

I, at one point,wanted to be a journalist. I admired Walter Cronkite,Barbara Walters,Peter Jennings,etc.Today,I mourn for the industry that I once revered,as it has descended into nothing better than a supermarket tabloid.

I remember the sad day when President Reagan was shot. I was watching ABC news,and Frank Reynolds was anchor. At first,it was reported that the President had been been harmed,but then it was confirmed that he was. This info was given to Reynolds through his earpiece,and I can still hear his words and the emotion in his voice..." What?  Oh my God...we have just confirmed that the President WAS shot..." He then voiced his anger at the news staff in no uncertain terms-"LET"S GET IT RIGHT,PEOPLE!"

Yes,please,let's!

Until the public starts demanding truth in broadcasting,and stops watching the 24 hour fear machines,we will continue to be misinformed.

I am going to go outside and enjoy Nature, Nature never has a bias.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Still Here

Yep,I'm still here,just fighting another sinus infection. This is the second one in 6 months. Apparently I can no longer get a normal cold,it has to morph into this hideous head swimmy thing.I went to the Dr's on Monday and she gave me antibiotics and an inhaler for my chest congestion/wheezing.

Yesterday I cleaned the fridge and wiped down the front of my cabinets after doing the dishes and sweeping.It was the most I had done in a week. I felt tired,so I laid down...only to wake up four hours later. Yep. This is kicking my butt. I even missed a Muffin Date this week! 

I haven't even been reading blogs much. My brain doesn't the have attention span  it seems.

Hope your'e all well!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Happy Easter!

It's Easter Sunday,and though this AM has bit of a cold wind,it's suppose to go up into the upper 50's.Yesterday was gorgeous,and we lost quite a bit of snow. I didn't enjoy it,however-I was in bed with a horrible migraine.

Friday night Rick and I went out for the Dance For A Cure. It was a fundraiser for Cancer. Our friend,Sue,who is in Scouts with us does the Relay For a Cure each year,since her husband passed away from cancer and her team helped sponsor the dance. I actually talked Rick into going,because,as those who know about PTSD are aware,going into unfamiliar places is very difficult. Sue had a table set aside for us in the back of the room,where she knows that Rick is more comfortable. There were some faces we knew,folks who are in Scouting with us,and we all sat together. One of our friends,Jessie,even grabbed Rick for a fast dance on the floor! (He did dance a few dances with me,too!) We used to go out a lot,but now it's rarity. After Rick assessed the room,he felt a bit more at ease,but I know going there was still very hard for him.I thanked him for taking me out,and he told me he did have a good time.

We clean up pretty good,don't we? :)

I have a cold. Colds and flu have been going around,and I had a scratchy throat for most of the week. Yesterday,I woke up with a migraine,and at first I thought I had a hangover ( I did have four mudslides,but I ate as well-I don't drink that often anymore,but man,they went down very well!)but hangover headaches are dull,not a sharp pain that goes all around the head. I figured it was  the alcohol (sometimes even a drink of wine will trigger them), the cold coming on,or both. Probably both. So I was in bed all day,coughing,sneezing,blowing my nose,and trying to find a good spot to press the pillow against on my head to help alleviate the pain. I get the migraines that travel. They start in one spot,then move to another,then another,then another. Thankfully,the Excedrin Migraine did work eventually, but between the cold coming on and the migraine,I was wiped out for the day.I had my bedroom windows open,because the fresh air felt wonderful,but every time I started to fall asleep,the neighbors would come over to talk to Rick outside the window,or a dog would bark causing Samson to bark,or the neighbor would rev his Harley,etc. I was to the point where I was overtired,and I couldn't fall asleep last until after 1:00 AM. Sigh.

Today I feel lousy,but I had to make sure that Zach got his Easter treats.Apparently,his Easter basket finally bit the dust,because I couldn't find it,but I thought of something else that would work:

A Jar O'Candy! At 15,he is getting a bit big for a basket,so this works out.

Tonight is the Season 3 premiere of "Game Of Thrones"-I can't wait!!!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet...and Happy Easter!

Happy St.Patrick's Day...and Happy Birthday,Sasha!

Today is St.Patrick's Day. Everyone,even if they have no Irish ancestry,is Irish today. I think it might have something to do with history of drinking on St.Patrick's Day to celebrate :)

Both Rick and I have Irish cred. Rick's fourth great grandfather,William McQuilkin, his wife,Annie Watson,and their son,Rick's third great grandfather,Henry McQuilkin and his wife,Betsey Kennedy,give him his Irish roots. My third great grandfather,George McDale,a his wife,Mary Maguire,and their daughter,my second great grandmother,Mary McDale,give me mine. Rick's third great grandfather Henry went to Maine from Ireland. I have yet to discover if  Betsey was born in Ireland or if her parents were immigrants. On my side,I have read that George Mc Dale and Mary Maguire immigrated from Ireland or  that they were born in Canada. I'm still looking to find out what exactly is true. At any rate, they were all either first generation Irish American or immigrated right from Ireland.

Naturally,we celebrate today with some crockpot corned beef and cabbage. No green beer,though.

Today is also our chocolate lab's 63rd birthday. Sasha,in dog years, is now 9.

Erin Go Bragh!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

Happy VD!

.........Valentines' Day that is!!! Grab your honey and give them a big smooch....

Hope your day is filled with love and surprises!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Can We Have Our Town Back Now?

Yesterday there was yet another unfortunate incident in our small town. So far,we have had three in a span of a few weeks. The first was a high speed chase that ended just down the road from us. Two young men from Farmington were arrested for not only evading police,etc,but for trying to force another driver off the road in a road rage incident and threatening him with a chain saw. The police chased the two men from Farmington to just down the road from us.Middleton PD had been given the heads up and and place stop sticks in the road,which shredded the suspects tires,and they wound up coming to halt at Middleton Lumber,which was good,because if they had continued up our road,they surely would've lost control of their car.Our road has good curves on it going up to Wolfboro,and driving at high rates of speed doesn't work out too well.

The second incident was a domestic call. Apparently the women flipped out on the Boys in Blue,by kicking them and resisting arrest. They police had to pepper spray and tase her to stop her.

Then yesterday,we had a police standoff on the back side of Sunrise Lake. As the crow flies from our house,you can get to Sunrise Lake through the woods.It might take you an hour(maybe a bit less) to get there on foot,but you can get there.Apparently,a homeless man who used to live here in town broke into his brother's house by the lake and stole his firearms,including and AK-47,with several rounds of ammunition. Someone saw him walking on Silver St with all this weaponry (he did have some in a duffel bag) and called the police,because it's not normal to see someone walking around armed to the teeth.When the police approached him,he ran into the woods,went to a house,and held the woman living there hostage. Thankfully,after a few hours,the mediators were able to convince him to release the woman,and he was arrested.

My first hint that something was going on is when I went to the mailbox to get mail. My back was to the road when I heard a car fly by,and as I turned to look at what vehicle it was so I could  yell at them to slow down,I saw it was a State Trooper,so I knew something was up. Then a few minutes later,I saw a Middleton PD car fly up the road. 15 minutes later,the school district called saying that all Middleton bus students were going to held at the Jr high because of an incident in Middleton,and the police did not want students going home .Zach had to stay after school anyway,for his Youth To Youth group. Of course, now we are beyond curious as to what is going on,and there was nothing posted on line yet,so we called our friend who has a scanner to see if she heard anything. The next thing we knew,was there was a heavily armed man in the woods around Sunrise Lake. We called our neighbors who live at the end of Avon Lane,and who has quite a bit of wooded property to give them a heads up,because who knew where this guy was going?  He could've wound up walking down Avon Lane from the woods,and if he was on the run, and with all that weaponry,who knows what he could do? Needless to say,at the wooded end of the Avon and here at our end,everyone was on alert and had their guns nearby,just in case. The next info we got was that he was in a house and had taken a female hostage. The area had been evacuated and the folks had been moved to the town hall. While I felt horrible for the woman he had taken hostage,I was relieved that he was contained and we didn't have to be on the lookout for some Rambo- Wanna -Be Wackadoo.

Our town is very small,maybe 1,200 folks,and like any other town,we do have crime such as break ins (mostly around the lake in the winter when the summer folks are gone),domestic violence,etc.However,nothing like what happened yesterday.

I don't like it,and I don't like the feeling it gives me. The outside world is encroaching on my little piece of heaven and I don't like it one little bit. I am thankful for the Middleton PD,Milton PD and the NH SWAT team for doing a good job and bringing this horrible incident to a safe end.I am also grateful to the teachers who stayed after to help keep an eye on the Middleton students and make sure they were OK until they were able to go home.

As always......
Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Totaled

The truck has been officially totaled by our insurance company,Progressive. If anyone out there is looking for an insurance company,we are very pleased and impressed with Progressive,even if we haven't spoken directly to Flo ;)

We should be receiving a check for the truck either today or tomorrow,and we were quite happy to learn that,with the exception of five hundred dollars to cover the deductible,we will be getting back  what we paid for it. Rick has been online checking out trucks to replace it with. He is doing much better. His left shoulder is still stiff,but overall he is much much better. Thankfully he had his seat belt on!!!

I am feeling better,still have a bit of a cough and tiredness,but I am feeling more like my old self. I even drove for the first time in almost two weeks on Sunday morning to grab a few items at the supermarket. It's amazing how things fall apart when the woman of the house is down and out. Apparently,I am the only human in the house who knows how to clean a toilet,though I am not the only one who uses one. ( Can you hear the sarcasm in my type?) Seriously though,it takes me to be sick for an extended period of time to realize how much I do and how,in all honesty,I am the glue that holds the household together. I am not saying that dishes,sweeping,or laundry didn't get done. Certainly the Menfolk did care of the basics,of course,but it was just the basics (well,most of them,anyway).

I look around and I can see that things just aren't homey when I am not on task. Stuff doesn't get put away. Things don't get wiped. Dust accumulates. Bear in mind,I am not the perfect homemaker by any stretch,but at least I dust! :)

Right now,our bedroom is in a state of flux. We began cleaning out our closets. Rick did a great job,winding up with three bags of trash and three bags of clothes to donate. He was also able to put some things that he wanted to keep up in the attic. However,I fell ill before he could get the pile that needs to go into the garage actually into the garage,and he didn't want to disturb me by going in and out lugging stuff,which I appreciate. Then of course,he fell ill for a couple of days,then he he was in the accident,and too stiff to move the stuff out.Now,however,he is feeling better as well as I,so we will be able to get back on track very soon.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

There Is Still Good Out There

Friday morning I was doing some errands in Rochester when my car decided to act up. It made a terrible grinding noise,the tachometer would go up,but the car was acting sluggish. I pulled over in a CVS parking lot and called Rick. He and Brother B came down,and Brother B drove my car to the dealership,which,happily,was less than 1/4 mile away. It seems like it might be the transmission,and according to them,it's still under warranty,which is good. They won't really be able to look at it until today or tomorrow. 

Early Friday afternoon, I was in the middle of filling my window boxes with greens and berries when the horrible news came over the TV about the shooting in CT. I finished the boxes and stopped decorating. I had planned to finish all my decorating that day,but I completely lost interest. I felt sick to my stomach,and I still feel like someone has kicked me in the gut.

Saturday I did have some good diversion. My sister Linda and I went to my Mom's house to celebrate her 87th birthday. We had lunch,then went to downtown Somersworth to check out some of the nice little shops. We then went to buy our poinsettias at a local greenhouse.That night,our friend Eric had a housewarming party,and we enjoyed ourselves. We aren't that social anymore,so it was good to get out and mingle at something that wasn't a Scouting event (though most of the folks there are involved in Scouting).Rick enjoyed himself quite a bit. It felt good to laugh.

Yesterday,I finished decorating and made some fudge. I also worked on crocheting one of the Christmas gifts. Last night it started to snow,and this AM we have a two hour delay,though I think it should have been a cancellation. The roads are terrible and it's still snowing.

One of my window boxes with greenery and berries:

Our tree. I didn't use orange slices this year,but I did use some dried hydrangeas:

 
My little village. I string some lights along the sill and put them inside the houses:

Rick took this photo this morning. You can't tell,but it's snowing:

A close up of the window boxes:

The plant hangers down by the road.Everything looks so pretty in the snow!

The mantle. I just noticed you can see my reflection in the mirror:

A bit of berries and greens in my pouring bowl above the stove:

 Our bedroom door:

The canning cabinet:

 Last,but not least,the chimney shelf:

In spite of what has happened in CT,I still believe in my fellow man. It can be very difficult when people do terrible things,or live their lives hating,but I take comfort in knowing that there are far more good people out there than bad. I think we as a society need to start putting BS behind us and remember,we are all here together. The hate,fear,and paranoia in this country need to stop. We are all brothers and sisters. Who cares what color we are? What politics we believe in?  What religion we are? How about working together to make this a better place?? We need to stop demonizing people who don't agree with us,and start acting like rational,caring humans again. When we band together for the common good,there is nothing that we can't accomplish.

This is still a Fabulous Planet. Enjoy your day on it!

Working On It

Sorry it's been a while since I posted!

We finally got the tree decorated on Wednesday. Zach only had half a day of school,so we decorated it that afternoon.

Yesterday I was in Rochester  when my car decided to start making grinding noises and not have the power it should. Thankfully,I was less than half a mile from the garage we go to. I called the Menfolk and they came down to get me. My car will not be looked at until Monday. That took the wind out of my sails,as I was going to decorate the inside of the house and do my window box greenery. By the time I got home,I no longer had the desire to do any of it. Instead,Rick and I went metal detecting out on one of the old camp roads where there are many old foundations. We didn't find anything,but it was quite fun!

Last night our dog Samson woke us up to go out at 1:30 AM. Rick took him out,and was able to fall back asleep after,but I was up until 4:30,then I finally fell back asleep and woke up at 8:30. My head is still foggy.

Today I will be decorating and doing my window boxes. I need to double check my fudge recipe,and make sure I have enough baggies to give them out as gifts!

Tomorrow I am having a muffin date with my Dear Friend Michelle,then going to my Mom's to celebrate her birthday. Her birthday was Dec 11 (she is now 87) but she was down in GA visiting her granddaughter (my niece) Tara.

So much to do,so little time! I don't even have my Christmas cards sent out yet!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Apparently I Needed Sleep

Good morning everyone!!

We have getting ready for Christmas. Rick put all the timothy hay bales,corn stalks,and pumpkins into the compost pile. I need to bring my decorations (which,thankfully,I actually organized last year!) down from the attic,and go out to woods to gather my greens. I started stocking up on ground pork for my pork pies. I will be making 6 this year-two for us for Christmas Eve,one for Dad Shaw,one for Brother Dale,one for Nephew Brody,and one for Ron and Jean,our neighbors.

The boys have been spending a lot of time out in the woods hunting. Rick needs to get out and enjoy himself in the woods,especially since it took him so long to be able to go back into the woods. They have heard deer,and seen them,but the brush was always too much to get a shot off. Shotgun season ends in just a few days,but archery season lasts a bit longer,and Rick does archery,so who knows? We did get two deer that was hit by cars. The first one turned out to be no good-it was hit in such a manner that the internal organs were pushed up under the skin (gross,I know,sorry). It was not noticeable until they started to skin it. The second one was a cleaner hit,and our first meal from it was venison filet mignon wrapped in bacon. It was tender and delicious!

Yesterday was a busy day. Zach's laptop is not working,so I went onto the Toshiba website and followed the steps they suggested,but it didn't work. I ordered recovery disks from them and if that doesn't work,we will have to get it fixed. I also ordered some Christmas presents,watched an episode of "Victorian Christmas" ( thank you Amy for the proper site to access it!),made crockpot baked beans and gluten free cornbread. I then went to the store and purchased some Christmas gifts,replacement Christmas lights for the house,and a new day planner. I came back home and did some crocheting (more Christmas gifts!).

After supper, I was reading " Bloody Mary" about Queen Mary,and my eyes started to get heavy. I wound up falling asleep in the chair at 6:00 PM. After a brief cat nap,I woke up and still felt tired,so I decided to go lay down. I was asleep by 7:30 PM.

I vaguely woke up early this morning ( it was still dark) and heard the rain falling outside,so I snuggled deeper in to the covers and feel back asleep.There is nothing more soothing than the sound of falling rain when one is nice and cozy in bed! When I woke up next,I looked at the clock,and it was around 8:30 AM! I stayed in bed for another half hour,though. I was so comfy that I just couldn't bring myself to get up,but I eventually pulled it off :)

Guess I needed that sleep!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

On Being 45 And Fabulous

Wow,that was a heck of a migraine! I had remnants of it right through yesterday. Ah,the joy of hormones and the fun things they do to a woman's body!

Saturday was my 45th birthday. Zach asked me how 45 felt. I replied,"It feels the same as 44",which isn't a complete lie. I don't feel different. However, my mind has been having a great conversation with it's self. It has gone something like this-

"Guess what? You're 45. Time is starting to creep up. You'd best get your butt in gear and DO what you SAY you're going to do....because you're going to drop dead of a heart attack. Then it will be too late."

"Fair enough," I responded to myself. " I don't like this feeling I'm getting."

"What feeling is that? That you might be too late? That you are doomed to wear ugly fat person clothes the rest of your life and that tire around you will keep feeling bigger and bigger?"

"Perhaps.But it's so much more than just my weight. It's life in general. I just feel like the end is coming up and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Well, there IS nothing you can do about it. Time will keep rolling along. Deal with it." Apparently one side of me cuts through the BS rather bluntly.

" Well,of COURSE I have to deal with it!" Jeez! Can't a girl get a bit of sympathy from herself? Around here,apparently not.

"You have the power within your self to make this the year of Being 45 and Fabulous! Just stick to your guns,girl. Believe in yourself. Everything will fall into place."

Hmmm. Well, I can't argue with that. I am making very good sense.

"You have lots going for yourself. Stop selling yourself short. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and BE FABULOUS!"

I can do that. I can be fabulous....hell,not can be........ I AM!  

I am 45 and Fabulous!!!!

I got some nice gifts for the beginning of my Fabulous year-

A pretty ornament and $20 from my Mom:

Sister Linda gave me a Cinnamon Stick Yankee Candle. Anything cinnamon or pumpkin spice I love. Cinnamon stick is her favorite candle scent:

Rick and Zach made me a triple layer marble cake. Zach decorated it with:
                                                            Happy
                                                             B-day   
                                                             Mumm
                                                                  a
He had written in such big letters that he ran out of space for the "a" in Mumma. I thought it was quite funny.The cake was delish!                                  

Rick bought me a sapphire engagement ring:

Sorry that the photo came out blurry. Yes, I did say engagement ring. Perhaps I should say  it was a replacement ring.

We were in the VA a few months ago when I happened to look down and saw my sapphire stone was gone. When I lost it,and where,was any one's guess. Apparently a couple of prongs had broken and out came the stone. I was so upset. Rick had asked me to marry him with that ring!  The odd thing was,I had previously talked to Rick about perhaps getting a new setting/band for the ring. It was re sized after Zach was born,and that made the band very narrow and thin. 14 years later,with wear and tear,the back of the band had become rather sharp and I have actually had a couple of small cuts from it rubbing against my finger.

When we got home,I placed the sad looking ring in my cameo box and cried a bit. The new setting discussion was moot.

Then,I received this new ring for my birthday. I admit I wasn't really surprised,because that's the kind of thing that Rick does. I think I'll keep him for a while :)

So begins my Year of Being 45 and Fabulous!!!

Out With The Old...In With The New

Since the Almanac starts in Nov,time to bring in the 2013 edition!! As you can see,it's used quite often as reading material in the bathroom ;)

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Come On A Walk With Me!

Yesterday was a lovely day. The sun was shining,and there was nice cool breeze blowing. I decided to take myself on a little walk. I wound up walking four miles round trip. First,I was only going to walk down to the bridge,but then it felt so good to be out and about that walked much farther. I admit that today I am feeling it,but it's a great feeling. 

The one thing about living here in Middleton is that it's very rural. We have two main businesses-a lumber yard and a small GMC dealership ( owned by the same family). We do have several small businesses that are based out of homes. There are no streetlights,and no sidewalks. We have no traffic signals. We have a few farms. New homes have to have a minimum of 2 acres.There are no apartment buildings or trailer parks. Everything is single family homes. Our fire dept is volunteer,so during the week we can't have an outdoor fire in the pit until 5:00 PM when the volunteers get out of work(weekends we can burn whenever). It's very quiet. I believe our population is is less than 2,000 people.

One thing we do have quite a bit of are stone walls. Stone walls deep in the woods,on the side of the road,everywhere-including in our yard!When I am walking around and see these walls,I wonder about the folks who built them and how long ago they created these property borders.In my minds eye I see them toiling the soil,building homes,and lugging all these stones to make the walls. Did they thrive? How long did they live on the land? They don't call NH The Granite State for nothing-our soil is very rocky. In fact,when the artesian well was put in a couple of years ago,we learned that our yard is on a granite ledge,which was good to drill the well through.

The strange thing is,folks from MA come up here and steal stones from our walls just to make walls themselves! 

Stones were also used to make foundations. We have many of these old empty foundations scattered through out the town,and in the woods. It might be hard to see in this photo,but the big tree is growing right out of the middle of it. What happened to the house? Was it destroyed in a fire? Or was it just abandoned and left to slowly succumb to the elements and years?

We still have some bright leaves left,but they are slowly turning to a rusty orange. That signals that foliage season is over.

You can see that the trees are getting bare now. I was in a shower of leaves,and I tried to catch them falling in this photo,but it didn't quite work.

We have many streams/brooks in town. Some have fish,but I don't believe this one does,as it's not very deep.

When I left for my walk,I had my fleece over shirt on,and I eventually had to take it off ( I did have a short sleeve shirt on!). I was feeling the burn in my calves,legs,hips,and butt,as well as my arms. I worked up quite a sweat. It was fabulous!

When I got home,I saw little Mini Moxie curled up on my afghan-

I had to leave you with such a cute photo!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!