Thursday, December 30, 2010

another "day before"

wow.. a week ago, it was the "day before the day before".. I remember feeling a little stressed and anxious about the "need to be done's" and now this week, it's all behind us - and I sort of wonder what I was so worried about. It turned out to be a great Christmas spent with family and friends.. and really, isn't that what it's all about???















I've put a few days in at the post this week. I worked on Monday because of the snow and then I worked today and again tomorrow, just so my boss could have a little time to enjoy the holidays. I would have thought that Monday might be really quiet, but surprise surprise... being Mainers, people were still out to get their mail!!!!






It is MUCH quieter than it was last week, enough that I have felt comfortable bringing Ginger to work with me in the afternoons. The mornings are too busy getting the mail sorted and "delivered" to be able to watch a puppy, but the afternoons are just busy enough that I can do both. It has been great bringing her to work... there's a lot that goes on... mostly "noises" .. that are really good for her to handle. Like, hearing the door open and close many times, or the sound that the little mailbox doors make when people go into get the mail. Or the rumble of the big mail carts.... etc. etc.


She has been very good at work, and is getting used to "down time". I'll be taking her to church within the next week or so.. she's ready to learn to lay quietly. I know the folks at church will be happy to see a dog again... they have missed Chester.




The "Wednesday" night dog classes have been running right along. I wasn't so sure that "we" could fill a class during the holiday season.. but Paula managed to fill two of them. Attendance has been very good... this is a dedicated group of folks for sure.





Ginger loves puppy class.. especially -puppy play time. She has a great time with everyone!!!




We'll be making another trip to NEADS in January... so I want to stay up to date on the training for sure.....




Monday, December 27, 2010

SNOW!!!

As forecasted...we got a pretty good snow storm Sunday evening into Monday morning. I was all set for a good ol fashion, stay at home quilting day.. but as I thought, I was called into work. I do recall that one of the questions of my interview was... "do you live close enough that you could cover on snowy days".. now since I live about 800 feet from the post office, and my boss has about an hour's drive.. I guess I can pretty much plan... big snows mean work!!! Oh well, that's OK...


Poor Ed, actually had two fire calls during the storm.. and not that this was a huge storm.. we have had bigger with way more snow, but what made this one so different was the wind. In fact, it was hurricane speed winds!!! The snow was very fine and with the wind, it creeped into everything. Ed plowed the driveway several times just to stay ahead of the drifts. I was all set for taking tons of "really cool pictures"... only to have my little camera suddenly quit on me.. and this was the only "storm picture" that I got!!!! (course you know that I had to get a new camera as soon as we could)....


so.. with new camera (actually the exact same one that I had before).. I got the rest of these photos. Oh, but look who had the good sense to move into the house, especially during the storm. It has become a nightly ritual... Annabelle sleeps in the house... no more barn bed for her.. she has found the cozy spot to be.









The snow really is pretty and if we're going to put up with the cold of winter... we might as well have some snow to play in. The temps have mild a little, last week we had sub zero, and now it stays just around freezing...











which, when you have a warm sunny spot to stand in... makes it just about perfect. With these fuzzy coats, the horses seem pretty happy. They were just glad to be outside again, we locked them in during the storm and two days of standing inside just isn't their cup of tea!!! But I wasn't taking any chances with the wind.....







It took a little doing for the birdies to come out. They aren't as comfortable with the snow... but they were happy to be out of their house and into some fresh air.



so, it's winter in New England..... however - I noticed that the days are a bit longer!!!!!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

boxing day!!!!!

It had been my hope that Christmas would be celebrated at our house this year. But, it just didn't seem to work out that way.. though one year soon, I am going to do my best to make that happen... but....

I thought instead, since we had Sunday as the day after Christmas (Boxing day) that maybe we could extend the holiday a little longer and I asked everyone to come and have a Christmas turkey with us. The only drawback was.. a winter storm was heading for New England and timing was going to be everything.



We had saved some gifts out for Abbie, so she got another morning of gift opening. This actually worked out really well, because having just a few gifts at time, kept her from being overwhelmed and she got to really see her new things and enjoy them. Besides it was just great to have a little one opening presents here!!!







Around lunch time, family and friends began to arrive. I knew that some would not make it, worried about the snow beginning, but it sure was wonderful to have folks here.











As I have said, having the house filled with people is one of the best things in the world!!! People stayed as long as they dared... but the late leavers did call back to say the storm had arrived and they were glad they had left when they did.






We are in for a "real" New England Nor'easter... and I'm glad it held off as long as it did. I'm glad we didn't have that worry on Christmas day, and that we had most of Boxing day to be together...
the "cousins" certainly had a good time..... and now we head into the last week of the year... 2011 is just around the corner!!!!




simply said .... Christmas!!!!!

And here it is... Christmas again. Where has a year gone?? and why does it come faster and faster each year. And why doesn't it last longer??? Even though we cram in as much as possible, it is never long enough.



Christmas eve was spent with our dear friends (aka family) Deb and Dave. Deb made a wonderful dinner and her house was so cute all decorated for Christmas. It was so welcoming and comfortable.














We attended a candle light service at the little Baptist Church just down the street from the Flaggs. It was a nice little service and a great reminder of "what" this holiday is truly about.










If I could say... it was sad not seeing this little church filled to the brim. And sadder still, that there weren't many children.. I fear this is a sign of the future... we need to get families back to church and our children being raised in Christian homes.....









Christmas morning, it was busy here on the farm. We had animals to tend to and make sure they would all be set while we were away for the whole day. Then it was packing up of the goodies.. which required several trips to the truck. If there was any doubt about how blessed this family.. I think this photo says a great deal.








First stop was Kassy and Nate's for breakfast and gift opening. As you may recall, this is our "old" house and I am so happy to be able to spend Christmas morning here again. We have had so many great memories of Christmas "pasts" here and it's nice that it holds the "future" as well. Breakfast was grand... Kas and Nate really out did themselves!!!!






I brought Ginger and Camille along. I knew that Ginger could not go the whole day stuck in her crate. And if nothing else... it was a good day of "training" to beat. She didn't quite know what to make of all the boxes of things.. but she was very good the whole day.









After Kas and Nate's.. it was onto my parent's home for lunch.. time with the family and more gifts. My Dad repairs clocks and I just love this clock that they have out on the front lawn!!!!






My Mom and Dad's tree....









and a small part of the Santa collection that my Mom has!!!




As stated.. the whole day just flew by. But is was great fun and I savored every moment of it. Little Abbie did quite well and went the whole day without a nap (and without being cranky to boot!!) But just after supper, she was done!!!
and so a great way to end my Christmas blog...
Merry Christmas to all and to all.... a good night!!!!








Thursday, December 23, 2010

day before the day before....


Today is the "day before the day before". Which means, it's the 23rd. I always made a fuss about this day when the kids were little, because it usually mean that "everything" was done, and yet the excitement of Christmas still was to happen. I love this day. This year however, it was a day for me to catch up, I still had some shopping to finish up, so I met up with Kas and she, Abbie and I spent the day together (Sadie had to work and Ed wasn't "allowed"). We had such a nice day, poking around the stores, going out to lunch and just taking a bit of time to unwind before it all begins again.

We had the shortest day of the year on the 21st!!! and already the days are 2 minutes longer!!! Spring must be just around the corner!!!! We got a bit of snow, so we'll have a "white Christmas" just enough to make it look the way New England should.

Tomorrow night, we will be spending time with the Flagg side of the family.. Christmas Day will be breakfast at Kas and Nate's ( in our "old" house).. then onto my folks... I am sure the day will fly by (sadly)... but the day after Christmas, it will be back at the farm for turkey.

so... in the day of downtime.. I am taking in every moment that Christmas has to offer....and hoping you my friends are doing the same. Enjoy!!!!!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Sunday....

This past Sunday was "Christmas Sunday". The bell choir had been practicing since Thanksgiving and today (and Christmas eve) are the times that we are playing. I won't be able to make the Christmas eve service, but I was certainly excited to play in church. I invited my family to come and hear the bells and then after church, to come back to the farm for a Christmas Sunday brunch. My Mom and Dad, "all the kids" and Kelli and Rick attended church. And then other friends came to the house after the service. I think the bell choir did a great job, and my Dad said the same.



After we played a few songs, the children of the church told the Christmas story. They did the little play of the "animals in the manager"... The choir sang the song and the kids played it out. It was simply wonderful!!! And you could tell that the children had a great time dong it... I can't wait for Abbie to be old enough to do things like this!!!!









Back at home, it was brunch time. Abbie got to open a present from Auntie Kas... an ornament for the tree.... another to add to her collection...
















Then Ed began to cook breakfast. We had farm fresh eggs...a great egg casserole that Kelli brought, fresh bacon and sausage from "our" piggie... coffee, sweet rolls and great conversation and company. Nothing is better than a house filled with family and friends, and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I have to say, I am just thrilled at the "layout" of the house... you can "work" in the kitchen and still visit with everyone,it was so much fun.






Course in this house, "guests" always means four footed as well. Mary and Ed joined us and brought Banjo's sisters for a run on the farm. I think the four footed had as much fun and the humans!!!










Folks went down to visit with the horses, and stayed and chatted for a long time. This "is" Christmas to me.















Ginger was happy when Kathleen and Bob arrived and brought brother Leo with them. The puppies got to have a romp out in the pen!!!








In the evening, we found out that a plane was coming in with a group of homeward bound troops. It's what is called a "Pease Greeters". Kas and Nate often attend them and asked if we wanted to join. I have been wanting to go and do some of the greetings for a while, and this was a perfect time to go. So, we packed up Cam and Ginger (well behaved dogs are welcomed) and down we went.











Not only was it great fun, but a wonderful training opportunity for Ginger. Talk about a big crowd with lots going on!!! She handled it all in stride and it was "icing on the cake" when she got special attention from one of the soldiers.











There was huge crowd there to greet the troops. The crowd always varies depending on the time that the planes are coming or going....but there is always someone there to greet the troops. Pease is a "rest" stop for re-fueling and it gives the soldiers a chance to step back onto US soil, call home, and just have a little break before they continue on.





This being an "in coming flight" meant that these men and women will be home for Christmas. Course, we have to be mindful of the folks that will soon be heading out, or will be away for Christmas, but this was a real celebration... and what a great way to end Christmas Sunday...
busy, busy day.... wished it could have lasted longer!!!!

















dressing up the house...

So if Christmas were on a schedule, I can tell you that I am way behind. But I have come to the conclusion that you can't put Christmas on a schedule, at least I can't, because all of a sudden it seems like the pressure arrives. I would have liked to had the tree up much sooner than this, but I guess if it goes up late, it can stay up later. And I think that is what we'll do this year.







Abbie of course, was pretty taken with all this festivity. She kept saying "oh pretty" as we were stringing the lights, but once we open the box of ornaments, she was more than delighted. Course, we had to keep a careful eye on her, some of the ornaments are very fragile, and OLD. I started collecting Christmas ornaments when I was 12, and I have many of them still. There are also ornaments that have been gifts, or bought at different places, or remembrance of people and pets that have gone on....





I am sure anyone of us can say the same about our Christmas ornament collections. And I do replace them out, some are just tucked away and some are sorted out time to time when new ones arrive. We have begun Abbie's collection, and I passed Kassy's onto her when she started having her own tree.





Sadie tried to show Abbie how we "did" this, but we soon found out that Abbie had her own idea of how it was done. No sooner would an ornament be placed and she would move it. We put anything "unbreakable" in Abbie range --- and in Ginger range for that matter-- so a little rearranging isn't any big matter. But we'll have to keep an eye on her for sure.






Some final touches here and there.....









and there you go.... the first tree in our new house!!!!

holiday events....

I've been a bit upset about how "behind" I am this year. I am usually one of those folks that is ready for Christmas sometime around Halloween. But not this year, and I just don't know where the time has gone!. Course the fact that I had been teaching four nights of dog classes, putting in some extra time at the post office, training a new puppy, plus taking care of the farm, boarding dogs....... and the trip to Williamsburg.. I guess I can account for my time after all. One thing though, I am enjoying the holiday season, and I'm not going to stress on what does or doesn't get done.....



Last Thursday evening was our annual Christmas party, pot luck and auction. As always it was a great time... Wayne was our auctioneer.. and here is a prize that I 'won"... I thought this little case would be a great "project holder"....











some of our members enjoying the auction....














Kelli and baby Abbie.....













AND.... if there wasn't enough happening.... in my rush to get to the dog club party, I didn't close Duke's stall door tight, and while we were parting.. so were some horses. Course they weren't thoughtful enough to pick up after themselves and left this nice little mess for me to deal with the next morning... silly boys, (but you can be sure I'll double check the doors from now on....... )




I have also been practicing with the bell choir again this year. We met every Saturday afternoon all December.... I love being in this choir and we are hoping to make this a "more than once a year" event.







Then Saturday evening, one of the firefighters hosted a party for the kids. Course Abbie was invited, and she had a grand time checking out their tree. She also had a great time just being with other little kids... she fits right in with everyone, I'm glad to see that she is not a bit shy...








and look who the surprise visitor was.....











yup.. Mr. C. made a quick trip down from the north pole to check up and make sure everyone is being good... after all, his big ride is later this week!!!