a week of stories...

so.... after the beautiful weekend weather (and the new stairs in the house) the air took a major change. The weather came in very hot and very humid, with thunderstorms happening almost every afternoon. Some of these storms were quite severe... but for sure, the storm we got on Wednesday evening was the worse.


In our little town, we fared quite well, all things considered. The lightening was very fierce (driving home from dog class was more than "interesting") the wind absolutely roared. Trees and power lines were down all over the place, and I had to be extremely careful driving. Poor Camille wanted so badly to be in my lap, but had to settled in on the seat beside me.





Several neighboring towns had actual tornadoes... confirmed by the weather people. They spent the better part of the week, cleaning up and restoring power. We had a few snapped trees ourselves, with the slight possibly that the tornadoes were forming in our little town. There was some clean up, but as I said..overall we fared quite well.






Thursday morning found us at the hospital. My dear Ed has yet another case of kidney stones!!!! We had one run to the ER a few weeks ago, and he was due to have them "blasted". If you remember (dear reader).. we went thru this last summer. We would like to know what this yearly event is all about, but there doesn't seem to be any real answers to the question. As it turned out, the stone were not able to be "blasted".... and he has to return to the hospital in August to have it done. We're not sure why the procedure wasn't done, Ed still needs to talk to the doctor about that...


So, while I was waiting for Ed.. Abbie and I went to visit with my parents. It was nice to have someone to spend the time with and chat, it kept me from worrying too much. Course Abbie was good entertainment too....

she's really got this crawling thing under control... and thought that maybe tackling the step in my parent's house might be fun....


step one... stand up....






step two.... pull up your backside....












and step three... look back and see what you just did~~~ pretty exciting!!!!!













And spending time with your great grandfather is pretty nice when you are beginning to get sleepy.








Friday turned out to be quite the busy day.. and perhaps too busy for my Ed. He ran and got our counter tops, and did a "trail placement" of them. I am so happy with the color we chose.. and this is where the cook top will go.










Kas and I went on another adventure.... it's blueberry season here in Maine, and like the strawberries of the spring... the blueberries are in fine shape!!!! Here we do a nice little photo before getting to 'work"

These are "high bush" berries.... which makes the picking quite easy. (the low bush are hard on the back and are usually done with a rake)... high bush are perfect for hand picking.. though these berries look more like grapes than blueberries...

It took almost no time at all to fill our boxes. I never did get back to the strawberry picking, but I AM going to get more blueberries... I love blueberries, and they freeze so nicely. Pies, muffins and pancakes all winter long if I get my act together....

Ed made a beautiful batch of blueberry pancakes for breakfast Sunday morning. We topped them with home made maple syrup from our friend's farm.... those with coffee, and sitting lakeside... now tell me, what could be better. Yup, it will be more berry picking for me!!!!!!







Back to Friday... in the evening we went to the first of the local fairs. This is where Ed was probably getting into the "way too much after a day in surgery" thing. But he didn't want to miss this nice little fair.

We did all the usual fair things... food, met up with old friends... animals... and a favorite, the horse pulls!!! Talk about a feeling of power... get behind a pair of these beauties!!! They are more than ready to haul, and one thing for sure, you want to be certain you get that hitch on the first try. (some didn't though!!!)

Abbie loved the fair... all the lights and sounds.. and of course the animals!!! she so loves animals and nothing frightens her when it comes to them. Sadie brought her into the petting zoo, and all the little goats climbing around on her just made her all the happier!!! Our kind of kid!!!!

I brought Chester along with us. Sadly, dogs are not allowed at the fairs anymore. Guess there were just too many problems with dogs not being well attended to. But with Chester being a service puppy, there wasn't any trouble. I knew it would be a great training experience for him, and it certainly was. The only "trouble" was, people were very interested in him and wanted to talk. Which is fine with me, but hard for the family when they have to stand around and wait for you to finish talking. I had to finally tell everyone just to go and and I would catch up with them when I could.

Chester was excellent (as I knew he would be).. but there was one ride that really caught his attention. I don't know if it had a "sound" or what it was, but he stood and watched it for the longest time.





By the end of the evening, he was pretty tired and ready to head home... so was Ed!!!! It was a fun night, but tiring for the two of them.

Saturday morning, Ed was feeling kind of "punky", He wanted to get some things done in the house, but had to give up and just take the afternoon to rest. We really do need to figure out about these stones... any suggestions out there in blogger land????


We had to make the dump run. The rental camps needed the trash to be gone, and we needed trash to be gone.. so we did do that. While we were waiting in line to unload, we noticed the car ahead of us had this cute little wagon. I jumped out and asked them what they were going to do with it. They had planned on leaving it at the "trade house" (a little shed at the dump where people can leave items that have good use left in them... and you are allowed to pick thru and take what you need or want)... I said it didn't have to go to the trade house... it could go right in the back of our truck..This is a perfect little treasure for Abbie and will be so much fun around the farm.. amoung other places!!!

By Sunday, Ed was feeling a little better, but we both know he needs to take it at an easier pace until these stones can be blasted... so... the work comes to a slower speed at the house.. but we'll get in when we get in.. and for now.. that's all we can do!!!!

THANK YOU, JOHN!!!!

Because of his amazing talent and generosity of time, John made for us the most beautiful stairway. Saying "thank you" just doesn't seem nearly enough.... and I only hope he knows how much we GREATLY appreciate all he did for us.....

Thank you so very much John.... we will think of you each time we use our beautiful new stairs!!!!!

horses in the neighborhood

There are horses in the neighborhood!!!! (so?? you think, what's the big deal... don't you have four horses of your own??) Well, yes we do, but the neighborhood I'm talking about is not the "farm neighborhood" it's the "lake neighborhood"...
Sunday, we were sitting lakeside, chatting with Kas, Nate and Sadie.. when this big beautiful horse trailer goes down the road. Now, you know right away, my horse radar goes up and I am dying with curiosity as to what is going on. Three gorgeous horses are unloaded and walked up into the woods, and the trailer "disappears". Then we see folks lugging hay and water, and Ed says.. "they must be staying for awhile".

We then had our own horse chores to do, so we headed down to the farm, and when we got back, Ed said "I know you want to see what's this is all about... let's go look". As luck would have it, the horse owners were out with their babies, and we had a chance to chat with them.

Two camps down from us, the family that owns the camp is from Vermont. During the summer the "Mom" comes out and lives at the camp. Well, this week the daughter, grand daughter and friend have come to stay with"Mom" and have brought their horses to do trail riding while they visit. We had such fun talking with them, and wouldn't I love to join them on their outings....








We offered a parking spot for the trailer in our "field" and each morning, I have been able to watch them tack up and head out. They always ask me to come along, but two things hold me back.. one being they ride for 4 to 6 hours (and no way are Tonka and I in that kind of shape right now) and two... I really can't "afford" that kind of time away from finishing up this house.... but, don't think I haven't thought of just going!!!!







If this works out well for them this summer, they will be back again next year... so perhaps.. I would be in a spot where I could just tag along...

either way, it looks like great fun!!!!

what's ya doin'......

Our move in date is getting closer all the time. So much so, that we are "allowing" ourselves to begin to bring in some of our things. The first to go up... our New Hampshire Mirror clock, I knew just where it would go in the living room, and once the walls and trim were done, I asked Ed to hang it for me. This little clock is so dear to me, and was one of the few items that did not go into storage, but has traveled from house to house with us. One night, while Kas was living in North Carolina, and we were talking on the phone, she could hear the clock strike in the background.. and said "Oh, I can hear home"... so, this little clock will now keep the hours in the new house with it's pretty little chime.








What do you think of this amazing painting??? It was done by a dear friend of mine, who is in the dog club with me. Pretty certain she is an artist for sure. At Christmas time, I "won" her gift at the dog auction.. which was "a painted portiat of your dog". Maxine was so happy that I got her donation. I gave her the picture that I took of Moxie on her 10th birthday, and I dare say, Maxine caught it to a "t".... I cried when she presented it to me... those beautiful haunting brown eyes!!!! I know just where this will hang in our dining room, on a wall where anyone entering will see it. I still miss my Moxie so much but more and more I am beginning to talk about her without crying (too much)









The last of the balusters!!! Hurray!!!! These have been a real pain to paint... all sixty(ish) of them. But John is back to finish the stairway and they all had to be done. They do look nice and it's a good feeling to have them done and out of the way....










just waiting for John to put them into place!!!!










The dog pen is working out grand!! and the dogs are really loving it. I am so happy to have them with us when we are working at the house, instead of sitting inside at the camp. They run and play, and enjoy being outside....











and all together. (and yes, Camille is doing what you think .....)










Last Wednesday, Chester and I had "speaking engagement". I was asked to come and talk about NEADS and raising a service puppy to the Women's Fellowship group from our church. This meeting was their annual "men's night" so al the hubbys were there as well. It was a good crowd, and everyone was so interested. NEADS had given me a nice video about the dogs who are given to the veterans... so I started with that...

and then went on, telling them the history of NEADS and then what Chester and I do together and how much fun I have been having with him. He was a wonderful boy (as usual) and showed off his obedience skills. Though most everyone there has seen him in church, so they all know how good he is. We actually have another engagement next week at a senior luncheon at the town hall... so we get to do it all again...

You know.. I'm going to miss this silly boy when the time comes for him to go to "college".....

dam geese.....

didn't forget

Last month we "spaced out" with Abbie's monthly photos, just too busy with the house and all. But this month we remembered... though "someone was too thrilled" about this idea!!! It amazes me how much she is turning into a little person!! And when things don't go her way (like today) we are made very aware of it. I don't know if it was because she had to sit still (which she hates).. or if the fact that she had to wear shoes (which she also hates) but either way, it took us a little time to get these photos....





A bit of "pasci" time to calm down....















and finally, a pic with her puppy.....














and the "Camille photo".....

and...... "now can I take these silly shoes off???"

Happy 9 months Abbie!!!!!!!

pictures to share..

As most of you know, my camera is never too far from my hands. Whether I am getting photos for the blog, or just taking pictures for fun.. here are a few of my new favorites that I thought you might enjoy....



swimming on a hot summer day....














baby barn swallows.. out of the nest, but not too far from home....













parent barn swallow... wondering when the job will be done!!!! :-)










"our" wild turkeys...enjoying the farm













considering my past history with things are that "green", I'm pretty pleased at the way this flower garden is growing....













birdies at the front door... looking for some treats

just happened to be in the right place at the right time...

and enjoy the beauties sent from God.......