a blog spot

Here are some "random" photos of happenings around the farm...

To start with, Rick brings us a nice big load of wood for the furnace!!! You have no idea how thrilled I was to see him pull up with this load!! No more lugging wood from the camp (one truck load at a time!!!)

On top of that, these pieces were "designed" for this big stove. So, I think we will get even "better burns" than we have been. The smaller wood is fine, but it takes so much more to feed the fire, and really this furnace is designed to take a sizable log.

Ed taking a much deserved lunch break while working at the house!!!

Camille shows Hunter how "dog friendly" the windows are!!! Just the perfect height for looking out and checking on the farm!!!

"miss Chicken" doing what she does best....

A nice little "treasure" for breakfast.....

still ringing...

I realized, after mentioning it in the previous blog.. that I haven't said too much about my new job... I got hired on at our post office back in December. I applied for the job sort of on a whim, and wouldn't you know.. it was offered to me. It's just part time, and I think it will work in with my dog training schedule.. and so I'm giving it a shot. The first couple of days, I had to report for "training" (which was at a big "hub" location) ... let's just say, I came home overwhelmed, out of sorts and wondering what the "heck" I thought I was doing. I knew there would be quite a bit to all of this, but to have it all thrown at you in a matter of a couple of days.. was mind boggling....

However, now that I have had a couple of days in the office that I will be working at,it's still a little overwhelming, but overall, I think I am going to really like it, once I get the hang of everything. I have already enjoyed seeing several of the town folks that I know from church and the like.. and the people that I will be working with seem very nice. So, working on the house, keeping the barn up to date, and the house (where we live) up to date... teaching dog classes, training Chester and now this, I think my schedule is pretty full.

but, let's add just one more thing... the bell choir!! We all enjoyed playing at Christmas so much, that we are planning on keeping it together. We have decided to practice one Saturday afternoon a month, and then when a "special occasion" (say like Easter) comes along, we will practice weekly until the event. I am happy about this, because I really like the friends that I have made in the choir and I just enjoy playing the bells. We all agree that they are just too nice to only pull out once a year, and we did get a lot of good compliments at Christmas and many people hoped we would play more often. so... just another "new" thing on m list... I guess I should never complain of having nothing to do!!!!

housework

The camp looks kind of cool with it's big "icy teeth"...although - I am told - icicles are NOT good things, because it means that you have a "loss of heat" somewhere. Here in New England, it can also cause what we call "ice dams", which means the ice builds up and can creep under your shingles and that can cause big troubles...But either way, they do look neat, and as kids, we used to love to break them off and have ourselves a little treat!!!!

I know that the last few blogs have been about Christmas and the like, and some of you might be wondering if we have forgotten about the house, or that we might be on "vacation" from house work..that however, is far from true.. we have been very busy in the house, and even though there are days when I think we haven't done much... people who pop in say we're doing great work.

Basically, the entire downstairs is all mud and taped. We still have some areas of sheet rock to put up - like around the stairs and finish the downstairs bathroom.. but all sheet rock that is in place is done. Just so we stay on track.. whenever Ed has finished with a wall, I have primed it, and a painted wall means... DONE..

One thing I never thought of in building a timber frame.. was... cutting in around all those beams!!! We used that blue tape where we could, but most of the work was done with a straight edge and just going along as carefully as I could. I did pretty well, and only got a little paint on the beams, which I cleaned off right away.







It does make a big difference to see a wall all nicely done... I like the bright clean look and all the "spots" are gone... course, here in the kitchen, you won't even see these walls once the cabinets go into place!!!!

The cockers are SO much help... I didn't think it would take them too long to find that warm spot in front of the woodstove...

I did make one new year's resolution.. and that was, to do "something" in the house everyday.. well, we haven't' been able to do something EVERY day.. but it's been pretty close...and if we haven't worked in the house, it's because something like a structure fire which took Ed away for a whole day.. or my new job at the post office.. but all in all... it is the main focus of our lives right now....

oh Camille....

We have had a sad start to the new year... one of my little silkie hens passed away, I'm not too sure what was "wrong" with her, I think she might have been chilled with this cold weather. I found her a few days ago huddled near the door of the chicken pen (and not in one of the nesting boxes) her "sister" was standing guard over her, so I moved her to a small pen and brought her into the tack room, which is heated. I thought that even if she didn't pull thru, I would rather she pass in comfort and not be attacked by the other birds. Camille was with me when we made this move and she was very concern about this little bird. I let her sniff her all over and do some "mothering" and then tucked her away. The next day I was quite sure we would find her "gone".. but surprisingly she was still with us, and had even moved around some. I had left water and food and it looked like she had eaten some.. though now I really don't think she did. Camille was so worried and jumped up on a tack trunk so she could check out her little friend. She whined and fussed so much, that I ended up taking the chicken out just so she could see her better. Everytime we went to the barn, Camille ran into the tack room and checked, it was very endearing. When our little birdie passed, Camille knew it right away, we walked into the tack room and Camille picked up her head, sniffed the air, and really began to whine. As I took the little chicken from the pen and placed her in a bag, Camille was visibly upset, and afterwards, she ran to the chicken pen as though she were checking on all the others. I don't know if I was sad to loose one of my little chickens, or for Camille who "lost one of her chickens".

She such a funny dog, and I often wished I had bred her, she would have been the perfect mother. She "mothers" everything!!! I love watching her with Abbie.. not one peep can be made and Camille isn't there to make sure that we have everything in order. In puppy class, she will either be a gentle guiding soul, or the one that rules the roost.. she knows what to do.

And she certainly has been hard at work, helping me thru the loss of Moxie, she can sense in a moment when I am having a "Moxie meltdown" and just appears .. getting as close as she can to say that she is there and understands. She is totally insulted when - on a very rare occasion - she can't go with me in the truck, the moment I am at the door, she is on my heels, and more than once, she has dashed out the door as though to say "I don't care what you say, I am going"... which has often worked, because I change my mind and say that she can come.

She has been a little insulted to see Chester going places with me that she can't go.. I can almost hear her saying "I'd be good in Walmart"... but, I usually can make up for that and besides Chester is on a different mission.

so Camille, a blog to you... you're a very good girl... I love you!!!!

happy 2010

Happy New Year!! In thinking back over the entire past year, it's hard to recap all that has gone on in our lives. The two "biggies" that come quickly to mind, are the arrival of our first grand daughter.. Abbie and of course, the loss of our dear little doggie Moxie. Some would call it "just life"... and in a very small nutshell, I suppose it is. The nice thing with a "blog" is I can go over the past year in detail anytime that I wish.. and so can you, dear reader. So, I'm not going to do all that today.. but I think the following pictures will speak volumes on "what our live has been like over the past year"...




January.........














February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

November

and... December

As of today, we are not living here just yet - the work continues on the inside, and there is still much to do. However, I have no doubt that when I do my 2011 blog it will be from this house...





and it is the wish of Ed and I that you all have a wonderful, blessed and very happy 2010 ---onto another year of blogs!!!!

another year

New year's eve day...I can't say that I am a big fan of New Year's Eve, I know there are a lot of folks who do enjoy it, but it's not my fav. I always feel like we should be "doing something", and yet, I don't like being out too late on cold winter nights, we really aren't "party" folks, and in New England, who can ever count on the weather.

I had the grand idea of doing a hay ride with the team. And in fact, we had been working them quite regularly in preparation of it, but the weather wasn't in our favor... snow, ice, and cold for the "holiday". On top of that, work schedules, Deb had to work (she's a nurse) and wasn't sure when she would be free, and then other factors came into play and the plans sort of fell apart. I really couldn't come up with any "alternative" plans, so the day just went on like any other day.

We worked around the house some. Ed has been wanting to get a spot light up on the driveway side. When we go to load the wood furnace at night, it's dark... he's been using his CELL PHONE (of all things) as a flashlight. Works, but it's kind of silly. So, we went and got a nice bright light and he put that up ....it comes on automatically when you pull up to drive and aims perfectly on the furnace.

This furnace has really worked out well. I can't get over how it heats the house, and tending to it hasn't been a "bad" chore at all. We fill it up twice a day (usually at the horse's feeding time) and it chugs along the rest of the time. We are currently running a bit short of wood, but Rick has promised us a load very soon... so, I'm not too worried about that. I have been lugging wood from the pile at the camp.. which has been a little hassle, but just knowing more wood will be delivered, we're doing just fine. We have decided that it will be our main source of heat, even after we move in. Eventually, we will get an oil furnace too, but because this is going so well, that's not going to be a top propriety right now.

After puttering around the farm I called around to see what folks were up to. Kas and Nate had made plans just to "hang out" so they were "happy".. and then I gave Kelli and Rick a jingle and they didn't have too much going on. We decided just to order some Chinese food, crash in on their house and at least have an evening out. Abbie seemed pretty happy with this idea.. especially when we told her she could stay up until midnight!!!! (NOT that she has ever done anything like that before!!!)

It was a quiet but fun evening and it went by in a flash. I never intended to stay until midnight, but while we were visiting, we watched the "ball" drop.. and here we are...

2010!!! I say this over and over again, but truly where does the time go... it scares me sometimes...

Next year, maybe I will have my act together and we can pull that hay ride together...

first Christmas

Christmas Day..a favorite and a special, but even more so this year with our little Abbie!!! We arrived fairly early at Kassy and Nate's for our traditional Christmas brunch. They had been busy and had everything all ready and so nicely set!!! So much yummy food, and I have to say that breakfast is one of my favorite meals.....

We opened gifts with the "Flagg" side of the family, and just enjoyed being all together!!! Camille had to be the center of attention.. and quickly claimed Dave's lap... they say that people often look like their dogs... but Camille doesn't belong to Dave.. so what's the "family resemblance here?"

Kassy quickly claimed Abbie, as did Banjo!! (all of our dogs are so good with this baby - they truly love her!!)

After Kassy and Nate's we went over to my parent's house to have Christmas with the rest of the family. My sisters and their hubbys and girls...
Little Naomi was such fun to be with and watch as she opened her gifts... at three, she was "really into Christmas" this year!!! I feel so blessed to have children at Christmas time.. nothing like kids at Christmas....








Abbie, of course won't remember this year, but we certainly will. She got a lot of wonderful things, but I think this little horse (a gift from Deb) is going to become a favorite... his name is Douglas, and she held him for the longest time!!!

So another lovely holiday, full of family, wonderful time together, peace and joy. We are so blessed that we can be together... but next year... it's going to be at our house -- one way or another!!!!

decorations....

I have to say, that one of the many things that I enjoy about Christmas are the decorations. Personally, I tend to keep to more of a "traditional New England" style (whatever that is)... but it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the "other styles" that people do. I really didn't do a lot in the decorating side of things this year, most of our "things" are still packed away, and I am anxiously waiting to decorate "my" house, but still.. we had our beautiful tree and a few little "goodies" around the house.

Last fall, at Halloween time, I took some shots of a little house that had some awesome decorations.. I think they had several "scarecrows" and some "ghosts" coming out of their windows and the like.. and they do no less for Christmas. Here we have Santa and Rudolph up on the house top....









While the rest of the "team and sleigh" wait down in the yard. The pictures really don't do it justice~~~ it is quite the display!!!

And then, there are the folks that go "all out!!" Again not my style, but you have to appreciate all the time and effort (and clean up!!) that goes into all of this!! and I certainly enjoy it... it's great fun to bundle up in the truck and drive about and see what "things" people come up!! Can't wait until Abbie is old enough to travel with us and see all the sights!!!

Christmas Eve (day)

Christmas Eve day turned out to be as busy as I thought it might be. First things first.. Chester had a visit to the vet for the last of his puppy shots. Even though I adore my vet from the "old town", I decided to take Chester to a vet here, mainly for convenience. NEADS operates a lot on donations, so we asked this vet.. Dr. Spahn .. if he might contribute some of his services for Chester - which he gladly did... not charging me or NEADS for any of this visit!!! (thank you so very much!!!!) Chester is such a good puppy, and is taking to training like a "duck to water"!!! Here he sits proudly on the scale!!!!



And then waited quietly with Camille until it was his turn to go in and see Dr. Spahn. I have to keep reminding myself, that he is NOT a cocker spaniel!!! He's growing so quickly and even though his dinner bowl looks so big and so full of food... he's NOT a cocker. For this visit, he weighed in at 20lbs, already bigger than the others!!! He was a very good boy for his shots and doesn't have to go back again until spring time (for the big operation!!!)

Returning home, I noticed that the Channel 8 news truck was at the fire station. Certainly "something" must be up to have the news truck at the fire station, I had heard some "rumors" around town that a very special person had said something about "making a special stop" in Acton. Seeing this news truck could only mean one thing... that "he" had decided to come......








could it be?? Yes, I am quite certain...

It's SANTA!!!! seems there are some very special children in Acton that he needed to see, so he left the sleigh at the North Pole (to have the elves pack) and borrowing a fire truck, Santa and a few helpers from the fire department, made some deliveries around town.....

Course, we took advantage of this private encounter ... and introduced Abbie to Santa, making sure that he added her name to his list....












She seemed pretty comfy in his arms, almost like she had been there before!!! :-)

and then Chester had to say hello, and make sure that he was also on Santa's list.. especially after being such a good puppy at the vet. He wasn't one bit afraid of this gentlemen in the long white beard....

After visiting with Santa, it was back home.. barn chores waiting and Christmas Eve beginning. Now, I must confess here, I was actually feeling rather sad about Christmas Eve... we had made plans to be with Kas and Nate , going to their church and then over to Pease Air base to welcome home the soldiers returning from Iraq. Well, when the bell choir plans changed, it meant that I would have to "give up" our plans and be at our church. Since everyone had other plans, it would mean that just Sadie, Abbie and Ed would see me play with the choir..I had been hoping for a much bigger audience!!! About two hours before church, Ed got called out with the fire department to a structure fire... a barn - fully involved. Now, I've been around the fire department for many years, and "fully involved structure" means one thing for sure... hours of work!!! Ed would now miss the bells too.


So, Sadie and I packed up Abbie and headed to the church. Going there in such a "bad mood" certainly was not the way to begin the Christmas celebration... but, I just couldn't help it.

As we were doing a quick practice and the folks were coming into church, I noticed a pretty gal in a pink coat, and thought to myself.. "Kas has a coat like that"... and then, looking a bit closer.. it was Kas!! and Nate!!! Plans had changed again (the flight bringing home the soldiers was bumped to an earlier time that they couldn't make).. so they surprised me and came to hear the bells. Then, just before service began.. in came Ed. The barn fire was a total loss, but no one - including animals - were hurt, and since it was in a neighboring town, Ed felt he could leave and come to hear me..... so, for all my fretting - Christmas Eve turned out to be a very nice time. AND a good reminder to me as to "why" we celebrate this very special season!! The birth of our Lord and Savior -Jesus!!!!

We had a short visit with Kas and Nate after church.. it was late and they had a drive home, we would be with them all Christmas Day...

then it was time for bed and wait for "Santa" to do his work (he was probably at church too!!!) but looking at some beautiful gifts sitting on the counter, I would say that Santa had already made some drops!!!! (right, Rick??)

day before the day before....

I think I might be "back in business" in the bloggin world!! It's been a long road, and technically our computer still isn't fixed, but Ed graciously went to his office and brought this one home, just to keep me sane. So, even though the real date is 1-17-2010, I am going to pick the blog up where I left off.. back in December, and bring you up to date on all the news. Happy reading everyone.. you have no idea how happy I am to be back!!!!!














So, it's the "day before the day before" and if you were reading this blog last year (or the year before) you already know that I love the 23rd!! To me, the excitement of Christmas is just around the corner, and still waiting to happen, sadly, once the 24th arrives, then it is Christmas and the celebration is happening and beginning to end.. sort of a strange way to look at things.. but...




Kas had the idea of doing a "girls" lunch on this day before the day before, so, we all met at a great little restaurant and just enjoyed each other's company and the day. Abbie was as good as gold, and pretty much slept thru this great adventure, but there are many more to come and I think she will appreciate this day as much as her silly Grandma does...

She woke up happy just as we were about to leave, isn't that smile just the greatest???


















It was back to the farm and chores after our lunch. Not as much snow as last year (fine with me) and I have to say, I think Turkey Manor looks much better with lots of "green" around it... but here it sits, waiting for next year's residents.....















Early Christmas gift... help with barn chores!!! Talk about "knowing what to give someone!!"

And later that evening, finishing up in the gift wrapping department, though I think Abbie was more tired than interested.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the bell choir is scheduled to play. We were suppose to play "Christmas Sunday", but snow kept our choir director from coming to church, so, she called to see if we were available to play tomorrow night. We did have other plans with the kids, so everything had to be changed on our end.. but I didn't want to be the one that kept the choir from playing.. so change it is...