family – Page 6 – This Old House 2

A Palate cleanser

After the last post I feel I need to sprinkle some happy up here in this space. Let us not allow the *crazy* to infect every corner of our world, because truly there’s so much to appreciate and good works we can do and fun and adventure to be had, regardless. I find a lot of solace in the every day, in the routines, the natural beauty outside these old doors, my animals up on the hill, the family that gathers round the table and the dogs curled up under my desk.

Here on the farm the leaves are turning and beginning to blanket the stone walls and pathways. My gardens are depleted, but there is still much color and many blooms and berries…

Zinnia still reaching for the sky…

The Dahlias – easy to grow and just so stunning…. I do need to pull the bulbs out of the ground once the frost hits if I want to use them again next year. And I might not, because sometimes I’m lazy that way.

My New Dawn roses have made a second appearance, just a few on a very lengthy vine along the dog yard fence.

I forget the name of these hydrangea trees, their blooms are prolific this year! My mom has been here several times collecting bunches for friends, they are great for drying.

Beautyberry – a more vivid purple berry you have never seen.

More Dahlia….

And although the daisies were done over a month ago, because of the warm weather, a few have shot up again.

Inside the house I’ve brought in fall – one of my favorite seasons to decorate. Pumpkins everywhere! and.. I bring bittersweet vine in from the fields and drape them along the fireplace mantels. There are pumpkins on the front door steps and over the door itself on the “shelf”, too.

I’ve been holding on to a painting by my late great grandfather in 1949 for some time now. His writing is on the back, so it was easy to discover what this painting was of – The covered bridge in Arlington, Vermont just in front of Normal Rockwell’s beloved home on the green. Above as it appears in our dining room, Below is a picture of the area now, and his painting up close. I recently had it matted, framed and glass covered for protection as it was in rough shape – it’s hard to get a photo of it without glare. The white house in the very background was his home.

Current….

And as my great grandfather saw it in 1949…

I hope to get up there in the near future to stand at this spot myself, with a nod to my deceased ancestor who did the very same. He and I have a similar painting style – not too detailed but the end result is pleasing to the eye, if not very professional or precise. Right now I’m reading Normal Rockwell’s autobiography and I look forward to the inevitable mention of his beloved home in Arlington.

11/28/1939-ORIGINAL CAPTION READS: Norman Rockwell, artist. Photo shows Rockwell painting with smoking pipe in his mouth.

Hopefully Getty Images folks own’t mind that I used their image.

I’ll leave you with a link to some scrumptious fall recipes from a favorite blogger of mine, Jane of Blondie’s Journal. Visit her post HERE. I’ve got the beef stew on my stove as I type this, and the other recipes will get a chance here at this old house as well. The stew is delish! Perfect for a cool fall evening.

Till soon, friends –

The Lights are on and Everyone’s HOME

When we bought this run down old farm, our goal was to restore it and create a family gathering place for many years to come. With our kids now grown and making their way in the world, tonight I see the bonfire up on the hill with the boy and his cousin and long time friends gathered round the fire once again as they have since their high school days, all college graduates and professionals living near and far. Next door, I see the lights on for the first time, my daughter and her boyfriend’s first night in their new home. I have a husband with vision and tenacity who saw this all through, and I’m grateful for every second of it. ♥

A little tour of the new home…

Wishing my daughter and her partner in life many happy years here!

While the new home owners were unpacking, the Mr. and I went down to Stella by the Sea to sit on her now vacant deck once again and enjoy the early fall breezes. (more like… he enjoyed the breezes and took a nap while I did laundry, picked tomatoes, dusted, vacuumed and packed away bedding for the coming winter months.)

I did manage to stick my feet in the water and absorb a little more Vitamin Sea.

The last of the seaside garden tomatoes… those four plants yielding more fruit than my 10 or so here on the farm – go figure.

I’m too exhausted by all the noise coming out of Washington to dive into it much here… – Bonfire of the Vanities – sums it up, new meaning of course.

Apple Slab Pie with Maple Icing – link HERE.

Till soon –

Goodbyes and hellos

We laid to rest our dear Dane, Ben. At 10.5 years of age, (ancient for a Dane) his hind end gave out. We are lucky to have a very good vet who came to the farm so that there would be no added stress to poor Ben, and he had a peaceful passing. We miss the big guy, he was a horse in the house and there’s a big hole in our hearts and hearth where he once took up space. I don’t know that we’ll bring home another giant dog, they don’t live long enough and their decline is so heartbreaking to watch, although that’s true of any living thing.

New England has experienced many perfect weather days in recent weeks. Fall is unfurling slowly into the morning and evening light, the leaves beginning to change color. Some Autumns are a dud as far as foliage color depending on weather conditions, and some are just glorious. We’ve had many Monarch butterflies in the hay fields and in our Zinnia patch!

We will soon tuck our Stella by the Sea away, as her 2019 season has come to an end. Closing up a summer cottage is a reluctant good bye, thankfully just a temporary one.

In this glorious month of September, my sister’s youngest son was married on their farm. The bride and groom were so clearly happy and in love, and the wedding was a fun event – with fall decor and comfort foods and a great DJ who got the crowd dancing, rocking the house all night. The wedding cake wasn’t a cake at all – it was DONUTS!… a nod, no doubt, to the groom’s profession – a police officer. Wishing Brian and Kate many many happy years.

My kids, my niece and my other kids……

Mom and sister, Sue

I think my most favorite picture of my mom, ever… in my sister’s Sunflower patch on that day…

On the better health front, I’ve lost 10 lbs of my 25 lb weight loss goal so far, and the rest ain’t gonna come off easy. Menopause sucks in some ways, this is one of them. A nutritionist has helped me sort out why I overeat and how I can make changes that are doable for the rest of my life, to keep the weight off. I’m still tweeking, because Lord I Love To Eat. And Cook, And Bake. But… slow and steady wins the race. This below is a good mantra to keep in your arsenal for making positive change in your life.

In closing, I’ll give you a sneak peak of our daughter’s new home, right next door to this old house on the farm. By September 30th, they’ll be in!

Till soon, friends…

Cape Wonder

I am in love with the house nextdoor! ❤ It just so happens to be the home my husband is building for our daughter and her guy.

When we first bought This Old House and the land around it, we knew there was potential for a few building lots, if the kids decided when they were grown that they’d like to settle in this area. We are very fortunate to be in the business of building houses, so we can help them do this. We’re also lucky they don’t mind living near mom and dad. We’ve made the promise that we’ll respect privacy so no one feels like the ‘rents are breathing down their neck. A stand of trees planted in the field between us helps too.

We found a home plan on the internet that’s style is in keeping with the other 200 year old homes in this area, including Grace (our restored home). The size is perfect, too – we did some tweaking to the plan and the finished home will have a nice big kitchen and open family room layout with master bedroom and bath on first floor, an office room which they both need for their jobs, a second half bath mud/laundry room and attached rear garage. Upstairs, which for now will remain unfinished to keep mortgage and taxes down, has the potential and is rough framed for two bedrooms and two baths, should children come along or they want the additional space down the road. There is also potential for a bonus room over the garage, rough framed for now. It’s a fantastic layout for a retired/empty nester person or couple as well.

Some light fixtures we’ve ordered ….

Their condo is sold and the closing is in a week, so they’ll be moving into Stella by the Sea for the remaining four weeks it will take to complete their home.

Do I even comment on the hundreds of atrocities in the news? How about I just post this…

Fresh Salt

My gardens this year have been a bit of a mystery.

For one thing, the combination of some really intense rainstorms and some really humid days throughout the summer have produced an abundance of flowers and growth on all the perennials. I’ve also noticed the wild flowers/blooming weeds all along the roadsides seem to have multiplied tremendously, Queen Ann’s Lace and what I call black eyed susans in particular.

As for the vegetable gardens… well, despite my fortification attempts in the two large raised beds here on the farm…. all my tender care and raising from seedlings the tomato, eggplant, yellow squash, onion and yellow beans….they were a miserable lot. Having produced only a pathetic yield, I cannot tell you why. The only plants that were marginally happy in my farm garden this year were parsley and basil, zinnia and new-to-me Dahlia.

The SEASIDE cottage garden, however…. Stella’s little 1′ x 5 ‘ raised garden bed crammed up against the side of the house? The one we did almost NOTHING to coax? … has triple the yield, go figure. I’m thinking it must be the fresh salt air, the moisture off the water, and the fact that for hundreds of years, before the “island” became a 140 summer cottage retreat, it was a New England seaside cow farm. Lots and lots of old fertilizer makes really rich soil.

Despite that wicked heat and thunder storms, we’ve had some beautiful weather this summer. The family has been enjoying our little Stella by the Sea in between work and volunteer and farm obligations, and that brings me great joy.

As does a really good pound cake -Like this one found on the internet I’ll share below. I hope you’re having a good summer! I’m trying to look away from the ugly and look for more of the good. It is out there, we need to underline it, highlight it… celebrate what is beautiful, choose kindness and spread that shit like fairy dust wherever we can.

Old School Butter Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c cake flour

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

3 stick butter, unsalted (softened at room temp)

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

3 1/4 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp salt

6 large eggs

Directions

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until mixture comes together.

2. Add sugar and extracts; beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, alternating with flours 1/2 cup at a time until all eggs and flours are used.

4. Transfer to a buttered, oiled and floured, 10-cup shaped pan such as bundt pan.

5. Place in cold oven. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until an inserted tester comes out clean about 1 1/2 hours.

6. Remove cake from pan. Let cool on wire rack.

Ambrosia

I may do a lot of communicating my views on social media, but I don’t often get too personal regarding whatever my life struggles. Believe it or not, I usually view that as a weakness and I’m not a cryer. This morning I woke with a song in my head and then tears in my eyes, and neither is a normal occurrence. With my hearing loss I lost music as well as language identification. The the biggest tragedy for me with this handicap? – no music. But the song is an oldie and because of my love for music and my participation in bands in my younger years I remember every inflection, every cymbal, every trill, every beat, every note of most of the songs we all loved in our youth. So this song this morning – Ambrosia – You’re the Only Woman. I wondered why it’s making me tear up now, what heart string is it strumming so deeply that it’s bringing me to tears … and then I realize what this release is and how those words apply …and now I can’t stop the flood.

I am so horrified and heartbroken at all this hate I’m seeing on the news, on social media, even from some of the people I know well – our country is in real turmoil and it’s coming from all angles and all walks of life. I might some day go for that operation that could restore some hearing and perhaps some music in my life… ..and I hope and pray every single day this world finds it’s way back together in some form of peace we can all live with. As with that operation , the fix might be painful and there are some risks, results not guaranteed, might have to step out of our comfort zone, but isn’t it worth it? Aren’t we worth it? How comfortable is what we have right now for any of us??

This is a beautiful world we live in and I see it more acutely now that I can no longer hear it. I want to take every one of you in my arms and heal these wounds for all. I’ll pray that we all wake up and smell the coffee, see the value in loving and respecting each other and truly hear the music, inside ourselves and outside in the world … despite our differences. We are so lucky to live here, we should all love this place with all it’s flaws, and fix them. I just want us all to realize that, and to find the path that leads us to loving and respecting each other for whatever time we each have here on this earth..

When the pain of love surrounds you
And the world may be unkind
I’ll put my lovin’ arms around you
Take you far from this place and time

Because you and I been in love too long
To worry ’bout tomorrow
Here’s a place where we both belong….……………………..

Heavy and Light

New England just experienced an awful heatwave, just like much of the country. We spent part of it at a week-long horse show. When the temps hit 100 we opted to give ourselves and more importantly our horse a much needed reprieve from the heat.

I must confess I am conflicted about our involvement in horse showing. In any sport that involves animals, there is some cruelty in the mix. If you’re an animal lover as I and my daughter are, there is no denying it. My experience is in the quarter horse industry, but the abuses are present in all disciplines. I cringe when I see folks celebrating a Kentucky Derby race – if you’re truly aware of what is involved in the horse racing industry, I don’t know how the conscience allows the support of it. What I can say, and what let’s me support my daughter’s involvement in showing, is we are surrounded by people who genuinely give a damn about their horse. Our show barn family are a decent, caring lot, for the horses in their care, and toward each other.

I’m pretty certain if there is a God, when the time comes, he or she will swing the gates wide open for horse show moms, no questions asked. …..Practice, patience, practice, patience, dirt, heat, cold, rain, laughs, tears, cheers, Dirt, more dirt, and a few curse words sprinkled in….

Speaking of K – the home we are building next door is coming along beautifully. Because this is what we do for a living, it’s truly a family affair – my husband and son are building it, a labor of love for our daughter and her guy. That makes it extra special for K, who has been saving her money responsibly since she was a waitress at a retirement community in HS, and the past ten years as a secretary at a Bank. She is now seeing the rewards of hard work and thrilled to see it unfold. And so are we – truly feeling so blessed to be able to help her achieve this monumental goal of her own home with her partner in life.

We’ve been enjoying a little relaxation time at the cottage, where the gardens including the tomatoes are insanely happy, despite our doing not one thing to encourage it. Go figure. I’m thinking it must be the sea air…

It’s not often I get him to sit and relax for 15 minutes. I think on this day it may have been 20.

Here on the farm, my vegetable garden is anemic despite my efforts in the fertilization and watering department. I have no idea why. We’re getting small amounts of produce, but nothing like past years yield. The flowers, however, are prolific.

Regarding our country and it’s current “climate” – Whether we like it or not, the mobs chanting : send her back, send her back, send her back, are our fellow Americans. The current P0TUS is nothing more than a ringleader of hate. I never thought I’d see anything like this in America.

And if you’re still condoning this level of hatred, I have no use for what’s in your heart. I am so done with any defense of that assh0le. It’s an American Tragedy on several levels, some of it has nothing to do with politics. Hate and division destroys nations. Wake. the Fuck. Up.

– heartbroken

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America! I’m going to take the liberty of wishing on your birthday candles – My wish is that all Americans will recognize how lucky we are to live in this country, that despite the flaws, we should all have pride for all that we are privileged to enjoy because of the courage and many sacrifices made by those who came before us and those who stand up for us today. It is not any one person who holds office or their slants that represent what this country is made of, we are the thread. Let us weave a stronger fabric, let us learn from past mistakes and find a way to come together to fix the ills of our society, revel in our successes, lift each other and those who need lifting, TOGETHER. 🎂🎊🇺🇸

Please Pass the Torch

Bernie Sanders needs to get off the stage- I don’t know how some democrats are missing the clear message that swinging too far left isn’t realistic and the middle class is fed up with the huge burden of overtaxation and will certainly not vote for an increase.

I liked him, then … but now is too late, Biden needs to pass the torch. Better yet, we need to light a new torch in politics all together. All across the board. Too bad no one in the Republican Party will challenge Trump.

Right now the field is wide open with plenty of players – Kamala Harris, Pete Buttejieg, – there’s common sense truthful politics and the kind of life experience brought to the table that can benefit us all, devoid of the prejudices of the past, which will sadly weigh down others like Warren.

That’s my two cents.

On the homefront… K & D’s house begins to take shape… framing has begun! Last night the Mr. and I walked the foundation and imagined the rooms, enjoyed the warm setting sun over the hill and how the light will play on their homestead.

And Speaking of K… she has recently joined our family business full time in the office and we’re so proud of her accomplishments and hard work. Long time readers of my blog might remember her story – she is a car accident/brain injury survivor who has done the really hard work of getting her life back through years of determination through rehabilitative work, mostly of her own power and resilience.

You see that little pink unicorn on the desktop? It used to sit on my desk – but I felt K needed a little mascot in her new position. After all, I now have three dragons in the space that little pink guy used to occupy. We could all use a little magic, a little whimsy, don’t you think?

You Go, Girl ❤

Newport

We had two glorious weekend days, perfect weather for doing anything outside. We decided to hop in the truck with two of our four kiddos and head over to Newport, Rhode Island. What comes to mind for most people when they hear that destination are the famous mansions on Bellevue Avenue, also know as Mansion Row. Over the years we’ve taken a tour of many of them, including the Breakers, Rosecliff, Marble House and the estate of the eccentric Doris Duke. They are something to behold if you’re ever in the area.

On this trip, we went for the food, the shopping, and in search of a possible mantle for the kids future home. We didn’t find one that was reasonably priced or in great condition, but we had plenty of fun on the hunt. See the alligator statue in the pool?

The kids loved this table – it’s bigger than it looks in this photo. Each of those teak chairs were $450., so… you can imagine what the table goes for.

These benches were so comfortable and unique, I’d love to have one on the farm perhaps in the back yard near the garden, or down at Stella by the sea. The price tag put a squash on that idea – around $3,500.

We pulled out of that parking lot with a truck bed devoid of new furnishings, and headed downtown for a delicious meal and drinks at The Red Parrot.

It’s a beautiful thing when your kids bring into the fold another person who becomes a loved family member. The chocolate monkey drink is another beautiful thing on a warm summer day.

After a savory lunch of Sexy Steak Salad (that’s what they call it!) we walked out into the crowds and browsed the shops. Those fun buggies can be rented to cruise the area, but the traffic is so heavy I’d be nervous in such a small craft.

After the little bit of shopping ( we came away with a few bars of soap, how’s that for constraint) we appeased the menfolk with a tour of the car museum located near the Tennis Hall of Fame.

They don’t make them like they used to, the detail on these early autos is just stunning.

We stopped by the water just briefly so I could stick my feet in the water and soak up a little Vitamin Sea, and then we drove home in the expected summer traffic down I-95. It was a very good day indeed 🍹⚓🌞

A quick easy fun recipe to share with you, from a friends fb page… I made them yesterday, delish! Perfect summer dessert. I used a red Cabernet and red seedless grapes.

I hope all is well in your world, thank you for stopping by –