Category: Hearth and Home

Like Gold

Here in CT, not much is more joy inducing to a horse woman than seeing the Holloway Hay Truck parked in front of your barn.  The Holloway  Family has been delivering their signature awesome Upstate New York hay to new England farms for many years.  We used to get a delivery once yearly, but when we moved to This Old House (Gracie as I fondly call her) we had hay fields of our own and the Mr. wanted to capitalize on that to save money.  Well, sounds good in theory, and we’ve been applying that theory for years now – but truth is, hay is harder to grow than you’d think, and not cheap.  Weather is factor, good machinery is important, knowledge and application of seed and fertilizer, etc.etc.  Good drying time and ventilation when stored is also important.

Also, cow grade hay and horse grade hay are two different animals, too.  What we’ve been growing is mostly cow grade – stalky, not enough grasses, timothy too gone-to-seed by the time we bale it.  So.. the cow farmer up the road who helps us with the haying gets most of it.   The rest isn’t enough for me to keep my guys in hay all year, so this year we ordered a full load from my favorite, Holloway farms –   and I now have 700 bales of  GOLD in our lofts.  It’s a beautiful thing.  You’d be amazed at how giddy a girl can be over a loft full of good hay that will last a whole year or more.

There are two cuttings of hay in this load – first cut on the bottom, the lighter colored, and second cut on top – considered the prized hay, tending to be more grassy.  Both are good feed hay, regardless.  A hay field in a good weather season can get two cuttings, one in June, the next in September-ish.

Fall has officially arrived! Do you decorate for the seasons?  As soon as the little pumpkins come out I’m all over it…. my daughter and I have already made our first trip of the season to Scott’s farm down the road  –

On the health goals front – using the SlimNation.com apps and menu plan, I’ve lost almost 10 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks – about 15 – 18 to go.  Feeling better, sleeping better, better attitude over all.   Going into the holidays will be interesting and a struggle with the diet because I love to eat, and cook and bake.  But I’m determined to keep it up, because feeling better is the only way to be if you can help it.  We can certainly control what we put in our mouth, right?   Lord help me please.  🙂

Till soon  friends – 

 

 

A New Season

 

Who in their right mind would have ever guessed we’d be in the middle of a pandemic come Spring?  How are you all coping, I hope this post finds you well and sane, if nothing else.  We are all (crossed fingers) healthy here and practicing as much safe social distancing as is possible. My hands are sand paper from all the washing.  I have now begun wearing a face mask in the grocery store, as are most other people.  I also see others wearing them when walking outdoors – I think that’s a bit of an overkill in areas like ours, perhaps not in the big cities and in stores, etc.   When will it all  end?  Well, when will we feel comfortable sauntering around a store or sitting in a crowded restaurant when someone coughs?  *sigh.  When there’s a vaccine, I suppose? …. we can only wait and see.

We opened the cottage for the season last week – water turned back on, lawn is mowed, garden beds raked out, the beds newly made with fresh-washed linen, floors and furniture wiped down, outdoor furniture back in it’s place.  There is fresh dirt in all the pots and I’ll plant annuals once the threat of frost is gone – Mother’s Day is a good rule of thumb but this year I’m a little impatient.

I bought two new candy and dog bone glass jars for the counter – they look like Fire King jadeite type glass but I’m not sure they actually are.  The Pioneer Woman’s line in walmart.

We moved our Miss Leah  home  because I do believe the show season is official deceased.  I could be wrong about that but I don’t feel comfortable putting myself and my daughter out there while they find out.  She has adjusted very well to home life and we continue to give her exercise as she would normally get at the show barn.   My daughter and I have actually ridden together again for the first time in a long time!   In the photo below I’m riding her old boy, Max.  He has glaucoma in one eye now but we are managing it with meds.

The farm has been such a blessing as we wade through this time of quarantine, social distancing, etc.   The fruit trees in the orchard are blooming, the berry bushes we planted last year are greening up, and most of the christmas trees we planted for the third time the wrong way are actually alive.  They might just live to see Christmas in a tree stand some day.

My kitchen junk drawer got cleaned out and organized – holy crap, I found christmas ornament hooks I didn’t know I had, baby aspirin that expired five years ago, four pairs of dog nail clippers, at least five collars,  5,000 hair elastics, and I could build a bathroom with the tools in there, I’m almost not exaggerating.  Below is the “after”.

  I’ve been exercising more, which is a good thing, and I finished the painting of Opie, which I started last year after he passed on.   It was just too sad to sit there reminded of him, so I left it unfinished for a long time.   I’m no professional, my work is primitive for sure.. but I’m happy with the result and finishing it was therapeutic.  And maybe that was because I was watching episodes of Outlander ( watching Jamie Fraser if I’m being totally honest) as I went along.   The painting is of Opie standing under our ancient pear tree on a misty fall morning.

 

A few funnies for you below and an old recipe a friend shared –  wishing us all good health and peace of mind  as we carry on through and past these weird days –

 Till soon, friends…

 

Santa Pants

 

We get up pretty early around here, before the sun for sure.  It’s just what we’ve always done, have not ever used an alarm clock because neither of us needs it.    Now I’m not bragging here, let me be clear.  I wish we got more sleep. We just… don’t.  When I rise in the morning, first stop is the bathroom, then the dogs need to go out.  They’re let back in and fed, coffee made, e-mail checked, news skimmed, then breakfast for the Mr. and I.

Then my daily commute commences – and often that means leaving the house in my pajamas.  Today it was Santa pants and Snow boots, even though this is the mildest winter we’ve had in a long time with no snow to be seen for miles and miles.

My first stop is the chicken coop across the yard… where the girls are let out into their newly raked run, the water is changed, their feed tub filled.  Treats like sunflower seeds, parsley and  yogurt are dispersed and if it’s their lucky day, if the sun is out and the predators (hawks, coyotes, fox)  not evident at the moment, they’re let out for a little while to free range while I’m up at the barn.  Today was that kind of day.

While they’re scratching around in the mulch at the side of the garage just to piss the Mr. off,  I head up to the barn to begin chores there – I’m greeted every morning by the nicker of all four horses.  With all of them in the geriatric stretch of life, I’m grateful for all four of those nickers.

First they are given their grain – the big boys eat in their stalls, the littles are walked out to their day paddock and are given their grain and hay out there, unless it’s a bad weather day.   In that case they’re fed in their stall.  Every day the weather determines how the routine will play out.

Meds are administered to my two boys – Coady (red mini) has Cushings Disease and gets a pill for that, and Max gets eye drops to help ease the glaucoma that has developed in his left eye.

Once the big boys, Max 1 and Max 2 are  finished eating their grain, they’re let out for the day into the fields. The littles would become obese if they had access to all that grass, so they have to settle for less.

Stalls are mucked next, and my trusty old gator is my best friend for that chore.  After mucking stalls, refreshing bedding, cleaning water buckets and filling with fresh water, blowing out the tack room and rubber brick aisle with a leaf blower – I drive the gator to the back of the farm and dump it in the manure pile that slowly turns to fertilizer.

Once the animals are set for the day, in warmer weather months I head to the gardens to see what’s ready to pick, what needs tending, watering, etc.  This year we’ve planted more blueberry and raspberry bushes in the apple/pear/peach orchard and we plan to apply some tips we learned from another farmer in Vermont – netting and “Protecting the Bloom”.   More on that another day.

This photo is  taken from one of the hayfields.. facing the houses and the road beyond them. The horse barn and chicken coop and orchard are on the left, our home almost at middle, and my daughter’s new home on the right. Tending this little farm has become a family affair, I don’t ever lose sight of that blessing.

Once outside chores are done, I head in to shower and do some  house cleaning ,  perhaps some editing work in my little office.  Speaking of that office… most of This Old House is decorated sort of in keeping with the feeling of country, old, comfy, rustic.  This room has a totally different vibe. I chose blue as the accent for two reasons.  My grandmother loved blue and all her decorating centered around it.   I miss her still,  all these years after she’s passed,  and the hues remind me of her.  Also, the kids and husband bought me that blue moon you see on the wall some years back while on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. I saw it in the window of one of my favorite little shops. The colors and oldness attracted me to it, and the fact that we rarely go on vacation made it fitting, it must have been a Blue Moon that gots us all away together for a bit.  The kids and husband bought it for me on the last day of our stay, it’s a reminder of love and family and the importance of taking time away from it all to just enjoy life.  So I plotted the room vibe  around Nana’s blues, the Blue Moon and the bohemian in me ( Love Those Shabby Chic Curtains!) My arts and crafts supplies are in the cabinet and dog beds are plentiful.

office?.. you say….

oh yes, the computer clutter is in the other corner.  If you spot the little stuffed animals and are eye rolling just a little, you haven’t seen the four dragons hidden behind the printer.  If I’m lucky enough to have grandchildren some day, they will have plenty of Grandmother’s toys to play with.

I’ve had jobs where I had to report to an office, where the work was more “cerebral”,  where I got to wear grown-up clothes like  heels and skirts and a smart suit, etc…  where the pace of the day was at times chaotic, demanding, relentless, invigorating, exhausting, boring, and a few more words I’m not coming up with right now.   I enjoyed most of my colleagues, and sometimes I miss the daily camaraderie, but most often I truly enjoy this slower pace of life.

My schedule is my own to create, the pay not in dollars (except for the editing.. thankful I’m paid for that)   but in the very  real satisfaction I get from tending to the critters in my care, (even the shit shoveling)  the home my family lives, laughs and loves in, these fields we work that produce food for the table, hay for the horses – maybe even christmas trees for our holidays someday down the road if our new crop ever takes hold.   I help with the family business when they need me… and thankfully, it’s enough.

I’m grateful for every day I get to do this,  and to know I can do it all in Santa Pants is icing on the cake.

Santa

Son: “Dad, I think I’m old enough now. Is there a Santa Claus?.”
Dad: “Ok, I agree that your old enough. But before I tell you, I have a question for you. You see, the truth is a dangerous gift. Once you know something, you can’t unknow it. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now. So my question is: Are you sure you want to know?”
Brief pause: Son: “Yes, I want to know”
Dad: “Ok, I’ll tell you: Yes there is a Santa Claus” Son: “Really?” Dad: Yes, really, but he’s not an old man with a beard in a red suit. That’s just what we tell kids. You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand. The truth about Santa Claus is that he’s not a person at all; he’s an idea. Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years. I actually bought those myself. I watched you open them. And did it bother me that you didn’t thank me? Of course not! In fact it gave me great pleasure. You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement.
When I saw that Women collapse on the subway last week and called for help, I knew that she’d never know that it was me that summoned the ambulance. I was being Santa Claus when I did that.”
Son: “Oh.”
Dad: “So now that you know, you’re part of it. You have to be Santa Claus too now. That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people. “

Help each other this Christmas🎅 and when you have a choice, always…..be kind 💗

Wishing everyone on this planet Peace, Joy and an overabundance of Good Will during this Holiday Season  and in the new year –

From this old house to yours –  Merry Christmas 🌲

What matters

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner here at This Old House and I hope wherever you spent the day and with whom, you did too.  The food was delish, minus the Chocolate Cheesecake flop. King Arthur Flour recipe.. ….shoulda worked… .. but… something went wrong  and it was so heavy you wouldn’t want to have to hang onto it if you fell in the water somewhere unexpectedly.  That doesn’t really make sense, but you know what I mean.  It sucked.   Thankfully there were two  pies and cookies to fill the gap.

Empty plates at the end of a meal are always a good sign, although Frasier was scoping for scraps, hoping for something different.

In these pictures you’ll notice the “theme” is not Thankgiving at all.  Indeed, Christmas swooped in the day before, for no good reason other than a rainy day and a little impatience.  That would be mine.  Mom said… “but… Fall is such a pretty time of year..”    Indeed it is, and Fall has been living in This Old House since September.  It was time. At least the food reflected the proper holiday decorum, right?  🙂

Is this the weekend you begin your Christmas/Holiday Season?  We are officially Decked.  While at the tree farm up the road, we discovered the secret to starting young trees…. plant them very very close together in a big patch where they almost look like a carpet – and then transplant once they’ve grown some.  This gives them protection while they grow a little more hearty.  Ah Ha!  That’s why our first few attempts failed. Those poor babies were out on our windy hill all on their own, too far apart from each other to gather the necessary support.  What were we thinking. 

We got two smaller REAL trees this year instead of the big FAKE one.  I’m so done with fake news, ya know?   We’ve got one at the corner of the family room where we can also see it from the Mancave, and one in the kitchen/dining room area.  I love the heavenly scent of fresh pine.

Yesterday morning as I looked out over the fields from our kitchen window, I saw two bucks up on the hill, one a juvenile – father and son? Brothers?  Donner and Blitzen scouting for Santa, perhaps.   I managed a few blurry shots before they darted off…

… and was reminded again how  very grateful I am  for the opportunity to live here on this little farm, for as long as life will allow it.

Gizmo (my new grand dog) is also very grateful he has landed here with us.  Oh, how I love this little scruff.

  Till soon, friends…

 

 

Let there be Light

 

The Mr.  wasn’t particularly fond of the pendant lights we had over the kitchen island, so we started looking at other options.  There are SO MANY!!.. just browse Pottery Barn (my favorite for lighting)  or Bellacor or Seagull lighting websites and you’ll be amazed and confused.  After a significant search and a little bickering, we did settle on globes we found on Lamps Plus….

Out with the old..

In with the new…

I like them!  I have found the glass globes are a bit of a pain in the ass because  Smudges*smears*streaks*dust, but I do like the overall look.

The blank spot on the wall over the sink used to display three of my small paintings.  I found a fairly local craft person on Etsy who makes rustic old wooden signs for a very reasonable price.  She’s doing a farm sign for me and it will go right there where the paintings used to live.   I’m a big fan of changing things up around the house now and then, and it doesn’t have to be much at all.   A change of throw pillows on the couch to reflect the season,  moving a painting to a different room, adding a plant or two, etc.  And the best decorating tip of all – get rid of clutter noise.  I tend to be a knicknack collector, and sometimes it becomes too knicknacky so I pick through and simplify.  Cleaning up a disastrous closet or counter, folding that mountain of laundry that’s been building in the (fill in the blank)  can  give you a feeling of renewal. All those shoes that accumulate in the bottom of the coat closet.. some that haven’t been worn in three years?  Out.

My guy is very type A – he is not fond of clutter and on the island we go back and forth with his love for -nothing at all – on it, and my love of decorating to create *cozy*.   Sometimes I do a big decluttering around the house and he is in love all over again…. only to come home a few days later with the now familiar words… “Uh-oh.. I see clutter forming again”… tumbling out of his mouth.    I’m just redecorating, that’s all.

The big glass hurricane candle holder thing we had on the island didn’t look right with the new pendants, so I went up the road to a local shop that sells wonderful things, so many wonderful things you can get in trouble quickly if you have to answer to a husband who balances the household budget in the aftermath.

This was yesterday’s score…Simple.. and I can leave it there all winter, change out the greens, etc. for other seasons.

Have I told you lately about our new granddog, Gizmo?  We are all in love with him, hard to imagine someone dumped him on the side of the road, where he was found matted and afraid and wondering what the hell happened.  He’s house trained and so loving, just wants to be up in your lap kissing you.  He’s good to his brother by another mother, although he tries to herd Rex when they’re outside.  I think he’s got border collie in him,  Shih tzu border collie, that’s my guess.

Are you hosting any of the holiday meals on the horizon?  We will have both Thanksgiving and Christmas meals here with the extended family and I’ve begun planning the menus – below are some awesome cheeseboard ideas, I plan to use these photos to create something similar here at This Old House.

 

 

I hope all is well in your world –   Till soon, friends..  OOh.. and if you don’t already follow Susan Branch’s blog.. she just published a lovely Thanksgiving post.. worth the click over to HERE… where you’ll find lots of lovely things, including her uplifting spirit.. and this recipe below, which is also her artwork.