Category: Uncategorized

Woodstock, Vermont – It’s a beautiful thing

       The Mr. and I  spent a lovely weekend in Woodstock, Vermont – lodging at the Woodstock Inn.  The accommodations are luxurious,  the staff very friendly and the food divine.  We had uncommonly warm weather for February in Vermont, but even if you were snowed in, the Inn has so much to offer and is so expansive, there’s room to wander without ever stepping outside.  There is a spa, two restaurants and tavern, a gift shop,  swimming pool in summer,  a full game room for the young and young at heart, many sitting areas throughout, a huge fireplace to lounge in front of in the lobby, wine and cheese tasting in the evenings…  It’s not cheap, but for a few night stay, it’s well worth the money even if it’s a big indulgence.  If you ski, golf, snow shoe or xcountry ski, they have packages for that too.

    The Town of Woodstock is absolutely beautiful. The Inn is located right on the Green, their address is 14 The Green, so no need to get in the car to walk in the village. There are many well maintained older and stately homes, not something you see a lot of in Vermont, so this surprised me.  Main Street and the Green  have many shops, boutiques, restaurants,  artisan galleries, a very old movie theatre and long standing businesses like the Pharmacy and General Store,  established in the late 1800s –

   If your’e interested – a brief history of Woodstock  HERE –

 Delightful walking in this town.. and Middle Bridge is just across from the Inn…
see the star on the hill above it? 

 Bridge selfie

The General Store was founded in 1886…. 
Original wood floors and shelving. 
How many feet have walked these floors, carrying all their stories… 
 You can find just about EVERYTHING here… there are rooms I haven’t photographed..
Hunting and fishing gear, wine, groceries, wooden bowls and pottery and glassware and books and 
boots and jackets and t shirts and toiletries and if you’re so inclined…
have a seat and play a game of checkers. 
The pharmacy has the same feel, but  a little more upscale. 
 I’ll be back with a tour of Quechee and the Simon Pearce Mill… 

About that thing called LOVE

  Are you a Big Fan of what some call the -Lovers Holiday – ?  I have to admit, I’m not really the romantic type. Oh, I love  People and things, like my husband and kids and animals and extended family, etc…and seaglass and puppies and horses and Marthas Vineyard and vacations on warm sunny beaches with my toes tucked in the sand….   But I’m not particularly demonstrative in the mushy way that some go about Love.  Is that good, or is that bad?  I don’t know.   I’m not an ice cube, to be clear, but over the top, or even anywhere near that summit, I am not.

   There are many forms of  Love.. many ways to show it, many reasons for it.  Romance to me isn’t so much the hearts and flowers and mushy love letters, poems, chocolates, declarations…. nope.. over the years romance is more about the daily interactions –  going to the drug store on a bitter cold night to get your significant other the cold remedy they need, or getting up at 1 a.m. to feed the baby or let the dog out or check the fire…. or going to that darned family reunion you don’t want to go to because your partner wants you there.  It’s needing something from someone but recognizing they aren’t in a great place at the moment so you let your own needs go so as not to overwhelm them.  It’s believing in someone enough to help them follow their dream, even if it’s not quite your own… or having their support as you challenge yourself or follow your own dreams…  It’s knowing someone has your back, always…and returning the favor.

    I usually make something yummy and chocolate – this year I made pumpkin spiced iced cookies,  recipe HERE... but I saw a few other fun recipes on Pinterest (love me some Pinterest) … that I’ve saved for future reference..

Recipe HERE
Great picture tutorial on how to make a heart cake

    Something I’ve learned about LOVE over the years… it has to start with you.  By you I mean… you gotta love yourself.  That was a tough lesson I had to learn, took me many years.  Why?  I couldn’t tell ya, and I even  had some therapy sessions to try to figure it all out.  Ultimately, I don’t think it was the therapy that got me to a better place. For me, when I sat in the therapists chair, she was telling me things I already knew, and I nodded my head politely to get through the 45 minutes.   No…. I think there came a time when I took a good long look at my life, at my life’s patterns… and discovered I could forgive the mistakes because they weren’t made intentionally, I should forgive the mistakes of others because holding grudges is like drinking poison..     and the person I was as a whole was genuine, kind most of the time, decent and true.  If I could use those words to describe myself and know it wasn’t bull, then why didn’t I think I was worthy of my own admiration. Why didn’t I believe it?     Life is hard, for all of us in one way or another.   We sure as hell don’t need to make it harder for ourselves.

   So.. I say…. The “lovers holiday” is not just for those who are romantically linked.  And Hey – if you’re the romantic type, and you’ve got that romantic person to do those romantic things with that you see in the movies, have at it!  Enjoy.  Hallmark loves you especially.   If you’re NOT one of those and you’re just wishing for this event to be over with….  I  say use this day to acknowledge your own worth.. an appreciation for who you have come to be. For once, don’t focus on any of the things you might have done better, don’t focus on the love you don’t have… blah blah blah.  Pay tribute to -you-.  Do something nice for yourself.

  My husband and kids will get cards (mushy! even) and small gifts from me, plus that plate of cookies on the counter… and a nice dinner.  There will be a fire in the fireplace as the temps drop to close to zero overnight  and the dogs will be at our feet as the husband and I  sip a glass of wine, or Baileys, and watch a movie – (or a rerun of  Law and Order Special Victims Unit – because right now we’re hooked)  To me… being able to count on that… is my romance.   I love it. Every simple part about it.   And loving the me I have become… (and it’s still hard for me to even type that without feeling it’s narcistic)  …  is the icing on the chocolate cake.

Cute Kids craft…



   One more thing… if you were to give yourself something for this holiday, what would it be?  (Besides the wish for good health and happiness, something we all wish for regularly)… No, I want you to be materialistic right now with your wish… what would it be?   If I could get away with it?  I’d add a dog to the family –  a pomeranian.  Oh, how I love these little dogs.    The only things that stop me are 1) the husband  2) I’d need to -rescue- it.  Buying a dog now that I have been in rescue for a few years just doesn’t feel right.    But look at these precious pups…

Indeed, that would be my indulgence.  You? 
Ps… none of these photos are mine. 

before and after

  SO, the New England grey has descended, and the best remedy for that in my opinion is to pick something in the house that needs rejuvenation.    That would be our bedroom.  I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to see what might inspire me… and found -lots-.   I came home with a few bags full of stuff and two rugs… and spending just hundreds, not thousands, the room was transformed in a half hour.

ahhh.. that feels better. 

Pull up a chair and grab a cuppa… it’s a long one and it goes all over the place

Because SNOW.  

     It’s 7:40 a.m. and I’ve already fed the dogs,  chickens and rabbits, mucked stalls and fed and watered the horses, let them run around for a bit and closed them back in.  The snow started to fly about an hour ago and we’re told it’s gonna be a good one.  I’ve got work to do at my editors desk here, so being snowed in is probably a good thing.. less distraction to take me away from it when the -inside- is more pleasant than the -outside- .

 This picture was taken yesterday during the -pleasant- portion of our winter weather.

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      Have I told you lately how much I love being able to work a job I enjoy .. from home?… it’s a big blessing. Back in the day, there was a three year period of time where I worked a secretarial job in a windowless office. For a girl like me, that was very depressing. I need to see the daylight, the sky, branches on trees, the weather…

     My son and his girl have been enjoying the sun and sand and 80 degree temps of St. Maarten, returning tonight, weather permitting.   As if I needed another reason to worry, of course they fly on a storm day.  We have not been to St. Maarten yet.. but the kids have enjoyed it so much and friends have recommended it highly, I think we’re going to take a family trip next January.  Of course, it takes two years to get the Mr. to agree to take a vacation.   Remember the Fonz… and how he just could not bring himself to say he was  Wrrrrrrrrrrr…………….wrrrrrrrrrrrr…………….    wrrrrr…rrrrr….rrrrrrrr…..wrong?   Just swap that word out for Vaaaaaaa…v aaaaaaaaa..a…..vaaaaaaa……cation.  

   

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The husband and I are trying to avoid gluten, so in the following recipe I will swap out regular pasta (woe is ME!!)… for the gluten free variety.  I have yet to find a gluten free anything that tastes as good as the original stuff, but I have to admit I feel so much better when I don’t eat it.

Anyway!… this looks great for a cold winters eve, don’t ya think? 
Chicken Bacon Pasta
Recipe HERE


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  How about that Superbowl!!!….

   I’m a Patriots fan, so it was not my most favorite. Here are my thoughts.. I don’t like extremely cocky players, for me that kind of behavior takes away from the game.   Not all agree with me, and that’s OK.  SO… I think Cam Newton and his team played outstanding this year and deserved a spot in the Bowl, but there is big attitude in that camp and lots of unsportsmanlike behavior in my opinion… and so perhaps they were knocked back a little  and reminded they are not Gods with this loss. Newton certainly appeared rattled, blowing a little tantrum as he lay in the field at one point.

   It was a weird game… kinda reminded me of preschool in some ways — there were players with what appeared to be  pacifiers in their mouths, some pattycake play, a temper tantrum or three or four…

(pic from another game, but here it is.. the new in-thing, the pacifier! )

   As for the poor behaviors – the excess celebratory gestures for even the littlest things, the pushing shoving stomp-on matches,.. the temper tantrums…   See, here’s where I think these athletes need to be held responsible for their behavior. They have kids and grown adults looking up to them, idolizing them… they’re paid a ridiculous amount.. so why can’t they be held to a certain standard of behavior?  They aren’t curing disease or saving lives, they play damn good ball, that’s it.  So .. at least set a good example or pay a hefty fine.. too much to ask?

This guy likes to do the Superman Gesture …

  To me the measure of a true athlete who deserves the worship is one who behaves well even in defeat.  Sorry, Cam.. Superman, you ain’t. Not because of the loss, dude, everyone loses sometimes…

GOod article in the New York Times about this very thing…. HERE

   The Broncos – also not their best, having many opportunities to pull ahead and yet not achieving them.  Their defense was stellar, and deserved the win.   In the end they managed it, and I’m happy for Peyton Manning.. who is or isn’t retiring after this win.

Weird Bowl for sure.

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 I love this tee shirt, decided to order it today from the Sundance catalog… my favorite “shop”. HOwever, they’ve gotten so expensive I don’t order much from them anymore..

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     I’ll close the post with a picture of the two sisters who arrived in CT yesterday afternoon – now known as Daisy and Dolly…. Their mom was an aussie, not a lab – I had that info wrong.  Dad was probably a rotti, me thinks.   These two are adored already – life is good!

Snow and a tale of two sisters…

    Ah, the lovely snow we’ve accumulated in a sudden storm that was going to be  “just an inch or two”… they said.  “not much at all”… they said.

Poor Frasier gets snowballs stuck to his fur… 
I’m debating pulling out the clippers this afternoon. 

 My new neighbor, who lives in the cabin on the hill behind This Old House, is on her way home from Pennsylvania  right now with not one, but TWO puppies she adopted from one of our rescues down there.  It’s a beautiful thing… these two sisters will get to grow up together  here in Connecticut, right up there on the hill.   Their mom was a lab and their dad is unknown.  Mom was pulled from a kill shelter, pregnant… and cared for by our friend, an ACO who helps with our adoption events.  Mom wasn’t particularly fond of being a mom in the beginning, and these girls and their siblings had to be bottle fed for a while until she figured things out.  Or accepted her new roll?… Anyway.. she will be spayed and these two girls are the last in the litter to be adopted.   All is well that ends well.

 I hope I get to hug them a little later today…………….

Soaring

    Bald eagles can be seen at the mouth of the Connecticut river during winter/spring months. There are several Eagle sight-seeing tours available in our area.    One shoreline town about 15 minutes from here has a nesting pair in a tree not far off the road and down by a yacht club at water’s edge.   Many photographers flock to the site and some folks fret that there is too much commotion and all the attention will disturb the birds.  I hope not, so far all I see are respectful folks who don’t pester and the birds are far enough away that they don’t seem to mind.

 This is the distance from the road, where people stand to view and photograph…. 

 There are several of these….

 This is the best shot I was able to get from so far away… there is a mom and a dad in the nest, hard to tell from this angle… they have returned, the same pair were here last year.

 My friend Lillian was able to get this shot… magnificent…

In all my years of Connecticut living I have only spotted a bald eagle twice before. 
So, these encounters so close by are inspiring – 
 As is the water and the shore’s inhabitants…
I could never live very far from the sea, 
this I know to be true. 

Rocking

    Meet Galadriel  (I wonder if any of my readers will know where that name comes from)… The Horse was originally sold in a Whitney Reed catalog in the 1890’s through 1915.  I’ve never heard of a Whitney Reed Catalog, have you?  Sound like a Sears and Roebuck.   This particular horse could have been made anywhere in that time frame.  I contacted two experts in the field of antique rocking horse restoration, and they both agreed it was a great find, but definitely the antique value degraded because it had been painted over and most of the tack was not original. SO, that meant I had free license to do what I pleased with it as it would only increase in value with restoration work.

      I decided to leave the base as is, it is original, and I used only the medallions from the tack that he was found with, as they are also original.  His eyes are what he was “born” with too.  The rest was acetoned and painted over with Amitha Verma chalk paint, several shades of grey, with a wax finish also sold by that company. Painters tape was used to help me create the dapples.   I ordered horse tail hair on line for the mane and tail and leather swatches from Amazon to make the new “tack”.  Some upholstery tacks were used for attaching the new leather.

This is how I found him… oh, the joy of the find….

Before…. 

How to make those spots…. 

Restoration ( my version of it anyway) complete! 
A potholder, a place matt and the thumbs of a grey suede pair of 
work gloves are all part of this picture. 

Mom asked for Snow, and other “stuff”

     So my mom asked why I haven’t posted snow pictures here on the blog of our farm, etc…. I told her they’re all on Facebook and if she’d only just come around to the thought of a simple facebook page commitment, she’d get to enjoy all those pictures like everyone else… not to mention pics of her family and friends (some older than she!)… who embraced Facebook for that very reason.   I tried setting her up, and it lasted for fifteen seconds.  That’s no exaggeration,  maybe 20 seconds to be safely accurate.  A minor hissy fit ensued and the page was taken down.  About 25 of her friends/family even friended her in that 20 seconds, welcoming her to the 21st century!… and yet.

  So, mom, these snow pictures are for you, and then on to some other “stuff” to share, like recipes and a sneak peek at my rocking horse restoration project.  Oh, how I have loved this project.

So… SNOW….

Frasier for good measure….

 A great lemon bar recipe for those of you who like to bake, and love lemon like we do.. These are delicious.  However, I attempted them with a gluten free flour to use in the crust.. the Crust.. was Dust.  So, don’t do that.  Follow the recipe given in the link HERE .

    One of my family’s favorite soups will be served for dinner tonight – a perfect winter eve’s comfort food… although, it does involve Velveeta (is that even a real food? I don’t dare read the ingredients list).   Because I only serve this a few times a winter season, we’ll look the other way, OK?    Recipe HERE  *not my photo





    A sneak peek at the rocking horse restoration – before and after to come soon… almost done!

  I’m too lazy this morning to figure out how to rotate the image.. but you get the picture…  stay tuned!

The “C” word

   So many people dread the idea – because it’s my generations time,   I hear it so often.  –OMG- I’m going to be 50.  Holy crow, we’re FIFTY!  HOW DID WE GET THIS OLD??… 
 
   I  really and truly look at it as a blessing.  So many people don’t get the opportunity.   I can honestly tell you the only thing I have dreaded about becoming fifty years old was those heinous words I knew I would hear my GP utter as we wrapped up the 50 year physical…. “So the only other thing we should do is schedule a colonoscopy, a screening recommended to everyone 50 and older”.   (gulp).  And there it was.

    Yes, I’ve been dreading the “C” word for many years… at least 20.  I’m not exaggerating one little bit, either.  I never thought… OMG, someday I’m gonna be 50!… no, I only thought… OMG someday I’m gonna be 50 and be told a colonoscopy is recommended because I’m 50!    Now keep in mind, lest you think I’m nutz  –  As someone who has been a chronic worrier since the dawn of the ages, stress induced IBS has been a sometime companion throughout my adult life.  Nothing drastic, just mild annoyances when major stresses… stressed.   So the thought of someone looking up in there with a camera was terrifying… OMG, what would they see?  It must be a mess in there!

  And there’s all that embarrassment, or the idea of it, anyway.

   If you’ve not gone through the ordeal already, I’m here to tell you… all those years of ridiculous worrying and the anxiety over the IDEA of a colonoscopy… were just a waste of precious time.  Believe me when I tell you, it’s no big deal at all.  NO BIG DEAL!!!!!!

    The prep is better than it used to be, so I’m told.  I had no problem drinking down the two 8 ounce glasses of salty lemony stuff. Holding your nose helps and drinking cold water immediately after too.  The aftermath of drinking that stuff wasn’t horrible either.  You just need to stay sorta near a bathroom for 24 hours.  The hardest part for me was drinking only clear liquids or sucking on hard candies for that period of time, because this girl loves to eat.

    The procedure itself – I have no knowledge of other than I changed into a gown, an IV was inserted, some pleasantries ensued… I was wheeled into a room with bright lights and friendly people who were joking about this and that and who’s going where on vacation and was a certain star related to me because we share the same name……………………………………….

And that was it.

I woke up and it was all over.  The Dr. came in shortly thereafter and told me all was well. Yep… all those 20 or more years of anxiety over… nothing.  The relief that comes with KNOWING there’s nothing is tremendous.

SO.. if you’re about that age and you’ve been putting it off, don’t.  It’s nothing.  And if they find something, those kinds of cancer are slow growing and the odds are you’ll be healed because you caught it early.  It’s that simple.

Worry… it’s like a rocking chair.  It will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.

Palin? … or Progress.. …

   If you dared to click on the post after reading that title, no, you won’t be subjected to another lengthy political rant  because frankly, I’m too disgusted… her return to the arena produced it’s own sort of shock and awe  around here, forgive me for resurrecting that phrase too…..

     Maybe just a brief one –  So.. If you’re still a Palin supporter after all this time… I have to ask you… WHY WHY WHY?… see transcript of her pathetic endorsement of Trump here.    If he’s not regretting that action by now, there is no hope… at all.

   And.. it gets better  – if  you really haven’t had enough… if you’re still standing strong in Palin territory  –  (can you see Russia?… just wonder’n) .. then take a gander at this… she flicks responsibility of her son’s  assault of his girlfriend off on someone else…. The President of the United States…. shock and awe again.  Read HERE

    That being said.. I’m just gonna shut up and move on.. to progress… of the rocking horse variety.

    You’re relieved, aren’t ya.

    After discovering my rocking horse is indeed about 110 or so years old, but the paint was bastardized and the tack not original (actually vinyl and deteriorating quickly)… I decided to strip him of all the crud and give him a makeover.  I used acetone to get all the debris off his frame,  and my son and I pulled about 2,479 brads (tiny nails) out of his tack and stripped him bare.

  Then I went to the hardware store for advice on the best paint to use –  Amitha Verma chalk paint, clear wax and grey antique finish… I used painters tape to cut out circles and create the dappled grey effect with two shades of chalk paint –

… and this is where we’re at…  Notice his new ears – courtesy of a grey pair of suede work glove thumbs.  I’m waiting for a real horse hair bundle to arrive in the mail for his mane and tail, not the kind with hyde attached –  no horses were injured in the acquisition of such hair – they regrow what is cut off, and yes I tell myself that regularly because  I gotta believe it.

 I’ve also ordered some leather. I’m not a saddle manufacturer, this is gonna be interesting.  As for the base – I think I like it original, scuffs and chips and paint splatters and all.  What say you?…