Room Update

Greg has been working on the built-in unit for the office and the window/door trimwork. The wainscoting has been painted its official color, and things are looking up!

Yard Update

So, this picture shows part of the mess that was the front fern/pricker/birch trees. (Looking out from the front door.)




This is how it actually looks now! Yea! We're so excited to have grass. (We have to admit that we actually had a pro do this. We had two trees and a large shrub moved around in the yard.)

Tree trimming

Here is our professional tree trimming crew. Thank god for ropes and climbing gear I'd say. The tree looks so much better now.

A man and his dog

My Mom and Ozzie were out to visit this weekend. Ozzie spent all day on Saturday following Greg around the yard. He's a faithful, very well trained companion.

Reno Update

Hello again. It's been a while since we've posted anything. We are making progress on the first floor updates. We have walls and wainscoting in the office. The hall closet has finally been finished and is complete with adjustable shelves. No real news on the bathroom.



Next up: painting the beadboard, hanging the molding and trim, and building the built-in bookshelf. Then on the the powder room.

Christmas celebration #3!

We celebrated Christmas for the third time on Jan 1 and 2. It was good to see my parents and brothers, especially Doug who is being shipped off to Afghanistan on Jan 5. We had a full house - including dogs and cats. We played lots of board games and tried to stay in out of the snowy weather.

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas Day! I got the best gift ever - a 50 year old train for under our Christmas tree! I always loved the trains that my grandparents had when I was a kid. I particularly loved the smoking engine that belonged to my Grandmother. The cats were quite happy and both played with their new toys during the days. They actually opened their own gifts - Now that's talent! Merry Christmas!

Santa Clause is coming to town.

Christmas eve was a great time. We had a fantastic meal and our own entertainment: Tucker. He was really involved in opening presents this year and knew just what to do with all of his gifts. He hopped right now his new fire engine and tricycle and took off through the house. He even put his feet on the bike pedals. We were so happy to have the whole family in attendance this year.



After dinner and a secret Santa exchange, we competed in a Gingerbread house decorating contest. Ryan/Christine vs Greg/Heather vs Matt(who didn't want an official partner, but did need Claudette to assist at times).



Christine/Ryan's house was completed first and was quite pretty. They were the most determined team and completed the task the quickest. They certainly had the icing with the best consistency. They also earned extra points by only using ingredients which were included in the original packaging of the kit.



Greg and I were the comic relief of the bunch with a house that crumbled multiple times until the roof finally broke into 3 pieces. We were unable to salvage it, but are happy to report that Santa visited our "Katrina-style" house first.



Matt assembled and reassembled the structure of his house 2 or 3 times before he was satisfied with its stability and alignment. He opted to use several ingredients which were not included in the package, but deemd by Judge Charles to be admissible. Matt did not complete his house until the very early hours of the morning when the other contestants were already tucked away in bed.





Tucker winded down the evening in his monster PJs and a nap on the couch.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We're brothers!

The cats were in full cuddle mode tonight. They spent at least about an hour and half snuggling together under the Christmas tree. They are behaving to the fullest in the hopes that Santa Paws will be good to them this year.

Day Off

Today we enjoyed a day off from work to visit with friends from Colorado. We had a great time catching up and watching little Amelia make friends with the cats. It is so nice to have a random day off to relax.

Nor'easter

This weekend we had our first chance this winter to clear snow out of the driveway. Greg and I found ourselves thanking Dannie again for selling us the snow blower. We imagined Greg's co-workers in New Jersey shoveling their driveway. (The same people who were laughing at Greg on Friday for owning a snow blower).

The cats wanted to go outside on Sunday, so we threw them out the door. Pocket was the least thrilled, but even Scratch made a path directly back to the door.

Rennovation Update

The work is on-going at the homestead. We have many holes in the ceiling, some with the first layer of drywall and putty. New wiring and lighting fixtures have been installed in the powder room and living room. The office is now fully equipped with lots of receptacles. We are hoping to start controlling our heating costs now that insulation has been reapplied/applied to the exterior walls of the office! We are psyched about the lighting in the family room. Soon, it will be time to paint the bathroom and drywall the office. Things are moving right along!!

Wouldn't this room look better if...

the panels were only the height of wainscoting? And we have our next (concurrent) house project. While Greg was away I removed the crown molding to the office and now less than a week later, we are looking at bare studs. The external stone wall has no insulation, but we were relieved to find blown-in insulation in the sided exterior wall sided. Greg is now planning to use this situtation to his advantage to rewire some of the rooms in the house. "Two weeks"....

Walk of Fame

This morning we were fortunate to take a few somewhat decent photos of this red fox. He frequently travels through our yard to get back to the den after a long night of hunting. He looks to be a full and happy predator. He's the reason the kittens are not permitted in the yard early in the morning.

Big Candy Bars!

In an effort to entice the neighborhood kiddies to walk to the end of our street, Greg constructed a large 3' by 4' lighted sign to sit on a sawhorse and direct the kids down the street. "Big candy bars" it proclaimed. The kids were convinced! One said, "We saw your billboard." This year we saw 25 kids, up from the 4 that wandered down last year. The rain really started to pour around 8 pm, so that didn't help our endeavor. Next year we're shooting for 50.