Pets

Penny... So fluffy So beautiful in the sunshine.

Lovey.... Curled up on the new sofa. Looking so comfortable.

Winter Hike

Went for a hike in the snow today.  Trudging through the fluffy white stuff for 75 minutes.  It would have been easier with spikes or snowshoes or anything offering more traction.  Even trekking poles would have been a good idea, but I didn't have them in the truck.  It was still a delight to get out.  Janet brought Maizy.  She thoroughly enjoyed it.  Janet fell 4 or 5 times, but not hard.  She cracks me up!  I was spared except for choosing the wrong place to cross the creek.  My foot got wet.  Thankfully I was wearing my new wool hiking socks that wick moister away from skin.  My feet never got cold.  I LOVE these socks! 

Who came to greet us afterwards but my sweet pony Penny...  She's so fluffy right now.  I don't think she minds the snow.  Not on a day like today anyway. 

It was a great day, a great hike.  It just makes me feel good.  :)

It's Brown and it's Soft to the Touch

It's NOT a new pet, although having a new pet would NOT be out of the question.... if you ask me.  Just saying.  It's our new sofa!!!!  It's plush yet firm and oh so inviting!  The best part is that it is an electric recliner!  We wanted a reclining sofa.  I always had a hard time kicking the foot rest back down.  What am I weak or something?  Seriously?  I'm a hiker and I ride horses.  I should have SOME leg muscles!  Regardless, the minute I discovered it was electric I sunk into it and with a sigh said "This is the one!"

Mom was gracious enough to spend a quiet day at our home waiting for the delivery.  She apparently enjoyed the kitty-sitting opportunity as well.  Lovey found her to be quite attractive.  She spent the majority of the day lounging on Mom.  Too cute.  To say she's a "lap-cat" is kind of an understatement.  Thank you Mom... for your time and your attention to Lovey.  I hope that when you finally experience her alter-ego that it is from a distance.  :)

Home Improved

Today marks another home improvement.  The Culligan Man came and installed a water filter system.  This will remove a great portion of the iron present in our water.  I made coffee with tap water this afternoon and it was wonderful!  Finally!!!!  In addition, we purchased the softener unit that was newly installed here back in 2009.  The rent for the unit was about $50/month so we're happy to just own it.  I asked for a discount and they gave us half off the installation cost.  I'm happy with that.   

Let There Be Light!

The lights in the basement were a little bit odd.  The light at the foot of the stairs didn't work with any of the switches.  We figured out by chance that it did work when you run water.  The running joke was "Hey turn on the shower I need to go to the basement!"  The few lights in the basement offered dim lighting at best.  I had to use a lamp to see in the laundry corner, which meant I had to unplug something to have a place to plug in the lamp.   I can make do, but my husband is very handy in the electrical field.

Keith's last night off he spend it almost entirely working on the basement lights.  He rewired them and installed several new lights.  He also mounted a 4 foot fluorescent light over the laundry area.  Now it lights up like daylight in the night!  I'm so lucky to have such a bright husband. (pun intended)

I love my coat rack made out of horse shoes!  It's so ME!  Lee made it for me.  It's perfect in the entryway to hang our jackets. My friend Amy gave me the sign hung over it, which just fits our home so perfectly!

And with that all being said... the sun sets in the West as I return home this evening.  I love this home and the beauty that surrounds it.  I'm so blessed!

New House New Year New Memories

Christmas in the new house was wonderful!  I got Keith the "Bird Girl" statue for his upcoming rose garden.  He was so excited!  Now he's talking about finding a birdbath with a pedestal to display it on.  He's obsessed with planning his rose garden.  You know what?  I'm delighted!  His rose garden will be HIS mark on this place.  It's an important part of our future plans.  He's already been gathering ideas and tips and drawing out the plans.  God bless him! 

Last week we ordered a new couch.  It's on back order so it won't arrive until February.  Oh well.  We've lived more than a month now with a lawn chair and a dining room chair in the living room.  It works, but it's not all that comfortable or cozy.  I finally put throw blankets on the back of the chairs.  Seems odd, but those are the things that make you feel cozy when you sit and watch tv.  Anyway, the cool thing about the couch is that it is electric!  It's an electric recliner!  I have trouble getting the recliner to kick back down.  It's also firm but plush.  I can't wait to get it!

This week a lot was accomplished!  Our friend Lee pretty much gave us two whole days of work out of the goodness of his heart.  He really looks out for me.  I really appreciate that.  He and Keith worked together.  They removed the anode rod from the hot water tank.  Now our water doesn't smell wonky!  Yay!  They hung my big curtain rod in the living room and the coat rack that Lee made me in the dining room too.  So now I have a place to hang my coat and I hung the curtains that Amy gave us!  Thank you Thank you Thank you!  (and yes - we still have our tree up!)

Today I came home to find the boys on the barn roof.  They had already replaced some shingles on the house and a piece of roof vent, re-secured some flashing around the chimney, and cleaned the gutters.  They were patching a hole in the barn roof so now it doesn't leak!  Yay!  In the meantime I started scouting in the yard for burnable material like pieces of the roof, shingles, tar paper, and branches they had trimmed from nearby trees.  I also swept out the exposed downspouts and the front porch and filled the bird feeder.  It's good to feel productive!  Oh and Lee also put in a new exterior door on the chimney.   60 degrees in January is unheardof!  We took full advantage.  I was really tempted to rake all the leaves away from the areas around the porch, but I'm afraid to uncover the insulation that any plantlife has there.  It might be needed until spring.  I have no idea what plants are here, but we will find out in the months ahead. 

What else is on the To-Do List?  All sorts of things!  Let's see...

• Remove shrubs that are too close to the house.  Must wait till spring so we can replant them elsewhere if we choose.
• Electrical work in the basement.  Keith is waiting for his friend from work who wants to help him so he can learn how to do that.  Keith will enjoy teaching him.
• There are junk piles here that must be burned, sorted, and probably eventually buried. 
• Barn!  It needs cleaned out so badly!!!  We have stuff to scrap, burn, and organize!  It needs to be re-sided.  I want to price out Hemlock for that.  Then we'll address electric/water.  Once that is done, I'll need to install a barn floor for storing hay and add a couple stalls for the horses.
• Survey - we need a property survey or at least someone to come show us where the pins are.
• Fence - then we can put up fence! 
• Tractor - we need a tractor to mow and hopefully plow.  One with a front end loader would be ideal, but I doubt we can afford that just yet. 
• More curtains - I have a window in the living room and the entire dining room to decide what to hang.  Any suggestions? 
• The stove needs moved to a different area of the kitchen.  That requires moving wires. 

So so so much... but we have our whole lives ahead of us to work on it.  I'm feeling very blessed right now!

New

It's a new year. 2013. We have a new home. We have new routines and new aspirations. I can't wait to see all that this year has to offer!

Hiking starts Saturday! I wonder how many miles my feet will cover thus year.