Mow Better Now

RECIPE FOR ABSOLUTE FRUSTRATION:

Buy an acre and a half on a hilly, slopey damn lot, add 187 year old house, stir in a limited budget, fold in a not-so-handy husband and that my friends is the recipe for an overgrown lawn.

As luck would have it it, our saviour neighbor is God on earth and fixed our riding mower and now spousal unit is actually mowing the lawn.

It's the little things...

A New Cutting Garden

This past weekend, I broke the news to spousal unit that I wanted make a cutting garden (read: you dig holes, make fence and let me spend 200 bucks). So guess what he says? Yeah really, he says "well that's what we're out here for"-- Boom, I finessed my neighbor Andre (hardest working man on my block) to bringing his tractor over and tilling the grass up for me. Then continued perfecting my finessing abilities by making unit dig fence post holes (it is NOT a cutting garden without a picket fence around it!) and tonight we kept up digging holes--lots of holes for a 12' x 18' garden I know. Anyhoodle poodle, I need to figure the easist plants that will grow and not make me work too hard. So far so good on that front.

Garden craps out --I'll bury dog in it.

I will buy a new camera, God is my judge!

It's Medication Time

Whoa! Can't even believe what happened last night on the HGTV DREAM HOME GIVEAWAY? I only wish I could have been at the bar with Lauren Lake after a couple of Appletinis! That alleged "winner" and I use that term loosely gave me the "willys". She was so weird, all those ticks and folded arm body language. She choked out her thank you and left it at that. Boy oh boy the show I would put on if they'd knocked on my door and handed the million-dollar house-keys to me. "Where's the jet? LET'S GO LAUREN!! We're going to FLORIDA right now! Richard Branson, one jet please and yes you may stay overnight in my dream house, and bring a guest! JUST GET ME AND MY NEW BEST FRIEND LAUREN LAKE to FLORIDA and into my new Dream House nowsa!
Why her? Why not me?

Hello Again, Rumors of my Demise have been Greatly....

Well, you know the rest...exaggerated. My only, and it is an incredibly lame excuse, is that my digital camera is broken. I can say that I've really missed sharing my thoughts with all the nice bloggers who've been supportive with so little asked in exchange.

So no new pictures but here is something you haven't seen yet--my bathroom, it's back and white!

I would love to show pics of the new trampoline we got the kids...of my new soapstone woodstove that absolutely saved our bank account this winter...and my two new mantels, one in my office and the other on my bedroom fireplace--just too gorgeous. There's so much!! I'm buying a new camera today!! Thank you for helping me make that decision! You guys ROCK!

Hello Ladies of the Club!

• I'm busy with my job lately


• and busy supervising my neighbor boys who are scraping and painting the Cannondale front door surround and front windows.


• I'm also trying volunteer more at the kids' schools--Book Fair and Halloween Party--oh yeah and not miss my daily excersize...


• and reading a super-fantastic book: "The Virgin's Lover" by Phillipa Gregory. It's historical fiction about Queen Elizabeth, highly readable, cannot recommend enough!


• Hey Ann! Some chesse with that wine?


• I'm fine. Lost more weight, my doctor thinks I'm her best diet patient ever. I'm crazy happy about this turn of events.


• Is everybody enjoying my bullets? I couldn't be more proud.


• I really am going to try to find a Russel Crowe picture and put it up on this post. His new movie "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington is opening today! Liam and I are going to see it this weekend for sure.Anyone go see "3:10 to YUMA" it was Russel's last movie and was fabulous! Take your husbands to it--you owe them one after all those chick-flicks they sat though...Fingers crossed for this picture post.....


• I suck at this, it's taken me one hour to get this done.

Me, me, me

Great news--lost five pounds at my weigh in, things are coming along fine.

But more importantly--I have found out that the Amish man who made my gorge kitchen island will plain some wide-width floorboards for my dining room! He won't have them available until after Christmas but that's fine because I won't have the dough 'til then anyway!

This picture is of my dog Scruffy--he's got flaws--basically he's the reason why we have to pull up the carpet and put down hardwoods in the dining room!!!

Chug, Chug, Chugging Along...

I notice, quite interestingly, that my one post about me going on a doctor prescribed diet had zero comments. Since everyone is soooo interested...I've lost eleven pounds so far and have not cheated once. I'm really doing well with my exercise too. My darling friend Tracy took me on a
4-plus mile walk last Friday at the Ridley Creek State Park. She's fit and energetic and refers to it as "our little walk"---I saw it more as a death march! Yowsa, was I sore! Seriously folks though, I'm so glad she kicked me in the but I do think she could have warned me and I could have at least "powdered up" for the ordeal. I have to admit that two hours of uninterrupted chat time in a scenic, shaded park while getting the fitness benefits was heavenly! Now my 1.4 mile walk around my block seems like not such a big deal and don't ever put it off or skip it. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to check in and see if I've lost anymore--wish me luck.

Football Game

Well my son's first big game "under the lights" was played last night. But not by him. He was on the sidelines, not one play did that coach put him in. He broke his arm for that team and they won't put him in for one play in the last home game? Am I allowed to be outraged? On the good news side of things, we received his standadized testing results and it turns out he's a genius boy! We're taking him out to dinner Friday night--his choice, and then to a sports store for a weight bench.

There's not enough Welbutrin on the internet to make my anger go away.

Low Key Day with my Boy

Another gorgeous day. I want to amend an earlier statement--I said the walk around my block is just under a mile...incorrect...it's actually 1.4 miles! Ha, look at me exercising like my life depends on it.

My 12 year-old son, Francis is home sick with a very sore throat today. I only hope that he feels well enough to go to school tomorrow. He is on the football team at his middle school and has been practicing since July. He broke his arm during an August practice--continued to run drills with the team, cast and all. He now finally has the cast been off --over three weeks--- and the coach FINALLY gave him his pads and helmet. Wednesday is the big game "under the lights" and if that coach doesn't let my kid on the field tomorrow night--there's gonna be trouble in Dodge City!

I cannot abide it when adults treat children as if their dreams and passions don't exist. I will always listen to my children and when they have a true passion for something--encourage it and allow them to explore it.

Nice Weather for a Walk

So what do I enjoy most about my home? Is it the $5.00 bouquet of flowers from the Amish roadside stands, or the green fields with majestic draft horses grazing after a long day's work? At harvest time especially, the wagons rumble past my front door, eight mules being driven by a fourteen year old boy. He's taking the corn to fill the silo. He waves and smiles always, and if it's a neighbor I know well--maybe Beniel or Daniel , they'll stop and ask how I am today and aren't I enjoying this fine weather too? That's always so sweet to have a team of eight mules hauling two wagons pulled to a dead stop to find out if you're having a nice day--isn't it? Actually it's rather ego lifting if I'm being completely honest with you! Don't forget the black and white Holsteins curled up in a cozy bunch on my side yard. I say Hi! to "the girls" when I step outside to throw the crusts from my daughter's peanut butter sandwich to my little hens...so many things to love and how lucky I was to find this home.

Amish Barn Raising

I'm so glad you're all getting a kick out of my rural Amish community. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who appreciates them, I know now that's simply not true. There was a barn-raising around the corner from me this summer. I'm so glad I had the presence of mind to snap a few pics! Enjoy.

Ann

Olivia

I could not begin to explain how special my daughter Olivia is to me. She's sweet, smart, kind and can play soccer better than Beckham!

More About My Walk

Trying so hard to get these pictures just right...The shot of a little white shed is of my Amish neighbor's 17 year old daughter on the telephone. The other is a list of prices of mums written on a piece of cardboard and a tiny little box to put the money in if by chance you would like to buy a mum. I think the clouds one is pretty clear, and the horses one are trotters who are trained by my neighbor around the corner--he's not Amish, English as the Amish call us. In the background of that shot is my house.

A Morning Walk Around My Block

The word is out, I'm on the mother of all diets prescribed by my doctor so I have to start exercising. Luckily I have this gorgeous block to walk around, it's just under one mile and has a few steep inclines, so I think it's a good start for now. I brought my camera with me and really want to share what I saw today--hope the pictures post OK....

New Gate

Hi All and Good Morning

Here's a picture of my new gate my darling husband built over this past weekend. The hardworking hens are named Kay Kay and Flapper.

My Needs and Wants

Can't a sister get a French Confit Jar? I see them in The English Home (you know the drill ladies, bow your hread and avert your eyes in reverence to the magazine) all the time and some of those homeowners have like, ten of them all lined up in their kitchen! Where's mine? I look everywhere and can't find one to call my own. D'ya guys ever see them at those yardsales you're always at? I told my husband I have a blog now, think he'll put 2 and 2 together?

Ann

You all waited so patiently through the heat of the day and the trials of a Monday and still no picture of the new gate on my chicken run. Sorry. Like Aurora in Terms of Endearment said to her feisty neighbor "boys who are hasty sometimes get no dessert!" So patience:)
I've got bigger news...I saw my doctor today and she started me on a new weight loss program. I won't bore everybody with the horrid details, needless to type, it was a long time 'acoming.
Wish me luck and when its all done (as if) maybe I'll be a better housekeeper.

Ann

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight!

Well it was a nice weekend, winding down now...So no global warming, huh? You should have been in Southeastern PA today, it reached near 90 this afternoon. My husband put a gate on our little chicken run this weekend, he made the gate himself. This by the way is a very big a accomplishment for a man who works in an office. I'll take a picture of the chickens and their new gate and tomorrow. Try to contain your excitement 'til then...
Another project I did this weekend was to repair my homemade hassock/coffee table/thingy-ma-bobber. I've been seeing them in my beloved English Home Magazine (please bow your head and avert your eyes in reverence to the magazine) for a good five years now. They are just so claaaaassy looking. I ordered the legs from a catalog and the casters too and just got the fabric at a fabric store in Delaware. I'm looking for a picture to share with you guys.

Batting at Clean Up

I seem to be thinking about how to make my house really nice and original but have this huge problem--how to keep it clean? How many hours a week--day? does anyone of you spend cleaning? Also when it's a work in progress it's tough to keep the dust at a minimum. Oh yeah and don't forget the 186 years of use built up. No, I'm not complaining, a little maybe but... So did I tell everybody that I invented toile? That's right. I had it in my dining room in Chevy Chase about 10 years ago. I've yet to see a dime in residual payments. I'm sure the check is in the mail. I'll just sit and wait patiently for the mailman and not clean anything.

Kitchen Story

Oh boy, I've had two comments. Who'd a thunk I'd be such a smashing success in such a short amount of time? I really want to pretty-up this blog but can't figure out how to--I'm working on it. Meanwhile here are a few more pictures of my kitchen. The construction remodel was done by my Amish neighbor, Christian Fisher. He took down a wall between the kitchen and family room to make one big kitchen. I bought some old oak barn beams from The Barnyard Boys in Lancaster and those are what hold up the house since that wall that "had" to come down was actually quite important to the structure. I brought in a picture from my The English Home magazine of a Chalon kitchen island to another Amish guy (furniture maker) and he copied it exactly. Oh man, is it perfect, and the price was unbelievably inexpensive. I actually ordered it through an Amish middle-man at the farm market in town, but, get this, just three days ago I found the carpenter's actual workshop--and the prices were even more fantastic.