Kitchen redo

I can't believe I am doing this. No not blogging. I'm starting another construction project. Each time I do this I say I won't do it again f.o.r.e.v.e.r but after some time has passed I get the itch again and samples start calling my name. This time it is my kitchen. It has needed some updating for some time now so I am taking the plunge. Should make for some good bloggy fodder wouldn't you think?

Tuesday I spent all afternoon at the cabinet place. I would really do better if I only had three choices instead of a hundredandplenty! There are just soooooo many different sizes, styles, colors, brands not to mention moldings, trims, stains, glazes and textures. I finally decided on white as I have always wanted to do my kitchen in white. Then I decided on the beadboard doors as I like beadboard. Done. I went home.

Wednesday I had to go back and finalize everything. I walked in and looked at the beadboard again and it just didn't have the same allure as it had the day before. Beside it were more white cabinets but with raised doors and I just kept going back to them. They have some beadboard between the cabinets so I would still have the effect. I hemmed and hawed for a long time and then decided to go with the raised doors.

Next I had to pick out the counter top. I had to choose between granite, quartz and Corian. I have Corian now and have loved it, no seams and cleans up like a dream. I finally narrowed it down to a sage green and white fleck through it and came home happy.

I didn't stay happy. Today I took said green sample to the tile store to pick out the wall tiles and floor tiles and it turned into a fiasco. I got there at 11:15 and at 2 o'clock we had not been able to put together anything that looked good. When the floor tile and the counter blended well it didn't blend with the wall tiles and vice versa. I wanted to scream. Finally I called my contractor and told him my dilemma and he headed over. After more searching through countless samples we decided to go back to square one and go back to the counter place and get something different.

I met him at the counter place and we started in again. I grabbed a giant Coke on the way over to give myself an energy boost for what lie ahead. It worked! Yippee! I am happy again! We picked a more neutral counter top which made it much easier to work with so we headed back to the tile place and by the time I got there he had found something that I really liked and it went well with the flooring I had picked out and the counter top. I'm exhausted. Amen.

To be continued......

The One I Forgot To Publish

Oh me oh my. I got so stuck on my snowmobile yesterday. Stuck. Really stuck. Did I say I got stuck? With the foot and a half of new snow we just couldn't resist going out for a spin when Son got home from work. Cousin K went with us and was a good help. We had just left the barn and headed out the carriage road when we came upon a tree that had blown over in the storm. Son got off to try to move it but it was just way too bogged down in heavy snow to budge.

We decided to go around it and come back later with the chain saw and remove it. I say 'we' but I mean the guys. Getting off the packed down track is always iffy and of course I was the one that sunk like a stone. My sled is the biggest as it is a two person one and weighs a ton it seems.

Yes, that's me up to my waist stuck in the snow!


The hole.Finally after much shovelling we were on our way. The branches were hanging low with all the new snow not unlike a canopy over us. We did get some snow down our necks as we hit them but the beauty of it made it worth it.

Always remember to carry a shovel with you when you go out on a ride!

My computer guy was here on Thursday as I begin learning how to use Photo Shop. I think it's going to be a long process but will be well worth it in the end. Here he is teaching Miss T how to use my new Ipod Touch. She picks these things up much faster then I do!!! She had fun watching Madagascar 2 on it. This thing amazes me. You can click on Maps and put in your zip code and see your own house via satellite! Amazing but kind of scary in a way too if you know what I mean. Talk about big brother watching.........

Hubby is driving to New Hampshire and back today. I don't envy him, it's a long haul but he hates staying over in a hotel so would rather drive home.

I just found this in my drafts folder, thought I had already published it so don't be confused about the dates and all.

The sun is shining today and it's fairly mild. I have my Humane Society board meeting so will be heading over there in a few minutes. I go early so that I can visit all the animals before the meeting. We have such a good adoption rate, the staff does such a wonderful job! I would say that at least 95% get adopted and the other 5% are too sick to save or have aggression problems that can't be solved. They go way beyond the extra mile to find homes for the animals.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! :o)

Back To A Winter Wonderland!

We got up this morning to about a foot and a half of new snow with more coming down. It is just amazing out, everything is blanketed with fresh light snow the kind that sparkles when the sun shines down on it. Those of us that ski or snowmobile are very happy and those that don't well let's just say they aren't! :o)


This is the poor fire pit! Guess we won't be roasting marshmallows today!

This is the latest in winter attire. Note the combination of green scarf, hunter orange knit cap and red gloves. I guess I won't be making the cover of Vogue very soon.......You can see how deep the snow is on our back deck! I was just trying to get a path to my bird feeder.




This is how much snow there was on top of the feeder on the deck!

Noodles is saying NO WAY!

The trees are just heavily laden with the white stuff, I hope we don't get a lot of broken branches.



Yesterday after church I decided to go out for a ride by myself which I don't normally do, usually I am with Son and family but they all have colds so couldn't go. I took my cell phone and stayed right on our own property so that I wouldn't be too far away if I got stuck or something. The trails were glorious from the 6 inches of snow we got last week. A great base with the new on top makes for such nice riding.

I came onto a whole bunch of blood which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I was about a mile or so out. One of my neighbors and his son came along and said that coyotes had taken down a deer. Now I know that is just the way of nature but I still don't want to SEE it!!! Thankfully mom doe and the twins came by to have some grain so I know it wasn't one of them. We have been watching the three of them since spring when they still had their spots. She must be a savvy mom to have gotten them through a harsh winter like this one.

School is cancelled everywhere but I hope the feed store is open as I need more wildlife grain. I'm waiting till the roads are cleared a bit more before I head out. I have 4 wheel drive and am used to driving in all conditions so I'm not nervous about it but it's the other drivers that can scare you to death. They drive like it's a nice hot July afternoon and there's no ice or snow on the roads!

This is what happens here if you drive out on thin ice. The ice may be a foot thick in some places but in others not!

Not only did his truck go through but his sled and trailer!

Here are a few of the cute pictures that people send me:

I don't know if these pictures were taken in Maine or not. Very rare though to see an albino moose!

A diva in the making.

This sleepy head is safe to ride in the car.



Guess that's it for this morning. Really need to go do some more shoveling. I just think of it as good cardio! :o)

Humane Society Visit

Had fun today with the grands and my DIL. We took T and D over to the Humane Society for a tour and to visit with the animals. They were very excited about this as we have been talking about doing it for some time now. It's school vacation so this was the perfect time to go.

We visited all the hamsters, guinea pigs, mice and rats first. The little mice running on their wheel was a bit hit. Then the bird room with the ring necked doves and parakeets. The doves not only coo but make a funny giggling noise! The two babies that were featherless and tiny only three weeks ago are almost the same size as the parents and are starting to fly.

Next we went into the cat area. We had to put antibacterial stuff on our hands after touching each cat that we petted so that we didn't inadvertently spread any kind of virus that might be floating around. D fell in love with Pork Chop a big gray male tabby that loved attention. He won't be there long!

On to the dogs where we have quite a number of different breeds in now. One we really liked was a Border Collie-Corgi mix! He is the cutest thing, looks like a border collie with SHORT legs! Another one we liked was a big Newfoundland named Andy. He was shy but a real nice boy, just BIG! D said we could ride him like the ponies!

We saw all the other rooms where surgery is done, training, kitchen where their food is prepared, intake area, isolation area where the strays are put until they can be checked out, given shots and have a check up. They have a nice little store there with all sorts of products for cats and dogs.

The kids enjoyed it and some of the pictures that I took D is going to use for a school project that is due soon. We went to Longhorn for lunch which was delicious and then headed home.

The lady that owns the stable where I board my guys in the winter had a bad accident on Monday. She was up high on an aluminum ladder cleaning snow off the barn roof and for some reason it slipped and she came down landing on her back. She couldn't move so had to lay there until her husband came home which thankfully wasn't too long. They took her to the hospital and after a long day of tests found out she fractured a bone that's around her spine. It's in the lower lumbar region and could have been so much worse then it is with paralysis involved.

I went up to the hospital to see her on Tuesday and she is being fitted for a body brace that she will wear for possibly three months. They don't think they will have to do surgery at this point which is good. She still is in a lot of pain even with strong pain meds so I hope that subsides once she gets the body brace on to give her back some support.

Obviously she won't be able to do anything in the barn for quite some time. She has an adult son and her husband is retired so they will do a lot of it plus we will all help out. There are three of us......ahem......'older' women that board there so we will help feed and do anything else that needs to be done. She's in her late 60's and not one to sit around so this is going to be hard. We sent flowers today so that she knows we are thinking of her. To land from roof high on to frozen ground is just a horrible assault on your body but I'm just glad it wasn't any worse then it was.

Want to send a big THANK YOU to Mikael over at Rising Rainbow for awarding me the Van Gogh's Ear Award! It always makes my day to receive an award from one of my fellow bloggers! Mikael is one of the most knowledgeable horse people around and her posts are wonderfully written. I have learned so much about training horses from her and always look forward to whatever subject she is talking about. Thanks Mikael!

Apparently, this Van Gogh's Ear Award is for blogs that are making a difference in the blogosphere. It's creator said, "We are all artists in our own way, be it art, photography, writing, philosophy, comedy, or blogging, and we all go a little crazy sometimes. Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else."

Now I am supposed to pass it on to 5 people and I will do that soon. I'm going to try to pick five that I have never given an award to yet so this will take some thought.

Several of you asked for the recipe for the apple turnovers that T and D made here this weekend. It is as follows:

Quick Apple Turnovers

1 cooking apple peeled and chopped

3 T sugar

2 T chopped walnuts

2 T raisins (we didn't have any so left them out)

1/4 t cinnamon

1 can (8oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough

cinnamon/sugar for top

Preheat oven to 350* then mix together the apples, sugar, nuts, raisins and cinnamon in small bowl.

Then you separate the dough into 8 triangles stretching each one slightly.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of apple mixture into center of each triangle

Fold corners over filling and pinch edges together to seal.

Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and pop them in the oven.

Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown. (I cooked ours a bit too much) Cool about 20 minutes on wire rack before serving with ice cream. Makes 8. Enjoy!

Guess that's it for tonight. We're expecting snow tomorrow! Yippee!

Warning: This is long!

Today is President's Day also the beginning of February vacation for all the school children. The stores are open but the trash pick up is delayed a day. The banks are closed but there are huge sales going on. I for one won't go near the mall when it is a busy type day there. There is no sale great enough for me to step into Christmas like crowds and elbow my way through the masses. Hubby is off as his office is closed but he is squirreled away in his home office working diligently on our taxes. :o(

We had a busy weekend with a lot of grand children time which is always fun for us. Actually it started on Thursday as we went to T's play at her school. The children did such a great job doing their parts and what a wonderful way to get them used to speaking in front of a crowd which most of us find a bit daunting.

Friday night was the Father/Daughter Valentine's dance. I jumped in my car and headed over to their house to get some pictures as I didn't want to walk though the snow in the woods. After getting them off to dinner at Bugaboo Creek we took D and DIL to dinner at Lonestar so that they would have a special evening too.

I am told that after the obligatory dance with Dad the girls tend to have fun together as the dads stand around watching and gabbing with each other.

The young lady in red is one of my nieces. She is a teacher but works part time at the recreation dept. and helps out with all the functions. She says that this dance is her most favorite function of the year.





Saturday they came tromping through the woods with all their gear on ready to play outside in the snow. They loved swinging on the swing set with all the snow around them and T did dismounts like in gymnastics.

Airborne!


A 10 for sure!

Whoops! He missed his landing!

Nothing like like pink cheeks!

Noodles was out there with us.


It's VERY icy around the barn!

Later that evening we decided to do some cooking so that Mom and Dad would have a nice dessert when they got home from their Valentines dinner. Apple turnovers. We added some vanilla ice cream and they were delicious, just a nice fun little recipe for kids.

Whew! If you have hung in here with me this long you are a trooper! Thanks! :o)