Christmas is almost here

Can't believe my last blog was a month ago. We has just tagged our tree. Well it is set up and beautiful in our front hallway. We can see it from both our dining /family room and the parlor. We love the new spot for the tree!!

Our plan to drive to NYC in our 1929 Model A has been cancelled. Richard finally realized that it would be too dangerous after a close call the other day in it. So my annual birthday party on the 29th which was moved to Jan 3, will still remain on the 3rd. Not quite the same, but will be fun anyway. Richard makes eggnog from his mother's recipe and it is out of this world. I can't wait to drink some.

That huge snowstorm that blanketed the East coast missed us-and I can't say I am sad about that. We can get out and don't have to shovel first!! It missed both of my sister's too, one in Connecticut and one in Vermont. But our kids in NYC and LI got it.

Probably the last communication you will get from me before Christmas, so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Holiday activities

We are gearing up for the holidays-as are all of you. We tagged our tree yesterday and are going to put it in a different spot in the house this year. It was very warm yesterday, so we did our outside lights-to be turned on in early December. At least my fingers didn't freeze this year. I am getting smarter in my old age.

We have filled numerous bird feeders and they empty out almost daily. It is so much fun to watch the birds from the dining room window.

Grandma Moses' birthplace is just a short walk from our house and her grandson, Will, is painting in her style. His studio is less than 20 minutes from here and it is a very interesting spot to visit. A great diner is across the street for a lunch or early dinner.

Winter has come

We are expecting our first snow tonight-just a dusting, but snow nonetheless. I guess all that firewood will finally be put to good use. We will have our first fire tomorrow to welcome our guests from Paris back to our B&B. Richard and I stacked three cords of wood in the past three days-it was fun to do-but the final mess has to be raked and put in a container for kindling-that is the worse part.

We also made lots of apple sauce from our apple trees-got a hint from a guest to do it in the crock pot. Worked so much faster, but not as much quantity. Sure is good though-we serve it all winter long when fresh fruit is not in such abundance.

Just got home from a party and Richard is watching the World Series. It is an exciting game so far. I had a laundry to do and some emails to answer and now I am relaxing writing this blog.

Going to visit my sister in Connecticut this weekend-our other sister is coming with me as a surprise. We don't often get all three of us together and I can't wait. We have two parties to go to and one of them is sort of dressy-that is always a challange-as my life on this farm does not warrent dressy clothes. It will be fun to dress up.

Fall has Fallen!!

I don't believe it has been almost a month since I posted a blog-I am very remiss. But, we have had a busy fall with guests, gardening and gathering wood for the stove.

Fall is already past peak and we have had several hard frosts-my gorgeous dahlias, with which I decorate the breakfast plates have turned black, been dug up and are in storage in the basement. There are plenty to give away, so if anyone reads this, and is in the area, I am happy to share.

We finally stacked wood in the garage-now we are really ready for winter. Haven't fired up the wood stove yet-it is only mid-October after all, but we are prepared to do so if need be.

We have three couples here right now, one from Rhode Island, one from Turkey and one from England. Breakfast this morning was fascinating with everyone wanting to know a bit about the other country (state) and conversation was lively.

The couple from Rhode Island are shape note singers, www.fasola.org. Check it out to see what it is. I had not heard this singing except one time and it was with a chorale. The English couple and Richard and I went to hear the singing-there were 121 people from around the states singing a cappella, and it was gorgeous. There was also a pot luck lunch but we did not stay for that.

Hope to be back here before a month has passed.

stacking wood

It is hard to believe that winter is not far away. We spent several hours today stacking wood, splitting some and sawing some, for the wood stove. Probably we will fire it up earlier this year-it was 37 degrees last night!!! In September no less-how can this be?

I am checking out my closet to put away summer clothes and I see that I have not worn many of of them and have gotten my fall things out of the attic several weeks earlier than ever before.

Doing the fall cleanup in the garden in September is odd, but the leaves are falling and the glads need to be dug. So far the dahlias are gorgeous and will decorate the breakfast plates until the first frost. Then I have to dig them as well.

It's Over

Racing season is over and we are back to a normal flow of guests-mostly weekends.

I managed to sneak off last Tuesday to visit my sister and grand niece in Connecticut for two days. It was very relaxing and fun. We went to the free table at the recycle center and got a wonderful play house for Christina. After spending two hours scrubbing it (did I say "relaxing") we set it up on Laurie's deck and all three of us got inside so that Christina could "cook" dinner for us on the little stove. It was adorable (and a bit cramped!)

Now the apples are turning red and I am gearing up to make applesauce to freeze for our winter guests.

More Poetry

From a guest and from Richard about the little Chinese girl killed in Maine by Hurricane Bill

CRUEL SEA (by our guest)

A little flower from China
Swallowed by the sea
Once again we wonder
How cruel can nature be

By Richard

The little girl from China,
For whom a bell did toll.
The whirling waves did take her life
The Lord now has her soul.