Stonehenge and Nutmeg

Some of you might be wondering who these new additions are...they are two wonderful little kitties that were Ali's birthday present this past June.

We picked the two sisters up when they were eight weeks old. I've never been a cat person, mostly because I'm allergic. But they are outside cats and they are excellent mousers.

I've also been more of a dog fan because dogs tend to be more social pets, while cats seem to look down on people. These kittens are more like dogs than cats. Stoney loves having her ears rubbed and they both love to be cuddled. The girls often hold them on their backs and they seem to like getting their bellies rubbed (the kittens, not the girls).

So our mouse population is down and the homestead just keeps gaining more females! (sorry, Norm)

Some fun pictures of the girls

Daddy's tractor

Daddy finally got his John Deere! Funny, it was just a week or so after I bought my Mini that we somehow acquired a new toy...I mean tool. At first it did seem like another toy, but I have to say that it has come in hand. We couldn't have built our garage without it! We bought the snowblower for it, so Norm has a great time throwing snow.

Our new garage...

This summer we built a garage...finally. It really started last March when Norm and I went to a wedding in Laguna Beach. When we arrived at the airport and went to pick up the rental car, a silver Mini Cooper sat there in the lot, just calling my name. Of course, we had reserved the standard Ford Escort or whatever generic car was the least expensive. But when I saw the Mini, I just had to drive it.

We tooled around Cali for a weekend, hardly using any gas, and it was the best! So this past June, I sold my Jeep Cherokee and bought a Mini Cooper S. It goes from 0-60 faster than a Corvette and I love it! But I needed a garage to house it in, so the impetus to build was overpowering and thus the process began. We ran radiant floor heat, but haven't hooked it up yet. Maybe this year...

You'll notice that I am not in any of the pictures as I was the photographer, but rest assured knowing that I put my sweat equity into this project! Some of our friends and neighbors were helpful and special thanks goes to Larry, Dave, Jeff, Peg, Leo, Mark, Mike, and Uncle Danny. Turn up the volume and enjoy the slideshow! ~S

Thoughts from the homestead

Today we are home from school, trying to enjoy our fifth snow day so far this year (it's only January!!!). I've just finished the latest Jodi Picoult novel, and we all are reading the Wrinkle in Time series.

The girls do a great job shoveling off the porches and Norm drives around on his John Deere, snow blowing our driveway, as well as both neighbors. Though it may seem a chore, he enjoys driving around on his tractor as much as a little boy loves his Tonka trucks.

We are planning our road trip this summer and are already making "to-do" lists for the truck, camper, house, property, etc. It looks like we'll be traveling for six weeks this time, heading all the way to the Pacific to see the Redwoods, and traversing Canada for much of the way back east. We'll do our darndest to keep a blog going during our travels.

As far as family goes, Ali is playing oboe in band this year and will be auditioning for the school musical next week. She'll also pick tap back up this spring. Sara is still dancing and will start piano back up soon. They are both participating in cross-country skiing after school. We have 9 acres, but our property backs up to over 100 acres of woods, and there are all kinds of trails to snowshoe and ski on. We have deer, moose, fox, fishers, black bear, and hordes of other wildlife. It is insanely beautiful and peaceful here.

It seems as though the Patriots are in some kind of football championship playoff mode, and the Red Sox won the World Series, so sports fans around here are pretty insane. You might be able to tell that we aren't huge sports fans. I will say that I did make a Red Sox playoff game this year, and I think I may become a Red Sox fan! And Ali does have the cap...hmmm...

Anyway, we'll add as we have a few minutes. Please feel free to post comments!