To do...

This week Rachel and I edited the "to do" list.  We retyped the whole thing up, leading off with the things we've already accomplished, and then adding the things left to do.  Today we worked some on that list and have made some good progress. I found the bin full of fall decorations and have it ready to bring in the house so I can nicely arrange them.  I sanded and painted a neat old ladder/shelf thing that I have and it looks so much better. Rachel washed and stained the chicken coop steps, (because, really, you can't have a wedding if your coop steps look shabby.) I began staining the goat and pony cozy, and will finish it up tomorrow.  Rachel stained the wood that her fiance recently put up to hide a very ugly old metal support beam in the garage. I painted the trim around the window of the goat room. It's been stored all summer so they could have better air flow, but now that fall is here we will put it back in.  More unneeded items went off to the dump, including an entire bag of old clothes that were stained, torn or worn to a thread.  Because, you can't have a wedding if your bureau drawers are messy, either.  Sometimes my logic flummoxes me.

Chris crossed a few things off his list, too. He now has a stereo sound system with some amazing speakers hooked up in the garage. We tried them out the other night, dancing in the gathering dusk while the music thrummed around us. He bought a bunch of the groceries we will need for the party and stashed them away.  Now he is working on hauling two cords of wood off the side yard and getting it stacked in the basement.

I realized the other day that the cosmos and zinnia I planted are taller than I am.  Some of the blossoms are a good six feet in the air!  When my gardener friend Brenda stopped in the other day she stood and looked in amazement. She had helped plant some of those flowers and was shocked they were now soaring over our heads. I am a bit torn... I sort of hope we have a good frost before the wedding to kill off the flies that are so pesky this time of year, but at the same time, I hope we don't have one so my gardens will still look pretty.

 The new little table and benches are settled in their new spot.  I want to sew up some cushions for the benches to make it even cozier this winter.  Once we got it put in place I decided that my baking cabinet had to move, because there were too many big pieces of furniture grouped together.  My sister suggested I put it kitty corner on the far kitchen wall, and I tried that right out.

 I love it!

Early this summer I arranged to have our windows professionally cleaned.  Chris and I try to wash them each year, but we are horrible at it. No matter how  hard we try we leave streaks and holidays. Then I spend the long, long, winter looking out through grimy glass and fretting about it.  On Thursday the window cleaning crew came.  A whole gang of men, and they swarmed through the house, leaving sparkling glass in their wake.  I am overjoyed to look out through crystal clear panes.  What a treat.

It is great fun to check things off the list, and to see how nice our home is looking as we accomplish each task.  We should have a wedding every year!

In the moment...

I much admire people who can and do, "live in the moment."  It is something I strive to do myself, but often struggle with.  The nagging little voices in my head tell me things like, "Oh sure, you may be very happy here enjoying a sunny afternoon and watching your chickens scratch, but you really should be scrubbing the kitchen floor on your hands and knees." The little voice in my head belongs to a cranky bitch.

The last few days I have taken extra care to live in the moment. And I've  liked it.  With the upcoming wedding mere weeks away, my "to do" list is chokingly long, but I put it aside and went to the incomparable Common Ground Fair.  Have you ever seen such stunning carrots? I have not.  I allowed myself time to just stand in admiration of them. They fairly glowed in the morning light.  I also marveled at all the lovely things sold at booths, from sweetly scented soaps to stunning jewelry. I took pleasure in seeing the pretty chickens, turkeys and geese.  I appreciated horses and oxen, sheep and goats and toddlers clinging stickily to their mothers.  We tasted a "pie cone," (pie crust shaped a bit like an ice cream cone, stuffed with rhubarb and strawberry, some cream cheese filling and a blob of whipped cream.)  The sun was unseasonably hot, and we savored it.  After exploring the fair we headed for Belfast and a nice lunch on the water at Nautilus.  My to do list languished. A stiff luncheon cocktail insured I was pretty much useless for the rest of the day, too.

Today Rachel and I had a different list to tackle.  A visit to the florist early this morning to see her dried flower bouquet and head wreath, and give an "ok" to boutonnieres and corsages.

 Then, even though it was our day off, we had a couple of small dogs to groom, and did.

Next, a trip to the chiropractor, then to her hair stylist to get her pre-wedding trim.  Our last stop of the day was to be the jeweler where her wedding ring was to be polished before the vows were shared.  But first, on a whim, Rachel pulled into one of our favorite antique stores.  And there... I found the mother lode!

I have been wanting some storage space for quilts, blankets and such. They had a lovely, old, pine blanket chest which had been altered by adding a new trim board along the bottom and some very interesting legs.  Cheap!  I snapped it up.

 Then there was a wonderful enameled milk jug, with a top that locked with a twist, perfect for a counter top compost holder.  $18.  Next we found a lovely cheese dome, in clear, cobalt blue glass, for $11.  SOLD!  This will be great for the wedding and many party's in the future. I knew it was right when Rachel said, "When you die, I can inherit it."

And then... when I thought we were done, I found this.

A sweet little dining set, painted in butter yellow and pale blue. I have long wanted a snug little table with high backed benches. It would be so COZY.  And here it was.  Just waiting for me.

I walked away. Then I walked back. Then away. Then I measured all its dimensions.

Drove home and measured the spot I wanted it to go.  I decided it would fit and raced back to buy it, arriving moments before the store closed.

Turns out it didn't look right where I thought it might, (in the kitchen,) but it looks pretty darn good in my front room, cozied up by the wood stove.  Chris came home and joined me sitting there, and he thought it was great, too. Which was frosting on the cake of my find.

I lived  in a whole lot of moments today. I enjoyed them all.

Sunday mornings...

I love Maine. I love mornings. I particularly love Sunday mornings in Maine. And if it's very, very foggy, like it is today, that is just frosting on the cake.  Fog makes everything seem mystical and quieter than usual. The reason I am so fond of Sunday mornings is that my husband likes to sleep in a bit on the weekends if he can. So I am up at the crack of dawn, taking care of animals, and have the place to myself.  It's a nice little slice of quiet time.

I took my camera out after I did chores and snapped a few shots to share.

The poultry are molting. This means they are shedding out their old, dirty, tattered feathers and growing beautiful new ones.  Harrison Ford, my handsome rooster, must be embarrassed. Normally he boasts a full compliment of glossy, arched tail feathers. Just now he has one sad little feather poking straight up where his former glory once was.  I wonder if his ladies are ashamed to be seen with him? 

Bravo hangs out with me while I do chores. I keep a little bowl near the milk stand, and when I milk the goats he gets a portion of sweet, warm, milk.  When I go to the front yard to water plants and such, I sometimes let him come out.  Cars drive fast on our little road, so I keep a sharp eye on him, but he never sets a paw on the pavement.  This morning I was distracted for a few minutes, and when I remembered to check I found him here. 

Sitting at the end of the driveway, watching me. I called him and he sprang up, happy to be out and about and ready to join me in whatever happened next. 

I like the way the arbor looks, all smothered in flowers. 

We crossed some more things of the wedding "to do," list. I found pretty fall-ish bandannas for the goats to wear. 

And our sweet, sweet neighbor made a special decoration for Abraham donkey.  I'm not unveiling that just yet. Chris set a sound system up in the garage, mounting speakers high on the walls and tweaking things until the walls are filled with sweet, sweet music at the press of a button. He will add another set of speakers outside on the day of the wedding. 

It's apple season, and I love having a bowl full of them in the kitchen. 

One final thing to share today, a picture I was delighted to catch.  Pileated woodpeckers are large, fairly shy birds. I often hear them in the woods, and see them from time to time, flapping over the pasture, calling their strident call.  One has been visiting the large dead tree on the edge of our property from time to time, and I had my camera all ready, hoping to catch him.  The other day Rachel said "Your bird is on the tree."  I grabbed my camera and started shooting. To my delight, another appeared from the back side of the trunk. Two pre-historic looking birds, caught in my frame.A delight. 

Cooking ahead...

I have a notebook with pages of lists of things to do before the wedding.  We crossed a whole bunch of those things off this weekend.

Wonderful sister Deb drove here from Massachusetts to help. Again.  The plan was to get some of the food that can be cooked in advance and frozen taken care of.  One of the side dishes for the wedding is to be my mom's macaroni and cheese recipe.  We used to joke that no one she knew and liked ever died, had a baby or a party without receiving a pan of this stuff.  And everyone loves it, to this day.

So this weekend we cooked 9 pounds of pasta, used almost 4 gallons of milk, 9 pounds of sharp cheddar cheese, and I don't even know how much butter we went through. There was also flour, salt, pepper, dried mustard... a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce.  We used BIG pots.

                                                
And we seasoned it all with laughter, then added a little love.

The trick is to make a LOT of cheese sauce, so the noodles are just swimming in it. They absorb it after a while.  We now have 4 pans (10 x 19") of cheesy deliciousness tucked into the chest freezer.  Before we bake them we will top them with Ritz Cracker crumbs and sprinkle everything with grated cheese, then cook them until they are hot and golden and... yum.

Deb also brought me some presents. Because... that is who she is.  I needed a new milking stool, and she found a super cute one that is just right. I'll get a picture of it another time.  Best of all she went to a nearby antique store which we have visited together and bought me something I have been wanting for three years. I kept looking at it and wishing for it, but never did bring it home. So she did.

And we hung it right up in the garage.  This whole weekend was a great one to be happy!

My "busy summer" gardens...

Knowing I had a busy summer ahead, I didn't think I'd have time to maintain a traditional vegetable garden.  However, I didn't want to just leave my plot fallow.  Sometimes I have a good idea, and this time it was to plant the spot with pumpkins.  So, I weeded it well, (a couple of times), then hauled many buckets of composted manure from the pasture and spread it over the soil.  Next I planted several field pumpkin seedlings, several pie pumpkin seedlings, and a couple of wee little white pumpkin plants, too.  Then I covered the whole bed with a deep, deep layer of straw.  My hope was that the pumpkins would grow well enough to shade the dirt and prevent many weeds from coming through.  And I also hoped we'd have pumpkins to decorate for the October wedding we are planning.

My plan appears to be a success. The leaves are so lush and dense that it is hard to see the pumpkins, but I poked around a little and there are a good few in there. Not many weeds though, which is a happiness.

I put a pretty little arbor in the middle of the bed, and planted some morning glories.  They are happy, too.

I am enjoying my easy pumpkin garden so much I may do it from now on.

Meanwhile, my flower gardens are pretty happy, too.

I planted an old, wobbly, wheelbarrow with a bunch of flowers that I bought very inexpensively late in the summer.  They like it there.

My busy summer gardens are bright and happy things.

Puppy camp...

Bravo and I have been taking classes at Wag It ever since he was a wee pup.  It's fun, and he is a good boy. I've met nice people there, and it is an excellent reason to leave the house once in a while.  For years I have been hearing about Wag It Camp, and always thought it sounded like a ton of fun.  "If I ever had the right dog, that would be neat to do." I thought.

Last winter, on a cold night, I read more about camp, and saw pictures.  Happy looking people and dogs frolicking in the water and sunshine and working in teams on brightly colored training courses.  I looked down at Bravo by my feet and said to my husband, "There is something I'd like to do..."  He perked right up.  "Let's do it!" he said.  "No, it's something just for me, and Bravo," I explained. I told him all about camp.  "You should go," he said.  "I'd be away for 4 nights," I said. He hates it when I am away. "GO!" he said. "You'd have to take care of the animals," I said.  "Just go," he insisted.  "It's kind of expensive," I said. He handed me a debit card.  "Make the deposit," he said.  And I did.

I was giddy with excitement.  For months I happily anticipated spending time on a beautiful New England lake with my dog and other dog-loving people. The days ticked by, and last weekend I packed up my little truck and my good pup and off we went.  Camp Marist on Lake Ossipee  in New Hampshire.  It was everything I imagined.  A beautiful piece of land, dotted with white buildings all trimmed in forest green.  A sand beach crescent embraced the clear, summer-warmed waters of the lake.  Mountains arched behind it, their faces ever changing in the light.

We spent a good bit of time on that shore... swimming with dogs, throwing toys for dogs, watching the loons swim, the sun set, the mist rise.  There were funny floats to ride, wildlife to watch, and the pleasant sound of small, rippling waves kissing the land.

Each day had a calendar with offerings of training classes and other activities one could enjoy. It was often hard to choose.

Bravo was a very good boy.  Here he is waiting for a class to begin. Like a gentleman.

For 5 days I didn't have to plan, prepare or clean up after a meal. And though I enjoy cooking, this was a treat.  I stayed in a room in a cabin, with a clearly discernible scent of testosterone in the air.  But the mattress was reasonably comfortable, and my new sleeping bag was soft and cozy.   I went to bed before 9 every night, and slept hard.  Bravo and I woke at 5 each morning and went for rambling walks, exploring the property.

 Morning activities began with guided meditation on the beach, evenings were ended with bonfires, s'mores and friendly chats.  And in between, time with our dogs.  It was... pretty darn great.

Back at home, Chris and Rachel did my chores, and Rachel groomed in the studio. She had a terrible cold, but never let on, afraid I would come right home. She is kind and tough as nails.
It felt weird to be there when they were here.  But soon enough I was back, and I seamlessly slid into the rhythm of my normal days.  A little more rested, refreshed, and more closely bonded with Bravo.

Camp.  It was a marvelous, indulgent, delicious little adventure.

Subscription boxes...

Subscription boxes are all the rage now.  People enroll for a service and every month get a happy delivery in the mail.  Wine of the month, perfume of the month, candy, make up, socks, even beard oils.  I, too, have happily subscribed to have something special brought to my house.

My niece, Aimee, was visiting recently, and I delightedly showed her my delivery.

"Coconut chips with chocolate?" she asked.  "Oh, much BETTER!" I replied.  These are fly predator larvae.  A funny look crossed her pretty face.  I went on to explain.  "When they begin to hatch, I sprinkle them around the pasture.  Little bugs,thousands of them, disperse and eat fly larvae.  Since I've been getting these, we have far fewer flies. And when you live on a farm, there are always way too many flies."  I was excited, telling her about my happy discovery.

Her lips twitched a little.  She turned away.

Later she chuckled when she said, "Some people get subscription boxes with lingerie, lipstick, record albums, yarn... you?  You get BUGS."  Her lips twitched some more "Only you."  I had to see the humor.  I guess it does take a certain someone to be happy when the mail delivery lady brings a box of bugs.