Good Morning, Geese!!!

Good Morning!!!  

Check out this incredibly beautiful sunrise shot of an early morning at Hearthstone!  I had to share as I am feeling extra blessed this week that I get to wake up to such breathtaking views in the mornings.  The sun has been hiding most of this year, therefore I can truly appreciate watching the sun rise over the horizon during this especially cold winter week.  The sun streams in the windows at the cottage as we are cozy inside!  Trust me when I say that the pictures do not even do this place justice!  

I do have to share with you that I am becoming quite the bird expert.  I am still getting used to the incessant squawking heard in the early mornings and late evenings around here.  Literally hundreds of geese fly over our neighbor's pond and land in ours.  The running joke is that we need Don out there as the "scare-geese"!  They even have the audacity to try to literally tear each other apart on the pond!  Nothing seems to scare them off...i.e. me standing there, making noise, or adamantly insisting that it really is quite too cold for them to be here this late in the winter.   Hello?!?!  What happened to heading south for the winter?!?!  Anyways, it is quite interesting to watch them coordinate their arrivals/departure.  It is arguably even more synchronized than trying to fly out of an active airport!  They fly out in groups, squawking all the way.  During the seemingly never ending fog early this year, it was interesting to watch them try to seek out their  favorite (unfortunately) spot with such low visibility.  As I hesitantly ventured out in the freezing air this morning, I only managed to get a distance picture of the flock on the pond (see the picture below).  The sweet little duck families scram to get away from their impeding arrival/departure as lines are drawn on our forever busy pond!  Poor things!  Here is my "thus far verdict"...the noise could be somewhat soothing (like my old beloved dead noise of traffic) although I would prefer it in far lesser numbers!  :)  Baby-steps, folks, as I adjust to country living!! 

Love to all!

The geese (or at least a fraction of them!)

Nice weather = a little work!!

Although it was so foggy this weekend, we did enjoy the warmer temperatures!!! Roger and I had a great Sunday working on clearing out the house. Our goal was to rid the patio of the debris. We got everything but the leaves. It felt so good to finally be working on something again. I cannot wait for warmer weather And more daylight!!! It's such a tease to be there all of the time and unable to feel like we are accomplished anything!! Today provided the perfect opportunity to pick up where we left off and dream a little too!! So many options and so much to do!! We couldn't be more excited!! Here are a few pictures of our fun work day together.

Settlement Picture!

Here is the long awaited settlement picture!  We could not have asked for smoother proceedings and we have these special people to thank for that!  What an awesome group of people who showed the essence of teamwork to achieve this goal!  Congratulations to all involved!  You are all so special to us and we have enjoyed getting to know you through the many, many months leading up to this event.  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your hard work and dedication to this project.  Literally, we could never have our dream home without you.  You have an open invitation to Hearthstone any time!!!  Love, thanks, and blessings to all!

Sean, Scott, Mark, Rocky, Brey, Roger, Audrey, Jack, and Diana

White Christmas

How blessed were we with such a beautiful white Christmas? I could hardly believe my eyes as I was getting ready for our Christmas Eve service and saw the first few snowflakes drop outside the cottage window. It seems so fitting that it would snow for our first Christmas at Hearthstone!!! Even better was when we came back from the service, the driveway was plowed for us!! Thank you Don and Donnie!! Here are some pictures. :) we hope that everybody had as wonderful a holiday as we did!! We continue to feel so incredibly blessed!!

Settlement

We are officially HOME!!!! Settlement went through without a hitch on December 21, 2012 with all of the key players in attendance (check back for a picture!). We could not feel more blessed, thankful, humble, and ecstatic! (As evidenced by my photographing the entire ordeal and jumping up and down). We cannot thank Scott enough (we could not have done this without you!!!!!!), Jack!, Sean, Mark, Butlers, and the rest who have worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality!! (Check back later for more pictures and details )

I couldn't resist posting some pictures from my cell to share with you all until I post a more detailed account of the proceedings. Thank you to ALL for their best wishes, love, prayers, and support as we have reached this milestone in our journey. It is ours!!

Emily & Erica's Visit

A couple of weeks ago, my step-sister, Emily, and her boyfriend, Jim, flew in to surprise Erica over Thanksgiving break.  I was so excited when my stepsisters came over to Hearthstone with their boys to check out the property.  We had fun walking around and seeing it again through their eyes.  I can't ever imagine turning into this driveway and not appreciating the beauty and magic of this place.  It is so amazing!  We got to hang out and enjoy each other's company even though the visit was way too short in my account.  We love you guys and thank you for being so excited for us!!  We had such a great time walking around, catching up, and sharing laughs as we always do!   <3

The waterfall is always such a huge hit :)

Erica <3

Emily & Erica

Jim & Emily

Roger and Felix checking out the massive bamboo forest!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

We are finally getting into our holiday spirit!  My Mimi, Jo, and Mom brought a truckload of decorating goodies!  Rocky went off to search for the perfect greens and Holly branches with berries.  We had Christmas music going at full blast and had a grand 'ole time!  Later, Roger, Anne, and Peter worked on decorating the large wreath for the driveway and carriage house/garage.  All was picked from our grounds, with Mami's touch of making the perfect bow...they turned out fantastically!  (Now only if it weren't for the blue colorr trim.....).  

You can see the kiddos peeking through enjoying watching the cold ones outside hanging the decorations :)

"Here Uncle!  Look at all these pine cones."  

Roge is apparently very skilled at decorating holiday wreaths :)

Mom, Roge, and Rocky getting together the wreaths and greens :)

Jo and Mimi were a huge blessing to my heart and a huge help in the festivities!!

I am SO SO SO Excited to finally be getting into the Christmas spirit!  Thanks ALL for helping/teaching me how to use fresh greens for decorations everywhere!

Check back for pictures of the live  (not to be confused with "permanent") tree that Rocky sent over.  Reilly helped us decorate it.  I think I will save that story and pictures for the next blog.

Happy Holidays!!!  xoxo

Gumdrop Trees

Here is one of Nana's delicious traditions we continued this holiday season at Hearthstone. After walking to collect greens and holly from the property, we cut a couple of pieces of the lemon tree's pointy branches. Next, we mixed up a bit of plaster into the bottom of a gardening pot. Once dried, it was the perfect gum drop holder. Nana used to do this same exact thing for her holiday table. Check out the pictures!

Daily Local News Article

A gentlemen, Bill Rettew, from the Daily Local News came over on Saturday to do a story on the exciting renovations at Hearthstone. We spent time walking the grounds and chatting about the history of the property. Today, the story is printed in the paper. Check out the link! Thanks so much Bill!!


http://www.dailylocal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121203/NEWS01/121209888