A Glamorous Weekend

I did not expect the snow but it is winter so I guess I should not be surprised.  If you have to get stuck somewhere by snow, it might as well be here at the hippie house where we have plenty of work to do and a cozy fireplace.  This weekend Irv and I did the following glamorous things ( not in glam order):

1.  Cleaned up dog vomit

2.  Cleaned up dog vomit again except this time off the (NEW) couch

3.  Washed previously mentioned dog vomit from couch and blankets

4.  Ironed couch covers and got a vigorous workout trying to put them back on the couch (they resisted but I fought back)

5.  Steamed wallpaper off of walls (Irv - brave man.). Recently someone in a paint store told me they loved removing wallpaper - I said 'what are you nuts!'  One of the worst jobs in the world next to cleaning up dog vomit.

6.  Scraped paint off of French door windows

7.  Visited by a neighbor who wanted to let me know that she saw what she believed was a rabid raccoon in our yard.  All I could think about was me walking down the street with a foaming rabid raccoon heading my way and Irv does his Atticus Finch thing and shoots it.  So far, we have not spotted the critter (and don't want to) and Irv does not have a gun ( unlike the rest of the neighbors).  BTW:  this weekend was the end of hunting season.  Irv said earlier in the week it sounded like an artillery range in the back of the house with the locals getting their last licks at the resident duck population.  Daffy can rest easy for a while.

8.  Primed over VERY RED bathroom walls (me)

9.  Primed over ceiling, trim and wainscoting in (former) wallpaper room.  I am on a primer roll.

10.  Cooked what had to be the largest turkey meatloaf on the planet ( size wise - I mean it called for 5 lbs of ground turkey which should have been my first clue. Lesson to self:  READ the recipe before you begin).  It goes without saying that the dogs and Irv were fueled by turkey meatloaf for days.

My newly primed bathroom.  The claw foot tub is going to be a pain to redo but one step at a time

The good news is I just met another neighbor ( very nice young couple next door) while walking the dogs this morning.  He says he loves living here and apologized that his dog barks a lot (he says her bark is much worse than her bite).  Until now I have been calling it the mean dog house .  I can now call it Cary and Maureen's house.

Finally on another good note Nancy called to say the Ox design has been submitted.  Operation 'Secure the Ox' at Filling Station Studios so far is on course.  Another sneak peek - she is fabulous!!!  ( both Nancy and the design). 

    Agricolox the Ox!

A Gray Winter's Day - Time to Make Jam

January is usually the month that Seville oranges arrive in local markets and the month 2 years ago that Irv and I traveled to England to learn how to make real British marmalade.  Today we went to Whole Foods to see if they had Sevilles since I want to try and make the Seville Orange Black Pepper Jelly we also made 2 years ago.  Nothing.  The produce guy said they had some but they can't keep them on the shelves they get sold so fast. What?  When did all these Princetonians start making marmalade?  Now I'm on a freaking waiting list to get called when they come in.  Crazy!

So I went home and made a mixed berry jam using some blackberries I had picked in our garden over the summer with some strawberries and raspberries.

The house smelled like summer.  They came out great.  

In the meantime, Nancy has been working on a design for our Hopewell Valley 'Ox' that is due next week to the selection Committee.  Here is a sneak preview - 

Now I have to capture in writing the 'essence' of the design - Summertime in the Hopewell Valley??  Maybe the smell of berry jam will get me inspired.....

Vintage Rhode Island

It being a cold and blustery day, we of course decided to try and walk the beach.  It was so cold we all turned around and headed for the warm car and some Rhode Island seafood.  We stopped and I was able to take a picture of Watch Hill (and Taylor Swift's house on the point).  This picture looks like the vintage postcard I bought of Newport yesterday.

We decided to explore a bit and drive around Narragansett, Galilee and Point Judith and came upon a number of New Year's Day 'Penguin Plunges' happening on various beaches.  It was so cold you wonder how they do it.  We stopped near the Block Island Ferry terminal for a great  ( and very large) fish lunch and a local 'Gansett

Love this logo.

Nancy motors back to NJ tomorrow and we hope she beats the snow storm.  Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and Welcome 2014!

We have been spending the week in CT with family and friends visiting around the clock.  So much food,  Thank goodness we got a chance to walk the Barn Island trails behind the house.  We discovered an old family cemetery (the Burdick family) at the end of our road with grave stones dating from the late 1700's to mid-to-late 1800's.  Research on the web says it is haunted so we will never be alone!  

Yesterday we trekked to Newport (only an hour away) to stroll through town and visit the mansions.  Nancy, Abby and I visited The Breakers, but we were not allowed to take photos inside.  A great day to visit as there were few tourists.

  

Today we are going to visit some of the RI beaches (it's cold out but may be some good strolling).  Maybe we will run into a lobster.