Monday, October 31, 2022

October 2022

 Another month has come and gone.  Most of the leaves have fallen, the weather has changed over, and holiday madness is about to begin.  We have a busy month.  Arlington came in for a quick visit - it was nice to see her.  She works every weekend and is so busy with school we don't get to see her much these days.  Finley went to her annual retinal specialist appointment and the news was excellent - no changes.  She has been stable for 5 years now.  Cainan went to the homecoming dance.  Pluto has gotten quite a bit bigger and is 4 months old now.  The chickens are still doing well-we insulated their coop for the winter, and we now have two chickens laying eggs.  

Enjoy the pictures from the month

We took Arlington out to dinner while she visited.  I know her siblings were glad to see her

Always grateful for good news when it comes to Finley's appointments.



Cainan looking very handsome for his Homecoming Dance.  After the dance he went to a party with his friends.  Finley and her friends went bowling.



And a couple of random pictures for the month

Finley made Brioche bread - it turned out great!


Pluto photo dump.  He is now 24 inches tall sitting and 30 pounds





He graduated from his Beginner Obedience class









Chicken antics - we saw online that if you gently scrape a few areas on a pumpking the chickens will do the rest.  They did not disappoint



We insulated their coop to make them snuggly for the winter.  Once the winter turns cold for good we will insulate their run.  We don't have electricity to the coop but heard they don't need it if we do a few things to shelter them from the wind.


This is Eggy.  She was our first laying hen.  She is always the first to greet me at the run door when I bring out the snacks


Two eggs a day now!  The one on the right is a light green color and is being laid by our Easter Egger, Hennifer


My sister in law sent me some chicken socks just for fun - they are fantastic!











Friday, September 30, 2022

September 2022

 Fall is underway.  Kids are back in school and we have a new puppy in our house!  We are TIRED.  IT has been 11 years since we have had a puppy and 5 months since we had a dog at all, and we have forgotten how busy a puppy can be.  He is doing well - potty training is going well, sleeping in the crate has been easy, and he has even started puppy classes and obedience classes.  He is so cute and sweet.


10th grade is underway!


Puppy picture overload.  Pluto came to us from a breeder in Oaklahoma.  After our first breeder fell through, we did a nationwide search looking for someone who fit what we were looking for.  That is when we found Paige and Fife and Wife Bernedoodles.  He came to us via flight nanny and it went so smoothly.  We got him on September 10th at almost 9 weeks old.









He did great at his first vet visit.  The breeder told us when he got his first round of shots with her, he had some difficulty, so our vet gave him benadryl before these shots and he did great.  







And then some randoms from the month.  I finished the puzzle from Mosaic - it was so fun!






This is Eggy - still our only laying hen - no one else has joined in the fun yet


Finley has some really great friends and those friends have some really great moms.  I am so glad to have gotten to know Kassy and Cynthia through their daughter's friendships with Finley







Wednesday, August 31, 2022

August 2022

 Another full month.  Cainan ended up getting Covid, but the girls did not, thank goodness.  Everyone has recovered well - only the cough lingered a long time.  Finley participated in the Boston Fan Expo again with her art and made about $800.  Her table wasn't in as good of a spot as last year,but she still did very well with her selling.  We picked our puppy - we have a new dog joining our family at the beginning of September and we cannot wait.  It has been 5 months since Scooby died, and we are ready for another dog.  Arlington moved into an apartment for her junior year at UMass.  Her first time living off campus, but she isn't far away. And she has her car.  We went on a 5 day vacation just a little north of us to a lake in New Hampshire.  Just a change of scenery to end our summer.  School starts on the 7th of September.  We are not ready for the lazy days of summer to end.

Finley at Boston Fan Expo (Comic Con)


Arlington's apartment is really cute.  She is sharing it with a roomate.  It is two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and two floors.  A nice starter place. We got her all settled with a Uhaul and two cars.








Right before we went to the lake we found out which puppy we are getting.  Our breeder does the Volhard Puppy test for temperment and we actually got our first choice (After seeing the test results).  We were thrilled.  The kids decided to name him Pluto.  He is a merle bernedoodle (mix of bernese mountain dog and a poodle).  He has one blue eye and is just the cutest.  We cannot wait.


We had a wonderful time at the lake in New Hampshire.  WE found a gorgeous house to spend the week right on the lake.  IT was private, and had all kinds of toys for the water, and a small beach to sit on.  It was a nice "puppy moon" as we were calling it to celebrate the last weeks of peace and quiet and the end of summer.  We swam, played games, and just relaxed.




Finley and I were talking about Shrinky Dinks one day and she wanted to know what they were.  Of course - Amazon had some, so we had to get them.  The kids had fun making them and watching them in the oven.



We love these one off mystery games, so we brought one along we play.  




I found a clever puzzle on Mosaic puzzles that had really unique pieces.  It was quite the chalenge, but so fun.  Here are some of the coolest puzzle pieces




A few random shots from the month of our chickens

Hennifer is our head chicken.  She is the boss of all the ladies.  When there isn't a rooster, one hen usually takes the place.  She makes sure they are all in bed at night and is the protector when people come close.  



We finished our sign for the coop of all the ladies' names


We finally have one hen laying.  Eggy started laying eggs this month.  Hopefully the other hens will follow soon.