A Wedding, a New House, and a Farm

[frustratedearthmother]

I didn't realize I had captured the Dark Horse until it was too late, and I didn't feel like moving it to take another picture.

It's Never too late to capture some Dark Horse!

 

[SustainableAg]

Thank you! That is a 12 foot tree. It smells amazing! I can't wait to have our own real tree next year.
Funny story: Mr. M and I moved into a house rental in Spring of 2016. It was an old farmhouse built in 1850. The place was a nightmare (as was the landlord), and nothing ever seemed to go right while we lived there. Fast forward to Christmas there in 2016, we went to get our first real tree together. Brought it home, put it in the base, put lights on it, and couldn't get it to stand upright. It then fell over onto Mr. M. We left our rental, drove 35 minutes to my parents house to borrow their base at 2200. Arrived back to our rental at 2300, and realized we had both left our keys inside. Landlord was 30 minutes away, and probably asleep. So, Mr. M broke the double paned front door, and Maverick (black German Shepherd) starts barking. We walk in, the glass shatters all over the enclosed porch, and Maverick is nowhere to be seen. I walk into the house to find Maverick, calling his name repeatedly. He ran upstairs to hide in our bedroom (this is a Shepherd that has never been afraid to stand anyone down), and upon hearing my voice a few times, peaks his head around the corner upstairs. While I am cleaning up the glass from the porch, Maverick comes over to check things out. Mr. M starts to help me tape up black garbage bags to the door, as it was 22* that night. Suddenly, Maverick throws up not once, not twice, but 3 times between the porch and the living room. The poor dog was so scared, he lost the entirety of his stomach contents. The next day, we go to the Depot Cheap-O to buy a new front door. $500 later, we had a new door, and a Christmas tree. Good times.

 

[SustainableAg]

We definitely laugh about it now. It wasn't so funny then. However, it made for a memorable Christmas!
My Mother and I are the most practiced bakers in the extended family, so it is almost expected of us to bring cookies to the family functions. It is a nice title to hold though, and we do so proudly.

 

[SustainableAg]

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! Had a very nice visit with the extended family today, and finally unloaded all of those cookies. Received many needed items for the new house, as well as a bunch of books about everything farm related. I can't wait to start reading!
It'll give me something to do while we wait for our closing date on the house to approach. I'm starting to get antsy thinking about everything that needs to be done. I can't wait to start cleaning the house and getting things organized. We have lived with my parents for the last 8 months while we house hunted. We are very grateful, and they are sad to see us go, but it will be a welcomed change for everyone. Can you say claustrophobic!?

 

[SustainableAg]

The closing date is February 8th, and quickly approaching! We couldn't be more excited. Then I can take land pictures and give all of you an idea of what we have to work with.

 

[SustainableAg]

I also learned some exciting news today. At our new house, there is a preexisting arrangement with a neighbor farmer that will continue to hay the property for us!!

 

[SustainableAg]

Today hubby and I went shopping for furniture for our new home. Luck was on our side today! The store was having a 1 day, invitation only sale. They don't advertise that anywhere...we literally just decided to look at furniture and stumbled upon a great deal! We saved nearly $3,000 by deciding to furniture shop today.
Our bank has also finished the loan process, and wants to close in January instead of February. Waiting to hear back from the sellers.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

My family will probably come up one of the weekend days to see it while we clean.

Hand 'em a bucket and a mop while they're there!

 

[SustainableAg]

If the family comes while I'm in the middle of something, they are getting put to work! I like the way you think FEM. I can't wait to get some pictures for everyone. I will attach an aerial view of the property. There is an easement in the back pasture for the neighbor farmer to access his fields on either side. He is also the neighbor that currently hays the property. The front pasture (the current hay field) has full southern exposure. Would hate to lose the hay feature...but we have many garden and animal projects that would make haying the area difficult. This will take some careful planning.

 

[SustainableAg]

Wow, so many things have happened since my last entry. We closed on the house on the 25th and met the sellers, who told us so many useful things about the property. Apparently, we are sitting on a goldmine of maple trees, which produce a massive amount of maple syrup every year. We learned about the neighbors, who all seem lovely! I can't wait to bake cookies and shake some hands. We also learned that the sellers use to raise pot bellied pigs and sold every piglet upon their arrival from as far away as CT and MD.
We cleaned our house from top to bottom, with the help of my parents and Mr. M's parents. We had our JD Gator trailered by Mr. M's stepdad on Sunday the 27th. Our PODS were delivered on the 28th. We spent our first (2) official night(s) in the house when we got snowed in from the 28th-30th. The furniture was due to be delivered in the Tuesday snow storm. I tried to reschedule, but to my shock and dismay, they absolutely refused to do so! We received about 6-7" of snow, which fell all day on Tuesday. It only picked up when the furniture movers had arrived. Go figure.
We had a flooring company come in and give us an estimate on new laminate floors to replace some ruined carpet and linoleum. They will be replaced on Feb. 13th&14th.
This week: our mattress arrives tomorrow; new appliances are being installed this Friday; and the cable/internet will be installed on Saturday.
We started unpacking the first POD on Friday Feb 1st, and finished unpacking it yesterday! Now our basement is stacked me-high with boxes waiting to be unpacked. Good grief!