Diva

This will be a quick posting. I've gotten a lot of flack for not including any photos of myself on the blog, so here's a picture of Annabel and myself. Now I know how celebrities feel - the pressure from my public and the paparazzi is just unreal. (Hey - stop rolling your eyes out there.)

Seriously, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

And So It Begins...

Stonehouse Farm has officially become a farm. Laverne & Joanne VQ, good friends/distant relatives of ours here in Colville, called a couple weeks ago to see if we would like some of their hens. We jumped at the chance, and Jordan came home a few hours later with 4 skittish hens and an, em, exhuberant rooster (let's just say that we shouldn't have a problem filling the coop!)








We had been hoping for some "layers," but the girls didn't seem to want to cooperate until yesterday morning when we found an egg. It's a good thing, too, because they were heading to the backyard butcher block and freezer this weekend. Now that they are producing eggs, Jordan is going to let them live awhile longer.

Jordan hopes that this is only the beginning of a huge menagerie of critters to make their home at Stonehouse Farm. I, on the other hand, am just hoping that the menagerie doesn't include too many field mice and snakes. And Annabel? She's just happy to have something to play with (whether they like it or not!)

Book Worm

Annabel, much to our delight, has become something of a book lover. (If you know Jordan and I at all, you know that this is a MAJOR deal - we are huge book fiends). Admittedly, Annabel still occasionally views books as a snack (especially when she's teething), but we often find her sitting quietly in the dining room (our temporary library) perusing a new title from her own shelf in the book case.

Other than that, much is the same with Annabel. She walks/runs all day long, "chatters" a lot, is very iniquisitive and now has 11 teeth (only 9 to go, but who's counting?). Her latest antics include learning how to "shush" people when she's trying to talk, using her fake laugh, and helping Daddy rearrange his tool shop. (If anyone visits and sees an 8" wrench and some wood glue, could you please let us know?)

Movin' On Up (or Out, as the Case May Be)

We hope that you had a nice Christmas and are having a Happy New Year. We very much enjoyed the holiday season, and were happy to relax for a day or two before Jordan decided that it was time to get off our proverbial tushes and start packing. During New Year's weekend, we (drum roll, please) officially moved into Stonehouse Farm. Yahoo! The move was typical - lots of last minute cramming into boxes, short tempers, threats to give away/break/burn anything that was too big or bulky to fit into a box, etc., etc. After more trips to/from the house than we'd like to admit (and this after we pared down our possessions before we moved cross country), we got settled. I'd love to report that things are all unpacked and put in their proper places, but that would be a big fat lie and my grandmother follows this blog pretty closely.

We are very grateful for the hospitality of Jordan's folks, but it's been nice to be in our own place. (And if you asked the Lentz', I think that they would wholeheartedly agree!) The house is not finished, but it's liveable. Here are a couple photos of the kitchen, play room, bathroom and my parents bedroom:

Note the "character" of the taped sheetrock and rough plaster work on the walls. This a new little design trend that we like to call "shabby chateau." This could get big, so just remember that you heard it here first.

After the move, Jordan really did take a couple weeks of light work to recuperate from the past 8 months. He is now planning to go around the house, room by room, to finish the detail work. He will start in the pantry tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.