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gardenmama's Blog
Oh the weather outside is frightful......
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 6:00 pm Well it arrived a few hours late, but it is making up for that! The snow was supposed to start around 4 this morning but it didn't start until around 9ish. When it started it really meant to make up for lost time. My mother in law and I went out to shovel at around 11 and there was already about 6 inches of snow on the ground. We spent about an hour clearing paths, the driveway and stairs. We will go out again in a few hours and do another pass over everything. Better to do a little bit at a time instead of trying to do a foot all at once. At this rate we will have well over a foot when it is all said and done. About an hour after the snow started we got a call from Logan's school. They decided after talking with the bus company that it would not be a good idea to have buses on the road tomorrow. So Logan is officially on christmas break. I should hear late tonight or early in the morning if the school I drive for will have school. I can hope and wish they are smart and cancel as well. I went out last night before the snow started and took pictures of the lite up wreathes against the snow. 
After shoveling today I took the camera out to get pictures of the yard. The snow is piling up quickly and soon all the trellises will be far under the snow. 
The snow certainly is pretty, as long as you don't have to go drive in it! The town plow just passed the house for the first time today. With the economy the way it is they are reducing the number of hours they have available for plowing etc. The state roads as well. Driving this winter will be a challenge. This blog entry has been viewed 353 times
Wonderful smells of christmas goodies.
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:33 am Today was the perfect day to get the Christmas baking started and completed! After hitting the local super Walmart to get the Christmas food shopping done, then the liquor store to get some liquid refreshments I came home and began and to my surprise finished all the baking that I needed to get done. My mother in law and husband love mince meat pies. In England she can find mini pies made by Mr. Kipling but we can't find them here. Sometimes we can find them on a good English Import Food site but this time they were out. So i decided to tackle the job. I don't like them but I decided I would try and make them. So with a bottle of None Such and some pre-made pastry( I have to be in the prefect mood to make homemade crust or it ails every time.) I fitted the pastry into muffin tins and sealed up the edges and baked them. 7 were made and there are now 6. I asked my mother in law to try one and tell me if they were close enough to the Mr. Kipling. BINGO...PERFECT! Then on to 3 batches of banana bread. I decided that this year I would make banana breads as gifts for the office staff and mechanics at work as well as Logan's teachers. The 3 batches made 12 mini loaves of bread. They smell so nice. I add cinnamon to the bread dough. My husband asked me to make a Gingerbread Cake. So our afters on Christmas Eve will be a Gingerbread cake. I decided to make that today as well. I was in a groove. Full of energy for a little while and decided that I might as well get it all done today. SINCE tomorrow will be spent shoveling out from the 3rd major winter storm this week. I had enough of the gingerbread cake batter to make the Snowman mold as well as a mini loaf. We had the mini loaf tonight for our afters with whipped cream. So that is all the baking that I needed to finish. I had made 3 batches of shortbread cookies back at the beginning of November and all we have to do tomorrow is dip them in chocolate and crushed nuts. Here is a picture of the days efforts. 
On Wednesday we got a nasty winter storm that dropped about 6 inches of snow. Friday it started to snow and it lasted all night and this morning we had nearly a foot. A winter storm warning has been issued for tonight into Monday afternoon. We can expect to get well over a foot before it is over. I will be taking pictures this weekend and posting them. It is so pretty however it is a lot of work to get it out of the way. This blog entry has been viewed 344 times
Ice storm, christmas trees and sledding...
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:12 pm Hello everyone. It has been awhile lets see if I remember how to do this. I haven't had a lot to blog about in awhile. This time of year is busy, busy, busy and not very much to talk about though. This past Thursday into Friday we got our first good winter storm of the season. In Groton we got about 8 inches of heavy snow and a bit of freezing rain. We were lucky not to loose power but there are homes all over Nh, Vt and MA that are still without power. My mother lives an hour south and she was without power for about 18 hours and so was my brother. The further south you head the more damage from the storm. Here are some of the pictures I have of the ice we have in our yard. 
It is so pretty to see the ice sparkling in the sun on the trees, but it is also so devastating. I hope to get some pictures of the more heavily laden trees during the week. It hasn't warmed up enough yet for the ice to start to melt. On Friday afternoon I picked out our Christmas tree. The one I choose at the nursery wasn't too badly covered with ice. This lovely balsam was partially under cover. I wanted a Frazier Fur but they were totally out in the open and were completely encased in ice. The poor things all battered from the storm. We left the tree on our sunporch for 24 hours to thaw a bit and then brought it into the house and put towels all around it to catch the melting ice. It opened rather nice and is perfect for the small space. 
Here it is fully decorated: 
Logan has a Thomas the Tank Christmas Engine and we set up a nice track under the tree. Last year it went around the tree but it was a real pain, this year it is in the front and is perfect. Here is Logan with his cousin Quinn watching the train under the tree. 
Logan's nannie b arrived last week and here is with his other favorite lady. 
My brother and his family came over today for lunch a some sledding fun. Here are some shots of the kids and some adults sledding down our front yard. 
I bought a gingerbread house kit this year. I thought it was would be a great project for me and Logan to do together. Well....I was wrong. The icing hardened very quickly, the candy pieces were so small neither of us could handle them and we kept dropping them. And the icing was so thick that it broke my icing bag! But I tried my best and this is the outcome. 
I hope everyone is well out in stewland. Happy holidays to everyone. Last edited: Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:20 pm This blog entry has been viewed 568 times
The day out with Thomas adventure....
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:18 pm Hello everyone. Now that I have a few moments I can tell you all about our adventure to Connecticut last weekend. Logan and I were up and out of the house by 8am. We stopped in E. Thetford to pick up my friend Nancy and her 5 year old son Brennen. We had 1 more stop to make. We picked up the rental car in White River and off we went. We were on our way by 9:15. We made great time we were in Hartford by noon. We picked up my aunt and had lunch. We got to Essex, Ct around 2pm. Just in time to see Thomas load all his passengers and take them on their ride. The Essex Train Museum was the location for the Day Out With Thomas. There was food vendors, free kiddie rides and lots of other fun activities for the kids. Logan and Brennen had a great time. We rode the merry go round and another kiddie ride before we had to queue for the 3pm ride. Thomas was in Essex to help the #97 steam train pull all the coaches filled with the excited kids and their parents. Logan, Nancy, Brennen, my aunt theresa and myself got to ride in the #8 car which was right behind Thomas. Once on the train the conductor handed out special Jr. Engineer certificates to all the kids. There was a story teller telling lots of stories about Thomas and the days train ride. There was also a lot of Thomas The Tank tunes being played on the train. Logan and I had done day out With Thomas before when he was 3. That was a very hot and humid day and that took away some of the fun. But Saturday in Connecticut was gorgeous! It was sunny and in the mid 60's. Perfect weather for the trip. After our train ride we went into the Imagination Station where the kids could play with toy trains, color and watch Thomas Cartoons. Then it was off to the gift shop! All sorts of Thomas merchandise plus a model railway all set up. This I think might have been Logan's favourite part of the day. He ran around that huge model railway table for over a half an hour watching the 2 trains and making up stories about them......then it was the end of the day. After we got to the car we got to see Thomas getting put away for the night. Thomas the steam engine does move by himself but he has a special helper that is a Diesel Engine that does most of the work. Here is Logan and Brennen climbing on a HUGE Thomas made out of LEGOS! 
Logan doesn't really like the up and down horses on the Merry Go Round so we sit in a carriage. 
Before out ride Logan got to speak to one of Thomas' Engineers. All the men are very friendly and put on a great show for the kids. 
Here is Nancy, Brennen, Logan and myself in front of Thomas the Tank Engine. 
Logan is surprised when we start to move! 
Thomas getting put into a shed for the night. 
After we left Thomas we decided to drive 2 exits to the CT Shore. It was a gorgeous afternoon and my friend Nancy had never seen the end of the Connecticut River. The CT River runs the entire length of Vermont and dumps into Long island Sound. This is in Old saybrook. 
The adventure was great. That night we all sacked out in my aunt's livingroom for a long nap. Afer breakfast on Sunday morning we took the boys to a park to let them run and play. The weather wasn't so warm then but the kids had a good time. 
To end the trip was fantastic. After exchanging the rental for my car and dropping off nancy we picked up a pizza and were home just after 6 on Sunday night. It was a long ride but so worth it. What great memories we made last week. This blog entry has been viewed 919 times
Halloween Pictures....What a Spooky Evening.....whaaaaa whaa
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:43 am We had a great Halloween. I was dressed all day as I drove the bus. the kids love it. I should have brought my camera to get pics of the other drivers but I forgot. Opps... Logan had a Halloween Party at school after lunch. He had a great time. He painted a pumpkin at school and got lots of treats from the teachers. We ate dinner around 4:30 last night....waited and waited for it to get dark and then we headed out to a night of trick or treating....well more like an hour. We walk to a few of the houses right near us on the hill and then we drive into down and walk to about 10 houses that do trick or treating. Logan got a good haul. One of the houses did chips, a juice and a bag of candy. the night was cool but not too cold. I was expecting it to be freezing, since the weather this week has been a bit snowy and brurry but it was about 35 and not too bad. Here are pictures from the day and spooky night. 
We hope that everyone in Stew land has a safe and fun Halloween! Have a great weekend. Logan and I are off in a few hours to head to day out with Thomas! This blog entry has been viewed 494 times
It's Pumpkin time!!
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:45 pm Hello everyone..I haven't disappeared, just very busy with work. Last weekend I went to CT for a wedding. We have been very busy up here with work. We actually had some snow a few miles up the hill from us this week. But this weekend the weather has been sunny and gorgeous! Yesterday morning I spent some time carving 4 of my best pumpkins. I had to throw away 4, they had gone soft and were rotten. I gave away 2 to my mom and aunt. Here are the pictures of the pumpkins. I will be posting more pictures in the next week of Halloween. 
Next Saturday Logan and I are heading to Ct again to go to "day out with Thomas". We have done this before up in North Conway , NH. A life size Thomas the Tank Steam Engine pulls coaches and we get to ride. There are also a lot of other activities. I will be posting pictures of our weekend away. I hope all you stewies out there are doing well. I will be back soon with more goings on. I plan to try and get pictures of a snowy mountain this week. Ug...SNOW! This blog entry has been viewed 409 times
The spookiest time of year is coming.....
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 12:49 pm My FAVORITE time of year in about to start..I LOVE HALLOWEEN! I love the pumpkins, the ghosts and goblins...vampires, werewolfs everything. Last year Logan was the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz and I was Dorothy. The year before he was a frog and I was mother nature. Logan loves it as well. This year Logan is going to be Indiana Jones and I, a mime. We won't match this year but it will still be fun. I make caramel popcorn balls for halloween treats and give out plain popcorn as well. This year I will have a batch of warm cider on the porch for the parents. This weekend we finished cleaning up the yard and we finally pulled out the decorations to decorate the yard. 3 years ago when we moved in I made wooden lawn decorations. Pumpkins that are 3D and lite up at night, candy corn, cats etc. Here are pictures of our spooky decorations: 3 witches park their brooms here and call this house their home. 
This is the witch I melted last year as Dorothy. 
Fall decorations: 
Last edited: Mon Oct 13, 2008 12:50 pm This blog entry has been viewed 362 times
Busy, Busy Busy
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:09 am Hello everyone...Np pictures to post today, I have been way tooooo busy driving bus this week. I have picked up about 15 extra driving hours on top of the 27 hours I normally drive. I am out of the house at 5:30am and I get home at night at 5pm. A LOOOOOOOOOONGGGGGGGGGG day! The school I drive for a school that has had to move into temporary classrooms due to roof and school that has been condemned. the roof isn't up to code, the ceiling and walls are full of mold and the electrical isn't up to code. They moved 4 grades into a National Guard Armory that isn't being used right now. the kids that I bus to school are special needs and they have a classroom elsewhere. But the hours I have picked up are busing all the special needs kids to other activities during the day ei: gym, art, music etc. 3 small runs a day but it adds up. My driving ankle is sore but I will get used to it. Everyone is so upset at the situation. The building is only 17 years old and it was being re shingled this summer when they determined that the roof was failing. Upon further investigation they found the mold and determined that the building was never built to code. They are very lucky the roof did collapse last winter with all the snow we got. Support beams and trusses were cracked. Now the mold problem has been found and they condemned the building. They moved the kids out and are waiting to see if they can raise the bond to fix the school. To the cost of 2.1 million or better. They hope to be back in the school in 3 months but at this point more people think it will be half a year or better. I will pop on here from time to time. I hope to be able to take some pictures this weekend. The foliage is at it's peak and very beautiful. I hope everyone out there is stew land is well. Goodbye for now. This blog entry has been viewed 388 times
Foliage in Vermont
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 5:11 pm Fall is in full swing in Vermont. The cooler nights and cooler days have started the leaves turning and they are gorgeous! It has been several years since I can remember wanting to "leaf peep" in my own state. Last week before the rains came I had my camera with me in the bus. These are a few pictures that I took on the hill that we live on. 
The garden is nearly cleaned out. Today I put a mixture of bone meal, blood meal and lime in the tires that the tomato plants came out of. To start rebuilding the soil for spring. 
Not all is dead and dying. Somehow we have managed not to get a deadly frost here. My wild roses are still blooming and gorgeous. They seem so much more colorful this time of year because everything around them is dull and brown. The morning glories are still doing well and give the arbor some nice color this time of year. 
The pumpkins were cut off the vine a few weeks ago and they have been sitting out in the sun and are ripening very nicely. 
Today I spent the morning cleaning out my largest flower bed, pulling out the glads and dahlias and getting them ready to get put away for winter. I was going to plant my fall bulbs in this flower bed but there really isn't enough room....so to my honeys dismay I started digging up the grass around our well . I planted daffodils, tulips and crocuses here. I also tore up all the flowers in the large tractor tire on the front lawn and put in black and deep purple tulips as well as irises, hyacinths, crocuses and some more daffs. I can't wait for spring to come and see the wonderful color. Finally some color to take pictures of in the spring! This blog entry has been viewed 412 times
Autumn is here and the garden is winding down.
Category: Michele's Garden | Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:29 pm Oh it has been a busy week or so. This time of year there is a lot of cleaning up to do, getting things ready for winter and back to work and school. Last weekend we spent sometime on Saturday cleaning up the garden. We had had a few cool nights and the pumpkin vines were dead, so we cut all the pumpkins off and pulled out the vines. We got 12 nice carving pumpkins. Some are not orange yet but they are getting there. The string beans were done producing so they were ripped out and a few more of the tomato plants. we haven't had a killing frost yet , so every weekend we just pull another cherry tomato plant out that is done producing. All that is left in the garden are a few tomato plants and lots of weeds where the pumpkins were planted. We were going to pull it all out this weekend but the rains are a comin'. So we will be doing a lot of inside chores and cooking. Last of the beans, huge and tough. 
Last of the zucchini's 
The dying garden 
the green bean pole is empty now. you can also see one of the last cherry tomato plants in the back ground. 
Some of my pumpkins with my mums in the rock garden. Soon I will have it all spooked out with the Halloween decorations. 
There was a special Kindergarten lunch on tuesday. Logan could invite a parent or grandparents for lunch. My mom and I both went and had lunch with him. We got to see some of his artwork while we were there. 
Last Sunday my mom, honey and I took logan to Clark's trading post in Lincoln, Nh. It is about 45 minutes from here. It is a place where they have been raising the american black bear for nealry 60 years. It is located on the White Mountain Railroad. This was the Railroads 50th year. We road a caboose, railbus, train and rail wagon. It was a day of trains and a lot of fun for Logan. Here are some of the days pictures. the last picture is of the "wolfman". he lives on the branch of the White Mountain Railroad and trys to chase off the train. He hates tourists and wants us to go away. He chases the train in an old car and lets off firecrackers and an airgun. It is a lot of fun. We did this train ride twice. Clark's is a great place to visit while in the White Mountains. 
This blog entry has been viewed 835 times
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