We arrived late yesterday afternoon in Zanesville for my mother in law, Betty’s funeral. It was a nice ride here we followed John, Tracy and Jack in their car. Jack seemed to do pretty good on the ride. Jack and I are both under the weather but did ok on the long trip.I couldn’t help but reflect on all the times we made this trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma when the kids were young. About an hour before we would get here they would all get excited and antsy in the car. Betty would have cooked all our favorite things and would make her wonderful peanut butter fudge for us. They looked forward to our visits and now as grandparents we understand their excitement even more. I was blessed to have a wonderful mother in law in Betty. She was a kind and sweet person. If anyone would be the example of a true Christian, it would be Betty. she was kind and thoughtful and never judgemental.  Kathy, from Ohio and I talked on the phone before we came, talking about how good Betty had been to us when our kids were babies. She loved to watch them and never missed an opportunity to tell us what good mothers we were. She was a wonderful support system for us. Betty did not have an easy life and after Harry, (Jim’s Dad) died she lived with her family. She loved that part of her life, she loved being around her sister and family and loved her nieces and nephews. I am sure that was one of the high points in her life. I was blessed to have had great grandparents and I am very thankful that our children did too! I bet you Betty is up there making her peanut butter fudge! I know that she will be happy to see those who have gone before her, Harry and her family. i know that Betty is up there refreshed in God’s presence and taking care of others still!  We love you Betty!

Merry Christmas Noah and Family!

This is about a 5yr old named, Noah, He is in the last stages of a 2 1/2 yr battle with Nueroblastoma Cancer. His family is celebrating Christmas next week with him and Noahs request is to get lots of Christmas cards Please send cards to: Noah Biorkman 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178 Lets see how many cards we can get this little guy!

We will be thinking of you Noah! 

Hope everyone is especially nice to those little trick or treaters coming around tonight! For the last couple of years we have not had any come to either of our houses and I do miss it. I thought of the years past, dressing the kids up and taking them out. Sure do miss those times! Then Tracy sent me a picture or two of  little Jack dressed ( and undressed) and I couldn’t stop laughing! What do you think???

Well, today was suppose to be a cleaning day but I jumped when hubby asked me to go to the nursery with him to pick up some plants. We also made a stop at the farmers market and got five more  baby chicks to add to our chick nursery, LOL.    We are having a chicken coop delivered Monday and I’m sure that is going to make it a little bit easier to look after the brood.

On our way home,  Jim asked if I wanted to stop at a local winery and vineyard just a couple of miles from our farm. Let’s see, wine tasting or cleaning? Umm,  there was no thinking about it.  We stopped at Perigeaux Vineyards and Winery in St. Leonard. It was a beautiful rural setting and the co- owner, Mr. Fleming was a wonderful host as we samples a few of his wines. We left with 2 bottles.  My selection a bottle of  Perigeaux Merlot 2007, a yummy ( I am enjoying it as a type ) medium bodied wine with hints of oak and blackberry. Hubby chose a bottle of Mackall Merlot 2007, a little fuller bodied than mine with hints of raspberry.  So we may not get too much done around the farm this evening. Here is a picture from their website and a link. Check them out and come down and visit,  enjoy the fall leaves and winery! Just another excuse for our wine loving friends to come visit!

http://www.perigeaux.com

On Saturday night our goat Ivory went into labor, she was due on November 6th so she was a little early. Little Autumn Rose was born Oct 25, 2009 at 4:15 AM. She is a cutie pie! White with black on her face and feet. She is a pretty active little goat for being early but just couldn’t nurse on her Mom. We ended up milking her Mom and giving her bottles for a couple of days, now she is nursing fine. Here is a picture of her at 15 minutes old!

Autumn Rose

On Monday everyone came down to see the new baby goat and have a family dinner. Tracy & Jack visited with us. Sara and Matt, Tracy and Dad all enjoyed the Chinese food I fixed and the delicious cake from Jeneva’s Cakes in Prince Frederick. I was happy to find this bakery when we moved to Calvert County. I walked into the shop and walked out with this beautiful cake for our dinner! Thank you to the very nice lady who iced and decorated it in record time, I was impressed.

The gang loved the cake, and believe me when I say this crowd is cake consiours after all the Sugarbakers and The Cakery cakes we have grown to love! Stop by and check them out!

Cakes By Jeneva
151 Central Square Drive, Prince Frederick, Maryland  20678

We are getting ready for winter here at the farm. We have our black goat, Ebony still due on November 6th. Our Great Pyrameese, Tobi is due on Nov 15th. I am hoping she has a small litter.
There is alway lots to do at the farm with feeding and taking care of the farm and animals. There is no resting here, LOL

The pond is almost finished and ready for fish!

Jim’s Pond

On my way to work yesterday I stopped by to see Jack and Tracy and snapped a picture or two!

I will close with two more pictures of our little pumpkin taken by his parents!

Ok, so most of you know we have chickens and ducks. Two day ago our brood hen , who has been sitting on a nest for a couple of weeks hatched seven chicks. It will be a little more work for the next month or two keeping them warm but they are so darn cute! I keep thinking about all the eggs to come! The picture don’t do them justice!

Jack is here visiting with his Mommy and her friend from Texas, Karah! Everyone is having a wonderful time except little Jack who is having some stomach issues. Lucky for Jack he has some many loving arms to hold him.  I got to enjoy Jack through the night yesterday and for someone not feeling well he was a really good baby! The girls and I are having a tea this afternoon so I’ll post picture later.  Here the little guy on his one month birthday! Happy Birthday Buddy!

As the afternoon progressed Karah and Tracy went to Solomons Island and then shopping. It was tea for five when they got home. Tracy , Karah, Sara, Jack and I. Can you see Jack enjoying the tea ?  LOL. It was a lovely afternoon spent with three young woman that would make any mother proud!

Surprise ! Surprise !

Today  Tracy and Jack came for a visit, this was the first visit Jack had made to Nana and Granpap’s home! It was also the first time for little Jack to see his room here and visit with JD ( Jack’s Donkey) a miniature donkey born two weeks before Jack! I’m not sure which Little Jack is growing faster, LOL. We had a wonderful visit and Tracy was thoughtful and even brought us lunch! I soooooooooo loved our visit! Here some pictures from our visit!

Well it has been forever since I’ve written on my blog ( almost a year) so I decided to start blogging again. What a year it has been for us. There have been so many changes in our lives, I don’t even know if I can remember or recap them all.  The most wonderful change is of course the addition of our first grandchild, Jack! He is of course the most beautiful baby in the world! I’m not a proud grandma now am I? LOL.  We put a lot of thought into what we wanted to be called as grandparents and both of us decided of names used by family members before us. So I am Nana and Jim is Granpap. NO I just couldn’t think of myself as a Grandmaw, LOL. We are both loving being grandparents! One of the things I love the most is how much I loved being a Mom when Tracy, Sara and Matt were little! I loved everything about being a Mom! Tracy and John are WONDERFUL parents. I love to watch them take care of Jack, love and nurture him. Jack is very lucky to have them as his Mommy and Daddy!

Sara is busy with school and friends. She is sooo enjoying being 21! She and Raven are best buds and great company for each other. Raven is her new schnauzer ( she got him from her friends Amy and Craig, he is one of Annie’s puppies. He is really well behaved and trained.  They are quite a pair!

Matthew is still trying to find his way here in Calvert County. He rebuilt another car and just got tags  for it, so clear the roads! He is going to be helping out  as we get ready for our Oktoberfest here at the farm.

Hubby is putting in a pond that seems to get larger every day( I think he thinks I don’t notice that) I think if he had a sandbox when he was younger he wouldn’t like to play in the dirt as much as he does, HAHAH.

Well that’s all for now, time to feed the animals!

Jim and I went to the auction last night since we were both feeling better. We were just sitting there minding our own business (watching the bargins) when somone tapped me on my shoulder and said ” I want to buy something too!” What a surprise, it was Tracy and Sara. A double surprise! They had come down to see Matt for his birthday, which is today. They didn’t know that Matt had gone out with his friends and was spending the night so we got to visit with them. Tracy even got a clock at the auction! Watch out, that’s how we got started Tracy! It was nice to spend time with them and we are looking forward to going to John & Tracy’s for Jim’s birthday dinner on Sunday, so see you soon! Happy 19th Birthday Matthew! Boy I am feeling old now, your my baby! Have fun!

Since moving here to Calvert County, Jim and I are known to attend the auctions at the Chesapeake Auction & Marketplace.  Just ask our kids! We refer to it as our date night. The Marketplace and Auction house can be found just off Calvert Beach Road in St. Leonard, Maryland. It’s just a couple of minutes from our house. We’ve gotten some wonderful items from the auctions at terrific bargin prices, just check out some of the pictures of our bargins here.

We’ve gotten some really neat pieces from the auctions, Sara and Matthew are starting to catch on and have been known to even hang out with Mom and Dad there. (Sara and Matt are looking for apartment furniture!) It’s a fun place and the people who work there are really nice. We’ve also meet a lot of new people that way! It’s fun to have the Victorian style house to decorate. The people there must think we are crazy for some of the stuff we bid on, as our taste can be eclectic at times! The shops in the Market Place have a wonderful variety of antiques and collectables. The book shop is fun, brings me back to my days working in the library.  We shop for stuff that we like and makes us happy.  (I would tell everyone about our beautiful tanning bed that we got at the auction for $100.00 but you would all be over here tanning all the time! LOL.)  We are having fun and if your trying to find us on a Friday night that’s where we will be. Kay and Larry’s daughter, Nicole runs a Gourmet Snack Bar there and is an excellent cook. ( The only place I’ve had  Tuna Pasta Salad made like Nana’s.) We look forward to our dinners there. Hats off to Nicole for taking so much pride in her cooking!

Here is a sample menu from last week!

Menu
Homemade Beef Stew
Cheese Burger w/Fries
Fish & Chips
Chicken Tender w/Fries
Shrimp Basket
Hot Dogs
Nacho Pie
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Carrot Cake
White cake w/chocolate Icing

Come join us for some good old fashion fun!