The Chestnut Hillbillies

I love my Cuz'n Christi-She is Fun! Always up for anything that you want to get into-I really like that about her. This has been a tough visit for my Cuz-Most of our time has been spent in Dentist offices(yes, that's plural) 2 Root canels later and we are back in action! Tonight we rescued "Turk" from the Chestnut Hill Hospital!

Here she is -The latest "Matthew Project"- He is converting an old Barn into our new living space. Our other Mountian House sold in a snap so, we had to move on with our "Plan B"-We bought another piece of property around the corner and down a dirt road- 18 Acres and the biggest barn/arena I've ever seen. Huge-like you could have a skating rink inside or a football field-Huge.

Matthew bought me a cow awhile back and I named him T-Bone! He paid $28.00 for him and we kept him in the barn and all of the neighborhood kids got to bottle feed him and play with him til he just got to big for our barn! well, I guess the day he took off thru the neighborhood and Matthew couldn't catch him was the day that we decided that he needed to go! So, I asked My Amish Boyfriend - Aaron- if he could come and live with him! T-Bone was delivered and he has been at Arron's every since-getting "fattened Up" for the fall! Today , we went for a visit! "T" was happy to see us and Arron invited us over for T-bones in a few weeks! Rule #1- I don't eat my pets-never ever not ever! So, we'll be going to have a nice chicken dinner with Aaron and his family real soon.

You never know what each day will bring and especially if you live at my house! Today - At "the crack of dawn" Matthew got us all up and we loaded ourselves into "The woody" and headed out to the Amish Country to "The minature Horse and Donkey Auction".......I have no words -but, Pictures to tell the story. The END of the story is that we came home with a Pony and a buggy and the kids in the neighborhood are smiling! What a Day!

We planted a small Garden out in the back yard-Mostly so the kids in the neighborhood could see how things grow-That's important. Today ,We picked our 1st Carrots and Jackson and I got busy making " Carol Ann Waltman's " very famous Carrot Cake! (Only famous if you grew up on Union Avenue in Bogalusa , Louisiana) It's easy and this "Made from Scratch" Goodie is one you'll want to tuck away in your recipe book. Great for when your fresh carrots are ready! Here's the 1-2-3 of it.. Carol Ann Waltman's Carrot Cake 2 C. Sugar 1 1/2 C. oil 2 C. grated fresh from your garden Carrots (just kidding , any carrots will do) 2 C. Self rising Flour 1 1/2 C. chopped pecans 4 Eggs Fresh from your hen house (got ya again!) Cream Sugar, Oil together -then add eggs 1 at a time. beat well. Mix in flour slowly and add carrots , vanilla and nuts. Pour in 4 round cake pans and bake at 325* until done. Icing 3/4 stick butter 1 box powdered sugar 1 8oz cream cheese C...

My Mom always grew things and I'm sure that's where I get my green thumb!! Ha, who am I kidding - I don't have a green thumb. What I do have is a great pile of Poop, Horse and Rabbit Poop and it must me really good stuff. My Garden looks amazing and although it's not really Organic I have used no pesticides or any other funky things and I don't have bug problem. The only thing that is causing me problems is a baby ground hog. He is eating my squash and if I can catch him, I'm gonna kill him.

"Rain , rain go away Wendy and Jackson want go out to play!" We are not letting a little rain stop up us from having a great rainy summer day- Little boys are just amazing, Fun in every situation. I love being a Mom.

Write Thank You notes! (Yes! She is Southern) There is nothing more important-If someone takes the time to do something thoughtful for you -You need to get busy writing the note-ASAP and get it right in the mail! Thanks Mom!

If it looks like a chicken, smells like a chicken and sounds like a chic -ken-Well then , it probably is a chicken! Not this guy(according to Jackson) This is a Road Runner! He use to be a turkey and that is where his name came from ..."Turk" the fastest Road Runner there ever was!

I love crafty things and when I moved to the East coast , I discovered Knitting, Spinning, dying and felting! Matthew and I bought these 2 guys to join our crew at the Farm show in January. we named the dynamic duo-Harold and Maude-They are Angora Goats and have the most beautiful coats and best temperments. Mohair is the fiber and it spins really well. ...And, just look at them , they are something special.

Bleaux Dawg was a gift to Matthew from me. He was our "pratice Child" a year before Jakson was born. He prepared us for all of the poop and puke and late nights! There is no better friend than our Bleaux. He is a built in baby sitter for Jackson -playmate for Willie The Coon-Keeps the Chickens in line and is The King of our Animal Kingdom!

It was a concert in the park tonight. We took the "Oooooogah" car with a picnic and heard some great Blue's music-while the kids played in the pond catching frogs and catching fireflies-Summertime fun!

I was 40 years old when I got married. I'm a Southern Gal and I never dreamed that I would live anywhere other than the South. I met Matthew at a convention in New Orleans, La. He was a paper manufacturer,(a nice Northern Jewish Boy ) and I was 2 booths down working for an Indonisian Pencil Company.The rest is History-We had a long distance relationship for 2 years...got married -bought a dog (Bleaux Dawg) and had a beautiful bouncing boy-Jackson. Life is good, if you don't mind a little craziness in your life. I like it-Things are never dull at our house. We bought a big house in Chestnut Hill and that is when things got really Wild! We started collecting all kinds of animals . Horse's are a fimilar thing to see in the backyard. And, Matthew can be seen all dressed up in his cowboy getup ..heading right down the road to Starbucks! I just shake my head.