Tumbleweeds and Birthday Wishes...latest from Tahilla Farm
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| Path to the mountains...Tahilla Farm |
Good Morning!
Some of you may wonder if I stepped off into the woodlands never to return. Some days feel like that, but I am here, still running around Tahilla Farm with workmen coming in and out of the nest every day. It's been a month since I returned..and I look around and think how much there is still to do. And then I stop....look out the window and think..maybe I'll work on it tomorrow.
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| Kitchen window views...Tahilla Farm |
There have been a series of hiccups as is to be expected with combining a new and old house. The new house is ticking along just fine, the old house (1790) is....old. Combing new and old has been interesting. There are times when I swear like a sailor...to myself...and then look out the window and decide to to think about it tomorrow. I would do it all over again but have learned a few lessons along the way, stay tuned.
Truth be told, I am feeling like a tumbleweed kicking around an empty house at the moment. I have just enough furniture here to get by...nearly. All our belongings are in Vietnam, it's a shuffling game until it arrives some time next year. In the meantime, we ordered a few new pieces in anticipation of our big family reunion at Christmas. Timing was tight but it was looking promising and now it is not. The official word is..NO, not going to happen before Christmas. How do I feel? As you can imagine but I have to move on and consider Plan B...there are parties to plan, a house to decorate for the holidays, guest to arrive, food to be cooked and when I feel I am absolutely out of my mind, I can find a quiet corner, swear like a sailor, look out the window and think..it can be done. It has to!
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| When all else fails...build a fire. My new motto. |
And that's how I feel at this very moment. I imagine others are feeling the stress mode moving in as the days pass...I just want to say, I am with you. You can try my method but I do advise you save the swearing for a quiet spot in your house...and then stare out the window. I find that when I do, a few surprises come my way.
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| From my window, a coyote comes calling.. |
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| and a bobcat too.. |
Best Wishes For A Wonderful Weekend!
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| ~Happy Weekend~ |
Jeanne xx
Everything will be just fine!
ReplyDeleteThank you Becky! :)
DeleteHappy birthday to your mom! Enjoy her.... I write this as I sit winding up my mother's estate in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa looking out over the warm Indian Ocean,(but also from Brisbane Australia and thank you for your advice - am still inspired by your collages - a never ending story.....
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of the coyote, so special.
Cheryl
Thank you Cheryl...I passed on your birthday wishes. Thinking of you between South Africa and Australia and the warm Indian Ocean. xx
DeleteWhat a great post Jeanne. I appreciate the update from Tahilla, your gorgeous property. I feel your frustration with furniture companies. Why do they get to move the availability deadline all the time? Well, it happens to everyone, so you're in good company. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you Patricia..I shouldn't have been surprised. I half expected it but have come up with an alternative plan. ;)
DeleteSo awesome Jeanne! I love all the windows, but of course I would, our own home has more windows than walls it seems, lol. Your view of Mount Monadnock is way more stunning than my view of the CT River and the Amtrak train as it speeds down the VT side to Brattleboro. The kitchen will be the perfect gathering spot for all your family during Christmas. It is all truly lovely. Sending warm wishes to your Mom for a very Happy 80th Birthday!! My MIL is 81 and her motto is to keep moving! She just completed a move this past fall to a new home on Lake Winniepsaukee. It's so great to have women like this for inspiration in our lives.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Roxane, we need all the inspiration we can get, keep on moving is a very good motto! ;)
DeleteFrom my viewpoint Tahilla Farm is looking pretty darn good! Know it's frustrating to go to Plan B, but unlike so many of us, you have a Plan B. Just keeping on truckin'. The holidays will be here no matter what, so you might as well enjoy the getting there. It really is lovely. Ya done good, Girl!
ReplyDeleteThank you Webb, the holidays are here and I am 'truckin'!
DeleteEverything will be just fine in the end ..If it isn't ..it's not the end yet .. xx all looks great Jeanne.. lovely to read you're back on air ..merry Christmas to u and family ..enjoy the memory making gathering. . Furniture or not ..you will have a fab time . Happy birthday to mum xx hugs j
ReplyDeleteThank you Jean! ;)
DeleteHappy Birthday to your Mom! I imagine she is much closer to you these days and that is a bonus! You seem to be doing an admiral job in keeping it all in perspective. Your kitchen is so beautiful. I love your style, and view! Merry Christmas in your new home!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathy, very kind of you to say! Wishing a Merry Christmas to you and yours! :)
DeleteI hope to be as lucky as Alma. There's something to be said for being spunky! Happy birthday, Alma!
ReplyDeleteRenovations, whether big or small, ALWAYS have hiccups! I think blogs have kept my sanity intact because I know I'm not alone when it comes to renovating debacles. Really. Everything you've shown looks breathtaking! So, enjoy the holidays and put your worries on hold. With coyotes and bobcats roaming, what precautions have to taken with pets and wee children? Are they easily frightened? You can tell I'm not a country girl. :) Scary!
Thank you Susan! Pets and wee children will not be with us this Christmas but maybe one day. I am not a country girl either, at least not yet. I am still learning! I spotted both the bobcat and coyotes from inside the house and they were a fair distance away. I am hoping it stays that way. ;)
DeleteI hope you are loving your beautiful kitchen. Everything's going to be great!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa, I am!! ;)
DeleteThings don't always go as we hope, but that won't keep you from having a wonderful holiday with your family. What you all will love is being together. The rest will take care of itself.
ReplyDeleteSo true Linda...I am experiencing exactly that right now. Just love being together...it's all that matters. :)
DeleteHappy Birthday Alma!
ReplyDeleteMay you year be full of love, good health and good food!
Beautiful shop
Beautiful post
Happy Week-end & Looking Out the Window Adventures!
Thank you Maywyn, I shared your birthday wishes with my mother! Very kind! :)
DeleteThere is no hurry!Do look out that window!You remind me of your Mother!!Tons of energy!
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays and your Home looks lovely!!!!
Xx
Thank you Elizabeth...I think you are right! Happy Holidays to you and your Italian! xx
DeleteHappy Birthday to Alma! Wishing you all that you would wish yourself in the year ahead :)
ReplyDeleteNice picture of the bobcat, Jeanne!
Thank you Quinn from me and my mother! :)
DeleteYou are turning Tahilla Farm into a lovely, cosy home. Hope that you and your family spend enjoyable holidays there. I am sure you will make lots of lovely memories. Happy birthday to your Mother. She sounds like an amazing woman.
ReplyDeleteThank you Loree, she is one of a a kind and she would agree! :)
DeleteBeautiful! So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI quite understand what you're going through. Our NH home was supposed to be finished at the end of August the year we moved. My whole family planned trips to visit in October, because everyone needs a perfect excuse to come to New England in the fall, and by then we should've been good and settled. The house was done in October. My poor brother and his family spent part of their vacation helping us pack up our temporary apartment home, and then they moved with us into the house. Groan. Not exactly the gracious, relaxed, hostessing experience I had anticipated. "Does anyone know which box the cereal bowls are in?" Ack! But...it's all a distant memory now.
Enjoy your family! And roll with the punches! It will (really!) all be over soon! ;-)
Great words of advice Kate...as there have been many stories and situations since I wrote this post. I have rolled with it and expect I have not seen the last of the 'situations' but I think the hardest part is over. A good feeling! :)
DeleteA very happy birthday to your lovely Mom.
ReplyDeleteAnd your book is on its way! I'll picture you reading it in that gorgeous chair by the fire, ok?
much love,
p
Thank you Pamela...so sweet of you. I sat in that very chair, by the fire, to read about Edward's Christmas wish..just loved it! xx
DeleteOh my goodness! Your Mom is amazing and I am sending her my warmest birthday wishes from France. And TF is looking so beautiful...you are almost there...
ReplyDeletexo
Thank you Heather...my mother appreciated your birthday wishes and you are right...almost there. ;) xx
DeleteJeanne, I have been wondering how you were rattling around in the house and preparing things for the family reunion. I have just returned(2 hours ago) from 2 weeks in Buenos Aries and now I feel in a panic about Christmas!Oh well it is all going o be what it is going to be.
ReplyDeleteI love the glimpses of the house! It looks so beautiful! I am so excited for you and your family. When you say that the furniture is coming from Vietnam next year does this mean that you ware retiring and starting a new life in New England and Australlia? Or will you be off again somewhere?
So sorry to hear about your new furniture, I am sure the house will be warm and welcoming just because you made it that way! How wonderful to have your family all together and to be planning your holiday, parties and more. Enjoy!
Congratulations to your mom for her birthday and for her fabulous new store! All of her art and activities are an inspiration and probably what keeps her young.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful adventure and the wondrous photos of your farm.
Enjoy it all dear Jeanne and frankly, I believe a little swearing never hurt anyone!
Ha! So right Elizabeth, a little never hurt anyone! As for Tahilla..the furniture trail has het to be decided. We will split it between Australia and the USA..one day. The expat express hasn't stopped yet, life is alway full of mysteries and surprises. I look forward to seeing which one comes up next. ;) Wishing you a wonderful Christmas Elizabeth, I hope your plans have gone smoothly these past few weeks. :)
DeleteHang in there Jeanne! It will all come together. There will be so much conversation and good cheer flowing that no one will notice the things that you do. Enjoy the holiday. It is so fun seeing glimpses of Tahilla Farm.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindy! Phase I is coming together, at last! ;)
DeleteEven a tumbleweed has to settle down. It will come. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALMA.
ReplyDeleteMan of few words and alway wisdom in those words, thank you Edgar, you are so right! Alma says thank you too! ;)
DeleteJeanne, your house is beautiful and very cozy. I love that fireplace scene. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletexx Sunday