Winter is here!

So it has happened.  The first real storm of the winter is upon us.  I don't really love the snow but I don't really hate it either.  As long as I don't have to be anywhere or it doesn't interfere with any plans, the snow and I get along quite well.  Today has been a VERY lazy day, a great deal of knitting and television watching and yes.... eating has taken place. 

The Brook

 

There were some visitors this morning, about 16 wild turkeys.  Once the dogs caught sight of them it was GAME ON!  Poor George just kept looking at us with a look that was just so sad, as if to say "please, please can I go see what they're doing."  Of course I'm sure all that would happen would be that we would end up with turkey for dinner.  And I'm pretty sure that's not quite a legal way to get it. Needless to say the bird dogs were very sad and excited for several minutes.

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat.....

All 3 geese are getting fat to be more precise! Lexie, Hector, and even Molly, our transgendered goose.  That's what I said, transgendered.  When she hatched we were sure she was a girl but as she got older the grey on her back stopped coming in and she is pretty much white.  Hector, our male Pilgrim goose is the typical all white, and let's just say HUGE.  Lexie, I got her from a friend/neighbor that hatched her, she is the grey Pilgrim, beautiful bird.  The problem is that Molly does seem to be a bit smaller like Lexie but mostly white like Hector, and has yet (in the almost 2 years here) to lay an egg.  So since she knows her name we call "her" Molly and continue to refer to her as a "HER."

Anyway, knitting projects seem to be finished for the holidays and I have now started to do a few things for myself.  I am sure none of which will get done in a timely manner.  I finished a sweater for myself in September and have yet to block it.  UGH! 

Shopping is done and the baking should be started soon but that little thing called work is in the way. Family is starting to arrive.  My new niece, Kimberly, arrived in town last night, she brought her parents with her too.  She was born in September in Alaska so we have yet to meet her which to me means I have yet to get my hands on her!!! My brother should arrive Friday and then the fun shall begin.  My father's birthday Saturday, my nephew Parker and niece Kimberly will be baptized Sunday with myself as the Godmother to handsome Mr. Parker. Monday bringing Christmas Eve and my family Christmas, and of course the day itself Tuesday.  So the next week shall be a little busy, but really it would seem odd if  wasn't.

I would just like to mention that our hearts and prayers are with all that have been affected by the horrible events of Friday the 14th in CT.  God Bless.

Looking for Bullwinkle

I know I have been gone from the blog world for a while but here I am.  One of the things that happened this summer was my son got a moose permit.  Now this might not sound like a big deal or very exciting but for sportsmen all over the US it is a VERY BIG deal.  In order to get a Maine Moose permit you must apply (and pay) to be in a lottery style drawing to get the permit.  Then if choosen you have to pay for the permit and your regular hunting license and take a week off of work in the fall to hunt these creatures and there is no garuntee that you will get one.
The state gave out 3,725 permits this year, some for bull (boys with antlers) and some for cows (girls). The state is broken up into zones and you are assigned to a specific zone to hunt in.  People from all over the United States apply to get these permits and many Mainers apply their whole lives and never get one.  With this being said, I, yes me the Duchess of Fabulous Fowl, has gotten not 1 but 2 permits.  My husband on the other hand, never a one.  Come to think of it no one in his entire family has ever gotten one.   I had no interest in ever doing it again but this year I applied once again because my son is now legal hunting age.  (There are 2 people on each permit and if I had got one he would be able to shoot it if I let him.)  So on a rainy Saturday night in June thousands of people waited by their computers to see if they were one of the lucky 3,725.  Low and behold there was my little boy's name.  He had a bull permit for the zone that we have a hunting camp in, thank goodness. 
So begins the months of prep, new gun, new boots, another freezer, the list goes on and on.  Those who say that it's great because of all the meat you get and it costs almost nothing, is DEAD wrong.  I can buy a lot of meat for what it costs to hunt moose.  (You do get a huge amount of meat and it is soooooo good.) I make it sound bad but really it is a very exciting thing.
 This moose season started Monday morning at 6:12 am.  It ends Saturday night at around 6:25pm.  The first day of the hunt was unsucessful for us but there are 5 more to bag the big one. 

Big George and the Boys



boy 1

boy 1

Daddy George

boy 2

boy 2

DID YOU KNOW??????

So here is a little of the useless knowledge that rolls around in my brain.....About 20% of Sweden's police stations are closed in the summer because most people are on vacation. 

GSP puppies everywhere.

Nothing Says LOVE like clean dishes.

As another Valentine's Day comes to a close, I think fondly of one many years ago.  Thirteen years ago, a few months before the hubby and I got married, we were having a conversation about the holiday.  I told him that since we were planning a wedding and what not, that I didn't want him to buy me flowers.  To which he replied very quickly, "oh I'm not.  I'm getting you a dishwasher."  WHAT????? Now I know what you are thinking.....an appliance for a gift.  NO WAY. Just what I was thinking at the time.  Then I thought about it for a while.  It might be a good idea.  We had bought a house the summer before and neither of us liked doing the dishes.  I think we were at the point that we might have chosen to go to paper plates very soon.  So, we went and picked out a dishwasher. 
I love my dishwasher just as much as my diamond necklace that I received on another Valentine's Day (don't tell the hubby that).  A few years later while I was pregnant with my daughter, the dishwasher broke.  I was devastated.  It could have been the raging hormones of a woman that was 7 months pregnant, but I was in tears.  It was close to Christmas and I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get it fixed at that time and God help me if I had to do the dishes by hand.  Turned out it was no problem. 
Then when we were building our house we put 2 dishes in, one on either side of the kitchen sink!!!  I run them both at least once a day. I wouldn't be without one (or 2) EVER now.  But tell someone you have two dishwashers and they look at you like you just said you had two jaguars (the cat not the car). 
It was by far one of the best gifts I have ever been given.

What's in the ovens???

We now have a dozen duck eggs! What an exciting thing.  2 eggs a day, that is what has been coming out of the duck house for a few days now.  I just finally used the last of the store bought chicken eggs yesterday and it seems kind of odd that we (the ducks) are producing our very own eggs!  So today I have 2 sick kiddos at home and I'm thinking that I need to get going on some baked goods or we will be over run with these beautiful white orbs very soon.  I know what some of you must be thinking, just eat eggs for breakfast.  I don't like eggs, not scrambled, fried, poached.....none of them.  I don't even like the way they smell when they're cooking. So unless the hubby makes them, they have to appear in cookies and cakes and whatnot.  Not bad if (like everyone in my house) there is no need to watch what you eat, just not good for me. Oh well, off to the double ovens to see what I can cook up.

New Year......New Stuff

The 1st egg

Once again I have let life take over and haven't blogged lately.   I think about it and that is about as far as I get.  So here is a quick catch up.  We had turkey for Thanksgiving.  Christmas was great.  I made quilts for both this kids and for the hubby. As well as a few Kindle covers and knitted many cowls and scarves.  Okay fast forward....new year and some new things going on here at the Brook.  I decided to go to college.   Yes, college.  I decided that I would go back to school and get a degree in business.  I thought since I own a business (as does my hubby) that one of us should maybe know what we were really doing.  Of course by the time I'm done he'll finally be done with pharmacy school so we'll be at a different point, anyway....  It's good to have something else just in case my hands decide that they should knit all the time instead of foiling hair and wrapping perms forever.  So, we are both going to school and running businesses, kids and the rest of it. 
The ducks finally started laying eggs!!!! Go girls.  The most exciting thing lately is that we have puppies.  Reilly and George are the proud parents of 9 (4 boys and 5 girls) German Shorthair Pointers.  Super cute and wiggly.  Born Feb. 1st.  Momma and babies are doing great. 

Reilly and the babies

So there you have it. The last few months in fast forward:)