We ended up with 5 ducks and 2 geese.  Last week we added a goat to the crazy train.  A Nigerian Dwarf Goat which my son named Brody.  Now I haven't done a lot with this goat since he belongs to my son and want him to be clear that it's his job to take care of him. So far so good!  Now my husband wants at least 1 more goat and maybe a cow......I draw the line with a cow. I am not a cow kind of girl!

Funny Farm

Saying it's been busy would be an understatement.  Little League has started, hubby coaching my son's team and my daughter deciding that she will not take after me (thank God) and try sports. Of course that means that they are on different teams and that means going all the time. Her games on one day and he has 3 games a week and her practices are at the same time as his games!  Baseball is running the show right now. 

George

Willow

  

India

Reilly

While all of this is happening we added the 2 new (new to us) pointers to the mix last Saturday.  Let's just say that India is letting it be known that she is in charge and Willow would really like to be the one with that job.   For the most part things are going as planned.  Sometimes I feel like what was I thinking!  George is very into food, his, ours, any one's.  We have to keep our eyes open for him with his head in the bag of dog food as well as on the counters.  Just the other day he met me at the door with a bag of potatoes in his mouth. Not sure if he wanted me to cook them up for him or he just got caught.  At first I was concerned that Willow was depressed. I think she thought he old owner would be picking her up at any moment. Things have gotten better, she is even playing with the others now.  She has been caught curled up on the couch a few times.

Yesterday we started on the duck roller coaster.  We had one duck hatch in the evening and two more were there this morning when we woke up. It has been very exciting for hubby and me as well as the kids.   Very cool to watch these things that you think could never have fit in those tiny eggs. 

3 of our new ducks

NEMO

Here he is, the very coolist black cat to ever live. Nemo. I know what you're thinking, he's not orange like the fish. That's what happens when you let little kids pick a name for a cat.  Unfortunatly today we lost him in a very tragic accident.  He was only 5 and we had planned on having him around for many many more years to come.I will be missing him in so many ways.  The way he would run after balled up pipe cleaners like a dog chases a ball. The way he slept on my feet at night. The sound of him running through the upstairs like he was an elephant.  I'm even going to miss the paw prints on the table right after I would wash it  EVERY DAY that I swear he would put there just to make me crazy.  We are so very heartbroken and I know it will take a while to heal but I am sure that he knew just how much we all loved him.

We love you Nemo.

 

9/2006 -5/1/2011

Easter Swap

So I haven't blogged much lately, life took over. So in the last few weeks lots has happened here at the Brook. One of the most exciting is that I got my Tilda Easter Swap package!  All the way from the UK. You can just think of how excited I was.  Elaine sent me the most beautiful bunny!!!! I have named her Hariett. I just love her purple outfit.  It also came with some very yummy chocolate (that didn't make it long in my house), beautiful fabric (can't wait to do something wonderful with it), yummy tea that I drank during "The Wedding" and the most amazing handmade card that has had a very special place in my diningroom so everyone can see it.

Silk, Lace, and Wool, oh my!

My daughter is making her 1st communion this spring and I have set out to make her dress. Now this is not a major ordeal for me however deciding what I want it to look like is.  When I made my 1st communion I wore my mother's dress and I also wore my great-grandmother's veil (on my father's side).  I have always thought that when I had a daughter she would wear the exact same dress and veil that I wore. I didn't give any thought to the fact that being married to a 6 1/2 foot tall man might give me overly tall children. This fact has made it so the dress won't fit her.  I'm also not liking the idea of buying a dress.  So I set out to make a dress. I told my grandmother of my plan, and she stepped right up. Gram is a very talented, as I like to call it, fabric artist.  Her first love is quilting but sewing in general is as natural to her as breathing. She also lives in an area of New Jersey which gives her access to the best quality fabrics, laces, threads, everything.  So I told her I was thinking about silk and she said "say no more I've got it taken care of".  About a month ago I got a wonderful package of what I consider beautiful things.  She sent several yards of a gorgeous dupioni silk in the most beautiful shade of ivory that in the right light has an ever so slight pinkish hue, and several yards of the most amazing, lightest, softest cream colored wool.  Now, I know that tradition is a bright white dress but I want her to still wear the veil and being almost 100 years old it's more ivory than white, so ivory it is!  Today was the day. I've started a "rough draft" in muslin. So far so good.  I have to say with all the ideas that have gone through my head it's been very hard to decide what this should look like.  Pictures to come soon.

31 and Holding.......

gifts from Marie and Dawn

So I celebrated my birthday over this past weekend and while I'm not too far off from 31 I am going to be staying that exact age for a while I think. Truthfully I don't care, 33 is just fine but I have to say I seem to feel like I was just 31. My how quickly the last two years have gone. The other reason I don't mind getting older is I like to get gifts. I will be honest. I like stuff!  Some of my favorite things I got this year have to do with a huge event in the near future. The Royal Wedding!  That's right The Royal Wedding.  My cousin sent the commemoriative William and Catherine Royal Wedding Yankee Candle. LOVE IT!  My BFF Dawn gave me The William and Catherine tea cup. Now this is the perfect gift since it combines my love of all things royal and my love of tea and tea cups. I have it on good authority that there may even be a certain sapphire  ring replica coming my way.  My kids and hubby gave me some new beads for my Troll Beads bracelet, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  This year it seemed like I was able to make it last days. While the real day was Saturday and my husband and I celebrated that day, I also got to have cake and icecream with my family and the inlaws on Sunday and Monday I was surprised by beautiful flowers from my brother and his girlfriend. Yes I don't mind getting older, a day all about me.

from Kevin and Brittany

Just a quick note about the goings on at the Brook.  We are expecting!  Ducks and geese that is. Made you all gasp didn't I.  We decided to jump on the band wagon with everyone else we know that's hatching chickens this year and do the same.  However in the fashion that we are so well known for we had to do it with a twist!  We opted for duck and goose eggs. So for the last few days we have spent many hours looking at eggs, staring at 2 different thermometers, deciding which light bulb has the right amount of heat, and making sure the humidity isn't to high or low.  Oh I feel like a woman that is a week from her due date. The problem with that is we are only about 6 day into a 21-28 day journey.  I'm not sure I can look at an egg the same way ever again.