Our First Snow and a New Fireplace

After many years of hauling wood (our boys well remember the efforts), we finally decided it was time to switch to a gas insert in the fireplace.  So today we had Proctor Gas arrive with our selected gas fireplace, install it, and, of course via a new remote, turn it on.  It's going to take a while to get used to the gas version of a wood fire but, with the first snow fall today of the season, it seems to make sense.  Photos of the installation are available here.  Below is a picture of the front year birches bent out of shape from our first wet snow of the season.

The Gang Takes a Tour of Portsmouth, NH

In lieu of its usual long weekend in Gotham, some of the Gang of Eight decided to go to Portsmouth, NH in late October to view the sights there.  You can see some of the photos of the tour, especially our visit to historic Strawbery Banke (no, it's not misspelled), by clicking here.  The Almonds, Kneebones, and Paces stayed at the Sise Inn, wandered all over Portsmouth (on foot), and, of course, took a look at the Kittery, ME shopping outlets (the women did the clothing saloons while the men concentrated on the Trading Post).  As usual, we did find time to consume some food and wine.  It was a fun trip.

Stephen Comes East to Rescue Pace Homestead

Stephen flew in from Park City this October to help the "old folks at home" deal with their home, especially winterizing it, repairing it, and, overall, cleaning up some of the outdoor mess and the cellar. 

In particular, Sephen was able to stack the half cord of wood lying outside the wood shed, clean the garage and breezeway roof of pine needles, fix the ailling garage doors, help prepare the garden area by the fireplace for the "hopefully" forthcoming propane tank for our new gas fireplace, clean up the inside of the garage (which, IMHO, was just fine-I knew where everything was in the mess), and begin the process of cleaning up the cellar (the remainder is for his hopefully next Spring visit).

 

In his idle time (about a half an hour), he did try to help us learn how to use our HD TV remote; this problem was fixed when Jeffrey came up and showed us how to properly use the device.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, even though I now have to relearn where items are in the garage and cellar.  I was able to prevent my desk and workbench from being impacted by this clean-up spirit.

In addition to work on the home, Stephen also participated in the audio upgrade at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium and managed to take two photos of the upgrade and a play rehearsal.

Quite a talented guy!

Emilia - Really Eating Now

By October, Emilia was eating "real" food.  Here are a few photos of the result!