Inside

Red Berries

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41 degrees when I headed out the door on my morning walk at 6:40.

A cloudy morning with no wind.

Walked up the couple of roads behind my house and then headed
over to the ball park loop, through town, around both cemeteries and
down by the Drane house.
 Back through and around town.

Kathy was out walking plus the 'turn around lady' and two other women
who I've not seen before.  If they keep walking I'll probably know them soon.

Walked 6.2 miles
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A little more about the Drane House.
When I walked down there this morning I took a couple of pictures.
Sorry for the quality of the pictures but I took them through the windows,
which were dirty and very reflective, but you can get an idea of what it is like inside.
I took this one from the back window.  Window you see in the picture
is to the right of the front door.
The fire place is on the left.

 This room is on to the left of the front door and I took the picture
from the side window.

This from a front window and is the stairs which leads up to two bedrooms.
One on each side of the stairs.

I've been in the Drane House quite a few times and in fact they
have a cookie sale in December in the house.
Tables are set up in the room by the fireplace and LOTS of cookies
are set out for sale.
This year the sale is Dec 3 and today I baked some Welsh Cookies
for the sale.  I baked 2 dozen and have 3 more dozen to bake.
A LOT of people from town bake all the cookies, each person bakes 5 dozen.
The sale is from 9 to 2 but they are usually sold out by 11:00.
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Ken went up to Happy Trails and I stayed home getting
things done around the house.
It's been a cloudy day with just a few periods of sunshine.
No rain in the forecast so I did a couple loads of laundry.

That's it for today.
A happy day to you.
happyone 🎈

"Ironically, rural America has become viewed by a growing
number of Americans as having a higher quality of life
not because of what it has,
but rather because of what it does not have.
~ Don A Dillman

Drane House

On my way to town saw deer and rabbits.

Got to town and started walking at 6:20 just as the street lights were turning off.

Sunrise was at 6:35.

It was 60 degrees with a mix of sun and clouds.

Didn't find any coins today but yesterday I found a quarter.

Walked over to the ball park and walked around there first.

Then through town and back toward home for a ways and then back to town again.

Continued around the cemeteries, around the block and back to the Jeep.

I ran into Lisa up at the cemetery on the hill and we walked around one time together.

We saw that Bill and his helper were down by the Drane House and the door was open.

I said I'm going to go down there and see what they're doing.

Lisa left and I went down to the house.

I've known Bill for quite a while now but just today I met his helper Greg.

Poked my head in the door and said I was just being nosy but wondered what you were doing.

Bill said come on in and told me they were cleaning up inside getting it ready for a meeting of the town historic society that was going to be held there this afternoon.

He then told me some very good news.

The Drane House is going to be fixed up and inside made to look like it did in the 1800's.

It is the oldest structure in the county built by James Drane in 1800 and they want to get it looking good and then open it up a few days a week for the public to see.

I'm excited about it and look forward to watching it happen.

Morning Walk Steps were 13,133

🌤         🚶‍♀️         🙂

Sheets washed and hung out on the line first thing, then it was time to get the living room windows and the front door windows washed.

I don't have curtains so I have to clean the windows pretty often because I hate to see dirty windows when the sun shines on them! 

I use Norwex clothes for washing windows because with them it is quick and easy and you don't have to use any product, just water.  

The two clothes are a bit expensive but I've been using my same clothes for about 8 years now and they are still just like new.

This afternoon I sat on the porch while knitting and watched a deer walk around sampling the different weeds and getting a drink in our little water feature.

Then she walked over to my deadfall fence, made herself comfortable and took a nap.

Happy Monday and thanks for popping in for a visit.

happyone

These two anchor buttons are off Ken's peacoat from when he was in the Navy.

Cookies

The Cookie Sale at the Drane House

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Once again it was a rainy morning for walking and it was really warm at 46 degrees.  It is unusual for it to be this warm.  I got up late and didn't leave until 7:15 and wanted to be back home at 8:00 so I only got a 3 mile walk in this morning.

Walked around town and as I was walking down the main street I saw Santa Claus walking to the fire house.  He said Good Morning and invited me to the have breakfast with him in the Fire Hall. That doesn't happen every day. : )

Walking up the hill to the cemetery by the Drane House I saw Judy on her way to help get the cookies set up for the sale.  She stopped her car and said hi and I told her I'd see her in a little while when I came to buy some cookies.

I found a nickel and a penny.

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Wanted to be home at 8:00 so we could be at the Drane House right at 9:00 to get a good selection of cookies.  Cookies are for sale from 9 - 2 but they sell out pretty fast.
We picked out a nice selection of 2 dozen.  Yummy!

Instead of spending another inside baking and listening to the rain we took a ride down to La Vale and went in a few stores and eventually ended up at the mall.  Even for Christmas the mall was a LOT less crowded than a mall on a regular Saturday afternoon where we used to live.  It was funny to hear people complaining of the crowds. : )

I've been trying to find Christmas cards that I like for a week or so.  Trying to find cards that have something to do with Jesus since the day is about Him.  Most of the cards don't even say Merry Christmas but Happy Holidays.  Today I found some in the Hallmark store where they had a lot of Jesus Christmas cards.  They were having a sale, buy one box get the second one half price so we picked out two kinds that we liked. 

Now I just have to make a list and write them out. : )

So another day of rain.  Even I need sunshine once in a while. : )
Hope your day is a happy one.
happyone : )

I think cookies are sort of the unsung sweet, you know?

They're incredibly popular.

But everybody thinks of cakes and pies and fancier desserts

before they think cookies.

~ Bobby Flay

Comment Replies:

Dianna - Wow, we really are neighbors. : )  We'll have to meet up for lunch one of these days.  I wrote a post about making the Welsh Cookies which you can find HERE.  On that page is a link to the recipe.  The post is from last April and we were still living in Howard County.

Monday

Mornings have gotten warmer again and today the temperature
was 59 degrees when I left on my walk.
There was a mix of sun and clouds and no wind.
A drive to town and a random walk all over the place.

The bulls were out down by the Drane house.
Toady there were 5 of them and the little horse was still there too.

Took this picture of the Drane house from the cemetery.

A busy day around town on this Monday morning.
A house getting a new roof,
a new sidewalk getting put in,
and a lawn getting mowed.

Passed by the day care center and saw a couple little ones
getting their temperature taken before being allowed to go inside.

Lena and Jim were out walking and we passed each other a couple of times.

It was such a pretty morning to be out walking.
Walked 6 miles
Found a penny 💰

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This morning I could be seen doing laundry and hanging out the sheets,
vacuuming, dusting and cleaning the bathroom.
Did it all in a rush because I didn't feel like doing it.
Wanted to be up at the cabin working with Ken.
By 11:00 I was finished with my work and walked up to the cabin.
He was busy putting up siding on the outhouse.
I ended up being his gofer again and handed up pieces of siding
to him while he was on the ladder.

Back to the house for lunch and afterwards went back to the cabin.
It clouded up and we felt a few drops of rain but before long
the sun was back out again.
The roof and three sides are done on the outhouse.
The back still needs to be done as well as the inside
but here's what it looks like as of the end of today.

Got back home too late to eat apples on the porch, too close to suppertime.

Supper this evening was frozen pizza
which hit the spot for us.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
A happy Monday to all.
happyone  ❤️

Dinner

The Drane House

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 It rained last night and I thought it had stopped by morning, but it was a bit drizzly out and 55 degrees.  Very windy too.  After walking a couple of miles the drizzle turned into rain and I was getting pretty wet so went back home and changed my clothes and put on my rain pants and yellow slicker.

I had a random walk around town.  Went down to the Drane House (pictured above) and peeked in the window.  Sherry (hair dresser) was holding a Tea there today to raise money for breast cancer.  She told me to take a peek inside to see how nice it looked all set up for the Tea.  Picture is not that great because it is through the window but everything sure looks pretty all in pink.

Didn't see any people out and only saw a couple of rabbits.  A typical quiet Saturday morning.
Weather turned cooler and was 49 degrees then I got home.
I walked 6.2 miles.

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This morning I finished up my house cleaning and in the afternoon started preparing for dinner.  Had the table set early in the day.

Dinner Menu

• Homemade bread - long loaf
• Salad
• Chicken Parmesan with a side of spaghetti
• Cheesecake for dessert

I kept it simple and did everything early so I didn't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen when Pastor and Kathy arrived.
They arrived right on time with a gift in hand - a large candle that smells just like a pumpkin pie baking.
Dinner went well - nothing burned and everything tasted like it was supposed to. : )
We had a lovely time just sitting and talking and Ken showed them his train layout.  Pastor got a kick out of the church that Ken modeled and laughed when he looked inside the window and saw a pastor that looked just like him in miniature.
I was going to take a few pictures but forgot all about it until after they left.  
Pastor and Kathy had some happy news to share - they are now the happy grandparents of a little baby girl named Kenleigh Paige.  : ) 

They left with a piece of cheesecake for later and I just might have another piece later too. : )

It got colder during the day and there were a few snow flakes mixed in with the rain this afternoon.  I might need to wear an extra layer of clothes in the morning when I go walking

Hope your day was a happy one.
happyone : )

It is not the quantity of the meat

but the cheerfulness of the guests

which makes the feast.

~ Edward Hyde

Three Things That Made Me Smile Today

1. Hearing the rain on the hood of my rain slicker
2.  My bread came out of the oven looking perfect
3. Having Pastor and Kathy here

Work inside and outside

Left the house this morning on my walk at 6:42

It was 54 degrees, cloudy and calm

Sunrise 6:50

Walked to the edge of town and went to the lower cemetery

and walked around there.

Then up the hill to the other cemetery and walked around there a

few times.  Down to the Drane house and the pond.

Don't often see a heron but today one was down by the pond.

Too far to get a picture but I did watch him take off and fly away.

Took this picture on the way to town.

This rolled hay was in the field across from the Drane house.

I walked right up to it and took the picture.

Pretty big up close.

I'm 5'5" and the top came to my chin.

I was a few minutes later than usual so didn't get to see my

new friend waiting at the bus stop.

I was up the road when I saw the bus stop and pick him up.

 

Saw a couple of deer and some squirrels.

Don't see many squirrels around here.

Walked 6 miles

☁️     ☁️

Sun came out soon after I was back home.

Spent the morning in the house getting the rest of the housework done.

Bathrooms and washing sheets.

 

After lunch it was time to work outside.

Here is the before picture.

Ken worked on the trim around the doors and the window.

J channel, wood, and then aluminum covering the wood.

While he did that I painted the cinder block.

Was hoping to finish but we ran out of time and will have to 

finish tomorrow.

 Got the first disc in the mail today of a new series to watch on Netflix called 

The Brokenwood Mysteries.

Can't remember who recommended it.

Hope it's good.

 We'll be watching that tonight.

That's it for this day.

Hope your day was happy and bight

happyone 🥰

Butterflies

Temperature 64 degrees F. with sun and clouds

when I started out on my morning walk.

Another walk to and around town ending up at the old house.

The pond down by the Drane house looks quite a bit over grown.

Saw the woman and her dog Max again but they were too far away to say hi to.

Another walker I haven't see before was walking around the ball park loop.

Met Ken at the old house to do a little cleaning up.

Ken power washed the back of the house and I vacuumed the inside.

Tomorrow the home inspector arrives.

Hope all goes well.

We can't think of any problems that he might find.

 Lots of bees and butterflies were by the cone flowers

in the front of the old house and I was able to get a couple of pretty good pictures

of a swallowtail and a monarch.

Home in the afternoon and I had to get a bit of house cleaning done.

Nice to find some time to sit and read too.
Oh by the way, I found a nickel today. 🙂

Hope your day was a happy one.
Life is Good
happyone 🥰

Comment Replies:

Rose - No, don't like ALL flavors of ice cream. I like all kinds that are chocolate, but not anything with nuts in it.  Like plan vanilla too.

Vee - No, I've never given the horses a sugar cube or a carrot.  Yes, I'd ask first but don't really want to start. Most of the time they are just happy to have me pet them.

The old barn

I've taken quite a few pictures of this old barn down by the Drane house.

It seems to be falling down one board at a time.

One of these days the whole thing is going to fall down.

I'm linking up today with Tom for his Barn Collective Series.

Why not hop on over to see more barns or post one of your own.

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Started out walking this morning with a mix of sun and clouds and 57 degrees.

The clouds soon took over though and a light mist started falling

4 miles into my walk and lasted for about a mile.

Didn't rain again till after I was back home.

Walked behind my house, through town, down toward Happy Trails,

up Barn Sale a ways, and around both cemeteries, through town again

and back home.

This is one of the largest rhododendron bushes I've ever seen.

More work was being done at the old bakery this morning, inside and out.

Lee, the older man who rides his bike around town was out and stopped

to say hi and gave me two round red and white peppermint candies.

He hands them out to whoever he sees. 

Lots of swallows out by the cemetery and I counted 6 rabbits

scattered around town.

A opossum ambled across the road in front of me and I'm sure glad it

kept right on going.  

Walked 6.2 miles

Found a penny

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It rained in the morning so I got a couple of things done around the house.
 Then we went out to get some bird seed and stopped at the
library to pick up a book that I had on hold.
By the time we got back home the rain had stopped and the sun came out.

 Ken took the tractor back up to Happy Trails and I stayed home to
get some yard work done.
Transplanted the lily of the valley and also separated some of the
daisies and planted them in another garden.
Got the lawn mowed again.  Grows so fast this time of year.
Sometimes I wish our house was on a smaller piece of land so I could spend
more time up at HT.  Seems like there is always something to do here at the house.
Maybe we should move our house up to HT.  : )

Nice to sit on the porch when my work was done and do a little reading.

Life is Good

Hope your day was a happy one.

happyone  💗

She was a girl who knew how to be happy 

even when she was sad.

And that's important -- you know.

~ Marilyn Monroe

Saturday

Another walk to town this morning.

It was 62 degrees and calm.

Walked through a cloud and then it was sunny for the rest of my walk.

When I got to town walked around both cemeteries a couple of times.

At the town pond I saw the heron who doesn't make an appearance very often.

Didn't get a picture but did stop to watch him take off flying.

Went down across from the Drane house to see if the bulls

were about today.

There were two of them.

They have a scratching post and don't have to use the fence post

like the my neighbor cows do.

Continued around town and over to the ball park and walked

the loop there a couple of times too.

Back around town a bit and then headed over to the Dollar General

where Ken was in the parking lot waiting for me.

We did some early shopping before more people came along.

Then I got a ride home.

Walked 5.9 miles

  Ken went outside after breakfast and harvested a pile of stones.

He is making the area down from the arched stone bridge

and deck a little bit neater.

I was inside getting the last of the house cleaning done for the week.

Afternoon I took it easy and read and sat on the porch.
Also had some more strawberries and cream.

 Ken played his new video came.

House Flipper

House renovations are easy with this game, no strenuous work!!

The Queen Anne's Lace that I put in the bottles of water
with food coloring did turn colors but with just a hint of color.
Didn't show up good for a picture.

Thanks for visiting.

Life is Good

Find the good in your day.

happyone  ❤️

Comment Replies:

Deb - The 100 year old house we renovated was located it Savage, Md.  I had just started blogging the last 2 years or so that we lived there. This was the only picture I found that you could see all of it.

I spent a good amount of time working in the front garden

and when I was done it looked liked this.

This is looking from at the garden from the porch

Foggy

This morning it was 37 degrees and foggy for walking.

First got to town here and started walking down the main road.

 Made a stop at the library to drop off another DVD.

Continued walking around town and went up behind our 

old house in town.

From there went to the ball park to walk that loop a couple of times.

Then back to the pond and up to the cemetery.

By the time I came back from the cemetery I had all my steps

in and didn't go around the other one.

No people walking about in the fog,

at least none that I saw.

As always I enjoyed my morning walk.

Took this picture on my way home at 8:00.

I live down at the end of the road a little less than a mile.

🌫    🙂    🥾

It was a morning for making pancakes.

Some for today and some for the freezer for another day.

🥞

Another load of laundry but this time it is drying inside

on the drying rack which I place over a heating vent.

🧺

A bit more house chores got done.

Then I baked another batch of Welsh Cookies for

the Drane house bake sale.

The last batch I made we ended up eating some!

🍪

Later in the afternoon I had time for a little reading  

and knitting too.

 📚 🧶

The day sure goes by fast.

 I could do with a couple more hours to the day!!!

The fog never did clear up.

The whole day was foggy.

 A good day for getting things done in the house.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit.

A happy day to you.

HappyK 💕

✏️Comment Replies:

Ginny - I rarely get cold walking due to lots of layers.  I usually get warm and have to take a layer off!!

Janice - We live just over 2 miles from the fire house and we can hear the alarm from there!!

Puzzle

The weather hasn't improved any so it was another day for walking inside.

Got chili going in the crock pot this morning so that took care of supper.

Finished up the house chores for this week.

Tomorrow is the cookie sale for the Drane house. 

Normally on my morning walk tomorrow I would have taken the cookies directly to the town hall which is where they are sold.

Not sure how the weather will be so brought them to Pam at her house today.

While we were out decided to drive over to McDonals and have a burger and fries.

We go through the drive thru and park in the parking lot to eat. 

McDonalds is seven miles out of town.

This afternoon I read and worked on the counted cross stitch ornament.

Thought about writing out some Christmas cards but never got around to it.

Tomorrow though it will still be cold the sun is supposed to be shining.

Don't think any of the ice will be melted though so it will probably be another inside walking day.

Ginny, you suggested I take a picture of the progress on the puzzle so here it is. 🙂

It is a bit challenging but we enjoy doing it.

That's it for today.

Hope your day was a happy one

Thanks for popping in for a visit.

HappyK🙂

15,767

6,409,275

Pleasant Valley Greenhouse

 34 degrees this morning but nice and sunny so it didn't seem cold.

I got a little bit earlier start today and was in town walking at 6:15.

Walked around both cemeteries and the ball park.

Then stopped back at the Jeep to pick up a library book.

Went to the library and dropped the book down the slot.

The town pond was as smooth as glass which made for

a beautiful reflection.

This is another little pond down by the Drane house.

The bulls are just to the right from where I took the picture.

They are all fine but couldn't get close because of all the mud.

This scene is to the right of the cemetery 

up the hill and near the Drane house.

Sometimes there are horses in this pasture.

One of them is there now off in the distance 

just about in the middle of the picture.

In the cemetery.

Didn't see anyone else walking this morning and no rabbits either.

So nice walking in sunshine.

Walked 6 miles

Found a penny

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Had some blueberries left over from the muffins so we

had blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Nice sunny day for getting the sheets washed and hung out on the line.

Stayed sunny all day long and in the high 50's,

We went to pay a visit to the Pleasant Valley Greenhouse.

Notice all the flower pots edging the roof.

Never saw anything like it before.

While there we picked up

a flat of petunias,

a flat of pansies,

12 strawberry plants,

and four eggplants.

Looking around inside the store I ended up buying some wind chimes

and also a really nice vintage looking humming bird feeder.

We hung the chimes on a hook a little ways away from the porch.

Were going to put the humming bird feeder up tomorrow but

when we were sitting on the porch a hummer flew past so 

we got the feeder hung up.

Then of course the bird didn't show up.

I planted the four eggplants in one of the raised beds.

Also got 16 strawberry plants planted in the other one.

The other nine plants we took up to Liz in the ATV for her to plant.

It's been a beautiful, sunny day and for that I am thankful.

A happy Monday to you. 🤗

👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️