News from the Hunt Box

Autumn Flowers...

2011-09-29T17:12:00.000-04:00

I always sort of forget that the roses and other flowers usually have a last hurrah in early autumn. They sometimes seems prettier than in the spring and summer when they bloom at this time of the year. Maybe it's just the lovely weather and filtered autumn sunshine making me think they're lovelier.

Strange week, nice ending.

2011-08-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

This has been a strange week. From a bad riding lesson on Monday, the Great Guinea Massacre of 2011 (at the hands,..er, talons...of a hawk and another unidentified varmint), bizarre interactions with and demands from clients, and an earthquake at the beginning of the week and a hurricane at the end, I was beginning to wonder if everything was under the spell of a malignant full moon. People seemed at their wackiest and animals at their spookiest. Chris reminded me that, as Nester would say, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" and so I really tried to relax this weekend and not keep us on an unrelenting to-do list. We picked up some jump standards Chris found on Craigslist, the horses got new shoes, we trimmed branches in Rose's field, and mostly we just sat back and enjoyed everything. It was a bit unsettling to not be going full tilt as usual, but I actually stopped and realized that the garden was tidy and neat with its freshly mulched paths, the barn was organized and clean, and the house respectably-enough dust free. Today we ate Chris's freshly baked zucchini bread with Mom's coffee on the patio, perused some old Victoria magazines, rode Moses, and took a walk with the dogs down to the construction site for the replacement bridge on Carmon Road. Coming home with the panting dogs trailing us down the driveway, we opened the door and I smelled the chicken roasting in the oven and the makings for a peach pie were laid out on the counter. Life is good. Even weeks with hurricane and earthquakes can end well and hopefully next week a more benevolent moon will smile down on us.

Return of the blogger?

2011-08-22T11:45:00.002-04:00

After two years and three months of silence, I may have returned. I'm uncertain and worried about committing to blogging and to be done with any sort of constructiveness and satisfaction, it needs to be committed to. I swing back and forth between thinking, "Oh, it will be fun!" and "I'm busy actually living my life, so why do I feel a need to write about it and have the black cloud of documentation and creativity hanging over me?" Plus, I'm alarmed about opening up my life to outsiders and the general intrusion and commentary that brings with it. That said, I am tentatively going to stick my toe back in the blogging waters. We'll see how it goes.

So much has changed since I last checked in with this blog. We're bonafide foxhunting folk now with an entire season under our belts. We have a new horse. We sold our farm in Saxapahaw. Chris designed and grew a huge garden this year, the results of which are slowly being canned and packed away for this winter. Chris raised and sold over 300 guineas and dozens of heirloom tomato plants. We have two new cats. It's been a busy year. I'm looking forward to the pace slowing as we head into fall, although the hunting season will start cranking up next month and that's a whole new routine of work and preparation.

This has been a grumpy sort of post and I sound pretty sour. I'll leave you with a picture of the garden and I will return in better spirits.

How does the garden grow...

2009-05-09T09:46:00.002-04:00

The Fox Hunt envisioned by Disney in 1938...

2009-04-17T17:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nAJrLEzR9Q

I feel bad about my blog...

2009-02-25T20:06:00.006-05:00

...and the fact that I haven't blogged in almost a month. A lot has happened in February and blogging just didn't seem a priority, but I'm going to try to do better.

February got off to a miserable start when my beloved fourteen-year old Sheltie, Indigo, collapsed and had what appeared to be a stroke or seizure, leaving her unable to stand or walk and very disoriented. That was a particularly pleasant Sunday morning. The house was clean, the sun was shining in and warming up our little home, and I was cozily curled up on the sofa reading a book and thinking what a nice day we had planned. Then we heard her vomiting and when I stood up to go check on her, I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong.

We kept her going for ten days on a cocktail of steroids, anti-dizziness meds, antacids, and kidney-disease prescription food and it was a rollercoaster from day to day. Just as she seemed to be declining beyond help, she'd rally and surprise us all and my hopes would absurdly rise. After the spectacular results achieved from her initial steroid shot, I really thought I could keep her going with massive doses of Prednisone but it wore off rapidly and by February 11th I knew we had reached the end. Making that final decision nearly broke my heart. I still wake up every morning and get out of bed to go let her out and every morning it's a brief moment of shock when I walk around the corner and realize she's not there. Afterwards, Hilary told me to read Marley & Me and what struck me the most was the author's deep, deep grief over the death of his dog and how it affected him even more so than what he had felt over the loss of some people in his life. I could really identify.

So, we've gone from four dogs to two in less than two months. I don't think I mentioned it on here, but a really nice lady from my office has taken Flattie, the chocolate lab. As a result, our lives have improved dramatically. Just having only Finch and Casey in the house is a joy and I feel like things are back under control. Our existence had slowly become a carousel of medicating dogs, washing dogs, cleaning up dog poop or vomit, breaking up dog fights, paying for massive bags of dog food and jaw-dropping vet bills, repairing dog damaged items, vaccuming up dog hair, chasing runaway dogs, containing dogs, keeping things away from dogs...you get the drift. It was totally out of control.

On a brighter note, I had a great Valentine's and birthday. Chris gave me the most beautiful Valentine's surprise you've ever seen - one hundred roses. Can you believe how romantical that is? I couldn't. Bee-yoo-tiful. And, get this, he knocked it out of the ballpark again on my birthday with a surprise dinner with the Hills and Heberts and a perfect prezzie - an enameled Hermes bangle, something I've been wanting for years. This one has a gorgeous carriage and horses scene on it. I am constantly amazed at Chris's capacity for thoughtful gift-giving. I cannot recall in my entire life receiving a gift of any kind from any male in my family (they didn't not give from meanness, it just wasn't expected of them and they weren't interested), so I'm not used to the attention to detail and generosity that Chris displays so often.

Mom had her first show with the new horse, Rose, at Martinganza at Williamston and I went down to watch their first go, which was very good (despite what she will tell you). We're polishing her up to go kick butt this year. I looked longingly at some Corgi pups at the show, but I don't want a rebound dog. Plus, I think I just finished telling you how nice it is to only have two dogs. And I don't like Corgis. Oh, I also forgot to tell you that the Raggedy Cat is gone. This is really after the fact, since we haven't seen hide nor hair of his scraggledy butt since December. That little guy never was quite right, so I'm not sure what became of him. But it made me sad. I liked his scabby hide.

So, there's a little February recap. I'll get back on a regular schedule this week.

Currently on the block...

2009-01-31T09:09:00.006-05:00

Up for grabs on Ebay - two Middleburg Hunt buttons from the estate of Joseph Brown Thomas, owner of Huntland estate in Middleburg from 1911-1947 and MFH with the Piedmont Hunt. Currently asking $99.99 each or best offer.

Now, the name of Huntland will make any hunt country connoisseur's heart flutter. 550 acres in prime hunt territory and the epitome of gracious Virginia country living, Huntland was recently on the market for $18.8 million (I'm not sure if it sold or not). This grand home has been named one of the top seven country estates in the U.S. by Country Life magazine. Folks, it doesn't get more serious than that.

Here's a link to a virtual tour: http://playhardproductions.com/huntland/ and the listing agent description below:

"Steeped in history and recognized by Country Life magazine as one of the seven outstanding country homes in the nation, Huntland enjoys the picturesque surroundings of Virginia’s finest. A scenic country road approaches this wonderfully private 550 acres farm, hidden behind a gated entry that leads to a winding drive past mature trees, boxwood hedges, spacious lawns and fenced paddocks. Beyond the arched bridge lie two architectural showpieces: the courtyard stable and kennel, built in 1913 and patterned after a composite of the finest kennels and stables in Europe. The gracious manor house was built by William Benton who was employed by President James Monroe in the building of Oak Hill near Aldie, Virginia. In 1911 Joseph B. Thomas bought the land and home. The pure Federal style design features spacious rooms, high ceilings, fine materials and rich details. Known not only as place of hounds, horses and fox hunting. Huntland has opened its doors to many senators, congressmen and Presidents Johnson and Kennedy. More photographs of this beautiful property can also be seen in our Horse Country fashion spread, pages 66-73."

Applause!

2009-01-31T08:44:00.003-05:00

Check out my rockin' new header courtesy of my big sister, Laura! She chastised me last night for my previous clumsy header which, and I hadn't realized this until last night, was far too big for the space and made readers scroll down to get to content. This is why I'm not a web designer. And why it is terrific to have one as your sister! Big props to Laura!

I will also tell you another reason I'm not good at this stuff. For over two years my business partner, Hilary, and I had a business website that we were inordinately pleased with ourselves for making and that we frequently thought was sooooo superior to other broker's websites. Until I realized about two months ago that there was no way buyers could search for homes through our website. My epiphany left me sitting in my chair open-mouthed with shock. DOH. Hilary confessed that she was fully aware of the lack but still felt smugly secure of our site. So, which is worse? My total, blissful ignorance of a VERY important aspect of a real estate website or Hilary's awareness but still thinking it was OK? I'm not sure which of the two of us is the bigger duffer. Needless to say, we've totally revamped the website. It is sheer luck that we are as successful as we are. Amazingly enough, we got buyer prospects off the old website. Go figure.

Beekman 1802

2009-01-30T19:05:00.005-05:00

I have a funny obsession with nice soap. I have a large wicker basket full of soap in the bathroom and I'm constantly adding to the collection. I disdain grocery store soap. I snub Zest, Irish Spring, or any form of liquid soap or "body wash" (shudder) that typically reeks of coconut, chemicals, and/or nauseating faux-flower scent. Most offensive are vanilla or jasmine scents. Gag. Doesn't get faker than that. Only triple-milled, preferably French, and tissue-wrapped (never plastic) bars for me.

Chris says before he met me he'd chunk some Ivory in the shower and never think about it again. Now he is maybe even more soap obsessed than me. We frequently leave TJ Maxx loaded down with bars Crabtree & Evelyn Damask Rose, Caswell Massey Lilac, and, if we're very lucky, Mistral in any scent. Remind me sometime to tell you about Mistral, produced by BET owner, Sheila Johnson, and headquartered in Middleburg, VA - officially my favorite place on earth.

Chris gave me an extra special soap surprise this Christmas - a box of six "August" scented goat-milk soaps from Beekman 1802, a New York farm run by Dr. Brent Ridge and his partner, Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Brent is a VP at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (and writes the monthly health related article in her magazine). They bought an old farmhouse and started an "experiment in seasonal living" centered around their garden and animals and now they craft amazing soaps from their goat's milk. This soap is wonderful. It has a deep, wholesome lavendar scent and the most amazing, creamy texture. I like to keep a bar of it nearby and frequently just hold it to my nose and sniff luxuriously while working at the computer or reading. I reeeeally like it.

Chris actually talked to Brent during the process of buying my soap. In the midst of a terrible snowstorm in New York, Brent was nervous he wouldn't be able to get the soap to the post office in time for a pre-Christmas arrival. Chris told me how incredibly nice Brent was and the extra trouble he went to to make sure my present got here. I can see the goats on their blog, I know that Josh handcrafted my particular six bars from the tag in the box, and then they went out of their way to make sure I received it. Neat, huh? Talk about an interactive buying experience that really connects you with the product.

So, be sure to check out their fascinating website and blog at: http://www.beekman1802.com/1802_homepage.html

And while you're there, treat yourself to some yummy soap! Here's the description from the August scented soaps:

"If we had to pick which was the hands-down busiest month at Beekman 1802, it would probably be August. There are days when we wish we could train the goats to carry bushel baskets of produce back and forth between the heirloom garden and the kitchen - where we're busy canning and freezing almost anything with a stem.

At the end of a busy day, pretty much all we want to do is collapse in bed. But we know if we don't take a moment to clear our minds, we'll sleep fitfully. So each evening, as the sun begins to go down, we take a slow walk around the formal garden inspections the season's final blossoms. As we meander, we crumble dried blossoms from our lavendar plants and rub them on our temples.

A slow evening garden walk is what we tried to capture in our Beekman 1802 Month of August soap. It's predominantly scented with lavendar, and rounded out with a few other of our favorite garden fragrances. We hope it brings you pleasant nights as well."

Oh, no!

2009-01-29T17:21:00.003-05:00

I just found out the dreadful news - Conde Nast is shuttering Domino, my hands-down favorite magazine! Ending with the March issues and blaming the shaky economy (which if everyone won't stop honking their horns about it it'll never get better), Conde Nast says it must economize and shelter magazines are some of the first to go. This is really a great publication that is creative, upscale, imaginative, and educational. Really a great design resource. Plus, they were one of the first to start plugging green and eco-friendly decor. Sigh. Another one bites the dust.

Check it out...

2009-01-27T21:25:00.002-05:00

Laura has created a new blog! Check it out: http://laurakhenderson.blogspot.com.

Want...

2009-01-27T21:23:00.001-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for nice field hunter prospects and I especially like this pretty lady:

http://www.cherryblossomfarm.net/tresjolie.html

Now, how do I go about getting her ASAP? Hmmmm.....

Also, be sure to check out the foxhunting wedding of the farm's owners. It's under the Photos link. She had a white habit made!

Things I like that you should probably like too...

2009-01-23T10:18:00.005-05:00

As I am a well known arbiter of good taste and quality product (Right...right? Anyone?), I am going to tell you about things I like and, as a result, that you should probably like too. Since I admire many things (some of which I own, but many of which I do not), I will have many things to share with you and you should probably trot right off and purchase them in order to enhance your country life experience. Then I can vicariously enjoy the fruits of my good taste labor through your possessions. Mmmkay? So, let's get started with Lesson One.

Yesterday I happened to pick up my riding bag. This little tote bag stays in my car most of the time and carries my half-chaps, gloves, hairnets, helmet, and so on in readiness for my weekly riding lesson in Hillsborough. I pulled out my Charles Owen "Hampton" helmet and lovingly stroked its Italian velvet, admired its golden satin lining, and its soft deerskin strap. I love this helmet. I love that it has a royal warrant (Charles Owens is the official helmet purveyor to the Queen) and I love its low profile and its dangly ribbon on the back and its solid hefty feel. This helmet reeks quality and has a pricetag to match. I debated long and hard before purchasing it, but barring a serious helmet-crushing accident, this should last forever. Plus, if it's entrusted to encase the Queen's head, surely it will protect mine in a satisfactory manner. Remember, like Mom and George Morris always say, buy the best quality you can afford and for heaven's sake don't buy one of those new spaceship-looking helmets also made by Charles Owen. Go for tradition. You don't see the Queen wearing titanium stripes.

Now keep in mind that I have traditionally worn a non SEI-ASTM helmet that has a razor thin shell and no chin strap and that would not protect my head if I fell off, but that looks sleek and traditional and very non-bubble-head. If I foxhunt next year, in all likelihood I will foolishly wear this old-fashioned helmet simply for the sake of looking good. I also love my old helmet because it looks absolutely worn out - the velvet has turned a deep russet-wine color from years of bleaching in the sun and rain in the winter and has pulled away from the brim in places. When I first started riding at Springwood Farm many years ago, my instructor told me that you could always spot the most knowledgeable and experienced horsemen by their faded helmets and that wannabes would sometimes leave a helmet out on a fencepost for months to acquire the weathered look of many years spent on horseback. Trends come and go in horsey fashion and that was cool in the 1980s and these days people would probably just think you're wearing a worn out helmet, but I still like to put on that old helmet and feel like I've joined the ranks of the elite.

Care about your food...

2008-12-28T18:10:00.002-05:00

So, I'm going to have a mini-rant. You should care, deeply and passionately, about where your food comes from. Look at your dinner plate. Do you know where the meat was raised and under what conditions? Do you know who grew your vegetables? I understand it isn't possible or much fun to control every aspect of your food, but I believe it is so, so important to incorporate as much local, sustainable, and organic food into your diet as you possibly can. Why? I believe in sustainability and community economy as well as humane and natural lifestyles for animals, but most importantly I care for my own health. I am scared when I think about the stuff Americans consume - I question if it's really even food and there are intensely frightening implications for our national health as we consume more and more plastic, fake, irradiated, genetically modified, petroleum and corn-laden food.

Thanks to a Mother and Grandmother well beyond their times (they were organic when organic was decidedly uncool and even a little weird), I've always been conscious of eating quality, healthy food grown in a healthy way. But, I didn't fully realize the ramifications of eating locally until I started reading Michael Pollan's The Ominvore's Dilemma. Anyone who cares about their food or health should read this and fully understand the role of corn (and its scary derivatives) in our lives and food chain. When you buy from local farms and farmers, you know how, where, and why they raise their products. You know with certainty the beef is 100% grass-fed (read Pollan's book and you'll understand why this is so important), you know the chickens are free range, and you can exactly trace the path of food to your plate. I am fully aware that this type of eating isn't feasible on a large scale - there's no way the populace, who largely don't care about what they're eating as long as it's cheap, accessible, and tasty, could be fed on a sustainable, local diet without the aid of perservatives, trucking, and additives. But, it is feasible on an individual basis. So start caring today about the quality of the food you eat and where it comes from. Make a difference in your own life by supporting your local farmers and savor your meals on a deeper level.

Chris and I are committing to this in 2009. We already produce our own eggs, honey, milk, and butter but we're going to expand that and start a raised-bed garden. We may process a few of our own chickens and turkeys and we've joined the Alamance County Co-Op, which should hopefully be opening in the fall. Our goal is to increase our own self-sufficiency and grow a considerable amount of our own food. I can't imagine any goal more satisfying and more fulfilling than sitting down to a dinner we've grown and produced ourselves.

Our tree...

2008-12-25T16:00:00.004-05:00

Our tree has a woodland theme with a pheasant feather crown, lots of bird-themed ornaments, sugared fruits, berries, and pinecones. Laura also got us a beautiful little fox ornament from the Christmas store in Middleburg (they have the ornaments for the girls at Foxcroft), but I couldn't get a nice picture of it. Why is it so danged hard to take a decent picture of a Christmas tree? Please ignore our bare looking living room - we're in the midst of a big painting and drapery project that is about 50% done.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:49:00.004-05:00

Merry, merry, happy, happy. Pictures of Mom and Dad's decorations and our brunch with them this morning.

Early Christmas

2008-12-16T16:44:00.003-05:00

We had an early Christmas this weekend with Laura. We made a pretty golden tablescape at Mom's house, decorated a Victorian-themed tree, and ate until we passed the throwing-up point and achieved maximum density. This is similar to breaking the sound barrier.

Seated at our sumptuous feast that Chris slaved over all day, I thought it would be fun to ask Christmas themed questions like, "What is your favorite Christmas carol?" and "Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?" Keep in mind that in our household naming Santa's reindeer is a high difficulty level question. Things started going awry when Laura asked, "What is the worst Christmas present you've ever received?" and she tells us that her worst was a package of purple bath salts. She never takes a bath (only showers) and these were from the Rite-Aid in like a five pound brick and smelled like plastic. I started sinking lower and lower in my chair, cutting my eyes frantically at Chris. My great idea had been to make a basket for her and fill it with all manner of goodies in a Palm Beach/Pucci theme and what should this include, but a large, deep purple box of lavendar bath salts. Sigh. The basket had other yummies in it and I had mostly bought the bath salts because their pretty shiny purple box had a crystal knob on top and it matched the other swirling Pucci patterned goodies, but then Laura felt bad and had to repeatedly sniff her salts and exclaim what a nice present it was. There was also a bottle of Molton Brown Indian Cress hand lotion in the basket. Laura poured out a generous dollop onto her hands and rubbed and rubbed, but it didn't seem to really soak into the skin all that well. I looked at the label again and it was hair conditioner. Yeesch.

The Queen's Hounds

2008-12-16T16:27:00.003-05:00

Princess Beatrice's beloved Norfolk terrier, Max, has gone missing in the 5,000 acres of Windsor Great Park and Granny has pitched in to help with the search, according to The Daily Mail. Of course, the Queen's affinity for corgis is widely known (interestingly enough, corgis seem to be the dog of choice with the AQHA/Western Pleasure crowd as well) but here's a list of the Queen's dogs and their names:

"The Queen is well-known for her love of dogs and has kept more than 30 Corgis during her reign. Her first Corgi was Susan who was a present for her 18th birthday in 1944 and many of her dogs have descended from her first pet. She currently has five corgis called Emma, Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly. She also owns four 'dorgis' (corgis crossed with dachshunds) called Cider, Berry, Vulcan and Candy and five cocker spaniels called Bisto, Oxo, Flash, Spick and Span."

Picture and quoted text from The Daily Mail.

Cat in a box

2008-11-15T22:11:00.002-05:00

The cat has spent the last two nights inside the house, not sleeping on my face, as he is wont to do. Instead, he has decided he likes the guest bedroom and promptly carries himself back there and doesn't emerge again until the morning. Last night I heard lots of rustling and thumping and I went to check on him and he had settled himself in a Rubbermaid bin full of my old horse show ribbons. I thought he looked especially cute, so I took lots of pictures. I hope you're suitably impressed with the fact that I have an entire Rubbermaid tub full of ribbons. And that's not even scratching the surface of the masses of accumulated ribbons. It reached the point where I only took the ribbon if it was blue. Otherwise, I just told 'em to keep it. That sounds awful, but all you heavy circuit showers will understand. I was grateful for t-shirts, flashlights, bikes, visors, radios, miniature bottles of horse shampoo (all actual prizes I've received), anything but another darned ribbon.

The cat's pestulant, festering abcess is clearly visible in these pictures. Fabulous!

Wisdom from the Red Zinger box...

2008-11-15T22:05:00.005-05:00

"...it is a wretched taste to be gratified with mediocrity when the excellent lies before us."

- Isaac D'Israeli

Image from Wikipedia.org.

Ugh

2008-11-11T21:15:00.002-05:00

So, I haven't posted in almost a month. Not from blogging apathy or sheer laziness, but because we lost our minds and bought a foreclosure and now every waking moment is consumed with fixing up this house. Almost every room was covered in hideous wallpaper, the place has got narsty vinyl and carpet floors like whoah, and I pretty much never want to see a paintbrush again. At 11:00 at night as I put the second coat of Kilz on the filthy dark wood trim and pry the crust of dried paint off my clothes, I think, "Man, I could be in the Hunt Box, sipping tea and watching Monarch of the Glen. But here I am painting trim in this house." But, nothing was ever achieved without risk, as Mr. Churchill said (did you know in the election right after WWII he lost by a huge margin to the Labour government? Some thanks from a grateful nation, huh? They wanted change then too). Our asses are flapping in the wind on this sucker, but I think it's going to pay off in the long run. Everybody that sees the place says, "Oh, you're sitting on a gold mine." And that's reassuring. Anyways, I'll post more about this in a before and after post.

Besides the forced labor camp, there have been lots of other interesting things going on including two weddings, Indigo and the Raggedy Cat have both had abcesses (what the heck?) and the big dogs have moved outside, saving our marriage from impending doom (or else just saving Chris from major meltdowns on my part when I see dog hair in the floor. Or puke. Or poop. It all happens far too often). I can't talk about all that now though because I am just too awfully tired. Another day...

Deep down...

2008-10-16T18:17:00.003-04:00

“Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.”
- Ava Gardner

Image from vintageculture.net.

This week's beast...

2008-10-05T21:28:00.003-04:00

Is Finch. Officially, it's Greenway's Finch Hatton, after Denys Finch Hatton.

The addition of Finch to the household was a bit of an afterthought, poor mite. He was the last unsold puppy and so we brought him to the house so he wouldn't be alone and then we liked him and there you have it. What's so endearing about Finch is that he's...awkward. Finch is the shy kid at school who's not confident enough to try new things because he's afraid he'll look stupid or ridiculous. His brother Flattie is rambunctious, nosy, and friendly and Finch will hang back and look up with sad eyes and you can just see the awkwardness. When Finch first came to the house he was frightened to come up the porch stairs, frightened to walk across the vinyl in the kitchen, frightened to get into the car, frightened to get out of the car. Most of this scaredy-cat behavior has gone away and he seems to have matured quite a bit, but he is still the most reserved dog and, in his quiet way, probably the sweetest.

The Cazalet Chronicle

2008-10-05T21:12:00.002-04:00

Have you read the Cazalet books by Elizabeth Jane Howard? I think I might start a suggested reading list. Anyways, I'm almost finished with the first in the four book series, The Light Years. It chronicles an upper middle-class British family in the summer of 1937 at their country home and captures those last, sunny moments before the war. What's so captivating and poignant about Howard's writing is how she records the tiny details of everyday life in such a moving way. I can't remember how I found out about these books (I think I may have seen them recommended on another blog), but I just ordered the last three from Amazon.

My Girl Friday

2008-09-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

"Flops are a part of life's menu and I'm never a girl to miss out on a course."

- Rosalind Russell

Image from Britannica.com

Technology spoils the illusion...

2008-09-28T09:13:00.003-04:00

So, having just posted about Anne of Green Gables I noticed that in the second picture the "oil lamp" by the window (which Anne used to signal to her bosom friend, Diana Barry, who lived across the hill) has a visible electric cord. Damn sloppy Canadians.

Anne of Green Gables

2008-09-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

I read the Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery when I was about 12 and thought they were great, but I haven't thought much about them in the following 14 years. There are puffed sleeves on Victorian dresses, misty descriptions of romantic Prince Edward Island, and the breathless, starry-eyed redheaded Anne - a recipe designed to enchant 12-year old girls.

So, I was sorting through some books a few months ago and stumbled across my old copy of Anne of Green Gables, the first book in the series, and started reading it. And L-O-V-E-D it. Like, all I can think about is Anne of Green Gables. And I want to look like her (I am googling auburn hair as we speak) and talk like her and be starry-eyed and romantical and stuff. I've blasted my way through the following seven books in the series and just finished Rilla of Ingleside yesterday and now I feel mopey and kind of sad because the story has ended. And I want more, dammit. Now I'm looking for first editions on Ebay and I guess I'll start re-reading the series over again. I try to think of Anne-like things to say, such as "On a starshiney night like this, I can imagine that the fairies and dryads have come out to dance under the willow trees" but Chris looks alarmed and bewildered.

Of couse, I am salivating over a trip to Prince Edward Island next autumn and I'm scouring all the tourism websites and planning a big Canadian voyage. Mom has said that the Anne of Green Gables house has been nearly worn out from the thousands of Japanese tourists who love Western-culture kitsch. Apparently the Japanese are also crazy for Beatrix Potter and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Kitsch is an unkind word - it's really more about the warm, childhood pleasures of the Americans and English. I suppose in many ways the warmth of apple-pie and hearthside would be tremendously appealing to a culture that is cold and hard and restricted in many ways. The cottages, lupine-filled meadows, and picket fences of Prince Edward Island are certainly a far cry from the pulsating, electronic streets of Tokyo where most folks live in 300 square foot apartments and can't even have a cat.

Anyways, long and short of it, hie thee to the library or bookstore and read these books. In a world filled with turmoil and uncertainty, Anne and her tales are a perfect way to revisit a simpler and warmer place and time.

Images from Anne 2008

Apparently I forgot the funny bits...

2008-09-23T19:52:00.002-04:00

Chris says I forgot to tell the funny parts about the new cat. So, what's funny is that we had a hard time naming the cat. Now, we usually have a hard time naming cats. For example, we have an orange-colored cat and his name is--wait for it--Orange Cat. We used to have a gray cat and his name was Gray Cat (he died several years ago. I thought he was looking a little under the weather one day and I said, "I don't think that cat feels good" and my Mom said, "Oh, no he's fine." And then he turned up dead like two days later). We also have a Squeaky Cat, who makes a lot of squeaking noises. And then Smoky. That's the only cat with a somewhat creative name. Although I think Smoky is probably the Ryder or Hunter or Jennifer of cat names. Really common.

Anyways, when the new, lost cat first turned up we thought it was male and so we decided he should be called Ralph de Briccasart, like from The Thorn Birds. We had just finished watching it on Netflix. I don't know why we thought that the name of disgraced priest played by Richard Chamberlain was appropriate for this bedraggled cat. So, then we noticed that the cat had what appeared to be nipples and an enlarged stomach so we thought, "Uh-oh. This is a female cat and she's knocked up." So, then we decided to call "her" Honeybee. Since we keep bees and the cat likes to drink out of the fountain on the porch and so do the bees, I thought this was super cute. At the vet they told me that the cat is actually a neutered male and I guess the enlarged stomach was from stuffing himself full of kibbles after starving for some time. Like little Ethiopian kids. Their tummies are always enlarged. So, now it's Robot because I think Honeybee is too effeminate. This is also our second fiasco at sexing cats. Chris had a little kitten in his apartment (along with the squeaking cat) and we thought it was a girl and called her Dolly, as in Dolly Parton. Well, turns out it was a male and then we just called it Fluffy Cat. Because...hold your breath...it had fluffy hair.

Beast of the Week

2008-09-21T16:00:00.001-04:00

In an effort to introduce our entire menagerie, I'm going to post a "Beast of the Week." This week's featured critter is Robot, the lost cat. This kitty showed up in our driveway about a month ago, so weak and wobbly he could barely walk. His hair has bald patches, he has a chipped tooth, his legs are bizarrely long and his ears are short and hard, and he walks with a stiff, awkward gait--hence the name Robot--and we just love, love, love him. I have no idea how he turned up in this condition in our driveway because I think he was probably someone's house cat. We took him to the vet and he's been neutered and is very friendly and loving, so he's no feral cat. Maybe he belonged to a foreclosure family and they dumped him on the road. I don't know. If that's the case, I'd like to beat up that family.

Anyways, he is just the sweetest, most lovingest cat ever. He lives outside at The Hunt Box (we didn't think he was up to facing the stronger barn kitties that tend to squabble amongst themselves) and he has a cozy little bed made out of a milk crate under the garage. However, what he really prefers is coming inside with us on cool fall evenings and curling up on a cushion. We have allowed this a few times and I believe it's probably going to become a regular routine, despite our already overcrowded home.

Making Apple Cider

2008-09-21T14:27:00.001-04:00

Annette and Tommy (Chris's aunt and her fiance) were making apple cider yesterday, so we popped up the road for a visit. Tommy had collected apples from his trees and around the neighborhood and used an antique cider press to chop and press the apple bounty into cider. First, you throw the apples into a hand-cranked grinder and they come out all chopped up into a wood-slatted bucket set below it. Then you move the bucket forward and twist down on a metal press until the apples are so compacted that juice starts to run out a sluice at the bottom and into a cheesecloth-covered wooden tray. Then the juice is wrung out of the cloth and dipped into containers. This is a labor-intensive process and you don't get a lot of cider for the amount of apples, but I just loved the fact that on a perfect, crisp fall day they were making cider in a time-honored way. Very Laura Ingalls Wilder. I felt like I should have been tossing around a blown-up pig bladder.

Tommy has collected three of these antique cider presses, mostly from auctions and estate sales. He said he'd sell us one for $2500, but at that price I guess we'll just plant some apple trees and take our apples to him to make us cider.

We came away with a Heinz vinegar bottle full of yummy cider and enjoyed a glass this morning. Tommy says to let it sit 7-10 days in the refrigerator to harden and develop a tangier flavor. He also said if you just leave it to continue hardening, it develops a foam or "mather" on the top and will eventually become apple-cider vinegar. I think ours will probably be guzzled down long before that - as a wannabe "locavore" I'm thrilled to have a product grown and made within two miles of our home. I wanted to add a video I took of the process and all the neighbors chuckling and kidding each other, but I can't figure out to horizontally orient it. If I can figure that out, I'll post it.

My Twenty Autumn Treasures....

2008-09-21T13:55:00.001-04:00

Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. In the fourth grade the teacher asked us to write a list of our favorite things about fall and I can still remember what a fun time I had listing all my little 9-year old favorite things and drawing the illustrations for it. So, I wanted to participate in The Inspired Room's "Twenty Little Things to Treasure in Autumn" challenge. Be sure to check out her inspiring blog about living an authentic and beautiful life (a la Alexandra Stoddard).

Twenty thing I treasure in Autumn:

1. The first chilly evening, which was this weekend here in central NC.

2. Pulling out all my sweaters scented with cedar from summer storage.

3. Hanging up my Smith & Hawken Autumn flag.

4. Cinnamon, pumpkin, and clove scents and candles.

5. Apple cider.

6. Lighting a fire in our copper fire pot on a chilly evening.

7. Mums and pumpkins.

8. Leaves falling and blowing on a blustery day.

9. Pots of steaming hot tea and watching the little wisps of steam come out of the pot.

10. Coming into the warm, glowing house on a cold evening.

11. Harvesting birdhouse gourds.

12. Baking a pumpkin pie (I think we're going to bake one this evening).

13. Cleaning up the garden for winter and harvesting the last tomatoes.

14. Watching the birds fly South.

15. Getting out the feather duvet for the bed.

16. Snuggling under a cozy blanket with a cup of tea and reading on a frosty evening.

17. Watching the horses get fuzzy as the nights get cooler.

18. Our wedding anniversary in October.

19. Smelling the crisp, earthy fall air.

20. Decorating the house with berries and pumpkins.

Photos by Lynette Mittendorf Photography from our wedding last October.

Typical

2008-08-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

With Long Branch on the mind, something niggled my memory and I went and found our Christmas 2007 pictures. Turns out, I have already been to Long Branch and had forgotten. It was closed for the holidays, but you'll see these pictures show Mr. W and Laura on the outside looking in, noses pushed against the glass. Sadly, this is our typical pose - I can provide fuzzy photos of the interior of the private and not open to the public Orton Plantation. These involved Laura jumping a chained-off walkway, scurrying onto the pillared front porch and frantically snapping through the living room and dining room windows. I hope none of the owners of Orton ever read this blog (although this is highly unlikely considering that my Mom is our only reader). Of course, that was in like 1990. Surely there's a statute of limits for snoopy pictures?

Long Branch

2008-08-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

Laura and Mom recently visited historic Long Branch in Millwood, Virginia. Being connoisseurs of country estates, both agreed that this home was by far the best Virginia home they had ever visited. Renovated in the late 1980s by Harry Z. Isaacs, a Baltimore textile executive, this farm has been featured on A&E's America's Castles and also serves as a retirement home for older horses. Colette Poisson, curator of the estate, gave them a fascinating tour and insight into Mr. Isaacs's restoration. She is retiring this spring, so Laura wants for me and Mr. W to come up one weekend this fall so that we can have a tour with Colette.

Laura sent me this link to pictures from a hunt at Long Branch last November: http://www.historiclongbranch.com/albums/hlbhunt07/index.htm. Now that, my friends, is what living is all about.

Unfortunately, they've got a really crummy website. Laura said she had misty-colored fantasies of offering to construct a new website for them, which involved daily trips to Long Branch where she would work in one of the historic drawing rooms with soft music playing and servants bringing her mint juleps (I exaggerated a bit there). But, check it out at www.historiclongbranch.com.

Home Improvement

2008-07-27T12:28:00.000-04:00

The Donkey Whisperer

Phyllis and Bob hosted a cookout last night at their farm in Rougemont with a delicious menu of grilled chicken and ribs, tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers straight from the garden, and peach ice cream made with peaches from their own trees . They pushed together two old tobacco barns to make their home and it is the epitome of rustic country living and charm with a huge wraparound porch where we sat for most of the evening. Crickets chirped, only two cars passed by the entire time we were there, and I believe there is no finer way to spend an evening.

Sam the dog.

Mr. Wickre, Farley, Sam, and Mr. W ride in the back of the truck to go see the cow herd.

But, as we toured the house, Mr. W and I spied a to-do list on the refrigerator and stopped to read. Phyllis had posted a list of all the items needing to be done around the farm and at their store - some of these were: sell the goats (this item was marked through), repair the baler to sell, fix the awning at the shop, and so on. In a flash of brilliant inspiration, I realized that the Hunt Box fridge needed just such a thing to help keep us focused (mostly to keep Mr. W focused while I continue to add items to the list). This will be going up on the fridge tomorrow, since the printer is out of ink today.

The Hunt Box Project List (italics indicated completed projects - I decided to include them to give us a sense of accomplishment):

- Run electricity and water to garage shed.
- Water faucet on the front of the house.
- Remove garden tub from master bath and paint bathroom.
- Paint office lemon butter yellow and put up white beadboard.
- Build workstation for office.
- Build cornice for office window.
- Finish clearing trees behind house.
- Seal front deck.
- Build cornices for living room windows.
- 2” wood blinds for living room/kitchen windows to replace mini-blinds.
- Paint shutters dark green to match garage.
- Dark green awning for front door.
- Redo front door and front porch with urn pots.
- New lighting fixture for front door.
- Paint living room & kitchen – Tobacco Road. (Thank you, Nesting Place! http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/2008/02/paint.html)
- Paint master bedroom – Oyster Bay
- Landscape driveway island.
- Rock wall around driveway island.
- Lay hardwoods in living room and kitchen.
- Solid door (instead of one with glass panel...I worry about security) for back doorway.
- Fence in backyard for dogs.

We're horrible bloggers...

2008-07-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

As I suspected we would be, we've been horribly delinquent in posting. And, when we do, it's pretty boring. I've been studying other blogs and slowly realizing what it takes to have something that people actually want to read (besides your Mom and sister) and so we're going to step up our game and get more serious about posting. I'll start tomorrow...or maybe Monday...what is that saying about the road to hell?

New and Improved Garden Shed

2008-05-14T10:31:00.003-04:00

After Mom's bathroom renovation, Bob ran electricity and water to our garden shed, a project we've been wanting to do for months. Our little shed was essentially a rubbish tip and storage involved opening the door, shoving in items, and then rapidly getting out. With power and light, we decided last weekend that it was time to organize. Now we can actually see and find things!

May Garden

2008-05-14T10:25:00.000-04:00

The garden is looking very pretty these days. Chris planted a variety of irises.

Fun with Macro!

2008-02-19T15:33:00.000-05:00

I gave Lilly a new camera for Christmas and this past Sunday decided it would be a good idea if I learned how to use some of its features. Here are a few shots from my afternoon of playing with the macro setting. All these pictures were taken with the lens only about an inch or two away from the subjects. I was pleased for a first attempt. Enjoy. :)

Crocus

Gerbera Daisy

Sedum

Acorn Cap on moss

Gerbera Daisy

Hen and chicks

Honey bee

A visit to Chinqua Penn Plantation!

2008-02-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, in celebration of Lilly’s 26th birthday, we took a trip to Chinqua Penn Plantation(www.chinquapenn.com) near Reidsville, NC. Built in 1926 by Thomas Jefferson Penn and his wife Beatrice Schoellkopf Penn, Chinqua Penn is named for the chinquapin tree, more commonly known as the dwarf chestnut, which was Mr. Penn’s favorite tree. The Penns were avid travelers and filled (literally, like to the gills) their beautiful mansion with items purchased all over the world. When Mrs. Penn died in 1965, she willed Chinqua Penn to the University of North Carolina system. The university system kept the house open for several years until it became too cost prohibitive. The home was subsequently sold to Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Phelps in 2006, who reopened it to the public just this past year.

We had a very interesting tour of the house from the most awkward tour guide ever. She was very knowlegeable, but a total redneck who kept making comments like "Well, since I'm not a millionaire's wife, I wouldn't know why somebody would need a slipper stool to put on their shoes and couldn't just sit on the side of the bed like everybody else." Also in our tour group were two goobers from Raleigh, who paraded out one inane question after the next for the duration of our tour. There’s always one in every group.

After our tour of the main house, we wandered around outside for a while enjoying the grounds.

While wandering around, I spotted a pen of peafowl and unable to resist their charms, I was off like a shot to investigate...beauty, beauty. Note to self, must get some for Greenway Farm.

After leaving Chinqua Penn, we headed towards Yanceyville where we planned to have dinner at Yanceyville House. To kill time, we drove around downtown Yanceyville...a vast metropolis to be sure.

The Caswell County courthouse...looking very out of place in its splendor.

Ever the intrepid hunters and gatherers, we spotted an old, falling-down house for sale on Main Street that was surrounded by the most incredible boxwoods. Lilly rang up the listing agent and inquired as to whether or not the seller would be willing to sell them to us. Surely it was the first such request he'd ever received...he was totally baffled and said he'd have to try and get in touch with the seller who lives in Florida. We still haven't heard back from him.

No idea how we'd get all those bushes back to Greenway Farm...but if we did, Martha Stewart would be envious.

Dinner at The Yancey House was excellent. The place was packed!

Please ignore this most unflattering picture of my hinder!

Snowy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

We got a beautiful, and very unexpected, snow last night!

Dog Herd

2008-02-12T17:11:00.001-05:00

Visiting Glow and Pepsi

2008-02-12T17:03:00.001-05:00

Glow and Pepsi are in semi-retirement at Brandywine Stables in Midland and we went to visit them last week. They're both getting on up there (Glow will be 21 in March and Peps is 22), but as you can see, they're both looking fit and fuzzy and fine for senior equine citizens! Pepsi was the 4H State Short Stirrup Champion in 2006 with one of Debbie's boarders, but now has arthritis in his knees and has limited riding. Glow has three regular riders, including an older lady with MS whose riding is therapeutic. A younger rider has started working on him and may show him some this summer, which I would love to go see. I miss the old guys, but they're having a big time with lots of new little girls to love them.

Winter!

2008-01-22T10:12:00.000-05:00

We've had some, admittedly pretty pathetic, winter weather this weekend and I'm terribly excited about it and just wish it had been worse. We got some ice last Thursday and then a beautiful snowy afternoon on Saturday. Plus, it's been terribly cold - it got down to ten degrees on Sunday night and our pipes froze! It's a bad feeling to wake up and not have water, but the nice men at Willie Saul Plumbing came within an hour and used a blower heater to thaw things out and gave our pipes some more insulation. Lesson learned though - when you live in a Hunt Box and it's almost in single digits, leave a faucet dripping.

Of course, the news stations were about to pee themselves with excitement over the weekend and all that died down yesterday and this morning we've actually got the worst conditions. The news stations have been caught off guard and are quickly trying to regain ground with coated and hatted reporters standing next to the road and earnestly telling us to stay home. Rain moved in about 8:00 this morning and accompanied with temps in the low 20s this morning, the roads are incredibly icy and everyone has been caught unawares. Chris left for work at 8:00 and had to turn around and come back to the house almost immediately. There were two cars in the ditch just on Cullen Rd. The interstate is apparently a nightmare and some secondary roads are almost impassable with wrecks now. So, we're settled in with a pot of tea until the temperature comes up this afternoon.

Anyways, this weekend we attended the opening of the Ernie Williamson Athletics Center in Chapel Hill. This beautiful new building, located next to the Dean Dome, will house the UNC Basketball Museum and offices of the Education Foundation and Rams Club. It is named after Chris's grandfather, Ernie Williamson or "Big E," who was the longtime executive director of the Education Foundation and is widely considered to be a "Carolina Legend." All the Carolina basketball royalty was there (Roy Williams put his arm around me for the ribbon cutting - oooh la la!) and it was a wonderful tribute to all the hard work that Chris's granddad gave to the University. Everyone there was remembering favorite stories of him and he was an amazing man - I only wish that I could have known him.

I've posted a few pictures of Ernie's bust, on display in the new Rams Club offices. The event had several photographers - once I get copies of those pics, I'll post them. Check out this link for more information: http://www.ramsclub.com/Default.aspx?tabid=70

...the love of bare November days...

2007-11-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

My November Guest - Robert Frost

MY Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

I have a small blue book of Robert Frost's poems and this one has always been one of my favorites. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I love "bare November days." This year has been a warm, sunny November and I'm still waiting for heavy skies and faded earth. The good news is that everyone is predicting a hard winter because of the heavily laden persimmon, oak, and walnut trees. In fact, all the Alamanac signs are showing up - it thundered this morning and that is supposed to mean snow in two weeks. The last two winters have been notable for their general balminess and I, for one, am ready for a hard snow, being trapped in the Hunt Box for about a week with endless mugs of tea, Poldark, and video fireplace.

So, much as I suspected would happen, we were almost immediately delinquent with posting to the blog, so I've decided to just do a blog-marathon to cover the entire month of November. And it was a busy one!

We kicked it off with a visit to Mom and Dad's new sailboat, The Fawlty Beagle. This name will soon be changed to the Laura Anne (a combination of mine and my sister's names) but the previous owner apparently had an affection for his pet beagle and Fawlty Towers. The boat's home is a slip at Whitaker Pointe marina in Oriental, the "Sailboat Capitol of the World." Who knew? The boat is lovely - all teak wood and sleek curves. We cooked out on the ship-board grill on Saturday night and then ventured out into the Neuse River on Sunday. We put-putted to the dump station around the corner and vainly attempted to work the pumping equipment. No such luck. So, full to the brim, we put-putted out into the river and learned how to read channel markers. Since we were off for an adventure, we navigated across the river to the Intercoastal Waterway and anchored in front of George and Sallie Ellinwood's home at the mouth of the Waterway. Sallie later reported that she had noticed a boat lurking out there. We tried to fish with pork fat (again, no such luck) and ate sandwiches and were violently rocked by the wake of mega-yachts cruising down the Waterway towards Beaufort.

What should have been a relaxing day took an unexpected downturn when we got a phone call from the lady looking after the animals that Casey and Flattie (the new chocolate pup) had escaped when she left the gate open while feeding. Casey returned after about 15 minutes, but at 6:00pm that evening Flattie was still MIA. With heavy hearts, Chris and I headed home and just kept hoping we'd come around the curve towards the Hunt Box and he'd be laying on the front porch waiting for us. Again, no such luck. We drove up and down Cullen Rd. forlornly calling, "FLLAAAAAAAAAATTTTIIIIEEE!" at 10:00 that night - what must the neighbors have thought? Hilary came over early on Monday morning and we launched Operation Flattie-Come-Home. We printed neon flyers and put them on every mailbox on Cullen and Anderland Roads, on every power pole between here and Gibsonville, and plastered street signs. And, finally, luck was with us! Around noon I got a phone call and he had turned up on a man's back porch the night before about two miles away on Colony Rd. And, it gets even better - we got Flattie back and our lovely neighbors decided to take one of the two remaining black pups for their granddaughter! Two birds with one stone.

Well, since one of the black pups was gone, we clearly couldn't leave the other by himself and that meant he had to come back to the Hunt Box. So, we now have Casey, Flattie, Indigo, and our newest circus member - Finch! Short for Greenway's Finch-Hatton after the dashing 1920s white hunter of Kenya, lover of Isak Denison, and mentor of Beryl Markham. I would have thought that I'd be dying with four dogs (three of them over 60 pounds) in our 1200 square foot house, but I am pleased to report that these are the most well-behaved, adorable, affectionate puppies I've ever seen and they are surprisingly easy to live with (well, just wait until I post the December blog. We've hit our first puppy growing pains). The picture below is of the two cuties curled up for a nap on a chilly evening.

So, the busy November schedule continued with Katy and Jonathan's wedding. Absolutely stunning and we had a wonderful time enjoying her beautiful ceremony and reception. Chris even got up and joined the conga-line! After Katy being a bridesmaid at my wedding, it was time to switch roles and we had beautiful dresses and gorgeous white rose bouquets. Katy's flowers were magnificent - huge silver bowls filled with white roses, masses of hydrangeas in tall silver candlesticks. Yum, yum. A bagpiper proceeded her and her father up the aisle - the music was so poignant and it was the sort of thing that really gave you goosebumps. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. Lynette photographed everything and I can't wait to see the pictures! I snapped a few candids at the bridesmaid luncheon and while we were waiting before the ceremony. I should probably caveat that picture of Katy. She was doing the Stuart-face from Mad TV. If you don't know what that is, then just chuckle and move on.

The next day we had an early Thanksgiving with the Williamsons and Chris made a beautiful Beef Wellington. Again, yum, yum.

We left that week to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the Vollmuths in Lake Barrington, Illinois, about an hour outside of Chicago. There was a dusting of snow on the ground when we arrived and it was cold. Like, seriously cold. Like, you needed a hat and ski-mask and gloves and sub-zero down jacket. Although it was a whirlwind trip, (starting and ending with a torturous 14 hour drive. Word of advice - never drive to Chicago!) we fit in a magnificent Thanksgiving dinner prepared almost single-handedly by Suze and two full days in the city. On Friday, we took the train into downtown Chicago, went up the Sears Tower and admired the view of Lake Michigan, and then went to see "Wicked" in the Oriental Theater. As we left the theater, a crowd had gathered in a square to watch the official lighting of the city's Christmas tree. See our video below.

Saturday, we went back in and did some more sight-seeing, starting with the Field Museum. Chris and I have been wanting to see the Lions of Tsavo for years and it was exciting and a little chilling to stand in front of their display at the Field Museum. If you don't know their story, be sure to read Colonel Patterson's The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (this is linked to Amazon.com so you can check it out). In the span of few months in 1898, these maneless lions killed over 140 railroad workers building a bridge across the river Tsavo in Kenya and showed an almost supernatural ability to outwit and evade their hunters before finally being felled by Colonel Patterson. If you're not up for reading the book, absolutely watch the 1996 film The Ghost and the Darkness. They've glamorized it a bit, but it is a fairly close account to what actually happened and it's hair-raising. Anyways, the lions don't look all that terrifying on display because the skins were used as rugs for about twenty years before they were mounted. But, as they say in the movie, if you look into their eyes it can still make you feel a little uneasy.

In addition to the lions, the Field Museum is full of fascinating things. There is an incredible display of stuffed birds from all over the world and the most complete T-Rex skeleton in the world, Sue, is on display. We would have loved to linger all day, but we went to the Museum of Science and Industry and whirled through it to see an incredible display of miniatures that Suze loved. There is a working coal-mine exhibit at this museum, a submarine, a train...all kind of amazing things. Plus, it is housed in the last remaining building from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Be sure to read The Devil in the White City. We listened to it on the awful drive and it's an amazing true account of the World's Fair and America's first documented serial killer.

We finished up the day with dinner at Suze's favorite restaurant, The Grand Lux on Michigan Avenue. We stuffed ourselves with enormous bowls of "Sunday-night" spaghetti and then pushed an enjoyable experience right into the realm of stomach pain by polishing off a basket of beignets. As dusk fell, the trees on Michigan Ave. lit up with twinkle lights and the city looked magical and Christmasey as we headed back to the train station.

Oh, Happy Day!

2007-10-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for pictures and details of our wedding on October 6, 2007 - at least I have.

Last August, we spotted The Hayloft, a renovated 1940s dairy barn, in The Knot magazine. The best part? It was only about ten minutes down the road in McLeansville. We went to visit and reserved it that same day for our wedding fourteen months away. I cannot believe how quickly those months flew by and suddenly all the careful planning and preparation was done and the wheels were in motion!

We started the festivities on Friday the 5th with Chris preparing all our centerpieces and floral decor. Although he looked decidedly sweaty and flustered at times, they were magnificent and he did an incredible job. We got our inspiration from a Carolyne Roehm book where she threw a hunt ball and had magnolia leaf and cattail centerpieces. We gussied ours up with pheasant feathers, bells of ireland, cattails stolen from the Carson Farms community pond (thanks Hilary and Aaron!) and sticky-twiggy things purchased at Michael's. I think Chris should start doing floral design, but he says no. Big thanks to Mom for picking up our table linens, rehearsal dinner cake, and booze...we couldn't have done it without you!

With the help of Crystal Osborne from The Hayloft, we set up all our home-grown gourds, pumpkins, and mums. I am heartily convinced I could write a book on the subject of budget wedding planning, but without a large farm supplied with magnolia trees, gourd patches, a creative fiance with an eye for flower decor, and friends who can supply mums at a discount, it might prove discouraging to those who read it.

We kicked off the offical wedding weekend with our laid-back rehearsal dinner on Friday night. The lovely Reverend Jane officiated and Crystal kept everyone stepping lively and in the correct order. Erik did a lovely job of standing in for Katy, who was stuck in traffic in Raleigh, and I know he particularly enjoyed his walks down the aisle with Tom G. Chris's Mom prepared a wonderful dinner and afterwards, we headed back to Mom and Dad's house for a roaring bonfire, roasted marshmallows, and hot cider! Emphasis on the roaring. After months with no rain and a truckload of dry, brittle kindling, our bonfire roared forth with a fury to match Hell. As we all backed away with scorched eyebrows and sweaty foreheads, the fire grew taller and taller into the sky and there was a wave of general nervousness for the future of a nearby tree. Fortunately, it died down a bit and we were able to cautiously inch forward and roast marshmallows on very long sticks. Heath brought some apricot schnapps in a brown paper bag and a healthy dollop was added to the cider and everyone was very merry. Afterwards, Chris headed off to Hilary and Aaron's house since we were going to go the traditional route and chose not see each other until the ceremony. I'll tell you...it was a lonely night in the Hunt Box!

Ah, the wedding day! After the months of aforementioned lack of rain, I was pretty sure that Mother Naure would choose to torment me and the heavens would burst open with hurricane strength during our ceremony. But, luck was on our side, and it dawned a beautiful, sunny, blue-skied day with temps in the 80s. The girls started things out with a beautiful Bridesmaid Brunch hosted by Mom. Every little detail was just perfect from the beautifully set table with mini-bride-and-groom name cards to the tangerine mimosas and pumpkin muffins. Yum! We all had a weepy moment when Mom played the Ed Ames song "My Cup Runneth Over" and wished me and Chris as much happiness and love as she and Dad have had. After everyone had dried their eyes and wiped their noses (well, mostly me), there was a special present at my place at the table from Chris. He had bought me a beautiful pair of white pearl earrings to wear to the wedding. Everyone together now...."OOOH, that Chris!" It almost made me weep again. But, that was good, because all the tears were gone ahead and shed before the ceremony.

Then we all (Mom, Suze, Laura, Me, Katy, Hilary, and Melissa) trooped off to the Beauty Parlor to have our hair done. There were supposed to be two stylists to turn us all out, but one called in sick. So, it became a three hour hair marathon with one rattled stylist who had to move at light speed to finish everyone and chattered a non-stop stream of nonsense throughout. I was pretty rattled by her completely irrational line of conversation, but I was also unnerved to discover that I had forgotten my veil - Katy was kind enough to drive back to the house and deliver it to the salon. Luckily, we'd brought along the mini-Korbel bottles and sipped champagne in plastic champagne glasses to keep ourselves entertained....hiccup. Despite the scheduling mishap and the fact that it made us late to The Hayloft, everyone looked gorgeous!

Katy and I raced to the house to pick up my dress and jewelry and rushed to The Hayloft. We flew across the parking lot (the videographer was running behind us to try to catch up and calling, "Wait, wait!") and I dashed into my dress, touched up my lipstick, threw on my pearls, everything was awhirl...and then I realized we still had like an hour until the ceremony. So, I sat down and waited. All the girls hung out in the bridal room and I occasionally peeked out to see what was happening. I had a recurring fear that nobody would show up. That I would walk down the aisle and there would be a handful of guests spread out over a sea of empty chairs. What a relief when cars started pulling up and guests (lots of them!) started arriving. I could finally retreat to my bridal hide-a-away room and relax until it was time to do the deed.

There were lots of sweet moments as we waited. Laura reported that the guests were lined up "like little chickens" in the tiny strip of shade afforded by the barn roof and I snuck around to the window to catch a peek of Chris waiting in the wings by the altar. He looked so serious and contemplative. :-)

The next thing I knew, Crystal was lining us up in the hallway and dispatching us down the aisle. Chris tells me that Dad and I were quite brisk in our walk and that if he'd had more time to watch me, he might have cried. But, apparently, I blew down the aisle with a purposeful stride and arrived before he knew what had happened. I am waiting to see this on the video to verify my speed. Reverend Jane did a beautiful job on our ceremony. Chris and I carefully constructed our own ceremony, vows, and readings and they were deeply meaningful to us about what we believe a marriage should be. I am told that all the parents were crying and we hope that it touched our guests as well.

So, I'm pretty tired of writing this for now, so I'll finish it another day and tell you more. Blogging is hard work.

Welcome to The Hunt Box

2007-10-23T14:19:00.000-04:00

Welcome all! Chris and I decided that we were jealous of all those bloggers out there with their cute pages and frequent updates of the minutiae of their daily lives, so we wanted to join the crowd!

We think our little adventures are at least somewhat intriguing...maybe enough for our Moms to read regularly? We're going to make an effort to post something new every few weeks for everyone's viewing pleasure.

You may ask yourself, "What exactly is a Hunt Box?" Well, my friends, a Hunt Box is a very small and always charming house (sometimes on an estate or sometimes on its own, nestled deep in the heart of Hunt Country) used to accomodate the owner during the foxhunting season and provide easy access to the hunt meets. Since this perfectly describes our own very small home hidden far back in the woods and since we have aspirations of the Country Life, we've decided to have our own little Hunt Box. Unfortunately, we do not foxhunt, but treasure great hopes of doing so in the near future. Now Oscar Wilde may have described "the English country gentleman galloping after a fox" as "the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable," but we're in hot pursuit of the "Unspeakable" side of things. Give us crisp autumn days, wide open fields, and a pack of running horses and hounds, and we'll be in heaven. Not to mention the elitist reputation - that's our favorite part!

So, the biggest recent event is most certainly our wedding, which took place on October 6th, 2007. Once I've got some pictures, I'll be posting another blog. And trust me, it'll be written in excruciating detail. I sure hope you're interested in wedding colors, an in-depth discussion of cake flavors, and a minor Kenny G-related DJ mishap!