Text 23975, 208 rader
Skriven 2012-04-23 10:36:20 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 23974 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: 2012 Picnic 558
=======================
Hi Ruth,

>> horticulturist and the property reflects that.  There will be room for
>> a nice garden if I decide to put one in..

> But a bit too late for this growing season.

Hmm.. depends... planting in a garden continues each month, really for most of
the months of the year (excepting maybe Dec/Jan) :).  While it may be too warm
for say some types of lettuce and spinach  to do well, in July one would be
planting and/or replanting summer squash, zuccini, potatoes, beets, and green
beans for example.  The way I put a garden together is to put say 4 parts of
soil and maybe 2 or 3 parts of compost (purchased that first year), and 2 or 3
parts peatmoss.  If we can generate some wood chips, that is a super bonus (g).
What it will depend on of course is my energy level this first year though.
With all we've got to get done after the move, I may be way to tired this first
year (g).

>> off a part of the yard along the length of one side of it.  The back
>> porch is unique and handy.. it's enclosed with doors that open into
>> the yard on each side of the porch.. so we can put fencing on the
>> right side, and not be bothered with the dogs if we come in the left
>> side (g).  Not sure if I explained that too well, but by the time we
>> get there, we'll have the fencing installed (we hope).  The cats

> Nice! The dogs will be happy with that, as I'm sure you will be as well.

Yes, I think they will like it.. I think the thing they'll miss though might be
their ability to race through the house like 'mad dogs' Lol..  You know the
type I'm sure.. starting at one end of the house, and racing like no tomorrow
all the way to the other end Lol. There will be room to run in the house, but
surely not as much :)  Then again, they're a little older now so maybe they'll
not want to be such silly dogs :)

>> mostly are inside critters, though they will I'm sure venture out
>> exploring ...  I'm waiting to see their first reaction to seeing a
>> deer haha.. the area around Ithaca is well stocked with Deer.. so all

> That will be quite the experience for them, I'm sure. There are quite a
> few deer in/around Wake Forest; we think they enjoyed our tomatoes last
> year. This year we outsmarted them and put them in a hanging planter on
> the side of the porch where the ground is much lower. It'd take a
> giraffe deer to reach up to that planter. (G)

Our fencing will help that some at the new place, though I don't think we'll
fence in as much property like we did in Windsor (we fenced in 1/2 acre and
left the other 1/2 unfenced).  I will though fence any beds I start to keep the
deer and other wild life out.. rabbits can be disasterous if you don't put
fencing down deep enough in the soil.  The other option is to do hanging
planters as you mention.. always a good idea as well :)

>> the animals will have to have extremely good deer tick preventatives
>> on them all the time.

> The down side to it but worth the cost and time if it keeps the critters
> healthy.

Yes indeed.. not to mention keeping deer ticks away from us as well.. who needs
that one :(  Since the cats will be free to roam outside, it will be pretty
critical.

>> > How close to the grand kids?

>> Less than 10 minutes :)  We'll be very close which will be so great.

> Better than doing the Skype thing which we have to do. But, I'm glad we
> have it; our grandkids recognise us when we come to visit.

Definitly a good thing to have available!  I bet the kids enjoy that so much as
well :)

>> We'll have some work to do in the new place before we're really
>> "settled".. We need to put a dishwasher in the kitchen - I can't
>> imagine a kitchen without one these days, ya know? but if this kitchen
>> had one ever, it's not there now...

> I understand; a dishwasher was one of the "musts" when we started
> housing hunting. Only one seminary housing area offered it; we looked at
> a couple of apartments and were less than impressed. Besides, living in
> the community has its advantages--we walk to church & Steve walks to
> school, saving gas and wear & tear on the car.

That is so nice.  Yes, I've always been a 'village' person, in other words not
off in the midst of the wild.. while we're going to be in the country as
before, living right in the village of Slaterville Springs will be close to
everything, including Ithaca.

> Ron is planning on building a
>> center island and installing the dishwasher in it. The cupboards in

> Going to go for a dual drawer arraingement again? I half think that's on
> the line of what we would go for, if given the chance.

No, I want to go with a slim model because space in the kitchen will be a bit
lacking sadly enough.  The Center island will be just for that and to afford
some more work space.  What we liked about this house more than anything
 was the price, and how quickly we'll be able to pay it off. The Dish Drawer
model we bought for our Windsor house is nice, but actually not as good a
dishwasher as the older one that was in the kitchen before we built the center
island in Windsor.. I though that was interesting (g).  I forget the model of
the one we took out.. maybe it was a Sears?  I forget, that or a GE.

>> the kitchen are beautiful (just a few years old, and all oak) so I
>> don't want to remove any of them...

> Don't blame you there.

Yes, they are really nice looking and well cared for :)

>> Also,  we have to expand the upstairs 1/2 bath to a full bathroom..

> Always handy, especially if all the bedrooms are up there.

One is downstairs, and two others are upstairs.. right now we're thinking my
son will take the downstairs one since Toby insists on sleeping in his room
(g).. and he's now 10.. the stairs will get to him in a few years, meanwhile
the 'pups' (well, they're 2 now (g)) have boundless energy for things like
stairs right now.  The stairs will be a PIA for me (ouch), but at least I only
have to use them once in the morning and once at night :)

>> The total Sq. footage is 1632.. so it's not huge or immense to clean,
>> but there is room for "stuff" (g).

> Nice, but not too big. Hopefully a good flow to the main rooms.

Yes, it is I think..

>> > Cozy but it's been home now for 3 years. Steve
>> > graduates in December; as of now, not sure of our plans after that.

>> Wow.. that time went fast, didn't it.. :)

> Yes, and no. It does seem like a short time ago we got here but looking
> back at all the now completed classes, we can see how long it has
> actually been. I took 5 classes each year for my first 2 years, only
> taking 3 (and 2 are done) this school year. I'll have more time to sew,
> not only for Santa, but other projects as well, once I'm done. I'll also
> have more time for "gourmet cooking" (trying out new recipies) between
> sewing projects.

Fantastic.. and yes, I know what you mean about how long it's been.  I may rue
the sewing setup in the new place.. I can use the smaller of the two bedrooms
upstairs, or perhaps put it in the larger master bedroom upstairs.. Undecided
right now (g).

>>> I'll get a date for everyone to consider shortly.

>> > OK, probably about the 2nd week of July would be good for us.

>> Ooof.. that's a little tight unless you can shade it towards the 19th?
>> Think that will work for you folks?  Ron and I would love to see you
>> both again :) The date of the closing is tentatively set for July
>> 10th.. that could still change, though.

> OK, we'll shade our timing to that end then. We'll work out dates over
> the next few weeks.

Ok :)

>> We are hiring movers so that's something.. but we'll still have plenty
>> to do before and after the closing (grin).  THEN we have to get this
>> house in Windsor on the market - such fun ... :(

> Always fun! We had the Army do most of our moving, including the last
> one up here. The next one we'll have to hire movers for but will do some
> of the things we did to get ready for military moves. Have to start
> thinking of what we will be taking over to the sharing shop in the next
> few months.

Know what that's like :) :)  I've been tossing unnecessary things and cleaing
out closets in preparation for packing.. you know, unused cookware, clothes I
haven't worn in ages.. hehe.. all those things that just seem to be "around"..
next we'll have to decide what furniture we'll be taking along to the new
place.. I think I'll be putting my larger 'sewing table' in the kitchen as the
kitchen/dining table but we're not sure yet.  We need to get into the house
again and measure floor space in rooms like the kitchen, etc.  I'm also glad my
hutch is very small compared to some I've owned in the past.  It should fit
just fine in the kitchen.


>> > Lots of fresh spinach at the farmer's market lately. I made a salad
>> of > fresh spinach, sliced strawberries, feta (goat) cheese--all from
>> the
>> > market--with pecans and a balsamic vinegarette dressing last night.
>> It > will be repeated in the not too distant future as strawberries
>> are still > in season here. Hmmmmmmmmm, that gives me an idea for the
>> picnic........

>> Yumm.. sounds good to me. :)  I'm really looking forward to the move
>> mainly because of the food in Ithaca haha.. The farmer's market is
>> outstanding there as are all the restaurants. :)

> If we can make it to the picnic, I'll do the strawberry/spinach salad. I
> won't be able to get from my usual vendors but I should be able to get
> really good produce up there too--and strawberries should still be in
> season in NY. Near the end but still should be able to get some.

That sounds great, Ruth.. and yes, the farmers market should have an abundance
of fresh strawberries I'd think.  Spinach might be chancy, but if there isn't
any, Wegmens has a great organic fresh vegetable section where you could pick
that up.  I'll see if I can get some planted as well.  There are varieties you
can plant that would be able to take the more intense summer weather.

Take care,
Janis

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