Wheelie Wednesday - Not Getting It

Hi everybody! It's me, Francesca!

Mom and I were out in the garden taking a peek at our new yellow Oriental Lily that mom found for $2.

When we came back inside, mom gave me a cookie and put it on my nose like we've seen other doggies do on the blogs.  These doggies let it sit there until they get the release command and then they can eat their cookie!   I'm a trained girl, ya know! 

Mitch noticed the cookie on my nose while I was waiting for my release command and he STOLE it from me - right off my nose!  How rude!

Mom had this great idea to try and teach Maggie and Mitch this same trick!  HA! 

The cookie kept sliding off Maggie's nose and she was getting freebies!

Mom kept trying to place the cookie on Maggie's nose and telling her to wait and it just wasn't working!

And Mitch wasn't buying it either!  Put your head down, Mitch!

You doggies are way too stubborn!  Mom gives up and so do I!
 Maggie and Mitch are totally not cookie-on-the-nose trick trainable!

Does any doggie have any tips for us or are they doomed to be dummies?!

We were at befunky a couple of days ago and we noticed that they had added a new feature.   This photo was underpainted!  Isn't it so cool?!

See you all next Wednesday!

Friends forever,

Francesca

Mount Washington

Last Monday, our dad and Uncle Dana headed to New Hampshire to climb Mount Washington! This was dad's third time climbing this mountain!

That's Uncle Dana in shorts!  Dad told us that the highs that day were 28 degrees and wind chills at the top of the mountain were in the teens!   That smile on Uncle Dana's face must be frozen on!

Dad told us that it was VERY foggy - so foggy that it was eerie and you couldn't see too far in front of you!

He also said that they hiked in snow!

And he also said that it hailed for 2 hours while they hiked and it was hurting the top of his head and Uncle Dana's head because it was coming down so hard!

Dad doesn't look to be in too much pain. Look at that smile he's sporting!  His face must be frozen too! hehehe

Guess what we were doing while dad and Uncle Dana were hiking and freezing their hineys off?

Eating pineapple and mango topped with a wee bit of peach sherbet out of mom's fancy champagne goblets!

Which adventure would you choose?

So until next time................

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Life is Good

We received the beautiful Life is Good award from our friend, Holly!  Thank you so much, Holly.  We think this award is one of the prettiest ones we've ever seen!

Part of accepting awards is answering questions so here goes:

1. What would your perfect day consist of?

A hike up Sleeping Giant, dindin at Glenwood followed by ice cream at Wentworths!

We did get ice cream but it was Durham ice cream last night!  whoooooohoooooo

2. How would you describe yourself if you were an item of clothing?

Furry, like a pair of bunny slippers.

3. What hobbies are you currently working on?

We're supervising the building of a timber frame barn!

4. Walking in the woods in wellies or bare foot on the beach?

Definitely a walk in the woods but we certainly don't need the wellies!

5. Have you ever hugged or sang to a tree?

We sing at trees all the time when squirrels just happen to be sitting in them!

6. Growing your own veggies or nipping to the supermarket?

Mom and dad have a garden every year and even though this is a VERY busy summer for us with the barn project, dad did manage to plant a few tomato plants.

7. Have you found anyone exciting in your family tree?

Gosh, I never thought about it!  I'll have to have mom get out my pedigree so I can check!

8. Slap up meal in a posh restaurant or fish ‘n’ chips from the wrapper?

Fish - n - chips from Lenny and Joes, please!

9. Which element do you most resonate with, Earth, Air, Fire or Water?

Aire, of course!

That was fun!  We know lots of our friends have already received this award so if you haven't and you'd love to have it, please take it and tell us more about yourselves!

So until next time.................

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Bella's Hat Parade

Our friend, Bella the Westie, is having a hat parade!

Francesca let me borrow her hat!

Wasn't that sweet of her? 

And mom let Mitch borrow her Boston RedSox cap! 

Check out those lips!  Pucker up for a smoochie, Mitch! hehehe

We're all set for Bella's hat parade!

If you want to join in, head on over to Bella's blog and check out her post!

She is one of the best dressed doggies that we know!

So until next time..............

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

True Colors Thursday - Ginger

It's true colors Thursday once again!

If you want to play along, just let our hostess Blue know!

Today's color is ginger!

This picture needs no explanation~

The color ginger looks very similar to beach sand in our opinion!  This painting was painted by our artist friend, Miss Barbara!

This teddy bear looks sandy and ginger-ous to us!

Macintosh Mitch's bowl  with the apples in it is sort of the color of ginger!  Machintosh Mitch was made by the very talented Carol Usher of Wooliedales!

I need some help opening this box please, mom!

Next week's color is purple!

So until next time................

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Wheelie Wednesday - The June Garden

Hi everyone!  It's me, Autumn!

This pretty yellow Evening Primrose is blooming in  my garden!   Yellow is such a cheerful color, don't you think?

And the Baptisia Australis or Blue False Indigo is in  bloom!  This plant has the neatest seed pods when the blue flowers are gone.  The pods look sort of like sugar snap peas!

And mom's favorite - the poppy -  and this one just happens to be salmon!  A few of the lupines are still blooming but many of them are on their way out!

This is Connecticut's state flower - the beautiful Mountain Laurel!  This one just happens to be a wild one that someone dug out of their yard and gave to us.

This one is a cultivated one that mom bought at Broken Arrow Nursery a few years ago.   This nursery specializes in Mountain Laurel and it's such a treat to visit and see them all in bloom at the same time!

Guess what?  I got to sit on Uncle Mike's Indian Chief!  I wonder if he'll take me for a ride on it!  
What time shall we swing by and pick you up?!

See you all next Wednesday!

Love,    Autumn

Another Barn Update

On Memorial day, dad and Uncle Bill built one of the barn's bents - a bent is a tie beam with 2 posts at either end of the tie beam and 2 hurricane braces, used to hold the timber frame square and plumb.

Wednesday morning, we went to the Crump barn site and we found the bent sitting in water that had collected on the deck from a short storm that we had the afternoon before. 

The metal rods on the deck are pieces of staging that still need to be built.

We have had some very good help in the past couple of days and the staging has been built ( the staging will be used  to lift the first 2-3 bents.)  This barn is a restoration barn and it's a little bit more tricky to raise than a brand new timber frame.  You basically have to marry antique timbers that have been restored to as good as new to brand new timbers that needed to be used because the original is too far gone to use any longer.   Dad's figuring and math needs to be spot on!

So here we are - the first bent is up!  whoooooooohoooooooo

The antique timbers are white oak and are VERY heavy and the staging needed two counterweights while the bent was being lifted with chain falls. 

These heavy rocks worked out very well!

The first bent is completed and it's time to build and rig the second bent and get it ready to go up! 

Guess who are little visitors are? 
Two barn swallows who were probably born on this property in the barn that was dismantled and they're anxiously awaiting this barn frame to be built so they can take up residence!

Remember when Noah's pinkies were here and Putter's mom was here a couple of weeks ago and they had wine and dindin at Gouveia Vineyards?   
We go by the vineyard every single day and each time we pass by, the hoomans are reminded of the fun times they had with their special guests! 

This project is sure keeping us supervisors busy!  

We'll be back with another barn update soon!

So until next time...............

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Leather Collar Give-Away Winners

Hi every doggie!  It's me, Mitch!

I'm back with the winners of the handmade leather collar give-away! Mom and I wrote the number 9 on our M and M calendar that was given to us by our sweet Scottie friend, Jazzi!

The doggie sitting in the #9 spot is Bocci!

Congratulations, Bocci!

And Francesca has picked #45!

The doggie sitting in the #45 spot is Penny and Patches.  You girlz will have to duke it out and decide who gets the new collar or you can share if you want to. 

Please send us an email (maggiesue710 at yahoo dot com - without the bits)  and let us know if you would like a collar in black leather or tan leather and if you would like red,  blue, green, mango, pink or purple or turquoise stones.  Also, please let us know your neck size and  send us your snail mail address so Tim can mail it out to you when it's all done!

If you were not the lucky winner and you would like to own one of these beautiful and very affordable collars, please send us an email with stone color choice and leather color choice with your neck size and dad will giveTim and call and let him know the specifics.   Tim does not have a computer and he doesn't have a phone in his house because he's Amish.  He shares a phone with others that's in a shed a short distance away.

So until next time.................

Love ya lots,

Mitch and Maggie

True Colors Thursday - Raspberry

It's true colors Thursday once again!  If you want to play along, just let our hostess, Blue, know and you're in!

Today's color is raspberry!

Do these look yummy or what?!

I couldn't wait for a taste!

Our cell phone is a raspberry color! 
Hey, Mitch - what kind of pizza should we order?!

That lupine in the center sure looks raspberry to me!

Next week's color is ginger!

So until next time.................

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch