Sorry everyone…you know how it goes, all of a sudden it’s holiday time and I haven’t posted in weeks. Here goes….

Back in October, Amy, Joe, Justin, Aaron and I went back to the Topsfield Fair, a local agricultural town fair. We spent the evening wandering the fair, people watching, checking out exhibits, and eating. There were all kinds of food and we bought a little of everything and shared. Our list included latkes, corn dogs, fried dough, German fries, pizza, a giant turkey leg, a steak sub, and cider donuts. Justin loved looking at all the rides that were lit up once it got dark. This year he went on a school bus ride twice and the carousel. Click on the photo above to see the photos.

If Aaron needed any further confirmation that the house we bought last fall is the right place for us, he got it in June when a Chipotle, Aaron’s favorite chain restaurant, opened less than 3 miles, and less than a 10 minute car ride, from our house. They don’t recognize him as a regular yet, but I think they will soon. And I’ll even admit that the food is pretty good.

When we became homeowners, everyone told us to consider the house a permanent ongoing project. They were right – not too long after we moved in we discovered that two of the house’s skylights leaked. It wasn’t so bad in the winter when things were frozen, but when things got a little warmer and started to melt – replacing the skylights became a priority. So, in March we had them replaced. For the first month we had them, I would check beneath them every time it rained to make sure there were no leaks. I took these photos one afternoon after the rain had stopped. The skylights were covered with tiny pools of water, which had a cool effect on the view above and finally convinced me their seal was tight.

Back in mid January we finally got my kind of snow storm – decent accumulation, a cold crisp day and a day off from work…NICE!
The above is a picture of the cherry tree out in the front yard. This album contains a few photos that we took on our way outside to shovel out. Days like this are the reason I love winter.

After Christmas with my family, we had our first house guests – Aaron’s Mom, sister Lisa and nephew Andrew. They came up to visit, see the house and help us with some projects. Aaron’s Mom came first and stayed for a week. She brought her sewing machine and impressive work ethic and dove right in. She not only helped clean (windows, blinds, etc), she also made us living room drapes and guest bedroom and bathroom curtains. During her stay, Lisa and Andrew came up for a few days. As soon as they walked in the door, they also went to work – unpacking, cleaning, organizing, hanging art. Aaron and Andrew found some downtime to play Rockband (that’s right, I’m the singer), and Lisa and I did some speed shopping (Lisa is a quick and efficient shopper). Needless to say, it was a very productive week and our thanks go out to our family for all their efforts.

So, I’m gradually catching up on all these old posts and photos…now we’re onto December. Much to my surprise and delight we had several snow storms in December, before the holidays. We live up on a pretty steep hill, so we’ve had to learn quick how to get up it when the roads are bad. On occasion it’s taken us a couple of tries, but we’ve never not been able to get home. The storms also provided us with an opportunity to meet some of the neighbors as everyone is outside shoveling. Oddly enough on two occasions different neighbors came over to introduce themselves and help us shovel our driveway. It’s a bit of a culture shock for us – very different from apartment life, but we’re not complaining. :)

We spent a great deal of November at the new house, cleaning out the dirt and grime from the old owner’s, before we moved in. Several nights a week we would come home from work, load up the car with packed boxes of our belongings, drive to the new house, unload and then clean for a couple of hours. We borrowed a shop vac and vacuumed the attic and basement, we uninstalled an old electric hood, we shampooed the rug in the one room in the house with carpet, etc. We spent a great deal of time on the kitchen, especially on the cabinets, which had all sorts of previous owner residue – ranging from maple syrup to candle wax. Mom came over and spent several nights contact papering the drawers and inside the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms. Amy, Joe and Justin (who now live so close :) joined us for take out dinners and helped with little projects as well. Justin particularly enjoyed hiding in the empty pantry cabinet (as shown above). It was (and continues to be) a lot of work, but now that we are here, it’s all well worth it.

At the end of September Amy, Joe, Justin, Aaron and I went to the Topsfield Fair, a local agricultural town fair. It had everything from farm animals to the world’s biggest pumpkin and entertainment ranging from kids climbing greased poles to amusement park rides. We spent an evening there, wandering and people watching, but really we were there for the food – which for the most part, was totally delicious. Between the four of us we had corn dogs, German potato fries, fried dough, sugared nuts, soft pretzels and the biggest turkey leg I have ever seen. Justin, who has a thing for lights, loved watching the ferris wheel and all the rides that lit up. At the end of the night Amy bought him this toy that had spinning lights inside a clear globe. The above photo is of him playing with it in the car ride home. Click on this picture to see the small album of photos.

Well, I am thrilled to say that it’s finally done – Aaron and I bought a house yesterday. We are officially homeowners! It has been a long road of ups and downs and we want to say thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout this process and made us laugh during the lower moments. We have some work to do, but once it’s all set up we hope you all will come and make use of our guest room. Click on the photo above to see a few pictures of the house.

Who would have thought with spring looming, that now would be the time we would get a decent snow storm? I know most of you hate it, but I love it. It was so nice to wake up on Saturday morning and actually see more than a dusting on the ground. We actually had to shovel our driveway. I don’t think it will last, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can.