Spring Brings Life: Our First Full Year!

Here we are ONE year later and what a fantastic year this have been.  Today is Marks birthday.

 I am not sure Mark has worked harder at a job then he did building our house this past winter...err excuse me, that is not true.  This is Marks second time for building our  own home.  In 1978 he built a cape code in the Moncton area.  I cannot remember it being hard, what I remember was how FUN it all was.  I remember the excitement  as I helped Mark pound nail and pass him shingle.  I remember pure joy as I packed lunches for he and I so we could work all day at the site.  I thought he was absolutely the most brilliant young man alive. We were so young and had only one little girl. Let me see I was 19 and he 24.

Now here I am 56 and he 61 today.  Everything we have done this year seemed very taxing and long and hard.  I do not feel excited to run errand for him but rather dutiful, and neither do I see joy pouring out of his being as he hammers and saws and builds, but rather determination.. I would not use the word fun to express the whole process.  However it has been very rewarding as each task is complete and very, very fulfilling to see it all come together. I must confess that I still think he is  brilliant and I love his work ethics. I do believe that the difference, the great divide, between youthful feelings and senior reservers,  accounts for my emotional differences.  The words and feeling of my youth, are expressed so differently as I enter my golden years.

I remember once hearing that if you really enjoyed something you would do it again.  Here is a million dollar question....Would I do this year all over again.   YES! I would, based on the end results of what I have gained and what I now own, I would do it again. Therefor I conclude that I indeed did enjoy it.....as for Papa Mark...wellll you will have to ask him yourself.

I LOVE my little home and acreage ......it is so amazingly peaceful.  Norha-Jean really knows what I mean! To be able to be shut off from the insane busy movements of subdivision life, really does feel like I am in "Valhalla" (which means "little heaven" in Norwegian).

Now Mark and I go from builders and designer to good old fashion famers:  Farmer in the Dale...or Prairie: So I would like to present to you, the beginning of PART TWO:

Little FARM on the Prairie!




Heidi brought her daddy back a basket full of surprises from Edmonton.....and we are now CHICKEN FARMERS...."well, okay"...at this stage we were baby egg sitters!

For 21 days we all waited, and waited and waited....finally we starting hearing little peeps and pecking sounds.  Before we know it we had babies chicks!

Some of my youthful excitement began to flow, because the truth be known, baby "anythings" are just so ding darn cute!

HAY......HOE!!!  When there is this much excitement at the farm, the "other kind of Babies" come too.

Oh my goodness, them little girls are just all little mommies....and then the boys showed

the tender side of the man child!!    BEHOLD!!

We all picked out our favourite...based on colour and personality

It was a fun filed weekend, and my camera was not allowed to have much rest.  These babies were all so photo-graphicly beautiful!

There is now way on this beautiful green earth that a man and his wife and their farm could have just chicken without help.  Now with 18 babies it was time for us to step up the anti and get mans best friend.....yes, Our dog.  I would now like to introduce HARLEY MOEIT:

He is a chocolate lab three years old and Harley has no memory of anything life before the farm....this has to be true or he could not have transition so well.

It appears that Harley has always lived with us and always will.  

HERRRRESSSSS HARLEY!!!! 

I will end this part of our farm update with photos of a boy and a dog....What could tug at the heart strings more then a wee lad of three walking in the field and playing in the water,

 with his trustily hound dog walking after him!!!!

FINALLY, THE GRAND TOUR! Inside of the Home

 Here we have our living room corner.  The walls are the colour of a nice ripe peach.

The couch is a deep red, sitting on a brown, beige rug. The cabnet you see is where the

gas-fireplace will be installed (later). Lots of windows in this corner!

 Right behind the couch and in-front of the island is our kitchen table.

This is our dinning area!

 This view of our living room corner, is the view you see when

walking in our front door.  The floor is bamboo, now you can see my area rug!

 The small arm chair and stool is a childs size set.

You can also get a feel for how the loft is open above the living area.

 Here is the birds eye view looking down from the loft.

Please note Wendy's  begifted quilt on my new chair...

I have grown very attached to my quilt!

 The grandchildren LOVE this loft and view.

 Looking down from the loft into the dinning area!

Please note Norah-Jean's placemats! Use them everyday!

 The guest loft...it will have a bed real soon!
This is where Granny lives (Puppet doll from the Murphy's)

 But for now it has two memory foam and is cozy.

 This is the kitchen Island, but I do not have the "top"

counter on the island yet...just plywood and a table cloth.

 This is also the view of the kitchen from the front door.

The walls in the kitchen are butter white, matching the antique

colour of the cupboards.  This is the brightest living area you will

ever see.  When it snows, I feel like I am living in a snow glob!!
Again note the open loft area!

 Here is a full view of the living-room, dining-room and kitchen!

The whole end of the house is glass..both up n the loft and down in this room!

 This is the Jet tub room off of the Master-Bedroom

I am enjoying this tub!  So do the little ones!

 Walk in/through, closet  from Jet-tub room to bedroom

This side holds our hang-up clothing.

This side has cubby selves.  Againgreat hady-man work from Mark!
This elimanates the need for a dresser.

I have not taken photos of the Master Bedroom

yet as we are waiting for our New King bed. When it is set up
photo will follow. 

 The base-boards are re-used from the "Old Farm House"

Mark (Papa)did such a beautiful job on the whole interior of our home.

 The large mantles over the windows are also from the

original farm house that was built in the 1940's

 I love that they have history and I LOVE the GREAT

job Mark (papa) did in refurbishing them.

 The railing on the stair case matches all the old trim. Again Mark (Papa)

really did a nice job in the details...I am so proud of him!  Sigh..xoxox

 Mark (Papa) did a fantastic job here!

The stairs are finished in the same bamboo

as downstairs.

 Our main floor bathroom.One piece tub/shower.

Mark used ever square inch of space here!

Neat shelf ideas, between the wall and tub!

There is another 1/2 bathroom up in the loft too!

I still need to post photos of the upstairs, but it still has some finishing.

  COMING SOON!!

The house had taken shape throught out the winter. Mark had worked

continually day in and day out.  I still live with lots of dust and

sawdust as everything is done indoors...of course. (smile)

The bamboo floor shows ever speck too!!  But it is a quick

clean up as it is a small space.  I have discovered Murphy oil!!!

We have had up to three families

at once here, since furnishing, and so far so good.

We never installed our slide yet, for the kiddies...next year we will

have get that slide from the loft to downstairs installed!

The grand kids love the loft, and the secret cubby holes.

We have one or two grandkids overnight from Thursday

to Monday...different ones on different days .
 I work Tuesday and Thursday and Papa works

every morning and then late afternoon at his job, Mon til Fri.

I will post all the rest at the end of this month...come spring, we

will be venturing forth with building animal pens, and such!

I hope our garden this year is as successful as last year!

NANA STANDRING