AJ's Modified Lawn Mower

Ed decided that it would be more fun if he and AJ could ride around the fields together.  He took another old lawn mower and made this for AJ.  He now has plans to add an axle to the back and make tracks for the back two axles.  This should be interesting!

Homemade Doodlebug Snow Plow

We got about 6-8 inches of snow yesterday and last night.  Eddie took his homemade doodlebug out to plow this morning.  This plow is 8 years old and is made from a variety of old parts.  He made it out of Dodge, Ford and Chevy parts.  There is a 300 6 cyl. Ford motor with an automatic transmission and a truck 4 speed  transmission behind it. There are two transmissions in it that go into a 3/4 ton rear end.  He operates the plow with a winch since that was cheaper than replacing the hydrolics when they broke two years ago. This has worked well for our heavy snow storms over the past several years.  It goes along with his life philosophy of scrounging parts and  making things himself to save money and use his creative mind.

One Day's Finds

My husband went to scrounge things from a garage full of things left over from an estate sale. He was told to take anything he wanted from the house and garage. They will be demolishing both. He got many windows, wood for a picket fence, cast iron sink, stainless steel sink,chairs, bottles, old garden tools, sewing machine stand, boxes of tiles and much, much more. We will be doing several projects over the winter and next spring!

Homemade Utility Vehicle

Eddie started with a lawn mower that he didn't use anymore and finished with a homemade utility vehicle! He lengthened the frame, added some big back tires, customized the seat so two can ride, and added a bed so it can be a useful scrounging vehicle. Now he has something to play on in the snow too! We had a snow day and he played in the snow!

John Deere Christmas Village

Eddie has always loved John Deere Tractors. He would love to get an old one to restore. He has a Ford Tractor right now, but still hopes to someday own a Deere. When the John Deere Christmas Village came out I decided it was a perfect collection to start. It is an adorable village setting. The pictures are a little dark, but it is supposed to be night after all.

First Snow of the Season

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted anything here. Today was our first snow of the season. We are only supposed to get maybe an inch or two and it's not expected to stick. It's funny that two days ago we had a record warm temperature of 63 degrees. The previous record was in 1998 and it was 53 degrees. So, I think we are due for the snow. I was shopping this morning and it started snowing while I was in a mall. It sort of puts you more in the holiday spirit.

Fall Hot Air Balloons

Today was a beautiful fall day in upstate New York. It was in the 60's and sunny. Around 3:00 this afternoon we were outside doing some yard work and winterizing. My husband noticed the first balloon over our pasture and we soon saw two more. We stopped our work and just relaxed as we watched them slowly float through the sky. We live in an area that is familiar with balloons. Check out the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. It is an annual event that is usually held the third week of September.

Bottle Display

My husband and I love old bottles. We have collected them since we first got married. This summer he made a small shelf that fits nicely on our bedroom wall to display just a small number from our collection. We have hundreds boxed up in the garage that we would love to display. A project for next year is to get them all out and cleaned up and displayed. I love seeing this every day! Collecting something and storing it away is senseless. We want to see what we have and enjoy it all the time!

Scrounging on an old Farm

We have friends that own a large old farm. There are several old dump areas way in the back over their long stone wall. They were nice enough to let me and Eddie look for bottles and other interesting things. We went for a little while this weekend, and this is what we hauled out. These items were very close to the surface so we know there is much more to be found. We love old bottles and already have hundreds of them at home. We have an open invitation to come back and look for more. They asked that we do let them know if we find a big treasure like a can of gold coins! We had so much fun and a relaxing time together.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies

A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law sent me a recipe for Zucchini Cookies. I finally got around to trying it. I had to modify it a bit since my husband can't have raisins or pecans. I used an extra cup of chocolate chips in place of them. I will put the orignal recipe below. Feel free to modify it as you wish. I think they taste great and so does my husband. My son did not like it at all! I think it was actually the cinnamon that he didn't like in the flavor. When he first looked at it though, he asked if I was trying to hide vegetables again. I told him that I was!

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg, beaten; 1 cup grated zucchini; 1 cup golden raisins; 1 cup chopped pecans; 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 nonstick baking sheets (I used my Pampered Chef Baking Stone) 2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl: beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. The dough will be stiff and dry. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. 3. Bake 13-15 minutes, until light brown. Let cookies rest two minutes then remove to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen. (I got less than 3 dozen...but I made big cookies!)

Van Wie Natural Foods

We know that my husband's ancestors arrived and settled in the Albany, NY area. They were among the Dutch settlers in the 1600's. On our way to AJ's away football game in Hudson, NY we spotted this store and, of course, I had to take a picture. I'm sure the owner of this store is a relative somehow. Here is a link to their website if you want to check them out!

www.vanwienaturalmeats.com

Beautiful Fall Sunrise

I opened our back door this morning to get a feel for the outside temperature. I actually said "Wow!" outloud when I saw this gorgeous sunrise. The pictures are pretty but they do not begin to compare to the beauty of the sky this morning. I was glad I caught it!

Recycled Magnetic Board

My husband made me this beautiful magnetic board. It is a recycled piece of metal from the top of a vintage refridgerator. The refridgerator was salvaged from my husband's Aunt and Uncle's home when they were cleaning out last year. It was already shaped perfectly with rounded edges. It is 13 inches tall by about 23 inches wide. He cut it off, drilled holes in it to hang and painted it with leftover sage spray paint. It is hanging in my basement studio. I love it!

I had a box of Magnetic Poetry that I have been wanting to get out to inspire my writing. I came up with five sentences very quickly: 1. wander and explore the language 2. write about life 3. ask and answer 4. my story will inspire 5. discover the author in me. So....I better follow the directions that I have created!

2009 JV Football Season

This was AJ's second year on the JV Football Team. They had a long and exciting season. Their final record was 4 and 4. They had many ups and downs this year with several injuries and illnesses affecting their team. They also lost several of their best players throughout the season to the Varsity team. AJ is number 74 and he played Left Offensive Tackle. We were able to attend every one of his games this year, which we loved.