We faced a unique challenge this past fall; the grass in our riding ring was very tall, but it is filled with boulders so it cannot be mowed. Sadly, I found this out by attempting to mow it. Our neighbor, Nan, was faced with a problem of her own; she needed to separate her rams from her sheep prior to breeding.  And that is how I became an accidental shepherd.  

One fine fall day, Nan came over to prepare the pen by laying down some hay, then, we went over to her barn to gather the troops.  I had no idea what to expect or what we would use to get the sheep to relocate.  Did we need to rent a truck or a cowboy or… I don’t even know.  Thankfully Nan has been raising sheep for many years so all I need to do is what I’m told.  She led the herd by shaking a bucket of grain and yelling “Hey Baaa” and they dutifully followed her across the pasture.  I held up the rear with Rosy, the Australian Shepherd (of course!) to make sure we didn’t have any strays.  An unexpected guest was the llama, Phoenix, who Keith calls Tina. It took 30 sheep less than 2 weeks to tame the jungle and we loved having them.  Hamish made fast friends and would daily visit in hopes of scoring some grain or better yet, sheep droppings.  The ring was turning into a gigantic candy dish as far as he was concerned!

It was so picturesque the sight made me giggle.  Leaves turning colors and sheep grazing in a field, my field! Who am I? I’m that blissfully giddy country girl in the rubber boots. (Who am I????)

I love love, which is a good trait when you’re a wedding planner.  I love to watch it when it is new and gawky; the sweaty palms, butterflies and the grins that hardly fit on your face, but I really like to watch it grow.  Taking steps that say, “I’d like to stay in love with you for a really long time (a.k.a. for as long as we both shall live).”  What better place for this lover of love to spend valentine’s day than Paris and what better place in Paris than le Tour Eiffel?  One of my personal favorites and it clearly ranks up there as one of the most romantic places on the planet. Every time we visit this fabulous city a peek at this grande dame is first on the list.  Even as the trip progresses and I walk around a corner and catch an unexpected glimpse of her, I can’t help but gasp.  She is to me a significant landmark in my own love story.

So here I sit, on Valentine’s Day, with a collection of favorites, my fabulous red, crushed velvet coat (tres chic!), a bench in Champ de Mars, jambon-buerre and some bubbles.  Sadly, my favorite of all is nowhere to be found.  This extended time in Paris is a result of a cancelled flight yesterday and is hence, sans-Prince.  We’d all agree that there are worse cities to be “stuck” in so I’m making the most of it.  To that end, I plan to sit on this bench, watching people mesmerized by one of my true happy places until I see some darling boy drop down on one knee in front of a sweet, un-expecting bride to be to say, “I’d like to stay in love with you for a really long time.”  Yes, I have my hankie (from the Paris flea market) at the ready.

Je t'aime mon chéri  

Welcome to our sweet New England life, the winter edition.  We are experiencing weather conditions that I have never even heard of before as well as the effects of such phenomena.  I am not complaining, just simply reporting what is happening in our little world.  Similarly to summer and my textbook understanding of the words: heat, humidity, and bugs experiencing them in person is quite an education.  Well, I admit, I've been cold before.  California does have it's chilly days, BUT did I ever have to take my dog for a walk when it was -6? No, ma'am. Well, not until a few weeks ago.  I was in it and I still can't quite wrap my head around how freaking cold that is!  Apparently that was the effect of a polar vortex (yes, it is as cold as it sounds).   

One unfortunate side effect of lots of snow followed by really low temperatures is the "ice dam", or as we like to call it, "damn ice!"  When the roof is covered with snow, the heat of the house causes the snow to begin to melt on the edges which then freezes when the temps plummet creating a block of ice that maliciously lifts the shingles. Then the heat of the house causes the ice to melt and the water runs inside the walls until it finds an easy exit.  Typically the top of a window frame or in an even worse scenario, the canned lighting in the kitchen.  The most effective way to prevent this is to remove the snow off the bottom 3' of the roof.  So far this winter we've had 72" of snow (not counting the 8" today!) making Keith's least favorite winter chore raking the roof.

Crazy cold and countless shovels of snow aside, it is BEAUTIFUL here.