last week: November 30:

• quick check of the house: one more dead mouse in kitchen. I should set more traps to see how many more we get. It's a matter of remembering the cheese!
• oil is 9/16ths
• picked up some twigs from the lawn
• brought a second side-bar mower blade we found in Guilford and put it in the barn near the machine
• watered plants
• brought home some wood for a winter fire
  

Today:

• oil tank at just over 1/2. This week has been cold/at or below freezing and supposed to continue, furnace was on when I went in. House a toasty 55 degrees
• quick walk through: everything looks good
• met Rob Rocks and town surveyor to check boundaries along 151 where neighbor is encroaching. A lovely 35 degrees out, birds singing merrily in the woods
• Neighbors have maintained a yard and put picnic table and fire pit over line, as well as dumping rocks and wood construction debris on our side
  
• John, the surveyor, suggested having the owners write a (certified?) letter to these neighbors to get complaint on the town records. There is some time frame (John thought 15 years) where illegal use of land without notification by neighbors, becomes encroachers' land? I will try to talk to our lawyer to get information about this.
• Got a call from ARM this week to remind us that phone service is on but at higher per call rate: when we replaced window alarm batteries a few weeks ago, we had several conversations with ADT and these calls were charged at the new higher rate. Aunt Sandy called us to make sure these calls were accounted for.
  

Everything looks okay. Searched for a missing book for Cynthia, couldn't find it (Anna, Nick's girlfriend, is missing a Persian art book). Took some wood for Thanksgiving fires. Didn't see any hunters or their trucks today.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Saturday, Bob and I spent the afternoon at Thicut. We

• watered the indoor plants
• caught 2 mice in the kitchen, didn't look like the big one though
  
• turned off the water pump and water
• used Johnny Deere to 'rake' leaves from the driveway and yard
• brought our tire pump and pumped up the garden cart with the old inner tubes: discovered one is fine and one is leaky, next time will replace the holey one with a new one and see how that works
  
• sawed up one of the logs along side the field and took down the dead girdled RED cedar (it has a really RED core, hope you all can still see it next time you go!
• watched a football game while drinking hot chocolate
• went to Village Pizza on our way to Goodspeed to see "How to Succeed in Business without really trying" (a fun musical)

Today,

• I went to check on the light timers (adjusted for Daylight Savings)
• Noticed that the SNOW from yesterday morning had been PLOWED along 151: only bare remnants left; Thicut's had melted
• checked the oil tank: 5/8ths full
• emptied and put the hose in the barn
• put the rest of the iron chairs in the barn.
  

Everything looks good. Lots of leaves down! Hard frost expected tonight.

Here it is October already! This year, bear with me as I just post shorthand notes

• Anna Ruth moved furniture and piano down October 10
  
• Bob and I have mowed
• sickle barred the field,
• replaced 4 window alarm batteries,
• had ADT out to the house to replace the faulty window unit in the right parlor window
• met 2 hunters (with permits or getting them from Eric S.)
• turned off the hot H2O
• moved most of the lawn furniture to the barn
• bought and will replace inner tire tubes for the garden cart
• cleaned out (emptied and washed) the refrigerator (no sign of mouse) and turned off
  

Here's a quick update before the Birthday party and en masse gathering of family and friends:

Bob mowed the front field with sickle bar mower a few weeks back; Bob, Daniel, Jen, and I had a (small) brush fire to clear a space in the middle of the field for Carlie's fire pit last weekend (no mishaps); the ceiling was painted, back door fixed; Bob replaced the rotten bridge railing support; yard mowed; twin bedroom rearranged; plans made for tents and sleeping arrangements, food, drink, etc, etc.

Let's hope the weather is not quite as hot as it has been lately and everyone has a safe trip to THICUT for the PARTY!

Jen helped planning for the BIG event coming up on August 1st (actually HAPPY 80th TOMORROW, Anna Ruth, Aunt Sandy, Toots, Pudy, Amos, Mormor!!!). Painting, fixing, digging for new plants is in the works. We've had rain today, finally. The grass and flowers really need it!