Snow already!

When I woke up this morning, things were looking very white outside and I thought we must have had a very hard freeze last night ... on closer inspection, it was SNOWING!!

You know you're a bit off the beaten path when ...

... you never leave home without a chainsaw!
This is the latest addition to the back of our Jeep -- to clear any trees that have fallen across our road which would block us from getting home.

A bit of family & exploring

Last week we were able to do a bit of visiting before the weather and our job responsibilities keep us close to our home. 

I saw more wooden, covered bridges last week than I expected to see during our entire time here!  Sadly, they are now all starting to look alike ...

 

Quechee Gorge -- Amazing!  Not sure why we both have such goofy expressions, but we look like we're having fun, right?

 

Catching up with my cousin, Lindy who I haven't seen for years and getting a glimpse of Dartmouth -- we were a day early for the Presidential debate!

Visiting some "cousins" in Rhode Island -- Paul with his daughter Cindy, who shares the same great-great grandparents with me.  I soaked up the ocean breeze, knowing it may be awhile before I see the coast again.

Jason goes to Yale!

Visiting a Peace Corps friend, Soraya, and her husband Yun in Connecticut.  I last saw them in Beijing!  Didn't they have the best wedding cake toppers you've ever seen???

And a stop at Trader Joes!!  We don't have these anywhere close to where we live, so I had to go stock up on a few favorite items! 

Vermont sunrise

As the sun starts rising later and later, I find I am up early enough to watch it peak over the nearby hills, chasing away the darkness.  Yesterday's was such a beauty!

The leaves in these parts

... looked like this a week ago.  Completely glorious!  Now ... not so much :(

 

 

 

Making Cider the Old Fashioned Way

Since our very first interview for this position, we've been hearing about "Cidering Weekend" and last weekend we got to experience it first hand.  It was amazing!!!

We had the MOST amazing weather for the weekend, completely unusual for Vermont at this time of year -- warm, sunny days and crisp evenings.  It was truly perfect and felt like a special gift given all the terrible weather things that have been happening in this area. 

Before this weekend, I knew nothing about what it meant to make cider ... well, now I know and let me tell you, the end result is absolutely delicious!

 Step 1:  Rinse apples off (and/or bob for them)

Step 2:  Grind apples into small chunks with this hand-cranked piece of equipment (while trying to keep children's fingers away)

 

Step 3:  Use a hand-cranked press to squeeze the juice out of the crunched-up apple bits.

 

Step 4: Pour juice through a strainer (for those of you wondering about the worms, this is an important step!) and enjoy!  If apple juice tasted this good, I would be drinking it all the time!

A mouse -

has moved in to my trouser drawer!

I went to grab a pair of jeans yesterday and noticed a pile of dried black beans tucked into the cuff of my pants!  As impressed as I was that a mouse moved all of those from the pantry (across the house) into my drawer, I was not stoked that he'd been hanging out in my dresser drawers.  Guess that will teach me to close them tightly!

What we've been up to

Well, we've been here for just over a month now.  I feel like our time is speeding by and am trying to enjoy everything.  Mostly, we've enjoyed the AMAZING beauty around us and how peaceful life is on our property.  Another awesome thing has been living on our own.  After two years of living with teenagers and school staff, I don't know if I can do justice to how incredible it is to have our own space and not feel like we're constantly on display. 

Over the past few weeks as we've been getting settled we've been learning a few new skills and enjoying the beautiful outdoors around us.

Wasp exterminator:

 

Tractor operator:

 

Chimney sweeper:

This is as far up as I went ... too scary for me!

 

Cleaning up from the sweep - yuck!

The payoff of a warm, safe & pretty fire is worth it!

 

I decided that Jason shouldn't have ALL the fun and had a go with the chainsaw.

 

Some more traditional types of fun -- hiking, canoeing and sight-seeing.

That's our house down there!