A Perfect Weekend

We decided to use this weekend and its unseasonably warm weather to take a trip down to the farm. After being away for so long, it brought a smile to everyone's face as soon as we drove into the yard. I was also touched to see that uncle George had been there at some point to cut the grass.

The idea of laying a fire in the old fireplace had been nagging at me so it was the first order of business. I used a flashlight to look up the chimney, and then inspected the exterior of it on all three levels. Satisfied that it probably wouldn't cause a fire anywhere else in the house, I lit the match. It immediately warmed the room and brought back many fond memories - the kids loved hearing how we used to roast hotdogs in the living room with grandpa and grandma. At some point in the evening the atmospheric conditions, or some fireplace property unknown to me, shifted and we started to get a lot of smoke in the room. We will need to figure that out before trying it again.

We went for a walk out to some trees where I once saw grandpa stand on the hood of a vehicle to peek into a hawk's nest. Their mother swooped at him and even tore the back of his down-filled jacket (if my memory of the event can be trusted). The field is now owned by uncle Bill but I remember sitting next to grandpa in the cab of the tractor for hours in that field. At dinnertime grandma was waiting at the fenceline with a meal of sandwiches made with her homemade bread and wrapped in wax paper.

Here is our target after everyone in the family took a turn shooting. And no, that is not a very good grouping :)

When it got dark we pulled out the boardgame Mice and Mystics and the kids were able to complete chapter seven on their first attempt. Playing by lamplight really added to the theme of their mice exploring dark tunnels and uninhabited castle rooms.

We used a camp stove to fry doughnuts for a dessert / victory celebration.

Before going to bed I explained to the kids that our family had lived in this place for 100 years and we had nothing to fear from this property. Sure enough, no one was scared and we all had a good sleep.

Heather made an amazing breakfast in the morning and then we headed in to church.

During the broadcast, the kids followed my directions and slipped away in pairs to explore the nursery in the basement. After the meeting we stayed and visited with people for almost an hour. It was awesome to see so many good friends and important people from my youth.

Everyone made us feel so welcome, even to the point of pretending that we didn't all smell like smoke.


- C