The Series is Ov-ah!

Hello all! As I am writing this, I am watching Game 5 of the World Series. I had stated that I was not going to watch a second of the Series, but who am I kidding? I am wanting the Rays to lose as bad as I would want the Yankees to lose. And I am not going to watch any baseball for about 5 months, so I have to get my last fix in. There is 1 out in the 9th, with the Phillies winning 4-3. They should have this in the bag with their closer in.

The poll question last week was "How long are you planning to be in Nova Scotia next year?" There were 4 choices - but obviously not nearly enough. The Cases will be there for 4 weeks and Shawn/Camille will be there for about 10 days. Sorry guys that I did not have those as choices! Anyway, 2 weeks was the most popular choice with 3 votes. Longer, of course, is better - but many people have come up for only a few days or a weekend. I know we will take whatever we can when it comes to going to Nova Scotia.

Just a side note... The Phillies just won the World Series! I'm so glad it was them. But all I can say is that we would have smoked them if we had made it!
The new poll this week is "Do you want a regular door or a rustic door?" Meaning, is your door going to be made of metal or made of wood? Don't be worried if you don't know how to make a door... if you want your door to be wood I know that there are a couple of guys that can make this dream come true!

Regular door?

or

Rustic door?

GREAT BIG NEWS OUT OF THE CAPE!!!! Hear ye, Hear ye... Steve has purchased windows from Craig's List for the cottages! There are 10 of them and they are storm windows. Of course, they are not for the taking... they are spoken for. Steve/Kelly and Jen/Rad are all set for next year! This is a big deal and it is such a big deal that this blog will be featuring this story next week also. Pictures will be coming for next week! So stay tuned!

I'm sorry folks, but that is all I've got this week. My allergies are horrible today and I have probably sneezed 50 times over this laptop while trying to write this. I feel like my head is going to explode. So I'm going to try to hit the hay early! Talk to you next week!

The Stork Has Landed...

Hello again from partly gloomy and partly excited New England! A lot has happened in the past week in our sports world since my last post. The Red Sox were down 3 games to 1 - and the pivotal game 5 was the next day. Of course, we know the rest... history was made with an incredible comeback while losing 7-0 in the 7th inning. We made it to game 7 just to choke in the end. I have to admit that I did not expect the Sox to make it very far in the post season this year due to all the injuries... but when they beat the Angels and then made it to game 7... it just seemed so right. But what can you do? They ran into a great pitcher, but it is just hard to come so close! As most of you know, a group of our family members from the South got to go to game 7. A blessing or a curse... ?

The partly-excited part comes from the beating that the Patriots gave the Broncos on Monday night. It was a glorious and a much-needed uplifting after the Red Sox loss the night before. The offense clicked and scored a season-high 41 points - but the defense was a huge story. They forced 5 turnovers and held the Broncos to only 7 points. It was a great showing after the pounding they took from San Diego. Very encouraging, even though the win came with a price in the form of Rodney Harrison for the rest of the season. So as you can see, two of the three loves of my life have me torn in which direction that I am feeling. Either happy because of the Pats or sad because of the Sox.

The poll last week was "While in Nova Scotia next year, who do you want our president to be?" The choices were McCain, Obama, Other, or "I Don't Plan to Vote." The results were predictable with our family Republican ties... McCain won with 4 votes (I'm sure that is the only time we will see that phrase in print), Obama did not receive a single vote, "Other" received 1 vote, and the "I Don't Plan to Vote" was utilized by me. Yes, that is right - for all those who do not know it... ALISON EDWARDS DOES NOT VOTE. I'm not going to go on and on about why I don't... it is what it is.

The poll this week is "How long are you planning to be in Nova Scotia next year?" Either 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or unknown. Personally, I would love to spend the whole summer up there - but it just is not possible. We might need to be up there a little longer than we first expected. Because...
THE STORK BUG HAS BIT OUR FAMILY!!!!!! It is true what I wrote before... a real lot has happened in the past week. And not just in the sports world. Corey and Duncan are expecting baby number 2 and Shawn and Camille are getting ready for their first little one. And if that is not exciting enough, they are probably going to be due about the same EXACT day!!!!! Imagine it now. Last year, think all the fun of having baby Calleigh in Nova Scotia again. Now think about next year, we will have 3 babies up there! Even though, Calleigh will actually be over 2 years old and won't be considered a real baby anymore! This is starting to be a very interesting time in our family and our family continues to grow and grow.

So the moral of this news is that we are going to need the cottages to be built faster than ever! We really came up with this idea just in the nick of time! The Grodacks and the Braces will be in the most desperate need of these cottages first next year. They will have 2 new infants - and I can tell you - everyone sleeping in the main cabin will want them in their cottages as quick as possible! (= So let this news get you pumped up for some major building to be done!

Time Sure Flies...

Hello from gloomy New England! Autumn might be here in all its glory and it is truly beautiful... but the Sox being one loss away from the end of their season just makes things seem dark. Throw in there the beating the Patriots took on Sunday night and you could get down-right depressed! However, there is still a small (but improbable) chance that they could beat all odds again. Maybe this day off will stop the Rays' roll and we might find our mojo again! One can only hope!

The poll last week was "Should our porches be covered or open?" With 5 votes, it was a dead tie between the two choices and one person was undecided. I think that just having a porch at all will be great! But this is something that will be an on-going discussion - probably for next year. We will have our hands full building the cottages - that I doubt we will get to building the porches too! We'll see... maybe our men will work as speed demons - with our help, of course!

The poll this week is an idea from Aunt Lori. Thank you for a suggestion! The question is "While in Nova Scotia next year, who do you want our president to be?" It is getting very close to the end of the constant ads, debates, signs, and phone calls... and the nation will be choosing the next president. So who will be getting your vote? McCain or Obama? Or neither one? It will be interesting to see what comes out of this poll... (=

WHICH ONE WILL YOU CHOOSE??

Kelly and Steve found a great bargain at... yes, you guessed it... another yard sale!!!! They got a refrigerator for their cottage for $15 and it is not a tiny one either! Great find guys! That will be very well utilized! Here are a couple photos of the purchase.



A final thought this week is something very exciting to me! I don't know if you noticed... but take a look at the countdown! IT IS UNDER 300 DAYS UNTIL WE GO BACK TO NOVA SCOTIA! Time is flying by us and next thing we know... we will be back to our beloved Novi! Can't wait!

Fair Odds and Ends...

This week is a challenge for me! I am seriously having a hard time coming up with material ... so I'm feeling like this one might be a bit short. Please help me out next week! Thank you in advance!

The poll last week was "What should Aunt Sherrie make for her meal next year?" The choices were Spaghetti Fest 2009, Lentil patties, or Soup. There was a wonderful, exciting, 6 votes this week! Finally, we have broken the string of only 3 voters! That makes me encouraged - keep voting! Back to the results... And the winner was ... Spaghetti Fest with 3 votes! Lentil patties received 2 votes and only 1 lonely vote for soup! Can't wait for next year for the feast that will be before us!

The poll this week is "Should our porches be covered or open?" I thought of this question while seeing the cottage at the Fryeburg Fair nearly 2 weeks ago. I have to say that the enclosed porch was pretty spectacular, but I know that it will cost more money. Do you guys think that it might be worth it? I will have to get a quote from Heath about what we would be talking about...

Covered?

Or Open?

Continuing with the fair... here is a picture of what Corey says she wants on her porch! I guess that the enclosed porch would be great for a spa because if it rained then you could still use it! Given the fabulous weather we enjoyed this past year - that is definitely something to consider. It was so rainy, cold, and uncomfortable - wouldn't slipping into a hot tub just do the trick?

I could live with this...

Besides the giant donut, soup-in-a-bun, french fries, pizza, and a burrito that I got at the fair...I did manage to buy something for the Edwards' cottage! It was only $5.00 and it was just what I was looking for. I'm not talking about another Red Sox hat - but I did get one of those too! It is just the "country" type of thing that I wanted and not for a bad price, either! Check it out!

Well, that's all I got folks. Tune in next week for hopefully something more substantial! Go Sox!

"Shed Happens..."

Another week has passed - and it has been a fun one! The Fryeburg Fair weekend has come and gone but at least we have some pictures for the memories. A great time was had by all - despite the rainy weather. God held off the downpours for most of the day. The highlights that we did as a group were the pig scramble (of course), watching sheep dog trials, soup-in-a-bun, and seeing a 12' x 16' cottage! It was a true cottage and not just a shed! It had an enclosed porch (with a porch swing), carpeting, finished pine walls, and countertops with cabinets. I have to say that it was quite impressive. It was so impressive to Uncle Bill that he made comments that he would not mind to get a cottage built for himself and Aunt Melanie! See, we will be the envy of the parents- who are living in the "big house!" When you see the pictures, keep in mind that our cottages will have a higher, steeper pitched roof - so our ceilings will be taller. Heath and I took brochures from the company - which is called "Shed Happens, Inc." The website is www.shedhappens.com. I got a kick out of the name - hopefully I am not the only one! The asking price for the fully furnished cottage that was shown at the fair is $15,900. We didn't have the heart to tell the guy that we would be building ours for about $2000. Of course, we will not be starting with all the bells and whistles - but you never know what will happen down the road.







The poll last week was "What do you want for window treatments?" The choices were curtains, blinds, shades, or unknown. For the 3rd week straight, there were 3 votes total! Shades won out with 2 votes to the 1 vote for blinds. Interesting, interesting...

The poll this week should not be a surprise to the faithful reader of this blog. Uncle Kevin had made a comment 2 weeks ago regarding a new poll question. After discussing this with both Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sherrie - it has come down to this. "What should Aunt Sherrie make for her meal next year?" The choices are Spaghetti Fest 2009, lentil patties, or soup. I think any of these choices sound delicious!




Speaking of delicious, I made Aunt Bertha's sugar cookies last week and they are to die for! I have always preferred sugar cookies to ANY TYPE of cookie but I promise that I am not biased. The recipe makes 40 cookies and I admit that I ate probably 30 of the 40. Heath was away on business! They are easy to make and if anyone has a chance to try them - you will not be sorry! I also tried the Warm Chicken Salad - and Heath and I thoroughly enjoyed it - even though it was not as good as Aunt Lori's!

Well, I think I will end here. I have to save some info for next week! And I need to stop and concentrate on the Red Sox game now. It's the 4th inning and they are losing 1-0. I'm feeling like they need my full support and undivided attention! Go Sox!