The Penultimate Day...

Well it's New Year's Eve here at the barn and since the adults are enjoying the peace and quiet a little too much, Connor (Bridget and Joe's nephew for those of you not in the Mitchell gene pool) is here to provide you with all of you blogging pleasures.

Today is our last night and we just finished a lovely meal provided by family members of all ages.

Before...

... and After

But the main event of the day was the final trip to Whiteface Mountain for another frolicking day of skiing. The powder was thick, the ice was slick, and the injuries came quick(ly). Bridget was toppled by an out-of-control four-year-old, Clarke and I collided many time in the wooded glades, and Colin discovered the joys of skiing after a five-year absence due to snowboarding fever. Unfortunately, dear old Annie could not join us today for our day of merriment because of hip issues, but we missed her "wit" and "charm".

Well, I hope I provided a suitable substitute for Bridgie here tonight. Expect an update (very) soon and have a blessed New Year.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. At Chez Barn, we had a leisurely sleep-in until 4:30 am. Oscar was kind this year in laying in bed for half hour before rousing us. We actually heard Clarke bargaining/begging him "Hey buddy, Merry Christmas, why don't you crawl in bed with me and we will wake up in another hour..." Wildly funny but Oscar was not to be deterred. Luckily, as organized parents, we had gotten to bed quite early on Christmas Eve, because there wasn't anything last minute that needed attending.... HA

I started the intravenous caffeine drip and gave the boys two options: lay around all day and watch movies, maybe play in the snow in the yard, and then have a huge feast or get up and out to the mountain for a day of skiing and a simple dinner. They chose the skiing and off we went.

The mood on the mountain was so festive and fun and we met some really nice folk, including a real life rocket scientist! Oscar skied with poles for the first time (Santa thought he was ready) and Clarke had new goggles for his ginormous teenage head.

The fun and frivolity is about to go into overdrive as grandpa and Oscar's friend Tess arrives today and the Bower family will be here tomorrow. I think we will have to go off the record for those days...

Picnic Anyone?

We are at the barn and everyone has breathed a collective sigh of relief. I think we all feel especially grateful and happy after a rough week. Anything for Christmas that hasn't gotten done, as of this evening at 6pm, will be forgotten, never to be worried about again. We have worked hard, (still finishing up a few work projects) sending off final packages, giving the barn a good cleaning, getting tree, and tonight we melt into holiday mode. And have I mentioned the skiing...

Sorry for the Cliffhanger

I had a post all ready to go about Roxy but then we received some much sadder news. First, Roxy is gone. We don't know what happened but think she may have escaped through a window. We are so so sad, especially Clarke, Oscar and Rex. We will tell the story of Roxy at a later date.

They boys hadn't even gotten to recover when, on Tuesday, we found out that Clarke's classmate and friend Frank Liu was in a car accident over the weekend and died on Monday. First, we are so upset to watch Clarke having to go through this and second, it just hits close to home. Mommas and Papas, hug your babies today. And say a prayer for Frank's family during this unimaginable tragedy.

We are going to services tomorrow before heading up to the barn for Christmas break -10 days. It can't come soon enough.

Increasingly Worried

We went to bed last night with 2 cats and woke up this morning with 1. Sometime during the night, Roxy disappeared. Mind you, this isn't in the wilderness of the Adirondacks where the cats roamed free all summer. This is our 800 sq.ft Manhattan apartment (!). It was at first amusing and now we are freaking out. We've double-checked windows and all her nooks and crannies. I truly hope this has a funny and happy ending from our quirky Roxy.

Ouch

I am starting to sound like a Whiteface commercial but conditions are so good, so early. It is wildly exciting. We had a fantastic ski day. The boys are in the groove and back to their old tricks of leaving me in their ski dust while they race down the mountain. It snowed all day yesterday, was fairly mild weather-wise and tons of trails are open. This morning, every joint and muscle is creaking. After skiing, we came home for a quick change and headed out to Morgan's 11 to watch our Marquette Golden Eagles Defeat the Mighty Wisconsin Badgers. What a lovely evening. We had pizza and beef and hung around the bar with the boys. We met a Saranac Lake legend named Dew Drop Morgan (yes, his name is Dew Drop). He was on the US Bobsled team (maybe in the late '40's early '50's?)and is in the Lake Placid Hall of Fame. I believe his children own Morgan's 11 and it is named such because Dew Drop has 11 Children!! He is a lovely man who lost his wife some years ago. He cheered with us for Marquette and was a lovely surprise to our night.

We need to get out of here early today as Joe has a board meeting this evening so holiday decorating will have to wait but it doesn't need much. The fluffy snow everywhere feels like a Christmas card.

Elf Yourself

Look what we did!!! Oscar
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1205998972

Plans Plans

As I've referenced in the past, we have felt quite conflicted about how much "restoration" or "upgrading" we wanted to do to the barn. After lots of thought, we've decided that we'd handle any additional needs (or wants - let's be honest) by building out our compound- think Waco. We would construct outbuildings and structures as needed.

Well we've started the planning process for "The Grotto", our first project. Our first pressing need was for more or larger or updated bathrooms so we came upon the idea of a bathhouse. Picture about 500 sq.ft with fancy shower, big tub (or hot tub), small sitting area which could also be used for extra sleeping quarters, and outdoor space of some kind. Our priorities are small, green, and more modern in design and features than the barn. My close friend Juli Kaufmann at Pragmatic Construction is taking on design and consulting and we have begun talking to a local builder who is interested in learning about green construction. The Grotto may also serve as the summer home to my mom if we can convince the stubborn Irish woman to take it on the road. We figure we have a better chance to see her in the country (and you can be sure my garden would be better) than making her come to the cold, cruel city (where she'd have to climb our 4 flights of stairs). Stay tuned as we move forward. Of course, understanding the budget for all of this will be priority #1. Once that comes through, we'll probably be considering an outhouse with a spray hose!

Joe has also dreamed about a screened, lean-to, serving as 3 season dining, and a high rise canoe rack/car port. Any other ideas?