Mums

I could not resist buying these beautiful mums. I can't wait for the blooms to open, especially on the multicolor mum.

Wilton Jewelers

It is rare to find a business that I love and would recommend without hesitancy. Wilton Jewelers is a shop that I am thrilled with.

I have been to Wilton Jewelers several times over the last few months. Howard, the store owner, is a very nice and trust worthy person.

I have been amazed by the high quality work that Wilton Jewelers has performed. A mangled platinum band was restored to near perfection. A chipped diamond was cut and polished making this tired stone sparkle again, while losing very little of the carat weight. Earrings which had lost accent pearls were repaired and look beautiful.

Wilton Jewelers has a wonderful selection of jewelry. The display cases sparkle with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies.  If you ever need a reliable jeweler, I would suggest speaking with Howard at Wilton Jewelers.

King Crab

Stew Leonard's is running a tremendous sale on King Crab Legs. I love crab legs, but rarely buy this expensive treat, especially since Jeff does not eat seafood.

I left the store with 6 large legs. It turned out that this was too much crab for dinner for one. I ended up having crab salad for lunch the next day.

Both dinner and lunch were fantastic. The crab was sweet and juicy.  I do have to say that the Costco crab legs tend to be larger. However, their cost is much higher.

Photo by: Northwest Seafood

New Heating System

The heating system has been replaced. We were told that this high efficiency system should reduce our oil and electric consumption. I hope that is true.

The hot water tank is much smaller than the original one. Supposedly, the system heats water so quickly, that a bigger tank is not needed. The smaller tank is also more energy efficient.

The install took one day. Two plumbers arrived at 7:30 am and an electrician arrived at 1:00 pm. Cold water was available during the installation, which made being in the house much easier.

When the heat was turned on to test the system, Coop, Otis and I began to roast. Extra heat on a 90 degree day is a too much!

Congratulations, Jeff !

The Connecticut State Sporting Clays Shoot was held at Fairfield County Fish and Game this weekend.

Jeff won the Class A FITASC event! Jeff started shooting FITASC in April 2011.  He has made great progress in a little over a year.

Oil Burner

This is our existing 30+ year old oil burner. Back in May, we realized that the furnace needed to be replaced.

With Fall and colder weather approaching, we knew it was time to order a new heating system. We are also having the electric water heater removed. The new furnace will supply the hot water.

The installation is supposed to take 1 day. I am hoping we do not encounter any install issues. It is tough to live in a house with no running water.

Ready to Cook

Our oven is finally fixed. I am not sure that I will ever try the self cleaning option again!

Deck Update

The wetlands permit for our deck was approved with surprising ease. Unfortunately, the builder began another project while waiting for the permits to clear.

We are hoping that the deck construction will begin next week.

Gillette Castle

We had never been to Gillette Castle in East Haddam, CT.  We decided that it would be a fun way to celebrate my birthday.

The Castle was built in 1919 as the private home of actor William Gillette, famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Gillette built his own railroad which circled his 200+ acre estate.

While the home is not my style, it contains some incredible woodworking.

Each of the doors in the castle is unique.

We were lucky to visit on CT Open House Day. This meant that we received free admission into the park. There are gorgeous views of the Connecticut River from the terrace.

We enjoyed a nice lunch at La Vita Gustosa. If you are ever in East Haddam, you should definitely visit the Castle.

Cushion

The cedar chest cushion from Calico Corners finally arrived. I really like the way it looks.

New Peony

I received this beautiful peony as a gift from our Westport family.

I can't wait for the buds to open.

Restoration

I received two pieces of furniture from my Mom that I wanted to have refinished. Our Westport family suggested that we bring the furniture to Custom Design Woodworking in Norwalk.

I sent photos of the pieces to David, the shop owner. A few days later I received an estimate.  Jeff and I loaded the buffet and the cabinet into the back of the 4Runner and dropped them off.

I was told that it will be several months before the furniture is refinished. I am hoping that the cabinet's water damaged top and the buffet's chewed leg will soon be a memory.

New Again

A few weeks ago, we brought my Mom's antique chair to Calico Corners to be reupholstered. The chair had not been used in years, due to a broken seat.

I received a call that the chair was ready to be picked up. Calico Corners did a great job repairing the chair.  I think it looks amazing!

The fabric looks even better against the wood than I had imagined.

In bloom

The peony is now in full bloom and looks fantastic. I noticed that the bud had opened when I was headed out to the grocery store.

I asked the woman in the floral section if they had any peonies in stock. She said they had not received any this year. The florist said that peonies are popular for Mother's Day, but they did not receive any for the holiday.

Fox Sighting

Just the other day, I wrote that it had been months since I saw the fox. This morning, I was looking out at the pond and there was the fox, standing on his hind legs sniffing the forsythia bush. The forsythia is one of Otis' favorite places.

The ducks saw the fox and swam into the middle of the pond. The fox slowly walked across the yard and then trotted up the driveway and out of sight.

Who's there ?

Otis was sitting by the front door, looking out into the yard. Otis began to bark and growl. I did not bother to look outside. I assumed deer or squirrels were in the yard. After 10 minutes, Otis was still growling.

I finally looked out and saw the mallard pair sitting in the front yard. The ducks eventually wandered towards the bushes and began to peck at  the ground.  A short while later, I saw them waddling up the driveway. Something must have scared them, because they suddenly flew back to the pond.

Now that the ducks are becoming more comfortable and roaming the property, we will need to use extra care when letting the dogs out or backing out of the driveway.

Peony

I love peonies. They are one of my favorite flowers.

Unfortunately, I have not had much success in growing these beautiful flowers. When the new walkway was installed last year, my peonies were displaced.

This spring, I noticed this lone peony growing in our front yard. I am hoping that it will bloom.

Popular Place

We have been having a lot of  hawk and owl activity at the pond. I am not sure if this is due to it being spring or due to corn.

I have noticed that the corn which the ducks do not eat, attracts birds, squirrels and chipmunks. I am sure that other creatures like mice also are drawn to the pond for this tasty treat.

I have seen the hawks  and owls sitting on a tree limb above the pond. The hawk has been spotted sitting on the ground at the edge of the pond (presumably eating something warm and furry for breakfast).  It seems that these birds are smart enough to understand that the pond provides ample dining opportunities.

Laundry

As if discovering that we needed a new heating system was not enough, our washing machine died.

 We called our resident appliance expert to get some advice on which models were the best.  We then went to Best Buy, PC Richards and Sears Home Appliance. When we arrived at the first store, I opened the lid on the washer and was surprised to see no agitator. I thought, WOW - washers have changed a lot since we last bought one. Many of the washers are now front loaders. A front loader would not fit in our laundry closet, so we went with a top loader.

 We chose an LG washer. I was told to be sure to read the manual before washing clothes. It seems that laundry is no longer a simple process of add soap, add clothes and press start. The LG is unbelievably quiet when in it is running. Much less water is used, but the washing time is much longer (1+ hour).

Mound cake

Obviously, it has been a while since I baked. My pound cake turned into a "mound cake". However, it still tasted great with fresh strawberries and ice cream.