Home, Horses and Happiness

 Here it is. The main reason I've been M.I.A. for so very long. It's a house. Just a house, but it's MY house! Finally after months of searching, Brian and I closed and then moved into this big old house. In all honesty, the house we have is not at all the house I thought we'd end up with. I pictured newer with a pool. We got older with a view. I love it though, and every day I fall in love with it just a little bit more. At first glance, it just looks like a big honkin' 1970's Colonial. The inside is beautiful, though, and we have mature maples, weeping cherry trees, tiered gardens, a pergola, we sit atop a big hill overlooking a fresh water pond and we have TONS of space and just enough privacy so that I can walk outside in my undies and not feel like I'm being watched. Not that anyone would ever want to see that, or that I'd even do that, but I could if I wanted to.














 The above picture is the side of the house. You can see the Pergola there in the lower right half. It needs to be repainted, but that's an easy enough job I think. There are 3 sliding doors leading into our very 1970's basement. The cool thing is that the former owners left their pool table and all of it's accouterments.






















 This picture (above) is the landing just outside of the master bedroom. That chandelier there was put in by my dad and uncle. Brian and I got it on sale...we likey. Notice the silk wallpaper? Straight out of 1971! It may or may not be growing on me. There are 4 bedrooms upstairs as well as two bathrooms ~ I likey very much!














 This is our view from both our living room and our family room. Those lamps line our long windy driveway. Way down at the bottom of the hill is a pretty pond with geese and swans...it's dreamlike and so peaceful! Not so much fun to mow, though.














When we moved in, the flower beds were atrocious. The above picture is a few weeks ago. Brian put in those shrubs, flowers and Rhododendrons.

I need to get more pictures up, but it's been a slow going process...I will take some more pictures once the inside of the house is cleaned and tidied up. We still have painting and touch up work to do. Overall, though, we're overjoyed at what we're able to own. I never in a million years would think we'd be able to afford such a house at our age. We purchased it on a short sale for over $200,000.00 less than what it's former owners paid in 2004! Lucky for us, not so much for them. Very sad!

As for horses. I have still been getting out to J's about once a week. I have ridden a time or two, but I think I'm going to have to stop until the baby is born in September. The last time I rode (Bobby), about a week ago, I felt like Humpty Dumpty and I almost fell off when Bobby stopped short from a spook. Sigh! For now, I have my good friend Dawn coming out to ride. Dawn is accustomed to off the track TBs, and she is mostly knowledgeable with hunters. Still, she will do fine with the Morgans, even if they're not exactly what she's used too. Here are some pictures I took of Dawn on Gizmo last Friday...cute!!!

And the last bit of updating. Brian and I found out the sex of the bambino in my belly! We are having a.....















GIRL!
As for that fact, I'm happy and I think after a few seconds of shock and awe after hearing the news, Brian is too. I can say that I do not enjoy being pregnant. I am tired, grumpy, moody and my parts are all swelling up like balloons. I am grateful, don't get me wrong, but I'll be happy when it's just me inside my body again!