Christmas Season

So it's that time of year. I'm a little excited about it. We've decorated around the apartment a bit and I've done most of my shopping. I'll be heading up north for the 1st time since the weddings this weekend and it'll be Jenn's first time north since we move down here. Looks like we'll be up the same weekend as the big family Christmas party. Unfortunately our family won't all be around. Katie and Charlie will be on their way back from Illinois that weekend. Well here are a few pics from around the apartment to show what we've got for decorations.

Fox News and Turkey Day

So for those of you who didn't see it on facebook Smiling Hill Farms was on FoxNews Monday with multiple live shots throughout the day. I have some links posted on my page so you can see it. I didn't realize at first that they were doing liveshots, I understood they were doing a story and were going to put it on later but I was on national news so that's cool.

I'm getting kind of anxious for Thanksgiving partly because it kicks off the Holidays which I am actually anxious for this year. Last year I could have gone without them but for some reason this year I'm a little excited. So to everyone hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Friday the 13th

So for about a week straight from Friday the 13th until this past Friday it was not what I would call a good time. It seemed that just about everything that could go bad did which made work quite stressful. I'm hoping that things are going to be better now with the upcoming holiday.

Meanwhile I still have to repair the rocker panels on my pickup which are rusted and need to be taken care of before VIP will put an inspection sticker on. Hopefully I can take care of that soon on my own so that I can get a sticker on before long.

Well I'm getting ready for the holidays which usually I can wait longer. Until next time.

WSJ

So in case some of you haven't noticed from my facebook posts, I Love the Wall Street Journal.
There are a number of reasons, they're a conservative paper, they cover everything about the markets and it's one of the only papers I can read and not get pissed about the letters to the editor/ editorials.

So I decided I would check out how much it costs for a year subscription. I figured it would be much less than buying individual papers, which are $2 each. Well for your first year it's just over $100. Which comes out to $2.29 a week, for 6 papers. That's crazy how much cheaper it is for a full year, almost like getting 5 free every week.

While I'm on the subject, today's edition has an article on the auction of Bernie Madoff's belongings. In the article it says that of over 200 items to be sold over 40 are expensive, designer watches. I only have 1 watch and it's put away so I only wear it on special occasions.

So anyway if you get a chance check this link. It's a girl I went to college with, one of my aggie friends. http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/7081507.html

That's all for now.

Election Day

I hope everyone who reads this went and voted. It's very important to let your voice be heard no matter what your beliefs. However, I'm hoping for a Conservative Revolt today across the country in both elections and the issues that are being voted upon.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Other than that, my pickup failed inspection and the estimate for repairs is over $2500 so I'm getting it taken care of somewhere else.

On a side note, Bob Schieffer is on the CBS national news tonight. I thought they fired him because of his craziness. He just said that the republican candidate in New York dropped out and threw her support behind Obama. I'm pretty sure the president is not running for the house of representatives. Crazy Old Bird.

Vermont part II

So I promised pictures with a little more info so here it is.

Jenn in a cow cutout at the Cabot Cheese Annex in Waterbury.
The cheese was about the same price here if not more than it is at Hannaford or Shaw's. They do have lots of free samples though so I would recommend the stop.



We also went to Ben and Jerry's.

This pic is on the door to the Men's rest room.









Jenn showing the love for the Ice Cream.













A pic with a few of the girls, they were everywhere.










We also went to Magic Hat. Jenn's Favorite beer is their not quite pale ale #9.





She had to have a picture taken with the tap in the sample room.
















We also went to the Lake Champlain Aquarium in Burlington. One of the people working there was a guy originally from Fort Kent. I graduated high school with his nephew.


One of Jenn's favorite paintings. It's by Warren Kimball.

These pictures were taken at the Shelburne Museum which was started by one of the sons and daughter-in-law of the people who started the Shelburne Farms. They have a lot of different things so everyone should check it out if they every find themselves in Burlington.
The people who started the museum were very big into hunting so they have a few buildings with paintings, pictures and taxidermy from hunting trips they took as well as some of their friends' trips. These are Brown Bears from Alaska.



View from the back porch of the Charlotte Winery and Vineyards. We did Wine tasting there and at the Shelburne vineyard.


Shelburne Farms has registered brown swiss for their milking herd. We saw their dry cows and heifers.
There was a young black angus bull in the pasture with them. I imagine he's just a cleaner bull.






This is one of the barns at the Shelburne Farms. It was built as a horse/ dairy farm in Shelburne VT. It was built in the late 1800's by Vanderbilt descendants.

This little guy managed to get loose and was following us around the area for a while. He had all sorts of nice green grass around him but choose to eat some dead leaves instead. Stupid Goats.



Jenn with the "barn" in the background. I can't imagine who built this for working with livestock.

Now they make cheese and have a bakery here along with a bunch of other things.

VT

So we just got back from Vermont. We went to Burlington, Shelburne and Waterbury. I'll post pics soon and type up a little more when I get a chance later in the week.
We went on a few tours and tastings, Magic Hat, Ben and Jerry's, 2 winery's and a chocolate factory. It was a pretty good vacation and we had a lot of fun. Our hotel was in Williston which is just outside Burlington and they had a deal with a local place called the Chef's Corner for breakfast which was very good. I got a pumpkin creme brulee for dessert that was delicious. More to come soon.