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Sep 18, 2017

"Scruffy Hospitality"...


That's what we have to offer right now...Still...

...Cluttered, but clean.  The dishes don't match, and often, they are plastic or paper.

The food's not gourmet, and neither is the coffee or tea.  But, it's still darn tasty!

The "sitting room" is this outdoor space. (The fan keeps the gnats away!)


HOWEVER, the conversation is always lively, we laugh... a lot, and whatever we have, we share.

Our truest friends don't seem to mind at all!  In the four months...yes, it's been four already, that we've been back in PA, living in our campsite at our Dealan-De Farm, all of them have visited us here at least once, and some several times.

Bugsy and Lady

...Actually, I learned the term "scruffy hospitality" a couple years ago.  Friends came over for an impromptu visit one brisk winter evening up in NY, after I'd been "under the weather" for over week.  I was a bit embarrassed and very apologetic for the disarray and clutter in my home, but they insisted that they, "came to see you guys, not your house."  Later, Nancy shared a very endearing blog post with me that someone had written, affirming a friend of hers whose brand of hospitality was always warm and loving, but, generally, on the "scruffy" side.






Last weekend we were blessed to have our friends, the Leet family, visit us from Central New York. So wonderful to spend time with them!


This weekend, our friend and equine dentist, Brianne, visited us, along with our son, Nate, and his friend!


We enjoyed hot dogs, chicken and the usual BBQ side-faire, great conversation, lots of laughs, plus cannoli and tiramisu from Esposito's, thanks to my "working girl", Grace.


We finally close on our construction mortgage next week.  Due to everything that happened in the mortgage world back in '07-'08, dealing with the bank has been nothing less than frustrating as they intrusively scrutinize our finances...our lives.  But, its almost over, Praise God!

I'm SO excited - I get to sit down with our general contractor and choose all the fun stuff this Thursday - flooring, countertops, cabinets, lighting fixtures...๐Ÿ˜€

In the meantime...

...we welcomed a few new critters to the farm recently.


Christened "Edna" (new home, new name)
Grace has asked for goats a few times over the last several years, but it just wasn't conducive to our property or our life when we lived in NY.  
And, truthfully, I wasn't really ready for it right now, however, "Dad" gave in when Grace's friend, Kara, pointed out that goats are great at clearing ground of weeds and vines and even poison ivy....


...And, she just so happened to have a goat for sale! (Quite the saleswoman, Kara!)  We purchased Kara's goat, then Grace pointed out, "Goats are herd animals.  It's not good for them to be alone!"  Slick one, Teenager of mine.  Well played.  

So, one Friday evening, Don and the girls headed to the livestock auction at Green Dragon in Ephrata, and came home with two more young uns'!

"Tilly"

"Satine"

OYE!!  

Eventually, Grace would like to breed them.  I hope she makes goat milk soap!  In the meantime, we have a mobile pen for them to clear our property!

Area #1 (It's now weed-free!)

Area #2 (Will be clear by Wednesday!)

A number of trees are down and out of the way.  A couple more need to come down before the house is delivered, but we are just about ready for the foundation crew.  One more Saturday of clean-up should do it!





Archery season is officially open in PA.


And, Don already got his first deer of the season!  (I'm sure its not the last!)




I have such mixed feelings about the coming of autumn.
While it has become my favorite season...colorful leaves, yummy butternut and acorn squash, brilliant mums, warm campfires on chilly nights, leggings and soft sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes...it means that winter is just around the corner.  And, I have, roughly, nine weeks to go before our house is ready.  Yikes!  Here's hoping it's a mild fall...maybe more DRY than our summer was?  Well, one can hope!๐Ÿ™



2 comments:

  1. I love the phrase scruffy hospitality! It doesn't matter what you eat or how it's served, people love to be invited! It's your welcome that is the key! You are great at that, friend!

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