Behind the Chair And More

Blogging is a flexible hobby, thankfully.  During this busy season of my life, I don't have as much time to sit, reflect, and compose as I once did.  But, I do still take MANY photos, capturing a plethora of moments from the quiet and serene to the action-packed affairs that fill our lives here at Dealan-De Farm.

We've been back in PA for over a year.  The pace of life right now is definitely more frenetic than it was during our years in little ole Homer, New York.  Less quiet afternoons wandering through the woods, more time commitments and activity.  We have settled into a fairly steady rhythm, though.

When I turned 30...ehem...too many years ago...I developed a heart for young women in that 17 to 24-year range.  Those can be some tough, challenging years to navigate, I know firsthand. Finding oneself.  I thought I would love to mentor, encourage and even inspire young women by becoming a youth leader at church.  That door, however, never opened for me.

Instead, I became a hairstylist at 40.

Now, more than ten years after those first stirrings in my heart, I happen to work with young women everyday - both my fellow stylists, and some of my salon guests!

A couple of weeks ago, Don prompted me to think about my goals and plans in my new career...

...He was thinking more about financial gain and position...He encouraged me to consider other options besides working in this corporate-owned salon.

The more I dwelt upon it, however, the more I realized, "I am here for a reason and I am not supposed to go anywhere right now."  Last weekend, a young mom, pregnant with her second child, sat in my chair for some highlights.  She's going through some rough stuff with her fiance and feeling defeated.  I was able to encourage her and offer some positivity.  I keep her in my prayers even after our time together.  How cool is that?  God orchestrates these meetings, I'm sure, and I'm so humbled that He chooses me to be His tool sometimes.  If I want to fulfill my heart's desire to pour into the next generation of  women (truly, women of all ages), then I am in the perfect place!  And, I feel like I can be far more effective where I am, behind the chair, than I ever would've been as a youth leader in a church.

Switching gears now, I want to share some photos of fun things we've been doing lately, from visiting a Celtic Festival a few weeks ago to celebrating Independence Day at one of my fave places, Buttonwood Beach down by the Chesapeake Bay to an afternoon hike with Rosemary, and of course, one more kitten photo...

This celtic musical group, all siblings, was terrific!

Couldn't leave the festival without something!  This pretty plaid wrap is a gift from my hubby!

With the wedding only about two months away, we figured it was a good time to introduce Brook to Buttonwood Beach, where Nate spent quite a bit of time with me, his siblings and my Dad during his childhood.  It was high time she met Nate's other crazy cool grandparents, my mom and dad, too!

What a lovely day that was!

Hiking with my daughters and my dogs has been a cherished pastime over the last decade.  However, this summer, between our work and school schedules, plus my commitment to the community theater, we rarely get a chance to get out together lately.

Today, Rosie and I made it happen!  Sure, it was a little warm and buggy, but we enjoyed exploring a new park.  And, Rosie was thrilled to note that horseback riding is allowed here, so I'm sure we'll be back.

There is an old abandoned building covered in graffiti at the start of this trail, then the path is covered in raspberry bushes.  I should've brought a basket for the berries!

And, finally, I have about one more week of the "kitten invasion".  Having Mickey's litter in the house has been AWESOME!  They are sweet and cuddly and sooo entertaining.  Nothing like kittens to reduce stress and soften the soul.

The opening night of Mary Poppins is just one week away - Yikes!  My work is mostly finished, of course.  Just helping out with the finishing touches.  I am proud of our ensemble and I know they will put on a terrific show next weekend.


Keep watching my blog for a special surprise coming up....more than one,  in fact.

Grace's goats will have their kids next month, so more adorable animal pics to share.  We are 90% sure that at least one of them is carrying twins!

This guy is beat from our hike today!  

A wedding, flowers, and more cuteness!

Not much to share since my last blog...except photos, that is!  Last weekend, I photographed a wedding for a lovely sister-in-Christ from our church family.  When she asked, I warned her that I was an amateur and only about half of my photos come out nicely...truly, only about 70 out of the 200 that I snapped were worthy in my opinion - sadly a bunch of the indoor photos came out quite blurry due to lighting.  Some day, I want to take a photography class and learn how to get the most out this camera!  Maybe I'll find one after the Mary Poppins shows...

I HAVE been capturing images from the homestead, too. Blooming flowers and, of course, kittens!!

Enjoy scrolling through some...a few from the wedding, then some other precious images:

Next post - an update on this crazy adventure called life!

Dancing, Kittens and Hair, Oh My!

That's basically what my life consists of at the moment - three of my favorite things. Throw in regular motorcycle rides through this gorgeous PA countryside with my main squeeze, a glass of Old Vine Zin or Sauvignon blanc every now and again... and life ain't bad!  Indeed, it's pretty darn good!  Yes, I am a bit busier these days...fewer hikes and lazy afternoons with my daughters and my dogs...


I've moved into a different phase of life.  For almost two decades, my focus and attention were honed in on our children and the management of their education and our home.  Knowing myself and the limits of my energy level, this was intentional...this was necessary.

Now that my family consists of 4 young adults, I feel free to invest in some of my other interests.

Can't recall if I mentioned it - Rosie passed her driver's exam, so I officially survived teaching four teens to drive - Woohoo!  So, she is exploring her new independence lately, running errands for the family, job-hunting, and, of course, visiting her friends down in Lancaster County.  She is re-training her off-track thoroughbred, Bea, and getting Isaac in shape for his future career.

Grace began her three and a half-month program in Esthetics - all things skin care and cosmetics. She leaves at 8am and gets home about 5pm five days a week for the duration of her education. When she graduates, she will be a licensed esthetician, able to provide a variety of skin services in medical spas and dermatology offices.  I asked her if she can take ten years off of my appearance...

...She said, "Sure!  We better do it slowly, though, or no one will recognize you, Mom!

Much to my chagrin, my adorable orange kitty, adopted back in October, whom I was SURE was male (Just a "late bloomer"!), is in fact, female...

...Yes, I realize I should've had them both spayed back in April, but... well...life was a bit hectic at the time, sooo....

...Clearly that big orange tomcat that wanders about this area got to Mickey about three weeks after he got to Val......We now have TWO litters of kittens on our little homestead!

EIGHT kittens in all!  I'm a bit giddy about it.  Takes me back to my childhood when Mom would take me along to Tobi Hill Farm in Honeybrook, PA, owned by Bob and Betty Kirk, to pick up our order of meat.  Every summer I could find five or more kittens hidden in the barn or the huge bushes around the property.  PURE HEAVEN for an eleven-year-old animal-lovin' girl!

We actually had a touch of kitty drama this week...

Val decided to move her litter from the barn deep into a large pile of downed trees and brush that Don was intending to burn!  She had already moved the first two when we discovered her struggling to move this pudgy gray male.  He was just too big for her, so she left him at the base of the large pile, unable to get him inside the protected little den she had created.  So, for the last four days we've diligently cared for this little guy, who is intended to become Nate and Brook's pet.  Today, Rosie was able to coax the others into a reachable location and scooped them out.  Mama doesn't seem terribly interested in them any longer, sooooo....

Now, some of you may know this, but many do not - I LOVE to dance.  After many years of lessons and recitals, ballets, musicals, parades, and colorguard, I took a break.  Sure, I still helped out with various theater camps and choreographed worship dance routines for the churches we attended, but for nearly two decades, my kids and horses captivated my attention.





When the opportunity to choreograph several scenes of Mary Poppins for a local community theater presented itself, it awoke something in me that has been dormant for quite a while.  I am having so much fun!  I have a wide range of dance ability in our ensemble, so my goal has been to find a balance that is challenging, yet attainable for all participants.  The show is about 5 weeks away.  While it is going well, we still have our work cut out for us!

I think I may have to find a dance class for adults, preferably tap or ballet, near me when this production is over because I am so enjoying dancing again!



And, I feel like I am more fit now than I have been in a few years!




Lots of excavation and some landscaping goin' on around the property!

 And, those bedrooms will be completed in a few more weeks, so watch for pics of that.



In the meantime, I will photograph and share these adorable kittens.  The 5 little orange kitties need homes, yet, so let us know of any interested families! Just a couple of months until Grace's goats have their kids, too.

   A summer of cuteness, for sure!

A Quick Update....

Time is something I don't have much of lately between the extra hours I've been at the salon since returning from Guatemala in February and working on the choreography for Fleetwood Community Theater's Mary Poppins production, and wedding stuff.  Fortunately, an additional stylist has been hired at the salon, so I can return to a more comfortable 22-25 hours per week come June. 

This means blogging will have to be brief for the time being.


I wanted to take a quick moment to share an update! During the last couple of weeks:



We took a break from the indoor construction work during those nice, warm, dry days and created some flowerbeds and an herb garden.  Don has always wanted some apple trees and we have the perfect spot here, so he planted four, complementary varieties.  They are dwarf trees and don't look like much right now, but still - we're gonna have a TON of apples in a couple of years!

With the wedding only about 4 months away, we found an afternoon to go shopping for the girls' dresses.  The Bon-Ton store is going out of business, so we went there to check out the bargains and Brook chose these dresses for Grace and Rosie, her 2 attendants.  Then, she found her own dress while shopping with her mom a couple of days ago.  Keep moving forward!

Nate and Brook are keeping their wedding very simple.  Ceremony and reception at our church with only about 40 guests, between family and close friends.  It will be early afternoon.  Brook loves wildflowers and sunflowers, so the decor will be colorful, but simple.  Having inherited a number of lovely flowered serving platters and a huge stack of pretty little plates, we will serve finger foods and punch while we visit on the huge garden deck attached to our church building.


And, Val, our sweet little barn kitty had her kittens!  FOUR!  On May 15th.  All healthy and becoming more adorable by the day!

And, finally, Don moves forward on the indoor construction little by little.  Keeping my fingers crossed that Grace is in her own room by the time her esthetician (skin care and cosmetics specialists) training program begins in mid-June.  Rosie's may not be complete until July.  We aught to have a big party when they are both completed!  The girls are so excited to furnish and decorate in their own styles.

I hear we're gonna be blessed with some super weather this week, so enjoy, Friends!!!

Bloomin' Things!

Bedroom #1 on our second floor should be complete by Monday, Thank Goodness!  Then, we start on #2. 

The weather this week has been ideal for completing pasture fencing, so the bedrooms were set aside for a few days.

The locust posts, courtesy of my father-in-law, came from the family farm in Upstate PA!  They replace the temporary fence posts we've been using around the upper horse pasture.


We also created a new paddock that is nearly 3 times as big as the old, complete with a "rock mountain", for the goats!  All three of our does are bred for certain, so I'm sure, come late-August, I'll have much adorable-ness to post about right here.








Besides that, I just wanted to share some photos of Spring Beauty from around the farm...

It is so refreshing to have the warm sunshine, after the spring showers.  The plant life is really taking off now!

This next photo, dear to my heart, epitomizes our family's daily life for this last decade and a half, especially my precious, passionate, hard-working daughter's...

A home improvement update is coming, so keep watching for a new post!