French Doors, Kitchen Queen, Hot Date

Well, we talked about it and thought about it long enough. The french doors and the wood cookstove - they are IN! Last Friday, our dear, construction-gifted friend Kevin spent 24 hours at the farm armed with tools to ensure that we complete this daunting task in time for our neighborhood party the very next day. A window was removed. (before shot at right) A giant hole was made. An 800 pound stove was hauled from the deck into the kitchen through the hole. And doors were installed and even insulated, thank god, before nightfall. Because it was 5 degrees that day. FIVE DEGREES.

Kevin, Chris and Jay are saints for completing this project so beautifully and quickly. Charis and I took the boys to Menomonie (and kept them away from the scary, dusty, cold, dangerous mess) for the entire day. We did manage to pop into a photo of the project, making it appear that we might actually have lifted a hammer or even a finger. However, handling post-project clean up and entertaining two nap-deprived toddlers puts us into our own category of sainthood if I do say so myself.

The next morning brought drywalling, taping, mudding, and molding to be installed. Owain even helped out by poking nails into the drill. (Okay, so we weren't quite as diligent about keeping the toddlers away from the danger as I claimed.) The wood cook stove sits beautifully in the kitchen where the table and pew used to be. While I certainly miss those elements of our kitchen, it is hard to walk by our dear Kitchen Queen without stopping for a few seconds to gaze at her grandeur. It has yet to be fully installed with a chimney, etc. to make it functional. That is why we can keep a plant and a bowl of fruit on top of the warming shelf without watching them wilt within seconds. The kitchen will probably need to be rearranged a bit more to make it work as best as we'd like, though the stove will never be moved again. Here are "after" photos of the stove and the french doors. It's really incredible to sit at the dining room table and see the full scope of the hill behind our barn and watch the sun set or see the warm lights through the big new windows, walking back up to the house from the barn.

The Christmas party was a blast. Neighbors came in full force and stayed past midnight, full of holiday cheer. We were blessed to have my mom and dad come out for the day and stay for the party. Chris's Nana also came for a few days and to join us for a second year at the party, which was a good thing since the neighbors were asking if she'd be there again! Nana also brought the best gift of all for the boys...her old moving, flashing, singing Christmas carousel. It has been a HUGE hit with Ellis and Owain, both of whom quickly learned how to turn it on and turn the volume up. But despite its initial obnoxiousness, something about it makes me really happy - the joy it brings to the boys, the joy it has brought Nana for so many years, its warm light and corny carols. I have a feeling it will be an annual Christmas treat for these kids.

Ellis and I are at the farm alone together this weekend. Chris is at work and C, J, O are in Madison. It's been a lot of fun to have this quiet time with Ellis all alone. We've had some unfortunately warm days, which has made for sloppy, sleety weather. So, I decided we needed to get out of the house for a little date. We visited the children's museum in Eau Claire, where Ellis spent most of our time there running around the insides of a larger than life digestive tract. I really wish I had a photo of him climbing up the "tongue" and sliding down out of the large intestines into a giant pad in the shape of a toilet seat. I'm not kidding. He also spent a fair amount of time in this car at the fake bank drive-thru, passing fake money through a fake air tube to a kid he kept calling Benjamin, whose name was actually Cameron.

Once exhausted from intestinal climbing, we walked down Barstow street for some lunch at the Acoustic Cafe. Ellis loved it and kept telling me he was having a "good date with mama."
We're off tomorrow to begin a week of family-holiday-festing in Minnesota. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, loyal blog readers!