Springtime?

How do you know it's late April in Vermont? Well . . .

The daffodills have finally come into full bloom.

Just in time to be completely buried by a huge late-spring snowstorm.

We woke up to four inches of snow this morning, and big white snowflakes fell most of the day today, while old Vermonters told stories about "that one time it snowed like this in June."

Fortunately, I hadn't put the kids' snowpants away yet or changed the snow tires off the cars.

Saturday's weather forecast calls for sunny skies and 80 degrees.

Can you build a snowman and swim in the river in the same week? In Vermont you can!

Chicken Update

I've heard that chicks aren't that cute once they lose their fluff and grow their feathers. But I think they're still totally adorable. Especially the brown and white ones.

Lucy and her friend Jaeden took the chicks out for a carefully-supervised walk around the lawn this afternoon. This weekend our job is to clean out the henhouse so the chickens can move in!

My Sears Dilemma

I generally try to avoid shopping at Sears. When we lived in Philly, we were within walking distance of the Sears at 69th street, but almost always opted to drive to Springfield to Target or ANYWHERE to not have to go to Sears. My antipathy toward Sears began when I took Lucy there to get baby pictures -- they charged me nearly $100, took more than two months to get the pictures to me, then couldn't believe I was upset that they'd cut off the top of her head. (I got a grudging refund.)

Given how seldom we went to Sears, it's funny how many stories I have about the place. There was the time we bought a lawnmower there, but someone neglected to record it when we picked it up, so every month or so we got a phone call telling us to come down and pick up a(nother) lawnmower. Then there was the time that I found the perfect braided rug there, but they refused to sell it to us because it was a discontinued floor model (though they did, again, offer us a free lawnmower.) Austin waited for a shift change, bought the rug, and dashed out before the manager noticed. I'll never forget the vision of him running out the door with the rolled-up rug under his arm yelling "Hurry! Open the trunk!!!"

Now I live in Vermont nowhere near a Sears. (Sadly, nowhere near a Target, either.) I shop online for almost everything. The other day, searching for lightweight cotton blankets for the kids for summer, I found some great Lands End blankets for half price . . . on Sears.com. I thought I'd give it another try. After all, we're not at 69th street anymore. So I ordered two blankets, and a week later two boxes arrived on my doorstep. I opened the first box. Two blankets, just as I had ordered. I opened the second box. Two blankets, identical to the two I had just opened.

After calling my credit card company to make sure I wasn't double-charged, I called Sears customer service to arrange to send the extra box back. They said UPS would pick up the box. UPS didn't. So I called again, and was again assured that UPS would call and arrange to pick up the box. They haven't. I was about to call Sears for the third time, when I decided to sit down and write this message and seek your advice. To wit,

How many times am I morally obligated to call Sears before I just give up and KEEP THE EXTRA BLANKETS?!

(Update: May 3rd. Thanks for the feedback comments. Called Sears for the fourth time last night. Explained, for the fourth time, that they need to send UPS to pick up the extra box. The sales associate said that in her opinion, I should just keep the box since Sears and UPS have had three weeks to get their act together. Fine. I tried! Anyone need some extra blankets? I bet I could get you a free lawnmower, too...)

The Barn Bites the Dust

We've now officially gone from five historic barns to four. The old cinder-block milk barn, where they used store the jugs of milk in ice when our farm was a dairy, was deteriorating pretty badly. I wanted to use it as my chicken coop but it was in too bad of shape. Since it's pretty ugly and not all that historic (dating only to 1920) I gave in to Austin and let him hire Jon Palmer to knock it down.

So that's what it looked like before . . .

And after the demolition!

Now we've got some painting to do.

Easter Eggs

The weather was absolutely glorious this weekend. There's still a patch of snow out by the barn but the kids weren't about to let the 80 degree weather go unappreciated!

It was so nice out that we turned our traditional Easter Egg party into a barbecue. Lots of friends came and we had a great time coloring eggs and turning them into funky egg creatures.

I love Gavin's egg. It's a three-dimensional version of his people pictures. One big round circle with eyes, with stick arms and legs coming out of it.

This morning, after enjoying all the treats the bunny delivered, we had the Norwich students over for an orphans' Easter brunch and General Conference and finished up our Easter weekend with an egg hunt at the Bedells.

Then we came home to take care of our baby chicks, who we hope will lay the eggs for next Easter's celebration!

Student of the Month

Introducing the Northfield Elementary School Second Grade Student of the Month!

"Lucy is an avid reader who enjoys jumping into a good story. She also enjoys writing and is a very imaginative writer. Recently she has lent a helpful hand to students who need some support in these areas. Lucy is a nice role model showing true enjoyment for reading and writing."

Reading and writing come pretty naturally to this girl, but learning how to use those strengths and talents while helping others is a real accomplishment. We are proud of you, Lucy!