It's a Transylvanian Naked Neck !!

The Chicken or the Turkey question has been settled once and for all. It is a Transylvanian Naked Neck Chicken.

Thanks to Grant from planetchicken.com. He somehow found my earlier post regarding the "Possible Turkey" and has left a comment there, which I am posting here as well.

He Said:

"Actually that is truly a chicken. The breed comes from eastern Europe and is also known as the "Transylvanian Naked Neck." I also want to commend you for noting that the image came from planetchicken.com... I always appreciate it when people who use my images give credit. Thanks! --Grant - the planetchicken.com - guy"

I must say however, that his neck doesn't look entirely naked to me.

Definitely a Chicken. 

Another Kitchen Visit

The Island section

The first cabinet is for trash, the bottom section will pull out. Jim Kroll did a great job here, the hinges on the left are faked to look like a door.

The next cabinet is for the farmhouse sink. The opening is where the dishwasher will go.

The last cabinet has an opening on the top for the microwave and a large drawer on the bottom.

The end panel is shown and is the same at both ends of the island section.

The back of the island section isn't shown but is the same style beadboard shown in the upper hutch section below.

Island. Click to enlarge 


End Panel. Click to enlarge 


Hutch Section

This picture shows the hutch top with the beadboard installed and the interior.

Hutch Top 


Here is the Hutch bottom shown with the maple top stained and the drawer knobs.

Hutch Bottom 


Fine Woodworker, Jim Kroll, from Maine, is building the kitchen cabinents.
To find more information about Jim Kroll, the link to his listing on the Maine Made Webite is below.

Jim Kroll at Maine Made

Pennslyvania to Maine the Long Way

I left Pennslyvania Tuesday and stayed in New York Tuesday Night on my way to pick up Polly at Okemo Mountain in Vermont. After searching high and low for Polly at Okemo, I discovered Polly was not in Vermont but was now to be found in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

It is my theory that the State of Vermont has erected a force field blocking all cell phone signals.

I picked Polly up at Holderness and we decided to stay in Lincoln, New Hampshire for the night. I had been in the car for eight hours and the weather was terrible, pouring rain and fog.

We will head over to Maine on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile.. John also left Pennslyvania on Tuesday. He is in Massachusetts and will pick up Carrie in Boston Wednesday night. Carrie is flying from Colorado to Logan Airport and is scheduled to arrive at midnight.

John and Carrie will travel to Maine on Thursday morning.

The Turkey

Back in August, I posted an entry about our chicken coop called "The Love Shack".

Several people informed me that the chicken picture I posted might actually be a turkey. So here is the picture.

I want to note.. this picture came from a website called "PlanetChicken"

The Possible Turkey. 


Just because I like this animation from the "Love Shack" entry, I will put this one up too.

I am sure this is a chicken.

Dancing Chicken. 


Happy Thanksgiving!!

Mom and Carrie

This is a picture I have always liked of my mother and Carrie, it was taken in Florida.

Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving Mom, we will be thinking of you down in Texas. Please tell Aunt Nancy we hope to hear that she is feeling better soon.

We haven't seen our long lost daughter Carrie in three months. She is flying into Boston Wednesday night, can't wait to see her.

Mom and Carrie circa 1988 

Pat on a Paper Chase

Janet took Pat to a paper chase a couple of weeks ago and a professional photographer got a great picture of Pat jumping.

This is a proof from the photographer's website.

Pat and Janet.  

Construction Update

In the back hall, the wall board is done and primed and the new floor has been installed but not grouted.

The floor looks great, actually better than the pictures show. It isn't as uniform looking or as dark in person.

The grout has been a pain, I want epoxy grout which apparently is insanely expensive so the grouting has been on hold. After getting prices from 3 tile stores ( who have wildly varing pricing and recommended amounts needed ) we have found a good price at Lowes. Now we need to go to several Lowes stores to get enough of the grout to do the floor. The price, for the same product, at Lowes will be 30% less than the best price from a tile store.

John and I primed all of the new addition over the weekend, it took about 20 hours.

This section of the addition provides much needed modern functions. There will be a laundry room, office, half bath, and mudroom.

Back Hall from the office

Back Hall

More Kitchen Cabinets

The Pantry Hutch

This is one version of the Pantry Cabinet. The doors on the counter open and slide away to create appliance garages.

The base section is 18" deep and the upper section is about 12" deep.

Version 1. Pantry Cabinet. Click to enlarge. 


The Refrigerator Section

The shelves shown on the bottom left are open to allow for the exsisting radiator.
The cabinet above the refrigerator has one large door, I think.

I hope Jim doesn't build this as cock-eyed as I've shown it.

Refigerator section. Click to enlarge. 

Aerial View Circa 2000

Here is an aerial view of Braefield Farm circa 2000. The large red roof is the barn and the cottage is shown with the old red roof it had in 2000. The house is shown with the old garage. You can see the pond and Jim and Margaret's house.

I have this picture set to enlarge to a very large size so be sure to click on the pisture.

I was able to get this picture from a company called Keyhole. They have a free seven day trial version of their product, so I tried it.

The picture quality is limited in the trial version, but I had a great time finding our old houses and the kids schools. Some states have sharper images than others. ( Massachusetts is pretty good and New Hampshire isn't great)

Aerial View. Click to enlarge. 

Mustang Sal

Jim took the Mustang out for the last ride of the season last Sunday. The car is in fabulous shape and I know Jim is having a great time driving it.

The Mustang is a 1973 with a 351 V8 Cleveland Engine. It has 50,335 original miles.

Update: I've changed the name of this post from Mustang Sally to Mustang Sal. This car shouldn't have a "girlie name" like Mustang Sally.

Jim and the Mustang. Click to enlarge 

Construction Update

The opening in the stone wall and the wallboard installation are shown in the following pictures. Click on the pictures to see a larger size.

The kitchen is dusty by day and cold by night so access to the computer has been limited.

The opening in the stone wall will be pointed next week. The old beams supporting the wall are hidden by the tarp.

New Opening 


Opening from Kitchen 


Pantry Door 


French Door 


Mudroom door 

News from Holderness

Here's an update on Polly at Holderness. All the pictures are from the Holderness Webite and can be found at the links in the blue text.

Soccer

Polly has played three games recently.

In the game against Proctor Academy , Polly was in the goal for the first half and scored two goals in the second half. One of the goals she scored was her first "header". Holderness won 7-0.

In two hard-fought games Holderness beat 3-2 KUA and lost to GDA 2-1, Polly was the goalkeeper in both games.

The Holderness School JV1 Team record is currently 10-2-1.

Update: The team played 3 more games.. won 2 and tied 1
The season ending standings are 12-2-2. Great season!

Holderness JV1 Team. Polly at far left. Click to enlarge. 



Hypnotist Visits Holderness

I haven't heard the full story about this yet.

Polly asleep on the stage. Click to enlarge. 



Election at Holderness

The student body and faculty voted in a mock election. The electoral vote was assigned by population to the respective buildings on campus. Senator Kerry captured 67% of the popular vote and 79% of the electoral vote. Polly is in the Sargent Dorm.

Electorial Map of Campus.Click to enlarge. 



Polly the Bull

On Sunday Polly went to Proctor Academy to watch the Holderness football game and cheered them on in the Holderness Bull costume. The Holderness Sports Teams are called the Bulls and the mascot is a Bull.

Polly . 

Kitchen Drawings

Kitchen Island Elevation. Click to enlarge. 


Hutch Elevation. Click to enlarge. 


Overmantle. Click to enlarge.