Moving On {Part 2}

| Allison

It has been way too long since my last “Moving On” post, and we’ve had quite a few adventures since Part 1! So, shall I catch you guys up on the news? Alrighty then. 🙂

Let’s see, where did I leave off? Oh yes, right before our cousins came to help us paint. Well… they actually didn’t paint much, but my aunt did. XD The kids played Dutch Blitz when we weren’t needed. We’ve all been playing Dutch Blitz a TON lately, and it’s so much fun! Have you played? Not many people have that I know, of but sadly it’s pretty hard to explain without showing you… :/ Trust me, though, it’s great. XD

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So now the Cedar House is all painted and furnished and it looks GREAT! We still have a few things to fix up before it debuts as an Airbnb, but it’s come a long way. (For instance, we replaced that carpet in the picture above after I took the photo.) Would you guys like to see a tour of the house once it’s finished?

Another thing we’ve been doing is learning to use the rebaling machinery. Part of what we do at the new farm is sell hay and straw, as well as make people’s large, unmanageable bales into smaller ones. Dad runs the machinery, the boys usually get the haybales prepared, and the girls usually stack them on a trailer. It’s hard work, lifting hundreds of 40-pound bales, but it’s good for us. 😉

The hay pictures are all in black and white because the light and surroundings usually weren’t the prettiest. XD I think they look really neat in B&W, though!

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I guess Logan did help stack that time… maybe because I was taking pictures. XD

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A few weeks ago we semi-officially moved down to our new place. We still have to go back to our old farm to pack up stuff and work once in a while, but we’re mainly down here now. 🙂

Since we’re mostly going to be down here, we brought all the live things we have to care for: namely, pets and plants. 😛 I really loved how the plants looked in the back of my car for some reason. XD Does it looks Pinterest-y to you?

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They looked so pretty against the cedar siding. 🙂

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We also brought the bunnies up! Most of the bunnies stayed huddled together at the back of the truck, but Basil was hilarious – she hopped up on a cat crate (with no cat inside) we put there and stayed on top almost the whole time. What made it funny was it was really windy up there, and her fur got blown about every which way, like she was under one of those super strong hand dryers that ripple your skin. XD She didn’t seem to mind, though. Maybe she liked the fresh air.

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We also brought the cats down, but that was a little more… um, interesting. They were RATHER scared, and once Jinx decided he simply couldn’t wait to use the litter box till we arrived, so… yeah. He didn’t wait. IT WAS BAD. XD XD Ah well, we survived, and the cats are safely in the Cedar House now. 🙂 Maggie, our yellow lab, is quite enjoying the new space too, I think!

Dad had to stop to check on a vehicle at one point and I got some more lovely pictures of mountains at the overlook. ❤ You could see everything SO clearly!

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Finally we arrived at the pineapple gates. I don’t know why there are pineapples at the farm entrance, but it’s pretty funny. Especially because one of the pineapples is literally yellow and green with lichen, and in exactly the right places! XD

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In case you’re wondering if we have animals at our new farm, we don’t. Except for pets, of course. 😉 We’ll probably get chickens later (just not 24,000 like we used to have!), but for now the only livestock are the cows in the leased pastures. They’re not ours, but they are pretty cute. 😉 They also look lovely in the golden hour! Then again, what doesn’t?

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When we first started staying in the Cedar House we didn’t have many forms of entertainment, so Mom thought of Four Square! We laid out the pattern in masking tape on the basement floor, and we’ve been having a lot of fun playing it as a family. 🙂

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Another fun thing to do here is go fishing! We haven’t caught fish every time, but once we caught nearly a dozen in one day! That was fun. I’ll have more pictures from fishing in a later post.

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Ooh, and one super fun surprise we found was a box of really old letters! Part of the big farmhouse was built in the 1850s, and I believe the farm itself is even older. We found some letters from the 1880s! Isn’t that amazing? This letter is one of my favorites, although it’s from 1922, so not quite as old. But LOOK AT THE HANDWRITING. (I blocked out part of the address.)

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Isn’t that amazing?! We haven’t read it yet because it’s in German, but we should really translate it sometime. 🙂

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Now I shall end this post with a sunset over the pond. ❤ I love sunsets in general, and reflected sunsets are twice the beauty!

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Phew, that was a lot to cover in one post. I hope I didn’t leave anything important out… XD Oh well, I can always tuck it in later if need be. I hope you enjoyed the update and the pictures, and tell me…

Have you had interesting experiences traveling with pets? Have you played Dutch Blitz or Four Square? And would you be interested in a post with more about the Cedar House when it’s finished, or about more old letters and other interesting artifacts we’ve found?

Stay tuned for more posts like this in the future, because we still have the big house to finish fixing up. Man, it’s taking a while. There’s just soooo much to paint and work on. Ah well, it’s going to be incredible when it’s finished, and I can’t wait to move in!

Well, thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day, dears!

***Allison***

116 thoughts on “Moving On {Part 2}”

  1. Ahh, the hay bale photos were really neat! I love the old letters, and would love to see a post about all the old things you’ve found! I wonder what the letter says! XD When do you plan on being finished with the big house?

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    1. Aww, why thanks! I think they look neat too. 🙂 Ooh great, thanks for the feedback! I hope I can do a post with more details about them soon. 🙂 I know, right? We found this one letter thingy which was actually more like a speech about the new year, 1887. XD Well it might be another month at least till we’re ready to move in, sadly, and then we’re still going to have stuff to do. But oh well, we’ll get there eventually! XD

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  3. This was such an engrossing post, Allison! I loved reading it! That is so cool that you play Dutch Blitz! It’s a fantastic game, and my family used to play it a lot. We are super competitive at it, so we play a really fast-paced game. It also gets really hot. XD Who’s the best in your family?
    It was really interesting to see the hay photos. The black and white was a cool effect for them. 🙂
    And yes, you are totally right; the photo of the plants in the back of your car does look like something on Pinterest! Did you edit the lighting at all?
    That’s so funny that there are pineapples at the entrance of your farm! I guess it’s pretty distinctive. 😉
    That’s so cool that you’ve been playing four square! Many years ago we had a four square ball, so one summer we played a lot of four square on our concrete patio. It was so much fun, until we used the ball for playing kick ball (all our kick balls have met their demise by being punctured by bushes…).
    Those old letters are amazing! I did learn some German when I was younger, but I all I translated was “Wir haben,” which means “we have.” 😛
    Oh, and I love that last picture of the sunset on the pond. It’s gorgeous!
    And finally, yes, I’d love to see more posts about the Cedar House and the old letters you found.
    I hope you get to move into the big house soon!
    ~Sassafras

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    1. Aww, yayyy! That made me smile. 🙂 Really? That’s so neat! If we ever meet each other we should totally play it. 😀 Ha ha, I can relate to that – our games are super crazy too. XD Hmm, who’s the best? I’m not really sure. The winner varies from game to game. We’re pretty equal, I guess, although Carmen hasn’t had as much practice. 😉
      Yes, I think so too! I know, right? Yeah, I edited the first picture on PicMonkey to give it more of a Polaroid look. 😉 Ha ha, I know! I suppose you’re right. 😛
      Really? That sounds super fun. But poor kickball. 😦 😉
      I think so too! Ha ha, that’s pretty funny. XD
      Thank you so much! ❤ It really was gorgeous.
      Yay, thanks so much for telling me, dear! And yes, I hope we can move to the big house soon too. *sigh* 😛
      Thank you for the lovely long comment!

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      1. Yay, I’m glad! Yes, you’re right, we should definitely play Dutch Blitz if we made. That’d by so much fan. Yeah I know how it is to be one of the youngest. CutePolarBear and I weren’t very good at Dutch Blitz before, and it was rare for us to ever win.
        Okay, I thought it looked edited. I love how you did edit it, by the way!

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  4. GIRL. THAT SUNSET. *dies* Also yikes, I still need to click on that Dutch Blitz link you sent me, but hey – if it’s Dutch, it’s probably good. XD AND YES, POST ABOUT THE CEDAR HOUSE. DO IT. Oh dear. Y’all’s escapade with Jinx does NOT sound good. GOODNESS, YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT THAT. O.o I can’t wait to see the big house when it’s done!

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    1. ARIA. YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK BY COMMENTING. *hugs* That was a surprise!
      I knooow, right? I thought of you when I put the photo on. 😉 Heh heh, true, true. IT WASN’T. But actually it was pretty funny. Good thing it happened in Dad’s truck instead of the Yukon which Mom was driving. XD I didn’t? Oops. I know, me neither!
      THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING, DEAR.

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      1. HA HA I THOUGHT YOU’D BE MUCH SURPRISED. *pat, pat* Take it easy, dear! XD *hugs back* Well I’m not surprised, because it’s so, so gorgeous! I can’t wait to be able to see one of those sunsets in person 🙂 THAT’S STILL JUST GROSS, ALLISON. I am not impressed.
        YOU’RE MUCH WELCOME. 😀

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        1. Hee hee, I sure was. I’M OKAY, THOUGH, I’M STILL ALIVE. It was indeed. And YES I can’t wait for you to see one of those sunsets in person either. ❤ I just hope they're good ones.
          WELL TELL THAT TO JINX. What are you blaming me for??
          ❤ 🙂

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          1. OKAY GOOD. I WAS WORRIED. Yeah, really. Wouldn’t you know that it might decide to be cloudy. *rolls eyes* I HOPE IT DOESN’T THOUGH.
            Eh, well, I AM blaming Jinx. I was sure you’d pass along my information to him.

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  5. Looks like fun! A house tour would be really neat! Whenever we had to bring our old cat in the car (just a few times, but he was super old), it was… kind of scarring XD . He hated it! Those letters are interesting, and I love that cow picture in golden hour! I don’t believe I’ve ever played Dutch Blitz, but I have played four square. At the camp that my youth group goes to, there’s a big pvc-pipe frame set up so that we can play 9-square in the air!
    ~Gracie

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    1. Indeed! Okay, great! Thanks for the feedback, Gracie! 🙂
      HA HA. Yeah, I think it was a traumatic experience for the poor kitties. XD They survived, though. Thanks! ❤ Wow, really? That sounds so neat!

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  6. Wow! that is so neat about the old letters! You should really translate them so you know what they say!
    I know how to play Four Square and Dutch Blitz. And yes, you should do a tour of the Cedar house!

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    1. Why thank you, Gracie! And ooh yes, I love that one too. 🙂 I know, right? And thanks so much for asking! I’m really enjoying it here – I think we’re all enjoying it – but I’ll be glad when we can move into the big house and have a little more space – it’s going to seem like a palace after the Cedar House. XD

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  9. The most interesting pet traveling experience I’ve had, is when we had to evacuate from a hurricane and my rabbit, one of my brothers, and I were squished in the backseat. Poppy did not like being stuck in a small cage. 😆 I’d love to see a post about the house when it’s done, and more about the letters! It sounds like something that would be in a book.

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  10. Okay, so I’m not that smart or anything, but the letter starts out and says, “Valued Aunt, –(Since your finger was in the way) letter from February lift who hold.” Makes no sense, but as a German freak, I tried to read it. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a letter addressed to you as valued? Now to read the rest of your post…

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          1. Okay, in the middle of the night I suddenly realized–German isn’t like English, and so when it says letter from February lift who hold, it actually means letter from February will have to hold. I think I read it wrong. Haha! But, please make more posts with old letters! It’s so intriguing. (Also, don’t ask why I was awake thinking about German in the middle of the night. I do strange things like that.)

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  11. Okay, about traveling with pets. When we first got our first bunny, the whole trip he was scratching me! (Dumb me decided to hold him!). When we got our second one, we brought Snowball with us, so Hedgcock and Snowball enjoyed the ride together in the cage. 😉

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    1. Yeah, it takes some energy, that’s for sure. But I’m getting a bit more used to it by now. 🙂 And sure, it was my pleasure! Thank you for reading!

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  14. Please, please put renovation pictures!!!! And more pictures, period. 😀 Are y’all in Colorado? And yes me and my siblings have played Dutch Blitz, but our speciality is Scrabble.
    I hope the fixer-uppering goes well!

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    1. Yayyy, I’m glad you want me too, because I think that would be super fun to post! Ha ha, will do, will do. 😉 Nope, we’re in eastern USA. 🙂 Ooh, really? I’ve played Scrabble too, but I much prefer UpWords. Have you played that?
      Hee hee, thanks!

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      1. Once, yeah, but unfortunately, I lost. Looking forward to the posts of all your hard work on the new home!

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  15. I can’t wait to see how your house when you’re done. POOR JINX!!!! Did the car stink?!!! lol. The hay bales look so cool in black and white. My favorite photo was the one with the truck & the plants, and the hay. Are you going to translate the letter? I really really want to know what it says. 🙂

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    1. ME NEITHER! XD I knooow, poor guy. Well YES, very much. We had to open the windows. OKAY THIS IS REALLY GROSS I WILL MOVE ON NOW. And thank you! Yes, I really want to translate the letter, and hopefully I can post about it when we do!

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      1. One time my cat got stuck in my brother’s bedroom and when he finally got out, I found a little surprise. IT WAS DISGUSTING. But he looked so sad and kept on coming up to me giving this “look”

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    1. Hee hee, YAY. I’m so glad, because I’d love to post it if you guys would be interested. 🙂
      Ha ha, dear me. XD In the foggy depths of the past, huh? 😛

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  17. Amazing post! I love Dutch Blitz too! The pictures are beautiful, especially the haystack ones! Did you name you cat Jinx because of the sneaky cat named Jinx in the Freddy the pig series? The old letters are amazing! You should totally translate them and tell us what they say! I’m dying to know! I’d love to see the Cedar House!

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    1. Aww, thanks! YES it’s great! And thank you so much! ❤ Oh my goodness, we DID! I'm so surprised that someone caught the reference! Isn't that series great? 🙂 Yesss, I hope we can! And great, I hope I can show it to you!

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    1. Yay, I’d love to post one! Yes, we hope too sometime soon! Well not our old house like the one where we used to live, but the smaller house on our new farm (there are two). 🙂 YES it’s so fun!

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  19. whoa, those are some amazing photos!! the plants do look rather pinterest-y. and wow, that letter looks so neat! can you post what it says after you translate it? 🙂

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  20. I haven’t traveled with pets, but I LOVE Dutch Blitz. We play it all the time at the summer music camp I go to 😀 I would love to see more about the Cedar House and the old letters! That handwriting is GORGEOUS. ❤

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  21. I LOVE DUTCH BLITZ!!!!!!! 😀 It’s so fun! It doesn’t seem to be a very well known game, I don’t know of very many people (outside of my family) that play it either. Congratulations on moving down to your new place, that’s very exciting! 🙂 Those hay bales pictures look really cool! Awww poor Basil ❤ Ohh that sounds delightful….Jinx you bad bad kitty! XD Pineapples huh? Interesting…XD Fishing sounds fun, I haven't been in ages. AN OLD BOX OF LETTERS!?!?! I would have so much fun with those XD And that writing is beautiful! I would definitely have to translate that…not that I know German but yes….. Google Translate maybe??? I don't know XD Sunsets are gorgeous! I love them! I'm loving this series by the way! Also I would absolutely love a tour of The Cedar House! 🙂 ❤

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    1. ME TOOO! I know, right? I’m surprised that so many commenters have played it thus far.
      Thanks so much! Hee hee, yeah. XD YES BAD JINX. I know, right? I love the writing too! Yeah, we’ll probably use Google Translate. 😛 Me tooo! And yay, I’m so glad you like the series and want a tour of the Cedar House!
      Thanks for the lovely comment, Liz!

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  22. WOW. All these pictures are breathtaking! *gasps* You know, I used to learn German, but I stopped after around 5 minutes. XD I think that Wasser means Water…and that’s all. XDDDD But wow, those letters are so neat! And hehe, do you and Megan always plan to post on the same day?

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    1. Ahhh THANKS. HAHA that is hilarious. XD Well there you go. XP And yes, aren’t they? Oh, ha ha, I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess we do often now because we use the free Wi-Fi at the library to post occasionally, since we don’t have much data. 😛

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  25. It’s great to hear that you guys are settling down pretty well. Yes, a tour of the completed house would be lovely!!! You guys used to have 24,000 chickens?!?!?! O.O That’s insane. I’ve always wanted to see a hay bale in real life.

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    1. Yesss. ❤ Yay, I'm glad you'd like it! YES WE DID. Well 24,000 hens and I believe around 3,000 roosters, so technically more like 27,000 chickens. But yeah, it was a lot of poultry. :[] Ha ha, really? Well we have plenty of them to see, that's for sure. 😛

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  27. DUTCH BLITZ! :O YES! I love that game! 😀 😀 😀 😀 There aren’t a ton of people who know how to play it, sadly. But I do! *waves hand around wildly* And this was a really fun post to read. 🙂 I want to see a house tour (I love bedroom tours, house tours, whatever tours… XD)!

    ~ Julia Rose
    http://www.juliaroseauthor.com

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  28. “Valued Aunt! We have received a letter from February … is now pretty healthy, he has already 12 plow … rosy goose. We have him well in the winter too … evening the bed warm, this year he was very cold…” that’s about as much as I can determine from the first few lines. XD it is likely to be wrong… xP

    and yay for Dutch Blitz! 😀

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  32. Yes! I have played Dutch Blitz and it’s super fun! 😀
    Beautiful pictures as always 🙂
    That’s super duper cool how you found those letters! I envy that handwriting…
    I’m glad to see you’ve been having such a great time!
    Hope you have a wonderful day!
    Lydia ❤

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  33. Thank you for the update! I love your posts talking about what’s going on in your life. They’re always interesting and enjoyable. 🙂

    Those pictures are so cool! Has anyone ever told you that you’re a great photographer?! I especially like the cow-at-golden-hour, and the old letters. Its so neat that you guys found them! Our house is a little over one hundred years old, and during one of the times when we were remodeling it, my parents found some old newspapers from a quite a long time ago (I can’t remember the exact dates). I love old houses, if they’re properly kept-up. 😉

    Four square is fun! I’ve only been fishing once, but I didn’t catch anything.

    THAT POND IS GORGEOUS, WOW. ❤

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    1. Of course, it was my pleasure! I’m so glad to hear that you liked it. ❤

      Aww, THANK YOU! Ha ha, well yes… XD I know, right? Wow, that's so neat!

      It is! Aww, that's a bummer. :/ Fishing is only fun when you actually catch fish. XD

      AHH I KNOW! I love it too!

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  34. Your photos are GREAT! About the pineapple, I believe it was a symbol of welcome and hospitality at some point in history. 🍍

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  35. Wow, it’s so beautiful there and I loved the scenery! 😀 I’d love to see a tour of the Cedar house and more about the letters and any other artifacts you find! That is just so cool! And the rabbit on the crate looked so funny, haha! I have had an interesting experience riding in a car with our dog… but we won’t go into that. 🙂 I haven’t played either of those games but everyone tells me about Dutch Blitz and I’m like, “Why haven’t I played this game???” Hahah! 😛

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  37. Oh my goodness, I am really late to comment on this. XD
    I loved reading this post, Allison! 🙂 It was really neat to see all the photos of your various adventures, and all of the pictures are so pretty! 😀 Wow, stacking the haybales looks like it would be hard and rather itchy as well. XD Your plants look so pretty in the back of your car, and that mountain view is just gorgeous! The old letters are SO cool and (as I said previously) I would have freaked out if I had found them. XD
    Now off to comment on your most recent post! I need to comment more often… 😛

    -Clara ❤

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    1. Hee hee, I FORGIVE YOU. XD XD
      Aww, thanks! Yes, it IS rather hard and itchy. We always come back with clothes and hair and noses full of hay. -_- 😛 Thank youuuu! Ha ha, YES, I think so too! We were so excited to find them!
      OH YAY! Ha ha, aww, don’t feel like you have to, dear. 😉 But of course I do very much enjoy your lovely comments. ❤ ❤

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    1. You know, I agree with you. 😛 And such lovely followers they are too! ❤ I’m still astonished that this many people would want to read my posts enough to follow!

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  39. Sorry it’s taken two weeks since you posted this for me to read it! But it was worth the wait. Sounds like things are going well!
    One thing, the pineapples are probably on the gates because they are a symbol of welcome dating back to colonial times! They were expensive and rare back then, so if you could afford a pineapple, you were likely rich and able to treat your guests well, hence the association with hospitality. It’s kind of become a southern thing, too. So the gates are supposed to make you feel welcome! 😄

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    1. Oh, ha ha, no problem. I’m glad you enjoyed it, though! Yes, it’s going okay, I think… if a little slower than we wish. 😛
      Really? That’s so interesting! Now that you and one other commenter said that it does sound familiar. What do you know. Well I hope we can live up to our gate’s expectations, huh? XD XD

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  40. You are living my dream, girl! Beautiful, beautiful scenery. Love that old letter – and yes you should translate it. The writing is lovely. For your cedar house you should put up a sign “Cedar House Rules” for the AirBnB guests …anyone who seen “Cider House Rules” as in the movie will have a laugh at it!

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