So Much Change.... And still life goes on all the same...

 Life is like a river...  It never stops flowing...    A lot of things have happened in my life from being born to growing up to coming to the United States..  And then adult life with all of its challenges and opportunities...  

But 2022 was a momentous year.   I realized the fragility of myself, of my loved ones and of the fact that God's Wishes and His Will are not mine and I could not bend it as I wished or prayed for.   I had come to terms with that reality when again 2023 dealt us another blow of huge proportions.   Loosing a friend whom I did not realize how much I needed and counted on and just assumed he would always be around shook me and flipped my gravity upside down...   I am not sure I will ever recover but suddenly I stopped living for tomorrow and started living only for today..

My best friend...  My partner.... My conscious... My guiding star.... My pain in the behind and definitely my best cheerleader is not with me...   I miss you terribly...  Everyday..... .

My brother....  How are we going to make it forward without your guidance....    I love and miss you everyday...  Even more so when I am trying to make sense of this world...

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As far as my home goes, it always begins with a nice sprint welcome of red leaves and white flowers.

From the driveway when the Dogwood is in bloom and the Japanese Maple is leafing out.

The pool area also looking nice and tidy...  Working on a few more enhancements to make it more of a hangout space...   Stay tuned..

Love the rain when it washes everything clean and beautiful.

Thus the house is also changing.  A few cosmetic changes and lot of people changes.   Having my mom in he house is making it warm and full of love.   Having Haile here all the time is making my responsibilities a much easier and making sure someone is always taking care of things.  Having Mahlet driving means we have a second person who can help with any of the chores requiring car.

Alexander Manor in 2020 and 2022.

The Family for Thanksgiving 2020

So my sister came and rearranged all the furniture of the house and I must say made it look so much better...   The main living room got an updated Mid Century Modern furniture as you can see below

The dining room was getting ready for Christmas lunch I believe....     It can easily handle 10 people, probably 12 is the max.

And of course here it is in its glory...  Yemi put up the art she brought back from Addis for me..  Well got it framed and hung..  

This is Mahlet setting up the flowers or just dancing for no apparent reason  The Axum shelving was also completed by the sheer force of nagging from Yemi   Glass shelves are in place and the LED light is always on.

The outside is updated with a new roof and new paint job.  Here are the various angles of the house...  I chose a very light color to help reflect the sun and lower the overall thermal absorption.   I must say its definitely helping..

The roofers were working around the Solar panels so we did not have to disconnect and reconnect them.   Obviously the roofing under the panels is not exposed to the sun and UV rays so it is almost new.

Here is the completed roof from the back side of the house.

Farm Toys and What is in the Barn?

 I noticed that with all the updates I have done on the house I have not kept up with the farm side...  The collection of pictures are not all from right now but rest assured the plan is ever expanding and changing.  So it is a kaleidoscope of events, tools and collection that has amassed over the years...

I will try and organize them in sections but the dates are over the last several (5) years ...

One thing is it has been a great way to teach a 12 year old how to drive.  My daughter is very good at operating the small tractor for sure..

The Land....

First you prep the land...  Tilling and if necessary plowing...

Then you get the planting beds ready...

Then you get the seedlings from the greenhouse which grows our seeds for us...

And then plant the seedlings...

The Results....

This was a good year when we canned lots of tomatoes and made pesto as well as canned lots of peppers..

The Good Deeds

We were able to collect two years in a row several hundred pounds of fresh fruit for Manna Food Bank.. Hope to get back into it next year..  Thanks to the students of Good Counsel who volunteered to do the picking both years..

The Fun...

I have a few logs that are sawed up and drying in the shed... What will it be used for I have no idea but its like a dream maybe realized some time in the future..

And of course there is SNOW... Haha...