Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Oct 4, 2011, 1:01 pm
Change is neither good nor bad; it just is.  Earlier I mentioned the need to make some changes to the Ward House and allow it to go with the others and remain part of the past. As it turns out, there was more than just Annabelle here; another family along with Madeline.  There was much sorrow as A...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 29, 2011, 4:22 pm
Not in a musical way.  This is day four of waiting for this blog to convert to www.lanniee.com.  *sighs*  There are graphical changes I want to make, posts to post and well... now I wait.  Perhaps this is a lesson in patience and it does force me to do chores rather than sit in front of the comp...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 22, 2011, 7:50 pm
I have been thinking and rolling around some ideas; you'll see some of that happening here.  Back in the day, when this blog began, choosing a blog name was difficult and I went with where I lived.  Becoming the The Ward House has created some challenges on this end. Those bumps in the night?  An...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 16, 2011, 9:00 am
This recipe apparently won at the West Virginia State Farm (or so I was told), and since it was shared with me, thought you'd enjoy it too! Cheesy Taco Pie1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls1 1/2 lbs. ground beef1 pkg taco seasoning (made my own taco seasoning since most commercial brands include MSG...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 15, 2011, 1:38 pm
This past Saturday, A20 got married.  Not sure I've written about A20 much; she is Ronnie's oldest daughter, M16 (was 15) is his youngest and the same age as my K15 (will be K16 next month).  Confusing, eh?  Anyway, after much drama, they married at Garth Newel; a beautiful place to hold this typ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 13, 2011, 8:47 pm
In between making grape juice (the quick and easy way), I've begun planning for Halloween; our most FAV holiday.  This year I'd like to create some 'potion' bottles.  I found these freebies from Love Manor's Flickr page.  Oh, the plans! More to come - need to skidaddle.
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 6, 2011, 9:50 am
The Warm Spirit Spa, where I work, is moving to a larger space just down the street.  This has prompted our move into the NOW thus the creation of a Facebook page and website.  It is during this creation that I realized... Facebook page creation requires a skill set that I do not possess and must ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 4, 2011, 12:44 pm
I've written before about the amazing grape vine that came to us with the Ward House.  Learning how to prune this vine took some time and time well spent.  The fruits of that labor are amazing!  To look at the vine, one would not miss this 2nd bushel. Last year my Dad and Anna sent me this little...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Sep 1, 2011, 11:11 am
To the pink lady.  Yuppers, this is A17 and her senior year pink hair... and my medusa head.  Karen, over at the Art of Doing Stuff wrote about how teenage girls dress  and that reminded me that I had not shared A17's pink hair. I believe it is time to purge the top of the fridge, eh?  All flat ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 29, 2011, 4:19 pm
Early on Saturday morning (8/27), Beatrix began to deliver bunnies.  This first litter was not successful; out of 5 births, she killed two of them and then did not care for the remaining three.  Her lack of motherhood instincts sent me to the web to see what might have gone wrong and how I may hel...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 25, 2011, 8:30 am
Our pig is going to butcher next month.  While I have some experience with beef, pork is something new; both at the butcher shop and cooking.  While the below is pretty detailed, I'm comfortable with pork chops, roasts, bacon (belly cuts), ribs, and sausage. Ronnie's step dad was known county wide...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 24, 2011, 9:21 pm
This evening, while watering and checking on the rabbits, I noticed that Beatrix (the dutch rabbit), had pulled hair to line her nest.  Babies may arrive tonite or tomorrow.  Yippee! Oh, and here are pictures from the Californias - they look like neekid mole rats! California baby rabbits
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 24, 2011, 11:59 am
I'm sure everyone knows about the earth quake that hit in Virginia yesterday; others felt shaking and I missed it!  Was finishing up a massage and missed it!  K15 was at the highschool working on computers and felt the floor shake.  A17 was at home, in the kitchen; she did not feel the floor shak...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 22, 2011, 7:01 pm
The california 'babies' are growing fast, especially in the last week or so.  I've done quite a bit of reading and, aside from placing them each in their own cage (not enough room for that), the advise from print and other breeders is to feed them rabbit pellets that are comprised of at least 18g p...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 22, 2011, 6:50 pm
 Last week Ronnie and I had an adventure.  He purchased a 2001 GMC Savanah cargo van (complete with shelves already installed) from a gentleman on Craigslist and yesterday we drove to Rocky Mount to pick it up.  This van needs a new fuel filter, which we knew about ahead of time, so pick up inv...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 15, 2011, 8:02 pm
Its amazing how, when one is able to set their own hours, time management skills go out the door.  My energy levels are higher than in the past, though still low.  *whew*  Slow and steady wins the race... that's my story and I am sticking to it! Any tips on how to get out of this funk that I hav...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 11, 2011, 8:28 am
I had something else planned to post for today... until I read this. There are some blogs that I cannot read everyday; those links are moved to the side column under the heading "Must Remembers" and are read when I am ready to take the time and have the energy to not let the drag me down. Reading ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 9, 2011, 8:55 am
A steady, ground soaking rain – perfect!  While waiting to see if I am needed in the office, dishes are being washed, I writing to you, and then out into the rain to refill the timothy feeders for the rabbits.  Beans need to be canned, squash pickled, and bread baked. Speaking of rabbits, I sepa...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Aug 3, 2011, 9:08 am
Today is a slow day, as far as ‘jobs’ go.  There is plenty to do at the house; which I am not getting done whilst sitting here writing.  =) Thought I’d give you a quick update on the bunnies.  The book says they will be ready for freezer camp (4-5 lbs) by 8 weeks; these are 6 weeks old.  I...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jul 31, 2011, 11:34 pm
How the blogging platform/software used to publish can affect one’s ability to write.  For me it is about the features and ease of use.  Windows Writer has it all and the challenge has been to find a way to load and use with Ubuntu.  And for those that are Linus savvy, WINE will not load this s...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jul 21, 2011, 10:39 am
It's been hot here... Not as hot as it is over at the Homesteading Neophyte; that kind of heat is difficult for me to imagine.  It is hot enough that our usual 5-6 eggs are now down to 2-3/day, still good - they are still laying.  Yesterday afternoon A17 helped me clip the younger hens wings as th...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jul 14, 2011, 11:37 am
First things first - this morning our neighbor called at 7 a.m. to state that a large dog was nosing around the hen house.  I was out like a flash and caught site of him at the coop door.  We made eye contact, I pointed at him and yelled 'NO!'.  He took off like a flash, it was almost as if he d...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jul 13, 2011, 4:02 pm
Brings back memories of this 80s hit... In other news, the summer squash is fruiting - so thankful!  Tomato blight battles are still going on, though an old timer did tell me that in the onset, if I place rusty nails around the plant, it will take care of the blight.... I wonder how that works.  ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 30, 2011, 9:44 am
Much to my surprise, and great pleasure, Monday afternoon we discovered pink, neekid, long eared rats in our California doe's nesting box.  Yes, there are pictures, though these are saved a computer other than the one I am using now.  Pictures are difficult to take as the wire mess tends to scew t...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 26, 2011, 7:24 am
Numbers in and of themselves are not 'bad'; the above number represent a problem and that being Ronnie's blood pressure.  Friday we ended up driving to UVA to see his doctor and spent the afternoon sitting in a office 'crunching numbers'.  The doctor drew some blood, performed an EKG (all is good ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 23, 2011, 11:46 am
What is munching on the Oregano?Our prolific oregano appears to have 'caught' the same pest that has wiped through our lemon balm and mint.  Does this look familiar to anyone? Because the oregano that grows behind the garage is prolific (though munched upon), it made sense to 'brew' some oregano vi...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 22, 2011, 4:34 pm
Yes, I have been absent as of late; still balancing two jobs - training my replacement at one, working at the other, tending to the garden, chickens, rabbit, daughters, and in bed by 10:00 pm. Nancy, the rabbit, is due this weekend and it has been a challenge to get the nesting box into her area; w...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 17, 2011, 9:12 am
A coworker of mine used the above term when speaking about dinner and I had to ask, "what is a mustgo?".  Her reply was, those items in the fridge that must be eaten or go into the trash can (or in our case, the compost pile). With the number of kids that float through our house, mustgos are rare i...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 9, 2011, 9:13 am
A friend of mine was asking how the new career was going.  GREAT!  This work is more healthy for me both physically and emotionally.  I do not need alot, just enough. On the garden front, the potatoes in a bag are growing wonderfully, just as in the videos.  The key will be come harvest time. Â...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 2, 2011, 2:37 pm
First, my confession; I love horses and horse poop - not to roll around in, mind you. I am not bothered by the smell and it is WONDERFUL for the garden. I am talking about the seasoned stuff, not fresh.The Homestead Stables, which is about a mile from the house, will give as much as one can carry....
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Jun 1, 2011, 9:43 am
tough decisions must be made.  Blogging started out as a way to keep my family updated on our lives, out here in tim-buck-two, and to share learning experiences.  This sharing lead to friendships and a realization that I was not alone on this homesteading journey.  Fast forward to oh-I-need-to-in...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 31, 2011, 12:56 pm
Yesterday  Ronnie and I took the bike to an orchard located just north of Afton Mountain (Chiles Peach Orchard); they have so much more than peaches - apples, cherries, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, pears, etc.  Just a wonderful place to spend the afternoon.  And these berries are picked ripe,...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 27, 2011, 9:35 pm
I am about to embark on a new adventure.  Something that had to be kept under wraps until now; co- workers and clients see the Ward House via Facebook and talking about this here, prior to 'official signatures' would have created unnecessary havoc. My news is that I am leaving Clarkson & Wallace to...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 25, 2011, 11:22 am
No more working for the 'big man'.  Ronnie is going back to being self employed sans employees.  Just him... well, and me keeping track of receipts and such.  He had his own handyman business, including employees, for 20 some years and the paperwork became too much - insurance and the tax code is...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 20, 2011, 1:37 pm
This all may be moot since Judgement day is scheduled for tomorrow...  HA!  Anyway, Tammy over at Rowdy Kittens, posted this reminder : “Living your truth embodies the art of marching to the beat of your own drum. It’s expressing yourself colorfully & uninhibitedly in everything you do, big o...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 18, 2011, 8:33 pm
It does not matter how many times I watch this - it inspires me! Enjoy!
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 18, 2011, 2:33 pm
As with most writers, there is a reason for my absence - one of those reasons flared up yesterday.  A root canal that was installed in December 2010 failed Saturday night - split this premolar into two pieces.  The long and short is yesterday, when my regular dentist was unable to fully extract th...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 12, 2011, 11:53 am
Thank you, Rolf, for forwarding this article to me.  While the title mentions raw milk, this applies to anything. Raw Milk can get you into Hot Water (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.co...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 11, 2011, 10:09 pm
What am amazing place.  Yes, it may be different when one lives there all the time, though visiting... it is just amazing.  The Amish area always gracious and very tolerant (or so it seems) and we enjoyed visiting with the family that we have befriended over the years.  Suvilla taught me a differ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 7, 2011, 8:45 am
I don't believe I posted about this; Ronnie and I left for our annual motorcycle trip to Lancaster PA, which for us this year, is like a honeymoon.  Terry drove up from Roanoke to hang out with the girls at the house.  Yes, we have a unique setup; how many ex's do you know would drive up to spend ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 5, 2011, 2:04 pm
Rebecca, over at First Ways, posted about this video and, well, it is truely amazing.  I have been working hard to learn about the food that grows at and around the Ward House; this video is inspirational. I've asked Ronnie to help me build... that's not exactly right.  I asked him if he would b...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - May 2, 2011, 9:36 am
Gramercy Farm SpringDunn's Gap Run With all the rain comes spring growth... especially in the grass department.  Saturday we rode to Ronnie's Mom's house to cut her grass and just enjoy being outdoors.  We went the back way home and these are some of the views.  I just love Gramercy Farm; It wou...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 28, 2011, 11:27 am
Not something I thought to see here in the mountains; several severe storms blew through the area last night and I was awakened at 2 a.m. to witness tremendous winds, hard rain, sequential and seemingly simultaneous lightening flashes, followed by thunder claps.  It was like being in the movies.  ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 25, 2011, 7:07 pm
Yes, I am late... and a dollar short (as the saying goes).  I had three entries and if there were more handkercheifs made, we would have more than one winner; using Random.org, the winner is LindaB - Linda, the link with your name is invalid - I hope you check this.  If I have not heard from her, ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 21, 2011, 3:35 pm
The Wardhouse is full of life and growing things.  These little chickies now have most of their feathers are are too big for their 'crib'; thus graduating to a 'brooder' within the coop.  This way the older ladies can become acquainted with the younguns and visa versa.  We took a barn screen door...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 20, 2011, 3:47 pm
I know your wondering how that can be; one cannot have the taste of fried squash without squash, right?  As impossible as that sounds, it is true.  One can have that same taste before the first squash fruits in the garden and no, I'm not talking about a drive to the grocery.  Dandelion blooms.  ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 19, 2011, 9:22 am
As some of us are part of the same circle, you may already know about the publication of the Crone's Gazette.  There will be some great giveaways attached to this release and right now you can enter to win a year's subscription. Why do you need a subscription?  Well, aside from the fact that this ...
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 16, 2011, 10:53 am
This was just too cute and I had to share.  Wonder what they are talking about. . .
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 15, 2011, 11:28 am
Remember yesterday when I wrote about the peacock that was keeping me company at Meadow Lane?  Here are some of those shots.  He was not waiting for me this morning; another beautiful day and hopefully I can get a few shots of the other baby animals. I thought the back was just as interesting.
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Annette L. posted an article on The Ward House - Apr 14, 2011, 10:27 am
Yesterday afternoon through Sunday I will be working at Meadow Lane Lodge & Cottages; manning the phones, checking email, and reserving stays.  It is a nice change from the usual pod life that I live at Clarkson & Wallace.  Driving up the lane, through fog laden fields, catching glimpses of the ...
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