Just a quick note to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I’m no meteorologist, but something seems off this year. Over the past number of years, having snow on the ground at Christmas has become increasingly rare. No so anymore! In the past week alone, we have received three snow storms, each delivering over 6 inches of snow. Don’t get me wrong, I like snow… it’s removing it from the driveway that I hate. What makes it worse is the lack of intelligence required to be able to plow a road in my town. This means I end up with a huge pile of snow, in the middle of the road, at the end of my driveway. I didn’t realize I was responsible for shoveling the road… maybe I should send the town a bill?

Throughout this past summer, we had been working to remove a number of bushes from in front of the house and prepare for a new retaining wall. Well, a few months ago we finally had the new wall installed. Here is a before and after view of the area:

Somehow, we got left with an extra pile of crushed stone, so hopefully we’ll find a use (or a new home) for them. We also just recently had a new lamppost installed and are awaiting the arrival of the new fixture to go with it. There will be pictures available soon. Next fall, we hope to complete the walkway, since right now the new steps are connected to the old walkway and driveway by a path of crushed stone.