Eastford Is Growing On Me

I'm happy to report that the emotional rollercoaster is over. I officially love it in Eastford. We had a gloriously perfect long weekend and coming back to work today was painful. I love it at home so much I never want to leave!

On Friday we ventured out of our isolation and went shopping in Sturbridge. As if I didn't already love the cute little town of Southbridge, MA . . . Sturbridge ROCKS! Not only is it filled with tons of places to eat and lots of touristy shops, but we stumbled upon a plaza with a Walmart, Pier One, Staples, Famous Maker Shoes, Dress Barn, Bed Bath & Beyond, Old Navy . . . AND MORE. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to really shop for the next few months, but when I can . . . Oh boy, I'm there!

The biggest highlights of the weekend include our major trail blazing project. We had originally thought this project would take us a couple of months to complete. But you know Karlo and I . . . Once we get started, there is no stopping us. We worked our tails off for two straight days and completed the construction of a 30 minute hiking trail. It was a lot of hard work and I only wish I had video of Karlo ripping trees out of the ground with his bare hands. It was incredible. We did cheat a little and use the ATV, a rake, and a saw and we are simply in love with the final result. As if I didn't already love the house, now we have our own private hiking, biking, quad, cross country ski trails. Heaven. It was worth my sore back and several bee stings that poor Karlo had to endure. If you are coming to our open house this weekend and want to take a 30 minute tour of the land, please bring some sneakers!

Another big highlight of the weekend was meeting 4 new Eastford friends. Our neighbors Sharon & Bill invited us over Sunday afternoon and we had a wonderful time. They have two awesomely friendly dogs that I now adore and that makes a total of FOUR new friends. One of the dogs is a spaniel lap dog and the other is a beautiful Fidelco shephard. Love them! Anyway, Sharon & Bill are terrific people and I do look forward to getting to know them more. We had a ball visiting them. Sharon even stopped by yesterday to drop off fresh tomatoes from her garden. In all my years in Andover, I never had a neighbor do that. Oh and did I mention that they are long distance bikers?

And speaking of biking, yesterday we took our first tandem ride (well, not including the 2 mile roundtrip to our neighbors house in my jeans and flipflops, carrying a bottle of wine). I had to pry Karlo out of the garage and his organization project, but he later thanked me. We rode for about 16 - 18 miles and I think we only encountered 4 or 5 cars. It was a spectacular ride.

One great long weekend and not a single picture to show for it. I'm such a slacker.