New Hampshire – Page 36 – New England's Narrow Road

Our DIY Christmas Village

painted ceramic house in a christmas village — Painted Ceramic Village Home

The Christmas village was set up; the tree was trimmed; the gifts were delivered and illness struck for Christmas day. My daughter was sick for Christmas (and is still sick) with the flu which meant my son and I celebrated alone. She certainly didn’t want to make the hour drive to my place, and we didn’t want her germs. So the tree will stay up with the gifts under it until she gets better and can come get them. I’ve read and heard that the flu is affecting many people and it’s too bad that it has to ruin a special day, but it seems like that is always what happens.
A week before Christmas, the kids were together and set up our old ceramic village. The kids and I painted these houses, church and toy store many years ago and I hadn’t set them up in years. It was a very inexpensive way to have a scenic village since we bought the houses at the craft store along with the paints and then used our imaginations to make them colorful. One of my favorites is the one at the top with the little old car in the garage.

(Want to paint your own Christmas village? Read my page on how to do that and set up your own unique display.)

It’s always a challenge to get the people and animals to stand in the fluff, but when it’s lit up on a dark evening it does look pretty good. I’ll admit that I didn’t go nuts making it look perfect – because no one will really see it and I plan to take it down this week. When Christmas is over I am anxious to get all the decorations put away because I can reclaim what little space I have in this house.
I hope you had a great Christmas without any illness.

people skating in the miniature Christmas village — My daughter painted the barn in the background

toy store painted ceramic — Colorful Toy Store

More Info on The Girl Scout Camp

tent city at camp chenoa — "Tent City" at Camp Chenoa

I have posted some photos of the girl scout camp near my place (all photos were taken in the off season) and the following is from a reader of this blog who works at the Camp Chenoa girl scout camp during summers in Antrim, NH. Thought I’d post it for anyone wanting more info.
She says:
“Tent City is used for administration staff, like the nurse and the rock wall supervisor. I was a CIT/Camp counselor at Chenoa this past summer, and I’ve spent entire summers there for 5 years. Currently i’m about to turn 18, but ladies, its still amazing when you an older teenager as well as a younger child. Girls go between ages 6/7(The Itty Bitties) And 17 if they decide to be a CIT or Dream Worker. It’s an amazing place to send your children if you aren’t close enough to Chenoa’s sister camp Farnsworth. I highly suggest this camp to parents who have adventurous children! Even children who are excited in making friends! There are so many activities and fun things to do, and the counselors are very funny. Pickles is my camp name! If your daughter is interested, look Chenoa or Farnsworth up and sign up! There are three sessions, 2 weeks long at a time! Your daughter can spend a week, or 2 weeks there in cabins, and camping out at the various camp sites around the camp itself such as The Point and The Treehouses!”

Camp Chenoa wraps around a large section of Gregg Lake and is located in a beautiful area of New Hampshire. At the other end of the lake is the Gregg Lake beach area and this is a photo from the summer of 2010. The camp is located in those woods on the right in this photo. Read more about the camp at their site Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

lake and raft at Gregg lake, NH — Gregg Lake Swimming Area, Summer 2010

The Girl Scout Camp (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)

Between Fall And Winter

log home black and white — The Gray Season

In some areas I suppose it may still look like Fall and technically it is, but this is really the gray season if you ask me. The leaves have been blown off the trees and raked up out of the yards and their gray branches mingle with the hemlocks and pines on the hills. I think it’s pretty cool to be able to see so much now with the trees bare. All the houses that have been in seclusion all summer are now easy to see up on the hills and back in the woods. It’s easier to go for walks in the woods (wearing bright orange of course, because it’s also hunting season) because the weeds and tall grass has died.

We had another beautiful Fall here in New Hampshire and I truly enjoyed it and now we have our wood stacked and the chimneys are clean and ready to go. This weekend some cold weather is hanging around and I’m thinking of starting up the wood stove for the first time this season. I have one cord of firewood, which isn’t a lot, and I had some left over from last year, but it should help to supplement my oil burning and help with the cost.
I am waiting for the snow. In my opinion, if it’s going to be cold, then I want some pretty snow to look at. I don’t have to go out and drive in it as much as someone who goes off to work each day, but I do have to take my son down the road to the bus stop each morning and I don’t have a garage so that means shoveling, brushing off the car and melting the ice off the windshield. I still like the snow. Bring it on..!!

Ready To Burn, Stacking Firewood

firewood stacked in basement — Ready To Heat The House

I bought my cord of firewood at the end of summer for $240 and had to figure out where to stack it this season. Last year I put it in the bottom of the “hole” in the backyard of this house I rent and figured I’d just go out the back slider downstairs and bring it in as needed. I took my cue from my landlady who does the same thing, except that she has an overhang and larger flat area in the hole, so her wood is not right against the house like mine is. (See photo below) My son went out and cut some small trees that had fallen (with my landlady’s permission) and I will use those as starters.

high snow piled up looking outside — Snow outside the basement slider last year (2009)

That didn’t work out too well, since the accumulated snow from the roof slid off (it’s a metal roof) and buried my wood under hard-packed icy snow. I did manage to dig most of it out, but still had quite a bit left that I couldn’t get to until Spring. In fact, I couldn’t even use my slider to go in and out because the snow was piled about 4 feet high!
So this year, after the delivered wood dried out, and between rainy days, I dumped it down the hill using my wheelbarrow and then stacked it in my basement. Some of it is also stacked outside, but up near my porch and not in the hole. I only get one cord because I just have no place to store it. I’d like to have lots of wood and never use oil heat and it’s easy to keep the stove going once it’s heated, but it’s not my house and the set up just isn’t very good. One cord, plus the little I had left over won’t heat this place for the whole winter, so I’ll wait for very cold weather and save it up for possible ice storms when we might lose power. That has happened both of the past winters.
On top of that, I have to order seasoned wood because after August, there is no sun in my yard to dry it out. Ideally I would order “green”, not seasoned (or older cut wood), in early Spring and stack it in a nice sunny spot to dry for months to use in winter. And even better than that would be to have a big, strong, heard working man in my life who would go out and cut up dead trees and then split the wood so I wouldn’t even have to buy any! Now I am dreaming, but I have done what I could to supplement my oil heat this year.
Today the chimney lining is being replaced and soon I hope the landlady will have the furnace cleaned. Renting means you are at the mercy of someone else, so I just have to go with the flow.Related Articles