Coffee on the Deck

One of our favorite times here is having our coffee on the pool deck on weekend mornings. Yesterday was a perfect day for it. Sunny and warm, with just a bit of breeze to keep the bugs away! The cats and dogs usually join us for this leisurely time. Of course the dogs can't climb the ladder and sleep underneath the deck, but the cats love to chase imaginary things while we relax.

Yesterday we watched a doe gracefully browse one of our fields. She could hear us talking, you could see her ears flicking, but we didn't seem to bother her. She browsed for quite a while, then casually crept up to the apple tree about 100 feet away from where we sat. She faced us the entire time, watching us as we watched her! We could hear her crunching on the apples. It was delightful. A wonderful way to start your morning ~ next summer we can do it every morning!

Have a great day.
Lori

www.brandybrookdesigns.com
www.brandybrookdesigns.etsy.com

Glorious Late Summer Day

Oh - it was so beautiful driving to work today. The farmers are cutting hay before they have to start with corn, and the weather is supposed to be sunny for the next few days, so there are fields upon fields of cut hay. Just a beautiful green patchwork pattern against the brillant blue sky. It was so relaxing on the eyes! The herons are out and about early in the morning and I often see two or three on my way to work - along with swooping hawks! This morning had a crisp fall feel to it - only 49 degrees when I left and there was a slight bit of fog hanging on the fields. The sun was shining for all it's might - it hasn't been seen for awhile and I think it knew it might not get another chance for awhile! So here's to late summer and the beauty of the North Country, it renews and restores daily!

Have a great day,

Lori
www.brandybrookdesigns.com

Almost ready to begin a new job!

Hey folks,
Well, I'm in the process of wrapping up a job that I thought I might enjoy, but ended up hating! I went to work in an attorney's office in one of our larger towns. I had worked with one of the attorneys previously and loved her. I also have known one of the other attorneys for over 20 years (not friends, but acquaintances). Well, I must say, I have learned so much since beginning there in January - but I've also learned how I do not want to be treated as an employee.

I must say, I have not realized how important it is to feel appreciated in your job. That was the biggest thing that I have missed! So if any of you reading this are bosses or own your own business, I must tell you, appreciation is a key component to happy employees! Money is great, but even if they offered me a good deal more money, it wouldn't be enough to make me stay. It's being taken for granted and them not having the foggiest idea of what our jobs are like! We have three lines that ring almost non-stop, we have people in and out the door all day long, we have three busy attorneys giving us work to do, as well as our own projects, closings, etc to accomplish. I admire our attorney's skills - they are execellent attorneys ~ but I do not admire their business skills.

I deal with a lot of small business owners and I often hear them say - you can't find good help that will stay with you! I disagree, the problem is that many small business owners do not want to pay enough to keep good workers. If you find a good worker, then make wure they are appreciated - monetarily and emotionally!

Okay - so I'm off my soapbox now. And excited to begin my new job. I'm going to be working in a self-contained classroom with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. This will be much more in line with what I went to school for, which was psychology and early child development. Of course that was 25 years ago - but that's where my heart is. I'm disappointed in the salary - only $16,000/year and I have a BA in psychology with 4 years of experience. However, I get the summers off and I get full insurance coverage so I'm hoping it's worth it! I'm excited and can't wait! Goodbye legal world - well, I'll still have my job as a court clerk- which I feel appreciated and well compensated for! Thank you!

Have a great day,

Lori
www.brandybrookdesigns.com

Oh, oh, Fall is creeping around!

Well last night was had some pretty severe thunderstorms. The kind where there's cloud to ground lightening every 5-10 seconds! It was pretty awesome. We started watching from the porch, but it was getting kinda scary so we went inside. It continued for a few hours - sheets of rain. The fire whistle went off a few times and we prayed that it wasn't anyones' house. Trees had fallen blocking the roads, but other than that, it would appear that everything was okay.

So that brings me to another benefit to living in the Northeast - especially the North Country. There are very few natural disasters that occur here. We've had a few minor earth tremors, we get the side effects of a hurricane on occasion, our rainfall is such that we don't have major forest fires, and very rarely will we even be put under a tornado watch let alone warning. The major weather issues that we have are below 0 temperatures and about 10 years ago we had a crippling ice storm. However, these are all adversities that you can prepare for. You can buy a generator and keep enough gas on hand in case of a power outage. You can stock enough canned goods to keep you eating for a few days or weeks as the case might be. You can make sure that you have enough supplies and such to stay warm during those days/nights without power. Or you can go to the shelter when the need arises. During the ice storm, they made one of the colleges here a shelter. People had to be there for a week or more due to power outages. There were some folks that lost their power for 6 weeks.

So while Fall is moving in and summer is on the wane- I don't want to think about the long winter, but my husband already has the wood stacked, waiting to be moved into the garage. And the gardens are starting to be overproductive with tomatoes and squash. And it was in the low 50's this morning and only hit 63 this afternoon. So I know it's coming. We'll be ready!

Hope you have a great day,
Lori
www.brandybrookdesigns.com

Commuting to Work

Well, just a thought for those of you who spend hours everyday in the car to and from work. My commute entails 20 miles, which takes me approximately 25 minutes (on a good weather day). My husbands commute is exactly 0 - he works from home as a software development designer for a major US company.

Pros - I don't spend hours in my car getting to my job. I get to see all sorts of wildlife to and from work (which restores my priorities and goals for my life) I drive through clean, fresh air - except after cutting the hay (at which point it can smell pretty nasty!) I have enough time to gear up or decompress as the need arises.

Cons - there is no mass transportation, so either you live in one of the bigger towns near your work so you can walk or you drive. You get used to driving at 60 - 65 and road rage occurs when you come upon someone doing 35 mph. Sitting in traffic for 3-5 minutes for construction or backups begin to annoy you. The traffic jam you might come upon is usually an extra-wide tractor taking up the entire road with no opportunity to pass.

So there you have it. If you can work from home, living in the North Country is amazing. Even if you can't work from home, you can hope to find a job in the area! We have 2 colleges and 2 universities all within 10 miles of each other. The colleges keep the towns they are located in fresh with cultural events, new ideas and sometimes even new residents!

What was your drive to work like this morning????

Have a great day.
Lori
www.brandybrookdesigns.com
www.brandybrookdesigns.etsy.com

In the Beginning

Well, beginning is always so great. So much hope, so much anticipation... I'm always great at beginnings - not always so great on following through.

I am blogging because I really feel the need to let folks know how great rural living can be. Despite the drawbacks - rural living is absolutely a choice that should be considered if you want a different quality of life.

I live in between two towns of about 1,800 a piece. Our school is combined with a graduating class size of between 45 - 65. I know how small that sounds, but there are so many advantages too. We have four children and moved back to this area when our children were 8th, 6th, 3rd & 1st grade. In many ways it was a wonderful gift to them - even though it's been somewhat difficult on the social side. They've always felt like the "outsiders" when it's come to best-friends and such.

One of the advantages of living in this area is if you can find a fairly decent paying job, you can purchase a great house for about $60,000 - $100,000. Great big old farmhouses, newer houses in one of the larger towns, great properties to build a house on. The list goes on and on! The schools are well funded in most areas and your children will get to do a variety of activities. In our school, my children participated in three sports each, participated in choir, band, stage band, stage choir, speech and debate, mock trial, national honor society, drama productions - including the spring musical and various other clubs. The point is, with such a small class size, all students are encourage to particpate in all things - not just one or two. This encourages them to be more well rounded as a young adult.

I've worked with the kids on the spring musical for the last 6 years and our school puts on one of the most awesome performances in the area. Our sets are well constructed, our stage crew can change the set without the audience seeing them - which is quite a feat! Our musical director has been wonderful, our director have great vision, some of the last few musicals have included large tap production numbers. Next time I'll include a bit of one of their best one's ever!

I'd like to encourage anyone who is looking for a change in the quality of their life to think about what they really want out of life and how are they going to go about making those come true.

Have a great day everyone!
Lori
www.brandybrookdesings.com
www.brandybrookdesigns.etsy.com