Walnut Grove: Holiday Letter 2012

(Heather's family...Granddad is 96!)

(Lance's Family)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Or maybe we should say “Mele Kalikimaka” considering the balmy winter weather we’ve been having again this year in East Tennessee. It looks like Santa will coast right on in without having to put the reindeer in four-hoof drive. Getting down the chimney will be another challenge, though, because we’re building a fire no matter what!

We’ve had quite the milestone year here at Walnut Grove. On Halloween Day, we celebrated our tenth anniversary at the farm. The house has had as many plastic surgery jobs as Michael Jackson’s nose, but the regal walnut trees that flank its right side (and for which the farm was named) look about the same as they did back in 2002 (though one did lend a limb for a swing this summer.) When we moved into this place as bright-eyed newlyweds (well, maybe not so bright-eyed because Lance was studying for his boards, and I was writing my Masters thesis, but anyway), we sang, “If I Had a Hammer” with gusto and thought of the beautiful home we would create for our family. Now, even though we have indeed done that, we might be more likely to chant, “If I Had a Hammer, I’d Hit Myself over the Head with It!” Old house restoration, farming, and parenthood can certainly shift your paradigms.

While hammering away at wood and life, we’ve seen our fair share of animal friends come and go. This year we said goodbye to our beloved orange cat Beaker whom Heather adopted the day after graduating from college and who saw her through tough times as a 7^th grade teacher in the wilds of North Carolina and as a puking pregnant woman sprawled out on the couch. It is particularly hard to peek under the Christmas tree and not see a sweet, lazy lump of orange fur curled up there. (Ollie, our good-natured black cat, frequently rubs against our ankles, though, reminding us that he still has love to share.) Last spring, we also had to put our wizened old goat, Billy, down. He, his “girlfriend” Bella, and Bella’s kid Iris were a wedding present from my uncle. Now Iris is the only one left of that original trio, and she has a brood of her own now. In fact, Billy’s “step-son” Walter is enjoying taking on the role of “#1 butter” on the farm. We’ve added two new goats to our herd as well. Donny and Little Larry, who like Walter were named after characters from the national treasure, The Big Lebowski, are half Nubian, half Saanen, and enjoy playing herbicide alongside their Pigmy pen-pals. I’m sure you can imagine that all of these furry and feathered friends give us lots of creative material, especially for song-writing. “Walter the Red-Nosed Billy Goat” and “Good Cat Ollie-slas” are seasonal favorites.

And now for news about the most interesting critter of all…Thomas Jefferson! He has certainly been pumping the life into Walnut Grove and keeping us busy as Justices of the Peace. He can also now be officially dubbed a “big boy,” for he has moved from his crib to Mommy’s old trundle bed, and…wait for it…he is pooping in the potty! (Even Stewie can’t do that!) He’s always got his eye out for a surprise visit from Mamaw, though he enjoys tagging along with Mommy and Daddy too while we do various chores on the farm. (The word “chore,” by the way, has yet to enter his vocabulary. He thinks feeding the animals means making mud soup.) He is still going to the ETSU Child Study Center twice a week where he gets good practice building robots and sharing toys. His astute teacher, Miss Robin, made the observation that “sometimes Thomas has so much energy he can’t contain himself.” Touché.

Only slightly less exciting than news about our future philosopher-farmer-rocket scientist is news about his Ma and Pa. Ma (Heather) is still playing violin in the symphony and now plays piano for our church once a month. She also enjoys being “conducted” by Thomas, who is practicing hard to keep a steady beat. She continues to cook on the hearth and volunteer for educational programs like Governor’s School. (A picture of her and Thomas preparing “salmagundi” (18^th century chicken salad) at the hearth made the local paper!) At home, she is a radical goodwife who puts up a valiant fight against the evil foe Bermuda grass. (Bermuda grass always wins, though).

Pa (Lance) still loves working with the veterans at the VA. And in his role as “Surf,” he drills with the Navy once a month. To stay in shape, he and Thomas have participated in several local races like the Veterans Day Run and Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. He also enjoys teaching Thomas the rules of carpentry—when to slam a hammer into sheetrock and when not to, for instance.

Well, that’s all this page can hold. As always, there’s lots more news and pictures on our blog: walnutgrovefarm.blogspot.com. Check it out! And have a wonderful new year!