A Sled for Roland

While scrolling through Facebook Marketplace I just happened to stumble across the most wonderful thing for baby Roland!  Right down the road in Wilton was this little L.L. Bean sled that is just the right size for Roland.  We had looked at sleds for Roland earlier this winter but had not pulled the trigger on any yet. We didn't know if he would like being pulled around or tip out, etc.  This sled was a split second decision and we had it home. 

It must be obvious by the huge smile that the sled was not a waste of money.  Roland loves to sit in there and go around the driveway and over snow banks. 

The pure joy that Roland has had riding around in the sled the last few days has been so wonderful to see.  We are so glad he got his sled this year and most likely he will still be able to use it next year!

  We hope you all enjoy the pictures of baby Roland as much as we do and until next time stay tuned and check back often. 

A Fitting Hat

Since I am out of commission and healing from my appendix surgery, here is just a quick blog about my favorite summer time hat!  For the longest time I have been wearing a baseball cap during the week for work, typically a hat from one of our wholesalers.  On the weekend though I had been wearing a felt cowboy hat that was given to me.  It was and still is a very nice hat but it is very warm to wear and being felt it is not very waterproof.

Around two months ago I started looking online at different cowboy hats and found a few that I liked but I am too leery of sizing to order a hat online.  The best place we could think to go was Allyssia's old place of employment, Adams Horse and Pet Supply in Winthrop.  After trying on all the different styles I settled on the Outback Trading Wagga Wagga hat.

 This hat is 100% leather and is super comfortable.  The hat fits well and keeps its shape just like a leather hat should.  Being on the smaller overall size for a cowboy hat it even looks good for more than just working.  The best part for me though is when I get caught in the rain it keeps the rain out of my face and keeps it from dripping directly down the back of my neck.

Needless to say my review of the hat would be a 5 star as I love this hat and have been wearing it daily since I got it.  With how much I like this hat it will be in many more pictures and we will see how it holds up in the long term.

 Until next time stay tuned and check back often. 

One less appendix

Well the Timberlake family has one less appendix.
Wednesday Morning around 2:30 I was awoken by a terrible pain in my stomach.  As someone who usually sleeps very deeply to be woken up by a stomach pain it had to be pretty good.  The worst part though was not being able to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep.  When 6:30 finally rolled around Allyssia got up and helped me put horses out and at that point I decided to call in to work because I was in pain and slightly nauseous.  I napped on and off Wednesday until noon time when I made an appointment with my doctor.  At 2:30 I drove down to Livermore Falls to see my doctor just to be told that "Hey you have the symptoms of appendicitis you had better go to the Emergency room." So for the next two hours the Farmington Hospital ER is where we sat.

My Mother so graciously went to our house when she got out of work to watch baby Roland so Allyssia could come sit with me and not have to drag him through the ER.  Last night the Emergency department was swamped but they got me in a room, did some exams, and started an IV to prep for a CT scan.  That was my first ever CT scan and it was actually pretty neat.  after the scan it was about another forty-five minutes in the room before the doctor came and told me I was staying over night because I had an inflamed appendix.  At that point it was getting late so Allyssia headed home and I went to sleep there at the hospital.  This morning I woke up to my bed covered in saline because I ripped my IV out in the night.  After getting a new IV, antibiotics and a visit from the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and a few nurses I headed up to surgery. 

While I was in surgery Allyssia and Roland showed up to day surgery and  my Mother was working so she set them up in a room until I was out.  As you can see Roland has the Timberlake gift of being able to sleep anywhere.  After surgery I was brought to the recovery room and was passed out there for an hour and a half before they brought me to a room.  The first thing I got to see in the room was these two smiling faces!

They sent me home early this afternoon and now I am resting on the couch.  Thankfully I have an amazing wife that is keeping everything going and my Mother and Father have been a tremendous help.  I will have a few days that I am not allowed to do much but soon enough I will be on light duty and start doing something fun again.   Stay tuned and check back often!!

Rebuilding Time of Year

Come winter time I slowly run out of big outdoor projects to work on.  The cold rolls in as well as the snow so when I am not shoveling and plowing I am not overly inclined to be out in the cold. With almost 300 gallons of oil that I have collected this past year I can fire off my furnace, heat the garage up to working temperature and away we go!  One of the most important rebuilds for the winter is my sickle mower.

Before removing the the main frame of the mower from Old Smokey I pulled the seven foot cutter bar off.  With the bar off I have time to work on it in a leisurely manner and not be rushing to get it back out to mow.  Truth be told this summer some of my repairs have been quick and not 100% done right.  To start off I am cleaning it all up and replacing all the bolts that hold the rock guards on.  Doing so will make it easier fixing and replacing the guards in the field.

Once I get the lower part of the cutter bar rebuilt I am gong to replace all of the teeth on the inner cutter bar with brand new serrated teeth and bolts instead of rivets.  The bolts to hold the teeth on are a special splined bolt with a lock washer so that they can't come loose when the machine is mowing.  I think that replacing all of the teeth is going to be the worst part because every single rivet needs to be ground off and punched out.  I have done two of the teeth this past summer and the remaining 27 teeth are going to be a slow job. 

As it progresses I will have another few pictures but this is not the most exciting of projects that I have tackled, but nonetheless it needs to be done.  If it is any indication of how boring this is my helper fell asleep within minutes!!

Until next time stay tuned and check back often.  We have been slow on the blog updates as life has been hectic but you can guarantee that we are still here chugging along. 

Bring on The New Year

This year at work my on call holiday just happened to be New Years.  Since I was on call Allyssia and I did not do anything spectacular and we stayed home and watched TV.  Around 9PM New Years Eve I got called out and spent multiple hours unplugging a boiler and showed up home covered in soot and smelling of oil just in time to ring in the new year.  When we woke up on Wednesday it was like any other day.  Horses needed tending to and as always we had lots we would like to get done.  So after chores and getting done what we wanted to do - we went for a nice walk. 

After our wonderful walk through the fields We got back to the barn and Roland napped in the tack room.  I also would have loved a nap but while out back I decided on a more fun adventure.  With a battery and a couple cranks on Old Smokey, we were up and running for the first time for the New Year. 

Allyssia followed me through the field on the three wheeler and I spent a good half hour driving through the field enjoying myself. 

Old Smokey ran perfectly and pushed through the snow with ease.  I packed down a few trails around the paddocks for the three wheeler and Old Smokey.  I am hoping that I can continue traveling around the fields this winter. 

Taking Old Smokey out was the best way to ring in the New Year.  Allyssia and Cricket even had a good time out in the field. 
                                                        New Years With Old Smokey
Hope you all can follow us through another exciting new year.  Stay tuned and check back often as we love having you as part of our lives!

Christmas Celebrations

I find that for everyone that the holidays can be an extremely hectic time and for us it was no exception.  With both holidays on Wednesdays it threw the work week off, and quite frankly confused the heck out of us.  Nevertheless we had a wonderful Christmas.  On Christmas eve Roland even got to meet Santa Clause! Santa made a special stop at the Castonguay residence for all the good kids and Roland just happened to be the best baby there. 

Roland could almost care less for the present but the wrapping paper! Ohh boy didn't he like the wrapping paper.  This year Roland was just a little bit to little but he did love the lights and all of the commotion of the holiday.   At Christmas eve we do a gift swap of sorts and this year Allyssia won a special gift for Roland.  This year my mother finished an afghan that my Memere had started many years ago and never got to complete.  All of us grand kids have an afghan that Memere made and now Roland has one as well. 

 On Christmas day Roland also got his very own stocking that Allyssia made for him.Growing up we always had stockings that my mother made for us so this is a nice tradition to continue. 

Allyssia spent quite a few hours making this amazing fox stocking with my mother and is planning on making one for herself and me next year. 

With a little bit of help Roland unwrapped a few gifts but after two or three he was too busy playing with his toys and his feet to want to unwrap anything else. For lunch Christmas day we went to my in-laws and had the most amazing ham and got to spend time with the younger kids.  We failed to take any pictures until Christmas at my parents the following Saturday. Having my family's Christmas celebration a few days after relieves so much stress and makes life easier on everyone.  

From Allyssia, Roland, Cricket, Emily, Parker and the horses we hope everyone had a merry Christmas filled with family and good cheer as well as for the New Year!  We are ready for whatever 2020 can bring and we will be happy to share it with you all.  Remember to check back often.