We have all been totally comsumed with other projects for the last few weekends, so we've made no progress on Enon Hall...but we hope to get back to work on things next weekend.

We enlisted in the 7th Virginia and took William to his first reenactment event at Gunston Hall this weekend. This event was a 1774 muster and William got to drum for a couple of the drills. Gay and I borrowed clothes and joined in. I even got to fire a flintlock rifle a couple times. Was very cool. We all have lots to learn. -- Bill

Ow. I spent ALL day Saturday and ALL day Sunday on the tractor mowing and bushhogging the entire 6+ acres. I have a nice windburn to prove it. Gay neatened things up with the weed whacker and cleaned up the graveyard. She and William also took down the remains of the old locust farm fence near the smokehouse. We liked its character, but in the last couple months more of the fence had been on the ground than standing up...and it was well beyond repair.

We still intend to put up a new white farm fence around the property. But our list of "intend tos" is very long and it seems like 2003 has been the year of little forward momentum. I'm a bit discouraged.

The main cause of our slowdown this year has been the new lot. We probably should have just left it alone after we bought it last December, instead of being in such a rush to integrate it with the original lot. We spent countless weekends in the spring clearing and clearing, not to mention the additional grass cutting all summer. Well, hindsight is 20/20.

We are now talking about having the lot completely cleared and planting it as an orchard. Peach trees, pear trees, etc. 2-1/2 acres would make a nice little orchard and be a nice feature for the house. But we don't know anything about this subject, so we're doing our homework. My biggest worry is keeping the grass cut around all those trees, but at least they would be in neat rows!

I think our winter project will be the master bedroom. It's not in bad shape. We just need to scrape some old texture paint off of the plaster ceiling, fix some cracks, and give it a new paint job. - Bill

We've been crazy busy with Scouts, school events, etc. but did manage to get some cleaning done around Enon Hall in preparation for Thanksgiving. This time last year we were in a mad dash to complete the dining room in time for our guests' arrival. At least we're not under that kind of pressure this year, but I do wish that we had more progress to showcase since that day a year ago.

William, of course, has big plans for Thanksgiving. If it's not raining, we'll be digging a fire pit in the back yard and doing some of the cooking there in his (yes, he bought them!) cast iron dutch ovens. He also made a tripod for holding a log for a tomahawk target. I need to find a softer wood than the log we tried out there today...pine maybe.

We also ran around and hung up things that we've purchased but had never actually gotten on the walls yet. I particularly like this rooster bell that we bought back in the spring.

I have found a company in Ohio who services windmills...that's the closest company to Virginia and it sounds like he's willing to make the drive! I am waiting for a written estimate.

Best wishes to everybody for a great Thanksgiving! -- Bill

We had a great Thanksgiving at Enon Hall with 14 family members from my family and Gay's.

The tomahawk target was a hit with the kids, as was our little firepit. We attempted cornbread over the fire (charred), but were more successful with a nice pot of Brunswick stew, to which we added turkey after the big meal.

On Friday we had a surprise treat from our neighbor across the creek who drove over with his 1931 Ford to see if William wanted to take a ride!

Of course, I had to join William in the rumble seat. -- Bill