I have been greatly remiss in recording this trip to North Carolina. It’s difficult to know what is going to happen from one moment to the next, and I need uninterrupted time to think and write. So, I end up not writing. But it’s so useful to remember what happens on these visits that I will try to remember the highlights. 

Gwennie has grown and changed so much! She initiates conversations, asks questions, answers questions sometimes, and is using her language to command and state her wishes. She has all the facial expressions to go with her speech and is often dramatic. She talks and sings to herself while playing. She knows how to entertain herself for long periods of time. She has no trouble being outside for hours, and always wants to go out. The swing, the trampoline, the Wheee (Kawasaki mule), the animals, the garden… are favorite places.  Cuts, bruises, scares… nothing stops her. She is tough. She scares me when she plays around her dad’s exercise equipment, climbing on it and swinging from the handles. In all of this, she is fairly compliant for a two year old. She can stay quiet for a whole church service, and goes up to take a nap without a big fuss. She eats. 

Most days she has been with her nanny, Emma from 8 till 4.  Mr. Jim (aka my Kevin) and I have taken those times to work on the farm. We walked around with Julia and her Kevin on the first day and learned which areas they would like to change. We got right to doing things the day after we arrived. 

I never remember to take pictures before we begin, and I’m always sorry. Our first area was such a maze of vines, bushes, and dead wood that it took us two days before we were satisfied. Mr. Jim used the chain saws to cut the bushes and small trees away. He got the log splitter out and split a lot of logs that were already down and waiting. I cut vines, raked leaves, carried rocks and tried to stay out of the poison ivy. We found an historic outhouse which we left standing (for now). We think there must have been a small building of some sort next to it. The stones show what is left of the foundation. That part of the yard looks so much more open and inviting now. Here is the “after” picture.

North Carolina is the state of old tobacco barns.  There were three on the Shanahan farm when they bought it. Now there are two. The one nearest the house has been leaning more each time I’ve come to visit. I’ve admired the huge logs and the construction of the building many times so I have lots of pictures of it. It recently gave up and fell. Clearing up that chaos was the job everyone tackled yesterday. Kevin used the tractor for the heavy logs and roof. Mr. Jim helped remove trees and branches with the chainsaw. By the end of the day, the area was nearly cleared. I am very relieved now that I don’t have to worry about Gwennie playing in a building that could fall down on her. “Before” and “after” pictures. 

Could some of the old lumber be useful for decorative purposes? Mr. Jim thinks so, and so do I. Antique wood is very popular these days, and it is beautiful in its own way. 

Food highlights include Julia’s Drowned Chicken Soup, which she served us the first night. She was kind of quiet about it, but the story came out. One of their favorite chickens drowned in the stock tank. They tried to give it CPR but were unsuccessful so it became food instead. 

Another night we went to the O’Henry Hotel for small plates and jazz music. It was crowded, even though we arrived late.  We sat and ate our strange, fancy food in a nearby room where we could hear the music for half an hour. Eventually we found seats in front of the musicians. There were tunes we recognized and some we didn’t, but it was all done well and very interesting. 

Most recently we went to the Shanahan’s favorite seafood restaurant. It is a place where people who don’t like fish go to learn to like it. We all ate fish and liked it a lot.  Even the kids were brave. Our waiter with a British accent took our picture. I love going to the Reel Seafood Grill in Greensboro!

One night I made meatloaf for us all. And last night I put out taco fixings. None of us had trouble with our food but, as sometimes happens, Julia got called out to save a choking horse. She ate her tacos in the truck on the way. I would like to say that her schedule as a veterinarian has calmed down a little, become a bit more regular, but I don’t know… maybe not. 

And that brings me to one of Gwennie’s newest expressions, “maybe”. She uses it often when she’s told that something she wants isn’t available. “But maybe?” she says with her sweetest face. One day she was riding in the car and got excited about a tower that she saw. Discussion continued about it being a water tower, and that there was water up there. “And sharks in the water?” was the natural thing to ask in her two year old mind. “No, no sharks”, she was told. “But maybe?” What can you say to that? Have we ever seen what’s in those tanks? And in that case, “maybe” is probably the safe answer, and it seems to satisfy her. We use “maybe” a lot around here.