Tribute to our Estee

Mrs.  Van Ester (Estee)  - October 26, 1999 - April 28, 2013

Yesterday was a very sad day for Lou and I, our little dog that had been the center of our lives passed away at 5:30 am.  I purchased her as a tiny puppy after my deceased husband had his accident and was more confined to the house.

  We had previously had a lovely Border Collie and she had been gone for about three months.  Al didn't know if he wanted another dog; however, I had a very close girl friend in Ohio that had a Yorkshire Terrier and I had always liked hers, and Nancy Bowser here in  Wellsboro had four and I talked to her and she convinced me that this was the breed I needed, so I made the plunge, the only thing that concerned us was they weren't supposed to be the best with small children and we had a small granddaughter at the time, but Estee loved Michelle as much as Michelle loved her.

Michelle and Estee had their pictures in the  Wellsboro paper, Michelle wore her Americian Girl dress and carried her Americian Girl Doll and had Estee on a leash for the Pet Parade, they didn't win, but the photographer thought it was the best of show and took her picture and it is my favorite and we have it on our mantel.

On the last day we had Estee with us, Michelle came down in the afternoon and asked if she could take Estee outside and hold her, and that is what she did, she took her out in the driveway and sat and held her, and stayed so long with her, that it got cool, and Michelle asked for a blanket to cover Estee with.  She told me she thought Estee was enjoying watching the traffic and listening to the outside noises.  Estee probably spent more time with Michelle and Krista than anyone else.  If we traveled and for some reason couldn't take Estee, Krista always gladly kept her, in fact, she would often come down and ask if she could come and visit!

Taken the day that Lou came to meet the family
Steve, Krista, Myself and Scott - October 2008

Estee always barked when a stranger came to the house; however, the day that Lou came to my home the first time, Estee did not bark, they were friends from that first day until her last day and the pictures to follow certainly show that friendship.   Al always spoiled her, but Lou took "spoiling" to a new level and she loved every minute of it.

She would never do this for anyone else!

She would go the barn when Lou had the mower out, just to ride back.

Estee and Lou at MacDill AFB

She loved the beach

Aunt Hettie and Estee

Morning rub down

Lou and Estee at Coast Guard Base - Key West

Deer Island near Key West, She loved seeing the little deer

Key West

Estee watching an Armadillo out the door at Mac Dill

She loves sleeping on papers

Lou and Estee watching the Fire Works on the Fourth of July

Co-Pilot having a nap 

Where did Lou go?

My sister decided, after this she would like to have a little dog.

In Venice, Florida - They cater to dogs at all restaurants 

A nice way to travel

Estee attending Lou's birthday party

On the Road Again!!

Matthew loved Estee, they played ball as soon as Matthew could throw a ball, he called her Woof Woof.

Krista often gave her a new toy before leaving on a trip, she loved this monkey

We shall miss her; however, we have lovely memories of many happy hours that we shared together and as we prepare for a trip to Tennessee this weekend, it will be lonesome to travel without her.  God blessed us with a loving pet for almost 14 years.

Visit with Family

Lou's daughter and granddaughter

Lou's granddaughter, her boyfriend and Lou's grandson

 April 9th - Beautiful spring day

Last Tuesday Lou's daughter had called and asked if we could meet at the Homestead for lunch, her daughter and her boyfriend were home on spring break and Michelle was anxious for all of us to meet her new boyfriend.  Lou's grandson was home on leave so it was a perfect opportunity for part of the family to get together.

Sandra picked up lunch at Cast and Crew for all of us and we had a wonderful afternoon together getting acquainted with Dave and just  chatting with each other.  The guys, took advantage of the time together and got outside to shoot a few rounds at targets, even though it was very windy and a little on the chilly side.

Spencer had been at our house the night before for dinner and then spent the evening with us and we had such a nice time visiting with him.  Lou had been sorting through slides, so he showed some of the slides to him, most of them were pictures of his aunts and uncle when they were little kids and some favorite ones of his grandma and his great grandma.  All in all it was a delightful couple of days spent with family.

Now I Know Spring is Here

Roto tilled Garden -  April 8th

Plowed Field - April 8th

To me these are great signs of spring in our area.  My brother started plowing the flat behind our house and he completed that task today.  I love to see freshly plowed fields.  When we commented on how nice the field looked, he said it was just right to plow.  Usually there is a spot below our barn that is wet and he has to wait until later to finish it us, but he was able to finish the entire field today.

Lou has our garden all rototilled and this afternoon he picked up three different varieties of onion sets to get planted, but we want to add some fertilizer, so they haven't gotten placed into the ground yet.  He spent the afternoon with a friend helping him get a new rototiller for himself and getting it unpacked and ready to work.

I had an appointment with my orthopedic doctor this morning and he feels that I have a problem that may need to have additional surgery to correct.  He gave me an injection today and placed the injection into three different sites and I will see how that works for a week and go back for the final decision.  I am continuing with the physical therapy and the exercises at home, but the pain is increasing.  This is not the news I wanted to hear, especially with the weather getting nice and I have so much that I want to do outside.  The good news is that my hips are staying in place and I am now working on strengthening the core of my body.  Lou and I were able to walk for thirty minutes today and that was a very big plus.

Lou and I are enjoying the new birds that are coming to the feeders each day.  Today we had the Purple Finches, and we have said goodbye to the Red Polls.  The Tree Swallows have also returned and they are trying to make friends with the Bluebirds and decide which house each are going to occupy.  Unfortunately, the Red Squirell has also returned and between Lou and Estee they are keeping him on the run.  

What the Bunny Left

Goodies left by the Bunny

The Bunnies - my brother and his wife (Jerry and Joanne)

April 2nd - Tuesday

After returning from Easter Dinner on Sunday we found a card on our counter and there was a note written on the envelope in my brother's writing stating that he had put some meat in our freezer and sure enough, I opened the freezer door and there was some of his own fresh grown ham and a package of ground beef.

You can not get ahead of this couple, no matter what we do for them, they are always ahead of us.  Jerry and Joanne are both so giving.  Always bringing something to us.  He farms the land that belonged to our parents, so I reap the benefits of the land without the labor.  Lou and I have a wonderful view from our kitchen window.  He has beef cattle that roam the pastures, he keeps them in the barn at night, so they are always warm and cozy and very well fed.  He learned that from our father, they used to tell my father he used his profit from the farm by feeding it up to the cows.

Jerry keeps us stocked with freshly ground corn meal that is out of this world.  It makes the best corn bread and I even use it in my corn pudding in place of flour.  Krista asked for my recipe for her Easter dinner and I think that is what makes it the best around.

He plows the huge field behind our house and allows Krista and Steve to use the end of it for their garden and it is the most fertile ground and will grow everything and anything. He and Joanne rent the farm house to Kris and her family and that is wonderful for Lou and me, as they are there to help us at a moments notice and we get to enjoy their company and that we do.  What fun to have all of them next door.

  He keeps the hillside perfectly groomed, no brush, just beautiful countryside to view from our window and Lou and I take advantage of it every time we can.  Our parents would be so proud of the way he has taken care of the property.

Spring Flowers

April 1st - April Fool's  Day

I don't know where Spring went, I guess that is the April Fool's, but I do have flowers bloomed and it you look at the last picture, you can see a honey bee visiting one of the Snow Drops.

Speaking of the Snow Drops, I read on my Almanac Calendar that it is bad luck to bring snow drops into the house.  I was tempted, but with the way this year is going, I thought I certainly didn't need any bad luck.

This is the first year that I have been able to see the crocus bloom, they always bloom while we are in Florida and by the time we return home, they are long gone.  In fact, when Lou found it he didn't even know what it was.  I am really looking forward to the spring flowers this year.  Krista has always enjoyed them in years past and now we will get some enjoyment from them.

We picked up flowers for the cemetery, I thought I was smart in getting pots of flowers, so they would meet the requirements for Catlin Hollow Cemetery and knew they would be fine for Whitneyville also, Krista and I picked out doweling to put through them to keep them in the ground and Lou sharpened them, ready to go.  He set out for Whitneyville and he found he couldn't drill through the bottom of the pot, come to find out the bottom of the pot was cement.  Finally after going through all of the batteries on his drills, the flowers are all at the cemeteries and they look very nice.  Should be nice until Memorial Day when we can put our real flowers.  One thing about them they will stay put!