White Ashland

The first snowstorm of the season hit yesterday....and today (still snowing!!) and it is beautiful fluffy snow that blankets the landscape and tree branches. We found someone to plow our driveway this year in hopes of saving some money to be able to afford a snow blower at the end of the season on clearance. Technically we could use the conventional shovel but we are not really eager to spend hours outside in the cold and wind doing manual labor when we could be wrapped up in blankets on the couch in front of the fireplace.

So far, one of my favorite parts of living in the suburbs has to be having our own driveway and garage. Not having to drive around Charlestown during a snow emergency trying to find a spot and shoveling the car out of a hard snow bank only to have someone snatch it the second we leave really helps alleviate anxiety and frustration. The city is always so beautiful after a fresh snow but we like looking out into our back yard at the "ski slope" and watching the snow fall.

Stone's Public House - Take 1 and 2

Before Chris and I moved to Ashland we had done some research on local restaurants and one of the first that came up was Stone’s Public House in the center of town. Now rumor has it that this house, built in 1834, is haunted by one or more spirits which is kind of eerie. As a kid, I couldn’t even watch shows about ghosts on Halloween (or any time of year) because I always thought our old farm house was haunted and that someone was watching me…especially when I was in the barn.

Even though I am older and wiser, the thought of ghosts still freaks me out but it wasn’t going to stop us from checking out Stone’s. What ghost would come out during the dinner hour? We went for dinner on Friday night and thought we would sit in the bar area but it was packed!! Who would have thought this would be an Ashland hotspot? The big fireplace was roaring, big and small parties dining on scrumptious fare and people were even standing. It was the place to be. We had a nice dinner in the quiet dining room while keeping our eye out for spirits of any kind.

On Sunday, Debi and Paul dropped by for a surprise visit so we decided to check out the bar again and chat/catch some football on TV. Still no sign off ghosts but there was a Ouija board in the corner which we all decided we would never play in this place!!

I guess this post would have been more interesting if we actually saw a ghost or evidence of one, but alas, we didn’t. We just saw some eerie looking pictures of John Stone himself and others. Stone’s Public House offered great meals and company and we will surely go back in the near future for grub, live music and maybe even Trivia Thursdays…that is only if Paul is on our team :-)

Debi and Paul chillin' on the new couch

Annual "Guys" Gathering

Every year during the Christmas season we have a get together with Chris's group of guy friends and their lovely wives. We usually go to one of their homes or we meet at a restaurant but this year we decided to take advantage of our new home and invite everyone over as long as they upheld the laws of the Ciano's sanitary environment (aka, no shoes in the house!!). It resulted in quite a stressful week putting up the tree, unpacking more boxes, hanging pictures, shopping for the house, food, etc. in an effort to prepare for more than 4 visitors but it went off without a hitch and we had a great time. Only one accident victim didn't survive the party but it wasn't due to black ice on Badger road, it was more because of Chris's brut strength.

I had to take a picture of Chris in the kitchen...it may never happen again :-) Just kidding, his antipasto platter turned out great!! Of course, for most of the night, everyone congregated in the kitchen per usual. But what about the new couch?? Pic of me with Maria and Christine; Steve and Larry; sanitary environment police on patrol, no tickets were issued; accident victim

Couch Delivery!!

At long last....well, not really that long since we have only been in the house for 2 weeks....we now have more comfy seating in the living room. Now guests don't need to sit on kitchen chairs when they visit and Chris and I can lounge and potentially nap on our new couch. It fits perfectly in the living room (I think anyway) and now that it has arrived, I can start finding pillows, blankets and other accessories to begin the decorating process. Yippee!! The best part is, the couch arrived a day before our first holiday party so luckily our guests didn't need to fight between the leapard chair and the recliner.

I love Chaises. We had one when I was a kid and it was my spot!!

One of my favorite things about the couch is the placement. When we are in the kitchen we can see guest lounging so we are never far from the action.

Our fireplace; I thought it was pretty and festive with the Pointsettas.