January 22,2008, Chevy Chase, Md.

This weekend we were at the farm.  It was cold. Very cold.  But the farm is wonderful so we put up with the cold.  But now I have another problem in my life.  We have no computer or Internet at the farm.  So once again my anxiety goes up because I can't do my job  Already my sister-in-lay has e mailed to ask why I'm not doing my job.  These remote places are lovely, but  they give me trouble too.  So Ken is working to find a solution.

Ken and I live at the farm in the Hill House, a home we built as a guest house and then decided to move in to it ourselves.  Glass every, with views in all directions.  Very modern inside, but looks a bit like a barn from the outside.  The old farm house is a wonderful example of a turn of the century farm house, with porches on three sides.  We purchased this farm in 1997 and we love it.  The first thing we did was pull up the carpet and refinish the Georgia pine floors.  And then we painted and wallpapered.  Then a few years later we finished the third floor as a play room, and also re-furbished the kitchen, adding four windows and moving the cabinets and counter tops.  So the house is modern on the inside but looks like a vintage 1914 home from the outside.  Andrew and Christina and the girls live in the farm house and Ken and I as I said, live in the hill house.

Fortunately for us, everyone loves the farm.  I am not sure why, but perhaps the clean air and never crowded.  We own 315 acres at this farm, and we keep Angus cattle.  Our good friends Alan and Helen Jay, and their son Brian and wife Tammy work our farm.  So we have a working farm in both appearances and fact.  They grow corn, sorghum, and hay, along with the raising of the cattle.  It is very pleasing to the eyes to see these black calves up and down the hills. In addition, the  grandaughters have a freedom they never have in the city, and they love it.

We purchased our first farm in 1973.  We could not afford it so my brother bought half, and then we bought them out when it was clear they were only helping us out.  So we bought 55 acres of an old farm  that came with a house that had not been lived in for 15 years, and had been taken over by the birds.  But we had camped all over North America in a tent, so we were thrilled to have our own rustic retreat.  Our standards were low, but we loved it, and Ken and I and Andrew and David went there every other weekend.  We met all the local farmers.  Now Alan and Helen are the last folks farming in the area.  So what started all those years ago at our old farm has transferred into our wonderful farm of today.