Litchfield County real estate information, local events and more.

The Housatonic River, don't take it for granted! The Housatonic River winds its way through western Connecticut and beautiful Litchfield County from Pittsfield, MA. The main portion of the river runs 132 miles before emptying into Long Island Sound at Milford Point in CT. The Housatonic River feeds the largest lake in Connecticut, Candlewood Lake. The Rocky River Power Plant on Rt. 7 in New Milford is either bringing water down through the penstocks to make electricity, or pumping water up to the tune of  one million gallons of water every four minutes. Now that is pretty impressive!

The Shepaug Dam created Lake Lillinonah in New Milford and Bridgewater, The Stevenson Dam in Monroe is responsible for Lake Zoar and the Derby Dam between Shelton and and Derby creates Lake Housatonic. The river is truly a gem, not only giving us power and recreation, but historically has created great farmland opportunities along its banks. And of course the railroad follows the river. Although the passenger line has been long gone from this area, there is talk of bringing it back. I for one am hopeful this will occur!  Fishing, boating, crew, or sitting and watching the river as it winds through our community, so much to do on the Housatonic River or the lakes it so generously provides for us!

Winter along the Housatonic River can be very dramatic. If it gets cold enough, impressive ice chunks form and give quite a show. You can hear them cracking and moving if you stop to listen! In this area the cold weather does provide a great source of entertainment, the great Ice Watch in Kent, CT. The Kent Volunteer Fire Department is responsible for this fun event. They put tickets at local stores in Kent for you to purchase, you guess the time the time the ice will break in Kent. They set up their tripod about a mile south of downtown Kent. If there is no ice then a drawing takes place. The winners splits the money with the Kent Volunteer Fire Department.

This winter should provide me with some great photo opportunities along the Housatonic River, I am looking forward to some wonderful scenic views!

If you are looking for a home along the Housatonic River, Lake Lillinonah or Candlewood Lake, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to assist you with your home search. 

I will admit this is pretty much an irreverent post brought on by all the wonderful holiday photos all over ActiveRain. It is so much fun to drive around and see the lights, all the decorations people put up. I look at them and think how much fun the kids in the houses must have with parents that really go above and beyond to deck the halls. I truly think it is wonderful.

However.... sometimes it just goes all wrong...

A few years back my husband and I were driving home during the holiday season. We had been to his obligatory Nutcracker (I think I have seen a million of them, hey, I know how it ends so going is not exactly on my fun list anymore). As we were getting into Litchfield, CT the ice starting coming down like crazy. We really couldn't drive any more, the hills are bad enough with snow, never mind ice. So, we stopped at one of our favorite places to eat in Litchfield, CT, The Aspen Garden Restaurant. They make a mean Greek Salad that I really do love.

In front of The Aspen Garden Restaurant that year was the biggest inflatable snowman I have ever seen. The wind was whipping him around, he was bending forward, and his arms looked like he was trying to grab you as you walked by. Well, walking was really not what any of us were doing, more like skating, holding on to each other for dear life. The walkway was sheer ice, it was horrible.

We sat in a booth by a window and had a wonderful view of this snowman from hell as I referred to him. For some reason the thought never occurred to the people inside to shut him down for the night. I watched a family get out of their car and negotiate their way in, a mother, father and a little boy probably about 4 years old. As they skated down the sidewalk the little boy looked up in horror at the snowman coming toward him, arms reaching out looking like they were going to snatch the poor tyke up. He tried to run away, broke the hold his dad had on him, his little legs were moving as fast as fast could be, but with the ice it was like a comedy of errors in slow motion. The poor thing went up up up and then down down down, screaming as Mr. Snowman got closer and closer to him. His parents were so focused on the ice beneath them they never realized what scared the bejezus out of the poor kid. He probably needed therapy after that experience!

After that those inflatable decorations lost their glamor for me. I admit, I laughed like a banshee as each person approached the possessed 8 foot Frosty with much trepidation. I could laugh, I was safe inside where he couldn't reach me. And believe me, on my way out the door I skirted by him as fast as I could, good thing they had salted the sidewalk giving me a clean (and rapid) getaway from this demon snowman!

Lessons Learned! Little did I know we have our own little Santa's helper to make sure the first Christmas holiday of our season went off without a hitch. He was very busy cross checking the lists to make sure everyone got what they wanted! (I have one down, one more to go. Glad to know this little guy is here to keep me on track!)

We had a wonderful day yesterday, I can't say it was quiet as when we got to my oldest daughters house for dinner there was a new WII complete with all the fun and hoopla that goes with it! A good time was had by all. I beat the pants off everyone in the cow tipping game, and didn't do too bad in bowling either. Seems my youngest daughter is a champion at boxing, while the oldest is not too shabby at fishing! We also learned that "the little guy" can hoist himself up onto the stove to help himself to a fistful of cookies, there is nothing that is safe from this little Santa's helper! When you want something badly it is not really out of your reach.

It is now officially nostalgic Christmas time for me! Here is yet one more Christmas memory that really tugs at my heart strings, and I found this on YouTube. Here is my Aunt Carol (at the time Carol Richards) with Bing Crosby singing Silver Bells. Aunt Carol died in 2007, makes this all the more special to me to have found this on YouTube, knowing that people still listen to her.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

New Years Eve Traditions, got a good one? New Milford CT and Andrea celebrate the New Year!

My husband has a few different traditions than I do. for one, New Years Eve is when Det Moroz delivers presents, not Christmas. I can go for the whole gift giving event again, I admit it! Over the years we have melded our traditions together and made a few changes as we ourselves change. We don't drink (ok, I might have a drink or 2 every once in a blue moon, but he doesn't drink at all) so that is not in the plan for New Years Eve. He loves to eat, and we usually prepare some of his favorite Russian foods. I make a mean Salad Olivier which is a cold pototo salad with meat in it, I use ham, and we always make carrot salad and beet salad, I beg him to make a deep fried meat pie called Beliashi that will knock your socks off. We eat until we are ready to explode. Blini would be just an added extra to put us over the top. I like mine with either cavier and sour cream, smoked salmon and sour cream or hard boiled eggs mixed with melted butter. Or perhaps my most favorite pancake called Oladushki, I love them cold, warm, anyway you want to make them for me!

Used to be at midnight we would write our wish for the new year on a piece of paper and quickly burn it over our champagne-type drink, then drink the wish. But after a while I just wanted to do something different. A few years ago I checked out traditions from other countries and we blended a few of them together. As the Chinese do, the house had to be cleaned before the New Years Celebration. Somewhere I read about tossing a dustpan of dirt out the back door before midnite, that is NOT Chinese, and I can't find it anywhere now, but we did it. Then we opened the back door at midnite to let the old year out and raced to the front door to let the new year in. Whew, it was hard work. I missed my traditional New Years Rockin Eve watch the ball drop stuff that year! (That tradition I might add is boring, nothing really interesting about it at all!)

I am in the midst of looking for a new thing to do this New Years. So if you have any interesting traditions please let me know! We just might incorporate them into our celebration this year. I am always looking for something different to do on New Years Eve! And remember, I have two chances to celebrate, so bring it on!

If you are in the New Milford area and looking for something different to do, how about an evening at Theatreworks in New Milford CT? Check it out, great food and drink, a wonderful show, and a champagne toast at midnite!

A day with Santa in New Milford, CT.

The cold didn't keep the kids away, they braved freezing temperatures to see the big man himself! A good time was had by all, despite the cold temps and blowing winds. After visiting with Santa Claus kids and adults alike piled into the hay wagon for a ride around the New Milford Village Green. The horses were spectacular this year, 2 beautiful (and playful) Percherons from Utopia Percherons in Goshen, CT.

Thank you Bill and Brad Camp from Housatonic Valley Insurance on the Green, who joined Prudential Adams & Associates in sponsoring the event. Bill and his wife handed out hot chocolate and helped everyone on to the wagon. Brad Camp manned the barricades.

Santa promised me he would be back next year, so if you missed him this time around you can look forward to next years event!

My ghosts of Christmas Past... long past, short past, my past.

I just love these walks down memory lane, I found some old photos, and a few more recent ones of those Christmases that stay in my memory. We each have our own traditions and backgrounds, our different memories, yet they are inherently the same. They all tug at our heart strings, and bring both smiles and a bit of sadness to mind as we look over them. No matter what holiday you celebrate, you will have your own special memories I am sure.

I hope this year will make many happy memories for the years to come for each and every one of you. For me, we have our own anticipation with the impending arrival of a new baby to the family, we have our 2 year old grandson to make us smile and remember the magic of the season through the eyes of a child. Make time to enjoy the simple things. With the struggles that surround all of us this season remembering that our homes need not be perfect, the gifts we give can be of the heart and not of the wallet, and the hardest gift of all is the gift of learning to receive.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and I wish all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

Please enjoy my ghosts of Christmas Past!

Santa Claus is coming to town, New Milford CT that is!

Santa Claus comes to New Milford, CT Village Green! Don't forget to join in on the fun this Sunday, December 20th, 2009 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm for Hayrides on the Green and a visit with Santa Claus himself!

Santa Claus arrives via hay wagon, up Bridge Street to the Village Green in New Milford, CT at 1:00 pm this Sunday. What a great treat for all. Take a hayride around the beautiful New Milford, CT Village Green center, have some hot chocolate and candy canes, and of course, a visit with the "big man" himself, SANTA CLAUS!

Santa Claus will be sitting in the bandstand on the New Milford, CT Village Green. Take a ride first, take a ride after, just make sure you stop with the kids to see Santa Claus this Sunday!

The Hayrides on the Green is sponsored by and compliments of Prudential Adams & Associates, REALTORS, and Housatonic Valley Insurance. The cost? FREE to all! Come bring your family and friends for a good old fashioned New England Christmas event, I do hope to see you there. And don't forget to bring your cameras for a photo of your child sitting with Santa!

Must be that new fangled, new style roofing material.

My cousin is trying to get ready to sell his home, he lives along the coast of Maine. He is doing everything I told him to, and everything the local Realtor® told him to. Painting, cleaning up, de-cluttering, he may even replace the original blue toilet in the downstairs bathroom! Many of the "big" things have already been done. He installed a new furnace a few years back, put vinyl siding and new windows in a few years ago, replaced the deck. He is on the right track, a seller after my own heart!

The roof is original, I think about 30 years old. He made some calls and went with a large company who he thought was pretty good. They came on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and like the clowns in a Shriners circus car, 10 people piled out of 2 vehicles, they were all over his roof like flies on honey! Very impressive.

The old shingles came off, they worked feverishly through the day. 5 of the guys left after all the original shingles were off, leaving 5 to complete the work. This is a small cape with a shed roof in the back, no dormers in the front. My dear cousin had to leave in the afternoon, and returned home at 5:00 pm to the roofers just finishing up. Mission accomplished! It was too dark to see the results, so the following morning he went outside to see his lovely new "driftwood" colored shingled roof! Ah yes, a sight to behold.... this is what he saw (no photo has yet been supplied to me, this is my rendition of his description).

His neighbor Ollie wandered over as my cousin was staring up at the roof in disbelief. He commented how bad it looked, and had to rub it in that the bi-colored roof stuck out like a sore thumb. " Too bad they didn't do that in the back of the house instead of the front, it really looks like crap!" Neighbors, you gotta love 'em.

A call was made to the owner of the roofing company, who came right over to inspect the work and determine if my cousin was for real, or off his nut. (If a call had been made to me by the owner of the company, I would have told him although he may not pack a full sea bag, he can determine color differences). And what did the owner tell my poor befuddled cousin?

Let's wait a few weeks and see what color the roof is then.

I asked him if was sure he had ordered "driftwood" colored shingles. Perhaps he had ordered the new "chameleon" colored shingles, he should check the work order. Unless of course this is some new fangled new style roofing material!

Good thing he only paid for half the work.

Neapolitan Creche by talented artist Dayle Elsesser of Gaylordsville, CT. What a wonderful gift it is to go the see the Neopolitan Creche! The faces of the lively figures are based on friends and family members of Dayle Elsesser. An amazing display for all to see, don't miss going to the Neapolitan Creche this season! You will love it, I am sure.

The creche will be lit from now through January 8th, 2010 until 11:00 pm nightly, and till 1:00 am on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Located at 48 Gaylord Rd in Gaylordsville, it is an easy drive up Route 7. (Gaylordsville is actually part of New Milford, CT)