Posted by Suzanne McMinn on June 28, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Daily Farmhouse Journal
Sometimes I get questions in email and it occurs to me that more than one person might want to hear the answer, so (while I did respond directly in email to the people who asked) I’m posting these questions and answers here, too, for other newer people to my site whose real question is, “What’s with this strange woman and her chickens?”
First, “Where can I see pictures of your new farmhouse?”
I used to post pics of the house all the time! (Those of you who have been around for awhile probably got tired of that, LOL.) We started construction on our new farmhouse in September, 2007, and it was finished in March of this year. Or at least we moved in. I’m not sure it’s finished yet. 
Here are some links to posts about building our new farmhouse, with lots of pics:
Interested in the history of our farm and how we came to live on a rock road up a hill in the middle of nowhere? See Our Farm.
This post has a lot of photos that span most of the construction. (It was fun to look back and see how the house went up.)
After we moved in, I posted the farmhouse plans we used to build the house, along with modifications we made.
Here’s our pie porch.
And as far as we’ve come, this post shows how far we have yet to go.
There are more posts about our farm, the old farmhouse where I lived before, and all sorts of country living fun and nonsense stories on my Living the Country Dream index page.
I have some of my other posts organized through more index pages to make them handier to find. I keep up with some of these pages better than others. This website is a huge project! You can find all my recipes on the Farmhouse Table page.
I have another page to index posts for Primitive Crafts & Country Style, and one for the Country Garden.
Some of my favorite posts about our farm animals can be found indexed on the Old Barn page, and my daytripping posts can be found on the Wild, Wonderful West Virginia page.
If you’re wondering who the heck I am, you can kinda sorta find out all about me here, and see a rare picture of me. There’s another picture of me here on our not-quite-finished porch. And you can read all about the mysterious 52 by starting here and following the links at the bottom of that post.
Second question-”If I want to buy just one of your books, which one should I buy?”
Well, now, I’m always partial to my latest book, which you can buy here. But as for my previous books, I definitely have favorites! I was in love with my “PAX League” series, but the same people who make me do stuff like this decided sexy super-powered super-agents didn’t suit them, so I had to quit at three books on that, but the books in that series-The Beast Within, Third Sight, and Deep Blue-are among my faves, still. If sexy super-powered super-agents don’t sound like your cup of tea, try Cole Dempsey’s Back in Town (a Louisiana murder mystery) or Her Man to Remember (a fun amnesia-romantic suspense story). If you like historical novels, I’m also partial to my medieval books, My Lady Imposter, My Lady Runaway, and My Lady Knight. You can find these, and most of my other books, available used for next to nothing. (I make NO ROYALTIES on used book sales. I am a SUPER SALESPERSON. But if you would do me a favor and click this link to get there, it is an affiliate link and Amazon will give me approximately one penny, so take pity on a poor farm girl. The link goes to my latest book, but if you want to see other past books, just click the link, then click on my name when the page opens to find all of my books that Amazon has available in their used books marketplace.) And you can read more about all of my books here.
Totally gratuitous and unrelated pictures of Coco…..
What is with that tongue? IS SHE DEFORMED?
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on June 28, 2008 @ 5:05 am
5:19
am
Coco is too precious to have a deformed tongue. She’s so loveable.
Have a great weekend.
5:27
am
I just want to bury my face in Coco’s fur and hug her to pieces.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone. I’m off to volunteer at a local cat adopt-a-thon.
-Kim
6:16
am
There is nothing better than puppy breath, except baby foot smell!! LOL She looks like she loves to be loved!! If thats the case she is in the PERFECT place!!
6:38
am
Wow, that answers a few questions….thanks for the update! As for coco…well obviously there are not enough pictures of hid cuteness!
http://lifeislikechampagne.blogspot.com/
6:53
am
What breed of dog or mix is Coco? No wonder you love her she is gorgeous! What a precious pup.
7:14
am
There’s nothing wrong with Coco’s tounge that I can see. She’s so adorable!
P.S.: I found your blog a few days ago and have been poking around. I love it! ^.^
7:54
am
I’m having a baby in Nov. and Coco looks like she’d make a great living blanket. Can I have her? I promise to love her and clean all the baby spit out of her coat. I love your blog because I to harbor dreams of having my own “farm” someday. Keep those pictures coming!
8:28
am
Rita, Coco is a Great Pyrenees!
8:49
am
I love Coco’s tongue. Pioneer Woman also has a post about her dog Charlie’s tongue. She dares you to read it and not stick YOUR tongue out. Loved it! xxoo
8:54
am
Good Saturday morning! Thank you for the pics of that sweet pup. It is a rainy day here, so all the outside stuff we’d planned for today is a goner. Looks to be a day-long event, so we will stay inside and tackle the loooooong list of to-do junk. Ick. It is summer. It is beautiful. It is outside weather. Who in their right mind wants to change furnace filters, empty the central vac collection thingie, and rearrange the freezer for the 40 thousandth time?
9:31
am
It seems such a shame to have your creativity directed by others. Have you , or would you ever consider writing those books your publisher doesn’t want and then selling them on your website?
9:42
am
If cuteness was cash, you and your puppy would be rich!
Hey Everybody,
Just wanted to share…..
We have a local fund-raiser here in Stuart, VA every year Called “Cookin’for a Cause,” we barbecue like crazy and have music, grab bags and a silent auction. We held it this past Thursday and we raised $14,000.00!!!!!!!
I am so happy! Every penny goes to local stuff so it all stays at home.
It’s so wonderful to see what a community can do when it works together!
9:45
am
That is one cute puppy! Even his tongue
9:45
am
Coco is adorable! Her tongue is saying she wants ice cream
I do have a question: On your house, was the question ever asked about raising the ceiling (wall) height so that a second floor could be put in, instead of having the cathedral ceilings?
9:49
am
Maryann, no, we didn’t consider doing that. There is a partial second story (actually, third story, the way we built the main floor at the second floor level with the un-basement completely above ground). There is a bedroom with a full bath up there. (Princess’s room.)
9:59
am
You have got me seriously considering getting myself a Great Pynenees! Coco is the poster dog for GP’s! She is sooo cute!
10:08
am
I found your website after reading a write-up in the Roane County Reporter this spring, thus I missed a large portion of your earlier story. I made a huge assumption — since you call your kids by their ages, I assumed 52 might be your uncle/father/cousin. (With apologies to 52.) When I read your interviews with 52 I realized I had made a BIG mistake, so I went back to the beginning, even before the move to WV.
I read each post in order, but somehow I must have missed a point along the way…in your last home you shared it with a husband, and the company of many of your author friends. This may be too personal (but then again it seems like you’ve shared more of your life than people I’ve known for 20 years) — but how did the transition to WV and single motherhood come about??
10:18
am
I want me a Coco! I just have to convince my husband that is what I need.
10:48
am
Has Coco gone down the stairs by herself yet?
10:51
am
Coco has the sweetest eyes. My puppies eyes are nothing but trouble . . .
11:18
am
Hi, Kathy! You could read this post and this one for a little background on how I came to West Virginia. For the privacy of everyone involved, I didn’t go into details, though, as you’ll see. I don’t think it would be fair to my ex-husband to blog about our relationship, or good for the children. And, life is too wonderful to dwell on all that! (I know people are curious, LOL! So know that you are not the first person who’s asked!)
Annie, we’ve been working on the stairs!!! She’s pretty funny at them.
12:05
pm
I love how puppies always have their tongues hanging out. She is too cute.
12:20
pm
I LOVE your original house plans - looks like some of the homes here. And I love your house now! Very beautiful. It sort of reminds me of the Acadiana homes here. I love wraparound porches!!!
That Coco…ohhh, I could just sqeeze a toot out of her, she is so precious.
12:21
pm
Wow, I just saw that, about the tractor being in front of door number #52!!! How ironic! FATE!
1:27
pm
First the chickens, then the goats, now the dog. I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to restrain hubby from following your lead. These dog pictures could be the deal breaker!
1:41
pm
That Coco is such a cutie-pie!!!!!
2:50
pm
Thanks for my daily Coco fix!!
3:35
pm
Love the Coco pix!
4:06
pm
Guess what! We have chickens! The Mississippi is flooding the bottoms, and all kind of animals have been coming up the bluffs to town. Deer, foxes, s k u n k s, too many turtles and frogs to believe, and now some chickens! They are hanging out in the back of our yard, and I’ve called a friend who has a farm to come get them. They are probably descended from some renegade group who made their break to the bottoms years ago. Maybe Spartacus has Illinois cousins? They certainly are opinionated, let me tell you. I had to run to the feed store and get some poultry food, and I think I got the wrong stuff or else they are such highbrow chickens poultry food is right off their list. Thank you again for sharing your life with us. Oh, want some s k u n k s? I sure hope this water goes down quickly!
4:55
pm
Are your other pets getting jealous of all the attention Coco is getting?
All of your books are great!
7:56
pm
I just love smiling dogs, and Coco just smiles and smiles. I could bury my face in her!
I’m sitting here wondering if it’s blackberry time in West Virginia. Today, I found me a blackberry patch right smack in the middle of this suburban sprawl. I brought home enough berries for a cobbler - and three ticks.
8:18
pm
AWWW, and also from me, a thank you for my Coco fix. I just want to hug her and squeeze her too. LOL She is just a little ball of cuteness and love. Keep ‘em coming, can’t get enough of ‘our’ Coco!
10:02
pm
Coco is soooooo cute!
10:16
pm
Coco is saying, this fur coat may be cute, but it’s hot out here. LET ME IN to the A/C! I know that’s what my dog has been saying in TEXAS. Today it was 102 degrees F. when we passed the bank a 2nd time, after it had read 100 deg. earlier. IT WAY TO HOT here for this time of year. We could use some of that rain from the midwest to cool it down.
LOVE the COCO pics. My dog Blarney (18 yr old) and BG the cat (2 yr old) SAY HI COCO! BG loves the computer… I wonder if your cats love to walk on your keyboard too?
Say Hey to 52 for us! We’re looking forward to seeing his photo sometime soon. Maybe when he takes of his shirt to build that goat house and goat yard?
11:56
pm
LOL on Coco’s tongue1 We’ve been seeing a LOT of Indy’s tongue these days…it’s hot outside.
::giggle:: on where the tractor was parked. How is 52 these days?
12:25
am
I’ve certainly been tempted to ask a few questions myself. A lot of things seemed to have happened while I was in the Dominican Republic and in Mexico in 2006,
and I never did get caught up on what was happening to you.
One day I sat here for at least an hour trying to trace back some of your blogs, but it got so confusing
that I finally gave up. Now I have to make sure that I check out everything on this page.
Coco is a “great” Pyrenees as in “big”? And here I thought she was a tiny puppy, the size of a kitten. LOL
Oh, yeah, I’ll be moving again in August or September. and be paying only about 25% of my present rent. It’s a rent-geared to income apartment, much nicer but no bigger than this one. I’ll take the good in-apartment storage facilities, well-kept appliances, and quieter street anytime. I’d hoped to move by July 31, but got a call this morning from the super that that won’t work. Maybe he got his months mixed up. Oh well. I’ll just have to put up with all the souped-up cars and motorcycles and the
until the end of the summer.
1:14
am
You Should Submit Your New Puppy On http://www.dailypuppy.com So ADORABLE!!!
3:02
am
I can only say one thing: awwww….
7:24
am
Hey Suzanne — I was catching up on posts as we were busy with baseball all weekend and saw here your comment on the PAX series—I have enjoyed all your books I’ve read so far but those were my absolute favorites!!!! I LOVED them and read them as fast as I could. (Which then I also feel guilty about as I think about the time a writer puts in on each and every word…lol) Anyhow, I’ve been hoping to hear you’d be coming out with another set at some point.
Guess I will be hoping for that for a very long time. Just wanted you to know I really loved them and if ever you get a chance to write more of them I’d be first in line to get them. 
Cole