The farm consisted of two parcels located about one mile down Shaving Hill Road, a dead-end road.  The main parcel, on the right, was 98+ acres with a two story home, a barn, detached 3-car garage, and a swimming pool.   The second parcel was just a wooded lot of  5.3 acres located directly across the street.  The property had been in the same family for two hundred years.   The main house was of post & beam construction built around the turn of the century.  It had a slight lean forward which must have been pretty old because there was no sign of movement since the place was remodeled in the 1970's.  It had a central chimney that was about nine feet across on the first floor.  A set of stair wound around the chimney with the landing right above the front door.   The first floor had a living room and a dining room, each with a fireplace.  The rear of the first floor was the utility room.  The second floor had three bedrooms and two full baths.  Two of the bedrooms had fireplaces, while the third had it completely covered.   There were stairs up to the full attic.  The space was wide open and not insulated.  The interesting thing about the attic was the boards used for flooring.  Most were rough-cut at least 18" wide and just laid in place with no fasteners.

Attached on the right side of the house was a two-story addition.  It housed the kitchen on the first floor and an bedroom and full bath on the second floor.  I found some old photos that showed that the second floor was added sometime in the 1950's.  There was a center chimney, about two-feet per side.  Located in the kitchen was a propane heater vented into the chimney.  In front of the addition was a large deck and a twelve by twelve screen house.  Attached to the addition was a 40-foot shed with a garage door in front and a door out to the rear.  The shed smelled like horses.   On the left side of the main house was a three-season room, with a very nice Yodel propane heater.  Entry to this room was from the living room or through an outside entry door.

Behind the house was the barn.  It was also post & beam construction and was thirty-six feet wide and forty-two feet long.   It was three bays wide and four bays long.   It was constructed as a Bank-Barn, where one side is at ground level and the other side about six feet above ground because of the slope of the land.  For that matter, so was the house.  When viewed from the street, the house was two-stories.  But the foundation was built into the hillside such that entry from the back door brought you in on the second floor.    For the first year, we visited the farm for long weekends, vacation, and holidays.  

 After losing my job in February of 2001, I began building stalls in the barn to accommodate our two horses.  I purchased the stall kits from Country Manufacturing and they consisted of all the metal parts for the walls and doors.   I sourced the wood locally.  I chose to use pressure treated 2x8's for the first two rows and untreated above that.   The two stalls occupied the two middle bays on the left side.  The first bay was intended to store the saddles, blankets, reins, and several metal trash cans for grain and horse feed.  We purchased a tall cabinet to hold medical supplies, brushes, and tools.  We planned to use the fourth bay on the left side to hold hay.  Once the stallW\s were complete, I went to the local ag store and purchased stall mats.  These thick rubber mats made it easier on their feet and easier to clean the stalls.  We were very pleased with how the stalls turned out.

As fall approached, I began looking for a used horse trailer.  I ended up purchasing a very nice Circle K stallion trailer from a woman in Hollis, NH.  She was an endurance rider and bought a new trailer every two years.  Sometime around September or October of 2001, I pulled the horses out of Lucky Seven Stables, where they were boarded, and trailered them up to Maine.   Pam had not yet been transferred to the JC Penney in South Portland, so she remained at our Londonderry house, while I lived on the farm in Maine.  She traveled the two hours  to Maine several times a month and the rest of the family joined us for the holidays.  About one year after I moved up to Maine, Pam's transfer was done and she joined me there.  We sold the Londonderry house a few months later.