I have a 30 year old daughter? How did that happen?

 

Somehow I now have a 30 year old daughter today.  It seems impossible to me and I think to her too. When I was 30 years she was already 5 and knowing us now as parents she wonders how she made it this far. She came into the world 30 years ago cautious and wary because the place looked scary. She turned out to be an organized organizer. She would line things up at an early age to create order. The couch pillows would be in a line on the floor. Her dolls would be lined up from tall to small. The ribbons she won, the bugs she caught, and the shells from the beach looked best to Amber if they were lined up and in order. She's a list maker too going back from the time she could write.

Even though by nature she's cautious she likes to explore and try things. She's a good listener and after someone speaks what is on their mind she'll give honest and practical advice. Being so organized you may think she would be an engineer and like numbers but instead she likes words, books and poetry (and ice cream). She's an artist, a writer, and a wonderful daughter.  Happy Birthday Amber, I'm really glad you showed up 30 years ago.

Baseball and still learning life lessons

Last night Eva and I went to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox beat the San Diego Padres.  Despite the $8.50 Budweiser’s we had a wonderful time. The threat of rain held off and it was a perfecto summer night of baseball at Fenway.

So you would think at age 55 and having been taking advantage of numerous times that I would learn the warning signs before it happens. Well…I’m not there yet. We drove in to Boston looking to park in one of the lots around Fenway. There he was standing in front of the Howard Johnson Inn on Boylston Street, rotating his right hand like a softball pitcher and pointing into the parking lot.  There was the official sign attached to the fence which read: Parking for $45. I pulled up, rolled down my window and asked how much?  He said $40…little warning bell number one went off in the back of my head (why $5 less?). I replied $40 in an “are you kidding me voice” and he replied smoothly, yes most of the other lots will charge you $60. As I’m about to hand him the $40 I asked don’t I get a parking pass for my window? He said no, no pass needed just pull into the right. With little warning bell number two now ringing in my head I looked him square in the eye and asked “Are you legit?” He firmly replied Yes, I work for this organization pointing to Howard Johnson’s.  Minus the uniform he looked the part.  At this very moment as the warning bells in my head were getting louder I was also feeling the pressure of blocking traffic on Boylston Street with the back end of my car and pedestrians on the sidewalk with the front end. So I handed him the $40, the bells now very loud in my head, but he stops the pedestrians on the sidewalk and guides me in.  As I’m driving down to the back of the lot I’m looking at my side view mirror to see him walk across the sidewalk and disappear into the streets of Boston.  I said Damn it Eva….we just got screwed.  I was pissed at myself for not reading my gut quick enough. 

So now what? Well we parked the car in the spot I paid for and walked to the Citizens Public House for a very tasty burger before the game. After the game we walked back to the car expecting A) a boot on the wheel, B) it towed away, or C) a $200 ticket.  The car was still there so option B was dismissed. There was no boot on the wheel so option A was dismissed but there was something sticking in behind the wiper blade. It seemed like option C was going to be the answer but when we pulled out the paper from behind the blade it was only a warning notice from Howard Johnson’s saying the lot was for Authorized Guests Only and that all violators will be towed at their own expense.  The baseball gods were with us.  We didn’t get towed or ticketed and even saved $5 on the price of parking.  Another lesson learned.  Can I be done now? Let’s Go Red Sox.

A Beauty Morning in Magnolia

I had a nice walk on the beach in Magnolia this morning. It reminds me that I do miss the ocean at times. There has been a small seal on the beach for a few days which looks like it is finally making its way back to the water.  There's been a few volunteers with the New England Aquarium keeping watch to make sure people and dogs don't get too close.

 

 I spoke to Billy Rochford for awhile. Billy was one of my groomsmen when we got married in Magnolia more than 32 years ago. We spoke about seals, boats, family, politics, cutting down trees, house projects and basically how to solve all the world problems in about 15 minutes.

 

On the way back I popped into Dunkin Donuts for a coffee and a chocolate donut. Right now life is good.  

A visit to North Carolina

Last week I was in Durham North Carolina visiting Tommie and Amber.  We ate a lot of food like Chicken and Waffles. I was skeptical of this combination at first but it was surprisingly good. 

We listened to live music while we ate smoked barbeque.

We went swimming at Falls Lake and ate frozen yogurt.

We walked around the fabulous Duke Gardens.

We walked the American Tobacco Trail and didn’t smoke. 

 

We drove around the neighborhoods where Amber and Tommie would like to buy a house. (They didn’t show us any homes that had in-law apartments?) And now I’m back home in Bethel where it finally is looking like Spring.

 

Maple Sugaring Time

Maple Sugar Bucket

It's March 9th and tonight we move the clocks ahead an hour.  That is a sure sign of Spring.  Another sure sign of spring are the Maple Sugar buckets you see hanging from the trees now.  The sap is flowing.  Life is working its way back from below the frozen ground. Some of the roads are posted with orange signs telling the heavy trucks they can not drive over them until the thaw is complete. It reached a high of 48 degrees in Bethel today.  It's beautiful.  

Raking the Roof

Raking the Roof

Yesterday I spent three and a half hours raking snow off my roof.  It was a great workout however I can think of better ways to spend my time.  I did this because we are supposed to receive 8 to 14 inches of heavy wet snow today. I was afraid that if this was added to the already 14 inches on my roof I may have a problem, especially on my barn which has seen better days.  I was able to remove about 80% of the snow because even with a 30 foot extension pole there were some areas I just could not reach.

It just started snowing here about an hour ago and is supposed to last into the day tomorrow.  Anyone who wants a free lesson in how to rake a roof just show up at my house on Saturday. Allow yourself three and a half hours for this lesson.  

Final Step

 

 

Final Step: Cover with 2 inches of white frosting and enjoy!

A Nice Cross Country Ski Day

Today I took the time to enjoy a nice cross county ski at the Bethel Nordic Ski Center at the The Bethel Inn Resort.  It was sunny at the start but by the time I finished the clouds off to the north had reached me and a good snow squall had begun.  I took the Hedgehog Trail which has become my favorite because it is one of the longest trails at 4.5 kilometers yet one of the easiest trails.  I like to begin at the eastern side of the trail which means as you leave the Inn bear left and go by the pool.  It's pretty level for the first half of this trail and then on the back side you have a couple of nice  "downhill" runs followed by level again.  The only real uphill portion will be the last 300 yards as you head back up to the Inn and by then you know you're home.  

Clouds to the North......

 Mike Cooper at the Ski Center does a nice job of grooming the trails. He knows how to build and maintain a trail whether it is a cross country ski trail for winter or a hiking trail for summer.  It's what he does.  I'll see him often at early dawn in his machine preparing the trails so that we can all have a nice surface for skiing.

........meant snow not long after.

I like the solitude of cross country skiing. It's quiet, it's beautiful, it's healthy and everyone you meet on the trail is smiling.  If you're going to live in area where it snows it makes a difference when you live in an area where they rejoice snow.  Come up for ski.  

Feeling Cold

Feeling Cold?

These icicles hanging from the edge of my roof mean two things. 1) It's cold. 2) Heat is escaping through my roof.   My smart phone tells me it's minus 13 degrees in Fryeburg, ME which is 45 minutes south of here.  My cheapo thermometer hanging outside the kitchen window tells me it's 44 degrees above zero. I think the phone is closer to true.  I'm in Maine in January...what do I expect? 

Below is a photo of this year's Christmas tree. Eat your heart out Charlie Brown.  We actual bought a perfectly shaped and full tree last year and Lauren didn't like because it was too full and too perfect. She said it was hard to hang ornaments on it because it was so thick with branches.  So this year we went to the opposite extreme. This years tree was easier to put up and it saved us $40.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Tree
 

Dusty’s Got a Bathroom Door.

Step 1: Cut hole

Our cat Dusty who is now 15 years old is getting lazy.  She has always been an outdoor cat and has never had any health problems.  She can still climb trees and is very good at catching mice and moles and sometimes chipmunks.  She would always go outside to “do her business” although she prefers it when I’m out there with her (especially in winter).  The only time we set out a litter box is when we go away for a few days and our neighbor Martha comes over to feed and check on Dusty.

Previously if Dusty wanted to “go” she would let me know because she can talk.  However this summer I would go downstairs in the morning and sometimes notice cat pee and perhaps more on the dining room floor.  It seems Dusty got the notion that this was the area to go even when the litter box was not here. We tried many things to break her of this newly formed habit.

First, I tried holding her nose close to the scene and yelling in a deep voice…bad, no, bad Dusty, I would tap her on the nose three times and put her outside.  This did not work.

Second, we have this plastic owl I traded for at a Yankee Swap Christmas party a few years ago. The owl has a motion detector so when someone walks by it the eyes flash bright green and it bleats out a rather loud WHO…WHO,  WHO…WHO, etcetera for 20 seconds or so.  It seems that the owl and the pussycat have a pact however.  Dusty would step in front of the owl, do her business and the owl never let out a peep until we would walk by it.  It didn’t matter what angle or position we put that owl it was not going to give her up.  

Third, Lauren read or heard that cats don’t like the sound or feel of Aluminum foil under their feet.  So we began to foil our floor in this area.  It was very shiny and… it didn’t work.  Dusty considered the foil a perfect spot to do her business.

We finally gave up and set up the litter box in the utility (furnace) room off of the kitchen.  Although it’s a fairly warm room because of the furnace we did not want to keep the door open all the time so it was time to install a “cat-door”.   This was relatively easy to do.  First, cut a hole the right size through the door and then install the door.  This particular cat door has a clear plastic flap with a magnet on the bottom that holds it in place until the cat pushes against it.  Dusty does not understand this concept yet.  Even though we would open the flap a bit for her she would not push against it to go through on her own.  I have seen her pull full size doors open with her paws but this plastic flap confounds her.  So I took off the flap (for now) and she jumps through the hole when she needs to.  For this I could have just left the first hole I cut in the door as is and saved $25.00

Next I should think about putting a door on our bathroom.  That’s a story for another day. 

Step 2: Install Cat Door

An Amber Visit in October

The Apple Cider Donut Machine at Russell Orchards

Amber was able to come visit us and stay a few days during her birthday month.  We picked her up in Boston last Saturday which was convenient because we were invited to a wedding that same day in Gloucester.  After spending the night in Magnolia we headed over to Essex Seafood Restaurant and met up with the Watson's for lunch.  This would be Don, Ada, Donnie, Kirsten and little Lexi.  Amber and I shared some steamers and fried calamari. Lauren had some fried shrimp. Amber and I have been sharing steamers ever since she was about 2 years old.  She loves lobsters and steamers.

We then headed over to Russel Orchards in Ipswich for the sole purpose of getting some Apple Cider Donuts. These donuts are addictive so we paid, went straight to the car, and starting driving north to Bethel while shoving donuts into our drooling mouths.  Our hope was to be far enough away by the time we finished the donuts where we didn't feel the need to return for more. We just made it.

Yesterday Amber and I walked into town to pay the real estate taxes and the water bill.  Paying bills isn't one of my favorite things to do however I enjoy paying these bills the most because I get to interact with the friendly people like Amy at the town hall and Cally at the water department. In this day of online bill paying and regular mail the face to face interaction is wonderful.  In the afternoon Lauren took Amber over to Jackie's used furniture shop and then over to Nabos which is owned and operated by Amanda who is always friendly and full of zest. After dinner we headed over to Gould Academy where we saw a performance by Burlington Taiko.  Sponsored by the Mahoosuc Arts Council this show was impressive. Taiko is Japanese for Big Drums and that's what this performance was all about. It's an artistic, physical and as you might imagine loud show of this group playing big drums.  Taiko has been used for many purposes in Japanese culture over the years including to dispel evil spirits, pray for rain, and the Samurai used them to instill fear in the enemy.  Sitting in the audience you feel these drums as well as hear them. Thumbs up on this show.

In keeping with the Asian theme we've decided to go out to dinner tonight at Cho Sun and get some Sushi.  Right now we're headed up to the gym and pool at the Bethel Inn to burn off some calories before our dinner.  It's also "dump day" so we need to, have to, must, go to the "transfer station" and see if any goodies await us.  Nothing but the best for Amber when she comes for a visit.

Amber at the Bethel Common

Gloucester Beauty

Sunset from Niles Beach

Half Moon from Half Moon Beach

Improving the Front Entry

Over the last month we have have been (and still are) working on improving the front entry.  That’s right….the entry which no one ever enters except when they delivered our washer and dryer a couple of years ago.  It was gross and needed love and attention.  You could see the window glazing falling out from the inside as well as the outside.  The first step was to remove the four aluminum storm windows which look like they may have been custom made for this entry.  The second step was to remove the old glazing compound which was pretty easy as most of it was falling out anyway.  They third step was to put in new glazing compound with a putty knife which came out okay but took a while because there are 10 panes of glass and I’m slow.  I then scraped all the loose paint around the entry, primed the area, caulked the holes and gaps, and painted it.  During this time Lauren painted those storm windows which I reinstalled on Friday.  It looks a lot better.  We still have to paint the exterior side of the front door itself.  I’m not sure when that will get done but getting this far as the leaves are past peak and with the hint of snow soon feels good. I relish the small steps forward. 

Sunset over Magnolia

Scenes of Summer 2012 - #3

Craft Fair on the Bethel Common

Sister in-law Amy with Lauren at the Covered Bridge - Andover, ME

Rachel and Logan all set to watch the Fireworks from our front yard

Early Morning Main Street - Bethel, ME

Swimming at Webb Lake - Mt. Blue State Park

Sunset over Webb Lake - Weld, ME

Scenes of Summer 2012 - #2

Moving Day for Tommie and Amber from Beverly, MA

Lauren, Amber, Susan, and Tommie in Smithsburg, MD

Cousin Susan and Penny

Helping Amber put together her new bed in her new home in North Carolina 

Tommie in his office at Student U

Scenes of Summer 2012 - #1

Lauren on Gloucester Harbor with Friends Mary, Cindy, Beth, and Mona

Lobsters and Garlic Bread on the Fire Pit with friend Merry  Moses

Having a nice day in Weld, Maine

Homemade Pizza on the Grill

My Shasta Daisies I planted from seed last year

The Mount Will Trail

 Sunday afternoon I took a hike around the Mount Will Trail in Bethel/Newry.  I had hiked up the trail to the South Cliffs last year but never completed the full loop until now.  The trail has a parking area for about 10 cars and is located right across the street from the Bethel Transfer and Recycling Station on Route 2.  I headed up the North Ledges Trail deciding to travel counter-clockwise.  The terrain is steep in some areas so you need to be in moderately good shape to tackle this.  The overall length of the trail is 3.25 miles and along parts of the trail you’ll see some Trilliums growing this time of year. 

 There are nice views from the North Ledges looking out to Hanover and the Bear River Valley but I think the view from the South Cliffs is the best.  Here you can see John and Tim Carter’s Farm (Middle Intervale Farm) just on the other side of the river, Mount Abram and downtown Bethel to the south and the Mahoosuc Range to the west.  I sat on this cliff for ½ an hour enjoying this view while the warm thermal updrafts blew in my face and kept the bugs away.  It was wonderful. Click here for some addtional information about the trail from the Town of Bethel.