Once in a while you’ve got to look back.

Once in a while you’ve got to look back.

This is the time where we want to look back and review the year because tomorrow starts the New Year even though millions of us will continue to write 2010 on our checks well into March. This has been a dynamic year for me and Lauren mostly because I like saying the word, Dynamic. It was just over a year ago we had bought this house (12/11/2009) and it was just 11 months ago when Dusty the Cat and I hit the road to drive across country with our worldly possessions and then rolled into Bethel on January 17, 2010. We had to wait until our new heating system was installed on February 19th to actually move in. From that point on it has been weekends full of house projects and/or company. We’ve actually had more visits than I expected this year which has been really nice. I’ve actually completed less house projects than I had hoped to this year which is life but I can point to three big items accomplished; a new heating system, a new 200 amp electrical service, and a new washer and dryer. Then I can point to a bunch of smaller items accomplished; painting, plaster repair, weather stripping, insulation here and there, tree cutting and fighting bamboo, cutting the lawn, raking leaves etc.

In no particular order here are some things we’ve have done:
We joined the Bethel Historical Society. http://www.bethelhistorical.org/
We joined the Bethel Inn Country Club. http://www.bethelinn.com/
I’m a member of the Suds’ Pub Mug Club and Dart Team. http://www.sudburyinn.com/
We’re members of Western Maine Senior College. http://sad44.maineadulted.org/western_mountains_senior_college
We’re members of the Mahoosuc Land Trust. http://www.mahoosuc.org/
We’re member of the Bethel Outing Club. http://www.wix.com/kirksmegalinknet/boc
I’m a member of the Old Speckled Hen Appreciation Society at the Jolly Drayman English Pub. http://www.briarleainn.com/

We’ve discovered a number of swimming holes and lakes we like. We had a bunch of campfires in the yard this summer. We went hiking and kayaking. We’ve discovered that woodchucks, porcupines, raccoons, mice, deer, and black bears like our home also. We’ve attended the various festivals/fairs, wine tastings, free music events and free talks they have had around here. These are the things we enjoy when we aren’t looking backard or looking forward. We continue to make new friends and acquaintances which is so much of what being part of a community is about. Happy New Year!

Holiday Greetings

I made a very limited number of these handmade Christmas cards which I sent out this year, six to be exact. For the rest of my family, friends, and to those I have not met yet, this is my virtual handmade card to you. Happy Holidays! Peter and Lauren.

Catch of the Day

Does anyone feel like having some Pork-of-Pine Soup? Well this not so little bugger was one of the rodents that have been noisily gnawing away at the floor joists below my kitchen recently and probably the same one I can thank for giving the floor in my pantry the support and feel of a trampoline.
Seeing and hearing the damage that these critters can do to a 2"x 8” was enough to make me go out and buy a Hav-a-Hart trap about a month ago. Last spring I spoke to one of the local Game Wardens about the porcupines and he told me what to use for bait: an apple cut in half, smeared with peanut butter, and covered in salt. It’s the salt that porcupines apparently love the most. So I had that apple with peanut butter and salt in the trap for almost 3 weeks before Porky decided to have a bite. Today was my lucky day and with the help of a neighbor we “relocated” it to a better place.
Now I just have to see if he has any brothers and sisters living under my crawlspace.

Lots to be Thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. It’s a beautiful and sunny 28 degree day here in Bethel this morning. In just a few hours Lauren, me, and her parents Frank and Joan will be heading over to Rooster's Roadhouse to eat our Thanksgiving Day dinner. Lauren’s parents ate at Rooster’s Roadhouse last year on Thanksgiving Day when we were still out in California but after they knew we were going to buy this house we live in now. (They have a habit of scoping out the situation as soon as they know something is happening.) So last year they came across Rooster’s Roadhouse by chance and LOVED the meal they had. We heard about how good the meal was so many times from them that it has now become a joke….”You had a good Thanksgiving at Roosters? Really, tell us again, we’ve never heard that story before.”

It has been a busy November, TBTB…Too Busy to Blog. Just over a week ago we got our new washer and dryer installed and Lauren did the first load at the house. That was on Tuesday November 16th where I had Mike Field of Field Plumbing and Heating install the washer hookup and new drain. Then later that same afternoon Brian Strickland of Autumn Electric came over to install a new 220 volt line for the dryer and a 110 volt line for the washer. I had already installed the vent cowl for the dryer exhaust the previous weekend so by the time Lauren came home from working at her new job it was all systems go and ahead of schedule. So we are thankful for our new washer and dryer.

I’m also thankful for my new $5.00 thermometer I hung outside the kitchen window. I get to see just how cold it is every morning and I write the temperature down on the calendar. It has been a mild November so far with many mornings in the mid 40’s.

Now we’re going to go workout and swim at the Bethel Inn before we chow down our Turkey dinner. I hope everyone who reads this has something to be thankful for.

The First Time I Laid Eyes on Her

It was just a year ago. The first time I drove up and saw her standing there. Quiet and solemn, I also noticed that she looked a little “rough around the edges” and yet at the same time proud about her experience. Even though she was older she appeared to have good bones, her shape was classic and it was all enough to call out to me, to catch my interest and draw me in. She stood front and center on the street and seemed to say….what you see is what you get. I got out of the car and walk around her. I looked her up and down. It wasn’t long before I knew I liked what I saw so I made an offer….and it was accepted.


Yes, it was one year ago today when our offer on this house we now live in was accepted. I still think my girl stands proud and is rough around the edges. Day by day, project by project, this house is sharing her love with us. She’s not perfect but that’s okay because neither am I.

Desire moved us to this home and I feel the love.

Past Peak but...

Due to strong winds and heavy rain a few days ago many of the leaves were blown off the trees around here. There are however pockets of protection where Mother Nature has saved some of the leaves and color such as this shot above which is located right behind by back yard. That's my stone wall at the bottom of the lower picture. I love my stone wall. I took these photos yesterday, October 18th.

Today I awoke to the first frost covering the lawn, the car, the pumpkin, and the roof shingles. Across the street I saw a lone cross country skier on his training run, poles in hand, striding up the dirt trail at the Bethel Inn & Country Club Golf Course. With the frost covering the greens at this time it was easy to imagine a few inches of snow on the ground and it will be here soon enough.

How to Remove a 248 Pound Cast Iron Tub - from the Second Floor - with Ease

Yesterday I decided it was the day to act. The goal was to get rid of the 248 pound cast iron tub located on the second floor. The other goal was not to pull a back muscle, give myself a hernia, or damage the stairs in the process. Like all big jobs sometimes the best thing to do is break the task down into smaller pieces, like 10 pound pieces. To do this the tools required were:
-Sledgehammer or Splitting Maul in my case
-Safety Goggles
-Ear plugs
-Three or four 5 gallon plastic buckets
Thankfully cast iron is a relatively soft metal and is easy to break apart. This task only took a little more than one hour including the clean up time. The five gallon plastic buckets made it easy to haul it down the stairs. We then drove it over to West Paris Metal Recycling where they unloaded, weighed it and then gave me a check for $21.08. It was a good day.