Goodwill Hunting

The Goodwill in Rockland is by far the nicest thrift store I've ever been in.

I've discovered several treasures there, but one thing always breaks my heart...finding someone's handwork for sale at a mere pittance of its worth.








This is my favorite piece of rescued art...beautifully done, no?











And this - can you believe the work that must have gone into this lovely needlepoint?


I like to imagine what the women who created these (for surely, it must have been women) were thinking as they was working. It makes me happy to have made a place in our home for something that was probably dear to their hearts.

note: click on the images to enlarge for detail

Sub-Blizzard

We got quite a storm today...but no blizzard.

Which is interesting, because it had enough oomph to it to produce, along with a very heavy snowfall at times, near white-out conditions.

Is there anything that feels cozier than being inside a warm house, snuggling on the couch, while snow whirls around you?

I don't think so.





This is our garage. That little speck of orange at the bottom left-hand corner is my kayak, peeking out.








Same garage, just the end of it with the door (see the little speck of my kayak?). Snow drifts cover the bottom half of the door.

And it's still snowing!

On a side note, I wish I had removed the window screens in the fall...besides the snow sticking to them like crazy, they make for some rather psychedelic-looking photographs. :)

Day Tripping with the Grands

While they were here, I took Mom and Dad on a drive down the peninsula from Owls Head to Port Clyde.














The boats in Owls Head Harbor were picture-perfect New England.










I am still amazed that I get to live here.









The general store in Port Clyde has a little bit of everything.




I'll take you there myself if you come for a visit!

Backyard Sledding

Tracy had Christmas Eve off, and he and Jed spent the day creating a sledding hill in our side yard.











Not exactly Olympic caliber, but enough fun for a 7 year old Midwestern boy.

Then there came the blizzard...

...and there's Jed, trying to find his sledding hill. :)

The Results are In...

Not as much snow as I would have expected from a blizzard.

But still plenty of shoveling to do. :)












And snow angels to make.

Blizzard Warning

I can't tell you how excited I was to see the blizzard warning sign on our local weather website last Sunday evening.

A blizzard!

And my parents here to enjoy it with!




Of course, that was the one concern I had about the experience...that we would lose power with them here. I don't know why that would have been so much worse than losing power without them here, but it would have been.

Thankfully, we never lost power.

On the down side, if it was a real blizzard we had on Monday, blizzards are not as impressive as I would have thought.

However, you won't hear me telling anyone that when I start bragging that I've been through a blizzard in Maine. :)

To Both of Us

I was intrigued when I noticed a package under the tree labeled:

From: Tommy
To: Both of Us

I couldn't imagine what it might be, and was looking forward to finding out Christmas morning.






It turns out that when someone gives you a gift labeled to the both of you, it's really a gift for him/her. :)

My mom was a good sport about it.

I guess 53 years of marriage will do that for you.

Christmas Morning

This is my favorite picture of Jed from Christmas. It was so fun to see him get excited about the little things tucked into his stocking.

The item he's grinning about in this picture is another one of those toys I always wanted but never got.

He's not the only one grinning now. :)

Happy Anniversary

Our wedding was December 21. Yes, the longest night of the year. And yes, it was a long night. :) (sorry Mom & Dad!)

But ever since then, I've done nothing but kick myself for getting married right before Christmas. Our anniversary is always overshadowed by holiday festivities, and I always long for the leisure to celebrate it in some meaningful way.

This year I'll have to make sure to find leisure time to enjoy Tracy's gift...a bonsai garden. I love trees and am excited at the thought of growing a little forest of my own.

Melancholy Days

Mom and Dad headed back to Virginia today.



As if I wasn't feeling melancholy enough already, I just read the most poignant post on the Shutter Sisters blog. Grab a tissue and head over there if you're in the mood for a good cry.


I know I am.

Without a Doubt...

...one of the coolest things about having kids is getting to buy toys you never had but always wanted...









Hence the Magic 8 Ball. :)

Ack!

It's only the second day of the new year and I'm already in danger of blowing the only resolution I've made so far.

I had just enough time to type the first nine words in that sentence before publishing this post about 5 seconds before January 2 turned into January 3.

That's cutting it a bit too close, even for me. :)



Tomorrow is my Mom and Dad's last day in Maine, and we stayed up late talking this evening. That's become a bittersweet tradition for us, signaling the fast-approaching end of our time together.

But New Year's Eve was great! That's us, celebrating in style at Amalfi by the Water in Rockland. Not only was the restaurant choice completely Tracy's idea, he was quite the charming host. It was an evening "not to forget."

Happy New Year!

Mom and Dad have been visiting with us for the last week and a half, and I've taken to the opportunity to be a slacker like a gull takes to the wind.

However, it's the beginning of a new year, and I've resolved to post to this blog every day for the next 364 days.

If that news doesn't get you excited I don't know what would. :)

This is Mom and Dad's first visit with us since we moved back in the spring, and it's been fun showing them around our new area. That is, when we weren't wrapping presents and cooking and baking and eating everything under the sun and whupping each other in games. Oh, and hunkering down for our first BLIZZARD (more on that later). Our galavanting this New Year's day took us to Camden on the coastal highway (which runs from Fort Kent, ME all the way to Key West, FL), then up Hwy 52 a few short miles to one of the loveliest spots we've seen in Maine.






You come around a corner and suddenly there's this incredible view of the Camden Hills on your right...










...and Megunticook Lake on your left, dotted with islands.





Not a bad way to start a new year.

Hi Guys

So we got started on our annual cookie baking today.

Jed is quite the junior chef! And he only chafed a little bit when I presented him with our matching aprons and chef hats.

I found the coolest little gadget...it's a cookie cutter that stamps a printed message into the cookie, and it's completely customizable.










I don't care much for rolling out cookies, but these turned out so cute it was almost worth it. :)

Somebody Get Al Gore on the Phone!

It's been a strange week.

We had highs in the 50s the other day, while Florida was shivering in the 40s.

We had rain that melted the snow we got last week.

And we have frozen trees without much snow.

Something weird is going on.

Look What We Did Today!

If there's anything in this world prettier than a Christmas tree, for the life of me I can't think what it might be this evening.

Getting Organized

I'd been feeling kind of scattered recently, like I never knew what to do or where to start. I had a bit of an epiphany when I finally realized the cause, but it came as something of a shock, considering my love of all things organized - my house was a mess. Specifically, the schoolroom.

In addition to education, the schoolroom also serves as my "office," and more significantly, the dumping ground for all of our projects-in-progress, from paperwork to crafts.


As there was a lack of available storage in the room, the projects were strewn about on the only available surfaces - the table and the floor. Needless to say, this made spreading out Jed's schoolwork difficult at best...I was always having to shove things aside. As for the stacks on the floor, let's just say they made being in the room rather frustrating and stressful.

While brainstorming possible solutions, I remembered a chest of drawers I had picked up from someone off Craig's List back in the summer for free. It was sitting in the garage waiting to be taken to the transfer station, because it had the worst musty smell I've ever encountered (which may or may not have something to do with why it was free).

I brought the chest of drawers into the schoolroom and knew instantly it was the answer to my organizational dilemma, so I started researching solutions for the mustiness. After trying a few unsuccessfully, bleach seemed to be the only other option, but it was not feasible as the chest was made of particle board. So I started looking for another free chest of drawers.

You can imagine how successful that was. :)

However, I did end up finding a gorgeous old oak chest of drawers for $85, and I managed to talk the owner down to $60. Now came the biggest hurdle: convincing Tracy it was a good idea. It made perfect sense to me...we already had a chest of drawers in the room which would be gone if it was replaced, and I had made more than $60 profit from selling some of Jed's outgrown clothes on e-bay recently.

As I expected, though, these facts did not move Tracy.

He absolutely hates to add more belongings to our household, especially large items. We've moved several times since becoming a family, and it is likely we will move again, and he would like very much to travel lightly. This is a bit of an enigma to me, since I am the one who does all the packing and we hire help to do the actual moving, but whatever.

Anyway, while laying out all the details of my plan, which I had meticulously rehearsed, Tracy had something of an epiphany himself. He came to the realization that, although the desire to live an austere life is quite dear to him, I matter more. This is real progress for one who was used, for many years, to living unchallenged.

I got the chest of drawers!!


And not only did I get the organizational help I needed, I also discovered I made a rather profitable deal. Check out the asking price for this very-similar chest of drawers:


A little bit of stripping and refinishing and I could make enough profit to finance our next move. :)

It's Snow Time!

Finally!

I was beginning to wonder if winter was going to come this year.

There's something wrong in the universe when North Carolina gets snow before Maine.

The shame is almost overwhelming. :)

But no more!

Try, Try Again

I just experienced the weirdest thing.

I was looking for a previous post I had written about transfer stations because I found this cool little toy at ours recently, and if you haven't read that original post you might not have any idea what transfer stations are or why I love them so much.

{Case in point - the entire back of my SUV is filled again with stuff to drop off - and it will be free to the recipients! Who doesn't love free stuff?}

However, skimming through a couple of years' worth of posts made me realize something.

I think I've gotten lazy. And that comes as quite a shock.

I'd like to say I've gotten busy, but I'm not sure that's it.


It is apparent that I used to try to be witty, or at least entertaining, in my writing. Lately I've settled for posting a few pictures and calling it good, with the excuse that I'm only doing this blog for my parents and other family members and friends that might be interested in knowing what we're doing, and not folks looking to be rhapsodized. (is that a word? if it's not, it should be)

A picture's worth a thousand words, right?

Perhaps that depends on the photographer. :)

At any rate, writing a bit more thoughtfully is my first New Year's resolution. And I think I'll tackle Project 365 again next year...taking and posting at least one picture every day for the year. It was challenging to look for photograph subjects each day...but looking back at my blog, I think it was a good thing. I know I captured more of the little details of our life by doing so.

If that's not scintillating enough for the readers of this humble little blog, I don't know what would be. :D

Cleveland Botanical Garden - Part 3

This is the last installment of our trip to Cleveland.

It was a great trip to a great city.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cleveland Botanical Garden - Part 2

This was Jed's favorite part of the botanical garden - the children's garden. I could totally understand - it was a magical place, full of fantasy and whimsy and little hidden places of delight. Not to mention an awesome tree house and a pond complete with ducks.

Cleveland Botanical Garden - Part 1

This was our last, and finest, day in Cleveland. I absolutely loved the botanical garden, for many reasons, which is why this will be a 3-part series.

Can you imagine such loveliness surrounding you every which way you turn? And it wasn't even in the full bloom of spring - the leaves weren't yet out fully on the trees.

I would have loved to see this in the summer.