Best Life

 The weatherman got it wrong again!  When we awoke this morning - sun.  Lots of it.  New forecast - rain by one.  A quick cup of coffee then Paul began the tedious task of cutting the remaining panels on the last wall to the roof line.   We met our neighbor Tammy, a furry black lab who ignores boundaries.  Friendly enough but did not stick around long enough for "mom" Susan to catch him on her riding mower.  Only in Maine! After a trip to the transfer station, Paul focused on the jacuzzi wiring.  Purchased in 1992 we have enjoyed countless hours soaking and splashing.  Our first trouble was just prior to 2000.  A guest left the jacuzzi running, closed the house and departed.  Paul and I arrived hours later to find the house filled with smoke.  Yup - the wiring was burnt and if not for the ground fault - it could have burned the house down.  No service guy would travel to Rangeley so...Paul learned to rewire the u...

  It was a beautiful day with temps just hitting 70 and the breeze minimal until after we finished moving panels.  (Beautiful except for the pesky, numerous, persistent tsetse flies).  We started early and worked until late afternoon.  The forecast says rain for the next five days.  Ugh.   This guy's burrow entrance was so close to the saw horses where we spent most of the day.  He kept popping his head out to check us out.  (He may be a distant relative of Fenway - same eyes!) And then Fenway began barking incessantly towards the back path.  This doe was unafraid and spent a few minutes trying to figure out the noise before nonchalantly heading down my path. The last panel on the corner of the back and the last three panels on the man door side are hung.  Paul also completed inserting all the remaining screws to every wall.  There is a definite sense of having accomplished a huge part of the building.    Word of the ...

 World Redhead Day.  Redheads must be special since they are celebrated on September 23rd as Redhead Appreciation Day and again on November 20th as Kick a Ginger Day.  Our family is blessed with many redheads.                                                      Brianna, my favorite ginger with an awesome sense of humor!                                                          She can barely hold in her giggles.                                                           ...

                                                           Megan, Scott, Kevin and Cheyenne May 25, 2007 the weather was warm enough to wear shorts and dry enough to hike Bald Mountain.  How can this have been 19 years ago!  19!!  So much rain today our driveway turned into a lake and the construuction site was pure mud.  We kept the fire going to keep the dampness and chill away and settled in for a day off.   Word of the day - snerdle.  To wrap up cozily beneath the covers and hold off the day for a little longer, savoring warmth, comfort and the slow moments before stepping into the world.    Totally what we did this morning (and early afternoon!) while watching a couple movies. The rain eventually took a break and we managed a bit of work.  Paul completed the ma...

Happy Birthday Peter!  So many memories!  Beaches, boating, circus, museums and of course Maine.  One of my favorite stories - when we snowmobiled up Bald Mountain and I "broke" your arm.  Riding up between the rocks and snow and trying to stay on the trail we wound up tipping onto the side of the sled.  Since we were last in line, no one noticed.  We quickly righted the sled and continued on our way.  No one would have realized (I was always lagging behind taking pictures) but for Peter who decided to tell everyone that his arm "broke" when we "crashed".  Glad it healed before we arrived home! Today Paul and Scott continued to make huge progress on the garage building.  After completing the spray painting, the far wall went up.                                                       ...

 World Turtle Day.  I love these prehistoric creatures that cannot be rushed and thrive by moving at a leisurely pace.  This guy was at Mystic Aquarium.  We were lucky enough to see many while sailing including a very large (his head was the size of a basketball) guy floating in the Gulf Stream.  Super cool!  My bucket list includes watching hatchlings hatch and head for the ocean.   Today's word of the day - expedite.  Cause to happen faster.  Totally appropriate since Scott arrived last night (really early this morning) to help with the garage build.   Cutting the panels to tuck around the windows and the garage door - tedious. And the front is complete!  Having an additional ladder and another pair of hands (that can measure and cut and think like a carpenter) definitely accelerated the process. While they worked the front wall, I spray painted some of the remaining beams, worked on smoothing the surrounding landscape a...