Return to routine, sort of...

Second day back at work after a week off. I do have New Years Day and Friday off so there is a long weekend to help me readjust to the rigorous life in the office. There are a lot of folks on vacation this week and there isn't much work for me to do. Yesterday Ian was intown shopping with the gift card to Eastern Mountain Sports his Uncle Greg's family gave him for Christmas. After finishing that he came to the office and joined me for my noontime walk. I chose the Eastern Promenade route as it was sunny and a lot of the snow had melted so we were able to walk the trail along the shoreline.

Ian standing next to a statue of George Cleeve the alleged founder of the City of Portland. The statue is near the route we were walking. Check out the link on his name.

Today's workload wasn't any better than yesterday's so I spent some time archiving 2008 proposal graphics and other odds & ends. Tonight Carol is trying to fine a decent and reasonable place to spend the night in Newton Massachusetts next week. No small task, even online. Ian is having some surgery on one of his feet at a hospital there and it's an overnight stay in the hospital so I'll take a couple of sick days to accompany him and stay overnight somewhere nearby.

Christmas finale

Saturday was our Christmas get together with my side of the family at my mother's place. A good time as usual. This year we went in on a new computer for Mom as the one she had was getting outdated. Though she mainly uses it for email, playing music, solitaire and some web browsing she now has the best computer amongst us all. The price of computers has dropped significantly the last couple of years while the technology level increases but as the case in point with our own desktop for what we do with it, it still does the job. So I spent a bit of time with my nephew Harris and we setup the computer with her internet service, her old computer was second hand with Windows Millennium while the new one is using Windows Vista so there are some very visual differences but I expect it to work out fine.

Brother Dave talking about the National Honor Society clipping from the newspaper that Mom had saved from his high school days which included his picture.

Nephew Eric and his girlfriend Kalie.

The line up nieces - Melissa, Lindsey, Deanna and Sarah.

Nephews Danny and Harris.

Mom watching the grand kids opening gifts.

Jay, Kathy, Dennis, Doreen, Jen, her mom, Carolyn and Marc.

Jay and Dennis sharing an observation.

Dave soaking it all in.

Melissa sporting a new way of accessorizing with stuffed animals.

Mom trying to figure out what this gift was all about, computers are not very glamorous looking when you get down to it.

I really need to pay a little more attention to taking better pictures that includes not being a pain to everyone but so I get enough that show everyone in a good light.

Dear Santa

I hope all is well at the North Pole after another successful holiday season. A well deserved rest is in order for you and your project team. Meeting demanding budget constraints and managing cost overruns during these challenging financial times do prove perilous for some. That aside I'd like you to know how much my family and I appreciate our gifts and more so the time we spend together during the Christmas season as well as: charitable donations to those in dire straits and other difficult circumstances, support of those who's efforts are directed towards moving conflicts to peaceful resolutions, those in law enforce maintaining order in our neighborhoods, first responders to disasters, highly trained medical professionals to treat our injuries and illnesses, and the nice people we interact with on a daily basis. No matter how tough times get we have a lot to be thankful for.

Keep up the good work and have a good off season.

Sincerely,
just a little is enough

Christmas at home

A nice quiet Christmas at home with Carol and Ian. Carol started the day by baking a batch of doughnut muffins for breakfast. We both grew up with a Christmas that included doughnut muffins, the recipes were slightly different but both are heavy on a coating of cinnamon and sugar. Shortly after munching down a couple of muffins we gathered in the living room followed closely by the household critters - all the rattling of gift wrap must mean there's something for them to eat.

Ian checking out a new rugby shirt.

E'owyn with her rawhide chew gift which shortly after this photo was taken she threw up what she had eaten... where else? On the carpet. Patches also had a rawhide with no ill effects.

Carol with an biography of her
favorite president, Andrew Jackson.

Scotia tormenting her new toy seen here
dangling below her scratching post perch.

Glorious mess after all the gifts were open. I enjoy letting the wrapping paper and gift packaging lay around awhile before tidying up.

After checking out and talking about the gifts we exchanged I was outside mounting a temperature and humidity sensor transmitter for the wireless weather thermometer Ian gave me. After lunch Carol and I went for a three mile walk and upon returning Ian had left for a field walk in the snow out on our property behind the house. Came across some deer tracks and some spots where it appeared they had laid down on the edge of the woods.

Santa's snowday

With a big snowstorm heading our way we had our Christmas get together Sunday at our house with Carol's side of the family. Lois came by herself as Jim was on call for snowplow duty. Elaine and her son and his wife were here but Steve, Elaine's husband stayed home with a nasty cold. Our visitors arrived around 10am and it wasn't much later when the snow arrived. The forecasted snow amounts had been increased since my last blog, looking at 12 to 20 inches by the end of it all Monday morning. So with our missing family members accounted for and a storm in the works we had a go on the food that was brought together for the occasion. Now here's a surprise - we started with the batch of Glögg that Lois brought. With the group of us surrounding the counter island in the kitchen just carrying on talking while waiting for the Glögg to heat up. After we had our glasses passed around we began digging into brunch followed by the gift exchange.

Plenty of good eats.

Elaine, Ian and Carol taking in the action across the coffee table.

Patches and Lois - Meghan and Mark, who are
expecting their first child next month.

Lois showing off the Swedish Weave table runner that
Carol made for her.

By then the snowstorm was well underway so as our guests departed around 2pm there was already 4 inches on the ground.

Snow coming on strong - photo taken with a flash reflection.

The temperature continued to drop through the late afternoon. From brunch leftovers we rustled up some supper and as Carol, Ian and I were relaxing in the living room - poof - out go the lights... as with everything else electric. With the storm roaring in full blast mode I wasn't too keen on dragging the generator out onto the deck which by then had 10 or 12 inches of blown snow on it so we fired up a few candles on the dining room table and brought out the Rummikub game. Near the end of the second round the power came back on, we finished the game, then we went abouts resetting the clocks and such. Nice timing because I was considering getting the generator going after we finished that second round - all in all the power was out for almost 2 hours, not bad at all and playing Rummikub by candlelight was more fun than watching TV. The next morning was when the real fun began. Both Carol and I have the week off. As it ended up I'd say we had 12-14 inches of snow in our yard. My goal was to get the driveway cleared up so Ian would be able to leave on time for his national EMT (emergency medical technician) test. Lo and behold barely 5 minutes into it the snowthrower stopped moving - no power to the wheels. A broken linch pin that connected the axle to the chain drive had worn out and broke away. I was able to find a bolt that fit and with Carol's help we made the repair though I knew the bolt wasn't the appropriate strength for the job. By the time it failed I was able to clear enough of the drive way to get the vehicles out. Then I made a trip to the hardware store for the proper linch pin and several spares after which we finished clearing up all the areas we wanted.

Today was relatively easy going, took the PT in for an oil change, made the rounds to finish my Christmas shopping and made it home shortly before Carol who was out picking up a couple of gifts herself. We even took a long walk along the slightly slushy roads occasionally getting sprayed with slush by passing vehicles - not recommended, just a little is enough.

It's not winter yet...

...don't let the winter equinox sneak up on you.

A pretty good snowstorm blew through yesterday. Now it looks like winter - which doesn't officially start until tomorrow. Well that will be rectified right at the beginning. We have a good old nor'easter arriving tomorrow afternoon, forecast for our location is 10 to 16 inches. For today we cleaned up the snow we had, about 5 inches, drove down to Windham to pick up a few things. Carol began cooking for a Christmas get together here with her sister's Lois and Elaine and their families. Buffet style brunch and gift exchange. I anticipate that the worst of the storm will hold off until everyone gets home.

Ian returned home from college for the holiday break - he was ready for time home, he's had a pretty full semester and another one to come. Today he put the ornaments on the tree. The image at the top of this blog is of one of my favorite decorations for Christmas, displaying the Christmas cards and photos we receive. I attach them along the beam that runs across our living room. We only sent our cards out today, we always say we'll make them ourselves (which we've done in the past) and get them out early but here we are, four days before Christmas using cards we bought. To those of you in Sweden, I think our cards will be late, but next year...

Long day in less time

Feeling rather low on energy at a early point of the evening so I feel as I might if I'd stayed up late. We all have those days occasionally where the sum total of the day's activities catches up with us. The day began with snow falling, nice normal snow. You can drive in it without much trouble though there always seems to be those people in their 4 wheel drive SUVs going 20 miles per hour as though they may careen into a utility pole at any moment. I find driving behind such folk energy sapping. I like to pick up the pace in snow, the PT seems to handle it nicely enough. preparations for the holiday luncheon plus some regular work keep me busy throughout the morning once I arrived at the office. The luncheon was terrific, seemed everyone had a good time before getting back to our jobs. The snow had stopped by noontime but the drive home was pretty sloppy. At the house we had about 3 inches of snow, Carol took the shovel and cleaned off the deck and patio while I did the driveway and parking area with the snowthrower. After supper I did a little extra snow removal and now it's a matter of a few odds and ends, watch one of our favorite TV shows and get to bed.

Holiday time at the office

Tomorrow is our yearly Holiday Luncheon at the office. It's like a community dinner, everyone brings in a prepared dish to share, some sign up for bringing the beverages, condiments or desserts. Every year my department chips in for a sandwich platter from a nearby Subway which I arrange and collect the money for. Though not made at home people like to include a sandwich portion on their plate to accommodate the other choices they make of what are some wonderful taste treats. Crock pots galore with meatballs, chilies, stews, beans, mini wieners. Several varieties of macaroni salads, dip platters and one of the managers brings in an order of hot wings that will burn the skin off your lips, I'm good for a couple of those. There always seems to be something new brought in that becomes the "have you tried the 'whatever' that so and so brought in?" dish. Enough desserts to overload the Jenny Craig hotline. We don't have one single large room where we can all eat together but we do have four conference rooms connected by a somewhat narrow hallway. The food is laid out in three different areas and people settle in one conference room or another where they kick back tell stories, joke around, it's a good group of people to work with and just plain nice to gather for a brief time each year in a festive atmosphere. Our admin staff puts a lot of effort into setting things up and the clean up afterwards. I provide the table cloths which is a holiday border I designed printed on rolls of 36 inch wide paper from engineering plotter which is then laid across the reference and conference room tables. There are usually several people involved in a project with a deadline but they still manage to escape and grab a plate of food then retreat to their desk. I'll be walking a few extra miles to burn off these calories.

Yo-Yo Weather

Wow, from 20 degrees and colder with ice everywhere I could see to 55 degrees today and all the ice you see in the pictures of yesterday's blog is gone. I was terribly overdressed in layers when I went for my noontime walk. I had to shed my jacket and unzip my sweater it was so mild. Tomorrow is another story again, suppose to drop at least 20 degrees from today's temperatures and maybe snow on Wednesday. The recent weather conditions sure can keep one's attention.

Ice Storm weekend

We certainly received our share of the ice storm though far from the worst impact. As of this morning there were still over 58,000 homes and businesses in Maine without electricity and over 200,000 in New Hampshire. Last I heard Ian's campus still had their power after having lost it for a period of time Friday. I awoke Friday with the ice coating just getting started after an inch of slushy snow/sleet blanketed everything. Not a good combination with a drop in temperatures expected after the ice storm. I made ready and then left for work, Carol had the day off. As I approached Portland the traffic lights were out as well as lights in the various houses and business I passed. Once I arrived in town Portland there was electricity in my office's area but the surrounding neighborhoods the power was out. Around 9am Carol called me, the power was out at home. I left the office awhile later, once at home I broke out the generator and power up the house then cleaned out the driveway the best the snowthrower could do. Carol had already shoveled out the driveway opening, the deck and patio areas. Now the fortunate part is that the electricity came back on early in the evening and all has been good since. Back in the ice storm of 1998 we went without power for 13 days. A few months later we bought the generator - not going through that again. Southern Maine, where one of my brothers and his family live, was one of the hardest hit areas in the state.

Here are our icy pictures from Friday and Saturday:



Saturday Carol and her sisters went to their Aunt Marie's in Massachusetts for her annual Glögg party. Basically a family get together where among other things they enjoy a traditional Swedish beverage known as Glögg. Glögg is a Swedish drink for a cold winter evening which is heated, spiced and sweetened wine. After dropping Carol off bright and early with the sisters I headed out for breakfast at Denny's then took care of some Christmas shopping before heading home. Did some tasks around the house until picking up Carol early in the evening. The night's Netflix movie was Failure to Launch (2006) with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. Very funny, check it out if you get a chance.

Today was "install" the Christmas tree day. We have an artificial tree - my preference. It looks fine, doesn't shed needles, requires no watering and we've had it long enough to have paid for itself. Granted we don't get that pine tree smell. I guess I could step outside and cut off a nearby tree branch and bring a chunk of it in for the smell... not likely.

I was being watched with great suspicion by one...

...and a lot less suspicion by another.

I put the lights on it, now it awaits Ian's arrival to decorate. Scotia finds the tree a handy place to hunker down under, speaking of the house feline I built her Christmas gift today - a combo scratch post/perch (to replace a certain chair she was in the process of destroying). We'll see how that works out.

A December with a mind of it's own

In comes the ice storm, forecast calls for one half to an inch of ice over night. At least I have the generator ready, with that much ice somebody is going to lose their power. Right now I can hear the falling ice pinging the windows and when I stick my head out the door I can hear thousands of those pings hitting the ice crystallized ground. It all seems so early in the season for this bit of weather. I actually looking forward to the clear and cold that is being forecasted for Saturday.

Everyone should have an all weather coat

I have five days vacation to use by the end of the year. I just needed to decide which days to take off. Carol is taking off the week of Christmas so I'll be doing the same, with the Christmas Day Holiday that's four vacation days and I can carry some time over to the next year so I'll take that fifth day over to January 2nd. That gives me nine straight days off, back to work for three days then a four day weekend to recover from those three days. Other than what I described in the earlier blogs I have no particular plans for what I'll be doing, plenty to choose from, I'll figure it out when the time comes.

The wacky weather continues, 5 degrees on Monday, an inch of snow on Tuesday, rain and 55 degrees on Wednesday. By tomorrow morning we're suppose to have freezing rain throughout the day into the evening followed by a clear cold Friday-Saturday. I thought I was erratic.

In spite of the damp weather I went for a walk at lunchtime. If it had been pouring rain I was going to consider stopping at one of the local pubs and have a conversation with a pint of Guinness but it was only raining slightly so off I went. Here are some pictures I took during the walk. Nothing in particular.

I'm here, then there, and never moved

So far it has been a bit of a laid back week at the office... with a twist. I'm being reorganized. Shouldn't be too painful mind you, it's mostly a paper thing. I and my position will move from "operations" to "corporate" and I should still be doing mostly what I already do - though I will be in a different chain-of-command. The scenery doesn't change - same cubical in the cube farm - same window to gaze out of, which today included snow. Yeah, we had about an inch, both at the office and at home. Had to clean off the car to go home and I cleaned off the deck and patio areas at home. Now it's suppose to rain like crazy over the few days. I plan on just rolling with whatever we get, never at a loss for something to do no matter what the weather... or the job.

No snow is good snow until...

The forecasted snow fall never occurred, I'm not sad about that and I don't mind waiting a while longer to fire up the snowthrower. There will be piles of the stuff soon enough.

I'm looking forward to this week's workload at the office. Though I like to be kept busy to the point of being on the brink of disaster the last three weeks or so has been near the DEFCON 1 level - I'm hoping for something like DEFCON 3 to carry me into the Holidays. The work that has keep me the busiest through this time has been the type I enjoy - just too many things at once. Also, I have at least 6 days of vacation left for the year that I'd like to scatter amongst the remainder of 2008. I do need to start thinking about Christmas shopping, I've ordered a couple of items, got another couple in mind but still need a few more ideas. The extended family Christmas gatherings will happen before and after the actual Christmas Day which will be just Carol , Ian and I. On the Sunday before we're having Carol's side of the family over for a brunch style get together, then on the Saturday (I think) after Christmas my side will have our traditional get together at my mother's house. Usually the three events get spread over a slightly longer period of time so this year works out real well. Next weekend I'll install the Christmas tree (it's artificial so it's installed) and after Ian comes home from college he'll decorate it with Carol's timely suggestions. Perhaps we'll even have some snow for the occasion. Can't wait.

a December Sunday begins

Today has begun with a light dusting of the white stuff, forecast calls for three inches total by tomorrow morning. I expect to fire up the snow thrower and clear out the usual areas in case the snow doesn't melt away before the next time.

Happy Birthday to my brother Dennis. He doesn't spend much time reading blogs and such so I've sent him a card which I'd do anyway. Over the years my siblings and I traditionally send each other cards that poke fun at each other or are at least on the goofy side. The one I sent Dennis evolved nuns partying in a open trailer being pull by a tractor - subtle humor.

Progress across the galaxy... and around the next corner

Finally finished the next to last Asimov's I have in my possession and I'm a third of the way into Neal Asher's Polity Agent. As it turned out there were some stories in Asimov's that I found quite interesting including the featured novella The Hob Carpet by Ian R. MacLeod which takes the reader to a place where the humans are never alone when the much taken for granted "hobs" cater to their every need. I say again, the art of the short story never ceases to amaze me. As much as I enjoy a good scifi novel the ability to write a narrative that paints a picture of a subject far from reality and then wraps it up within relatively a few pages is an art form in itself. Polity Agent is the fourth book featuring Agent Ian Cormac, Earth Central Security who finds himself on the mend after having his body practically completely destroyed escaping the destruction of the dreadnought Jack Ketch. Ian takes up the investigation of the giant entity known as Dragon while other ECS operatives and those with evil intent pursue the acquisition of the dangerous Jain Technology.

Thanksgiving Day Weekend

Returned today with Ian from Thanksgiving Day holiday up north with Carol's mother. Carol and Lois stayed up an extra day as they continue to help fix and clean up the around Margaret's house after the renovation of her living room and entry way. The major portions of the work entailed painting, wallpapering, mounting roman shades on all the windows and installing a chair rail all around the living room. We enjoyed a terrific Thanksgiving Day dinner at their Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Mevin's house which included granddaughter Brianna, and family friends Jim and Jan. Of special food note was the sweet potato casserole that Margaret brought, very decedent indeed. We had Patches and E'owyn with us and all in all they were very well behaved, including the ride up and back.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

It's in the air

Snowflakes drifting in the dark. I was in the back yard after arriving home from work last night, first I heard the snow hitting the fallen leaves, then looking about - seeing the future of the season reflected in the cast of the floodlights. In the end there wasn't enough snow falling to amount to anything, just a memo that they're here. The temperatures now are below normal for this time of year, with steady winds to drive the chill into the gaps of our clothing. The forecast is much the same through Sunday after which there may be a storm brewing. We'll need to stay tuned for further developments in the next few days. Tomorrow I'll have my studded winter tires put on the truck, throw a few concrete blocks in the back and I'm good to go. Weekend plans, prep the snowthower, then I'm really ready to party.

Fenced in

Carol and I finished the fencing today. The last major yard project of the year - just in time as the weather is making a turn toward colder temperatures.

The fence is staggered front and back stockade style pickets. The pickets are a gray (weathered looking) composite material, the posts and cross pieces are pressure-treated which we expect will gray out eventually and compliment the shade of the pickets.

We designed the gate to be the same height as the fencing and an opening with a sill for leaning on. Also part of the dog containment system which Patches en devours to bypass at his own discretion.

35 years between flat tires

Jumped into the Cruiser after work last night and headed out to pickup Carol before heading home. It's damp and dreary (again). I'm hearing a bit of a thump, thump, thump as I'm buzzing down the street... yeah I do seem to be listing to the corner where the sound is coming from. I finally pull over, get out of the car and sure enough the right rear tire is flat. I give Carol a call that I'm running late then I get the jack out and drop the tire from beneath the car. I have AAA but unfortunately I'm able bodied enough to take care of it myself. Just glad it wasn't raining as it had been earlier. Of course the spare tire is one of those mini's. As it turns out the original tire was unrepairable so I had to buy a new one - $128 mounted, I put it back on myself tonight.

Today Carol and I took a shot at finishing our recent fencing project next to the deck but the rain picked up and that ended the attempt for the day. Try again tomorrow.

This just in - cats are not fond of
being out in the rain.

Dogs just don't have a clue.

Remembering those who served

Veterans Day 2008

My thanks to all who have served our country in Afghanistan and Iraq and all previous conflicts in places far from home, family and friends. We have a great country and our veteran's commitment keeps it that way.

The photos are of the Town of Raymond, Maine's Veterans Memorial which was dedicated on Memorial Day 2007 after a lengthly fundraising effort organized by resident Howard Stiles. It is a project that the community can take great pride in.



The embedded video (16:24 long) is footage of WWII taken by army photographer Albert Fagler in 1944 recently found in a Englewood, Colorado basement and was shown on Monday evening's NBC Nightly News. The clarity is incredible, there is no audio.

Just a weekend at home

Tidied up a few stacks of my stuff with the weather being damp and dreary, I wasn't much inclined to work around the yard. The two main places I pile papers, magazines, newspaper and assorted mailings are around my computer desk and an area of the kitchen island counter. Nothing life threatening. I took on the kitchen counter version. My mother-in-law Margaret is visiting from up north and had stayed at Lois' Friday night and they came for lunch Saturday before heading with Carol to a holiday craft fair at a nearby high school. That was the incentive to clear my stuff out. After sorting out the trash part and separating the recyclables what remained was moved to the piles on my desk where someday soon it will be re-sorted with what was there before - you know the drill. This happens to coincide with part of what my older sister has been doing lately. On her blog she tells of cleaning house spiritually which includes clearing physical spaces to help unclutter the mind. It's a little more complicated than that to describe but the clearing out and organization of our personal spaces always is good for helping ourselves get our act together no matter what we're trying to accomplish. After being left to my own devices after the visitors and Carol left I moved to the attic over the garage with the low end goal was to create space for the patio furniture but also some general cleanup there as well. Wasn't going to happen. I could clear the space I needed by moving a few things around but cleaning out the junk... It's at least a two day job. The status of the attic has been that way for years. A former neighbor who sold his house and moved away last year said this to me, "start cleaning out your stuff NOW. Take it from my present experience you really have no idea how much stuff you have that you don't need until you move out or if you pass away those that you leave behind will have to deal with." I believe him. To do that - the garage, the attic overhead, all the nooks and crannies in the house, cripes, even my cubical at the office - would take a week of constant work. Carol and I have lived in this house almost 25 years now, that's a lot of collecting. Since coming up with that kind of time for those tasks isn't going to happen I can only hope to take out a little here and there faster than I bring in more stuff. Disposing of things aren't that simple either. You can't (shouldn't) just throw all the stuff away. Some of it can go to thrift shops, some get separated for recycling, somethings could be considered hazardous materials. In spite of it all I think we can someday make progress dealing with it all - hopefully long before I get carted away.

Reading list update

Though I have a prized Neal Asher book waiting in the wings I decided to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as a change of pace from my sci-fi books. As Pandora's Star was such an epic novel I felt like toning it down a little before jumping into Asher's Polity Agent. Not that a Potter episode is a walk in the park but I expect Polity Agent to be an epic story in it's own right much as has been the novels of the storyline preceding it.

I've also started the June 2008 issue of Asimov's. The last issue had some very satisfying stories in it it. So far the first two stories in this issue are OK, just don't measure up as well. More stories left to read in this issue so there's hope for those.

Woodsmen doing their thing

Saturday Carol, Patches and I went to Durham to watch Ian at the UNH Lumberjacks Woodsman Fall Meet. A sunny breezy and cool day as the host team the Lumberjacks put on a well organized meet. There were six colleges participating most with multiple teams - men's and women's (Jacks & Jills). Visiting teams were: Unity College, Dartmouth College, UMaine, Colby College and U Connecticut. Fourteen events broken into singles, doubles and team participation. The spectator turnout of what I would guess was mostly parents and other relatives all seemed to me enjoying themselves many of whom brought their own dogs (who else's?) This of course made for chatting with each other about their pets and pets we left at home and had in the past.

Here Ian has completed one of his axe throws hitting the target. I haven't heard from him about it but as he hit the target on all his throws I'm guessing he came in first.

While watching one of the events I heard the squealing and laughing of a toddler behind me only to turn and see the cause of such enjoyment - Patches had the little girl and her grandmother totally under his control.

Ian doing the Horizontal Chop

Team Cross Cut

Bow Saw

Log Roll

The UNH team with plenty of spirit after a long day which had yet a longer way to go as they still had to clean up and put gear away after all was said and done.