Brutal Cold

Painful stuff, cold as it is tonight. 7 degrees at supper time with a mighty wind blowing. I went out to drag the trash to the end of the driveway for morning pick up and to clear the ridge of snow left by last night's plow truck after having myself cleared the driveway with the snowthrower. So I'm out there tonight fully covered, heavy coat, lined pants, thick socks in LL Bean boots, woolly mittens and a felt face mask and still managed to come in with numbed fingers and toes that still tingled 45 minutes after coming in the house. Still, it's a bright clear star filled night. It would have been foolish not to gaze up at the brightly lit sky made even more stunning by the light of an almost full moon that reflects off the fresh snowfall from the previous evening. The forecast for New Years Day is for a huge snowstorm with accumulation measured in feet. I won't be able to sit this one out.

Flash photo from last night's snowfall.

sharp white lines abound
lonely tree grazed by winter
later more will come

Holiday Greetings

Happy Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas tomorrow everyone. We'll be making pancakes for breakfast before the three of us and the critters gather by our Christmas tree and exchange gifts. A little later we'll begin a "Lord of the Rings" Trilogyfest interrupted by a late lunch/early ham dinner. So grab your hobbits and avoid the cave trolls, it's off to Middle Earth we go.

Festive tree sparkling
Three kings approach the manger
Peace on Earth for all

Christmas Eve Day day off

An open ended day off here on Ledge Hill. Not much specific planned, I'll tagged along with Carol for some grocery shopping and pick up a few things at Walmart. That may be interesting as it would be naive to think that will be a calm venue. I can see it now, 20 items or fewer line with 20 people lined up and an average of 20 items or more waiting their turn. Can't wait to make some friends in that queue. Aside from that I'm sure I'll putter from one thing to another during the course of the day.

Queue for gifts enough
Echos through cavernous aisles
Debit cards reign now

Take a day off and you just want another

It must be the "I have to use up my vacation before the end of the year" syndrome. After taking two-week long vacations and a day here and there I came into December with five days of vacation left and the "use it or lose it" policy in effect. Does that sound like a bad thing? In the old days people use to hold over vacation and build up months worth of time off which hung over the employer's payroll like a day of reckoning was about to become a cataleptic event if half the staff decided to take a six month sabbatical at the same time. Those days are over and a lot of companies are working harder than ever to contain their expenses. So here I am almost scrambling to stay out of the office in spite of the expectations of co-workers needing some work from me. Then they take off for a couple of days?!? I just threw that in, common gripe among the bottom of the food chain in any industry. Yesterday's day off had me thinking about more of the same so I am eager to sprinkle a few more nuggets of off time through the last couple of weeks of the year. My plan, Thursday and Monday for a four-day Christmas weekend, then next Thursday for a three-day New Years weekend followed by the depression of having no vacation to begin the new year. All part of the work life routine.

Clocks count the minutes

Fortune are the days away

Returning rested

The Christmas Season

We officially kicked-off Christmas week at our household today. Ian and I set up our Christmas tree then I added the lights and Ian finished it by putting on the ornaments. Carol was busy finishing off the Christmas cards and some gift wrapping. Tomorrow we go to Elaine's to celebrate the holiday on Carol's side of the family. Carol's mother will be there, Monday she'll take a flight to Texas to spent the winter with Greg's family.

Patches, Ian and E'owyn getting

into the Christmas spirit.

______________________________

Ornaments abound

Graceful against evergreen sky

Crystal lights within

Another winter begins

As recently as last Wednesday the noontime temperature in Portland was 68 degrees, today I'm looking at 5 inches of snow. Well it is December, the streak of mild weather had to end sometime. Though the forecast calls for more snow on this Wednesday I'm hoping for a repeat of higher temps just through another weekend to finish up a few more outdoor tasks.

Cold front beckons change

Winter blanket has arrived

Moonlight spreads a chill

Thanksgiving Day weekend wrapup

Thumbs up for the long holiday weekend. Thanksgiving Day dinner with sister Doreen and her family was terrific. On our way Carol, Ian and I picked up my mother. Both my brothers, Dennis with his girl friend Deb, Dave and their families were there and though she wasn't able to have dinner with us sister Kathy, her daughter with her fiancee, Joe, stopped by for a visit later after dinner. Jimmy, Kathy's son was able to join us for dinner. Besides the traditional menu items from turkey to pies we had parsnips and a pumpkin soup that Carol made. The wines were provided by the family connoisseur, Dennis. I enjoyed being so immersed with family that I forgot to take any pictures and come to think neither did anyone else.

Friday Ian and I mostly hung around the house as the day became very rainy while Carol joined her sisters Lois and Elaine with her grandson Brock to go to a craft fair then a gift shop followed by lunch at the Maine Bean. Ian and I did eventually venture out to run a couple of errands. That evening we watched this week's Netflix DVD, Star Trek. Great SciFi scenes and the story was good enough to make it worthwhile.

Saturday was a trip to the IKEA in Stoughton, MA which is south of Boston. Carol has been there a couple of times so we decided to make a day of it so she could show Ian and I some of the furniture items she's interested in getting plus we did pickup some stuff while we were there. We had a good time browsing our way through the place. We had nice lunch in the cafeteria they have and Carol even convinced me we could use a chaise lounge love seat combo. Go figure.

Here Ian and Carol are checking out

workspace tables and shelves.

This is the view leaving IKEA.

Carol basking in the euphoria

of a visit to IKEA.

Today Ian returned to campus and will be back in a couple of weeks or so for the holiday/semester break. Carol and I have been doing a variety of things as we bring the long the weekend to a close. Lots to do at work this week though I'm hoping to snatch a day off here and there leading up to Christmas.

Time filled completely

Thanksgiving moments linger

More tidings to come

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving Day and safe travels wherever you may go to celebrate. We'll be having dinner with my sister Doreen's family as will most of my siblings and their families. On the way there we'll pick up my mother (sorry, she doesn't do a "turkey" cake, see Easter blogs). I'm extra pleased that I'm not suffering from a cold malady as I have had at the last two holiday gatherings held at Doreen's. Puts a bit of a damper on things.

Ian arrived home from UNH for the Thanksgiving break. Nowadays things at the gatherings are quite different with most of the nieces and nephews being young adults involved in college, jobs etc. Still a few are around the 8 to 12 age group.

Special holiday thoughts are for sister Judi in Florida and her family as well as Carol's brother Greg in Texas and his family.

Cool autumn breezes

family voices greeting

warm in the moment

Tree Work

A beautifully mild November weekend is upon us, Carol and I have taken advantage of it by taking down a backyard tree. Though nice to look at in the summer it is a bit of a scrub tree with gnarly branches, leaves that turn dark brown and curl up before dropping to the ground and become more litter than the spectacle of autumn's regular offerings. Our weekend project of late has been installing new post and rail fencing, the scrub tree had a lean which brought it over part of where the fencing will pass. I felt that as the years pass by the tree was positioned in such a manner that weather or disease might bring it down resulting in damaging our project.

Weapon of choice for the job - my trusty Craftsman electric chainsaw and a hundred feet of extension cord.

Appeared to be a straight forward job and it went well enough but for a simple looking tree there sure was a mess of branches created as I cut it up into brush pile fodder.

Time for the pooches to inspect the carnage. Our cat Scotia spent the day napping in the house (go figure). She occasionally would show her tree climbing prowess on this particular specimen so as she meandered out this evening she may be wondering what heck had been going on while slumbering on the couch.

Japanese culture

My friend over at Five Reflections along with his wife like to dabble in Haiku's, a form of Japanese poetry. It's an intriguing form of writing that I remember from High School and when 5R blogged about them I posted one in the comments with a nod to my blog. This past weekend I posted one that was a more straight forward creation.

Winter chill beckons
Snowflakes soft upon the air
Drift downward silent

~inspired by the winter weather preview

we experieced last week.

A-1 November weather

Sunny and warm November weekend. Did some outdoor yardwork and Carol worked inside winterizing the windows then gave me a hand putting up some of that fencing we brought home a couple of weeks ago. Temperatures were in the 60s today which had me reminiscing of a November day 27 years ago on a similarly warm day when Carol, Lois and I from a kit built a utility shed on the land that Carol and I eventually built our house on. Funny thing is, from lack of use the now "old shed" has fallen into disrepair and has been taken over by ants and mice. When I get a chance I need to tear it down as it's a property liability.

Carol and Lois doing a little roofing back in
the day before "do-it-yourself" was cool.

Out there on the fringe again

I've been much absorbed recently reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I'm about 3 quarters through it and the story has been building constantly to an event of immense proportions. This is deep space, far into the future stuff, gritty yet sophisticated. This is not a happy book, grim work is afoot in a story that transpires over 3 timelines that span over 40 years as the main characters finally come together for each of their own purposes. I am totally blown away reading this and it is Reynolds' first published novel (2000). I bought the book used for $2 from a bookrack on the sidewalk outside a bookstore in Portland, great value considering it contains over 200,000 words. I've been working my way through it for a month now as my reading time consists of a few minutes here and there with the occasional half hour or so thrown in. I will follow up on other of Reynolds work which includes sequels to this book.

A good weekend

The weekend has been pretty good - Ian was home for Friday night. He had his own cold to deal with as mine is slowly winding down. He had a OA business meeting Saturday morning to attend before heading back to campus. Brief as the visit was it was awfully good to see him. The dogs go crazy themselves when they see him. Patches walks with the swagger of a dog who robbed the cookie jar and didn't get caught. Saturday was a washout as it was so I spent a good part of the day working on the church newsletter I do monthly. Today Carol and I traveled to my mother's to winterize her windows. It was fun to visit with her and she had made a hardy chicken noodle soup and sandwiches for lunch. Now that we're home I'm finishing off the day watching by football games and some computer projects.

Theory yet to be tested

I'm willing to bet that best action one can take to knockout a cold is to shutdown for 3 or 4 days. Otherwise bear the burden for a week or more depending on how little rest one gets.

Sitting on the fence

Still having my ups and downs with my cold, no fun. Did go into work late. I went to pick up some post and rail fencing that we had been waiting for. Made two previous trips to the place with no luck but with the latest shipment having arrived yesterday I needed to get right to it. Now the trick is to find the time to install it before the ground freezes for the winter.

Heard on the street while running an errand from the office today as I passed an elderly couple walking arm in arm along the busy sidewalk with the woman saying "we wouldn't be having this trouble if we had an iPhone." Must have a problem solving "app".

Lingering effects

Awoke this morning with my brain floating in and out of focus and feeling like I could topple over any moment. Actually cooked breakfast and tried to read the Sunday paper in that state hoping a couple of cups of strong coffee would straighten out the neurons and synapses of my mind into some kind of order. I think that the cold medicines I've been taking have built up to a point that some of it had actually set up housekeeping in the dark recesses of my mind. So no more cold medication today, I took a nap after breakfast, felt a little better and took care of one of my chores, had lunch then settled in to watch the start of a couple football games and took another nap. The symptoms of my cold have faded a bit and I'm planning on not taking any medication before bed tonight unless I start coughing and can't get any sleep but it hadn't been a problem during my naps so I think I'm on the up swing.

Pilot to ground control, ah... which way is up?

Still flying at a low altitude with a cold as my co-pilot. I almost stayed home from work a second day but I started feeling a little energetic so I went in a little late and got started. Several things I had commitments to work on needed to be pushed and several drop in tasks came through as well the following day. All the while my cold has lingered on. Today it's still with me. Still taking a cold medicine that gives me a spacey sensation - what else is new. The nighttime version does a good job of suppressing the coughing and I sleep well though the brain is still cloudy for awhile after getting out of bed. At least today I've been able to take care of some work around the house and I've winterized the camper. That will be going into storage two weeks from now.

Catching a cold

Only a month into autumn, real winter is still two months away and I've managed to catch a cold. The signs have been with me for a few days, not that it always means it will develop into the full blown condition. Even now it's centered in my upper chest and throat but I awoke this morning with a boulder sized headache and decided to cash in a sick day from the cube farm. I've got the meds I'll need, a bit of breakfast, coffee, checked e-mail, read yesterday's fishwrap, read a bit of the book of the moment and done some napping already and still an hour from lunchtime. Probably repeat the process this afternoon to some extent. I have yet turned on the TV or any music/radio stuff, accompanied only by the sounds from the road, dogs moving from one place to lay to another, the wind blowing steadily through the trees with their multi-colored leaves as the foliage reaches it's peak in these parts. The dogs get a reprieve from a day in the pen, they take advantage to go in and out on a whim at their convenience as opposed to the mending human getting his rest. Don't blame them a bit.

34th Anniversary

We had a rainy day for our 34th Anniversary. Began it with a second trip to a fencing company in an attempt to pick up some post and rail fencing and left empty handed as a customer that came just before we arrived bought out most of the stock. New shipment coming in by Tuesday so I'll try to jump in on that. We brought the dogs along for the ride. E'owyn loves watching the world go by as she constantly peers out the back seat window. Patches likes curling up in the corner to await whatever destination we arrive at. So to make something positive out of our trek I realized we were in my mother's neck of the woods so I gave her a call to see if she was home, and was. So we dropped by to visit over a couple cups of coffee. This evening Carol and I drove to Portland to have dinner at RiRa's Irish Pub. She had the Shepherds Pie with a glass of Chardonnay and I had the Guinness N' Beef stew with a glass of the stout itself. Our table overlooked a Norwegian cruise ship in port for the day. Our desserts were the raspberry pound cake and a chocolate mousse accompanied by strong coffee from a French press. Then we took a walk along the cruise ship followed by window shopping through the Old Port. Even with the rain it was a terrific time.

Scot for a day

This weekend Carol, Ian, his friend Dan and I found ourselves at the 34th New Hampshire Highland Games held at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH. Actually we planned it that way. We've attended this event a couple of times before, been about three or fours since the last time. Something magical about being surrounded by bagpipes, scones, weaponry, haggis and people in kilts. Beautiful sunny day with a strong wind blowing made quite a challenge for vendors in their awning covered booths.

We arrived about 9:30 to claim a level spot to set our folding chairs on the Loon Mountain ski slope overlooking the athletic field. This becomes our base station for the day as the chairs save our place while we wander about the ground as a place to return to to eat rest and what the highland games competition take place.

View of the athletic field with the lodge behind it.

These two pictures show the crowd that is drawn to see the caber toss among other events.

Folks lining up to enjoy such Scottish staples as bangers, meat pies, haggis and thumps just to mention a few.

Pipe and drum band warming up for their performance.

I participated in a whiskey tasting, go figure. Carol had to order my ticket to this in July as all four sessions sell out quickly and no tickets are available for walk-ins during the weekend of the games. This year had a representative for Ardmore and Laphroaig whiskeys. Master Ambassador Simon Brooking lead a very informative and entertaining presentation which gave us the background history of Scottish single malt whiskey and in particular the brands we tasted. I took a liking to the Laphroaig Quarter Cask that I hope to purchase in the near future.

Dan and Ian listen as Carol shares some information from the Highland Games Program. Ian was sporting the Maine Tartan kilt that Carol had made for him earlier this year.

Happy Birthday Mom

Hi Mom,

Hope you had another great time in Bangor with Kathy and Jay and hit a few jackpots.

Here's my mother with baby Ian about 21 years ago. Fun looking through some photo albums for a picture to use on this blog.

Labor Day Weekend Wrap Up

Saturday evening we made it over to John and Linda's and after a visit at their neighbors, Lester and Inga's, John steamed up a large pail of lobsters, added in some clams and finished the job by throwing in some corn on the cob. Sad to say I was more concerned with digging in to eat that again I forgot to take a picture of the plateful I began with. Now I've never been much of a lobster eater but I worked my way through two of them and at the behest of John I ate a third. I'm getting pretty good at cracking them open, my mother would be proud of me after all these years. I'd never touch a lobster when I was a kid. As a matter of fact I wish we had brought her along as she loves this stuff. Inga made a blueberry pie with a crumble crust though as a vivid tennis fan once it was dessert time she was drawn away to the TV to see the Andy Roddick match at the US Open.

Jim taking care of business with his lobster, Inga across from him enjoying her lobster.

The next morning, Sunday, Lois, Carol and I took our bikes to the Carriage Roads at Acadia National Park. A lot of different routes to choose from around the hills, small mountains, ponds and lakes of the Park. We rode for over three hours and ate our lunch on the shore of one of the ponds.

The intrepid cycling sisters.

One of the many views we passed by.

The Carriage Roads actually have some carriages on them.

Here we passed a Blue Heron going about the business of acquiring it's lunch.

Modeling a classic dome helmet. When it comes to setting trends I'm all over it!


This is a view from along Route 108 in the village of Somesville.

After a bit of a break back at the campsite we prepared for a potluck picnic/cookout with John and Linda, John's sister Nancy and her husband Sherman at a community park overlooking Seal Cove where we ate a lot again. The old diet took a hit this weekend. Linda made a large batch of crabmeat salad, John cooked up burgers he brought. Lois had shrimp and the some brats that Carol and I had. Nancy provided another variation of blueberry pie that was equally as delicious as the one Inga had made the night before.

Here's the group viewed from the rocky shore of Seal Cove.



Views of Seal Cove:

After the sunset on the cove we called it a night and returned to the campground.

We had egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast with Lois and Jim then packed up and headed home. The weekend went by in a blur, great weather and fun things to do in a short two full days there. It never is boring being at Mt Desert Island.

Once home and unpacked I picked up Patches and E'owyn from the kennel - they were real happy to be back in the comforts of home.

Weekend on the island

Mt Desert Island, Maine. We make it here every couple of years or so. About a three hour drive which works out well for a three day weekend. This time we are staying at Smuggler's Den Campground in Southwest Harbor. Lois and Jim are here too, two campsites over form us. Today they met up with Lois and Carol's 2nd cousin John who is a lobsterman as he left at 5am this morning to visit his lobstertraps and bring in what was there. Carol and I got up at a more reasonable hour and after breakfast made our way to Bar Harbor to make like tourists wandering alone the shops, through a crafts fair and the shore trail. Tonight we'll be going over to John's and his wife Linda's place for lobster and to visit with them for the evening.