Today's Best of the Boys

Jim: "We don't have any more light bulbs, do we?"

Me: "I'm pretty sure we have some in the storage drawers in the new laundry room." (I call it this optimistically. At the moment it's still a storage room.)

Jim: (calling from downstairs in the furnace room which doubles as the current laundry room) "I don't see any down here."

Me: "...no, Jim...the NEW laundry room. You know, the 'to be at some point in our lives laundry room'."

Jubal:
"That should be on a plaque somewhere."
••••••••

I love being the mom of boys. They're so easy. Around noon Nolan and I were headed out to the car. I was going to drop him off at Ryan Morrill's to spend the night and noticed he had no bag with him. "You should probably bring some clean clothes for tomorrow. Underwear, at least, might be nice." He replied in the affirmative and ran into the house. I waited, expecting him to emerge with his duffle bag but when the door opened I realized he had taken my suggestion at face value and had only grabbed a solitary pair of underwear which he was putting into his pants pocket while running out to the van. He will most likely forget they even exist tomorrow morning and I will find them when I check his pockets for washing.
••••••••••••

Tell: (after creating "episodes",
playing with his wooden Thomas trains ) "Mom, can I watch somethin' on Netflixth? I'm gettin' really tired of doin' all thith brain thtuff."



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Five P Day

I was awoken by Atira at 5:30 because her stomach was not feeling well. She then PUKED four times before I left at quarter past nine to help PAINT the youth building with Nate S., Nicole and Greg. After a quick trip to Big Al's afterward to PURCHASE some items, I headed home for some afternoon housekeeping before going over to Mom and Dad's for a visit with PAPA and BauBau. And now, lying in bed, I think it's slightly odd that I'm hearing the wind howl and rain POUR on December 28th.


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Christmas and Beyond

Christmas being on a Sunday threw our normal schedule of events off a bit. We still had our banana bread and eggnog but without Mom and Dad and the kids opened only a couple of gifts before Dad arrived to put the turkey in our oven.



Even the normality of church seemed off kilter with people not seated in their usual places. Despite this, the Gilbert family managed to secure an empty pew....or so I thought. When I came to sit back down after the music portion of the morning was complete, I found my spot next to Jim had been taken by the elderly but surprisingly spry Marcia Wilson, whose pew we had apparently stolen. So we shared a seat for a Sunday and it was quite nice. The rest if the presents were opened and then we enjoyed a late dinner of turkey, stuffing, ziti and meatballs.









Beth Wilson arrived late in the evening after a harrowing, snowy drive from up north and we enjoyed conversation and a bit of the Packers/Bears game before calling it a night.

Today was relaxing with all of the family home and we ended it with Dad winning a game of Catan.

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Silent Night, Organized Night

Atira and I had breakfast together at Dunkin' Donuts before a short shopping trip this morning. I had a couple last minute stocking stuffers and Atira was excited to be buying a small gift for each person in the family. She felt bad that, because I was with her, she would not be able to get anything for me. I reminded her that gifts don't always come wrapped up and the time we were spending together in this Christmas season was a very nice present. Once home,



she wrapped her gifts and I wrapped mine.....and Jim's....and all of Dad's for Mom. I was organized and it felt weird. I was even able to watch the first half of the Pats-Dolphins game, DVRing the rest. The Patriots played a terrible first half and were down 17 points when I turned it off. As we walked into the church foyer for the Christmas Eve service I heard Nolan saying to my pastor, a Dolphin's fan, "My mom doesn't want you to tell her anything about the game. She hasn't watched it all yet." Although he technically didn't give me any information, I suspected that my Pats had made a comeback to win it in the second half when, during an illustration, he said, with a hint of a smile, "A lot of points can be scored in the fourth quarter." At the end of the service we lit our candles and sang Silent Night as we do each year.



This is my favorite part of the Christmas season, this quiet, softly lit, reflective few moments with my church family before forming a circle around the sanctuary and wishing each person a "Merry Christmas" with a handshake or a hug. (Anyone who knows me, knows I prefer the latter.)
Once home, Nolan made our eggnog for tomorrow morning and Atira wrote Tell's note for Santa although it was modified after the kids opened their one Christmas Eve gift:



" I would like Bash"
This was followed with Atira's rendering of the train engine and Tell's signature. Then the modification...."Never mind. Mom and Dad got him for me. The milk and Tim Tams are for you." Now it's time for Santa to deliver the stockings.



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Use My Dollar

Before heading to Hometown Buffet to meet the Buxton Crowd of 27 for supper, we spent several minutes searching for Jim's wallet. During this time Tell, seated in the van, held his own dollar bill tightly in his hand while trying to gain Jim's attention, saying several times, "Dad, it's ok if you don't find your wallet. I can pay for us. See? I have my dollar. We can use my money." When the wallet was inevitably found (in the van of course) and Jim was steering us down the driveway, Tell was still insisting that he use his dollar toward the meal. Since I had coupons and he and Atira would eat for free, I suggested that he use his dollar as a tip at his kids' table to go along with the others on the grown-up table. After explaining what a tip was, Tell thought this was a very good idea.



It was so cute to see him put the dollar bill on his table and extra nice that our waitress was our former neighbor, Michele, who gave us great service.


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G'day, Goodnight

Yesterday ended and today began with the voice of a friend who always makes me laugh, even from across the globe. I will be tired in the morning and may not be able to vanquish the image of an Aussie Santa in stubbies and thongs from my mind, but it was worth it. Thank you, Chris.



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Useful Kitchen Tools

After slipping on our ice covered stone walkway and meeting the ground with my elbow and backside, I drove to the Bath Post Office to mail a Christmas package and encountered a large basket full of homemade cookies that one of our older postal workers, Steve, had baked for the customers to enjoy. They were very good and I told him so. He thanked me, saying he had made over 200 hundred of them! He then proceeded to suggest that if I used a Flat Rate box to send my gifts that I could save a couple dollars. Try getting that kind of service in the city.
Upon returning home, I saw that Ben Leeman had dropped off my Pampered Chef order from Carly's party. Nolan was glad to see that we finally had a funnel to make his eggnog job easier. Tell, decided however, not to limit the silicon funnel's use to the "predictable". He attached it to the end of my baster and invented the Air Suckinator. When he tried to remove the funnel he discovered it wouldn't budge and we renamed his invention, the Stuckinator. With the funnel gone, the baster became a giant dropper used for creating a new drink. Tell brought me a paper and pencil to write down his secret ingredients:

----Tell's recipe for a drink that hasn't been invented----
• water
• Cheezit crumbs
• ice

As he completed his concoction, I was asked to try a sip. Before I could even answer, as if he knew what my objection would be, he assured me, "It tastes good. You can't even taste the cheese in it!" I politely declined.





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Nearly Wrapped Up

I spent the afternoon in Portland to get the majority of the Christmas shopping done.




My last stop was Bean's to pick up a book for Nicholas and Alexandra. That completes my package to Anth and Laura, so I can send out that out to Indiana tomorrow. While I was there I made sure to take a photo, for Jim, of the only thing that I want for Christmas, an "oh so comfy" men's hooded Rugby robe that has the feel of your most favorite sweatshirt. I can't wait to enjoy it!


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Slow Start, Illuminated End

Jubal has vacation until after the new year so I set no alarm this morning. As Jim left for the gym a bit after 6:30, my eyes momentarily fluttered opened and then darkness closed in again as I slept through the 8:15 text asking if I wanted coffee. Despite not answering, a cup arrived at my bedside at 8:30.



I vaguely remember the words "coffee" and "heading to work" and a kiss. I'm pretty sure I mumbled a thank you and suddenly, it's 10:30. How did that happen? With a third of my day already wasted, I started on a few tasks, big and small that I planned to accomplish this week. One of these was to dust in our bedroom. I could tell you how badly it needed to be done, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.



After a bit of Christmas shopping and wrapping in the afternoon, the end of the day saw another "to do" knocked off my list: We finally decorated the tree! We had planned to do it last Thursday. On that day, Nolan made a batch of eggnog for us with colored eggs from the Hodgdon's chickens.



I blogged about it and then wasn't able to publish it. (that's a whole other frustrating story) Eggnog doesn't hang around our house too long so Nolan made another batch for tonight as we hung our ornaments. Atira topped off our creative masterpiece with the star I bought for our very first tree....



as usual it looks lovely....


Now it feels like Christmas.

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Friends: God's Gift

I received these gifts from the Hodgdons last night while watching the Polar Express in my homemade ugly Christmas sweater with all the AWANA kids.



I'm so thankful that God has given me a multitude of friends who know me so well and take me as I am!
This morning I visited with a friend that, for many years, was a large part of my life but I hadn't spent time with her for several years. I was reminded that in true friendships it doesn't matter how much time has passed. You pick up right where you left off. The bond remains and you are loved unconditionally. Friendship is truly one of God's best gifts.


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Bare Branches

After church and leftover pizza for lunch, the family took a short trip up the road to choose this year's Christmas tree.



It went up effortlessly and now stands in the living room corner quietly awaiting its decorations. Blame the bare branches on the Patriots/Redskins football game which had to be watched this afternoon, which, may I say, was the worst won game I've seen in a long time. the tree will greatly improve in a short amount of time. Whether the Pats follow suit remains to be seen.


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Nematodes

A Monday morning science session had Nolan, Atira and I reviewing the various phylum of the Animal Kingdom. I was quite pleased that when we came to the group Nematodes, Nolan's eyes lit up with recognition and he shouted, "Oh, oh! Nematodes! I remember what those are, roundworms with no segments." I praised his answer and asked how he remembered that. My teacher self-pride was completely deflated when his answer came back....."Spongebob." Really? Has it come to this, that the information my students retain is that which is reinforced by a drooling echinoderm and a poriferan in a pineapple?


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Rubber Bands

Last week, I had to purchase some large rubber bands to secure the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Unfortunately, there were no small bags available and I was left to bring home a 1 pound bag of brightly colored bands. Nolan saw this as an opportunity to make a couple Lego rubber band guns........



......,which he then proceeded to bring to church yesterday. This was unknown to me until he was about to demonstrate it's firepower to fellow Lego enthusiast, Chris McCarthy. Should I have to explain to a 12 year old that he should not be shooting rubber band guns in the church sanctuary?

On the continued subject of rubber bands, this was a conversation this morning in the Gilbert house:

Tell: (holding a brown rubber band) In the old days did they have jes plain rubber bands, not colors?
Me: Yes, that's true. Although in the VERY old days they had NO rubber bands, not even plain ones.
Tell: No, no. I didn't mean way back then. I mean in the NEW old days.
Me: Then that's right. They only had plain rubber bands.

(Tell, satisfied with my answer, twirls around, hops across the kitchen floor and heads downstairs.)

Jubal: (chuckling) So what constitutes the new old days?
Me: After the very old days, but before today. It's all extremely scientific.








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Sending and Receiving Gifts

Each year we join many others at Woolwich Wiscasset Baptist Church and fill a couple shoe boxes with small gifts to be sent overseas and distributed by Operation Christmas Child to needy children during the Christmas season. Nolan, Atira and I went on Saturday night to pick out the items we would put in the boxes. Nolan chose for the boy's box and Atira for the girl's. Atira also enclosed a letter in hers in which she hoped that the recipient would enjoy all the "cool and girly stuff". This year we donated our shipping cost online which allows us to track exactly where in the world our boxes end up. I love to imagine the joy that this small box of goodies will bring to one little life.



It is usually much more enjoyable to give than receive. One exception to this would be receiving the gift of children.
Jubal's 16th birthday coincided with the day I had planned to drop off our shoeboxes at the Nazarene church on Lisbon Falls. This worked out very well because the corner store, on 196, specializing in Moxie paraphernalia, was only a couple miles a way. After dropping the boxes off, The kids and I managed to snag a Moxie tie, t-shirt and glass mug for Jubal's celebration. At home there was a phone call from the Australian grandparents (during which he managed to eat supper and play living room soccer with Atira and Tell).



Then Grandad and Mimi to arrived with cake to round out Jubal's sixteenth birthday quite nicely.






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Wired

Just a quote from my friend Butch Brown as his wife Liz and I discussed the type of information that is revealed as we women chat with one another at a women's retreat.
Butch: "You'd never find any of these kind of conversations going on at a Men's Retreat."
Liz: "That's just how we're wired"
Butch: "I know that, it's a short circuit."

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Treehouse Tradition

When Jubal was much smaller, his birthday parties were big events with about fifteen little boys running around our house and yard. As he got older, he whittled his celebration down to include only Nate Fisher, Matt Brown and James Morrill. When Jim's dad built the treehouse, it became tradition for the boys to spend the night up there, despite the fact that Jubal's birthday falls in the middle of November. Last night, the mercury dipped to about 30•F but that's no problem for Maine-bred boys with warm sleeping bags. Some years have had more excitement than others. I recall the year I made a 2am call to the police because the boys thought for sure they had seen a stabbing at the neighbor's house from their treetop vantage point. This year there was a bit of laughter when, as the boys headed out the door, I called out, "If you guys see anyone murdered tonight, just come in and let me know!" I prefer a bit less excitement, like the year the boys made their own pizzas and the oven caught fire. I handled it quite calmly and extinguished the flames as I flung out the contents of the orange Arm and Hammer box. The only casualty was poor Matthew Brown's pizza. Baking soda is apparently not an appetizing pizza topping. There was no pizza this year as all of us, minus James, had attended the Coastal Christian Soccer Banquet that evening. I did, however send them up with some Moxie Chocolate cake to go along with their array of candy and soda..


Each year I have made the bleary-eyed crew pancakes as they emerge from their chilly, semi-sleepless night. Tell was quite happy to accept the mission, this morning, of climbing the ladder and informing the boys that breakfast would soon be on the table.


As I watched him ascend, it struck me, how quickly time has passed since Jubal was Tell's age and that these teenage boys only have a few more of these treehouse birthdays left and so I will enjoy the moments and memories.



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Math in the Morning

On a normal Saturday I would refrain from exiting the bed until at least 7 o'clock. Jubal and Nolan attended the WOL SuperBowl however, which required a 6:15 pickup after their night of Portland Pirates hockey, bowling, rollerskating and general rowdiness. The early pickup, in turn, required coffee so I found myself at the Dunkin' Donuts drive through window. My caramel swirl hot latte came to $2.77 and I confidently passed the server two dollar bills and three quarters. In my brain, I expected change; this is how math works in the morning. With a slightly quizzical expression the lady held the money in her hand for a moment. "OK, $2.75?" the fog lifted from my brain as I realized my mistake. Laughing, I reached for two more pennies on the dash and told her, "This is why I need the coffee!". We won't mention that in reality, with my math skills, I could just as easily have made the same mistake in the middle of the day.


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Eat and Runny Pie

I tried to make a pie for the Men's night at church today. I followed the recipe. I'm not sure what happened. It looked more like chocolate pudding than chocolate pie. We all have our talents. Baking is clearly not one of mine and I'm OK with that.
So when you can't cook well, make sure you find places to eat where they do! ....like the Olive Garden. The three younger kids and I had a nice evening there with Anthony, Laura and the kids. They're here for their lightning fast October visit to attend the annual Pig Roast of Laura's Grampy Hammond. Mom, Dad and Alex Burgoin ( who's flying out with Dad to MO on Monday) joined us. Jubal and Jim had to decide between the already planned Men's night, complete with steak and plenty of pie, or seeing family that you'll see at Thanksgiving anyway. I suspected that Jim would choose the pie. I was right. And finally, if Alex and Dad are in the house, the night is likely to end up in a game of Catan. It did. Jubal won.


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Freezing In Fryeburg

In recent years we've been spoiled by the mild temperatures during our annual excursion to the Fryeburg Fair... not so this trip! Wednesday's weather was reminiscent of some of the early years when our family would be sure to break out the winter gear once the warmth of the sun was swallowed up below the horizon of the Western Maine mountains.


Touring the livestock barns was saved for later in the evening when we could enjoy the natural heat emissions produced by the animal population.

Somehow we missed the goats and hogs buildings, however.. How did that happen? I love the goats!

The dip toward 40•F in the mercury prompted us to leave a couple hours earlier than usual but did not diminish our enjoyment. I am fairly certain, however, that Dad would have preferred for Mom to have told him at the beginning of the night, that she had packed his hat and gloves, rather than 20 minutes before we left the fairgrounds.



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October Rain

Rain on Thursday canceled Jubal's soccer game. Rain on Saturday canceled Atira's soccer game. On Sunday evening the rain followed us to the shores of Lake Winnepesaukee in NH for the wedding of my cousin Jessie, to Tyler Moul. Atira, who appreciates the beauty of a wedding, came with us. Relying on my memory, because my invitation was lost in the vortex months ago, I thought that the ceremony began at 5:00. I was aided in this belief by a text from my cousin Greg, who told us that the wedding was at 5:00. We left with 45 minutes to spare but promptly encountered a clogged 295 right below the Brunswick exit. That, combined with Jim's generally slow driving, the rain factor and a bathroom break, whittled away our extra time and we arrived thinking that the wedding would be starting in 5 minutes. I was relieved to see that Papa and BauBau were only just arriving with Uncle Frank, Aunt Cheryl and Uncle John. As it turns out, the ceremony wasn't until 5:30. Knowing that we are chronically tardy, Greg had taken the liberty of lying to us, ensuring our timely arrival. The rain did nothing to dampen the spirit of the lovely wedding. I thought, instead, that it was an appropriate symbol of the spiritual refreshing and renewal that took place a couple years ago in Jessie's life, which brought her back to the Lord and eventually to this godly man.


At this moment, I hear that the rain that carried us into October has subsided, making way for a crisp, autumn day.

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I Get the Message

After my last post I realized that my toilet bowl chipmunk had entered the house with a friend. The next day, in an attempt to fight off my cold, I took an afternoon nap and was disturbed in my bedroom by the second rodent as he scrambled onto my cedar chest just under the window. I suspected he saw the great outdoors and was longing for freedom. I opened my ground level window and the back door while closing access to the rest of the house, in hopes that he would find his way out. I believe my plan worked. I haven't seen or heard him for a couple days. I wonder if he left a "Rodent Vacancy" sign on my house as he left? That very same night I spotted a cute little mouse scampering across the mud room floor by the back door. Cute or not, I set the traps, baiting them with a bit of granola bar. These are a completely enclosed trap, designed so I don't have to see the poor dead creature when the deed is done. I went to bed, hoping to be rodent-free by morning. Peering into the trap opening in the morning, I did indeed see something......mouse droppings. What is the mouse trying to tell me about my useless traps when not only does he eat all my granola bar, but then poops on the trap before he leaves? I get the message....crappy trap.


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Not Doing So Well

I woke this morning with the beginnings of a cold and it took hold as the day progressed. I managed to get only a couple hours of schooling in before calling it a day and comforting myself with some chicken noodle soup and fresh, warm, homemade bread.

Though I felt progressively worse as the hours passed, my day did not end as badly as it did for one of the chipmunks that resides in my yard. I noticed, when returning home from Atira's soccer practice, that the back door had been left open all afternoon. This happens frequently and I've often thought that it's surprising that we don't get wild animals wandering into the house. Well, tonight we did. As I walked into the downstairs bathroom I thought that someone had neglected to flush the toilet but upon closer scrutiny, it was in fact a poor little chipmunk who had drowned in my toilet. I'll pass on showing a photo of that one.......

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In"tree"gued

Early last week I had a conversation with Jubal and learned that he needed a Spanish-English dictionary. Apparently, in one year he had managed to destroy the one that had sustained me through my high school days and twenty years beyond. Well, being a necessary item and no longer having a handy Borders up the road, on Friday, I headed to my local liberal hippie-run bookstore, Gulf of Maine on Brunswick's Maine St.. I made this assumption based not so much on the pony-tailed old man in flannel at the counter, but more so by the lack of an appropriate History section and the prominence of the Gay-Lesbian one by comparison. Another clue was the large edition of Marijuana Horticulture among the gardening books. Though the Foreign Language was small, they thankfully had what I needed. Then, while browsing the Maine books, I happened upon an excellent guide to Maine Forest Trees and bought that as well.



The kids and I put it to good use today as we spent a couple hours identifying and labeling our tree types in the yard and surrounding woods. Our exploration came to an end when Tell tripped in the underbrush and scraped his stomach on a jagged stump. I think Nolan was glad for the end of our tree-tagging time. Atira and I, however, quite enjoyed it and may do it again very soon.


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My Favorite Season

What a great start to the Patriot's 2011-2012 season! The Monday Night Football opener against the Dolphins produced a (franchise) record-breaking 517 passing yards for Brady and made for a cheerful Tuesday wake-up for me. As I drove past the church at 7:15 am, after dropping Jubal and Nate off at the Brown's, I left a short note in the church office door for my pastor. He grew up in Florida and Miami is his team. This has naturally produced a friendly football rivalry between us. My note basically stated the following:

Pastor Blundell,
I thought you might be feeling a bit sad this morning after last night's game so I thought that I would write and encourage you by telling you how happy I am!
Your friend (even through football season),
Rachelle

This afternoon's home opener at Gillette, against whiny Phillip Rivers and the Chargers, was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.


What fun to watch big Vince Wilfork's tip, interception and slow sprint down the field and the Pat's Defense prevent a San Diego score on a 4th and goal...I feel a winning momentum for this season in New England!







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Turkey Trails

I encountered a flock of plump wild turkeys this morning. They were hanging out at an intersection between Alna and Wiscasset on this crisp Fall morning. This reminded me that I hadn't seen our local brood of turkeys lately. Wouldn't you know it, a couple of hours later....there they were! Atira was the first to glimpse them, bellowing, "The turkeys are back!" as she sprinted to the window.



They seem to be creatures of habit and have a travel trail that they always follow. It incorporates the dirt road behind our house, crosses a small wooded area to just to our right and then takes them straight down our driveway and back into the woods again. They looked much larger than the small chicks we first encountered this spring. They've filled out nicely and I wonder how many will make it through Turkey Season........


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Bug-Mania

Our usual schedule was modified this morning and instead of needing to be out the door at 6:00 with only Jubal, I had to have all four ready to leave as the sun rose. This way I could head straight to Wiscasset after dropping the sophomore off in Alna and avoid backtracking. The Maine State Museum was hosting Bug-Mania and Nicole Viele had signed us up to be there around 9:00 to avoid the rush of school kids that would surely descend by mid-morning. There were exhibits from many groups, businesses and individuals.They included spiders, beetles, a scorpion, butterflies,



moths, walking sticks, bees (not my favorite), water bugs, bug-consuming birds and animals, jewelry and art pieces made from bugs (a common housefly!), and even an opportunity to write with a feather pen using ink created with insect gall. (I smell an art/science project). Once the hordes arrived via bus, the exhibits became too crowded, the museum became too warm, and Tell became too crabby. It was time to leave. We stopped at the playground in Wiscasset to eat our lunches, then arrived back at the Viele's to find the box of Dunkin' Donuts that Greg Hodgdon had left in the garage for the kids. I know the young ones enjoyed their field trip; I hope they learned some new information about the insect world. What I learned today is that my vehicle is not safe from Greg anywhere in the MidCoast region.


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CGN Family Camp 2011

We've had a long, full day here at Camp Good News' 2nd Annual Family Camp........ Catching up with people I've not seen in a while, enjoying the company of those I love, beautiful bluegrass music by the LaClaires, listening to Dad share from God's word, eating food I didn't have to cook, playing pool with Tell and Atira, watching Nolan win a game of Ga-Ga while Julia Pendleton shimmied her way to the top of the tether ball pole.


working with Heather to steer a canoe through the winding waterway toward the lake with Tell and Julia in tow, an evening bonfire........


and ending the evening with a rousing game of Rhythm, dominated by Annah Brunk in the #1seat. Roger Labbe joined in with some of the young crowd for their first game ever. By the end, Atira, Nolan, Kayla Raymond and even Roger were old pros. The heavy breathing and snores coming from the bunks above are testimony of a well-spent day.


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Is It Potato or Plantain?

Have you ever walked by a fruit or vegetable in the grocery store and wondered, "What does that taste like and how would I prepare it?". Plantains are one of those foods for me. I always thought it was just another version of the banana until I brought the green tough-skinned fruit home. The kids and I researched it and found out that it can be prepared at all stages of ripeness, from green to black, but is always cooked. The fruit sweetens as it ripens so using it to prepare desserts is reserved for the yellow and black stages.






Our plantains were about as green as they come, full of starch, which is perfect for a recipe that mimics mashed potatoes. After peeling, I sliced the plantains in half and boiled them until soft, about 45 minutes. Then I simply mashed them, adding some milk and a large spoonful of cream cheese. If I hadn't prepared them myself, I would have thought they were potatoes. Atira is excited to get a few more, let them ripen and try a dessert recipe next time. I'm sure you'll hear about that attempt when it happens.


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.....And We're Off!

As I sit watching Atira's soccer practice, I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first crazy school day. I started schooling the younger kids a couple weeks ago but it's been sporadic and the rest of the world was still in summer mode. Today was Jubal's first day of school so I was out of the house by 6:25 with Atira, who had awoken early, to pick up Nate Fisher and bring them to Liz Brown's for the commute up to Coastal. Arriving home at 7:30 I found Nolan awake with breakfast eaten and his bed made, ready for schoolwork. (This was discussed last night) I feel so organized at the moment. We had a great school day, Atira's practice has ended and I'm off to pick up Jubal from the Fishers. Thanks to Don, who picked him up from Coastal's soccer practice. Don has a coffee waiting for me and then it's back home to the roast that Nolan is monitoring. Here we go!



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Ending A Superb Summer

The end of summer should smell of freshly grilled food and bring to your ears the laughter of great friends. The last two weekends have done just that. The cookout with the Buxton Crowd last Friday night was conveniently within one day of my birthday. Being both a fabulous host and best friend, she presented me with a whoopie pie cake ablaze with curvy candles and I enjoyed hearing a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday". I quickly joined in, singing "Happy Birthday to Me", which is much less embarrassing than having people stare and sing at you. The only thing wrong with the evening was the absence of Nicki and Jeremy Redlon who were celebrating Brandon's birthday.




Today's cookout, in good Maine fashion, involved lobster, (I opted for steak), corn on the cob, some blueberry cake and of course, ended with S'mores. The Hodgdon's hosted and the diverse crowd came. There were the quiet and the loud.....(actually a lot of us are loud), the witty and sarcastic, the listeners and the talkers (guess which one Jim is), the observers and the entertainers, those that are kind-hearted and those that fling water and shoot lobster claw bands (you know who you are)....and I love that I ended my summer with all of them.












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Prep and Progress

With a lull in his work this week and materials stockpiled, Jim began work on our shower.



I have been patiently waiting for more than three years, even using pipe instead of a proper shower head.....



but you know, the tiler's wife is always the last to get her custom shower......


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Computer Attack

You know you have boys in the house when your computer comes under attack, not from hackers, but from a tiny green army man who has his bayonet
aggressively aimed into the USB port.



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Trains, Games and Curdling Squeals

This was a full weekend. Our company left late Saturday to head back to Mass. and by 4:30 Jim, Nolan, Atira and I were on the WWBC bus headed to Hadlock Field to watch the SeaDogs soundly whip their opponents on a beautiful summer evening. I'm glad that Mom had taken Tell up to camp with her because Atira peppered me with baseball questions the whole game. There would not have been enough "mom" for the both of them. What she lacked in knowledge, she made up in enthusiasm, making sure she cheered for "the ones in white" at every opportunity!





Returning home late from the game, I still had to wait up for Mom to drop off Tell and Jubal. Jubal had spent the day hiking with friends in the White Mountains after working at camp for a week. It's nice to have him home again. Atira especially missed her big brother and wrote him a longer letter than I did while he was at camp!
Sunday was also eventful, some expected and some not. Upon arriving at church, a chipmunk preceded the three younger kids and I into the open doors of the foyer and down the stairs where the kids were gathered for the Sunday school opening. I opened my mouth to warn them of the rodent but Maddie Hodgdon beat me to it with her blood-curdling scream! I have to laugh just thinking about her face when she saw that chipmunk. Eventually it ended up trapped in the girls' bathroom and Nolan kept it there until we set up some barricades and herded it out the back door to safety. Excitement of a nicer variety awaited about an hour later when I spied two familiar faces at those same foyer doors, two friends that we hadn't seen in ten years, Bill and Patti Sandgren. There were hugs all around and it was like they never left. I love those friendships! There was more chin-wagging after church and just like old times, we were the last ones to leave. There was one more event on my weekend agenda, however, and so we parted with the intent to see them on our next trip to MI or IN. Upon leaving the Sandgrens, Tell and I hopped in the van and headed north for A Day Out With Thomas at the Boothbay Railway Village. It was a special end to a busy weekend.





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