It's coming!

It might snow any day now! People who have lived in Maine all their lives are shocked! This is the snowman Mom and Dad made when they came to visit last Christmas.




The view from our deck. I think it is beautiful when snow covered!

It's a wild weekend!

It is a rainy, cold, windy weekend. Poor Matt is on-call and has been from Farmington to Island Falls today. I made a big charge of beef stew and was nesting all day. I don't care if I leave the homestead for the next 2, 6, 8 days. This is the hutch Dad made me during his "Silver Lake Period." It was the first piece of furniture I ever finished and has been moved up and down the Eastern Seaboard and managed to survive.

On the cutting edge.

Yet another fine "Uncle Henry's" bargain came home with Matt after golf yesterday. This is a mini-snow blower. It's great for pathways and decks as the blades are rubber. Matt said, "even you can operate it."








I think it will be great for making snowmen. Just walk around in a circle, pile up the snow, shape, and there you go, instant snow person.
Thanks Mom and Dad for Matt's subscription to Uncle Henry's. I never know what he will come home with next.










Little pieces of wood have invaded my space. I am still in the process of cutting out pieces and sorting for painting.











Even my work bench is covered and I am still cutting. Who's idea was this?

How do I get into this stuff?

I numbered all my pieces which not all that easy, by the way. Now I am in the process of cutting them out and sorting by number for painting.










I already miss card making!















I will master this mother of a project!













I take breaks from the project and play my organ.

New project!

Inspired by my sister's desire for mosaic artwork and being tired of scrappin, I cleaned off my craft table and started a new project. This is an art kit Matt got me for Christmas two months before we moved to Carmel. Actually I just found it. You can check these fine art kits out at www.woodscapekits.com. I am doing "Village Church." Tonight I almost completed Step 1, number the pieces.







In other cellah dwellah news:
This is the living room section of my retreat. The futon is the only piece of furniture in the house Annie is allowed on, (that we know of). It's a great place for a Saturday afternoon nap.










This cedar chest we obtained with the sale of the house. Dad put shelves in it for my doll collection. These are the chicks from the Grimm's Fairy Tales. My favorite is Cinderella.

Weekend activities!

I made cookies out of my birthday cook book. They didn't really come out looking like the picture. They have rice cereal and strawberry jam and are therefore a great breakfast food.










Today was "Bocce Fun Day" at Dorethea Dix Park in Hampden. It was a chance for those who have never played the game to give it a try. This man is 88, it was his first game and he made some great throws with the bocce ball.











This is the lucky athelete and her coach who were selected to be on Team USA at the World Games in China!












It was a beautiful fall day!















Of course, Butch was there!















He loves a photo op!













I fed Matt Bloody Mary's on Friday night and then whooped his sorry butt at Scrabble.

Oh Deer!

There is a red deer farm about 2 miles from our house on the Horseback Rd. The venison is sold to gourmet restaurants internationally.





I think they are quite cute. We don't know what the yellow tags mean on their ears. Matt thinks it is rare, med rare, and well done.

Up, Up and Away!

Today was the Annual Special Olympics "Fly In" at DeWitt Field in Old Town. Butch took his first plane ride. It was a beautiful day for a plane ride and Butch got to see a good friend.






Take off was a little rough, but once we got the feel for the flight and the microphones, all systems were go.


















By the end of the flight, Butch was instructing our pilot, Jim, on how to land the plane.

A blast from the past.

On the way out of Lee the other day, we stopped at the Lee Flea Market to see what all three vendors had to offer. There were no flea market finds until we met Eric Shory. Eric swears he is the guy that moved the first camp Mom and Dad built on Silver Lake (over 50 years ago), in order to make room for the house they built. He informed us that it was for sale and we should check it out. I was reluctant but Matt insisted we take a look at the old homestead. So back into Springfield we went. Take a left at the Lowell farm, go past the Alfred Clements farm for about 5 miles, and there it is. I must say, it looked better in its hey day at Silver Lake. No one in town knows what the asking price is or how much land comes with it. After looking at camps all day built in 2001 or 2003, as opposed to one built over 50 years ago and has been moved a few times, I wasn't impressed. I guess I'm just not that sentimental.

Mallett Hall!!!

Of course we stopped by Mallett Hall. Mom painted these beautiful sunflowers!

Camp shopping!

Matt and I went camp/land shopping in the Springfield, Lakeville, Lee area today. We looked at three camps: one was out of the question yet had 46 acres, two were really nice camps with less land. It's a beautiful area with access to many lakes.











We liked this camp. It is new and has 36 acres with it.


We are calling on this one tomorrow!












This we really, really liked. It comes with 10 acres.

Big Doings!

Giant spiders have invaded Maine. Annie keeps a watchful eye on the one on our fence.