$3,050.06

...the cost to repair the damage to the truck caused by falling trees during the ice storm. The appointment is February 10 - ten days to complete the work.

Tree (Ten Days Later)

This is what happens to trees that deign to fall on OUR house!

Tree

It didn't take long once they got things set up. They first took the tree off the house and laid that on the ground in a position to cushion the rest of the tree as it was cut down. Thoroughly professional and expert at what they do.

PS - They estimate the piece that landed on the house weighed 3,000 pounds! Imagine how much the rest of the tree weighed.

Ice

Above: Several pictures of the house and property. Note the large trees that were uprooted in our front yard.

The picture above shows the highway immediately south of our driveway. The picture below was taken about a half mile from our house, near the Sharon Meeting House.

Chet's (not so) New Ride

I've been looking for a smaller vehicle to be my "daily driver." One of the motivations, of course, was to save gas. But I also wanted to avoid putting all those miles on the truck--it's great to have when we need it and, with fewer miles, it should serve us well for many years.

I looked at lots of cars on craigslist. Focused on Saturns because David had such great luck with his station wagon and because of their general reputation for economy and reliability. Finally found this one in Keene. It's a '94 SL-1. Small four cylinder, automatic, and has just over 100,000 miles. Owned by an elementary special education teacher who kept it in a garage--very clean. Even has a moonroof!

The Automotive students replaced the brakes and exhaust system and also did some other minor work. Runs great. Kinda fun to drive and it's certainly easier to park than the big 4-wheel drive truck!

Total investment? $1,614.50.

shoo - ga - GOCK - a - ler

Spent the weekend in NYC--stayed with Max while Brian and Lauren had some time alone to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. Here's a picture of Max demonstrating one of his Tinkertoy creations, a shoogagockaler.

It's fun being grandparents!

Voting

As most of you know, Sue is the Supervisor of the Checklist for the Town of Sharon -- she and her assistants are responsible for all voting records, checking voters in/out, etc. And, as a Selectman, I usually help count the votes when the polls close. Yesterday was pretty busy for our little town.

First, keep in mind that the current population is 372. Going into the election, 282 people were registered to vote, already a pretty high percentage. But, because NH has same-day registration, Sue processed 25 new voters bringing the total number of registered voters to 307. Yesterday, a total of 258 people cast ballots -- 85% of the registered voters and 70% of the population of the town. Pretty impressive, I think.

Oh, yes, the vote:
Obama - 165
McCain - 91

The Amazing Spider Man

Spider Man, Spider Man,

Does whatever a Spider can.

Spins a web pheew, pheew, pheew!

Trick-or-Treats like a pro,

Rock on!  Look at this Spider Man!

Pheew!  That's the sound of webslinging.  And this is what it looks like.

In the crowded Metropolis, sometimes you have to wait for the elevator.

All the webslinging pays off!  Oh man look at that pile of candy!

Ayup, ready for wintuh!

I loved this picture of our stacked and drying wood--a quintessential image of fall.

Also, last spring, we invested in a new wood stove insert that fits in the living room fireplace. It's a Jotul (Norwegian). There is a cast iron "surround" that fits around the outside of the stove. The surround completely hides the fireplace opening so the installation has a very nice, finished look.

In addition to being amazingly efficient, we think the stove is a beautiful addition to the living room. We miss the look of the open fireplace, but we never used it that much--just when we had company. Best of all, the new stove makes a huge difference in the temperature of the whole house.

Ayup, ready for wintuh!

She said yes!

Well yesterday was a big day...Amanda had a very long day at school, but still wanted to take the puppy we are dog sitting for a walk. I convinced her to run her errands then meet me at the apartment. After dropping her stuff off at home, we took the dog into the park. Having had the dog for a couple days, I had taken her around and used that as an excuse to get Amanda to the bridge near the boathouse. She was a little confused why I was so insistent on keeping her walking, when she was tired and wanted to sit. However as soon as we hit the bridge, I got on one knee and popped the question. After several stunned seconds and actually turning away from the ring in disbelief, she said yes!

We then had to go sit on the park bench and take in the moment before we walked back to the house to make the necessary phone calls.

(Added by Sue and Chet - Mom and Dad)
Welcome, Amanda! We are very happy and proud that David has found such a wonderful partner. We love you both.