High Kicker

George Hoffman is a college friend and fellow music major. George was also (many years ago!) a member of our wedding party. As long as I can remember, George has been fascinated with carousel horses and, at some point, he started hand-carving and painting miniature carousel horses--they are exquisite in their craftsmanship and detail.

This "high kicker," as George calls it, was a totally unexpected gift. Quoting from the card, "Santa is sending along in this package a 1" scale, Charles Parker inspired carousel horse. Hand carved and hand painted in Japan oils, this high kicker comes to you with joy and happiness."

The horse is about eight inches long, from tail to hoof. And, as you can see in the pictures, it is a beautiful work of art.

Thank you, George. Thank you very much.

New Kitchen

Okay well it really isn't that "new," but slightly remodeled. We purchased this hoosier back in the spring and it has finally been refinished and moved into the kitchen. When we purchased it, it was white with a blue table and blue sides. It had apparently been used by an elderly couple who had painted it, then sold to the person we purchased it from. They had never gotten around to refinishing it. After several trip to PA (a garage and drive way made the process easier despite the drive) we scrapped it down and repainted it white. During this we discovered that our model is called the "snow white" and the orange and green table are the original colors. We suspect that it was probably all green, based on the layers that came off.

With the edition of the new smaller wire shelves the kitchen feels much lager, and more functional.

November 7 & 8, 2009

We went to NY to visit Max, Daphne and their parents. As an added bonus, we got to see Amanda and David on Saturday night and again on Sunday afternoon.

It was a perfect grandparent weekend: We got to see Daphne learn to crawl and also watched as she had her first solid food (but got to leave before the food came out the other end).

Max has tunnel vision

Halloween in the Bronx

October 18, 2009

Global warming?

One of THE moments

http://spaceshiftreturn.blogspot.com/2009/10/moment-confirming-loveliness-of-having.html
http://spaceshiftreturn.blogspot.com/2009/10/moment-confirming-loveliness-of-having.html

A Beautiful Weekend

I had a meeting last Thursday in Whitefield, NH. The meeting was held at one of those magnificent turn-of-the-century hotels--the hotel was completely renovated just a few years ago. Sue and I took the opportunity to spend the night at the hotel and then, the following morning, drove on to the cabin for the weekend.

While we had the sad task of closing the cabin for the winter, it was a beautiful time to be in Maine. The picture above is a view of Mt. Washington at sunset, taken from our porch. The pictures below show the view from near our dock and two pictures taken at the golf course. It doesn't get much better than this!

Splash!

new pics of daphne (and family....)

the girl's growing - that's for sure! and she sure is feisty. favorite toy 4 feet away? No problem! daphne just log rolls until she gets to it! she's currently full of giggles and coos. it's pretty darned cute. and, she enjoys grabbing her mom's face, which entertains max to no end.

New Flagpole for Sharon Brick Schoolhouse

The old one broke about a year ago, and I offered to cut a replacement from our property in Maine. I cut and peeled the spruce tree in early August. Then, it lay in the driveway for a month or so, curing and drying.

Over the Labor Day weekend I loaded it into the truck for the drive to Sharon. Looks a little precarious, but it was actually quite stable. Made the trip with no problems although we certainly got a lot of amused looks as people passed us on the highway. Even the police sitting by the side of the road chuckled as we drove by (no tickets, thankfully)!

I now need to sand it and shave some girth around the bottom so it fits into the iron rings on the old brick building. Then a sealer, followed by several coats of primer and white paint. And, finally, the ball at the top and the hardware for the rope. A good winter project. Should be ready to mount next spring.


Here is a picture of the Brick Schoolhouse which shows the old flagpole before it broke. The building just doesn't look right with the flagpole missing.




And the last picture shows the new Sharon Meeting House and the 30' flagpole which also came from our property in Maine. Trust me: transporting a 30' flagpole was a lot more challenging than the much smaller one for the Brick Schoolhouse. I couldn't do it with my truck, it required a l-o-n-g trailer!

A note at the cabin

When we arrived at the cabin for the Labor Day weekend, we found the following note in the mailbox by the door. It was signed "Nance M (at Warren's)" [which tells us she was staying at Clearwater Camps, owned and run by Mike and Tina Warren].

We know our little place is special, but it always makes us feel good when others react the same way!

Here's the note (and, of course we aren't "ticked off").

C & S Bowles
8/19/09 Weds
7 pm

I was fishing in kayak, big winds and w-caps. I confess I pulled in sat on rocks til weather subsided: no one here to ask.

Sunset - Large

I did not touch a thing! But must tell you this is the most gone-to-heaven spot I've come across and I have travel/fish Maine, etc. & world A LOT.

I hope you are not ticked off.

NM from Portland

A cool dip in the pool

James Taylor - Tanglewood

Sue and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a trip to Tanglewood to hear James Taylor. Neither of us had ever been to Tanglewood and James Taylor is one of our all-time favorites--seemed like a natural. Took a picnic lunch, a bottle of wine, and a couple of folding chairs. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a wonderful concert. A very happy anniversary!

Hawai'i!!

David surfing in Lahaina.

stopped off at a gallery driving around west Maui.

the view from our hotel room patio.

Well, so far the trip has been absolutely amazing -- not that we were expecting anything less!! The views are beautiful, the pool incredibly comfortable, and the beaches very nice.  The one down side (if there has to be one) is there is a constant heavy breeze.  We have really lucked out with weather so far, there are lots of amazing looking clouds, but we haven't had that many storms blow through.  A few of the highlights so far: we took surfing lessons, drove around the mountains of West Maui (apparently the rental car companies won't come help you on certain stretches of roads...we took the gamble), and logged several hours and several fruity drinks by the pool.  Here are a couple photos and such until we get home. 

david and amanda

David & Amanda

Cabin - 1972

This picture was taken in 1972 by the former brother-in-law of Susan Corkran, our neighbor at Windswept. The picture hangs in their dining room--I borrowed it last weekend to make a copy. The original is quite faded and much of the detail is lost. However, it's still interesting to see how little the cabin has changed in the intervening 37 years.

will the blue eyes remain? only time will tell!

max and daphne in NH

Flames

I bought one of those propane torch "thingies" to control the weeds in our driveway. Takes a little time, but the results seem great, so far.

Even though it wasn't the most expensive model, the one I chose came with an extra long hose--a real advantage! And it's a very powerful flame--I can see now that the smaller ones are almost worthless. Speaking of the flame, the most surprising aspect was the very loud roar created by the flame. If you've ever heard a hot air balloon being inflated, you'll recognize the sound.

And, it's fun. What's not to like about burning weeds?

Eagle Nest (actually, it's an Osprey nest)

A Mooselookmeguntic friend told me about a nest she had seen on her drive to the lake. I made it a point to check it out as I drove home today. Certainly looks like an eagle nest. And the close-up shows what may be a chick looking out, watching the world go by. Interesting choice of place to build a nest, isn't it?

Update: We've followed developments in the nest during our trips to/from the cabin. Turns out this is an Osprey nest, not an Eagle nest. But, there are chicks--we've seen the parents feeding them. This picture was taken on a very hot, sunny day. It shows mom/dad with wings outstretched, apparently creating some shade for the chicks. Pretty interesting.

The 4th of July

This year we celebrated the 4th in Red Hook Brooklyn. We were lucky enough to spend the holiday with good friends. Here's Max with his friends Evan and Oli.

Family portrait while taking a morning walk on the 4th of July