Snow and Sledding

We had a little snow before everyone arrived for the holidays.  The Boxing Day storm added more--good times on the sled!

 Brian took some great shots during the height of the storm.

 

 

Peterborough Chamber Choir

A performance of "Who'll be a Witness."  The recording was made on December 13, 2010, to be entered into a competition sponsored by WGBY, the public television station for Western Massachusetts.

FWIW, I am standing on the second row in the middle of the group--Chet.

Update - January 7, 2011
Looks like we made it past the initial screening.  WGBY sent us the following:

Dear Singers:

 

Thank you for registering and submitting your materials to WGBY’s choral competition. We are very pleased to invite your “Small Adult” chorus to take part in the upcoming TV series, Together in Song: A Celebration of Choral Music in Western New England.

 

The next phase involves scheduling participants to perform at our studios in Springfield. The tapings will occur throughout the month of February beginning on Tuesday, February 1st.  

Quilt

 

This is the quilt Sue made as a wedding gift for David and Amanda.  She sewed a label (shown below) on the back of the quilt that gives the basic details.  

The finished quilt is 108" by 108".  The block print bird that David and Amanda used as the visual theme for their wedding is quilted into each corner.   And, stitched in cursive around the outside edge is a quote from the book that was read at the wedding, A Lovely Love Story, by Edward Monkton.  The quote reads, "Together they stand on the hill, telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.  And that, my friends, is how it is with love."

It truly is a beautiful work of art.  And, since the fabrics were contributed by so many wedding guests, it will a source of wonderful memories for David and Amanda.

Harlow

Just replaced my venerable Saturn commuter with this 1998 Tracker.  It's in great condition--spent most of its life being towed behind an RV, so the miles accumulated in places where snow and ice and salt are not an issue.

I liked the Saturn, but the Tracker actually has more room in the front seats, it's easier to get in (and out) of, and it's much more fun to drive.  Nice fiberglass tops, and also has canvas tops so it can become a convertible in the summer.  Plus, it's four years younger, has 30,000 fewer miles, and has a passenger air bag rather than just the driver air bag in the Saturn.

Harlow?  Yes, that's the name.  Purchased it from Henry Harlow Richardson (the person who, years ago, started the business that has become Harlow's in downtown Peterborough).  Figured the car deserved a name and Harlow fit.

Happy Halloween

Another season of cavities is upon us and Max certainly made the most of it! He went as Iron Man who he is quick to tell you is really Tony Stark. So whenever Max wasn't wearing his mask, that's who he told people he was. Pretty excellent. Daphne was a dalmatian puppy, she was cute but made it perfectly clear that she was not happy with the velcro on her costume. But she is also teething, so it could have been her incisors pushing through.

We went out with some of Max's friends from school through the neighborhood north of our apartment. We went door to door doing some "traditional" trick or treating, and when it got to be too cold and windy we returned to our building and went floor to floor. Needless to say we have a treasure trove of candy. We will all be enjoying Halloween for the next few weeks.

Columbus Day Weekend

As Lauren said, no visit to NH would be complete without a ride on Deeda's tractor--Daphne is obviously enjoying that ride.  And Max had a chance to try "real golf" using his special kid-size putter.

An absolutely beautiful weekend!

Max is a kindergartner!

Here are a few panoramic pictures I've taken of Max's school and classroom. He is having a really good time in school and who wouldn't with a classroom like this?

What is it?

I was splitting wood on Saturday and found this interesting track when I opened a log. It's obviously caused by some sort of insect, but very precise and symmetrical. Looks "burned" on the side tracks, but not on the main tunnel. Reminds us of a bottle brush. Wonder what it is?

Update - December 18, 2010
A fellow baritone in the Peterborough Chamber Choir saw this posting and sent the picture to his son who knows about these things.  Here is the response:

Very cool!  That's a "gallery" likely produced by cerambicid beetles - aka wood borers.  Looks like a very successful mama with each of those cavities having housed a baby beetle that began as an egg, then a larva which carved out its own bedroom, finally pupating and exited the wood through the same hole that mama came in on.  The fact that all the pupal chambers are right next to where the eggs were laid means that they didn't eat much wood in the larval stage and instead probably relied on fungal mass that grew after mama inoculated the area with spores.

Sunset - Sunrise

We never cease to be awed by the beautiful sunsets we can enjoy at the cabin--the picture above is a good example. However, as evidenced in the picture below, sunrise can often be just as spectacular.

Garage Doors

In the scope of things, I guess getting new garage doors is not such an exciting event. However, the old ones were original with the house (22 years in October), plus they were very heavy and had really gotten out of alignment over the years due to several interactions with cars/trucks.

The new doors are MUCH lighter (almost 40 pounds per door) and, best of all, the are insulated (R-12). A welcome change!

Hiking

Sue spent a long weekend at the cabin--worked MANY hours on David and Amanda's quilt. But she did take time out for a hike with several neighbors. They hiked part of the Forest Legacy trail, one of the trails established and maintained by the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. That group has done a remarkable job of preserving land and resources in the area.

Above: Sue and Susan Corkran (Windswept)

Below: Nancy and Jerry Fee (The Loft)

Cabin Door

When we bought the cabin (hard to believe it was 24 years ago!), the original door had been removed and was leaning up against one of the outside walls. Very weathered and deteriorating quickly. We tried to think of ways we could use it, but nothing made sense. So, 7-8 years ago, we donated it to the Rangeley Historical Society.

They have a very small building and museum in Rangeley, but had plans to build a new facility in Oquossoc dedicated to the Region's fishing and hunting heritage. It took several years, but the Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum had its dedication and grand opening on August 14--it's a beautiful facility. Here is the link for the museum's web site: www.rangeleyoutdoormuseum.org

One of the main attractions in the museum is a simulated log cabin (the size and layout are amazingly close to our little cabin). And, there is "our" door, the very first thing you see as you enter the museum. We are thrilled that the door has been preserved in such a fitting way!

Lapsed Time

I made this using an app that i downloaded to my phone. I can't quite believe that I just did this with my phone!

handmade by Meema... the cuteness continues..

thanks, meema, for the super adorable dresses with matching bloomers. love, daphne

Where to begin?

The summer has just really begun, and already I am behind on posting cute pictures of the kids. Many things have happened. Max has not only graduated from pre-school, but he has started summer camp! And he has learned how to tread water in the pool! He can talk to me while he swims out from the edge. He has taken to the water like a true Pisces. And we also have the cutest little girl ever (no I am not biased). She has started walking and promptly gone back to crawling. But there is no doubt that she is cute! So here is a selection of photos to help bring everyone up to speed. Enjoy!

Max's Pre-School Graduation.

The Daph-a-doodle looking cute.

Max waiting for the Camp Yomi bus on the first day of camp.

Look how big that backpack is!

That is a super thumbs up.

Max is treading water here, with his arm out of the water no less!

Look Ma, no feet!

Moose

UPDATE - July 14
Just found moose tracks going through one of the flower beds by the sidewalk to the house. Couldn't tell if it was one or two animals, but they're still around.

Early one morning about a week ago, Sue was outside hanging sheets on the clothes line when she heard our neighbor's dog bark. Unusual because this neighbor's dogs are exceptionally well behaved. Then she heard a crashing in the woods. A few minutes later, the same sequence of sounds. So, curious, she went around to the front porch to see if she could figure out what was happening.

That's when she saw a large bull moose and his mate casually walking through the woods in the front part of our property. While exciting, it's happened before--we've seen moose several times before and have seen tracks at other times. I think there's even a picture of a moose in an earlier posting on this blog.

Sue watched as the moose went toward the road, hoping they wouldn't try to cross when cars were coming. One car went by with no problem--she thinks they might have seen the moose. But the second car was not so lucky. Although Sue didn't actually see the collision, she heard it. She immediately started running down the driveway because we know how much damage is done when a car hits a moose!

When Sue got to the car, the moose was gone, but the car was very badly damaged. And the driver--a young woman from New Ipswich--although unhurt, was understandably quite shaken. The driver of another car called 911, then he and Sue waited until the Police arrived. Once all the formalities were taken care of, Sue helped the driver get her car to a repair shop and then took her to the elementary school in Hancock, where she works.

Yesterday, Sue found a lovely flower arrangement near our mailbox--a thank you message from the driver of the car that hit the moose. Along with a thank you card, the woman included a poem she had written just a few days earlier. It's a very poignant remembrance of what had to be a traumatic event. Here is the poem:

The moment that it was over, I prayed for you
Watched you hit the pavement, roll, get up and look back at me
We collided
We collided
In this perfect moment of physics
Your brazen world stepped out into my brazen world
And now, I won't ever be the same again.

Storage Shed for the Cabin

A one-room log cabin doesn't provide a lot of space for storing things. By default, most of the tools and bulky supplies have ended up in the old ice fishing shanty that's down by the dock. That's certainly not convenient and, besides, it's an ugly structure that I've always thought was an eyesore. So, this year, I bought all the materials and had the students at school build a storage shed that could be put near the parking area near the cabin. Much better location!

The challenge, of course, was getting the finished shed from Peterborough to the cabin--a 200 mile trip. I purposefully designed the shed to fit in the bed of the truck. The real fun, though, was getting the shed into (and out of) the truck.

The students provided plenty of help getting the shed loaded. But, at the cabin, it was just Sue and me. It looked a bit precarious, but the unloading process went pretty smoothly. Once we got it out of the truck, we used a winch to rotate it into place.

We took the doors off and we left the shed unshingled to make it lighter for moving. There is also an addition to the right side of the shed that we will use for firewood. All that stuff got added once we had the shed in place. Looks pretty good!

Mini-Hog

Okay, it's not a Harley, it's a 1985 Honda Spree--a scooter/moped. But it's easy to ride and surprisingly "peppy." Fun, too. Doesn't require a special license, so the next time you visit....

Bathroom Renovations

We are always watching those home improvement shows where people are remodeling their kitchens or bathrooms. And, of course, we always talk about what we'd do in OUR house. So, this year we used some of our tax refund to take the first step of installing new counter tops, sinks, and faucets in two bathrooms--downstairs and the master upstairs. Took some time, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!

First, we picked out the sinks and faucets. You can't believe how many choices there are!

Then came the real fun--choosing the stone for the counter tops. We used a kitchen planner at the local hardware store and remodeling center. She could not have been nicer or more helpful. She took us to a marble and granite contractor where we could choose from, literally, hundreds of slabs lined up in their parking area. Lots of options, but once we saw these two pieces, we instantly agreed on the choice.

The brown top is the downstairs bathroom. We love the striations and patterns in the stone. The gray/white top is in the master bathroom. It's a perfect complement to the tile on the floor. Note how the contractor fabricated the tops--they did a superb job of matching the patterns in the stone so they flow from the counter top to the backsplash. And we really like the look of the undermount sinks and the single-hole faucets.

A little work left to hook up the water and drains, but we are VERY happy with the result.

Cape Cod

The Sharon Open golfers and the two non-golfing spouses went to Cape Cod recently for a spring gathering. Rory's mother was gracious enough to open her home in Chatham for the group. Good company; weather was perfect; food was excellent; and golf was fun. We had a wonderful time.

Here's the official group photograph, taken on the beach near the house--obviously at night.


On Sunday morning, Sue and I walked on the nearly deserted beach at the Chatham Lighthouse.