Vacationland Maine - Wednesday and Thursday May 21 and 22

How long have I been here? How long will I be here? What state is this? Who am I? Yes, I am getting that jello-like and relaxed. Mellow jello! We drove up on Tuesday. Wednesday day was a decompressing day. I didn't do a lot of anything - except ate and drank a bit. Oh, and saw a movie. Well, a collection of five documentaries from the Camden Film Festival.

That was a nice relaxing day!

Thursday was another relaxing day. My main (tee hee) plan was to buy a new laptop and a new iPhone. (I am using the voice typing feature and it seems to be working pretty well)(How freaking cool is that!) At first I didn't know if I wanted to go to Portland or someplace else to find a Best Buy. So I used trusty online stuff and found out where all the Best Buys were and it turns out the Bangor location was indeed the closest. (OK, back to my laptop and no more voice typing.)(Wait, maybe there is an option...looks like there is - downloading something so that I can use it offline as well as online. Almost a gig download!) So I hopped in the car, programmed my GPS (love my GPS) and toodled off to Bangor's Best Buy.

Bangor isn't so very far from Belfast. The two cities, though, are not connected by major highways. They are connected by less than major highways. A lot of little towns are driven through as well. A 30 mile drive takes an hour. But at least it is scenic! Yay scenic! I tried listening to one of the CDs I recovered from my book bag - oops, they both were all beaten up. Sigh. So it didn't play as well as I would have hoped. I have a plan, though. I am thinking of turning my old 3gs phone into an iPod. I have never had an iPod. I know, I am a loser. Actually, I am just not that "into" music. Don't get me wrong or started. I do enjoy music - I also like silence. Most of the time I prefer silence. And when I am doing something, I don't need sound in the background. Usually sound in the background (rocking the rhyming) is distracting. But there are times when I would like some music. And creating CDs doesn't seem to be the thing to do. Especially since a) I don't have any blank CDs hanging around and b) my new laptop doesn't have a CD player. I would like to make all the music that is on my old computer available to my new computer. I think I need to upgrade my iTunes though to take advantage of iCloud. Hmm. Just going a mile a minute here in my thoughts. And typing them almost as quickly. BTW, I have installed the dictation thing on my laptop, though somehow I think that is cheating. And really, part of the reason I don't do a podcast or a vlog is because I like to ponder and correct and recording  what I say just seems out of control. Typing, now there is something I fool myself into believing I have control over...

Where was I? Oh, right, on the way to Bangor. I got there and was lucky enough to follow a group into the store who also were looking at getting a new laptop. We chose similar things - I chose to go for the larger hard drive, though. Which, on this machine, is a solid state one - quiet and fast - oh so very zippy! Technology is amazing!! Next stop, cell phones.

I was a little worried about changing phones. Change is scary. Fun, and scary. I didn't know what to expect. It actually was easier, but took longer than I had thought it would. Oh well. Still, I was told my options, changed my plan drastically, but now I have unlimited text!, and picked out a nice, white iPhone - for $1. Plus money to turn the thing on. Really? Jeezus!! Anyway, I am happy and it seems to work. Now all I need is a new case for it...

After bonding with the sales guy over this and that, especially Geaghan's, I headed off in search of food. Ok, I didn't really search, since I knew that I wanted to go to Geaghan's. What's not to like - good food, good beer, good atmosphere. True, no pool table, but other than that, it is high on my list of great brew pubs! (Maybe it is in my brewpub blog...) I had a great oatmeal stout - or two - and a yummy tuna melt with sweet potato fries (which were a little cool but life is that way sometimes...).

Back on the road and headed to dinner with my friend Susan. We have known each other for, oh my goodness, I don't know how long. We were friendly as kids - though she is a few years older than I am. Our families were friends. And we have remained friendly this whole time. Yay. She offered to make me dinner and I gladly accepted her offer. Yummy stuff, too! I need to find a good meatloaf recipe. I think mom would enjoy it.

Long day, though, so I then headed home, played a bit (phone, computer, xBox) and then hit the hay! Yay!

I might have some pictures for the next post. From my new iPhone. Huzzuh!!

It just might work...

Last night I wrote down all the things that I would like to accomplish before heading to Maine a week from Tuesday. The list is not all inclusive - I am not putting down daily tasks like cooking and shopping and working at the Smith. And there might be a couple of things that I have forgotten to put on it - hopefully they will come to me before too long - anyway - here is the list:

Pills for mom
Car Looked at/Oil Change
Bike Rack
Bike Helmet
Laundry
Empty Out Orange Room
Clean Little Bathroom
Pay for laptop fixage
Give Card Back to Kelly
Pay Bills
Pack mom and me
Call Time Warner (ick) about speed boost
Vacuum my room
Look in dance studio and third floor for good chair

Most of these are easily doable with a little planning. Monday will be the day when I get the ball rolling on most of these. And here is where the little epiphany thing happened. Used to be, when I took my car to Dave's Garage to have it looked at, I would walk back to the house. And when I was called and told that the car was ready, I would walk back down. Not a big deal - maybe half an hour each way. Then I had my little aha moment. If I bought the car/bike rack before getting the car looked at, I could take the bike down to the car place on the bike rack - ride home and then ride back to the car place then carry the bike home on the rack. Win, win, win! Love those triple win things (which makes me think of horse racing and taking mom to the track again this summer - at least once - hopefully more frequently than that...) Anyway, that will knock three things off my list. Yay! And, while I am out and about, I will try to do some of the other errands on my list - get as many accomplished on Monday as I can. Yay!

Today, I plan to do some of the things around the house - oh, one I don't know if I want to add to the list or not - put the porch back together. It is a good day to do it - not much wind, pretty warm - that way, when I rinse the floor, it ought to dry quickly. Maybe I will wash the floor today and put the porch together tomorrow. One little problem is that mom's port-o-potty is in the doorway to the porch. Hmm. I will have to think on that one...

Ok, time to get started - I have been toiling away on this and a relationship post about what exactly I mean when I talk about relationships. But I gotta eat!

Between then and now

I have always liked that turn of phrase. Between then and now - as if time were both time and space.

So, since April 18, what has been happening to keep me from writing? Well, I had a torrid and roller coastery attempt at a Long Distance Relationship. Sadly, in the end, there was nothing there. It was, though, quite enjoyable in parts. And I did so enjoy having someone special in my life in even such an odd way. I will admit that much of my waking time was spent on that, er, relationship? for the past two weeks. Wow, was it really only two weeks? Seemed a lot longer. Weird. Time is weird.

Of course, other things happened during that time. First, the issue with the long past due bill got resolved. I was bearded at my door - we "discussed" the issue and he agreed to take $.50 on the dollar. Surprisingly he wanted to keep us as clients. Whatever. He promised to bill monthly. I will believe it when I see it!

What else? Oh, a lot of stuff has happened at the Smith. More movies of course. I took mom to see two: Ernest and Celestine - which she didn't like - and Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush - which I think she did. The week of April 23 was really busy at the Smith and I felt like my head was about to explode at one point. I don't think it actually did, otherwise I might have noticed. I tried to take a day off - last Thursday - and still spent two hours doing Smith work from home! I do see a respite coming later this month - a trip to Maine is the current plan. One more big concert - then a long inhabitation by a dance company. Have to get through those before I am footloose and fancy free for a bit. Yay!

Meanwhile, at home, mom has started a couple new behaviors. The most disconcerting is finding she has fled her bed and gone downstairs to lie down. Maybe I really do need to buy her a new bed. And put a child gate across the top of the stairs. Luckily, she still believes that she can't get around too well, so I am not too worried that she is going to head outside - but that has become a bit more of a possibility at this point. Eeek!

And that is all the big news that I can think of at this point. Oh, I have been playing too much Words of Wonder on Faecbook...

I could use a massage

I am sore. Not horribly, incapacitatingly sore, but sore. And a massage is always welcome. Oh, to have a romantic partner who liked swapping massages. Someday, perhaps. Maybe I will look for a therapist around here who isn't too pricey. A nice, back, leg, arm and head massage. Mmmmm...

Long driving day yesterday with a break at Karl's house for a couple of hours. We managed to get up fairly early yesterday and got out only about half an hour later than I had wanted. Mom wanted to go get me a pair of winter boots, which I haven't owned in 20 years. At Paul's or Juliet's suggestion we went to Reny's to look first. Found a pair fairly quickly that met my needs. Helped by a young man with a sort of mohawk who seemed to be able to read the boxes. Mom was surprised at how quickly I got something that satisfied. I tend to shop that way. If I am looking for something, zip in, evaluate quickly and purchase. I am not a huge fan of endless browsing, though I have done that too on occasion. Then it was five and a half hours to Karl's house. Only one bit of a slow down - where 295/90/84 meet and diverge. Luckily it was just very slow, not that much stopping. Yippee!

We got to Colchester just as Karl was stopping working on house decorating. We shared some of his tasty turkey soup and chatted. Candace had done the midnight madness shopping and stayed up all night. Karl got himself and the kids up at 5 am to meet her and do some more. Crazy people, but I think they had fun and might have saved some money. Both good things. I think it was good for mom to see the house, the kids, Skyelyn and Jacob, and to see Karl and Candace. We didn't stay too long, and hit the road again right around 5. 5 More hours back to Geneva and we were walking in the door right around 10 at night. Not too bad, really. Yippee!

Pictures from November 26, 2011:

The view in Maine

The stream by the side of the Maine house

Candace, Jacob and Skyelyn

Three of four were looking my way - Jacob, Karl, Skyelyn, Mom

Snow Day!

As can be said of many places, the weather here in Maine changes rapidly. When I looked at the weather for the week before leaving Geneva, there wasn't a hint of snow in the forecast. Then, suddenly, a snowstorm was called for - six inches - and sure enough, that is what happened. Yippee! It looked yucky out there. And it was. So yucky, in fact, that I balked at moving my car for the plower who comes and cleans out Juliet and Paul's driveway. I have no snowboots, no winter like apparel and the stuff was blowing around and ick. So Juliet just ran out and did it. Yay her! I managed to stay inside and do much like I did yesterday. More Skyrim. I know, boring for the rest of you - but this is just the sort of game that I enjoy. Still would like to design one one day. Growing up, as I did, at the advent of D&D, it is a little surprising to me that I never became a DM (Dungeon Master). It seems like it would have been perfect for me - creative, directorial. But I never did. And although I played, I never got into it as much as some people. I still enjoy it, whenever it does happen...digression!

So, what all happened yesterday, besides playing? Well, we had lunch and a tea time visit. Lunch was brunch - yum - and the visitor is a neighbor of Juliet's, Laura. Lovely woman. I just popped down to say hello and then left the three of them - mom, Juliet and Laura, to chat. She only stayed an hour. Not one to overstay her welcome!

Next exciting event - dinner! Juliet cooked salmon pasta and a great salad. It is going to be sad to have to go back to my own cooking. I tried to articulate the problem I am having with cooking - picking a menu - and Juliet was very helpful with pointing out cookbooks. I will have to look through some of the ones we have at home and see what pops out at me.

And that was it - the sum total of excitement yesterday. Today is Thanksgiving! Hurrah! If it weren't for the pilgrims, I wouldn't be here. Things would certainly be different...So for that part, I give thanks. For what we did to the indigenous population - well that continues to suck. Someday, the human race will evolve as a whole and most of us truly will love each other as family. Right. Well, it could happen! Here's to a happy planet!

Pictures from November 24, 2011:

Yay snow - on the outside!

Brr

Brunch for lunch!

Salmon pasta for dinner!

I think this is a great mom picture!

Non-productive

And that is totally ok by me! I had a totally non-productive day yesterday, aside from two things. And both of those are not "productive" in the sense in which I think it is understood here. Well, the first is. I wrote and published a blog post! Yay me! And yay you for reading it! Yay us! I do get a sense of accomplishment from finishing a post. The other is, well, I bought a house. Yup! And it only cost 5000 gold! Goodness, it took me a while to save up that much. Oh, and I started a course of study at the college. In Windhall. I think that's where it is. Oh, did I forget to mention this was in Skyrim?! Yup, I played basically all day. And my eyes did not rot out of my head! That is an accomplishment.

Juliet made a yummy dinner, lunch was delicious left over chowder. And Mom took a shower! I don't know why she doesn't like to shower, but she doesn't. Maybe it is genetic, cause I have pushme-pullyou (one of the coolest animals ever imagined) feelings about them as well. So, three things, though one of them was vicariously productive.

And today, more of the same! I hope you all have happy Wednesdays!

Photos from November 22, 2011:

I might just have to kidnap Velvet...

Remember this picture when you look at tomorrow's pictures

Juliet cooking, mom folding laundry, Augustus playing Skyrim...

Yum!

Last Day in Maine for the summer - Updated

We may be back in the fall - and again in the Winter. Once a quarter!

Anyway, this is a placeholder for the time being. I got up later than I wanted to and thus have too little time to compose a thoughtful, pithy post. I will do so either later tonight, or, gasp, tomorrow. But for the nonce, this will have to suffice. And yes, I did take pictures (49 of them) - Here is one to tide you over:


The Maine house View!

Ok, now that I am safely ensconced back in my house in Geneva, I can get to writing about my last day in Maine for the summer. It was a great day! After getting up and getting going, I worked on the blinkety-blank puzzle...and finished it! I love the end game of puzzles - where every piece you pick up finds a home quickly, or for every hole the piece is easy to find! The last fifty or a hundred went like that! Woo hoo! But I am sated with puzzles for the time being. Yippee!

Also in there, mom had her swimming day. Water and I are on hand shaking terms. I like it, but don't love it. Actually, I am a bit of an aquaphobe - or I was when I was younger. I can swim, like to play in the water sometimes, love to drink water, but I don't wake up and look forward eagerly to my next water encounter. Not much of a beach person either. Unless I have a large umbrella or a tent or something - and a waiter...Anywho, mom has been very scared of the ocean for the past few years. This year was no exception. Juliet and Paul and I all agreed that the best time for her to go was around lunch time - the tide was coming in - almost all the way - so the water was going to be at its warmest. And it was. It was almost like bath water. At least for Maine. Mom actually got a lot further this time than last year or the year before. She swam a teeny little bit. I think it was a grand success!

Lastly, Juliet acquiesced to my desire to go to Miller's Lobsters for our lobster dinner rather than Youngs. Millers is about an hour away and well worth the drive. No, the lobsters aren't any better, but the place is smaller, in a much more beautiful location and just nicer. So glad we went there. I, as usual, spoke with random people. We met a very nice set of women - Katherine, Lisa and Sofia and they were gracious enough to let me take their picture! While eating lobster, I helped mom with a couple of tough bits. While I wasn't looking, she exclaimed - aha! I did it! I looked over and she had snagged the tail from my lobster, gotten it out and was about to eat it (having forgotten that she had already eaten her tail)! Tee hee!! Sometimes Alzheimer's can come in handy! :)

Came home, and went to bed! It was an exhausting and great day to end out Maniacal (Mainiacal?) trip!

More Pictures from July 31, 2011: (And more pictures will go up from the Maine trip - hopefully on August 3)


2000 pieces is a lot of pieces! Fun puzzle though. I think other people put in maybe 20 pieces...


Mom descending to the beach.


Yay lobster dinner!


I had to add this picture of the three wonderful women we met!