We took the day off and spent it as a family…much needed physically and mentally! Hit up Bangor and Ellsworth; came home by Bucksport, and I took a picture of this little place that has fascinated me for years. It’s right near the entrance to Fort Knox, and I think it would be such a wonderful shop/studio. (Shop on bottom, studio on top…can you imagine all of the natural light you’d have to sew/paint/create with?!) I think I’d even add some skylights to the mix. Add all that to the fact that it’s on the river-I can’t imagine why it’s been abandoned for so long. Even though this house renovation stuff is more than I ever imagined it would be, I’d be willing to tackle this, too.

Happy Weekend!

Well, our day-before-Father’s-Day celebration went beautifully. Erick had a Master’s Program admittance test to take Saturday morning, so we met him at Target around 11:00am and struck out for the coast. The boys slept most of the way there which was a wonderful thing…(and Erick was pretty pleased with the way the test went, hurrah!)

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It was a day full of that air you can hardly feel, although every once in a while it would warm up but a slight ocean breeze would come right behind it and send you back into bliss. And the beach roses were in full bloom. Oh my. They are faves of this family, and always make us think of Bar Harbor because they line the shore walk:

The kids were in their prime. They are SO happy near water…especially ocean water!

Nonnie and Jack in the water-we all had to dip our toes in. Cold at first-not too bad after that. Jack ended up soaked, but none the worse for wear because of it.

The guys spent a large majority of the day finding rocks to throw in the water…

while I spent that same time finding rocks to keep. I also made out well with some tiny seaglass…I have more than are in this particular photo. I really lucked out with some lavender (pretty hard to find) and blue (my fave, of course). And don’t you adore stripey rocks? I do!

We also went shopping a bit and of course ate some ice cream. You can’t walk a block without running into an ice cream shop in BH!

We took one family picture that turned out semi-alright ( most were pretty hilarious due to unhappy children that did NOT want to leave)…

We lingered until 6:00pm or so, then made our way home. Unfortunately the camera was with my parents…on the way home between the island and the mainland, a bagpipe player in full dress was standing on a rocky outcropping over the water and playing like there was no tomorrow. It was fantastic, and so photogenic! Arg! Just picture it, if you will. I assure you it was amazing.

Happy Father’s Day, all you Father’s out there! Since we had our fun yesterday, dad and Erick are at our house tending to housing issues while mom and I are with the boys who are taking a much needed nap. And I think I’ll do the same the minute I post! Have a great week ahead.

We had a late start Saturday. As in…well, a very late start. We only had 2-3 hours to work on the house because Erick had to attend graduation at his high school, and the rest of us didn’t want to make it a late night. We accomplished quite a bit, though! And we absolutely had the best help in the world, donned with safety glasses…

Ryan actually worked for 30 straight minutes helping Papa tear down the fake brick in the kitchen. My HEROS!!

In the meantime, Jack was the most excellent help of all, sleeping right through everything (for about 45 minutes. But hey, we’ll take what we can get!)

Mom and I peeled away more wallpaper, and Erick wrapped up the broken pipe business. I’m so impressed with his efforts. From complete beginner to master…we are now water-tight! Nothing comes without an oopsie though…he had forgotten about this break until it leaked all over the place. Notice how the former owners carpeted over carpet? And over fat shaggy carpet at that!

After E headed onto graduation, we finished up and headed to the lake (2 minutes away!) for a dinner of fish and chips and ice cream. Perfect end to a productive day…

We had such beautiful weather this weekend. Yesterday was lovely as well, and Grammie joined us at the house for a little more reno. I peeled away the remainder of the kitchen wallpaper, and mom and dad pulled up the carpet in the living room. On a complete side note, I have this pretty terrific garden plot in the backyard that is FULL of these plants. Does anyone have the slightest clue what they could be? It’s absolutely overgrown (no one has lived in the house for 2 years). I’d actually like to turn it into a veggie garden next year, but want to know if I should salvage this stuff…

Around 3:30 we went to a family member’s graduation party, then struck out for the G’s place. The kids were thrilled to see each other again, and Erick and I were grateful recepients of a king sized bed and washer and drier from their storage unit. Whoopie! Deb and I looked through magazines and dreamed big dreams while sitting on the deck in the Adirondack chairs. Bliss, I tell you.

The kids ended the day with a round of strawberry ice cream. Doesn’t get any better than that!

Have a happy week!

Alright…now time for the good stuff.

Friday night we hooked up with The Romantic Family and had a super time, not leaving until after 10pm. After 10, you say? That’s right late for us! And we didn’t want to leave…coulda stayed all night! So, obviously, that was a great kickoff to the weekend.

Saturday we were up and about a bit late, but decided to head for Bath by way of Augusta (had to stop and dream at Lowe’s). The sun burst forth and warmed us right up-it was a Godsend of a day! I’m so drawn to Bath-it’s just full of fun things to do. And I rediscovered what is now in the top, oh, 2 of my favorite shops. It’s called Ornament, and I could have very well bought them out to decorate my house, had I the funds. The nice thing is that they are very classy, with high end furniture (of which we could never afford) but they also carry things that I can actually purchase on our little ol’ salary. Great mix to appeal to the masses. I took a picture of the front of the building, but it was quite sunny! Didn’t turn out all that well, but I’ll post it anyway. The other pictures are just here and there…

*Rock Stash*

Very “Maine”

Check out the fabric find, honey! YAY! (It’s gorgeous, by the way. Primed for the overhaul they are going to preform on the house once we are finally in a place of our own).

One happy family! The way life should be.

“Hey Mom! Guess what I spelled!” I hear from the backseat of the car on the ride home…

Which brings me to ask…anyone out there have good resources to refer when it comes to a 3 year old just itchin’ to read and write? I’m absolutely not on the ball, but obviously have to get in gear, because Ryan is So ready. I’d love recommendations if you have any.

Keep those house prayers a comin’! Just set a tentative time of 3:30 tomorrow to sign the papers, although nothing is official yet (a few missing pieces left to gather).

Hopefully I’ll have good news to report tomorrow!

One of those fabulous days, that is.

Yesterday was super. The weather was better than we expected, so around 10:00 am we walked down the street to Reny’s and bought a bottle of Bubbles (aka bubble juice) for the boys. What joy 69 cents will bring! I finally broke out my camera to take some pictures-I’m so bad about not taking advantage of my camera. I took a plethora; here are a few:

Picnic!

Giving the tulips a “shower”, according to Ry. Check out how Jack is holding his watering can.

When the boys went down for their nap, I started making some pillow covers for my Etsy shop. I’ve wanted to do this forever, and I’m having SO MUCH FUN! I plan on completing a few today, then I’ll post pictures. Yay!

When Erick arrived home from school, we took the boys to Pizza Hut, then meandered along a back road to the soon-to-be Murray Residence. Let the kids wander around the yard, and E and I dreamed a bit. And guess what? I have a big, fat lilac bush in my front yard! Woohoo!

We then decided to drive around town a bit, and ended up at the Lakeside Restaurant, which was BURSTING with people. It was such a festive atmosphere! Most of the people were dining inside, but we decided to get some softserve and go to the playground. It’s behind the restaurant, and right on the lake…so peaceful. Jack chased the seagulls and Ryan went down the slide over and over again. I think we have a new family tradition! I wish I would have taken the camera…

The great thing? I have been particularly, in no uncertain terms, VERY much against moving to this town. I’ve never really cared for it, even though it was where Erick and I met and were married. I told God “No Way” would we ever move here. Haha! Now, you know, it’s really starting to grow on me. Funny how that happens.

Time to get to work! I can’t wait to share my new creations with you!

Funny, I look at my title and it appears to be in a foreign language. I think I’ll keep it anyway.

Last Sunday, I decided to transfer our house down payment money from our online savings account to our credit union. I rarely transfer money this way; it usually goes from our CU to our savings! Therefore, I was obviously not paying attention because I, instead, do what I always do. I pushed the “regular” button, trying to transfer a hefty sum of money from the Credit Union to the Online Savings.

Oops.

Come Monday I have a 22 dollar fee on my Credit Union account, followed shortly by an email from our Online Savings Account, stating that the funds were not available, so they would automatically try to withdraw the money again. Noooooo! I called Online Savings, spoke to about 7 people over the course of 3 days (and don’t get me wrong…I think accents are incredibly charming until you are dealing with a serious situation and can’t understand a word that they are saying), all who told me that there was nothing they could do. That they couldn’t stop the computer from making the second attempt (what?) and that once the second attempt was made, my account would be frozen. Hahahaha. (I tend to try and laugh in the face of adversity).

Therefore, in order to receive my money, I would have to have a check overnighted. So, you know, between credit union fees and the overnight fee? Yeah, that was an expensive mis-click. Fortunately my CU waived one of the $22 fees. I love small town friendly people.

It’s not over yet…I have to call again today to see about un-freezing my account. (They couldn’t just make a note of it and prevent the freeze, because obviously their computers are smarter and more stubborn than their human counterparts). Seriously though…if they made a mis-click, I can bet you they’d figure out a way to override the system!

…………………….

In other news, it’s BEAUTIFUL here! Sunny and warm…yesterday, in order to tear myself away from standing by the computer and phone and obsessively checking my email for house news, mom dropped dad off at work so we could have a car, and we took the boys to Bucksport. Grabbed bread, cheese, and fruit for lunch, sat by the dock, and let the boys through rocks in the water. Then we walked to their completely charming ice cream shop and shared a soft serve sundae, followed by a stroll through an equally charming gift shop in which I purchased an adorable granite whale-shaped (made in Maine) trivet for my soon-to-be kitchen. It was a wonderful reprieve from the everyday.

Whew, sorry about all the long sentences!

Time to do laundry.

Finally. Can you hear the collective sigh throughout the state of Maine?  Temperatures to reach 60 degrees this week!  SIXTY!  Laugh all you want, those of you below the state line.  60 feels gooooood.

Last week I tried to seek out the little glimpses of spring.  Luckily things have greened up a bit in just a few short days, but here is what I captured on the Kodak, and what made me realize that winter will not last forever:

I really don’t care for yard art.  Or gnomes.  They kind of creep me out.  But this guy?  Swingin’ in the breeze in Camden?  He actually made me smile.

Shooting up from beneath a layer of…what IS that?  That lovely shade of gray, my friends, is a combination of dirt and salt.  The lawn will need some serious care this year.

Can it be? A little living thing?

It is!  And she’s not frozen!

I have to admit, I was glad to see a ladybug.  Living in Virginia, I came to DETEST ladybugs.  I will never forget the day that my mom-in-law and I drove to our apartment, walked in the door, through the hall, to the living room…and encountered a ladybug infestation.  Of which you have never seen the likes.  Floor, ceiling, walls…a literal crawling mass of the critters. After purchasing a new vacuum cleaner straight-away, (our old wouldn’t handle the enormous quantity), we spent a solid month sucking up bugs.  Every day! And they left this horrid smell, and these little yellow stains everywhere…Oh, the memories.

Since they didn’t seem to follow us back to Maine, I do believe I’m beginning to like them again!

Ah, what a blessed weekend.  Erick and I took off after church and made it to Rockland around 1:30.  While he gallavanted off to his conference, I snuggled under the down comfortor and watched HGTV for hours.  What a treat!  We have two fuzzy channels at home; PBS and CBS.  I was in home-decorator heaven.

Later in the evening we went on the great restaurant hunt, and completely lucked out when we walked into the Park Street Grille.  Although it has everything you could want, it had a bit of a southwest flavor which I obviously enjoyed because of my NM roots.  We wolfed down the chips and salsa and I chose the chimichanga over haddock (gasp!) Although I rarely turn down a fish dinner on the coast, the chimi was calling my name.  And it did NOT disappoint, which was actually surprising, because it’s hard to find authentic southwest in the northeast.

We enjoyed our evening back at the Resort (it’s so fun to say resort instead of Motel 6), and then slept like babies.  Babies that sleep through the night, that is.  At 6 am on the dot a big thump from the next room woke me up, and when I saw a little sliver of light from the window I hopped out of bed and peeked through the shades to see a big orange sun sitting on the water.  Beautiful!  Pink sky, blue water, orange sun.  Sunrise on the coast!  Can it get any better?

I took my time getting ready (had to get in some more Candace Olsen and Design on a Dime) and left around 8:30.  I pulled into the Willow Bake Shoppe on the way to Camden and ordered a Hazelnut coffee (Rock City brand of course) and a Chocolate Raspberry croissant, then continued on to Camden.  (I could so do this every morning!)  Parked on the bay by the library and lingered over my breakfast, then hit the shops. Bought a few art supplies, dreamed quite a bit, picked up my favorite mud pie chocolates from Maine Gathering.  I bought 4 of them, quite intending to make them last throughout the week.  That plan fell apart a few hours later when they started to melt in the car! (We are not quite used to sitting in warm cars here yet).  I unfortunately had to gobble them down.  Didn’t hurt my heart too badly. Oh, wandered through Josephines-I’m in love with the store although I can’t afford a thing!  Anyway, finished my Camden excursion with a slice of quiche and pomegranate juice from the Camden Deli, then shot off to downtown Rockland and lingered for a couple of hours there. Hit the Lucky Dog Gallery (awesome) and the Black Parrot and The Store (also wonderful) then wrapped up with Bookland which is a super independent bookstore.

Pulled into the Samoset and read a book for about 30 minutes until Erick finished and we drove home to see our babies who, while we absolutely relished our freedom, could not wait to wrap our arms around again.

Came home to hugs and kisses, the news that my best friend had her baby (Welcome, Jackson!), and oh…barring any disaster the inspector might find, we are well on our way to a new house. Had to counter back and forth a bit, but we are very pleased with the last number.  How’s that as an end to the perfect weekend ?

Erick decided he would like a “boys day” with Ry and Jack today, so I took off with mom and dad to go furniture shopping (they are pretty serious, I’m still dreaming at this point!) We drove to Ellsworth and had a really fabulous day-it started out wet and drizzly but dried right up before we hit the streets. Spent a good portion of time downtown and discovered the Daily Grind. Wow! Art shop and coffee shop all in one. It was incredibly inspiring. I have some fave new artists and plenty of house decorating ideas! I also took a few pictures; I’m getting a little more interested in photography lately. I’d go back and change some angles, maybe do a little digital tweaking to them. But it’s a start.

Tomorrow, Erick and I are headed to Rockland, woohoo! He has a conference to attend and I’m going to tag along. There is no way I’d miss it…it’s at the Samoset Resort. We went last year but had Jack in tow. This year it’ll be the two of us because Nonnie and Papa are just so stinkin’ awesome; they’ve offered overnight babysitting services. I’m half thrilled and half sad; I’ve spent a couple of nights away from Ry, but this will be the first night away from Jack. And he is a major mama’s boy. Did I mention he spoke his first sentence last week? I don’t think I did! Erick and I skipped to town, and while we were away, he said “Mama gone gone, Daddy gone gone.” My baby is growing up.

Ok. I have to admit I’m a little green-eyed, seeing as though my friends due South are experiencing the full glory of spring, while our forecast is calling for…more snow tonight. In order to remind myself why I live so far north, I spent the better part of the boys’ naptime browsing our summer pictures. Sanity is restored! THIS is why I live here, and never, ever want to leave.