Time for a break. . .

Nothing like a time of reflection, right?!?!?

The two times of the day that i really feel like i can step outside of myself, be quiet, and meditate are shower time (there is a lock on the door) and driving in the car.

This last couple of years have been so topsy turvy here on the pharm, but it wasn't till recently, and specifically this morning, that i was able to pin point the beginning of the chaos, and more importantly prescribe a cure. . .

So the time has come, and i am going away for a little while - a funny thought since i have been blogging so infrequently as of late. But, no, really, it is time for a break to try and get my head on straight, and more importantly my home in order again.

Keep warm this winter, i will be back again eventually. . .

Finally. . . Fryeburg

So for the past 10 years i have heard about this phenomenal fair in Fryeburg. Allegedly it is the biggest Ag fair in Maine. For the last nine years, work or some other impediment has prevented me from attending. Finally, after years of waiting i was able to make the journey to the fair with the fam. Sadly, i wasn't terribly impressed. Two realities may have factored into my disappointment: 1) it was CROWDED. There must have been four million people there. i felt like i needed to have the kids chained to me lest i lose them. 2) We only had four hours to tour the fair, and i fear that we missed a lot. To be fair to the fair, next year we will go during the week instead of on a Saturday. If i am not impressed then, we will just stick to our favorite - The Common Ground Faire! It is much more open, and more geared toward our interests (though in fairness Fryeburg has a much better 4H representation), and there is just a stronger sense of camaraderie with all of the participants - much less the touristy feel. Some of the highlights from Fryeburg: The critter barns, the critters, meeting a young Mainer (and boy was he!!) who was showing sheep (He was very informative.), fried bread, finding old fashioned sheers for our sheep, the crafts and Ag tents!! Overall the whole affair was very fun.

Announcing a new blogger

Hey gang,

I got an invite to what promises to be a pretty cool new blog. The author is vibrant, creative, and has his father's stunning good looks and charm!

Check out Amazing Adventures With James

Progress. . .

Today was great!!! (And by today i mean Saturday).

i worked at the comm center in the wee morning hours - i hate waking up early, but i like early starts. By the time i got home it was raining.
Mike graciously helped to haul all of the left over tree parts (we felled 10 spruce trees this year) over to the burn pile. We started at 0830 and burned until nearly 4:30. The cinder pile is nearly as tall as the original burn pile!!! So after a day of that our yard is back! It is so very weird to have an open front yard.
During the course of our burning we were also able to successfully replace the propane line (not near the fire obviously).
So today was a good day! Productive, cool, and here i find myself again at the comm center. One more night!!! When i get home. . . . it's dump day. . . .wooohooo!

Do you remember Cliff Huxtable????

That seems to be my lot in life these days. i am not complaining. It is really rather entertaining. Things around here keep managing to break a the most inopportune times and frankly repair people cost too darn much. So to mitigate problems i have undertaken these little opportunities to learn all about home repairs and improvements. . .

Most recently the timer on the dryer, but that was trumped by the igniter on the stove. Yup, silly thing went out, and we had to find the part and replace it. 75 bucks and several hours later the stove works. . . .yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then came the musical hissing sound. The copper pipe that connects our PROPANE stove to the PROPANE TANK had apparently been compromised before and is now, well. . . broken!! Yup, i can hold the last two feet of pipe in my hand while standing twenty feet away from the wall that it used to come out of.

It was an educational moment. Our pregnant friend, her hubby, the three kids, two cats a dog and i had to make that crucial decision! Do we evacuate and call the fire brigade or not?!? So we opted to evacuate and shut off the gas our selves. No sense in making a spectacle of the whole ordeal and draw attention to my "gentle nature" and "careful approach" to home repair.

Well, now that the house is aired out and the propane is shut off. . . i am off to bed. Gotta be up in the morning to work at the 911 center. . . Okay, so i might have thought about calling them for this whole hoo-haw, but that would be way too much like work.