Thanksgiving Day - November 25, 2010

Mitter says she's thankful to have a warm and safe place to sleep and good food to eat.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

November Morning - November 23, 2010

A November morning as seen from my kitchen window.

September 26, 2010 - Unintimidated

Mitty says she's not the least bit afraid of hard work.  As a matter of fact, she's so unintimidated by it she can lay right beside it and fall asleep. 

September 13, 2010 - Hail Storm!

Hail storm, an unusual weather event here, hit us unexpectedly, lasting only a couple of minutes.  The sound of the hail pelting my poor old red Jeepy had us staring agape.  Fortunately no visible damage resulted, though the last of my summer flowers were bedraggled. 

Liz & Jerrad's Wedding, Cape Neddick, Maine - September 5, 2010

A picture perfect day!

Exchanging promises under God's  great blue canopy.

Even threats of Hurricane Earl could not stop this beautiful wedding. 

To have and to hold from this day forward....

August 21, 2010 - Cornish (New Hampshire) Fair

Don't you just love a country fair!

Antique tractors and tractor pulls.

Oxen pulls, horse pulls, chain saw cutting, log rolling, pole climbing.

4H shows, wool spinning, pig races.

Ferris wheels, cotton candy,  farm fresh ice cream (which believe it or not I don't like because it always tastes the way the barn smells to me!), barbecued chicken and seeing old schoolmates.  What a day!

For the past 60+ years my little home town has held an annual fair just before the start of the new school year.  It was the last hurrah, the last  long days of  summer vacations, that we as children celebrated before having to settle back into the routine of school and homework. 

July 31, 2020 - My Mother's Bowl

End-of-life preparations are being made for my mother.  She is in a residential rehab facility now, still strong of will and spirit, but unable physically to take care of herself.  It's a little scary to see her like this as it was she who held the family together with her fierce pride and determination.  We just didn't know it then.

My brother Grant and his daughters cleaned out her apartment for the last time, trying to decide what goes to Goodwill, what to keep, what to pass on.  What to sell.  I suppose it will be like that for all of us one of these days, but I don't want to think about that, yet.

This bowl was given to my mother by her aunt, shortly after she married my father and immigrated to this country, so it's well over 50 years old, older than I, smiles.  It has ridges like corduroy and a rice paddle.  She used it to make Japanese pickles, the occasional sushi, but mostly it was safely tucked away on some high shelf where no harm could come to it; it was one of the few pieces of "home" that she owned. 

Mother was surprised that I remembered the bowl, even more surprised that it was something that I wanted.  The bowl has many meanings; it is a symbol of life, service, submissiveness and selflessness, but for both of us, it also means home.

July 18, 2010 - Barnstead NH Homecoming Day

We went to visit Earl's sister, Susan, and her significant other, Lloyd this past weekend, to see Lloyd participate in the Barnstead, NH Homecoming Day celebration.  Barnstead NH is a small New England town of less than 4,000 residents. They celebrated their Homecoming Day with a parade.

The Shriners Marching Drum Corps.  Our friend Lloyd volunteered to be a "puller" on this hot and humid July day.

The mini Corvettes are associated with the Shriners.  These cars are no longer being made.

From mini-Corvettes to monster trucks, grins.

And antique vintage rides and service vehicles old and new.

The new replaces the old.

A green fire truck?  Yes!  You can't see it clearly in the photo, but behind the driver's side door, there's wording that says, "It's not easy being green."

There is kind of a sad pride in me as I see these young boys dressed as historical patriot soldiers.  So much had been given and sacrificed so that we may be where we are today, celebrating Homecoming Day.

And today, so much is still being given and sacrified by our young men and women so that we may have continue to enjoy Coming Home for all our days.

June 13, 2010

 

Mitter loves to sit in our plastic bath tub "ice bucket".

June 9, 2010

Earl is 62 years old today. Lots of folks get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant and order an expensive and elegant meal. However, as part of  our tradition, we celebrate his special day with The Tacky Birthday Celebration.

The tradition started about ten years ago, when we were first dating.  I used to work second shift, Earl worked first. I took the day off from work to put together a very inexpensive dinner, complete with melamine dinner ware, plastic wine glasses, and cheap wine and perfect weather.  It was supposed to be a joke. 

What I didn't count on was the local farmers fertilizing their fields...the stink of  fresh cow manure wafted down from the hills behind us and settled in the valley where our house sits. And if that wasn't enough, huge truckloads of the stuff was being driven past the house.  No amount of citronella candles could mask the odor.  Earl couldn't stop laughing and declared it the best birthday celebration ever. 

Nowadays, we just bring the party inside but the tradition lives on.

June 8, 2010

A flower bed in Cornish, New Hampshire.  I just love gardeners with a quirky sense of humor.

June 7, 2010

We visited our favorite ice cream barn.

Cat door!

Earl enjoying his first ice cream cone of the season, Cookie Dough.

May 31, 2010

The smoke from the wildfires fires in Quebec drifted southward to us, casting a heavy gray pall. 

May 1, 2010 - Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine

Left to right, Jacob, Bryce, Grampa Earl, Aiden. Grandpa Earl and Aiden are the two true train brains.

 Aiden holds onto the strap that standing passengers used when there were no seats available.  Erin, his beautiful Mom,  holds Aiden. Grandpa Earl looks on.

Bryce wants to be a strap hanger, too!

Bryce and Jacob are determined to manage the steps by themselves!

A little help from their Mom's beloved, Wayne,  is appreciated.

Jacob takes his trolley ride seriously.

Bryce is caught up in the moment.

Aiden has miles to go before he sleeps....

Forget-me-nots thriving and blossoming in old railroad ties.

I wonder what lies ahead and if these two parallel lines meet at some distant point.

April 24, 2010 - Lone Flowering Tree in a Sunny Dale

When I look out my kitchen window to the field across the street, I can see sunlight shine upon a lone white flowering tree. 

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - Coming Home from the Office

I had to go into the office today for a meeting.  Since it's a 1 hour drive each way for me, it was decided that in order not to have nonproductive commuting time, that I would go in for the whole day.  My workday is 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. so I had to get up extra early in order to be there for 5:30.  Yawn.  This is the side entrance where I come in and out at the world class hospital where I work.  To the right, but not seen, is a helicopter landing pad, then the Emergency Department.  To the far left is the Cancer Center.  Beyond these doors lies multiple specialties and services, with over 5,000 employees in multiple specialties providing some of the best care and services available for patients who come to us from around the globe.  There are multiple sites for our facility; this is just the main campus.

As I cross the bridge from the main campus to the parking lot, there's a little brook.  The land is quite marshy and woody; and often there are deer along the pathway. 

This bridge joins one of the employee parking lots to the main campus.  It's a pretty walk in the afternoon, a little scary at 5:30 a.m. when there is limited light and dark woods all around.  Ordinarily I'd take the parking lot bus, but it doesn't run so early in the morning.  Let's just say I didn't dawdle going in, but I had time to look back and enjoy the view as I left.