Out On Bail(ey)

We took a trip out to Land's End at the end of Bailey Island via Orr's Island. Yeah, we went island hopping. It was a pretty nice morning and didn't start raining until the afternoon when we had finished the fun parts and were just doing errands. Admittedly they were fun errands, but they weren't affected adversely by the adverse weather.

Keith and the LL Bean Stock

I've been in Maine for almost a year and have only just gotten around to buying a raincoat. I used to have one when I was last living in New England and even brought it to Arizona with me when I moved there. But it kinda went away after a few years of not using it in the desert and I no longer own it.

Anyway, I went to LL Bean and bought a new raincoat. And a new pair of sneakers. Not as big as this boot though. I only take an 8 1/2 EE.

K & C See the Sea

Did the monthly mail run down to York on Sunday. It may be the last time we do so, as June was when I took out the year's rental on the box and we have a valid Maine mailing address where we're living.

We did have some fear that the holiday weekend crowds would keep us from getting anywhere fast, but the light rain in the morning and general overcast skies seems to have kept people away. Ogunquit and Wells were still fairly well attended, but Kennebunk, were we took our beach walk, was sparsely populated.

Hunted Houses

click on the pics to enlarge them quick

After many weekends of looking at houses, mostly found by searching many weeknights on the internet, we have found some we like enough to maybe buy. The pictures above are of our top choice. It is also the one that needs the most work. It is bank owned, and while it was unoccupied, some pipes burst. The refinished walk-out basement had water in it. The flooring from the basement will have to be taken out and replaced. And some water soaked up into the drywall, so the lower part of that will have to be replaced. The light fixtures and wood stove the previous owners took with them when they bailed out will also have to be replaced. But, it is bank owned in a glutted market, so we are hopeful that we can put in a low bid that would allow us to use a big chunk of the money we got from the sale of our old house for the repairs and yet end up with a lower monthly mortgage payment than if we spent the same money totally on the down payment of a move-in ready house.

Second choice is a for sale by owner home that has a mother-in-law apartment over the garage. That apartment is the only bit of fixing up that is needed and if we bought the house, we were thinking we'd convert it into the master bedroom suite. It needs better floor covering, some work on the stair railings, and a solution to how bright it would be on moonlit nights shining in through the skylights. But certainly not as much as the first house.

Third choice is an absolutely beautiful place that suffers from being a little further away from amenities that the others, and from a very steep unpaved driveway that my little car would not be able to climb in the winter. We would have to talk the price down enough to allow us to buy at least one 4-wheel drive vehicle and the asking price is already over our budget.

Fourth choice only needs to have rugs in the living room and basement family room replaced. We might want to get a little bit more customization done, but the rugs would make it ready to move in if we wanted.

Oh No, Orono!

I spent the week in Orono for job training. It really is that complicated. Unfortunately, some people in the class are not as quick as the class was set up for and we are already two days behind. The previous two classes also ran a bit behind, but I fear ours will set the record for longest training period. It's already expected we will take an extra week at least.

The photo is of the roiling waters off the dam over the Stillwater River. I was actually in Old Town when I took this shot. The hotel and training center are located in the northeast corner of Orono, so it's an easy walk across the border into Old Town.

Train Gang

This is where I won't be for the next two weeks. My usual workplace is about 45 minutes away from Freeport in Augusta. I will be getting training in Orono, about another hour further north with about 20 other people. "Fortunately" I can stay at a hotel across the street from the training center and get reimbursed for the cost. I'll be coming home for the weekend in the middle, so Carrie and I don't have to be separated too long.

Then I'm back at the Augusta office for another week of phone training, and then back up to Orono for a final week.

Is this job really that complex? Or are the people they hire really that dumb? Either way is pretty scary.

Looney Tunes

So, you think where you work is crazy? This is one of our official meeting rooms.

Truncated Blog

Last weekend, besides getting a fun visit from Kemmer, Carrie and I went to an annual neighborhood yard sale. Carrie bought a few things, including a Nikon 4 megapixel digital camera. I bought this big old trunk. Wood and shellacked canvas I think. For just $20. And it doesn't have any mildew, mold, or anything like that!

Where's The Reef?

Yes, I am posting to this blog. I visited Keith and Carrie last Saturday and here is a photo of me, stranded on a rock at low tide.

Strawberry Fields For Driveways

We have strawberry plants blooming along the edge of our driveway.

The Tide Is High

Kemmer came out to visit us today, so we went out to Cousin's Island and hit the beach. It was a long narrow sandy strip that stuck way out into the water and we noticed, as we were out at the very tip, that the tide was coming in!



As always, click on the image to enlarge it.