Muletide Greetings

We had power out for almost 24 hours. Now it is back and we are feeling it might be a happy christmas after all. We just watched Arthur Christmas and I've got a bunch of old seasonal cartoons to play and our heat is back on.

Happy Kemmer Tiara Day!

How did you celebrate?

Did you go to your favorite bookstore wearing their cool logo on your shirt to celebrate with the store proprietress?

Did you go to a neighboring museum to join Santa and his helpers celebrate the day?

We did!

View some of our past celebrations.

I See the Icy River

cold but sunny day

ice doilies around the rocks

Snow and rain at the beginning of the week cleared things out for the holiday, but in spite of the bright sun, it is bitterly cold out.

Keith, Carrie and Kemmer all got Thursday off and we went out to a local restaurant where Carrie loved her scallops but Kemmer and Keith were less impressed with their turkey.

Friday, Carrie worked, so Keith took Kemmer out for a drive, stopping at Sabattus Pond, Lisbon Falls, and then pulling in to Miller Park in Lisbon. Turns out there is a walking/biking trail along the Androscoggin River here that we never knew about before this.

We braved the cold and walked along the trail for a while, encountering a few other hardy souls determined to avoid Black Friday shopping. We'll have to bring Carrie to see it soon.

 ice agate pattern

click on an ice crystal to enlarge any picture

Spotting Proposition

Having lived an active outdoor life in spite of my fair and delicate skin's tendency to get sunburn, it was no real surprise that after a few years of living in Arizona a doctor pointed out some pre-cancerous lesions forming on my face and arms. Further examinations showed a bit of basil cell melanoma on one arm as well, which had to be cut out.

Yearly checks and yearly applications of liquid nitrogen kept things at bay, though a bit more was used every year and I did have a second basil cell removed.

20 years lived in Arizona with doctors well acquainted with these things, then I moved to Maine. A bit of searching for work before getting a job with health benefits and my own tendency to procrastinate made for a gap of years before I got myself checked again. The dermatologist did a bit of freezing, but also had to burn out two spots of basil cell.

2 more years before I get another check (shame on me!) Different dermatologist who says I have so many lesions (legions of lesions?) that he would rather try a different approach. Using a special ointment that would be, as the pharmacist put it "chemotherapy in a tube." Four weeks on my arms and two weeks on my face. It would attack both the seen and the unseen lesions. It would also look horrible as it attacked and destroyed them.


I did my arms first and showed my coworkers what was happening so as to prepare them when my face started looking like I'd escaped from the Zombie Apocalypse.

click a spot to enlarge the lot

Happy Anniversary to us!

22 years today!

Happy Hallowe'en

a kard from a previous year

Do you believe in haunted - SQUIRREL!

Bridge of Creams

Stone Mountain in the Burnt Meadow Mountain Range

A long weekend usually means a road trip for us. I thought it might be nice to get pictures of a covered bridge with fall foliage and we both wanted to take advantage of Maine Open Creamery Day.

Still in use, though not a lot of color in the surrounding trees.

Both bridges use the Paddleford Truss system.

Parsonsfield-Porter Bridge had more color around it

the goats liked to be scratched

We checked the maps for covered bridges and the map for participating farms in Open Creamery Day and figured out a possible combination. Going west and then south would allow us to get two bridges and at least one creamery, depending on the timing.

Of course, in the glacial carved landscape of Maine, there is no such thing as a straight line. Lakes and mountains keep you zig-zagging all over the place.

The entire day was heavily overcast in spite of the weather report of clearing skies. But the lack of good light didn't stop us from enjoying our meandering drive through the spectacular fall foliage.

We got to both bridges, and through luck, got to Flying Goat Farm just half an hour before official close of the open house. We also stopped at some yard sales and a bookstore.

Overall, a very pleasant day.

Carrie has an eager fan

click on a pic to get a better view

We The Peepers

Almost overnight it became Fall here. Trees have started to change color quite dramatically this past week. We decided to spend a little time today just driving around the area and admiring them. We swung by Hooper Pond and Lake Auburn as well as just tooling about.

Of course we stopped at some yard sales too. We also found a cemetery that had some Keiths as occupants. I'll be changing my Facebook pic soon.

click on a leaf to enlarge the pic

    

Lightheaded

 

Saturday September 14, 2013 we participated in the latest Maine Open Lighthouse Day. This year we got a free boat trip out to Whitehead Island to visit Whitehead Island Light. I liked the rough unpainted exterior of the tower and, of course, the green light.

 

 

 Carrie enjoyed the views.

 

We could also see neighboring Two Bush Light across the water.

Happy Kemmer Tiara Day!

 

The staff at Boulet-Steele Chiropractic Center celebrate Kemmer Tiara Day!

Up, Up and Away

 This morning we went to the annual Lewiston/Auburn Balloon Festival. For the first time! What took us so long? Easy parking, manageable crowd, nice balloons. We watched lots of them set up and take off.

They start by laying out the basket and balloon.

Then blow air into the balloon with big fans.

Once air is in, the burners heat it.

causing the hot air inside to make the balloon lighter than the outside, colder air.

and off they fly

filling the air and drifting away

There were 2 sculpture type balloons, but the penguin was having trouble.

Discount Sail

My ID shirt, in case of shipwreck...

Carrie got a Groupon for a sailing trip, but the day we were scheduled for was rather poor weather, so the Captain agreed to extend the discount for another date.

The Schooner Yacht Heron

 The new day had much better weather and we actually could see things.


We saw sailboats, we saw lighthouses, we saw wildlife. We also saw a lot of open flat expanses of water. We almost fell asleep during those parts.


But it mostly was a fun and pleasant experience.

Indian Island Light

Seals, but no Crofts

Is that guy on the left strangling all the women on board?

click on a yardarm to enlarge any picture

Back and Fourth

of July that is.

 

Carrie's brother Ross came out for his annual visit during the summer for a change.

We took him to Turner for their Library Book Sale and parade. Since the paraders often tossed candy to the crowd, he liked it very much. Plus he does like patriotic things and people waved back at him, so he felt a part of the event.

If you look closely, you can see us reflected in this hub cap.

 

 We also had a day at the beach, which he loved once he stopped being afraid of the waves.

We took him to some swap meets and flea markets as he has liked those in the past, but the days were so muggy he really didn't like the effort. And we took him to his favorite local restaurant, Tintin's. 

Some where in all this, Carrie took him out to see some local fireworks displays. I stayed home to comfort the animals and man the garden hose just in case. Fireworks are now legal in Maine.

Acadian Rhythm

Carrie & Nancy enjoying the visit

 Last weekend our friend Nancy was up in Lubec for a run. Monday she drove south, we drove north, and we met up at Acadia National Park. We had lunch in Bar Harbor, then drove the park's loop drive with lots of stops to admire the shore, and finally drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Carrie enjoying the view

the view from the top of Cadillac Mountain

Nancy with her back to the view