Day Dreaming

$425,000 in Carver, MA - Active

Rooms: 6 Bedrooms: 3 Full Baths: 2 Half Baths: 0 Master Bath: No Garage: 0

Style:Antique, Farmhouse Acres: 7.84 Lot Size: 341510 sqft Living Area: 1740 sqft Basement: Yes

This was the old Highland Farm property in Carver. The house itself was built in the 1800s and if you notice in the MLS photograph, the house is barely shown. This is because Antique is a polite way of saying decrepit.
Still I love this land and can picture huge veggie garden and a petting farm. Sigh. Sheep grazing and a corn maze growing.
I remember the old woman who ran the farm, we went there many years ago when I made my first attempt at gardening. The woman was so helpful and friendly. I wonder if she ever had sheep or goats there...
Of course it would probably make more sense to update my Resume and scour the want ads for a higher paying job to pay for the house I DO have. The bathtub is leaking and today I discovered that the landline phone no longer works. That is to say it rings but you cannot answer it or charge it or see who is calling let alone retrieve the messages...
But my mind goes to farm land or at least land larger than my 3/4 acres of heaven...

You can google anything

Those of you who follow Blauss family adventures via the blogs know that Mary does genealogy for a living and Donnie has been "Erastus" hunting for a hobby. Mary has us all pouring over old records looking up long dead ancestors and imagining other lives lived.
Well I was googling sheep farms in MA this morning, and I came upon a website that was about "black sheep in Massachusetts." Well silly me assumed it was a website containing information about black faced sheep. WRONG.
http://www.blacksheepancestors.com/usa/massachusetts.shtml
This website allows you to look up rogue ancestors through prison records!!! Black sheep of the human variety not woolly beasts!

The morning after...

I really should have had a few drinks last night. Perhaps more than a few. That way this morning's hangover/ all over/achy feeling would have at least been preceded by fun and debauchery.
The morning after crashing and flipping over your bike and that of your son's is not a pretty picture! My neck is stiff, I have a lovely mottled bruise on my leg, and multiple stiff and tender muscles on various parts of my anatomy.
I tried sleeping in but Joe came into my room four different times. The first to ask where the straws were. The second to find out what time I wanted to get up. The third time he came in to show me his bruises and turned the light on right above my head. It is possible that he burned my retina as I was looking directly at the bulb the very second he found the switch. The fourth time he came in to let me know he was lonely. (Do you think he liked all the extra attention he got yesterday?)
I did do my run this morning, not quite three mile. But I really felt every step. To top it off I had to turn down Red Sox tickets for tomorrow night's game. Now that was painful! I have to work of course. But they are all fans and would never begrudge my coming in late if I was at Fenway. But we are currently experiencing cash flow problems. Hmm that is not quite right. Flow would assume much money coming in. I believe the proper phrase would be we are currently experiencing cash drain problems.....
No matter this too shall pass. Fun stuff is coming up (and already paid for!) We have the Midnight Madness rabbit show at Topsfield Fair grounds. Then the children (ok mostly Mary and Matt) have 25th anniversary plans for us. Then Margo has a birthday party. Then the YM people have a cookout bash on Glenn Charlie pond, Then there is our ACTUAL 25th wedding anniversary. I believe Don is taking the day off and we are going into Boston. Plus both Marshfield and East Middleboro Fairs will soon be upon us. Good stuff ahead.
I would not object if someone would like to stop by today and give me a full body massage. In the afternoon I do need to sleep before work and somewhere in the medicine cabinet I am sure I have muscle relaxers so perhaps I will have a relaxing day indeed.
BTW Joe is feeling much better. (He certainly managed to run up and down the stairs four times this morning!) I imagine he will be running aorund all day hsowing off his spectacualr bruises to the neighbor kids...

The sound of bittersweet regret, by Coldplay...haunting

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the King!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
(Ohhh)

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be King?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
(Ohhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringings
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
(Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh)

Julie is on Vacation

Julie has been gone since Sunday when Donnie put her on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. She returns Friday night after a week of teaching art to 4-9 years old with her former high school art teacher and current mentor Cara. They will be living a Bohemian artist lifestyle and plan to check out PJs cousin's art boutique Rayans.
All and all a grand adventure for a 17 year old girl who deserves every good thing. It will be a summer she will never forget.
I on the other hand am desolate without her and am horrified to think that next Fall she will leave me for college. How has the time gone so fast? I assumed I would miss our number one babysitter. Things just go smoother when Julie is around. The older boys are more haphazard in their approach to childcare and are apt to play favorites.
But actually I haven't missed her child sitting services (although I know Jamie and Nikki have.) It is her company I miss most. Julie is in a word Fun. Or how about this word Sunny. She is always up for an adventure or quiet conversation or a bit of silliness. She is generous and insightful and except for an unaccountable taste for Monty Python she is very humorous.
I miss her insight and companionship. I miss her view of all things. She sees everything in a swirl of colors and daisy chains.
I thought nothing would be worse than when Mary abandoned me for college and then marriage. But Julie going off next Fall for her great adventure (she plans on going to two colleges at the same time, Brown and RISD in a unique and challenging opportunity to combine both her love of Art and her love of Egyptology) will be a huge trauma for ME.
See the thing is, the goal of parenting is not to have kids but to raise productive and successful adults. To teach children all the skills they need to be independent thinkers, articulate speakers, caring humans.
I know this, I do. But still...why does my baby have to grow up and away?

Joe meets the road

We had packed for a long journey. Today was the day Joe would finally discover how long France street was, and what it connected too. We made sure we had plenty of water, even freezing two "cyclone hydration gear" water bottles, what all serious cyclist use.
I made sure Joey had a good breakfast and we had peaches and cherries keeping cool in a lunch box. Everything was set for our long ride today.
What we didn't count on was a blip in the road shortly before the start of France street. Joe hit it and for a moment wavered to the right. I knew in an instant we were both going down and unlike the last time I was not jumping clear of the bikes or him. We had just started to pick up speed when he hit the edge of the road and his wheels went out from under him. The problem was he did not fall to the right but instead went down to the left a split second in front of me. He hit the ground face first and I rode over both the edge of his bike and his left shoulder before flipping over my own bike. CRASH.
(The picture above is my tire marks on his shirt shoulder and then his tire burned shoulder, ouch.)
I tried to scramble around behind the bikes to get to him as he staggered to his feet. A pick up truck coming the other way, who must've had a spectacular view of the accident, stopped to offer help. I assured him I was fine and had a phone and that we would be calling my older son. Shaking his head at Joe's bloody face he muttered 'poor little guy' and went on his way.
I managed to convince Joe to walk about ten feet further up the road to sit in the shade while I moved the bikes. His bike I ended up carrying, certain THAT would kill my back the way the accident hadn't! I was able to readjust the front tire and handle bars and so could push it to the van when Tim eventually showed up. My bike was fine and food and drinks were collected from where they had been thrown.
Joe managed to sit down in a patch of poison ivy and cried for the first time when I brought it to his attention. A full body check showed road burn on one of his knees and skin scrapped off from his opposite ankle, probably where the pedal dug into his foot. His whole left cheek is a mess, lips swollen, cheek throbbing but surprisingly very little blood. Although he was initially a little shocky all I could think of was thank God I make him wear a helmet. Neither Corey nor Tim wear one which I hate. I feel like we should force them. Don does not agree. (It is one of the few parenting things we differ on.)
Joe's helmet for certain prevented a concussion, he fell fast and hard and landed right on it, then to add insult to injury had me ride over him forcing his head to hit the pavement a split second later.
He is now ensconced on the couch, with a blue ice pack on his cheek. He smells fresh and clean as I had him soak in the tub and he is holding a little yellow monkey we picked up for him at the Dollar store.
He is not ready to think of it as a grand adventure...

Joe bike crash

More to follow....

Theme from Rocky plays in the background...

Surprisingly I slept well the night before the race. My nerves didn’t start to bother me until about 7 a.m. From then on no matter what I did my heart rate was a good ten beats faster than it was suppose to be.

As I leaned against a telephone pole to stretch with the other runners pre race, I thought about the telephone pole I clung to back in January after barely being able to complete a two-mile walk! Times sure have changed for this 45-year-old body.

It was a little disconcerting to note that I was the roundest runner there. I just assumed there would be people of all ages and sizes. Well there were plenty of folks both older and younger than I, but no one even close to as round.

I ended up lining up towards the back with a couple of people that I knew. They quickly left me in the dust and the whole length of my run was accented with the sounds of the police car behind me protecting the last runners of the race. (Please note I ultimately placed 164 out of the 178 folks who finished the race.)

Eileen, Reenie, Don and all the kids except Mary and Corey were there to cheer me on. Don even rode Tim’s bike to come look for me as I was running the last half-mile. He didn’t expect to find me so close to the finish. Apparently running with a bunch of people and being nervous shaves about ten minutes off you practice times!

One of the big surprises was looking up route 58 (towards Wareham) at the one mile mark and seeing a women who looked remarkably like Aunty Maria crossing from her vehicle to the traffic directing cop. As I ran past and realized it REALLY was her, the cop shouted, “She got a ticket just to watch you race.” Evidently her charm one him over however and he did not give her a ticket, just made her cheer the remaining runners on.

One of the church ladies rode her bike with me for part of the race offering companionship and encouragement and it was nice to see Donnie heading towards me on Tim’s bike.

It was funny during the middle part of the race I was thinking about sheep and owning a small flock. It made me laugh to wonder what other runners might be thinking about. Wouldn’t it be funny to see thought bubbles above people heads? I had been thinking about owning sheep as a neat living reminder of past ancestors and the whole Good Shepard image in the bible has always really struck me.

As I was thinking of the biblical passage (ok I am not the only runner who prays while running I do know that!) about how the Shepard knows His flock and they know Him, I spotted Donnie on the bike far ahead. I recognized him before he spotted me. Then I thought back to spotting Maria before she saw me and thought how I too knew my sheep!

( Ok the preceding paragraph means nothing to nobody and Margo certainly blogs on spiritual topics in a much more profound way. But I thought it was profound to be thinking about sheep! Could have been runner’s hallucinations!)

I ended the race to nerve-wracking applause, sprinting past a huge clock that professionally recorded my time 56.38. I am even listed on the Coolrunning website!

When I finished I kept asking where the free runners food was. I quickly grabbed a slice of watermelon then looked at all the free hotdogs. “Go ahead you deserve it” said one of the volunteers.

“Babe you ran five miles in great time you deserve a treat, go ahead.” And it is true I was hungry and I did deserve a food reward. But I thought about how hard my 45-year-old body trained. I thought about how it really does not like to run and really does like to eat huge portions. But how over the last 6 months it has been pushed and molded into a smaller shape on less fuel. I did deserve a food reward but, “Hey I deserve something better than this. I didn’t run five miles for a hotdog!”

So Don and I went out to eat and I got a huge yummy salad, grilled chicken, steamed veggies and potato. Now that food choice might be the most inspiring thing of all!

(Most favorite part of the whole race? Even more fun than going out to eat or crossing the finish line? The look on Donnie’s face!)

Jogging along

And they're off..

I have no idea what I am staring at. I am probably smiling at Reenie and Eileen who, as always at every important moment of my life, are there to cheer me on. Julie took this picture about one minute into the race. Notice I am number 12 out of 188. I made sure to get my entry in early so I could get a free t-shirt.

Hazards of the job.

Joe carried the chickens back to the coop after testing. Here he proudly diplays the blood that dripped as Scratchy, Margo et all flapped about wildy. The chicken guy was great and really enjoyed teasing Joe and sharing chicken tips with him.
The chickens get a few feathers removed from under one wing and then a little bit of blood is extracted. If you carry the chickens back to the coop with their wings tucked snugly there is no blood splatter. Joe however likes the flutter of wings.
The whole process took about two hours. I had caught all the chickens ahead of time and put them in rabbit carry cages to make it easier to work with them. My back is killing! I am trying to imagine what it would be like to do a flock of a thousand!

Chicken guy from the USDA

27 chickens caught, leg banded, and tested. A healthy flock. Who caught all the chickens and handed them to the chicken guy? Joe the chicken wrangler? Nope little old me...

The Race was run

I am not being coy. But after the race I worked 11-7 both Saturday and Sunday and we had multiple addict crisisees....
I will write all about the race tomorrow when I have gotten some sleep. Today there is only time for a couple hour nap before the USDA guy comes to inspect the chickens. Poultry that are to be shown at Fairs must be tested and banded to be IDed and to make certain they do not carry infectious diseases.
Picture me for a moment severely sleep deprived capturing and holding 27 angry hens one at a time while they get blood drawn and leg bands put on.....
It is simple to grab the first few chickens. But after a while the rest start to catch on and then things can get ugly.....
FYI: I ran the whole race and I DID NOT come in last place. As a matter of fact I placed 164 out of 178 runners who completed the run.

Words of Wisdom before the big race

So my first 5 mile road race is tomorrow. I was on the weight watcher website today asking the other fattie runners for any words of wisdom. Some of these ladies are former or current runners and many even do marathons. They have offered such great advice like:
1. Visualize the course itself so you can pace yourself based on markers.
2. Many races line you up according to pace. Lie so you can be up with the faster runners otherwise you are dodging slow people.
3. Have your husband offer a full body massage when you finish. It will feel great, be inspiring and you may need it!
As I was laughing about their answers my brother, who is a Bronze metal winner in the Special Olympic world games back in 95, asked what was up. So I asked him for words of wisdom.
He has run over 100 races and won many of them. He always looked calm cool and collected before each event. So I thought he too might have wisdom to part with.
Yon said thougtfully "Words of wisdom about running the first road race? Five miles? Hmmmm How about, LOOK BOTH WAYS.
And there you have it...

Today is Tim's Birthday

23 years ago today I became the mother of a son. I also proved to be a very good Catholic by having Irish twins. (He and Mary were born 11 months apart!)

Tornado warning has just been lifted

Oh my good Lord the only thing I fear more than a thunderstorm is a tornado. Is there no end to my suffering today? I feel like Job......

There is no place like home. There is no place like home. I think I will join Shy Kitty and hide under Nikki's bed.

Prodigal Shy Kitty is home!

Well it took the combined efforts of Nikki, Joe, Jamie, and myself and some sweat equity but we caught Scaredy Cat and she is currently in Nikki's room finishing the contents of the cat food can.
Nikki briefly had her but as she approached the van a child who will remain nameless slammed the van door and the cat flew from her mistresses arms. I am not certain who was more stressed the cat or poor Nikki. But alls well that ends well.
The frightened cat is home and the kids have a great adventure to relate. It shows how discombobulated the cat was by HER adventure that she not only let me pat her but she also purred.

Day 2 Shy Kitty still missing, but spotted

Shy Kitty goes by a couple of names, I always called her Shy Kitty, Corey and Julie always called her Scaredy Cat. Matt named her Caboose and Nikki who owns her (probably more accurate to say she owns Nikki) just calls her Kitty.
After she escaped from her carry cage on the way from the Vets office to the van we were unable to recapture her and left her to find her way home without too much concern. It is only two miles to the vets and she can easily traverse the bogs and not even cross a busy road.
But this morning came with no sign of her at home so Joe and I decided to look for her along our bike route. On the outside chance we may come upon her we decided to wedge the smallest cat carry cage onto the back of my bike and bring some deli ham, to tempt her.
Well we made it all the way to the Vets without spotting her. Neither one of us was pedaling very quickly. Our legs are still worn out from our nearly 15 mile ride two days ago. (Let us not forget that yesterday I ran an additional three!)
We called to her, clucking and meowing in front of the overgrown grape vine, rugosa bushes, and honeysuckle that line the road. Just as we climbed back on our bikes we heard her plaintive meow and then spotted her under the tangled shrubs. I was able to toss her some ham but she scooted away before I could grab her. The vet's wife offered to give us a smelly can of cat food to entice her and warned us about a Fisher Cat in the area. (A Fisher is no wild cat but actually a big weaselly ferret looking thing, weighing more than the cat!)
Well Joe and I could get only so close and then she would dart further into the brush. Eventually the rubbish man came by with his big clanging noisy truck and she disappeared from sight. We both felt like she was watching however and Joe wondered if Nikki being with us might make a difference.
I called her but there was no one home to drive her to us and she has no bike. Tim and Corey both were on theirs and of course Joe and I had ours with us. Joe finally offered to stay behind with the food and carry cage whiel I raced home to get the van and Nikki.
So I made the two miles in ten minutes, a distance that took twice as long a half an hour before.
My quads really protested the workout and I kept having to tell myself that Joe was perfectly fine sitting at the side of a lonely road with a can of cat food, peering into the bushes.
Nikki had gathered my purse and keys and together we drove back to Joe. Shy Kitty never came out or made another sound however even with Nikki's voice and scent in the area. I believe the cat scooted into the woods at the sound of the garbage guy and never knew we were still searching for her.
We left after another 20 minutes of pushing through the bushes and meowing to her. I am sure she will turn out no owrse for wear but my legs may take a couple of days to recover.

Just thinking about it...

Weight Watcher weigh in today, ECT

Lost another 1.6 pounds today for a total of 47.6, plus the original 10.2. We had a crazy morning that included a three mile run then a dash to the Vets office with all three dogs and all four cats to get their Rabies shot. All this was BEFORE my ten a.m. meeting.
I ran alone and went to the meeting alone. However I recruited three of the kids plus a sleep over friend to help corral the animals. The price was 230$ which made me vow NEVER to miss the Rabies clinic again.
But I do love our vet. He and his wife run their office out of their house, they are retired Farm animal vet/nurse combo. So sweet to the kids and animals. Also, they gave us a price break.
Hated to pay the money of course but cannot take the rabies risk especially as the cats all hunt and Bambam should be going to a couple of 4H dog shows before summers end.
All the animals were good EXCEPT Shy Kitty who insisted on bolting and not letting us catch her.
We finally gave up and she will make her way home after she finishes being pissed at us. She is a hateful cat who only likes Nikki and will barely tolerate the rest of us. She is so aggravating the way she showers all her love and affection on Nikki but sneers whenever I get close...and I am usually the one who feeds her. The dogs will sometimes play with the other cats, especially Pale Face, but they leave Shy Kitty strictly alone!
Well the Vets is about 2 miles away (I jog by it often and Joe and I ride by it as well) so I an certain she will make her way back her later.
The dogs are all aging, Bambam is almost 7, Lily is now 9 and Champ an elderly 13. The Doc thought Champ looked great for his age and Champ returned the compliment by kissing the vets bald head!
All in all a very productive morning. To top it off I weigh less today than I did last week and a whole lot less than when I restarted WW.

14.8 miles

Today during the hottest part of the day (ok when it is this time of year every part of the day is darn hot!) Joe and I rode our bikes for 14.8 miles. We were trying to explore a road we had wondered about, ended up visiting a Weight Watcher friend's horse farm for about ten minutes, and found where old roads connected.
It was rather grueling, especially towards the end. I alone downed 32 ounces of cold water. Along the way I nibbled on a Fiber One bar and Joe inexplicably chose to bring a big green pepper to snack on. By the end of the ride we were both soaked in sweat and Joe smelled like an Italian dinner!
We cooled off with a dip in the pond even though by that point it was starting to rain. No thunder today thank goodness. Yesterday I ended my five mile run with a dip in the pond but thunder forced us out of the water LONG before we felt cooled off. The race is Saturday, I think I am ready.

TODAY I WILL SLEEP

We all must strive for something. Today for me
it is blessed sleep.

Grocery bills

How much do you spend per week on groceries for your family? Yesterday I spent 350 dollars. That is a little higher than normal because we were replenishing the spice rack and bathroom supplies both in one week. Usually we spend about 325.
We will probably stop in one more time during the course of the week for bread and milk. I long go stopped replenishing snacks, unless it is fruit. No matter how many snacks I buy on Wed night they always seem to be gone by Sunday. I have in the past hidden snacks in my room to stick in the cabinet come Sunday evening. But snacks within arms reach at night near my bed are not good for me. Now the kids have learned if they eat it all they will be having saltines and veggies for snack til the next shopping trip.
For a brief time during Tim's adolescence we actually put a lock on the snack cabinet. But it has been years since I have needed that kind of security.
I do not mind grocery shopping or even spending money on food. And in our house not a morsel goes to waste. Every bit that is not consumed by a human goes into a dog, cat, rabbit or chicken. Still 350 for one week seems a lot.
I try to remember to have cash handy for the dollar store to get bathroom items. But that never seems to work on any consistent basis. I have looked at BJ type places. But I wonder if there is really a savings there?
I even briefly considered Peapod. I think it would be fun to order online. Also there would be a savings because there is no spontaneous shopping, no tempting sales.
But I like the social interactions with my Shaws people and our local town folk. It is fun to see something on sale or imagine a new recipe and impulse buy. Since the food never goes to waste I guess that makes it ok.
Luckily our garden has helped keep the bill down. But still 350 for food is rather staggering...

Maria's Pond

I have mentioned The Pond numerous times in this blog over the years. I have posted pictures and shared funny anecdotes. The Pond is actually Maquan pond in Hanson, a small spring fed pond that has been a part of my life since I was 7.
My parents originally looked at houses in Hanson because my mom had gone to Camp Kiwanee as a Campfire Girl back in the day. The camp borders one side of the pond, next to it the Hanson town beach, then private land (more on this in a moment!) and then the Rainbow Girls camp.
As a little kid we had great fun watching the Rainbow girls tip their canoes over mid pond as part of their boating safety. We also got a kick out of watching the Campfire girls who could not row well circle around and around as they tried to go in a straight line.
We watched from the "H" dock or the "I" dock, the two town beach docks spelled 'hi' to passing planes. We always wished we could swim over on the private swim area to the left of the "H" dock, those kids got to use boats and floats in the water. The town did not allow this near the "H" or "I" docks because all the paraphernalia made it too difficult for the high school/college age life guards to watch over everyone.
Well when I grew up I married one of those kids from the private side and therefore my own kids have gotten to swim over there with their boats and floats. (Of course they all wish to jump off the docks, forbidden as they are not Hanson residents.)
The Campfire girls no longer own Kiwanee and the Rainbow girls rarely make it out on the pond. It is still a great quiet place to swim and explore though.
Recently Milfoil an invasive weed has made its unwanted appearance in the pond. Aunty Maria owner and keeper of the private side of the pond picked up a Craigslist row boat and stationed it on the beach for any and all to use in an effort to rip out the noxious Milfoil.
Last night for date night Donnie and I decided to take a moonlight canoe ride out on the pond. We pulled along the row boat behind the canoe in case we came across a patch of the darn weed. Well boy did we ever! The stuff is disgusting, its a chocking vegetation that blocks out light and chokes out any native plants. The fish cannot survive for long in a pond where the sunlight is so diminished.
I tried to keep the canoe steady while Donnie used a long garden rake to scoop out the muck and toss it in the row boat. It is muscle straining drudgery but it must be done. Eventually I was able to keep the canoe balanced while still being able to use my paddle to drag some of the weed out of the water and into the trailing boat.
After we dumped the boat on shore (the plan is to use the dying weed as mulch) we jumped in for a late night swim to cool off. At this point is was quite dark with the near full moon just beginning to rise over the tall pine trees. No one else was out on the pond and so we went skinny dipping.
(OK Donnie brazenly stripped and strolled in, I waded in with my dress on and lifted it off as the water covered me. I insisted he put the dress out on the dock in case I needed to scramble into it in a hurry. He thought the whole thing was ridiculous. The woods are pitch black, anyone coming down in a car woudl be spotted long before they arrived. Anyone walking would be heard long before we would be seen.)
It is very freeing and a little odd to swim sans clothing. Your various body parts float about every which way.
All in all a fun date night. Every time I swim or canoe there I think how lucky we are to have the opportunity. Each year when swimming season starts I always joke that I half expect to come down to the pond one day and discover a new lock on the gate with a note from Maria that says "I changed my mind you can all stay home."
A couple of years ago a sign was posted that said "Maria's way or the highway." But so far that is the only sign posted and each year the gate remains unlocked for another season. Thanks Maria!

The end of the exhausting day

The continuation of my sleep deprived Monday included cooking up some chicken for everyone's dinner (which I was then too tired to eat. I ended up with Cocoa Puffs at about 8p.m.) It also included dropping off or picking up various children and their friends. Joe and I even managed a five mile bike ride with the two little boys who live down the street.
I did end up missing the Youth Minister search committee meeting at church, too tired to even open my eyes. But then the teens woke me up playing Guitar Hero rather loudly in the living room. (Right above my head!)
By the time I collapsed into bed for real at days end I fell asleep before poor Donnie even finished his shower! So we ended our day without so much as a good night darling when....
Pound pound pound at the door. It was Corey at 12:30 at night. Apparently his friend Rob needed a jump start for his car and neither boy could find the jumper cables. Don and I got up to help the boys, spoke briefly with them, and headed back to bed. I made a quick stop in the bathroom and glanced in the mirror. To say I looked like death warmed over would be giving too much credit to death!
As I passed Corey he commented, "Rob was nervous about me waking you guys up but I said no worries."
"Of course you should wake us up if you needed help babe. I am glad he could get his car started."
"Ya well he knew you guys were sleeping and he remembered how tired you were earlier. His parents would have totally freaked on him. He would have been too afraid to wake them. He and his brother are pretty cool but they have terrible parents. Goodnight."
So at 12:30 at night when I both looked and felt like hell I got a complement from two 19 year old boys that made me feel pretty darn good.
I did wonder though about parents who would have been angry that their son woke them up when he needed help...

I am suppose to be sleeping

Normally when I get home from work just before 8 in the morning I take some Benedryl, do a few chores then go off to sleep. But today I knew I had to get up at a certain time to pick Jamie up.
Because he needed to be gotten at 1:15 I was not comfortable taking anything for sleep so I just dimmed the lights and hoped for the best. The best was immediately falling asleep and then shortly thereafter having a terrible nightmare. The kind of nightmare where you have to turn on the light and furtively check around the room. This is assuming you can summon the bravery to even move!
Nightmare done, it took a while to fall back asleep and then about an hour and a half later for reasons known only to Morpheus, I woke up. Wide awake, tummy growling awake, glare at the clock disbelief awake.
So I stagger upstairs (it is high noon) and since I last ate at 3a.m. I head for the kitchen. This is when I discover that there is no light wheat bread. "^*(^# diet!
With much grumbling at the GREAT inconvenience Tim slams outside to drive to McDonald's to get me a grilled chicken salad. The fact that I am paying for my lunch, the car and gas he is driving up in, and for the very clothes he is wearing apparently does not tip the balance in my favor. I am inconveniencing HIM.
His mood handing my my lunch matches mine at the very thoguht of salad forl unch so I guess we are even.
This is my Ode to lack of sleep.

A horse of course and contemplative running

Today I decided to run up and down Forest street. It is a rather hilly road but it is for the most part in the shade, and with the temperature again souring, I need all the coolness I can get. (I still have not found a way to keep the sweat from pouring into my eyes. Any suggestions? Baseball hat does not work and I have tried a terry cloth sweatband which gets soaked. But my eyes still get dripped in. Or maybe my eyeballs actually do sweat....)
As you know I still find no particular joy in the running part of running. But nature never disappoints. First I had to help another turtle cross the road. Then best of all a horse appeared. That is correct, a lovely chestnut mare. She was quite curious about me and we had a wonderful time snorting (horses like when you breath into their nose while they are breathing into yours. Sounds a little gross but it is actually quite sweet.)
I gave her some grass that was just out of reach on my side of the fence. Then she kept bumping my arm (like Patchy the Cat does) to get me to pat her. So beautiful.
As I was heading back a very buff very manly runner jogged by me. We both smiled and made polite weather comments. He was shirtless and very sleek yet muscle-y. His final comment as he past me and left me in the dust was "Don't you just love to run on days like this?"
Can you imagine? He thought I was a runner. That I would know what he meant about the glories of running on a beautiful summer day, along a shady road.
I do not think of myself as a runner but he did. And really he oughta know! That was one fine looking specimen of a runner! So then I thought, hmmmm, well maybe I am a runner but not a competitive one. But as I watched him disappear from view I realized that I was still wrong. Of course I am a competitive runner. My first race is in two weeks. If you run 3-5 days a week and even enter a race, that MAKES you a runner.
I might be the slowest runner, I certainly could not compare my running times or even body shape with that elite runner. But I do HAVE running times, slow as they are. And this 45 year old body although still round (as Julie says "Round is a shape!") can run up to six miles at an outing.
I bet that guy is competing with me at the Carver Road Race. On race day we might look at each other and smile. He will say good luck and we both will laugh. He for certain will out run me. But we will be on the race course, both of us, runners.

Keeping the momentum going when my tummy growls.

Rejoice in your healthy lifestyle decision.
Enjoy meetings, food, awards.
Keep a list of accomplishments.
Invest time and energy wisely.
Never give up.
Do one positive thing each day.
Learn from experience.
Expect to succeed.

Home Alone

When you are the youngest member of a ten person household the opportunity to have the house to yourself does not happen until you are very old indeed.
This morning Joe got to experience it for the first time in his eleven years. (Actually Uncle Yon was asleep in his bedroom. But Yon's special needs preclude him from being considered in any way a babysitter!)
I went over fire rules and stranger danger rules one more time before I went off for my morning run. The rest of the gang was out doing their various activities or working. I got home to discover he had indeed locked all the doors behind me and had in every way behaved responsibly.
We then fed all the animals and I showered before both of us went to my WW meeting, out to pick up a new toilet seat cover, and reward Joe for his new mature status.
As we pulled out of the driveway, the following conversation ensued. It seems Joe had a lot on his mind while he was Home Alone as he contemplated various scenarios. (Please note he is positively Jesuit-ical when it comes to discussions involving logic.)
"What if the house was on fire?"
You know to go outside by the big oak tree.
"What if as the house was on fire a stranger pulled into the driveway?"
Joe the stranger may not be a problem. But fire always is. Get out of the house!
"What if the stranger pulled into the driveway, and he had a gun? Is it better to stay in the house while it is on fire or go outside with a gunman?"
Joe it is very hard to hit a moving target. Fire however rarely misses. Please take your
chances, get out of the house and run.
"Mom what if the stranger is a sharpshooter?"
Now I ask you, in the same situation what could you possibly reply to that?

Weigh in, 6 months at Weight Watchers

This morning a woman reached goal. She lost 100.2 pounds and it took her 17 months to do it. She never missed a meeting and never gave up. The last three pounds took from April until now and she said THAT was the hardest part. But here she is at goal, 17 months after she started. Today she says she will learn to maintain the loss.
I found her soooooooooo inspiring. On the other hand I who have been only having small losses (or so it feels) in spite of my vigorous exercise regimen, put up a 2.6 pound loss today. So 6 months on WW has me down 46 pounds.
It has not been easy of course. Especially in the beginning it felt quite overwhelming. And the fact remains in 05 I lost 64 pounds and gained all back but 10.2.
But I feel more positive this time, more accustomed to how my body looks and feels as it sheds pounds. I have to be careful not to have a "number" expectation (IE I want to be down 10 pounds in a month or I want to weigh such and such by June). When I count on a certain number I really set myself up for failure.
Besides I have already reached some very critical numbers. For instance I weigh less than in January when I started. Also my heart rate, blood pressure, and sugar levels are all magnificent.
So I have two and a half weeks until my big race. I lost weight during camping and did NOT feel deprived. (Also not easy and it really does require a lot of time to prepare food, exercise etc.)
I do wonder sometimes if it will always feel like work, if I will always have to be so diligent. I have never been able to carefully follow a plan longer than 8 months or so: so I am approaching that time and preparing myself for it.
46 pounds plus the 10.2 .... 56.2 from my highest weight.

Mamie in Yorkshire

I just got a postcard from my Mary who is vacationing in England with her hubby and in-laws. It sounds like they have had beautiful weather and have gone on lots of adventures.
So strange to have her so far away. She has been able to blog a couple of times but we missed her one phonecall! Don and I have gone up a few times to water her plants and get her mail. I am dying to hear all about her trip and her impressions.

Harvesting

This season we finally remembered to cover the blueberry bush to prevent critters from getting the berries. Joe and I picked a whole bowl full! Also, it is about the fourth bowl of snap peas we have harvested as well! You may note that there are very few alpine strawberries however. That is because a boy who will remain nameless eats more than he collects. Ahem.

Camping memories

I can remember that every year camping we would make a new friend only to find out THEY were leaving the next day, or WE were. Sometimes we would meet at the playground, other times in the river, or even the camp store/game room.
Sure enough this year Corey met up with a couple of boys he had become friendly with last year on the Friday while we camped. Naturally they left on the Saturday. Jamie and Nikki had a modern twist to this. They met a girl the night before we left. She was in the campsite behind us. Did they sit by the fire or lean over the picnic tables to chat?
Nope. They met while they were each using the CHAT option on their DS game! They talked long into the night, my kids in tents, the neighbor girl in her camper.
The DS is a handheld gaming system (think a more expensive Gameboy) that does more than just play expensive games. You can also draw on it, and send notes and pictures to another person with a DS if they are within forty feet or so. We broke down and bought one of the systems to support son in law Matt who designs Pixar video games for the DS. Luckily Matt is able to get us games around Christmas time for a reasonable price.
My favorite game is a little pet one that you can design your own doggie, the room it lives in, and the toys it can play with. Well my most favorite game is the CARS one, not that I can play it. But is the first one Matt ever created for his company. If you read the fine print on the insert you will see that he mentions us by name. I am immortalized by a hand held game...hopefully not my only claim to fame!
So my kids became friends with and had a great time with another girl on another campsite, without ever speaking face to face. New age connections and a memory of fun times camping in the year 2008.

What a difference a year and over 40 pounds makes

July 07 and then July 08

Up to no good.

Corey and Nikki are planning something I am sure I will not approve of. Note how she gazes worshipfully over at him, unconsciously imitating his posture.

Joe and the 5 and dime

Joe carefully counts his cash to see if he has enough to pay for his treasures from the 5 and Dime. I know tourists are always warned not to stand there with cash in hand, counting. But apparently no one ever told my boy not to plop on the floor where it is much easier to count and see the loot you hope to purchase. Notice the green wallet, a gift from Ireland sent to him by his cousin Stephanie.

Beefcake Shot

Nature boy collects rocks for our garden pond from the Pemiguassett. Sort of looks like Adam tempting Eve with a river stone, doesn't it?

Joe's dream dog

We met Frodo, a nine month old Bernese Mountain Dog along the Pemi trail. This is Joe's dream dog!

Daddy's Little Girl

Donnie and Nikki clown around on the bridge overlooking Rocky Gorge, along the Swift river.

Fourth of July

Hail hail the rains all here

Ok I should have posted this first BEFORE I mentioned the bear. But really a bear up close and personal is VERY impressive. Anyway.... yesterday on our way up to NH some very interesting rain clouds showed up on the horizon. They caught one look at our loaded van and station wagon and headed straight for us.
First the wind and clouds, then the heavens opened. When the nickel size hail began pelting us I started to take it personally. It was hard to hear the roaring thunder over the raucous noise of hail on van roof. However the bolts of lightning that would make Zeus proud, reminded us that indeed it WAS thundering.
The hail storm did not follow us all the way to the White Mountains. But the thunder and lightning did. I do not mind a little rain and wind. But setting up four tents in a pine forest during continuous thunder storms does try ones patience.

Its a bear, its a dancing bear

Donnie and I were driving on route 16A in Intervale NH on our way to Tuckermans Restaurant,when a bear a very real very big black bear wandered into the road. He looked at us with little interest, decided to cross in front of us and then shambled off up the slope of the yard next to our car! A bear an ACTUAL bear!
Now for the past two years our campground has warned about leaving food out or in your tent but I paid very little heed. As a small girl over 30 years ago I once saw a bear in the hayfield next to the campground and Corey claims to have a memory of a bear sighting when he was small.
But until tonight I never gave bears much of a thought. The big concern has always been leaving the trash out and finding a skunk in it at about 3a.m. But now I have to think about bears.
As if bears were not enough, a muskrat swam right in front of Don, Jamie, and I in the Saco and then landed on the sand bar and glared at us, quite indignant that we were in his river. I am not sure where he wanted us to be, in the river or on the sand, but he was not pleased with us.

31/2 weeks to race, down 2 more pounds

Donnie thinks it would be a good idea if I try to increase the speed of the first two miles I run. So today I tried to do the first mile under 11 minutes (I average about 11 and 1/2 minutes to twelve minutes for each of the first two miles.)
WELL... it was very hard work. I did indeed do the first mile at 10 minutes and 27 seconds. But the second mile took over twelve minutes to do and I was at max. heart range throughout. Not to mention I felt as though I could not quite catch my breath, every step of the way.
It is hard enough to make myself run. But the added pressure of trying to speed up is really taking all the fun out of it. Ok so far the only fun part about running (besides the really cold shower when I finish) is telling people I can run! But trying to add speed to the ordeal is a torture.
Perhaps it is how you are suppose to do it though. If nothing else the run will be all over in less than four weeks! So tomorrow, before we head to New Hampshire I will try to push myself for speed during my three mile run.
Joe and I did enjoy a nice ride later. Although it might not be the wisest decision to go off pedaling at high noon. We explored another new road and Joe saw his dream house on 17 acres of working bog lands, along the Weweanic river. For a cool 750,000$ it can be all his.
Since he has 15$ to his name I think he is destined for disappointment....