Brought
to you by the new caretaker/owner of a little hill with dandelions and
clover (house included). Before we head up to our new adventure in
Maine next month, we will be having our much-needed and deserved
dandelion break over in the Netherlands for the next two weeks.
Have a wonderful summer all. The next post may well be live from the Shiretown.
Til then,
TTFN
Ta Ta For Now.
Is it some sort of Darwinian impulse that keeps me from sharing the details of the house I am trying desperately not to fall in love with? I am a mass of contradiction. I feel like shouting out about it, and at the same time, I harbor a Gollum-like tendency to curl up around the property, shield it from the gaze of the world, stroke it tenderly and hiss:
"My preciousssssss.....my owwwnnnnn."
It's not like there is tons of competition in the town we are moving to. It's not like flocks of people are going to suddenly in the next 2 months (two months!!! AHHHHHHH!) move en masse to Aroostook County, Maine.
So. What the hell is getting my panties in such a bunch?
Maybe some of it is information overload. We saw 12 houses in the space of 9 hours. Houses in town, houses in the country, houses with crystal chandeliers, houses with scary, homicidal dogs, houses with apple trees, houses surrounded with farmland and nary another house in sight. I've learned about dug wells; drilled wells; septic tanks; the best foundation for the area (poured concrete); the pros and cons of metal roofing, and fireplaces; the wonderfulness that is the pellet stove; flood plains; waste disposal; heat zoning; the drawbacks of forced air heating;
Hmm. fast pulse, shortness of breath...panic attack coming on...
It's just a fucking house.
I'm healthy, if neurotic. So is my husband. (Healthy I mean). My daughter is happily tearing apart her room while I type. Our lease here runs out in August. We have to move by the end of July. Breath. Great. I just burned the fuck out of my lip with my green tea which thanks to my blasted travel mug is still scalding hot after ten minutes. Ah pain. The head cleanser.
Things are slowly falling into place. Daily, something is done to get us closer to our goals. We were approved for a mortgage. That's good. Dr. Science is one test and some paperwork away from obtaining his Maine medical license. That is also good. We have our passports all ready for our trip to the Netherlands at the end of June for Great Oma's 90th birthday. We have tickets. This is good.
We have 17 days between the time we return and Dr. Science's first day of work in Maine to move. That's...bad. We haven't made an offer yet. Also bad.
For those of you not in the know, the whole "this is good/bad" thing comes from the years in medical school. Particularly, from working in the ED. Things get down to basics very quickly when you have a short time to get results. So looking over a patient, one says..."he's breathing...that's good. He doesn't have a pulse. That's bad". It reminds you where your priorities should lie.
Right now it is...make the fucking offer already.
And be vewy, vewy quiet...
Cross posted at Rock the Cradle .
This past Friday was a rather trying day for me, work-wise. Not that I wasn't able to keep myself together and my duties as orderly as possible, mind you. Nonetheless, it was - shall we say - a long, 12 hour work day with barely a moment to breath.
And while I toiled away in my office cube, where do you think my little Sweetie and darling Hubby were? If you guessed gallivanting around York Beach, ME with friends on a beautiful spring day, you'd be right.
Lucky guys.
Yes, that's right. Hubby had an unplanned day off from work, and his friend from Portland just "happened" to take a personal day too. So the two of them, plus Sweetie and the friend's 3-year old daughter, got to go play all day while the Mamas worked.
Yippee for them.
Honestly, though - I'm told a fabulous time was had by all. There was a Hubby-proclaimed awesome playground at the beach for the girls to play in and the beach itself was not too big nor too crowded on that particular day. And, of course, Hubby was thrilled to get some quality "Man Time" with his buddy he doesn't get to see as often as he'd like.
Fortunately, Hubby also reports that this beach is only about 1 hour, 15 minutes from our So. NH location - so he's very excited for the three of us to visit there as often as possible in the coming summer months.
Okay! You bet!
'Cuz actually participating in a fun beach day with you and Sweetie sure would be a lot more enjoyable than hearing about it after a long, stressful day at work.
If you’ve ever been to Maine in the winter time, it has no doubt been one of the many ski areas which you have called upon(what other reason would you subject yourself to the frigid tundra). For many that very ski area is Sunday River. But, there has been something brewing up in them there hills for a little while now, and she is finally complete.
She’s been named Olympia Snowe-Woman, to honor a senator from our fair state who has served us for many years.
So, if you’re up this ‘away, drop in our world record setting girl, before the sunshine and spring(HA!) take her away.
*Photo courtesy of bethelmainesnowwoman.com
Today, I came across an article by Parents Magazine and the results of their study on the safest place in America to raise children. I am happy to see that four out of the top 10 safest states are from New England. And the other two states round out number 11 and 12.
I'm even happier, to see that my home state of Connecticut is ranked the #1 safest state. This is due mainly to their booster seat and bike helmet laws. We've got some work to do to improve especially in the way of water safety, but it's great to know that overall, our kids are in safe hands. I like knowing that our lawmakers have our children's safety in their minds. When Connecticut first passed their upgraded child seat laws, I scoffed. Really, what first grader (and above) is going to want to sit in a booster seat? And how will I navigate the car line at school if I have to strap a child into a car seat/booster seat? You know what, it doesn't take any more time. Einey, my first grader, just hit 40 pounds, the minimum state weight to go from a car seat to a booster seat (even though I switched her earlier). To graduate from a booster seat to a car seat, she has to have reached 60 pounds and her seventh birthday (the law is a bit ambiguous on this, but talking to seat inspectors, they all have that in agreement). I don't see her miraculously gaining 20 pounds in the next ten months, so we'll be holding onto the booster seat for a few more years.
How did the rest of the New England States rank? Rhode Island, our neighboring state, comes in at #2. Their main focus is on combating violent crimes involving children. Their weakness is at school-bus crossing zones. The next New England state on the list was Maine coming in at #6. They rank high when it comes to teen drivers, but low with leaving children unattended in vehicles. Massachusetts rounds out the top ten at #8. They have great emergency care set up for children, but allow children as young as four to buckle up without a booster seat. I found this surprising with their proximity to CT which has much stricter laws. Vermont just misses the top ten at #11 and New Hampshire comes in at #12. Overall, New England seems to be a very safe place t olive. To find out where your states ranks and some quick stats, visit Parents.com.
OK, February. I get it.
You suck.
You're cold, rainy, windy, ugly, vile and mean.
And that's on a good day.
I'm getting really tired of looking out my bedroom window every morning to be greeted with an unfriendly gray cloud cover.
Of having to wear 5 layers when I go outside just to be mildly comfortable.
Of hearing the weatherpeople say that we're still going to have to wait awhile for the Spring weather (thanks for the reminder, guys).
Of dreading getting out of the shower to face the frigid air in the nude.
Of the bare trees.
I need the warm weather back.
The smell of grass being cut.
The desire to take a walk outside and not having to add one layer of clothing.
The sound of the lawn sprinklers.
The sight of families at the park.
There's nothing like New England in the Spring and Summer. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
I love living by the ocean. Spending the day at the beach. Being able to drive for three hours and hit four different states (the three-hour drive from Providence to Portland takes you through RI, MA, NH and ME. Strolling through the quaint New England towns.
I definitely don't want to leave my home state. But I'm clearly one of those people who needs to live in Florida from January to April.
My job would allow me to telecommute like that. But my husband's teaching job may make it a little tricky.
OK, there goes that dream.
I guess Plan B would be one of those Seasonal Affective Disorder light therapy lamps.
On second thought, that seems a little weird.
I think I'll just suck it up for 6 more weeks!
- Jane
My husband is a graduate student. This creates any number of pros and cons in our relationship and family life, but the bigger picture is, theoretically, worth it. He's aiming for graduation and the job he wants instead of ongoing misery as a high school teacher (more power to you if you can be, or be married to, a high school teacher; clearly none of the adults in my house can handle it with proper sanity and aplomb).
The most recent saga had to do with comprehensive exams [cue scary music]. He was assigned to write two papers over the course of a month, and to take an in-class math test (but with no numbers and in topics I can't begin to conceptualize - and I went to an engineering school for my undergraduate degree, so I'm not math-phobic). It's hard work, and we really didn't see him much over the past month. And in the last week, he was really feeling the crunch, so I decided to dive into the cute and brightly-lit world of indoor children's entertainment, just to clear out the house and help the small ones sleep better at night. I thought I'd share some of our experiences, along with a huge sigh of relief that my children, being 3 and 7, are big enough to function independently at all of these venues. I have ongoing back pain from a stupid and graceless fall a few weeks ago, and the stooping-and-chasing required of parents of smaller mobile critters at these places would've about killed me.
Children's Museum of Maine, Portland, ME
I love the name of this type of establishment: "children's museum." When you go to an art museum or a science museum, what do you see hanging on the walls? But never fear, children's museums are about entertaining the wee ones, not finding the ideal height and lighting with which to highlight their anatomies. If this is a disappointment to you, please don't attend any further birthday parties at my house, mmm-kay?
Friend Gretchen and I took the kids up, and met her mother there, for an afternoon. Very clean and well-lit, fun stuff for the kids to do. A touch on the overpriced side, in my opinion, given that there's not only nothing for parents to do and no alcohol served on-site, but there's not a lot of places to sit comfortably and watch, but nor are the displays all adult-accessible. But there's a solution to this: contact your local library. Many have discounted admissions to the various museums and such in the area, and we were able to get half-priced admission for four people. Memberships are also good for the money thing, but only if you live close enough to go regularly, which we don't. Another note on money: the gift shop is expensive, though they don't force you to walk through in order to leave, which is helpful.
Jacob, 3, endorsed the area that involves balls and gravity and basic laws of physics. Emily, 7, was a big fan of the fire truck, and of the waterfall and dams with the ability to create apocalyptic eddies and waves which could swamp and scuttle a toy boat without warning.
We'd go again, happily enough, but only if we were planning to meet someone in the area. The Children's Museum of Portsmouth in New Hampshire is much nearer to us - and moving even closer sometime in the future, and is comparably fun and entertaining without as many Are we there yet?'s.
Chuck E. Cheese, Newington, NH
We've been known, at times, to refer to this as the Evil Mouse Place, and normally I leave with a headache and a general sense of overstimulation. It's gotten much better as my kids grow, because now I can institute the Table Rule: I find a table and make them sit for a few minutes to memorize where it is. Then I keep the cup of tokens with me and send them off with one or two tokens at a time. They come back at regular intervals to get more tokens, which lets me keep track of them without stepping on (as many) strangers' children in the process.
It's still overstimulating, but it's kept cleaner than one might expect a place that serves that much greasy pizza and cotton candy, and the kids salivate whenever we drive past on the highway, so it meets some deep, sensory need for them. I have to admit, greasy pizza aside, that they do have a good salad bar.
It can get expensive, because they charge, like, a billion dollars per pizza, but there are regular coupons in the newspaper and you can get them online, as well, so that helps. And sometimes we get a lot of tokens, other times just a handful, because there are token-free activities there. Or we can just go home sooner, which does have its own charms.
Kids Playground, Woburn, MA
Another family favorite, though it does require an hour drive in good weather, and two-plus this past Sunday. I would have been happy to turn around and avoid the snow, but the kids knew where we were heading and were threatening an uprising, and I couldn't reach my friend, whom we were planning to meet there with her kids, so we soldiered through. There's a good range of age-appropriate activities here, which gives it a huge advantage over Chuck E. Cheese.
It's got a reasonable fee structure, with kids costing more than adults to get in, and they have a free membership thing, where you get a card for each child and they swipe it through the computer when you enter. They have a rubric, such that every so-many visits equals a discount at the food counter, and every other-many visits equals a free admission. I can't keep track of the math, but it seems like we that fre admission a lot. I love the word free. The food is a bit less horrifying than that which they sell at Chuck E. Cheese, as well, such that the three of us were able to eat and get snacks for the ride home, for less than the $12 I had in my wallet.
Walmart and McDonalds, ubiquitous
No, really. This was my father's idea; he called up on Saturday morning saying, "I haven't seen the kids in a while. Can I take them out to dinner tomorrow night?" Awesome. And he's well-enough-versed in the ways of small children to know that it doesn't have to involve a lot of driving and kid-specific activities and money to entertain them. They went to Walmart first, wandered and browsed a bit, and he let each kid pick out an under-$10 toy, and then to the McDonalds with a Play Place, to run and climb until the restaurant (no, really, that's what they call it) closed. It's not a high-nutrition kind of experience, physically or mentally, but they all had a great time and I didn't have to go.
Seems like just about enough, don't you think? I sure thought so.
I'm glad that the New Hampshire primary is over. Even though I live 2 states away from the Granite State, I still felt the residual effects of the primary here in Rhode Island, just a few hours from there.
And when I was on vacation in Maine a few weeks ago, about 20 miles from the New Hampshire border, forget it. I couldn't turn on the TV or listen to the radio without being bombarded with a million political ads telling me why I should vote for candidate X.
I felt like screaming at the TV or radio, "Give me a chance to make up my mind, will ya!?" But that would have been kind of weird, so I didn't.
The problems I have with choosing a candidate to vote for right now are:
a.) What if I do all my research now, decide who my man (or woman) is, and then that person drops out/isn't in the final running? I'm not a fan of going back to square 1
b.) I'm an Independent, so there's double the trouble in choosing my candidate... do I go Democrat or Republican?
c.) Voting time for me still seems sooooooo far away (although I know 10 months will fly by)
d.) I really don't completely trust any of the options I have in front of me
Plus, my political views are all over the map.
I'm very liberal on some positions, and decidedly conservative on others.
And I tend not to trust men with Southern accents. Don't ask... even I can't explain it. But there goes Huckabee (eww) and Edwards.
I wish there was some kind of online technology that allowed me to share all of my political views, and would calculate my best fit for a candidate.
You know, kind of like a Match.com but without Dr. Phil.
So that's the root of my voter's block... I know where I stand on the issues. But who do I stand behind?
I guess only time (and a lot of political ads) will tell.
- Jane
I'm on vacation.
Don't worry, I haven't left New England! I just traveled a bit North. And a little West.
The destination? A little ol' town on big ol' Rangeley Lake in the beautiful state of Maine.
I love this part of Maine.
I love that whenever I come up here in the winter, I'm surrounded by snow.
I love that while in Rhode Island, 6 inches of snow would call for brand new storm graphics on the news and long lines at the grocery store, up here it's just considered a light snowfall.
I love the crispness in the air. Its clarity, its smell.
I love that life slows down up here. No need to rush around or keep up with any sort of pace.
But most of all, I love this:
- Jane
I was talking to a dear friend the other night, trying to explain how Mainers really talk. And, no, we do not sound like people in Stephen King movies. That is a strange take on the Boston accent. Mainers do not have a Boston accent, we have a “downeast accent”. I know, makes no sense considering we are far North, but just stay with me here.
Sure, we pahk the cah, but some words get a whole extra syllable. Here becomes hee-ah and there becomes they-ah. On the flipside, since we have all those extra R’s just floating around, we throw them on the end of words that end in a. Area becomes Aree-er and pizza becomes peets-er. Also, to give more importance to the stores at which we shop we add an S at the end. Sears-es, Walmart’s, and Shaws-es are popular favorites.
We also drop the g in all words ending in -ing. Stoppin’, startin’, campin’, I don’t think many of us know how to make the sound that is at the end of those words.
Finally, sometimes we sound a bit like sheep. Bath is baath, math is maath, and calf is caaf.
That said though, we do say some words correctly where other regions don’t. We say Aunt as its spelled, instead of the popular Ant.
We also have some strange terms for things.
“Hard sayin-not knowin”
“Cunnin’"-cute
“Numb” or “Numma”-Stupid, stupid person
Side by each = side by side
Shut the lights/ open the lights = Turn lights off or on
“…Goes over like a fart in church.” - NOT cool
A “mess”- a lot of something
“Downstate”-If you live in “The County”(Aroostook County), Downstate is anything South of Medway, usually referring to Bangor or Augusta.
Since I’ve brought up The County(where I went to High School), it would be a crime not to mention that people in the county mix this more Southern accent with their own AND a french one. Big Daddy often mentions that he can’t understand anyone up there. But to be honest, I only remember the swears and naughty sayings that became part of my verbal repertoire.
“Son of a Whore”-twist on SOB
“Mon Cahdis”- Thats a completely wrong spelling, but its how it is said. No clue what it translates to.
"Numbah than a box of rocks."
There are really so so so many, I could take up a dozen entries trying to explain Mainer speak and I am sure I wouldn’t do it justice. But, I hope you have all found this small view into it fun and enlightening. Or it just scared you off….
