Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. Labor Day is this weekend if you can believe that. I am finding it difficult, I have no idea where this summer has gone. 

The two graduated seniors are ensconced in their respective dorm environments, Kailey at MECA in Portland and Parker at Bates in Lewiston.  Evan returns to his dorm at USM this weekend as well. New adventures for them all.

Another Bag Request

Carol here ~

It seems like grand Evan has confiscated his mother's Chubby Charmer bag that I made her (many years ago) as I got a request from Erin for another.  I think I've actually made her several in the past including this well loved one that is still being used.

The Horseshoe Tourney

Carol here ~

Sunday was the 37th Annual Green Pond Horseshoe Tournament started by my mom, Avis Coolidge, a champion horseshoe pitcher. Sister Terri has kept the yearly event going since our mom passed in 2018. (minus a couple of c***d years)

It was a beautiful day for friends, relatives and neighbors to enjoy.

I'm just going to do a photo dump of the day. 

Choosing partners

A Birthday

Carol here ~ 

Thanks to all of you that sent me birthday wishes for my birthday yesterday.  I don't pay any attention to the number but I am grateful I am still here and able to be fairly active most of the time.

Erin, Vanessa, Kailey and Jakob came over, Evan was already here as he had worked the previous night.  I didn't know they were coming over until just a few hours before they showed up.  

Vanessa, Me, Erin

Summer Fun

Carol here ~ 

Erin had to have her car in for service in Auburn yesterday so Parker followed her down, picked her up and they both came here.  Evan was already here because he worked the night before.

Erin and I got a kayak ride in, it was wicked hot!

Birthday's and Quilt Retreat

Carol here ~

We headed to Readfield on Saturday to celebrate Kailey and Lucas' birthdays.  Kailey's 18th  was the week before but with all the graduation hoopla it was decided to wait and celebrate with her dad's, which was Saturday.  

We ate cake and had a nice visit then headed to Rangeley. Again. 

It was Michelle Hiatt's Quilt Retreat Weekend at the Rangeley Inn and we wanted to stop in. Many of the quilters are from our days of hosting so it's always nice to see them again.  I didn't take any pictures but here are a couple of Michelle's.  

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday. Inside tonight because of the intense wind. There is no fire tonight as a result. I did refill the wood box today so it is all ready to go. The wind has caused a lot of pollen to fall and the edge of the pond is very yellowy. 

The wind also has caused the pine needles to fall with a vengeance. Today I blew them off the driveway again. If they are left they can divert water during a downpour and cause washouts. I would rather avoid that if possible. 

Plus it is very satisfying process seeing them blow away, leaving the ground bare.

Graduations

Carol here ~

This past Saturday we headed to Rangeley to attend the graduation of our grand, Parker Daniel Smith, from Rangeley Lakes Regional School.  He was very exited and immensely proud to receive several very large scholarships. Yay Parker! Those will be a huge help when heads to Bates College in late August.

Humanities Night

Carol here ~

We headed to Readfield last night to attend Humanities Night at Maranacook Community High School where grand Kailey's amazing artwork was displayed along with other artwork from other classes.  We also stayed to hear the Jazz Band and Concert Band in which she plays bass guitar.

I'm just going to do a photo dump of last night ~ enjoy!

Kailey's Art

Carol here ~

It sure has been nice to see sunshine the past couple of days!  It's been a little breezy but that's OK as it helps keep the black flies away.

We have had Gray Catbird and a Red Winged Blackbird visiting the feeder this week.  I got a pic of the Catbird but the Red Winged Blackbird is a bit more skittish.

This and That

Carol here ~ 

Erin and Parker went to the Portland Symphony on Sunday afternoon so we met up with them in Auburn for supper as they were headed home.  We decided this was only the second time we've seen each other since Christmas ~ really?  They are so busy.

Lena and I quilted up both the graduation quilts, will get the bindings on in the next few days. I'm happy with how they came out, hope the kids will like them.  I used a neutral-ish fabric for the backing so they will be able to turn the quilt over if they want.

I also got the quilting done on 2024-31.

2024-31

This and That

Carol here ~

Dan got the beach raked up the other day. We have a pretty good sized beach for this time of year.  We'll see what happens when we get the spring rains.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday again, I guess. In my head it has been Saturday all day since I went to bed last night thinking it was Friday. 

We had our taste of “boy it’s nice to be able to go outside and not freeze” and back to “Damn if the wind isn’t howling and it isn’t back in the 30’s again.” Short spring. Is knew it was too good to last, but there is always hope. The weather people are talking about more snow and wet weather over the weekend and the first of next week. Good studio weather, as if I need an excuse to sew.

This week moving around with my eyes open, I spied a piece of tail. It looks to be from a red squirrel. My guess is it was no longer needed. 

Ugh, Still Cleaning

Carol here ~

I'm still cleaning so no quilts to show this time.  Whose idea was it to spring clean anyway?  It's exhausting.  I've got the bathroom done, the drawers and bottom cupboards in the kitchen done and most of the top cupboards before I ran out of steam yesterday.  Then I had a nap.

Sunday we went to Readfield to The Gallery to check out Kailey's artwork she had displayed there.  She is so talented.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. It was a beautiful, clear day today with the best thing being there was very little wind. It’s windy again now, but most of the day was crisp but sunny. Vanessa and the grands stopped by for a visit this afternoon. We all went for a snowshoe walk on Mud pond. I think I wimped out first with Kailey then Jakob following along behind her. I was beginning to wonder about Carol and Nessa as they went for a long walk. All made it back fine, though a little tired. 

The sunset had a little color to it tonight. 

Proud Grandparents

Carol here ~

We are so proud of our two high school seniors, grands Parker and Kailey.  Parker will be continuing his education in the fall at Bates College in Lewiston and Kailey will be attending Maine College of Art and Design (MECA) in Portland.  So exciting!

Chickadee by Kailey

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. Well I think winter is here now. I relocated about 5-6”of snow total today. I did it in two phases. I went out mid afternoon and again after supper. Not too bad, nice light snow. I have arrived at another term to use in the relocation process. After driving up the driveway through the woods I think painting the trees might be appropriate as well.

Last night I obtained a nice three second time lapse up the pond from the studio. 

Not so much tonight. The moon is trying to shine, but it is through the clouds.

Carol here ~

I hope you all had a happy Christmas week.  We celebrated with the family on Saturday at Lucas and Vanessa's.  

Snacks, gifts, a late lunch of chicken on the grill, roasted potatoes and veggies, yeast bread, applesauce and too many cookies!

Here is the yearly photo of the grands.

L-R Evan, Kailey, Parker, Jakob

Busy!

Carol here ~

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at Lucas and Vanessa's, enjoying an early delicious dinner as Evan had to work and Parker was headed to New York City with his father.  

Erin, Kailey, Vanessa and I played a game of Yahtzee and a couple of games of Rummikub before we headed home.  At that point it was not yet snowing in Readfield but we quickly drove into snow.  Erin headed home to Rangeley the same time as we headed to Oxford, we received a text from her saying she had hoped to get to Farmington before she hit blizzard conditions but she drove into them shortly after leaving Vanessa's. We all arrived home safe and sound.

Since downsizing and moving here to the pond we have no space for a Christmas tree so we brought our box of ornaments, lights etc. to Thanksgiving for Vanessa and Erin to go through and take what they wanted. (thank you to my friend Martha for this idea)

All four of the grands asked if the doorknob Santa was in the box.  Yes, yes he was.

Maybe?

Carol here ~ 

Since I haven't gotten a call back from the Innova tech about an appointment for Lena Longarm we continued to fiddle with her a bit yesterday.  I think we got her stitching correctly....maybe.  I did lots of scribbling, making minor adjustments as I went along.  We'll see what happens when I hook her robotics up again.

I still want her to have a complete overhaul so guess another phone call is going to have to happen.