Big Week

It's been a busy week here at Sweetside. Significant progress is being made on Aaron's space and the tool room in our basement. Aaron, with the help of Ben, Julian, Steve & Sam has made some good headway.


With some help from Baird I have begun to get our tool room set up. We rebuilt the work table and work bench (both of which had been dismantled in Shutesbury and brought here). I also painted the floor bright yellow, just like it was in Shutesbury.





This past week we also cut down a dead tree of some sort in the Sweetside garden and I planted several shrubs. Gotta love the end of the season close out time at the local nurseries, like the Hadley Garden Center.














Then, Friday was Jess's 22 BD; they came here for desert after having dinner in NoHo.




Today we put away yard decorations and such and then I planted some daffodils. Afterwards Baird and I were installing storm windows when the huge red tail hawk paid us another visit. This time he (she?) flew across our driveway onto the lowest branch of a large maple tree, only a few feet from our front window where Baird was working.

I was on the inside of our window installation job, so I grabbed my camera and joined him outside. The hawk flitted between our 3 large trees out front, stalking 2 squirrels. See it hiding in the leaves on the left side of the tree in the picture? It just patiently hopped from branch to branch until one of the squirrels finally made a run for it. The hawk then swooped down and snagged it. It sat perched on top of it until it was sure it was dead and then flew off carrying it in it's talons, into the wooded area across the street. This whole time both of us were right there, only about 20' away, and I was snapping pictures. It kept looking at me, somewhat curiously, perhaps a bit menacingly, but it was not going to let me deter it from having it's mid afternoon meal.

I never let my cats outside but after this, I certainly never will!

My sista got married....

Saturday was a wonderful day. The weather was just beautiful (this is true) but even more wonderful is the fact that my sister Linda and Jim Johnston were married in Weathersfield, Ct. I'm so happy for them! I was the matron-of-honor. A special privilege. The flower girls were Alison (Linda's grand-daughter; age 4) and Alexia (Jim's grand-daughter, age 2). Aren't they adorable?

North Korea Over The Brink

News just released:
Looks like North Korean has gone over the brink. The official North Korean News agency has announced that North Korea has successfully tested a nuclear weapon. It has not yet been verified but the South Korean government is in an emergency meeting but has said that they did detect a 3.8 on the Richter scale this AM (it is Monday AM there). North Korea says this is for regime survival (defense) because they feel under siege by the Bush administration. Are we surprised?

Jess's School

Baird and I went to Jess's school today. We went to their walk-a-thon, met several of her colleagues and visited her classroom "after hours." It looks fantastic!!

Two Outta Three Ain't Half Bad

No fires set, I don't think, but..... two out of my three DBC classes seemed fairly appalled by the info on the new Military Commissions Act that our Congress passed last Friday. The first class had a fairly subdued, somewhat mixed reaction. A couple of comments from students who seemed to think the whole think is not so bad included, "The war on terror is unique and requires special tactics." and "I think our government should torture prisoners for information but I don't think we should make it legal." I grab the sides of my desk and try to be composed.... OK.... moving right along... what do others think???

It was clear that none of them have much of a clue about what is going on in the world or in our country. They have some very broad strokes as best. Got me to thinking that the Honors College should require a one credit current events class each semester. If our Honors students are entirely out of touch, how much hope is there for our country and be default for the world?

It's Got Me Thinking....

Nelly turned me on to this Balkinization blog
Which in turn set me onto this book:
The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get It Back
and has me itching to read the article When Not Seeing is Believing based on a chapter of the book, in the current addition of Time

One quote from the blog, about the book, that has me thinking is:

Sullivan offers a compelling case for the proposition that the dichotomy between secularism and fundamentalism is radically false. And he bases this case in principles of conservatism – citing Montaigne, Burke and Oakeshott in the process. The claim to full and absolute knowledge implicit in all forms of fundamentalism rests on arrogant assumptions about the capacity of man to know and to understand God. In a sense it forgets the essential role of humility in religious experience.

In turn, this reminded me of Andrew Dole's talk at the DSC last year regarding faith being more consistent with hope than belief (sorry for the ridiculous condensation of Dr. Dole's great talk but that was the nutshell I stored in my mental index).

Ah, the air smells good when the brain is fired up....

Fire Setting in My Dean's Book Classes

In the DBC this Fall we are reading the memoir of a young man who was in a prison camp on North Korea for 10 years (ages 9-19) because his grandfather was deemed to have been against the government. It has been a bit difficult to get any greta discussions going because the students all agree the camp was horrible and that No Korea having such camps is appalling etc. Also, They have little knowledge of Korean history or much other "gap" history (post WWII for example) that it is difficult to have enough context to have a conversation of any depth.

So, I have decided. This week I am bringing in a couple of articles about Congress's recently passed Military Commission Act. This sanctions on torture of anyone deemed an enemy combatant (even US citizens on US soil can be so deemed) is has some disturbing parallels to the "atrocities" being committed in North Korea. So, when it is OUR government and OUR way of life that feels threatened to human rights and dignities go out the window?? Hmmmmm.. Let's see if this fires them up.

Three classes this week, 1 Tuesday and 2 on Weds. I'll let you know if I get egged.

The articles I am bringing in are:
Amnesty International's Response

and an article from the LA Times (that is suppose do be available on-line just for members but for some reason the link worked the first time I tired it :-)

Thx Nelly for the great leads!!

Laura and Jeremy Got Married :-)

This past Saturday a bunch of us went to Laura DiMatteo and Jeremy Kaplan's wedding over in Sturbridge. Really great to witness it all. Fun time! Next Saturday my sister, Linda is getting married to Jim Johnston! Their wedding is in another historic town and historic church, in Weathersfield, CT

All The Kings Men, Power, Politics & Such

Went to see All the Kings Men tonight. Never had read the award winning novel or seen the 1949 film. Very interesting, intriguing & also disturbing. Stark starts out as such a great guy - a man for the people - a populist running for governor of Louisiana and by the end he's a self serving cheater with too many enemies to survive.

I came home thinking how much it fit in with Shnitzle's blog (Overspray) yesterday about power and corruption and deceit and such. Regarding an incident he witnessed, he wrote, "lesson learned, don't be a kook. amazing how many people, especially people in power today are like that asshole, self absorbed, self serving, lying, idiots. and that line isn't too far from the rest of us: so let us live differently, flee temptation and live honorably. death to kooks.

I'll toast to that!

Testosterone Overload = Brain Dead

While a little of the male hormone is good, too much of it causes cells to self-destruct in a process similar to that seen in brain illnesses such as Alzheimer's.

hmmmmmm........

read about it here:
Testosterone Kills Brain Cells

She Jus 'taint Herself

This is what a sick kitty looks like, for those of you who couldn't quite picture it. She doesn't look happy does she? She did eat a little this AM and does not seem as sick as yesterday but she is certainly not herself still.

Just now I managed to get one pill down her throat. Aaron held her haunches and I pried her mouth open and shoved the little pill down. Yikes! Ya gotta be quick, before she catches on to what you are up to. This AM Baird and I tried it and she flipped out, jumped out of my arms, tearing a hole in my shirt! I think maybe she was still freaked out by going to the vet and getting re-hydrated, receiving a few shots yesterday. I've done dog and even goat meds before but neither of them have claws!

So, that is the update on Surely the Maine Coon cat.

Surely's Sick

Yup, it is true. For some unknown reason she has not been eating and has a 105 temp. She got hydrated at the vet today and is on antibiotics now. Hopefully she will turn the corner soon. Sad, sad, sad.

Clinton Lashes Wallace on Fox

Saw this hot little item on CNN this evening:

Clinton, was being interviewed by Fox News, supposedly about Clinton's initiative on climate change, when he became quite aggravated over being asked by Chris Wallace why he did not do more to get Osama...

Clinton became pretty testy... in part he said:

"I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since. And if I were still president, we'd have more than 20,000 troops there trying to kill him," Clinton said, referring to Afghanistan.

"So you did Fox's bidding on this show. You did your nice little conservative hit job on me," he said to Wallace, occasionally tapping on Wallace's notes for emphasis. "I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked this question of?

"And you've got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever. But I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it," Clinton said.

More on CNN:
Clinton on Bin Laden

Man on a Crapper of a Mission

He's a man on a mission... a mission to install a "crapper" in his new space. I came home this evening to a jack hammer operation. Hey, it is progress! Gotta love it :-0

Now There are Four

Articles 3 and 4 were published today. One more is coming. Click on the orange AC box, on the upper right hand side of this page, to go to my AC home page. Please pass the word.

Beyond that:

1. Aaron is working on his space here at the house and still crashing in Baird's "studio." His piles dominate the living room for now :-) Lovely. Hopefully he will be able to settle into his new space soon. He's working full time at Antonio's, doing web page development for UMass and taking only one course this Fall: Portuguese.

2. The hillbilly's trash piles (see previous entry) for the dump are still in the driveway. Another dump run is scheduled for Thursday AM.

3. The first Dead Sea Cafe of the 2006-2007 academic year is this Saturday at the Ark.

4. Jess is busy teaching in West Springfield, putting in 12+ hour days. Here is the link to her classroom page, if you want to see what she is up to:
GreeneClassroom.com

5. Ben is back at his grad classes and TA' ing a grad course and doing carpentry besides.

4. I have begun teaching my 3 sections of Dean's Book Course. We are done with week 2 now. It is going well. This week I have 45 papers to grade. Yahoo!

Second Article Now Published!

My second article is now on Associated Content. Below is the direct link to the article:

Depression and What You Think

Other articles will be up soon; two are gardening related, one on worm farms and another about rain barrels and then also one about trust and relationships. You can get to my AC home page which shows all my published articles, by clicking on the orange AC box in the upper right hand corner of this page.

You Can Be Published Too!

If you like to write and want to see somethings of your published on the web, try out Associated Content. If you use this invite link, I will get credit for referring you. They only pay $3-$40 per article, depending on the traffic and ads your article generates but it is a low stakes way to try getting some of your writing out there.
AC Referal=2030

I've Been Published!

I have begun submitting articles to Associated Content and my first article was published today. Whoohoo! At least three more are coming. This one is a short piece about home schooling but the others coming are on a variety of things from worm farming to depression.

Check out my first one at:
10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids

My payment for future articles depends on how much traffic my articles draw, so please read and then pass the word! :-)

Hillbillies Arrive in Town

Today was the day that the last of the Shute-ho hillbilly's possessions arrived in Amherst Center. Pictured here is mister hillbilly himself with the final load of his landfill loot. Pictured below is me - Cabs, mister hillbilly's wife, hauling pea stone and making paths in my Sweetside Garden. Many dump runs will now flow from Sweetside to the landfill but every last drop is out of Shute-ho now.

El Closing Anticlamactica

It is done. The closing on the Shutesbury house happened today. Our lawyer signed it away for us. We signed stuff on Monday. I had always thought the day would be a celebration but it wasn't. Nada. It all just feels quite anticlimactic. I am grateful and relieved that it is sold.... but... hmmm.... I don't know.... it just sort of feels..... very blah. Post-partum depression I guess. Better days ahead... one hopes.

Cats at Rest ~ Men at Work

The weekend flew by.

Just wrapped up a 2 day Tag Sale at Lessey Street and then made one trip, getting yet one more van load of stuff from the garden shed in Shutesbury. The Tag Sale bought in a few bucks, got rid of a bunch of stuff, saved us some dump runs and we met several college students living around us and other neighbors in the process. The trip to Shutesbury was fruitful in that we were able to meet and talk to the buyers (they have already moved in).

Pics here from today: Arthur and Surely get snugly (I actually even saw him grooming her.... a first as far as I am aware) and Aaron and Ben poured concrete outside Aaron's (back) door to prevent water seepage ender the threshold. Tomorrow AM Baird and I sign some papers at our Att'y office. The closing is still set for Thursday.

Closing Moved Up

So we got a call today that the Shutesbury closing has been moved up to next Thursday, Sept 14. Guess the bank has all the paper work ready early. That is super. We still need to get the wood stove out of the house and a few things that are outside in the sheds but the task is almost done.

I am having trouble posting my Amazon aStore link in the sidebar (still trying to figure out why it doesn't seem to work like the other links did) but here is the URL:
http://astore.amazon.com/terranovaamhe-20/
Check it out.

Tag Sale tomorrow. I am very disorganized about it but hopefully it will come off OK. Baird and I spent over 2 hours pulling stuff out of storage and bring it home to the driveway. Still have stuff to pull out of the cellar and then to set it all up. Whoa!

New Link - New Venue

Been wanting a reason to write more and a place to publish. So I have joined and submitted a couple of articles to Associated Content for publication. It takes a couple of days to get articles approved and published so nothing is listed on my Home Page yet. Hopefully soon. I've added the link on the right sidebar so you can check it when the spirit so moves.

And.... I joined Amazon as an Associate so from the my articles and web page, I now will be able refer people to books and even get a little commission out of it.

Also am beginning to plan for a web page for my counseling practice and more......TerraNovaAmherst.com. Stay tuned. The web piece requires help from one of my family web gurus, all of whom are swamped with other projects at this moment... so it is on hold for a bit.

Surreal Day

Thus far is has been a rather surreal day. This morning a friend stopped in who is going thru a hard time. All very fresh and raw and seemingly un-real. I am fixer... I long to mend. It is pretty impossible to do any mending tho if people don't or can't provide the torn pieces. In this sitation it is hard to know how best to be helpful. Listening and reality checking was today's attempt. I hope it helped in the moment. I am sure much more is to come.

I absentmindedly ran errands and returned home to 2 scenes- a red tailed hawk in the grass across from our house and a transient cross dresser picking fowers in my garden... literally up in my garden too... not out near the sidewalk. Reluctant to tell him he was on private property, I waited and caught a quick snapshot as he walked away. I got the hawk pretty close up too..... before he decided I was too close and flew to a lamp post across the street.

SIGNED

The Purchase and Sale agreement has been signed by our buyers, as has the rental agreement from now until the actual closing (9/22). They may have moved in tonight. The deal makes it very tight for us..but..it allows us to move forward. I am breathing again.

Resolution?

Looks like we have some resolution on the Shutesbury house sale impasse. The mason verified that the chimney/foundation etc is safe. The settling happened a long time ago, like we said. There is still the issue of the old oil tank and it looks like we will need to reimburse at closing for that but, at least it is movement forward. Off to work.... more later.......

Labor Day Update

Otherwise known as a day to try to keep one's mind and body busy so as to not freak out about the house sale situation..... big deadline coming up tomorrow.

Baird spent most of today up in Shutesbury finishing cleaning out the cellar. I spent the AM unpacking a van load of stuff from the other day and doing 12 of the 30 continuing ed credits I need to do in the next couple of weeks. The topic was adolescent girls and the book was Reviving Ophelia.... one of my favorites..... tho as Jess points out we really wish Pipher would do a follow up book or a revised edition. Anyway, it was a good study and I passed the on-line exam. So, 12 out of 30 CEU's done.

I also worked in my garden a bit and made a couple of bouquets. Here is a of shot of that.



Later on I went to Sunderland to pick up Jess and Ben who had done an 8 mile kayak of the Ct. River this afternoon. They saw a balk eagle and 3 loons. I met them and drove them back up north to get their car and we ate dinner at the Shady Glen Diner in Turners Falls. Six years ago the Greeen's had just moved here and we went on a hike in Shutesbury with them on Labor Day. The following weekend Jess and Ben did their first kayaking together.





Other news:

Aaron has been working the 6PM - 2AM shift at Antonio's. This includes the famous Bar Rush time, around 1 AM, when the local bars close and hundreds of young adults pour into the tiny Antonio's for a slice before heading home. The weekend was very busy but tonight is the first night all the students are back in town, and classes don't begin until Weds, so they are expecting a huge night. On top of that, Aaron has to switch shifts and be back at work there at 10AM (until 6PM) tomorrow.

Baird and I just got back from a walk bringing home hand packed ice cream from our neighborhood Ben and Jerry's...yum...yum.

The saddest news of today tho is that Barbara Hamilton (Gordon King's wife) died of the injuries sustained in the blast at their condo 2 weeks ago. See previous blog dated 8/17/06. Mr. King is now in fair condition at Mass General.

So, We Wait

The inspection period for the buyers of the Shutesbury House was to end last Friday..... and they were planning to rent it and move in, until the closing day later in Sept. But, alas, their home inspector raised questions about a section of the foundation on the older part of the house near the chimney. This part of the foundation was "settled" when we bought it 12 years ago. We were told it had settled back when the house was built (1960 or so) and had been fine since. As far as we know there has been no additional settling but, alas, it is a buyers market here. So, the inspection period is now extended until Tuesday and.... so we wait. We don't have much wiggle room with the price we agreed to...so... who knows.

Moving moving moving..... and more....

Trips # 13 and 14 were made from Shute-ho to Amherst yesterday. Not only that, but I went up there to pack/move stuff and the inspection was in progress. I had been told it was Fri AM. So...now we wait to see what stuff the inspector found and if the buyers want stuff done.... I hope not. There is not much time and not much $ either. Correction..no time and no money...would be more accurate.

Today is is pouring out. So no garden job this AM. We are currently waiting for the gas plumber to come and do our stove and drier work. Aaron needs to move in next week. Must get drier and washer out of the room that is to be his bedroom. Later on, Athena, Kristin and I will go with Jess to move her stuff into her new classroom in W. Sfld. It is her first classroom !! She has only this afternoon to get it ready and decorate it b/f school begins. She will add things as she goes, of course, but it would be nice to have it looking pleasant when the students arrive.

Athena's Here!!

Athena arrived tonight from NYC. At 8PM Baird and I walked from our house to the bus stop to meet her and walked her back to our home. We introduced her to all the pets, showed her around the house and then about 9 PM we set out for Amherst Chinese (which is just on the other side of the Sweetser Park from our house). We ordered up an array of things made with fresh organic vegetables from the owner's local Chinese gardens and had a feast. Afterwards we were walking around town and Jess and Ben spotted us, parked their car and we all hung out talking near Antonio's Pizza (but Aaron was not working tonight). Ahhhhhh..... what a great place to live.

Welcome Athena!

PS - I made trip #10 to Shutesbury for another load of stuff today. Back up there in the AM with Jess.

Six Loads Down - ??? To Go

This weekend we focused on trying to get stuff out of the cellar and 2 sheds up in Shutesbury. Big project. You collect a lot after 12 years, lots of renovation projects and raising 2 kids.

We borrowed our friend Glen's big truck for the weekend and filled it 3X with bulky items and items that we prefer not be in our cars (like yard furniture, cans of paint and lumber). I also filled my car 3X. We made a dent in the project, but it still has a ways to go. I'm off to Shutesbury again tomorrow afternoon, after I garden for Deb in the AM.

On a brighter note: Athena comes Tuesday! AND -- Jess goes to her new teacher orientation in W. Springfield on Tuesday!

Buyers at Last

We have buyers for the Shutesbury house. Yeah!!

After further reducing the price to reflect the current (sad) market, a family moving here from Ohio came for a viewing. They made an offer the same evening and after a day of back and forth, we settled on a price. I met them breifly in the driveway when they came to see the place. They have 2 kids who I would say are about the age Jess and Aaron were when we moved there. We moved there largely for Jess and Aaron's sakes and much of the house was designed with them in mind. It is really designed to be enjoyed by kids, elementary thru high school. It is just a really fun and somewhat magical place, with it's lofts and ladders and spiral staircase, fire pit and the tree house on top of the woodsy hill, 16' up in an oak tree. And then there are all the trails and the bog nearby and the lake 2 miles away. I think they will also love it and I am happy a family is buying it with younger kids to enjoy it.

There is a home inspection there this week (Weds??). It is imperative that it goes well. We have no reason to expect otherwise, but, it isn't done until it is over.

AND: The family wants to rent the house from Labor Day wekend until the final closing so they can get their kids into school at the beginning of the year. That means we have 2 weeks to get all the rest of our stuff out of the cellar, attic, and 2 sheds! YIKES!

At the same time, Aaron is moving into Sweetside (our new house) before Sept 1 and his rooms in the basement need to be livable. They are extrmemely far from that right now! Should be a very interesting 2 weeks. Stay tuned.

Pray for Mr. King the Christmas Tree Man

Gordon King is a famed arborist, one of international renown I am told. A retired Umass professor. A local man, a neighbor of sorts, who owns the tree farm in Leverett where we have cut our wonderful trees for the past several years. A few years back his wife had died. It was a sad Christmas season for him. Then, perhaps it was the following year, he told us of a wonderful woman friend from his younger days, as I recall, that he had reconnected with. He was happy again; they were to be wed. They would spend some time at his place in Leverett and some at her place in Amherst.

Today, Mr. King and his wife, Barbara Hamilton (ages 87 and 82 respectively) are in intensive care in the burn unit at Mass General. Yesterday, their condominium in Amherst (just up the street from my office) exploded. The place was instantly and completley destroyed. They were apparently blown outside by the force of the blast but sustained extensive severe burns. Both were transported to Mass General in Boston. Barbara was flown by a Life Flight helicopter from the high school parking lot near our home. I was up in Shutesbury at the time, for a showing, but Baird and Aaron and our friend Julian witnessed the air evacuation. Today Baird and I went by the scene. Incredible. Four townhouse condo units were destroyed by fire within minutes. Eight others are damaged. The cause of the explosion appears to be gas related, but specifics are not yet known.

I plan to send Mr. King a copy of this photo taken at his tree farm December 2005. I don't know when he will be alert enough to see it but his family is likely there with him and maybe it will be meaningful to them. It is only a small gesture but it is something I can do, at a time when there is little anyone can do. Please pray for Mr. King and his wife, Barbara.

Rock-pedition

Back in May, for Mother's Day, Aaron, Jess & Ben gave me the gift of retrieving some larger rocks from our home in Shutesbury to use at our new home. Jess organized the carrying out of the feat before leaving town for her teacher education trip this week and last evening Aaron, Ben and Glen loaded up some of the larger rocks that I had set aside up in Shutesbury. Early this AM Ben and Glen delivered them here. They are for landscaping at our new house, Sweetside, (Lessey St). Most of them will be used in the water feature I am building. It will be located on the south side hill facing Sweetser Park and is a 35' winding stream with a little pond (4X6' wide, & 2' deep) at the base. The gardens surrounding the stream area have been planted since early May and I dug out the stream bed and pond over Memorial Day weekend. Not sure about the next stage...but getting the rocks here is major progress. THANKS!!

She's Come and Gone

Janet arrived here in Amherst late Friday evening and stayed until today, Sunday around noon. She became the first overnight guest in Baird's Studio at Lessey St. (not including our friends who pet / house sat when we went to Chattanooga, of course).

It was a most enjoyable visit for us.

We had a full day Saturday. A quick run down:
Breakfast at Rao's (they have vegan baked goods!), a walk around town and thru Farmer's market, a stop at Hasting's (Baird got Janet her first Micron pen) and a stop at Antonio's (hi to Aaron at work), then we zipped over the NoHo with Jess for lunch at Paul and Elizabeth's, a bit of Tax Free Day shopping, a mini tour of Green Street (couldn't make out which shop Janet's friend used to run), a drive thru Smith College, and back to Amherst. We stopped at Atkins for old time's sake (no cider this time of year tho) and walked around Hampshire College (Janet's old stomping grounds..she taught there 1972-80 as Janet Tallperson). We even found her old apartment ( a mod in a donut) and her peaceful woods. We took a quick buzz by Aaron's current digs (he was still at work) for a drive by show and tell of his house and skate ramp and then back home to rest a bit. The evening included a cookout with all the family. Quickly, before dark, we took a drive to the Renaissance Center and walked to J & B's wedding tree (6/20/04). We came back home to desert and time to chill together before bed. A late night trip to Antonio's got scraped as we were tired and not hungry. Next time.

Sunday AM we took Janet up to see our Shutesbury House (still on the market unfortunately) and then drove up Sugarloaf for the fab view as we escorted her to the Rt 91 North access in Deerfield. She was headed for Williamstown last we saw, then to Goddard on Monday, Portsmouth on Thursday, and back to Dale and their home in Seattle on Saturday.

Merci Bouquet

Here is our little Merci. We still have not said she's staying... but... she's working her way into the family, me thinks. She sure is cute! Just yesterday she and Surely had their first play time. Merci has stopped hissing at the other cats, for the most part. This is a stylized picture by Baird.

Trudging Along

That pretty much describes how this week has gone. One thing after another has gone awry. I really hate weeks like this. Feels like a little man with a pitchfork is following me around (or heading me off at the pass, as the case may be). Basically, it really stinks.

Anywho.... as for our updates:
1. No home for the little kitty, Merci, yet. Three "for sures" have all fallen through. No rush I guess....
2. Baird's van failed inspection. Yahoo.
3. Since the 3 hour power outage the other night, our freezer is not functioning correctly. It is about as cold as the fridge... .but no colder. This is the decent, large fridge unit that came with the house which we were planning to sell once we install our newer, thinner, Kitchen Aid. Jeeeez Louise....well....I shake my head....and...toss out the food I just bought. Whatever!
4. Speaking of the power outage....later that night a fire erupted in the street. It was discovered that the arching power line had damaged an undergorund gas line causing 2 leaks and thus the fire at one leak site. Two houses, less than 2 blocks from us, were evacuated. No one was hurt...but... the gas co. and fire dept were there until 2AM. Sweet dreams dear.........
5. The plumber finally got me the figures on the work we still need done. He wants $2300 to hook up our gas stove and re-locate the washer and drier. Yeah, right!! I laugh somewhat hyterically as I bang my head against the wall. This is a small house-- we are talking extending the gas and water lines a few feet, not some great distances. I am looking for some more realistic options and popping some more Tylenol. Darn, my head aches for some reason.
6. Aaron's been coming and working on the basement area...opening up the room with the bay window and sealing the cement floor, etc. It's beginning to look better each day. This is one unmitigated positive thing on my list. Yipee!
7. The Shutebury house will be shown Monday afternoon again. Baird and I have been exploring options of how to better market it and what to do if it doesn't sell very, very soon. No great revelation has come through all our explorations so far but, as we keep turing over stones we try to stay hopeful that something will become clear to us. I told a friend today that we just need to win a small lottery, but since we don't buy tickets this will take a real miracle.
8. Today the weather finally broke and it was "only" in the mid 80's with lower humidity this afternon. Now that is really good news.
9. I applied for a school based job this week that I think I would really find challenging and rewarding. Something I could become personally invested in. I have not heard anything back yet. Maybe I won't. In some ways I am an unlikely candidate... not a racial minority, not bi-lingual, etc but it fits with my life purposes. Well, at any rate, somehow finding out about it and applying gave me some renewed energy in this tough week. That alone is worth something.

Stay tuned.... it can only get better.... right???

Follow-up

A post script to the Panera post below....makes more sense if read in sequence...

Ok... 9 PM came and Panera was closing. A quick call to one of our neighborhood pizza places let us know the power was back on. We jetted home, turned on the AC and..... you guessed it.....nothing.... the system did not get cold. Oh bletch. One more thing to deal with.... add it to the list that has been accumulating this week. Looks like it will be another hot, restless night. If it wasn't so late I think I would pack my bags and rent myself a room at the Holiday Inn down the road....the one with a pool.

From My Seat in Panera

It is now 8 PM, Wednesday, August 2, 2006. Baird and I are at Panera, eating and exercising our fingers. At home, the power is out. Not sure why. The big lightening storm had already passed....and then...suddenly....there was no power. That is really bad news right now. It is over 100 degrees. Yesterday was also over 100 degrees. The day before was not much better. In fact, it has been pretty darn hot for as long as I can recall. Ok, admittedly my memory is rather short. It was cold here once, probably not all that long ago, but truthfully, I am just too hot to recall when that was. They say the "real feel" temp yeterday and today was 111. No, that is not a typo. One-hundred and eleven degrees farenheit is what they said. It felt at least it to me. Now, please recall I am writing from rural western Massachusetts, New England, the North East of the United States of Amercia ---- not from Texas or Mississippi or anywhere remotely close to the Equator. Our part of the world is not prepared for this. So far we have only been utilizing small fans to make our home bearable. Today we decided enough was enough -- time to get the central air in our new house up and running. We spent most of the day dripping sweat, cleaning out the clogged air vents so we could fire up the system. Then, just as Baird was ready to flip the switch the power in our part of town went out. We waited around almost an hour. Still no power. Some of the restaurants near us were also out. Chefs and pizza makers could be seen pacing in the streets. The entire Lord Jeffrey Inn was in a black out -- ugh! imagine the heat in those rooms. Enough! We fled to Hadley, to the strip mall and here we sit, full bellies, drinking our iced tea, tapping on our keyboards, enjoying Panera.... not knowing when it will be "safe" to return home. Only the kitties know for sure and we have not yet equipped them with cell phones.

Merci

Yup... it is true.. we are just over half way thru the year and I have completed my humanitarian act for 2006.

Yesterday I flew home from Chattanooga and with me I carried a small animal crate with a little cat in it. For 16 hours this adorable and very friendly kitten accompanied me. She tolerated it all very well.

She had been a stray living under the deck at the Schmidt's rental house in Chattanooga. They had been instructed by the landlady to not befriend her. I felt so sorry for her.... she was so effectionate and almost an exact replica of my 2 year old Maine Coon, Surely. So, I bought a small animal crate, and made a reservation for her to accompany me on my Airtran flight. I named her Merci as that is what she needed and also... my other Coon, Surely is named from the verse "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...." So, now there is Merci joining Surely.

She is here safely. Sleeping a lot today. She found the food bowls and the litter box and is getting used to our dog and other cats. My goal is to find her a home here, tho I admit that will be hard for me. She is so darn cute! But, alas, we already have 3 cats and a dog.

Chattanooga Soules Reunion: Friday

alt="" />

Another day has flown by.... almost. There is about 90 minutes left.

I hear the day began early with a few folks waiting up to welcome Hudson and Adie...who arrived at 4AM!
For the rest of us it began around 9AM with breakfast down in the Staybridge lobby. About half the crowd then went off to play frisbee golf. Mamaw, Shelley & Linda went to a civil war battle field & museum. Several of us stayed behind at the hotel to relax, chat, read, and make BeDe cards. Around 3PM some of us set off for food.... most ended up at a Thai restaurant.

Ben, Jess and I ate a little before them, at Hair of the Dog Pub and joined the Thai group for Thai iced tea. After filling our bellies, a bunch of us went to the aquariums. Jess & I went just to the huge new salt water aquarium but some people did the fresh water one as well.

The evening thus far has involved over an hour of reconvening the large group and finding a restaurant to accommodate us on a busy Friday evening. Eventuially we ended up at the Blue Plate, a great place along the river (next ot the aquariums). It was fabulous!

Now we are back at the hotel (10:30 PM), about to have some sort of multimedia night including a BeDe card slide show.

Arrived! Our Day 1 of Soules Reunion '06

We made it to Chattanooga! But..that is jumping ahead. Allow me to back up a bit.

Yesterday (Thursday) was our travel day. The day began at 2AM with a tiring late night drive to Logan via the Pike and 1-93 detour. Thankfully there was little traffic at that hour so we arrived easily at Logan by 4:14 AM. I was so exhausted that once we boarded I buckled into my seat, hooked myself up to my Nano and feel asleep before we hit the tarmac. I slept right through the takeouf.That was a first! I woke up to sip the diet Coke the attendant delivered, falling right back to sleep again. I woke up shortly before landing. I do recall a bit of turbulance at one point but other that that, the 2.5 hours were lost to much needed sleep. We arrived in Atlanta a bit ahead of schedule (8:45AM)

We found our bags, grabbed the shuttle and went to find our rental car. At Enterprise car rental the guy wanted to upgrade us to an SUV for $5 a day but I declined. When he took us out to the lot he gave us a new Xterra anyway. Hot buggy! Jet black with a jazzzed up roof rack. I started out as the driver but after about 45 mintues I had to wake up Ben to drive because I seriously felt like I was just going to fall dead aseep. It had been 26 hours since my last night's rest.

We arrived after noon time & were greeted by the Soules gang at the fornt door of Staybridge. They got our bags into our room and we headed out to lunch and to the Hunter art Museum in town. Lots of walking in the heat but it was fun to just jump right into things. Most of the family had arrive the day before. Hudson and Adie were to arrive later.



After a 1 hour nap, we had some supper at City Cafe up the street, followed by pool and hot tub time and a couple of hours of family time including Terrill's video of the 1986 Soules Reunion week in Lenoxdale, MA. What a "blast from the Past." Jess was under 2 years old, Aaron was 2 months old. Camila and Rebekah were not yet born. Grandpa (Frank) Soules was there, wheelchair bound after brain surgery. Gigi (Edith Barnes, Frank's then 90 year old mother) and Uncle Paul (Franks' brother) came at one point. My parents were even in the video as they had come to visit us. My Dad had recently had his right arm and shoulder amputated. He and Frank both died (cancer) that Fall, 3 weeks apart.

Lots has changed. Some great things, many additions to the family and some losses. Two decades of growth and transitions. All in all, the family seems to be healthy, happy and even flourishing.

The day ended for most of us just after mid-night.



.

Off to Tennessee

Jet & Beno and I are off to TN in a few hours. First we have to find our way to Logan, via a detour, as the main tunnels leading to it are closed due to falling roof panels that weigh 3 tons each! Yup. No joke, one fell last week and killed a woman on her way to the ariport. So...we need to seek an alternate route. Initially I was bummed that we had to drive there in the middle of the night but now I am glad b/c there will (hopefull) be little traffic. I will be glad to be sitting at the gate by 4:30 AM and even more releived when we arrive in Atlanta around 9AM...and then I will really relax when we complete our drive to Chattanooga which should be by lunch time.

Baird is already there (flew last Friday) and Aaron flew yesterday, Tuesday. Our suite at Staybridge awaits.

Col and Ian will house, garden and pet sit.

Yipee....

Settling Into Sweetside

Welcome to Sweetside as the new place is now to be known.... so named as it sits on the north side of Sweetser Park.

First I want to say a HUGE muchas gracias to all the people who helped us move down here! Pic 1 is most of the crew who helped up that misty night and Pic 2 shows a few of the gang who helped us unload that rainy AM. It all happened so quickly! Not that we don't still have plenty of stuff to clean out up in Shute-Ho but the bulk of everything found its way to Amherst in an extemely efficient fashion. Ever since then, we have been doing lots of work on the new house, with the help of Aaron, Ben, Jess, Brett, Glen and others.




Second, I want to say...keep praying fiercesome powerful prayers that the Shutesbury house sells soon. There has been quite a bit of interest but buyers are taking their sweet time in this calmer market.

Next...well...let me see...

I had a very nice BD on June 8.... nope not 50 yet!!

Jess graduated from her master's program in May and finished up her clinical teaching year this month. Last Friday evening we celebrated the grand finale here at the new house with a bunch of family and friends. We did our best to neaten up and clean the house but it is not yet finished so... it had it's limits. The yard looks pretty good these days but it rained, hence her party was held inside. Here truly exciting news was that just that day she was hired to teach 8th grade science in West Springfield, beginning in September. For the summer she will work for an outdoor adventure camp here in Amherst.



The next day, June 24, Baird and I went to NoHo for the afternoon with Brooks & Mindy and returned home to find about 50 people at our house for an awesome BBQ to celebrate our 25th Anniversary (which was June 20). WOW!!!! Jess, Ben and Aaron had put together this incredible event! Many local friends were here as well as two couples from our Ipswich Days and my friend since age 6, Nancy, came from the Buffalo area as well. My Mom even made it here from the Berkshires, thanks to my sister Linda and her fiance Jim for picking her up and taking her back home (see Pics 4&5).



One big part of the anniversary surprise was that Ben and friends, Josh and Brett, built us a 10 X 12 stage -- the "Sweetside Main Stage" during events and our picnic platform on non-event days. Brooks christened the stage for us that night! I will get some pics of the stage/platform up here soon!

Well, that's it for this update. I have much more to say after all this time but I will leave it for another day.

Too Much Happening!

Phew!

Too long since I was last on line. I just went thru 192 new emails...have been without internet access for a week. Rao's is a nice place to connect tho..and only a 3 minute walk from the new abode. I have just been too busy to do it until tonight.

Yup...it is true.... thx to about 15 VERY helpful friends we got the bulk of our things moved from Shutesbury to Amherst last weekend without any major hassles (well...except the ridiculous suddenly missing truck scenario at U-Haul). Anywhooo... THX GUYS, your help was indispensible and indescribably awesome!

Status report on 38 Lessey: Hmmm...well...not much is unpacked at this point as virtually every room in the new house has something waiting to be completed. The kitchen is the most incomplete room..no counters yet, no sink, no stove, no microwave...yada, yada, yada. Hopefully it will be largely complete by next weekend.

The pets have made the transition quite well...even our hermit cat Seal seems OK. They do seem to like seeing more of us...and of the rest of the family too. Chloe likes the back yard and her new run. The multitude of squirrels is a fascination for all of them.

Unfortunately there is nothing new on the Shutesbury house sale...still a point for much prayer (and some loss of sleep as well).

Well, that's the brief update. Pics have to wait until next time. I have to locate my camera download cables first!