MaryAlice Musings and More

Today was a full wonderful day - sunshine,  milder weather and lots less wind.  I started the morning meeting with the person who is making the screens and designing the doorways for my screened in porch.  It feels hopeful to be planning for my screen porch.  We talked about design and types of screen and the ways that he has envisioned installing each panel across my very long porch.  Today was not as cold as earlier in the week, but it was cold enough that measuring had to happen with warm up breaks as his fingers got too cold to keep measuring and writing down all the necessary information.  This part of the work can happen in the shop and not outside.  Later the doors and screen panels will be put in place, that will happen when the sun is higher in the sky and the temperature outside will be lots different than today. In the midst of measuring and figuring my friend Jane Mary arrived for her first visit.  We had been planning our time in Pa...

I have been in my house for one month.  I have found some rhythms in my day here.  I have more things checked off on the "to do" than those that need to get done.  There is a lot of dry humor going around as the snow piles grow higher and higher.  There are going to be bets on when the last of the snow will disappear.  I am betting on mid-May!  I have no/low expectations about any warmth or signs of spring.  That way I am not so disappointed.   Today there was no more snow.  The winds died down.  The temperatures not so much change.   One more day of February.   Then onto March.  It is Wednesday.  

Paul Cyr posted this picture on his Facebook page today.  He is one of the most respected photographers in "the county".  His images of northern Maine are well known and compelling.  I am both horrified and in awe of this photo of two Amish men traveling in this weather.   At 8:00 a.m. this morning Julie and I headed out to Millinocket.   As promised the sun was out and the winds were wailing.  The roads were good, but required much concentration to adjust as we hit areas where the winds blew snow across the roads and with a real temperature of 4 degrees (yes 4 real temperature)  I was on the lookout for black ice.  Every once in awhile Julie and I would look at each other and ask, "are we nuts"?  We laughed and I kept on driving south.   Just getting in and out of the warm and toasty car was brutal.  The piles of snow made for layers of blowing snow, and parking a car is a feat especially in Millinocket. ...

These last days of February are most certainly testing of one's spirit.  The snow came yesterday maybe 4-6 inches, enough to require shoveling out path to the garage and  the oil pipe.  The morning and early afternoon were mild the thermometer hit 30 degrees.   I poked around in the garage and organized the bins and boxes so that I could more easily access things as they are needed.  More importantly I hadn't really taken an inventory of WHAT was in the garage and it feels good to have a better idea.   Several boxes came into the house and were immediately emptied out!   When I was not out shoveling or in the garage sorting I was on the phone updating and doing other kinds of sorting.  Taking care of bills and appointments and even making time for a long chat with a dear friend. Then it was off to post office and a stop at the car wash.  I had seen the sign but had not yet stopped in,  I'm glad I did today.   They wash yo...

I have more empty boxes/container and ones that need to go to the basement or taken away or....but they won't stay in the studio/guest room.  It is beginning to look more ready.  My work table has been turned around, the storage bins are arranged and I am almost there!  Wow...The guest bed is made up and ready for my first overnight visitors.   It  feels good to be so close to being "done" with boxes and bins and other containers.  At least the ones that are in the house!   I did spend time together doing some planning for my trip to London.  I have started to outline of what our days might look like.  Have made a few reservations and bought a few tickets for our time there.  Tomorrow I am talking with Donald and Alison and will get some good tips, ideas and good destination planning.   I have a list of "to do's" started and am beginning to think about what I will bring in my suitcase.  Dreaming and imagining are happe...

I have for the last several weeks been asking people about rainbow pillars or sun dogs - they were something that I would see especially in the mornings that were way below zero.  People said that they didn't really know if they happened here.  This morning on the Facebook page "Crown of Maine"  they posted this sun dog from just after sunrise!   I was so happy to see it, now I can renew my hope that on a cold cold day there will be a rainbow!    It is Friday and it has been a beautiful day, the sun was bright and it felt really warm as it shined through the windows.  The temperature was mild (comparatively speaking) and I was able to do a little sorting and moving in the garage --- the auxiliary storage space.    Bill came up and the great news is the tub and shower are now hooked up!  It looks great and I am looking forward to testing it out,  Bill with his dry humor says, "well now, you don't have to wait until S...

Yesterday I left my winter wonderland and went to Bangor !    “There stands the city of Bangor, fifty miles up the Penobscot, at the head of navigation for vessels of the largest class, the principal lumber depot on this continent . . . sending its vessels to Spain, to England, and to the West Indies for its groceries.” –Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods, 1862 I don't think the vessels said anymore, but there is an international airport,  a Target, a AAA office, good restaurants and microbreweries~!  I went down yesterday to do the address change for my driver's license at the AAA office and to make final reservations for my trip to London next month.  I also had a list of errands, I made a list and checked them off.  Unfortunately I did not get a visit in my friend Lin but will be going down a couple more times before I leave for Boston on the 21st.   Yesterday was cold but sunny.  The sun warmed my cheeks as it flooded into th...

I got up early today.  Made tea and a little breakfast.  I found myself singing out loud as I made my lunch and got ready to be picked up for our ride to Millinocket Memorial Library .  I had taken a few weeks off from my work at the library while I was moving.  So on a cold, bright incredibly sunny day Julie and I took off for a day at the library.   It was a good day.  I am very glad to volunteer and I totally enjoy my library friends.  I am now home and tucked in for the night. It is cold, only nine more days of February.  It is feeling like a very long winter.  And a very good day at the library.  

Look at those two smiling.  Blue skies, sunshine, styling sunglasses and being together.  This morning I woke up and was trying to sort out why I felt so sluggish.  I have been working hard, eating well and resting good.  I knew that I was still feeling the shock and pain of Irv's death and the sadness and profound loss for my friend Kathy.  Then my calendar popped up "tomorrow anniversary of Steve's death".  Pow!  The tears came and the memories cascaded forth.  The searing truth that he died way way way too young.   Steve died in 2000 at age 52, it seemed too young then but now it seems incredibly tragic.   One of my most magical images of Steve is him sitting cross-legged on the floor in the living room of the apartment on Belmont Avenue in Chicago.  He had the music going full volume, his eyes closed and he was drumming away with his hands on his legs smiling and totally there in the moment.  He was so very v...

Irv's wife Kathy posted on Irv's account this morning on Facebook.  So many of you read my blog, expressed your sympathy, was touched in some way.  My heart still breaks for the loss of Irv and for the weight of grief and loss that Kathy now bears.  I know it will shift but not yet.  I wanted to share Kathy's words...it so illuminates what I was trying to say about their relationship....it was a linguist delight to listen to the two of them, their minds were so sharp, their intelligence so great and their sense of humor so amazingly bright! Here is Kathy' Post: From Irv's wife Kathy: To all of Irv's many followers, friends, barflys, former colleagues in education and former students. It is with deep sorrow that I tell you that Irv died suddenly and unexpectedly Friday, February 15 after a long chemotheraphy treatment and unexpected consequences following his treatment. As many of you know, Irv was a prolific Facebook 'friend', a failed Presi...

Valentine's Day brought news to me that could not have shown the vastness of the heart.  My dear friend Katherine, who was just with me last month helping with "the move", said yes to Robert's proposal of marriage.  I worked with Katherine when her husband died suddenly of a massive heart attack.  I watched her live through the hours, days, months and now years of living a life without her husband.  Two + years ago she met Robert,  I began to hear more and more about him,  and was one of the first friends to "check him out".  I could see from the first moment that they were just wild about each other.  Grown ups trying to harness amazingly strong feelings and hormones and desire.  They were just so very cute.  That first meeting led to dinners out, music, a vacation in Maine and many phone calls and FB posts.  Last night Robert asked Katherine to marry him, and she said YES. Yesterday at Noon I got a text from my friend K...

This morning I was listening to NPR and they had this sweet wonderful poetic story for Valentine's Day --- Poems that was filled with the fill in the blank of Love Is..... It was great to at the end of the story to begin my own thinking about what words I would say to complete the sentence Love Is.... Love is opening up a letter from a long time friend,  Love is a phone call with your BFF,  Love is having your grand daughter Face Time to tell you about her day at college,  Love is having your neighborhood friend text and make sure you are ok in a snowstorm,  Love is being able to just sit with a friend and say no words,  Love is the look when you drop off the fresh made soup to friend, Love is getting big hugs that end with a big gaze into each other's eyes, Love is sharing the moments in between words with a special friend. Love is opening up a box of chocolates bought just for you.  Love is taking in the entire vista of the mountain range as I drive...

Middle of the week and what a dump of snow!  We got over a foot of snow - it started later last night and ended later this afternoon.  I took a nap and when I woke up the sun was shining and the sky was blue.   My across the street neighbor who has very large snow moving equipment came over and plowed out my driveway.  I was able to get the snow around the garage door shoveled and the doors opened and to get most of the snow off the porch.  The back steps are hidden right now and I need a better path to the garage door, but will do that after my own plow guy comes tomorrow.  I did send them a text letting them know that I could at least get out so he could put me further down the list.    I made even more progress in the guest room and even made up the bed!  Best of all I could empty the boxes in the dining room.  I have moved in!  It was just two years ago that I drove from Minnesota to Maine.  I remember gett...

The painting is done (for now)  the built-in has been varnished, the sliding doors in my closet have also been varnished and the steps got a much needed touch up after the move.    I am still feeling unhappy about how the color in my studio looks in the light,  I like it in the evening!  But for right now, I am just going to keep on unpacking and arranging and continuing to be more "moved in". Today felt like a shift for myself.  I am feeling like I am going to be more settled.  That the studio/guest room will take shape.  Books, pictures and art work will find their space.  I am sleeping a little differently, it is a deeper sleep, I am dreaming and feeling rest when I wake.  I feel like I have settled into the deepness of the winter.  I have found that window where I can look out at the moon.  In the morning I know where to look for the sun.  All things that help to ground me in the day and ground me in my hom...

Took time for a car trip to Houlton !  Kathy and I set out again as we each had a few errands and stops that we wanted to make in Houlton.   Houlton was once an incredible thriving community, as you drive through the town you can see what were once wonderful Victorians, sturdy bright brick buildings that once were a part of prosperous town in the northern most county of Maine, Aroostook - right on the Canadian/USA border.  Today it is one of many struggling rural towns in Maine and in our country.   I had not gone to Houlton while I was visiting and living in Millinocket - if I needed to go to a larger town I went to Bangor.  Now my inclination is to explore Houlton so I know what might be available to me there as it is much closer than going to Bangor.  It is about the same driving time to go to Houlton as it is to go to Millinocket.   Today I had a few things I needed to get for the house and I was wanting to do a little explorin...

Such a much needed day - a day when I did not do any "moving in" with the exception of setting up my Echo and learning about Alexa!  The sun was out, there was blue sky and it was cold cold cold.   Began the day with breakfast at the Deli with Julie and Bryan.  Then we did a tour of the house - they had not been over since helping with the move.  Good to get such great validation.     I spent the rest of the day reading,  watching some women's basketball and took a long nap.   I have a potato baking and a salad chopped and going to have a little supper and then I am planning to watch some of the Grammy's.   I am having a day where I can just let myself feel my new home.  And during the moments when I could feel the chill from February making itself known I began thinking of a sun that brings heat.  The warmth on my face.  Sitting on my screened in porch.  Looking at the sunflowers growing along the...

Wow!  What wind.  The winds came and I was so very glad that my house did not just blow over, even though at times it seemed like it should. I washed wood and got things all ready for the shelves to be varnished at the beginning of the week.  Boxes and suitcases went to the basement (or cellar as they are called her in Maine).   The electrician came and there are now under counter lights in the kitchen.   It was a good day.  Blustery but good. And tonight I watched Won't You Be My Neighbor  what a treasure and so very heart opening.  I wonder who is our Mr. Rogers right now?  I hope that each of us can at times make our contribution as a neighbor in our neighborhood.  The ability to talk and honor feelings and how prosaic he was in what he brought to the TV world.    I enjoyed having a Saturday night with Mr. Rogers, with my own memories with my own feelings.   Thanks Mr. Rogers,  I am looking forward...

I may not be quite as enthusiastic as I was on January 7th after the closing for my house, but I am still a very happy woman, albeit a tad tired.   There is more snow (quite alot more) than in the picture above but it is cozy inside the house.  It is actually hard to believe that so much has been accomplished in this past month.    I still have work that is being done, tomorrow the electrician comes back for the third time,  he is putting new lights in the kitchen, new outlets, a dimmer switch and a few other upgrades.  Guy is coming back to take the back off a book case that I am using for a TV stand - and there are way to many cords and wires and ... so I think I have figured out a good plan.   I have a number of boxes, bins, etc that are go to the basement so I keep making trips and will be glad when there are no more trips to be made!  (that is not in the near future!) I found my box of greeting cards, etc. and was able...

It was a grey day today it made for a slow waking morning.  Homemade pancakes and a cup of tea to start the day, then I made some lists:  what to do today and what to get when I go (hopefully) to Houlton on Saturday.  Today's list included the post office, the hardware and the grocery -- so off I went.   After getting back home I went upstairs.  I have now gone through all the boxes and suitcases in my bedroom.  It feels like home, I have things that I love all around me and I have another room that is OK for right now.   I had nice breaks throughout the day.  A couple of good phone calls.  A long spell of reading,  I am almost done with this month's  Book Club read that is happening next Thursday.  I have everything ready for Dawn to come on Monday to varnish the built in's and redo the risers. More space is opening up.  It is easier to just stop.  There are many places that feel peaceful and fam...

Second week in my house.  Daily rhythms have started to emerge.  I find myself sitting in the kitchen at the old enamel top table in the morning listening to NPR Morning Edition and having my tea.   Yesterday was my first day back volunteering at the library.  I carpooled with Julie and we managed to escape icy roads in the morning but drove home in the rain!  I feel the push and pull of being in a new town, my life that I had while living in Millinocket is changing.  I have many things that I want to continue do and at the same time there needs to be space to build community for myself in Patten.   Meanwhile I still am in a world of unpacking.  With most of the day out of the house, it seemed odd and a little disconcerting to not be unpacking yesterday.  I did do a little opening up and seeing what was next with boxes and suitcases in my bedroom on Tuesday when I got home -- then today I jumped right back  into the world o...

I am watching Baylor vs. Texas women's basketball game.  It is not quite 9 pm and I can hardly keep my eyes open!   My day started with a call from Sasha.  She was stuck in traffic on I-94 going into work.  We had a wide ranging talk with lots of laughing and just enjoying where the conversation took us.   I came downstairs from tea and oatmeal and started in on finishing up the work that I could do in the dining room.  Then I got a call from Bill, asking me if I could use some help.  What a welcomed call.  I was so glad that Bill was able to come over from Millinocket.   We moved some furniture upstairs - something that will help facilitate doing more "moving in" on the second floor.   Bill brought the Shop Vac in from the garage, and we did lots of sweeping in basement, wow what a difference that makes.   Then I broke down all the boxes and got them into bags to bring back to Millinocket for use ...

All of the boxes that were in the downstairs have been emptied or at least looked through!  There are bins that need to go to the basement.  There are a few boxes that cannot be unpacked until the built in's are varnished and dry.  There is some clean up that needs to happen to clear out the downstairs "middle room"  also known as the dining room but I can see that the end is near.  Next week I can shift my box unpacking, sorting and decision making to the upstairs.   Box by box. There is much time for thinking/processing while I wrapping and sorting and deciding.  I took long long breaks for boxes and bins today.   I watched Myah's Hockey game on You Tube they swept Central Michigan in their last home stand of the season.  Myah played well, and it was fun to watch - next best thing to being there.   I hooked up my internet streaming on my television and watched a few episodes of the new season of Grace and Frankie. I m...

Wow, Wow, Wow.  There are lots of current events that I seem to have lots to say about today, but I am holding those thoughts until tomorrow.  Today I am reflecting on one week in Patten, my second anniversary of retirement and the wonders of community.   Today is my first week of living in Patten.  I still find myself peering out the windows and feeling such happiness taking in my new views.  The white and red pines.  The undulating feminine looking mounds of snow in the front yard.  The stand of trees that is my back back yard.   There are fewer boxes downstairs.  I can cook in the kitchen.  The dishwasher, washer and dryer have all been put into action.  I can watch TV and have a DVR as a part of the set up so I can record programs.   I have internet and a home phone!  It feels like home. I could not resist opening up a few more bins.  And the good news is that I found the fiesta ware dishes and the pl...