MaryAlice Musings and More

January is gone.  What a month.  I closed on my house.  Finished all the pre-move work.  Packed and now I am unpacking.  It did make the month fly by not usually how I feel about January.  I did not get out in the snow very much.  No snowshoeing but a fair amount of shoveling, scraping and wondering where all of the snow could be moved.   I have done my own kind of moving this week,  moving into a new home.  I know have a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom with no boxes and they look "move in".  I have a bedroom that has some space and there are boxes and suitcases that need to be emptied.  Next week!   It is wonderful to have some spaces that don't have boxes.  I pulled up the plastic and canvas drop cloths from the living room floor.  I vacuumed the rug in the landing upstairs.  I emptied a number of boxes and bins, but there are still more in the dining room, but it is coming along....

Late this morning I got a call from Kathy, she lives on Happy Corner Lane just outside of town.  She was just calling to check in and I asked if she would be going to Houlton any time soon.  She was thinking about this afternoon.  I asked if she was up to picking up a buffet that I had bought online through the Aroostook County Buy and Sell!  This is the last piece of furniture that is going in the living room and I was wanting to see if my image and the reality were going to mesh!  Kathy was game and off we went 5 degrees and partly sunny heading up 159 to Island Falls and the I-95 North.   The drive from Patten to Houlton is quite idyllic, not much traffic, hardly any,  lots of vistas and for a bonus I saw several deer.   First stop was to the  shop to get my buffet,  it fit in the back, we got good help getting it into the car and off we went to get quilting supplies for Kathy.  Then off to Marden's where I got a ...

I did not leave the house today!  There were several inches of snow when I got up this morning and maybe 6 inches or so by the time the snow stopped this afternoon.  I made some headway today.  The bathroom has NO boxes and I have things put away in a way that will work at least for awhile.  Wood and light fixtures washed.  I have a counter in the kitchen and a pepper grinder and salt box!  Also put out my two favorite dishcloths.   The morning started with the furnace duct guy coming in while I was reading in bed!  He brought in his tools and went to work putting in the last part of the duct work and getting the last new duct in working order.  He also used his handy tools to put up the spice racks ( he was very particular about it and even wanted to use a level).  Another bonus, he took the area rugs that were in the garage away to deliver to his boss.   I got a nap today, the first time in awhile....

Today was not a day to just keep pushing through.  I woke early, and read a little before stretching and moving myself into the day.  The day started with sunshine and clouded up very early. My table was bathed in sunshine as I sat for a moment sipping my tea and making my list of TO DO for today.  There are precious few spaces right now but each step moves me along.   I was glad to be able to sit in the kitchen and look out at the small stand of trees that are a part of my backyard.  I spent the morning completing  the necessary"change of address".  I think that the most important are all completed and friends and family will be next.  I have a PO Box, there is no home delivery on my street in Patten.  I also have a home phone, it was a part of the "package" and also a sign that I am part of an older generation.   There was great satisfaction as one by one I completed my task.  Then it was off to do a few errands. ...

This is picture of the morning light from my bed this morning!  This morning was the first morning waking up in my new home.  The light poured in and It has been a long time since I have blogged.  Since October 1ast (last blog) there has been many adventures, disappointments, hopes realized and dashed.  In November I put in a purchase agreement for a new home in Patten, and after many weeks of anguished negotiations, non-responsiveness and who knows what I was finally able to close on my house on January 7th 2019!   It has been a flurry of work, organizing and packing. Saturday was the big move day.  All of the people who had agreed to help with the move showed up big time!  I am not going to do a thank you paragraph here.  What I do want to say is that it is an absolutely amazing thing that after a day where all of my belongings went from boxes in one house to be placed in the right place in the new house what you feel is gratitude....

Matt is the director of our library, at the end of the year he will have been here two years.  He is "all in" for the Katahdin Region, Millinocket and most importantly the Library!  He has become a good friend to me and countless others.  Today he got the Outstanding Librarian of the Year Award from the Maine Library Association.  It was so fun to be a part of writing letters and highlighting the actions, commitment, passion and vision that Matt has accomplished in the time he and his partner Emilie have been here.   I was at the library for several meetings today and everyone who knew that Matt was getting the award today were just buoyed with the good news.   A nice way to start the week.   It is October, turning of the season.  Change is inevitable.  

While I was in radio silence, nursing a not so good back, and spending more time than usual indoors vs.  out in wild the colors just starting popping.  On Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning I was out on the lake - the colors were just starting, they were almost visible but very muted.  Now there is big color, more and more beautiful pics are being posted online and you can feel fall is in the air. I still feel that I am adjusting,  it is easier to put more and different layers on each morning.  I have finished the semi-annual changing of the clothes.  I have started to drink hot cocoa in the afternoon.  I am still cooking and canning.  I made a sour cream apple cake yesterday, brought it to the Fanjoy's for supper and it was a hit!  I also made a big batch of quinoa tabouli using cucumbers and tomatoes from neighbor's garden,  and scallions from the Fanjoy's.  It is the last whisper of summer flavors that I can eat along with ...