Monday, October 31, 2011

Trick Received....Now Where's Our Treat?


Living in New England, we expect a cold Halloween. We're well versed in layering beneath costumes or having a good, heavy, warm winter coat to wear over your costume - opening it just enough so people can see what you are at each house in exchange for candy. This is when a mask or face paint can really come in handy. Stay warm and earn your loot. But, we don't usually have to prepare for snow. Temperatures that would be conducive to snow? Sure. But snow itself? Nah. The idea of Trick or Treat being postponed because of power outages thanks to snow? Slipping on snowy sidewalks? Getting your toddler's stroller stuck in icy snow? Are you teasing us? It's Maine, not Alaska.

But this year, that's just what happened. Tim had been watching the forecast for a few days during the middle of last week and was concerned about keeping the kids warm enough in their costumes. Legitimate concern and pretty typical for us. Then, as the weekend got closer Tim started worrying about rain and by Friday - he was worried about snow. It took me about five minutes to join him. Sure enough, Saturday afternoon snow started flying. We settled in with some Halloween cartoons and just as the last one was about to finish, the power went out.

Our power came back Sunday night just an hour shy of being out for 24 hours. But the damage had been done. Trick or Treat had been postponed, our children's dreams of bags full of candy were ruined, getting to show off the impressive costumes Tim had spent hours making for ALL of us was gone. But the thing is, none of us seemed too upset. The shear bliss of having heat again put us all over the moon and the promise of rescheduled Trick or Treat eased the boys' fears of a Halloween Without Candy! Really, when you're 8 and 5 that is a pretty terrifying thought.

So, tonight we ventured out in full costumes and got our Halloween Haul. Pics and a post of that to come. For now, a documentation of the first Halloween With Snow, that I can remember in our neck of the woods. Also, to our friends and neighbors who may still be without power, we hope it's back on very soon! This is such a January move, October! Not cool.


The front yard on Tuesday.



The front yard Sunday.



One of the best things about no power is the sight of book lights and lanterns glowing bright while the boys curl up in sleeping bags and take off to distant lands. Currently, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix and When You Give A Pig A Pancake are very useful to distract from no power and no heat.



Also, we LOVE the Cloud b Constellation Night Lights! They help light up ceilings at bedtime, and are great during a power outage. We turned our living room into a Planetarium with thousands of stars and constellations to seek out. (Thank you Adventure Uncle & Awesome Auntie!)

Friday, October 28, 2011

This Moment

A picture, no words. A moment from the week that I want to remember.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Snow


The view from our front door tonight. Leaves, pumpkins, and snow.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Walking


Fall is certainly here in our little neck of the woods. What better time to get out and explore a bit? Since moving into our home in July we've been consumed by outside chores, like raking, building a pen for the bunnies, cutting down trees, planting bushes...the list goes on. One thing we hadn't done, but kept intending to, was to explore our little patch of woods a bit. On Tuesday, with the sun shining down on us and the autumn wind making our cheeks pink, we set out for a look around.

We're only on an acre of land, which may not be a lot to some and an abundance to others. For us, it's heavenly and is certainly more than the driveway we had at our apartment. Behind our house is a nice section of forest that spreads for a bit before opening onto a neighbor's yard and road. Certainly plenty for my three pioneers to explore. Ben has already declared that he and Nate need to build a fort out here and is waiting for the next sunny day to start collecting branches and pick a site. I think this spot looks ideal.


We found all sorts of interesting specimens, like red berries, deer poop (yay! We have deer!), trees bent from Irene's visit this summer, an old wooden fence and a large variety of mushrooms. Or is that Lichen technically? I really need to get some field guides at the library tomorrow.



The best things we found: enthusiasm, curiosity, fun, adventure and contentment in OUR backyard.









Tuesday Tunes

We waste time on blame and weak revenge
Waste energy and projections
We're living proof, we gotta let go
And stop looking through the halo





Feist's new album, Metals is out now, I'm waiting patiently to borrow a copy from our library. Patiently....patiently....patiently. In the meantime, I'm so enjoying watching some live performances while she's out promoting the new tunes. She also did a great interview on Morning Edition a few weeks back. (Where I first heard this song and got it stuck in my head)

How Come You Never Go There - Feist
How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

I went up to a window
Lightning banging on the cymbals
I ripped into the night
Came storm into your eyes

My horse had worked the fields too long
My bear had lost its innate calm
It's true enough we're not at peace
But peace is never what it seems

Our love is not the light it was
When I walk inside the dark I'm calm
Where we look for where we went
It's only echoes in the melody

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

We waste time on blame and weak revenge
Waste energy and projections
We're living proof, we gotta let go
And stop looking through the halo

We carry on as if our time is through
You carry on as if I don't love you
And so we find the way is out
To cut the heart out of the doubt now

The room's full but hearts are empty
Like the letters never sent me
Words are like a lasso
You're an instrumental tune

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

Saturday, October 1, 2011