Carnage or Progress?

After music lessons on Tuesday, Matt and I worked on putting the banisters on the deck. When we got done this is what it looked like.

However, it didn't stay looking that way for long. That afternoon Paul Carter showed up with this to do some work for us, and our whole property began to look like a tornado had struck.

Holes were dug around the sides of the house to check to see if there were any drainage pipes around the house. A couple of trenches were dug to channel surface water away from the foundation of the house. Trees that we didn't need and were in the way got toppled over like match sticks. Brambles and underbrush got uprooted. By the end of the day Tuesday, our property kind of looked like a war zone.
The "carnage" has continued for the last couple of days...more trenches have been dug and more trees and underbrush have been removed. This is what it looked like when Paul got done digging last night.

It is hard to picture it right now, but eventually all of the dug up places will be graded away from the house properly and we will have a beautiful lawn all the way around the house. Also our basement will have no more water trouble, and we will be able to build more rooms down there if we so choose. It is amazing what can happen in such a short period of time, but it is so exciting to see all of this happening that I can't stop smiling! I choose to call it not carnage, but progress! :-)

Saturday and Sunday

We had such a busy, productive day Saturday, that I didn't take any pictures. We decided to start the day out a little earlier and try to get some things done before it got SO hot. By 11:00 that morning, we had put up a clothesline, mowed the lawn, Matt had tilled the garden, I spread manure over it, and he had tilled it again. By that time it was getting pretty hot, so we came in, got cleaned up, and headed to town.

 Matt had some birthday money and I had a little piano lesson money saved up that we put together and bought a porch swing for our new deck. We had seen it a few days earlier, and had tried it out at the store deeming it very comfy. I had mentioned picking up a couple of lawn chairs, but jumped on the idea of a porch swing instead. In no time the swing was purchased and loaded into the back of the truck, and we were headed home for a busy afternoon after grabbing a bite to eat in town as well as a grass trimmer to keep our yard looking spiffy.

It was our week to clean the church, so that was the next thing on our "To Do" list when we got back from town. We had that done in about an hour, and we headed home and assembled our new swing and the grass trimmer. I hung out some clothes on my new clothesline, and then Matt and I took turns trimming up our lawn. By supper time our dooryard looked amazing. Here is the one picture Matt took of our Saturday activities.

We ate supper out on the deck for the first time Saturday night! It was so beautiful and relaxing out there! I could have stayed there forever! After supper we made a quick run to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies before heading to Dad and Mom's to return their tiller. We stayed and had some ice cream with them, before heading home to grab showers and fall into bed. Not before Matt had cut down a bush near the front of our lawn that was full of tent caterpillars, though. :-) We enjoyed our productive day together, and found ourselves wishing Matt's vacation wouldn't end.

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My ever faithful photographer had his camera ready last night when we showed up at church last night to find a little excitement happening. Somebody pulled into the church parking lot before church last night with their car smoking. Some of Matt's sisters were at the church singing and saw the car pull in, went out to see if they could help, and found the car starting to flame with the lady who owned it trying to beat out the fire with a blanket. Pam tried to call 911, but the phone in the church wouldn't dial through. I'm not sure of the timing of all that happened next, but somewhere in the next few minutes Mr.Jim had been alerted and had arrived with a fire extinguisher, giving it to the lady and grabbing another one from the church to try to help. Also around the same time one of the Sedgwick firefighters happened to be driving by, saw what was happening, and radioed in the fire department for them. The fire did spread to a couple of trees, but by the time we got there, the fire had been put out, and the trucks were starting to clean up to leave. I felt bad for the poor lady, but she seemed to be doing OK, and thankfully nobody was hurt and the fire didn't spread any further.

Day Off

Matt has been working out straight all week trying to get the deck built for us. Even though he has been enjoying the change of work from selling cars, we really couldn't call this week off a vacation because he has been so busy. He decided that he would fix that by not working on the deck at all yesterday, and just having a relaxing day together.
 It was a warm summer day, and we had already decided the night before that we wanted to go on a picnic for lunch on Friday, so we headed out around 11:00 to Acadia National Park to have a picnic on the sand beach there. We stopped in Ellsworth on the way and picked up supplies for a clothesline as well as sandwiches for our picnic. As usual the park was gorgeous, and I enjoyed sinking my toes into the warm sand on the beach immensely. There is just something about a sand beach that is so much more appealing to me than a rocky one.

After we finished lunch, we headed down to the water and I stuck my toes in to rinse off the sand that had stuck to my feet and legs. The cool water felt so good on such a warm day!

We were both getting thirsty, so we headed back to the car to get our drinks that we had left, and we headed to downtown Bar Harbor to do some sightseeing/
window shopping. Matt took me to our favorite ice cream shop there, and bought a cup of creamy ice cream for both of us to enjoy while we wandered around. We ended up going down to the pier and just relaxing on a park bench to watch the boat activity in the harbor.

Somebody's private yacht was in port and we watched as two guys meticulously cleaned all of the chrome, dark wood, and such that the boat was trimmed with. I couldn't get over how HUGE this boat was or how much it must cost to own something like that!! I told Matt that someday we would have one to dock next to this one. *wink*

A cruise ship was also in. This picture doesn't do it justice to show how gigantic it really was!! We could actually see this boat when we were driving around Acadia National Park.
When we were done our ice cream, our adventures took us into many little shops looking at jewelry and whatever took our fancy until we had worked our way back to the car.

Bar Harbor was the perfect place to spend a relaxing day off. It is always so beautiful there, and I could spend days just wandering through all the quaint little shops. Having a whole afternoon to enjoy with Matt was amazing! I've gotten so spoiled with having him home all week that I already don't want him to go back to work on Monday!

Backyard Visitor

This past Sunday was a cold, rainy day, but this little visitor in our backyard brought a ray of sunshine to our day!

I happened to look out the kitchen window as I was making lunch, and there this sweet little fellow was quietly munching on leaves. I was so excited to see him so close to our house, that I stopped mid-sentence in what I was talking to Matt about, and called him over to see. My man immediately pulled out his phone and snapped these pictures so that I could share them here on the blog.

 

Our little "Bambi" probably grazed 5-10 minuted before bouncing off into the woods. Matt and I just stood there enjoying watching the little fellow who seemed to have no clue that there were eyes watching him. He didn't seem afraid at all even though he was quite close to the house.

 

 

 

It was just a special little treat for us both to enjoy, that added to our rainy day. :-)

 

 

TO ADD TO  THAT:

Just a few minutes ago I looked out my kitchen window again and what to my surprise......

 

 

"Bambi" is back!!!! And he brought his Momma this time!!! How did he know I blogged about him this morning?!?!? 





Blue Hill Fair

Last evening Matt had to work a shift in the Darlings booth at the Blue Hill Fair and I was able to go with him. I enjoyed being able to take in the fair and being able to spend time with my man. (Please excuse the quality of these pictures.... they were taken at dusk with the iPod and didn't turn out the best!)

 

We went to get something to eat as soon as we found our booth and got set up because we were both pretty hungry. Matt had had a CRAZY busy day and hadn't had time for lunch and also had worked late, so he was STARVED!!!

 After we got something in our stomachs, I did a little exploring. The horse pulling ring was right across from where our booth was, so of course I had to go watch for a little while.

 

 

While I was there, the three-horse pull was in session, and they were pulling some pretty good weight. There weren't as many teams as I am used to, so the pull didn't last very long. I didn't stay for the whole thing either, because it isn't quite as fun to watch a pull when you are all by yourself and don't know any of the people pulling. :-)

 

 

I stayed for about 15 minutes watching the different teams compete. The rules aren't exactly like I'm used to, and the thing that worried me the most was seeing most of the teamsters in sneakers instead of steel-toe boots. I'm guessing they aren't a requirement down here.

 

 





The teamsters kept their teams tied to the fence until it was their turn to pull. It was neat to look down the row of horses tied along the fence. :-)
I then wandered back to the booth to join Matt, who had barely had any business while I was gone. One of the cars on display was a 2013 Camaro, so Matt decided to start it up, and see if that would draw any customers in. It worked!!!! Just about as soon as he started it up, people started coming over to see the "cool car."

 

My favorite moment was when a little nine-year old boy walked by with his family and we could see him slowing down almost drooling over this car. He asked his Mom if they could stop and look at it. She waited for him and told him to ask Matt before he got in it. I could almost see him bursting wanting to get in the car so bad, but he politely asked Matt if he was allowed to sit in it. Matt of course said it was perfectly fine, and the little guy quickly got in looking all around with the biggest grin on his face. My man is the awesomest guy in the whole world and remembered what it was like to be a little guy near a cool car. He told the little guy to touch the gas a little and listen to the sound. The little guy touched the gas with his foot a couple of times and revved the engine just enough to make it sound really good!! You should have seen the grin on his face then! I though his face was going to split he was smiling so much!! His mom and dad both told Matt that he had made this little guy's day!! Out popped the  boy from the car with the biggest smile on his face and a GREAT big "thank you" for the "Darlings man" that let him test out the car! He was SO cute!!

 

 

A little after 8:00 we packed up the booth and stayed to wander through the fair ourselves. My darling bought me a pair of earrings as a souvenir from a lady who had a booth selling jewelry she makes herself. She does a beautiful job, and was selling her jewelry at a very reasonable price. As we kept wandering, we came across another little jewerly booth where you could pick out a stone you liked and it would be set in a necklace for you. Matt said I could get one if I wanted, and I was about to pick out a stone when I noticed further down the table they had a place you could pick an oyster and have a pearl taken out of the oyster and set in a necklace or ring!!!!!! I was SO excited because I had done this once before when I was in Florida, but my necklace had tarnished and I couldn't wear my pearl anymore. I had told Matt about it several times and told him that if we ever went to Florida I wanted to get a new necklace! Now here I was standing at a booth in Blue Hill with oysters in front of me and sterling silver necklaces to have them set in. Of course, my man being the darling he is footed the bill for me and let me pick out an oyster. Below is what I got!

 

 

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the oyster I picked had a teardrop shaped pink pearl inside. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! I picked out a little heart shaped pendant to have it set in, and very soon I was walking away with this dainty little necklace.

We made some good memories together... I recalled some good memories from past exhibitions I've attended... I'd say going to the fair was well worth it!! :-)

A Walk In The Park

Special meetings, house/dog sitting, and my vegetable garden among other things jumped life into the fast lane the last couple of weeks and my blog got neglected! Although I did enjoy the week we spent in Castine house/dog sitting, it feels SO good to be home! Matt has also been busy at work, and is going to be putting in a couple of 14 hour days the end of this week going to fairs/concerts to advertise for Darlings. The best part is that I get to go with him, so we can spend some time together even though he does have to work extra long hours. If nothing else I'll be able to help him wash the dust off the cars at the fair. :-)
In the midst of our somewhat busy schedule we were able to take a relaxing little trip to Bangor Sunday afternoon. Matt's family was on vacation and needed us to deliver Pam's puppy to them, so we met up with them in a park for lunch. It was a beautiful summer day with lots of sunshine and a nice gentle breeze. We ate our lunch under a large tree that gave us just the right amount of shade, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the park. Matt's family had to head out right after lunch so that they would be able to get to the church they wanted to go to that night, but Matt and I stayed a bit longer and took a leisurely walk through the park.

 

 

Every time we have driven by this park, I have commented to Matt that I would love to stop sometime and just walk through it. The fountain there is so beautiful and I kept telling Matt that it would be a perfect place to have a photo shoot done. Imagine my surprise when we pulled into THIS very park to meet his family for lunch! A waterfall starts at the top of a hill and runs all the way down to a pond where the fountain shoots the water high into the air. This is the view from the top of the hill.

 

 

The little bridge leads you across the pond to the other side of the park where there are more paths to explore and a sweet little gazebo to rest in. (Another perfect place for a photo shoot) *smile*

 

 

The view from the fountain looking up the hill. It was so much fun to be able to just relax and wander through the park enjoying the beauty of it! 

 

Gardens and Flowers

This was the first year I have ever tried to garden. I had watched my Dad put in a garden several times, and I even helped him plant seeds a few times, but overall I only had a very general knowledge of how to plant and care for a garden. I dove in head first and planted several different rows of vegetables after Matt helped me prepare a spot for them, and anxiously waited to see how my garden would grow.  I have to admit that the results of our labors were not as fruitful as I hoped, but not too bad for a first time gardener who has no clue what she is doing. :-) Our plants are just beginning to produce vegetables, and Matt and I are excited!
Keep in mind that where we planted our garden was all woods earlier this spring. Matt tilled it up for me, and we had a load of topsoil hauled in to put on it. Even though we have been using fertilizers I don't think the ground has much nutrients yet so we are glad that even one plant has survived this far.

Our first picking of peas

Our peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers are flourishing, but sadly the other parts of our garden did not fare as well. Only about seven pea plants came up out of the whole package that I planted. These seven plants did give us peas, but only enough to enjoy a couple of handfuls of raw peas along with our supper. Out of a whole package of lettuce seeds only two plants came up. I guess that means there will be a plant for each of us to enjoy! :-) Our green beans came up very well and were flourishing until we got a whole week of rain. Some of them got flooded, and the ones that did survive I was skeptical about. Matt helped me give them a dose of Miracle Grow and they have made a comeback and now have blooms on them. But because of the setback, there will not be a bumper crop. I was excited to see that most of our carrots came up. It took them awhile, but they are definitely growing. I weeded the whole garden this past Saturday, and when I got done I was quite proud of my little garden, even if some of the seeds didn't come up. Hopefully in the years following our garden will just keep getting better and better!

Matt LOVES my Mom's dill pickle recipe, so I made sure I got the recipe to take with me when I left. We didn't quite have enough of our own cucumbers to make a whole batch of pickles, so Matt bought enough to make a batch and I made him pickles Friday night. He is getting SO excited to try them!!!

My flower gardens have fared much better than my veggie garden. It has been hot and dry for the past three weeks or so, but I watered them almost every day, and gave them some Miracle Grow, and the plants that were looking thirsty now look quite healthy. I enjoy the color the flowers add to our front lawn. Huge thanks to my Dad for getting the flower bed ready for me when they came to visit in April. Below is a pic of one of my favorite flowers in the garden.(Please note that the weeds in this picture have been removed along with the rest of them that were in my garden!)

 

This garden was already here from the previous owner. I have been enjoying the lilies that bloom every day. I do need to relieve it of the brambles and fern that have grown back from the first purge I gave it!

Matt's Mom gave me this double impatien in June. I didn't get it planted right away, and it almost died inside because of the air conditioner. I finally got it planted in this pot and set it out on the porch. I didn't realize that rain drips of the porch roof right where I set this pot, so quickly my plant pot was flooded, and the impatien almost died again. I rescued it from that spot, and after the soil dried out, and a bit of Miracle Grow, the plant revived and is now in full bloom. It is more beautiful to me than normal, because it is still alive after all of my neglect for it! :-)

This and That

It's been over a week since I've been on here because most of my time was taken preparing and teaching lessons at Vacation Bible School last week. My husband was a COMPLETE sweetheart and helped me out with ideas and drawings for my lessons. Overall, the lessons were a success and everybody had a good week! :-)
Here are a few things that have been catching my attention lately!

I made this cake over the weekend and it is YUMMY!! The recipe was in one of the many emails I get from Betty Crocker, and it just looked so good that I had to try it! Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.

CHERRY LIMEADE POKE CAKE
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix
1 1/4 cups lemon- lime soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1 box (4 serving size)cherry-flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
FROSTING :
1 container Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
Maraschino cherries (optional)
Lime peel twists (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350F. Spray bottom of 9x13inch pan with baking spray and flour it.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, soda, oil, egg whites, and grated lime peel with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
Bake as directed on box for 9x13inch pan. Cool 20 minutes.
Meanwhile stir gelatin into boiling water, stirring for 2 minutes to completely dissolve gelatin. Poke cake every inch with tines of meat fork or table knife. Pour cherry mixture slowly over cake, allowing mixture to fill holes in cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour longer.
In small bowl, mix frosting and 1 teaspoon grated lime peel. Spread evenly over cake. Top each serving with a cherry and a lime twist. Store loosely covered.
I adapted the recipe because I think using cake mixes is cheating.I just mixed up the batter for a white cake, and then added the soda and grated lime peel to the batter. It turned out absolutely fine. I also made my own frosting, and added some lime juice to it as well as the grated lime peel!

The day lilies in my garden are starting to bloom. It's a surprise every morning to see what color of lily I have that day, since the garden was already planted when I got here. These flowers give me incentive to take a stab at round two of weeding out the fern and brambles from this garden. :-)

It has been really hot and dry here the last week or so, which means I need to keep watering my gardens. I went out yesterday to give some Miracle Grow and water to the vegetable and flower gardens, and found this growing under one of the cucumber leaves! I was SO excited!!! I had just been telling Matt that I could see tiny cucumbers starting on some of the plants, when I came across this one. "Honey, we have a really BIG cucumber, come see!!" was the first thing out of my mouth when I saw it! :-) (Since we only planted pickling cucumbers, this is about the size they will grow). Our tomatoes and peppers have blooms on them as well, so it will soon be time to start making pickles, salsa, etc. :-)

This is just because Matt and I both got a kick out of this! We found it on Facebook and thought it was so neat! I just wish I knew somebody having a baby so that I could host a baby shower and make this for it! Haha

It is such a beautiful day and the gardens need watering and weeding, and I need to finish mowing the lawn, so I best get to it!
Enjoy your Monday! :-)