Archive for the ‘activities’ Tag
I’ve been complaining for months about wanting warmer temperatures and yesterday I got my wish. We had a gorgeous day in the mid-sixties and it was sunny without a cloud in the sky. The cat and I even managed an hour on the deck to work on our tans a bit. It was incredible.
How do you end the perfect day? Always a good question I suppose. After my better-half arrived home from work we discussed just that. It was the perfect night for a bonfire to start our Spring and Summer seasons off properly. Before dark I spent a few minutes preparing.
A bonfire while being really great also gives me a chance to rid myself of wood scraps collected during the winter months in my workshop and from the garden repairs and upgrades. The wood was cut and we were ready to go. Next I built the fire and lit it up.
The darker it got the better it became. We sat quietly enjoying the warm night and the good company. The sky was showing some light from Portland a few miles away which offered up a photo or two work keeping.
As we fed the fire it became really cozy and intimate. No vehicles noises, no kids playing and screaming, just peace and quiet.
The smell of burning firewood took us both back to past years around similar fires with family and friends who are no longer with us. The heat of the fire on my face was just the best. After a few hours we shuffled off to bed feeling good about each other and life in general. We left the fire with some regret.
SPRING HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED
I’m standing at my kitchen window sipping on an extremely hot cup of coffee and watching my neighbors as they walk with their daughters out to the main road and the school bus that will start this new school year. Their younger daughter isn’t quite old enough for school but she’s there to see her sister off and seems very excited by the whole experience. They’re taking lots of photo’s to mark this special occasion as I’m sure they will do for many years to come.
The older daughter’s of another neighbor were seen packing their cars a few days ago and are now off to college to begin their school year. They also seemed excited to begin another year that moves them a little closer to independence and a life of their own.
For me this is the beginning-of-the-end of summer. I’m excited by the tourist season being over as I again watch them leaving the area in droves. By next week the population of many nearby coastal towns will drop almost ninety percent. Many of the beach businesses will close for the season and our lives can slowly get back to what we consider normal. My better-half and I are looking forward once again to visiting several bars and restaurants we’ve been avoiding all summer. Large crowds, high parking fees, and higher than normal prices have kept us away all summer long. It’s northing new just a normal transition we have to deal with every September. Caravans of vehicles heading north to return to Canadian soil and just as many heading south to Boston and beyond.
Our summer gardening is also coming to an end and the Fall season will be upon us in no time. We’ll visit a few local fairs and festivals and of course the big Fryeburg Fair and I’ll be getting out the snow thrower and preparing it for the coming season. I’ve lined up a few winter projects and also collected a healthy stack of books to read during the next five months. Then we’ll settle in for what will hopefully be a quiet and thoughtful Winter with just enough snow to keep things fresh and clean until Spring.
I always look forward to Winter if for no other reason than the time it offers me to read, think, and write. This blog becomes a major priority once again and I’ll finally have the proper amount of time to research things I want to write about. That the best relaxation I can think of and I ‘m looking forward to it.
Valentines Day is over as I write this and we’ve had a great day. My better-half had the day off so we spent the first few hours in bed this morning exchanging cards and gifts and making good use of our quality time. It’s more difficult than I ever thought it would be to have time together. Her schedule makes it somewhat difficult but we’re dealing with it.
Being the loving person that I am I then volunteered to make us a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, and a jar of our home made rhubarb jam. It really started the day off right and gave us a chance to catch up on a host of other matters. We’re trying to make plans for an interesting vacation this summer, where to go, for how long, and all of the other preparations that need to be discussed.
We spent the remainder of the day running errands and just having fun together. We picked up groceries for our evening meal and returned home late in the afternoon. Our late dinner consisted of two excellent steaks, a pile of fried onions, a huge salad, and a bottle of pretty decent wine. We then retired to the living room to watch a new movie I just received as a Valentines Day gift. I laughed until I cried as "Ted" took over our reality for a couple of hours. For me there is nothing better than lot of laughter and we enjoyed the hell out of that movie. She had to be at work at 5:30 am so she was off to bed soon after the movie ended.
I planned to remain awake for just another hour or so to give her a chance to get to sleep and was able to read five or six chapters of a new book I just started. The cat arrived in the living room at his regularly scheduled time, climbed up on the chair, and wished me a Happy Valentines Day in his own weird feline way. He also let me know in no uncertain terms that it was time for bed. I opened the bedroom door and he immediately joined her there.
I ended up reading for quite a while and before I knew it it was 2:00 am. I completed a quick check of the house. picked up a glass of wine, and walked out onto the front deck for a few minutes. It was really cold but the night was crystal clear. I sat for a while on a small bench we left out for these occasions and enjoyed the cold air and the absolute quiet. One of the joys of living in a rural area is the total lack of human background noise which we can only hear if the wind shifts in just the right direction. The cat stuck his nose out the door but refused to join me. I thought someone with a nice thick fur coat like his wouldn’t be put off by the cold all that much but he was. He casually returned to the bedroom to enjoy his most favorite thing, the electric blanket. He was down for the night finally.
All things considered it was a really wonderful Valentines Day. I hope we have many more just like it.
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