Act Three????

So the kids are back in school . . . and I'm floundering.  I had two plans.  One involved revising my resume and submitting it for some adjunct teaching - which I did - only to have no response.  I've called but it appears there is no room at the inn for now.  Plan two is more far fetched, less likely to have any success, and requires me to jump off a hypothetical cliff with no safety harness in sight.  I thought I could it, but I appear frozen at the precipice. 

So how does one go about creating Act III?  I can't work full time as my parenting services are needed, but I need something.  The all encompassing question of "what do I want to be when I grow up" looms frightfully before me.  I am so damn fortunate that I have this choice at this time; so I just need to slide on my big girl panties and jump.

It's Hot

I'm trying to ignore it by planning trips for the fall and preparing the kids to return to school next week, BUT IT"S HOT!!!!!  AND HUMID!!!!  AND MISERABLE!!!!!

As the wretched weather had melted my brain, that's all I've got . . .

Lake Sunapee Hike

A summer hike in New Hampshire's Mount Sunapee.

Only two miles up to the top!

Of course the kids would have rather rode up, but alas it was not open when we were there.  Maybe we'll have to visit again in the winter.

From above, a view of Lake Sunapee and Little lake Sunapee, and two tired hikers!

Mount Sunapee (or Sunapee Mountain on federal maps) is a 5-mile (8.0 km)-long mountain ridge in the towns of Newbury and Goshen in western New Hampshire. Its highest peak, at the north end of the mountain, is 2,726 feet (831 m) above sea level. The mountain has three secondary peaks, White Ledges at 2,716 ft (828 m); North Peak at 2,280 ft (695 m); and South Peak at 2,608 ft (795 m). The north end of the mountain, including the summit, is within Mount Sunapee State Park, which encompasses 3.85 square miles (10.0 km²). . . .
The entire mountain ridge is traversed by the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, a hiking trail that links the summit of Sunapee with that of Mount Monadnock, 50 miles (80 km) to the south in the town of  Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Also crossing the summit in an east-west route is a section of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway, a 75-mile (121 km) trail linking ten towns in west-central New Hampshire as it circles the Lake Sunapee region and crosses the summits of the three mountains for which it is named. The two Greenway trails meet at Lake Solitude and use the same trail to the summit.

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Sunapee

Fly Away Friday

Route de Vin

Kaysersberg, France

2006

Hansi, the famous Alsatian artist, said the following of Kaysersberg: "The situation of Kaysersberg, its unusual silhouette and its numerous ancient constructions make it the prettiest city on the Wine Road". The high fortress that dominates the city serves as a reminder of its strategic importance and its violent past. However, today Kaysersberg seems more appropriate as the perfect setting for an Alsatian festival with its medieval atmosphere created by the pretty half-timbered houses that have been well preserved. Vines also surround the city and to insure that we do not forget their importance there is an old stone well with an interesting inscription:

"Do you drink water at the table ?
It will chill your stomach.
Drink with moderation old and subtil wine.
I advise you to do as such and as for me, leave the water to the side..."

-http://www.visit-alsace.com/kaysersberg/index.html

Breathe In Slowly

Merano, Italy 2008

Hoping that the mountain pictures will help me to breathe in slowly

before dealing with pre-teen with bad attitude.

What Kind of Parents . . .

. . . would take their children to a place where heads are stuck on tree tops?

And scary masks hang from trees?

Monsters jump out from behind rocks. . .

. . .Throwing up their arms to yell "BOO!!!!!!"

And waving an angry fist?

All the while, unfriendly trolls stared down from tree tops?

Causing their children to run and hide in tunnels?

What kind of parent would do such a thing ;)

I'm Back

I didn't really mean to disapear - it's just summer, home with the kids, some health stuff, a trip to Maine, a crazy trip to Norway, and just life.  However, summer is drawing to an end here (only in the sense that the kids return to school in a little over two weeks).  And I need to return to my life - plug in and get going. 

Norway has been on our mind a lot since last Friday. Our trip there in May was very stressful and we eventually had to laugh and accept that everything was not going to go according to plan. Now our problems seem so trivial.   The pictures below are a tribute to the beauty of Norway and wishes for healing.

Bergen, Norway

May 2011

A Break in Rain

Bergen, Norway

19 May 2011

Puye Cliff Dwelling

A Few Clues

Any guesses?

Running Away

I am running away to join an old friend for the weekend. This could not have come at a better time. After a week of spring break and running the kids here, there, and everywhere, my husband came down with pneumonia. He is much better now, but it was a long ten days of taking over everything so he could rest. Plus my MIL is arriving tonight for the weekend and sadly (insert grin here) I had already made the plane reservation when she decided to come visit. I'm not telling you where I am going but I will post some pictures on arrival and I know you can figure it out. Until then, for my family in the North who are bracing for yet another Nor'Easter . . .

Your birds are enjoying the lovely sunsets

The flowers are coming in nicely.

The garden has started to grow.

And Spring is Here.

Which type of person are you . . .

Black and White?

Or Color?

Somewhere in Duette, Floirda

March 18, 2011
Click on them for a better view.

And a month has flown by

I am not sure where the past month went.  Thanks to those who inquired about the sale of the farm.  Miraculously, we have a contract from the young couple.  While the foreign offer was interesting, in the end it was the young couple who were more reasonable.  We are now just waiting for the snow to melt so that the septic can be inspected and I am crossing my fingers that we close before I leave for Norway in mid-May.

Also in this month, I have firm offers on all of the antique cars.  I have drafted more sales contracts in a week then a auto dealership.  These should all be at their new homes by mid-April.  Another thing off the list.  Tax information is to the attorney and I can almost see the end if (and this is a big if) we make it through inspection.

I also have been a little busy on my own stuff these past couple weeks. Having now wrapped my head around the fact that we are staying put in Florida, hubby and I began looking at some beach property nearby. We live right in the middle of the state - the butt ugly part of Florida. Yet less then two hours away is the Gulf Coast. FIL has a beach condo that we have been lucky to use, but it is only two queen beds which is pain with the kids. So, with the housing crisis and our moving nest egg, we are in a position to find a vacation home that we can use part of the year and then rent out. And I found a place and the owner and local bank accepted our offer. However, the property is a foreclosure . . .well, pre-foreclosure but the bank has locked the owners out after the owners stripped the place of the entire kitchen, toilets, bathroom sinks, air conditioner, and the vent covers. I know the place sounds like a disaster, but it was built two years ago, is off the ground, has three bedrooms, no one lived in it, it has GREAT potential, and is .2 of a mile from the beach. Next problem - the local bank who accepted our offer and who is out the money they lent the owner to build the place has gone through receivership. So, it is a foreclosure (pre-foreclosure) that has been stripped and the bank that now has the ownership interest in the property is a bad bank that has been taken over by the FDIC. Seriously, it's a mess. It has been sitting for more than a year in this same position (we were the first to get the local bank to accept an offer). The reason more people have not hung in is that due to the removal of the A/C unit and the kitchen most people can not get financing. So now we are waiting on someone from NEBRASKA who has the authority to accept our offer to make a decision. They told us two days; after two days, we were told a week - that was Thursday. Plus in the contract, the bank can pretty much pull out of the contract all the way up to closing (and possibly after closing  in a unlikely circumstance). We've been told that's a standard clause when dealing with a foreclosure. We are ready to move and close on it in under 30 days once NEBRASKA decides. Until then, I am trying not to like the place and find something else - no dice so far. I won't jinx this any further by showing you pictures, but here are a few pictures from the bay side. The property is on an island so that in either direction in walking distance is the ocean (insert sigh here).

And baseball has begun with games every Friday night and Saturday morning from now until May.  And next week is Spring Break and Hubby is saving his time for Norway so I will be here all week amusing, entertaining, and staring at the phone to make NEBRASKA call.

Could not make this stuff up

I have been diligently handling my grandparents estate since August after my grandfather's death.  The beneficiaries are my father and has six siblings.  So far, I have managed to wade through with no major family blow-outs, and with seven beneficiaries, all related, and all related to me, this has been a minor miracle.

So, my grandparents had a family farm - 160+ acres in East Nowhereville Maine.  House belonged to my great grandparents.  Middle of nowhere - gorgeous land - haying fields, big red barn - but MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.  I listed the place for sale with an agent since none of the beneficiaries are interested in buying the others out.   We listed it at a fair price, knowing the value was the land and not the  nearly 200 year old farm house that needs some TLC. 

It is the middle of winter in Maine.  A winter that has produced record amounts of snow.  Middle of winter in the middle of NoWhereville in the middle of lots of snow.  Yeah, right.  We figured the property would sit until spring.  But Super Agent had other plans.  She has shown the farm more time then I can count, walked the boundary line (in the snow and not plowed) with interested buyers, and returned with buyers and their carpenters.  Super Agent defies all housing market gravitational decline.

This week began with an offer (low but starting place) from "young couple".  "Young couple" is from Maine but left to go to Big City make real money elsewhere, and now wants to return to live off land and be involved in local community.  "Young couple" wrote me a very nice letter to accompany their offer about how excited they were to raise their family at grandparent's farm and continue its heritage, etc, etc.  "Young couple" right out of magazine of people "returning to the land."  Could be television series - possible comedy.

Then today, new offer.  No locals, no aspirational "young couple", no developer (because even if you developed it, no one is there!).  New offer from a "farmer" from a small former COMMUNIST RULED STATE - yes, in NOWHEREVIILE, MAINE.  New offer in cash.  Seriously.  Possible movie plot - former communist succeeds as rural farmer in NoWhereville, Maine, but where did the money come from to purchase the farm? (dramatic music cue . . . .)

Negotiations on-going today with both.  Grandparents rolling in graves due to offers of people from away being considered.  Believe I have entered twilight zone.