the day before....

And here we are again... the third Friday of August, which means tomorrow is the third Saturday of August..... and on every third Saturday of August, is the annual Fireman's Parade and Muster. This is the 90 "something" year that the muster has been held, and with my Dad being a firefighter and my Ed being one as well, it has played a big role in my life and the lives of our girls. Both Kas and Sadie were "Miss Flame" (the mascot of the parade) and for many years, our good friends from Southwest Harbor fire company would camp out in our back yard. All the wonderful memories that it brings back. This year is quite different, for at the moment... I am home alone. I haven't ever been "home alone" on "field day eve"... but, with kids living on their own, and the Southwest friends with older children that keep them busy they are not able to camp out anymore.... things do have a way of changing.

Happily, one thing that hasn't changed is... the polishing of Protection II.... Ed is the "caregiver" to this beautiful antique hand pump, and each year, he brings it out of storage, so that the group that owns her, can get her all shined up for the parade. "She" is own by a group that we fondly call the "red shirts"... and who, at one time (back in the 1800's) were an actual fire company. Today, they are mainly a group of "fire buffs", but they support our fire company, and proudly bring Protection II out and show her off.

The guys were surprised when they came today, to hear about our upcoming move, and were a little worried about how this might change things for Protection II.... but nothing will change. Ed will still be her caregiver, and with Kas and Nate living here in the house, we will still be able to bring "her" here each year for her shine and time to be in the sun.

Tomorrow will be the parade, each year it seems to get a little smaller.... which is very sad, but somewhere in this "progressive" world we live in... things like riding a fire truck in a parade, doesn't seem to excite children like it used to. The games that the firefighters do during the muster, gets smaller too..... people don't seem to have time to "play silly games with hoses and water"..... I think I am beginning to have an idea now of how some of the "older people" in my life felt when "things began to change... or.... when I was young we used to......" because I find myself having those same sort of thoughts more and more often. Don't misunderstand me, I like progressive things... computers, blogs, pictures that you can print in a moment, or decide to delete if you don't like them.... but, I also enjoy the simple things... parades, fireworks, ice cream... riding a horse... making a quilt... going to a fair.... and I just hope these things won't be lost in the years ahead. Guess we just have to keep them going the best we can....

"joy"

This little chap is Jon, Linda and Wayne's son. He had never seen the ocean before this trip to Maine, and though the weather was foggy and very cool, nothing would keep him from enjoying his time in the water. Just watching him.....

was sheer joy!!!!!

Here are my friends, Linda and Wayne. I don't even know how many years I have known Linda, we met long ago when our oldest kids were just babies, we "worked" together at church, and just hit it off as friends. Wayne was in the Air Force at that time, so, it wasn't long before "they" were shipped off. Linda and I have managed to stay in touch over the years, and now with computers, internet and blogs, it's even easier to be in touch. But, of course, the best times, are when we have the chance to be together. (She was here for the wool festival in May).

What brought them "out" this time, was a dog!!! They had been looking off and on for another dog for their family. One of their girls, Katelyn, decided that she "would like a dog of her own".. so Linda gave me a "heads up" and said that if I came across one that would fit into their family, she might be interested. I did a visit for cocker rescue and "found" this wonderful 5 year old dog in need of a home, he was "given up" because he spent way too much time alone. His owner dearly loved him, but knew that being alone so much of the time wasn't fair to him.. and he wanted a place where "Captain" would be loved and not so alone. I immediatley thought of Linda and her family, they have a farm and with a family of 9, it's a pretty safe bet that this dog would never be alone. So, I gave her a call, and she and Wayne decided to come and check him out.... and bring Jon along as he has never had the chance to see the ocean. Sadly, they really could only come for a very short visit, but it was wonderful... and Captain has a new home!!!!!

I had the chance to show them the new barn, we spent part of the afternoon, watching Jon enjoy the beach (and the seagulls).... had a fun supper together (sea food of course) and then went to adopt Captain... and the visit was over......

I hope it will be a time that Jon will remember, because it certainly goes into "one of my favorite days" memory.....

all at once......

In some ways, it feels like we have waited "forever" to get to this point. We bought our land almost six years ago, cleared the spot for the house, and have dreamed of the day when we would start to build.

Now,"suddenly" we have a foundation hole, and yesterday the farm was a busy, busy place. Ken was working in the barn, getting that long list of "finish-ups" done.... Dave was there with the "digger" getting the foundation hole done.... the "other Ken" (who will be buidling the house) arrived to make sure the foundation hole was meeting all the requirements...then Scott (who will pour the foundation) arrived to see when his crew could come in......and it seemed like there were a million questions that needed answers right away!!!!

On top of that, my dear friends, Linda and Wayne were here for a short visit (more about that in the other blog)... so I was happily showing off my barn. They had been "watching it" all winter, via the blog, and it was so nice for me to show them in person!!!

"thanks" the all the rain we have had for the past month.... our foundation hole has a little water issue. But "my" Ed, always the positive, said it "was ok" because now he knows just where he will need to put in all the drains, etc. that might be needed to keep our new cellar nice and dry. We built the barn in "snowiest winter" .. so why not build the house in the "wettest summer"!!!! All in all, it mean next week we will have "cellar" walls..... and all at once.... it's very "real"......