Man syncing

My boyfriend last night on a whim decided to cut his hair. I thought nothing of this random desire until this evening. We were visiting Heath's long time friend Cory, these two lived together at one point, when I noticed Cory had gotten a hair cut to. They had synced up on their cycles! They were so in sync in fact that they even trimmed their beards the same way. How cute.

Last week: a short essay from the parking lot of the co-op in Belfast

Last week was enjoyable. I had two days off which I think I spend very well! We investigated a lovely place called liberty tools in liberty Maine. It was fascinating. This old building was just packed full of old tools and books and miscellaneous junk! It was so much fun to poke around and look for things. I was specifically looking for comic books in order to make an art project. I'm hoping to make magnets out of them. Then we went for ice cream at a place called John's. It was fantastic!

I made a point also this week to get some muscles and eat seafood. I got some muscles at the Hannaford's, a local grocery store, but they were not very good and kind of gritty. We ended up shopping there because both of the seafood stores we went to in Belfast were closed for the season. I think someone should let them know that summer is here! Despite the dirt the muscles were fun eating experience and we ate them with artichokes. It was a blast putting all the pots out with melted butter and artichoke dipping sauce and just having a free-for-all hands on eating experience.

Work has been wonderful as always. After spending most of the beginning of the week cleaning up the classroom then setting up for this class i was ready for the weekend workshop. This class has been tons of fun. Deneb,Lie-Nielsens sharpening goo Roo, is an amazing teacher and his students seem to be having tons of fun. I am also having tons of fun taking the photographs again. I hope to be able to show you some if them next week.

An update on the tick I found: no Lyme disease yet. However I am still skeptical that I will not die. Lyme disease is a sneaky devil... I think.

Heath is well. He is finishing up his first day of work, however he is running very late and has forced me to sit in the Belfast co-op parking lot for much longer than I had hoped. We made a strange set of car pool plans. The long drive in from Knox has made it so we have to plan what car goes where and when. As the half hour turn into hours I'm given plenty of time to write on my blog and let you all know exactly how bored I am. Please excuse any typos. I am writing this on an iPhone. Also the people of the Belfast co-op has started to look at me like I'm a loiterer. The bright side: if heath takes much longer I will just give Betsy a ride home. She works at the Belfast co-op and will be getting off of work very soon here. (One of the main reasons we decided to meet up at the Belfast co-op. ) He has his mom's truck I have the Tahoe and we would rendezvous to give her the truck back. However if he doesn't get here before she's off of work I will be giving her a ride home and Heath will have to just meet us at home later on. Too bad he has no cell phone. Yippy! Another extremely late dinner where I am starving beyond all reason.

First Tick of the Summer

I found my first tick today while getting ready for work.  I have been totally freaked out about getting one, and to find one in my butt crack was traumatizing! I love my boyfriend, he even got the head out!  I know he is a good man because he patiently reassures me as I scream "Am I going to get Lyme Disease!!??"

Wonderful Life at the Shire

Maine has been fantastic.  We have decided to stay at Betsy's in Brooks and drive into work. The Shire, AKA Betsy's farm, is a wonderful place. And the drive to work has it's own joys. The 38 miles takes an hour and the GPS has taken me a new way every time.  As a result I have seen some amazing places.

Work has been more then I could have hoped for.  I am totally in love with my job again and I feel like this time around I have truly crafted my job into something that fits me perfectly.  After two brutal days of heavy lifting and reorganization of the classroom space, I got my reward.  Two days of 17th century New England carving!  What a riveting opportunity!  As I watched the instructor lay out and carve I would get goose bumps.  Finally the creamy candy filling, my photos of the weekend were recognized by our marketing director and praised on Facebook.  You should really check them out! They are on Lie-Nielsen's Facebook page, or I put a post with a link on my wall.

As I was driving home the other day I noticed a sign on the side of the road advertising fiddle heads for sale.  I have heard for years about the delisousness of these crazy looking green things, so I stopped and bought some.  We cooked them that night and they prooved to be really very good.  I think I will try cooking them several different ways in the future, I bought 2 lbs.  But the real lesson I learned from this purchase was how the fresh local food of Maine is purchased.  The fiddle heads were in a cooler in the back of a car, parked at the end of a drive way.  I walked up to the house to ask to buy some.  This however is not how this system works.  In the cooler is the product marked with the price and a container for money with some change in it.  The idea is based on the honor system and I am expected to help myself.  On the drive home I realized Betsy had a similar cooler at the end of her drive way.  I looked in, eggs.  This is great, and now that I understand it I will be buying more fresh food items from local producers!  GO Maine!  It is so easy to eat local.

We have been looking for a puppy since we have been in Maine and a perfect scenario has fallen into our laps.  One of Heath's friends has a litter, about a week old, that we can visit and choose from.  This is ideal for us.  We will be able to assess and play with the puppy till we take it home in July. Also on the subject of pets, Softy now ventures outside.  I think she is happy at The Shire to.

Today we will be exploring the town of Belfast, more specifically the Goodwill and the Ocean State Job Lot.  Remind me to let you know about the Job Lots! That's a whole other post!!

Fun Fact

Did you know they trucked commercial bees across the country to pollinate different crops? Sucks to be the truck driver. Despite the net there were bees everywhere.

Welcome Maddhouse Gypsy

Ohio and New York were a driving dream. We made a point to stop in on an old friend in Hamilton. Thanks again Steve and family for another random visit gone well!

We left this morning after an electrical delay. The right turn signal would not fire. We fixed the problem by moving around the taped up bundle of wires. Truly fixing this will be easy, but we were sure glad we were being good about checking. Just another thing we have learned about our little house. I have a feeling many more are in store.

Before we knew it, there it was. Maine, finally, and what a welcome we received. As we sat around the Carson's table, Heath's across the street family, I could not wipe this grin off my face. We had done it. It had worked.

The Wierd Wonders of Iowa

After loosing time in South Dakota we decided to drive for awhile after the sun had gone down.  We both were feeling good and the cat had been asleep for hours, so we pressed on.  As we began to feel that we should look for the next rest stop, Betsy called letting us know that there was weather up ahead.  The wind had died and it seemed like it would be a warmer night as we pulled into a spot on the Iowa border.  We slept and awoke to a normal looking morning.  We had somewhat expected to wake with the world covered in snow.  We returned to the interstate thinking maybe Betsy was just being overly cautious.  Not 20 minutes later we were in the middle of snow covered fields.  As a result of the what looked like 2 to 3 inches of snow we discovered 28 vehicles that had slid off the road, 5 of which were trucks.  Heath and I shared a glance as the number of abandoned vehicles mounted.  We both new how lucky we had been to stop.  

I suppose it's time for a SOFTY UPDATE!! Have no fear, she still hates this!  However she has stopped making noise.  She mostly spends the ride sleeping in a little ball.  She has also stopped telling us when she really has to pee.  Unfortunately stopping to let the cat out to wander around the camper to pee, or more often not, has proved to be a real time sucker.  We had another accident yesterday. 

Iowa proved to be hell on wheels.  We had it all, white out blizzard, high winds, rain, stopped traffic, constructions, more construction, and more trucks then anywhere else!! This might also be why Iowa has so many rest stops and truck stops.  In fact the "Iowa 80" truck stop is the WORLDS LARGEST. Or is advertised to be.  Judging from the number of massive truck that wizzed by me, I would have to say they have the customer base to be.  They have so many rest stops that they have two different kinds. They have rest stops, and then they have MODERN rest stops.  The first time we saw a sign for a MODERN rest stop we were delighted.  What could it possibly be!  Internet! Restaurant? Electricity? No friends, the correct answer is nothing.  A MODERN rest stop is nothing more then a parking area, no restrooms, nor picnic tables.  Jack squat!  Apparently MODERN people don't pee or eat.  They just have a burning desire to park.

On our first night we slept next to this truck.  It was very recognizable with a large Statue of Liberty on the side.  The next day we see it several times, and when we went outside early on the third day there he was again.  He recognized us, we are equally as noticeable.  He said hi.  Oh boy! Our first road friend! We have talked about getting a CB radio.  It seemed like a good idea also when the traffic stopped in front of us, all the trucks seemed to know what was going on.  Until then I have decided to fallow the ways of the truckers.  Merger when they merge and such.

We are now in Champagne Illinois enjoying a rest day.  We ate at our favorite absurd sandwich shop, Fat Sandwiches, and I am now taking advantage of internet to update you all.  

   

First Cold Night

Our first day was not eventful. We reached a rest stop outside of Hardin just before sundown. We cooked our first meal inside the camper, sloppy joes. We ate while we watched a movie on my computer. A cold day led into an even colder night, and Heath and I awoke to our breath producing little clouds of steam. We made coffee and hit the road again shortly after seven.

We now cover the cat's travel carrier. Softy seems to make less noise that way. She is starting to figure out that while in the camper for a short break she must use her litter box. After the small accident yesterday she is eager not to soil her cage again.

It is a beautiful day today as we race through South Dakota. We hope to make it to Iowa today, but we want to have time to cook again tonight. Could be another cold night.

We doubled back to stop at the only gas station for miles. We have learned from that not to pass gas with only a 1/4 tank. The station was located on the crow reservation and looked so foreboding we would have kept going if it was not our only choice.