Big games, big planes, big news, big plans...

Thats right everthing is BIG! Remember that Red sox game my hubbie went to the other night? Tickets courtesy of Marvin Windows or something...he called Tyler and I to say he was sitting in the second row thats row TWO, between Home plate and the Red sox dugout! Ummm I think those are the king of Saudi Arabia's seats or Ben Afflecks or something. John Henry...Red sox owner...3 seats away! I mean really!! Needless to say we had a great time watching Don watching the Red Sox.

Of course I didn't think I could really top that but I did call him from under the belly of a KC135 R refueling plane yesterday AFTER I sat in the pilots seat, AND sat in the boom controllers berth where he refuels the F16 fighters etc and saw the navigators desk (like where his father sat on his missions). The ARC had an inservice on the air base in Bangor yesterday and for a special treat we got this tour!

The big news came on the way to Bangor when my cell phone said I had a text message..could only be from the text message queen...Caroline who said "thought you might want to know I just got cast as the lead in the Fantastiks!" WHoooHOoo! We are going next weekend to see her in a production on the Mainstage for the dept. But I will definitely be going to this one too!

Big plans...well that would be the weekend! Oktoberfest..tommorow...and of course I do not feel ready for the desecending masses for revelers but its going to happen whether I am or not..picking up the big tent and sausage after work....Proust!!!

Zee Spaten has landed....

For all of you who really don't care...my german beer arrived in the warehouse and is going to be in the place of honor for the 6th annual Oktoberfest. Its a pretty tough thing to have an Oktoberfest without the beer! Now I have to get the glasses down from the attic and all the other paraphanilia and get moving. Won't be able to put up the tent Friday night I think its going to rain, but there are enough people around Saturday to get it up. I have to pick up stuff after work tommorow in Bangor and then the tent and sausage on Friday. Still have my costume to adjust too. Yep last minute as always on that. Everyone wants to borrow stuff so I keep doing that instead of fixing my own outfit. Yes, people get dressed up for this shindig!! In lederhosen and dirndls and all other matter of Alpine and German attire. We have had several years of cross dressers too! couples where the guy is in the dirndl and the girl is in the lederhosen! Its all part of the fun. Then there was the year I had to wear the 40 lb polish dress that someone brought with them from California and insisted on me wearing because she could no longer fit into it! Well the dress and I were not always in the same room at the same time!
It was huge and Heavy!! Someone else got that dress this year! Besides I can't hostess in that thing!

So thats where my heads at this week....Don went to Boston today..Fenway to be exact. Something about business and the Redsox...yeah whatever! Marvin Window guy took him or something. First to some catered affair at the park then a 5pm game! That means I will get more done tonight at home though!! Sox are ahead again and definitely in the playoffs there goes and semblence of a calm october!

Fun and Games..

So I read the sports page today after being a little oblivious since this past weekend, seems the Bosox have lost like 4 in a row so now the lead is 1 1/2 games...pathetic...but so predictable. Honestly, all those people who sat there and said oh we have nothing to worry about...my god people..this is the Red Sox we are talking about! History is not on our side....EVER! To the announcer's and pundits who had them in the series in JULY for god's sake...its the Red Sox have you not learned anything in 87plus years! So.... there's my rave for the day!

In other fun and games, Ty is pulling out all the stops Soccer wise,. scored the only goal Tuesday night against the Bay School, aside from being told by the coach (after they were ahead 3-1 I might add) that his height was intimidating his little players!!! Puleeeeeeeeese! They(Bay school) won 5-1 because those "little" players are not afraid of anyone "except" Tyler on the field and have no problem running directly through a Sedgwick player. Last night Sedgwick beat Blue HIll for the first time, Tyler scored two of the 4 goals. Plus one that was taken away! A direct kick that was supposed to be an indirect kick. More soccer this weekend at MMA.

Had his 14 y/o check up, still 95-100 percentile for height, he was hoping for 6 feet, although not quite there yet. 5/11!!

Oktoberfest is coming up in a week..and my beer distributor called to say the Spaten had not showed up in the ware house yet..as a matter a fact it was "missing" this is not good..not good.
I usually have anywheres from 40-60 people. The sausage comes in next week from New York, and I have a new (to me) outfit that I have to take in a little..definitely have some work to do..
I keep putting this whole event out of my mind and forgetting we moved it up a week...denial on this one folks....wait til next week then panic will set in.

Okay back to work...its too nice out but back to work anyways....ARC girl

Since I've accomplished nothing so far today...

I might as well make an attempt to stay off the bad blogger list Ginny has. I am certainly not getting alot of work done. I am not sure why but I can't stay on task for anything today. Perhaps because the plans for the day were totally scrapped and I had to start all over. Not a good thing. This kept me shuffling papers and phone calls and dates all morning..then it was lunch time..now not wanting to continue shuffling I find alternatives to work..not a good thing.

Soooo lets see whats up. I had a rotten cold all weekend thanks to my son. This definitely kept productivity down, but I did scrap book a few pages after cleaning out that closet the weekend before. Caroline will be happy. Then Ty wanted to see the MDI Ellsworth soccer game, which was somewhat wet and cold. And they ended in a tie. Kim and Kyle went with us and this obnoxious woman kept yelling go GrrEEEEEnn (emphasis on the "E") next to us. Kim wanted to ask her what she yelled at home games...go whIIIIIte! Worst thing about it was she looked familiar and we searched the MDI roster to figure out who she might be but couldn't come up with anyone. I still think we probably know her. Unfortunately!
Then Kim wanted us to go with her and Mom to dinner...You owe me Kimmie! Not too painful, the Red Sox were on and everyone paid attention to the game.
Caroline in her infinite blonde wisdom called her father at 11:30 Sat night to tell him they had won...she of course had just found out. Her father was sound asleep! Game started at 4!

Don't remember much else from Sat/Sun my head was basically fogged up all weekend. Ty didn't go with me to the installation of the new Priest...said he would rather commune with his skateboard. Someone asked me to go home and ask him what the sermon was about! I did and he actually didnt miss a beat and said "ollies". Smarta..!

Lots of soccer this week, two games and then a tourney on Sat. at Maine Maritime Academy.
Hope it stays sunny and at least somewhat warm! Go bluuuuuuuuuue!

Since I

Down Memory lane...

Doing shelter surveys...really! They were all at my old schools! Yesterday I went over to MDI and visited 3 schools starting with the High School and redid the shelter surveys. I saw several people I did not expect to and saw alot of changed buildings! The high school looked the same as the last time I saw it....I spent a fortnight there one weekend when Caroline directed the one acts for Ellsworth and I chaperoned. Although they redid the ceiling and windows , floors etc in the gym this summer and have not exactly reopened it yet...it looked huge..only because they took out that low ceiling. Funniest thing though was running into a guy who I grew up with and is on the maintenance staff...his brother is head maintenance. Butch and Richard Bracy. When I was a wimpy little girl..Richard terrorized me! I was petrified of him and I told him so yesterday..he just hung his head and told me my brother Chris told him the same thing. His brother Butch was disgusted!! Told me he would slap him up side the head later!

Then off to Bar Harbor and the Emerson school where the Maintence guy was one of our hero's last year at Hero's Breakfast for pullling a guy out of a burning car. I went to High school with him and his brother. We went into the gym and the gym teacher was sitting lecturing the kids and I asked if he knew the size of the space and he said of course...I realized (and had forgotten he taught here) that it was my neigbor growing up..Dave Renault. I almost asked the kids if they all knew CPR ...he probably taught all their parents!!
That school had changed alot and is well prepared if we need it.

Then I played tourist bought a sandwich and sat at the Harbor for lunch. This is the "older people tourist season" which can be amusing. I watched one guy take pictures with his digital camera which was on an extension cord strapped to his belt. Interesting. Of course they were all bundled up like it was 25 degrees out or something. It was about 68 by the water and sunny.

Then off to Northeast Harbor, where we had already done a survey but on the old form so I needed more info. Well this building was my old elementary school. It is only reconizable from the outside!!! It has been completely redone inside except the gym. Unfortunately they took out alot of showers. Down to one in each locker room.
So MDI is just about covered. Pemetic is the only one left. I hopefully will get my volunteer John to do that one.

This weekend is already too busy, Ty wants to go to a soccer game, then the company picnic was moved to Sunday which is the installation of the new priest at St Francis. Same time. Hmmm
maybe I clone Don...I am reading the Time Travelers Wife..maybe he could become the time traveler...only that guy shows up naked everywhere! Good book though.
Have a good weekend.

Yearly reflections

Knowing how much you all love a good laugh click on Good Deeds on my list of friendly blogger friends and check out my Sib#2 and her latest obsession with celeb gossip and the queen of means dog "Trouble", the picture is worth the extra minute of your time! Oh to have 12 million to just leave my cat!! Just think Lynn you wouldn't have to get up to nurse those kittens, the
"wet nurse could do it"!! "Only the little people work and pay taxes according to Leona..

I, myself, will just have to be satisfied with "doing good for the American Public," we don't really get paid for doing good for the American public, but then every career I have ever taken up has not paid alot until I basically left it. Nursing became much more lucrative, at least hospital nursing, after I decided I needed to be a "shopgirl". Shop girl paid nothing....this job pays next to nothing, but I don't have to think about it 24/7 at least not all the time anyways. So I have been working for the ARC a ;year and of course as you can tell by this blog evaluating whether I should be here or not. But as I told Don the other night I could be doing something sooooo boring for alot more money and that would kill me. My work is gratifying and exciting for the most part. I love the greater mission and organization as a whole. The people I work with are wonderful and dedicated or they wouldn't be here either. As always I wish I could fix everything and I can't.
So I guess I am in the right place.

That being said I should go back to work and do some shelter surveys, make some phone calls and write a few fire dept letters. Oh life is busy when you have a world to save....
ARC girl

Seriously!!

I just saw a blog named "couture cupcakes" on the sign in page for blogger! Seriously! Makes you almost want to go to it and find out what exactly that person is writing about!! Certainly not the mundane things I have to say. Like the fact that I basically have one eye today thanks to some allergic reaction to some unknown entity last night that not only made my eye itch and swell and water it basically shut it right up. It hasnt looked this bad since I was a little kid. I took two benadryl with almost no relief, tried to sew, tried to read a magazine, all were fruitless, so I finnally went to sleep thanks to the benadryl and woke up thinking it might look better...NOT. Spent the morning trying to reduce the swelling so I could come to work. No one better come in this office today, I am not that presentable.

In other serious topics, my sib #2 who is always obsessed with some cause celeb has selected the Queen of Mean Leona Helmsleys will, which left 12 Milllion to her "dog" to be kept in the lap of luxury for the rest of its life...well todays paper said the guardian, apparently a relative didn't want anything to do with the dog..so poor fido and its 12 mil. will have to be looked after by foster parents or something....all of this was so her nasty grandchildren couldnt have the money I guess. Now who gets the money when the dog dies I wonder??

These important topics are things you ponder when you have shelter surveys to enter into the computer, and tommorow you have to find MEMA in Augusta for a meeting. Anything to put off the obvious and pressing. Seriously!!

September Beginnings and Goodbyes..

Its that time of year..I woke up this morning and everyone was gone! Tyler was the last to leave the house at 7am for the first day of eighth grade. His best friend Henry Sullivan leaves today for Prep School at Milton Academy. They have known each other since daycare when Tyler could hardly talk but Henry was his idol and buddy from day one. Henry became an eagle scout this weekend, a huge achievement for a 14 yearold and then had a goodbye barbeque at Wooden Boat. Ty went with Aunt Kathie who was watching him while we were in DC. Henry showed up at the house this morning before Ty caught the bus, to say a final goodbye at 6:45!!
Dad's Paul and Don, stayed in the other room and I of course did not even hear the conversation but it was a heartbreaker for sure!

Thursday we drove off with Caroline to DC, stopping in Hartford for an overnight, to break up the drive. She was smiling the entire way!! We stayed in a town house on Capital Hill for the weekend that belonged to some friends who are in Maine for three weeks. It was a great location and since everyone is out of DC on the weekend it was easy to get around with our own vehicle. Friday night we walked up a block and ate at an outdoor German cafe. Saturday morning we moved her in. The dorm is an old apartment building with efficiency units that they are making into quads!! The girls have their own bath and kitchen and then basically one big room, sort of divided into two but its really just one. Three of them are on lofts or upper bunks, it will be "close" for the year!! Took us all day to get them settled. Seemed like they needed more than when it was just a single...went to a Target in Arlington along with every other college student and parent within 20 miles..GW, George Mason, VT, Georgetown, AU etc...there wasnt a single hangar or toilet bowl brush in the place!!

Caroline is extremely happy to be back in the city, even though its not the dorm of her dreams.
She starts rehearsals immediately for a Main Stage production she is in the first and second weekend of October. She had a great summer in Maine though, lots of friends and new friends,
and good times. We will miss her.

So we shall see what the new school year brings always an exciting time...now its back to work for me.