She's moving in and She won't be leaving anytime soon

So we have acquired our Piano. She will reside in our dining room and class up the joint. (HA!)

Of course she isn't actually in the house yet. Apparently it takes a large effort, wheeled dollies, strong backs and a sense of adventure to move a Piano. Professionals advise against it...But the quote for moving the instrument more than quadruples what we paid for it soooo...we're leaving it to the nonprofessionals and hoping for the best.

On Saturday night I went and saw my VERY talented brother-in-law READ MCNAMARA* playing with a band he's a part of, Erica Brown and the Bluegrass Connection. Seeing them smile at each other and radiate pure joy playing their instruments made me so thankful we've found our Piano.If I can give my children the opportunity to experience that kind of musical zen evident with those blue grassers ( who have all been playing something or other since they were very young) then I will be happy. And Jess take and I plan on taking Piano and singing lessons too! ( Which will be great for me since the drums didn't pan out :)
So anyway wish us luck!



*he's the handsome one playing the banjo with a huge smile on his face!He's been playing with Erica for about 6 yrs now. check them out on youtube or www.ericabrownonline.com

10 Tips for Toddlers...

1.) Pushing your riding toy up to the stove to give you a step up to steal my spatula while I am frying latkes- Not a good idea.

2.) Just because you are using the words excuse me, (excuse me, excuse me exxxcuuuse meeeee mama mom mum Mandy! ) Does not not mean you are using your manners.

3.)Pushing a chair from the dining room to the kitchen pick up sharp knives from the dish rack- Not a good idea.

4.) A full blown, screeching, back arching tantrum is NOT a good color on you.

5.) I'm sorry you don't want to wear socks...but this is Maine. In November.

6.) Bathwater is NOT an acceptable beverage.

7.) Giving loves directly after wacking someone in the head with a toy does not fool your parents.

8.) The soap will NEVER taste good, no matter how many times you try it.

9.) As much as Naked Time is a blast, it doesn't mean it should happen during playdates.

!0.) Coming down the stairs with a big smile and a "I taked a good nap" would be more convincing if you waited longer than five minutes.




This photo is from last spring :)

The Scorpio

In the tradition of my most favorite bloggers*, and in honor of all you fellow Scorpios, here's a drink to try:

The Scorpio***

3 oz sloe gin
3 oz ginger ale
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp grated peel fresh ginger
Ice cubes
2 lemon-peel twists for serving

MIX sloe gin, ginger ale,lemon juice, ginger and ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into 2 ice filled glasses. SERVE each with a lemon-peel twist.

Enjoy!







* click on the links on the right side of this page to check out some great blogs!
** I have not been a fan of Gin in the past, but I am intrigued by this fruit infused sloe gin. Also I was charmed by the rest of the ingredients and a sucker for anything named SCORPIO. I'll get back to you with the results.

*** This drink is featured in Martha Stewart Living November issue

Saturn Returns

So today is my 28th birthday and its a big one. I've read that every cell in your body has been replaced every seven years, so I have that going for me. Also, many say it is the year Saturn Returns. Wikipedia* explains this as:

"The Saturn Return is an astrological phenomenon that occurs at the ages of 27-30, 58-60, and finally from 86-88, coinciding with the time it takes the planet Saturn to make one orbit around the sun. It is believed by astrologers that as Saturn "returns" to the degree in which it occupied at the time of birth—approximately every 29.5 years—a person crosses over a major threshold and into the next stage of life. With the first Saturn Return, a person leaves youth behind and enters adulthood. With the second Return, maturity. And the third and usually final Return, a person enters wise old age.

The first Saturn Return is famous because it represents the first test of character and the structures a person has built their lives upon. According to traditions, should these structures be unsound or that a person is living out of touch with his or her true values, the Saturn Return will be a time of upheaval and limitations as Saturn forces him or her to jettison old concepts and worn out patterns of living. It is not uncommon for relationships and jobs to end during this time of life restructuring and reevaluation.

But the Saturn Return is not all about painful endings. During this time astrologers note that goals are consolidated and people tend to gain a better vision of where they are going in life. There are added responsibilities and a person may reap the rewards from his or her hard work. Many major life milestones seem to happen around the ages of 29 and 30. This is why astrologers believe that the thirtieth birthday is such a major rite of passage because it marks the true beginning of adulthood, self-evaluation, independence, ambition, and self actualization."

That being said, it has been a doozy of a month and I sure hope all that self actualization is really going to happen! So to all you out there celebrating birthdays, Happy Birthday and hold on tight! ( personally I think i could handle just skipping to thirty)


* I published full text because I still am having trouble linking!

My little people/Kennebunk Beach

a sunday drive

The waves were 8-10 feet today at Kennebunk Beach and the surfers were all in the water. We arrived just in time for low tide. There was a fluffy foam being pushed along the shoreline by the pounding waves and the kids were just thrilled with its consistency.Sea mist hung on the horizon and slowly sunk into the sand with the setting sun...

I saw a post of a friend the other day that read " There's not a lot that a trip to the Beach can't solve." There truly is something meditative in those waves and the vastness of the water. The tide rushing in and out tends to mimic our breath, and I find myself breathing deeper in its presence. I always come away feeling completely refreshed from these trips. Knowing that this water has been here long before me and will continue its cycle after I'm gone completely comforts me. Anything that was nagging my thoughts before I came just seems so feeble by comparison to the constancy of these waves.

I am thankful to be living so close to an easy lesson in perspective :)

The Avett Brothers - Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise

Loving this track

Inspirations: The Avett Brothers

I just went and saw these guys in Boston with my husband last month* and they completely rocked our socks off. If they play any where near you, GO SEE THEM! They are the type of band who encompass you in their charm and bring you in close to their music. Their stage presence is humble and they must of thanked us a thousand times for coming out to see them.

They work so hard to give a good show and definitely pull it off. They give the impression that they are trying to get in as many songs into the set as possible to heighten your experience. The brothers literally run around the stage playing musical chairs between the full drum kit, the piano, banjo and guitars. It got to the point where I felt out of breath.

They've got this indie-folk-newgrassy-punkrock-ballad style that I adore. They have a great sound that isn't completely polished, but in a way that is soulfilling and unassuming.They encompass these different types of music with out being too busy or disjointed. The result is a high energy rock/punk show with bluegrass/folk intimacy.

Their lyrics are beautifully executed: " I want to grow old without the pain, and give my body back to the earth with no complaint."...After putting some serious time in listening to their latest album, I and Love and you, I am feeling inspired enough to tell you all to go out and buy it! I love it! I want to love a little harder and write a little more and laugh as hard as I can after listening to this.

I also have been rocking their last release, "Emotionalism" for the last couple of years and I love that too.So check them out! Buy their records! Go to a show! Check out the you tube video I posted below ( I couldn't find a live video with the kind of sound quality I wanted to share with you.) And I hope you like them as much as I do.


* an birthday gift for me , the best ever!

Be a free bird

I've always been a pretty orderly person,but I've held on to things... and stuff, mementos, birthday cards, letters, gifts I was given and never wanted but felt too guilty to give away...

Then I started to get into Feng Shui*. Now I am Free Bird. I keep only what is practical or brings me joy. A friend once even said to me, everything in your house is only just enough. Just enough artwork on the walls, just the right sized coffee cup, just the right amount of furniture to sit in.This doesn't mean my home is bare and cold. It has just been organized using clear intentions.

I suggest to you, look in your closets, look in your drawers. With the holidays coming up it is a great time to ditch what doesn't serve you. Give it to Goodwill or a friend. Some people even box it up and sell it on ebay. And when you start, you won't be able to stop. It feels that good!

There are all these "things" in our lives that can bring a person down- a beloved mug with a broken handle you've never fixed or an old article of clothing that you once loved but never wear any more. Everyday you glance at these items and it does something to you. It's not even something that you may be consciously aware of. It barely registers, but its THERE, in the back of our heads. Fix this, organize that, I should still fit into that...

The first truckload (that's right truckload) I got rid of gave me a sinking feeling as soon as I dropped it all off.What if I needed one of those items? What if I regret it? And you know what? I didn't and I don't.Everything I own is now more beautiful and valuable to me now. Because I've made a conscious decision to keep it. And now when I bring something into my home I make sure I know where it's going to go or how I'm going to use it.

I've found that when I work to make more space in my home, I have more space in my life. It has been an exercise in letting go. My intention in sharing this with you is that you can achieve this same sense of liberation, starting with one drawer at a time. You have the ability to surround yourself with only things that make you feel happy. Be a FREE BIRD!


* "Clear your clutter with Feng Shui", by Karen Kingston got me started!

A week of Mondays

Has anyone else had a terrible week? This whole Time change thing has been torturous. It just seems so antiquated. Is anyone really needing the extra daylight in the morning? Isn't it just fine in the afternoon when folks are fully awake and can appreciate the sun? Is this just some sort of weird federal mind control program that we are falling for every year?
And here in Maine it is going to be 15 degrees tonight. ( 15!) Is it really fair for it to be both to be frigidly cold AND oppressively dark?

I am typically a pretty good natured gal, but the combination of time change and a gnarly stomach bug has bittered me. Every day of this week has felt like a Monday. And I, for one, am glad its over. So good bye Lame Week of Time Change. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Talented People

This Post is kicking off the first of what I hope to be a series show casing creative and talented people. I don't plan on sticking to any real genre, so you can look forward to posts on food, sculpture, painting, sewing, music....anywhere I can appreciate a persons talent.

Stephen Page* has a lot of energy. He welds, he builds, he draws and mostly just creates. He has told me if he gets going on a project he may start at 7am and not put his tools down until 4am the next morning. This could go on for weeks at a time.
All of his pieces consist of "found" items. He is the type of person you think of when you find an antique barn board in your garage or a length of steel pipe in your attic. He is the type of guy who can think of a use for whatever comes his way.

Some of the pieces he's given to myself and my family are:

-a bench that he made out of old boards that he milled on a sawmill he built
-a wheel barrow made out of oak, handmade nails and polished with beeswax
-a toy range built out of an old cherry cabinet
-a scorpion welded with nails for the legs
-a sun made machine out of a brass gear









Some of his work has more practical applications :

-a wood splitter partially built out of a car axle ( and run by his diesel tractor)
-a dump truck built from an old oil tank
-a metal lathe
-a cold air exchange floor fan
(sorry no pics of these)


I really can not even began to express to you the sheer prolific nature of his work. He is ALWAYS making something. Right now he's told me he's building a scaled model of a motorcycle engine . (and that's definitely not from a kit!) Who knows what he'll make next?

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Talented People!

* Stephen Page is my Dad :)

Go green, go shopping

My sister first introduced me to thrift shopping in my teen (maybe even tween) years when she was home on breaks from college. The first one she took me to was at St.Ignatius church and it was AMAZING. A person could fill a paper grocery sack for a mere 3 dollars!
The clothes were usually donated by elderly folks and therefore from a different era in fashion. The era where people took care of their clothes and cared how they looked. Where clothes were made to flatter womens bodies. And you know if you packed that bag right you were coming out stacked!
In recent years, my children have been too young for me to be away from them for the length of time it takes to dig through the racks. And this is NOT something you can do with little people. But now, NOW I am free to spend an hour, here and there, doing just that! It is fantastic!
I never really feel right spending big money on clothes for myself, but I also believe you get what you pay for. And this is why I love thrift shops. Somebody paid good money for that London Fog coat or that J.crew sweater...and now I will pay 4.99 for them. It's a perfect recycling plan. And usually the cash goes to support a good cause.
Sadly, St Ignatius closed years ago and I haven't found anything like it since. Recently though, I have had fantastic luck in Good Will and local consignment shops. As a matter of fact I am going to check one out in Portland on Forest Ave pretty soon and I hope to post an interview with the owner. So stay tuned!

Here are some of my great scores from Goodwill:

Little man speaks

Today my son uttered his first understandable sentence. "Uh-Oh, it broke!" This was both adorable and pretty appropriate for being his first statement.
This same morning he took a bite out of the bathroom soap, flung yogurt across the room gleefully, put a dime in his mouth and took off one of the radiator valve caps. ( hence "it broke") All before 8am.
I am excited to hear his words to complete his vibrant little personality. And maybe he'll stop putting everything in his mouth?