Yesterday and today have both been exciting days for us. Yesterday we finally found the house that we had been looking for to buy in Jay. It turns out that it is one that we drove by several times, but didn't ask to see it, why, I don't know. After touring the house yesterday, we discovered that it was just what we were looking for and quickly decided to make an offer. Charlotte typed an offer and submitted it and we found out today that the owners accepted it!!
Rodney and I are both so excited that things are happening so quickly! I didn't sleep last night and I doubt I will sleep tonight thinking about it. Now all the work will begin, all the packing and unpacking. We have been in this house for over 20 years, and do we ever have alot of shit!! It is a great time to go thru everything and make some donations to the free store.

Yesterday was fun day! It was our annual get-together with our friends from the campground. As usual, we all met at Randy and Anita's house since they are pretty centrally located for all of us. There were 8 of us in attendance, Rodney and I, Randy and Anita, Nancy and George and Gary and Sheri. We all brought goodies to share and had a yankee swap. While we were noshing on appetizers, we had cocktails and told stories, you know the kind of thing. Nancy and George shared the news with everyone that they would be seasonal at the campground, since George bought Randy V.'s camper and liked the site that it was on. It will be great to have Nancy around more often this summer, we all missed her last year. George will fit right in with the rest of us, thankfully he has a good sense of humor (all important!). Our yankee swap was fun, and everyone managed to bring something different, and I was lucky enough to pick the number one, so that meant going first, and at the end, getting to have the pick of all the gifts at the end. I chose a box with two huge insulated mugs full of airline size bottles of booze (ALL GOOD!!!)
George thought he would be clever and swap his crystal dish for my booze, needless to say, he didn't have posession of that gift for long, the hooch was coming home with me!! We never fail to have a good time together, whether we are doing something, or just hanging around talking. You just don't get lucky enough to find such great friends and we are always thankful we have them all.
I still have not put up my tree and haven't wrapped a single gift. If I can get rid of Ryan this week one day, I will have the time to wrap. I still have things to make in the kitchen, and the cold weather is supposed to return tomorrow. Good day to stay in and bake.

Another week closer to the chaos otherwise known as Christmas! With me not working, it has very easy for me to get shopping done, and now I have to work on all the goodies that the family has come to enjoy and expect for the holidays. Armed with my gift list, it was off to Auburn to do some shopping for my men. Chris and Ryan are certainly not as much fun to shop for as they were when they were small. Of course the price tags get bigger as the kids do, but thats fine. They are both great boys and I love to indulge them with things they wouldn't buy for themselves. I did pretty well on Wednesday, it's always easier to shop by myself, that way I can wander and backtrack if need be, and I'm not driving anyone crazy with wonder about my methods or madness. Rodney is a tool guy and it is fun to find cool tools that he doesn't have and I am anxious to surprise him with his gifts as well.
Saturday was another trip to Auburn for more shopping, this time with Rodney in tow. I offered to drive since he is frequently overtaken with road rage this time of year especially with all the traffic, and I thought it would be safer for me and all the other drivers. He drove, and did pretty well keeping his rage in check and didn't scare me like usual behind the wheel. That evening we met up with Gary, Sheri and Hannah, as well as Nancy and her new squeeze, George. We went to the Longhorn Steakhouse for the first time and had a great time at dinner, as we always do with such terrific friends. George is just getting to know us all, so he is fitting right in with us, and has a good sense of humor. Extremely important with our group, because we are all jokesters! The restaurant was nice, but I think I prefer Mac's Grill myself.
This Sunday is our annual get together with our campground group of friends. We all invade Randy and Anita's since they live in Lewiston and are pretty central to all of us. Lots of great food and a yankee swap are on the agenda. Should be a good time and I am looking forward to it.
I'd better get back in the kitchen and do some more baking before I lose the ambition and sit my ass down in front of the tv.

This week, the proverbial axe has fallen. Not on me, nooo (for once), but instead on Ryan. Ryan has only had his driver's license for two years. He was stopped the first summer for speeding and paid the fine. He was just stopped early this year for criminal speeding and had a date with a judge. He tried to convince his father and I that the throttle stuck. Does he think we were born last night?! I owned that car and drove that car prior to Ryan driving it and there were no mechanical malfunctions of that sort when I had it. The only malfunction that car had was Ryan's foot planted to the floorboard. We convinced him not to go in front of the judge and spin his tail, and he finally listened and pled guilty. As he should. He paid his fine and thought all was done and over with. The state of Maine has really cracked down on new drivers and takes a tough love approach to them misbehaving behind the wheel. Having said that, Ryan received a letter from the secretary of stat this week telling him that he will lose his license for a month starting on the 15th. He came unglued, convinced that his life is now over. I reminded him that he knew that he needed to drive slower and that if he needed to go somewhere, that he has friends that will help him out. I will not be his taxi, nope, ain't doin' it. Yes, that sounds mean, but Ryan is one of those kids who has to learn the hard way. I drive fast myself. I love speed and I will be the first to admit it. I have never gotten a speeding ticket in all the years that I have been driving, and I have been very lucky. I expect someday will come for me, and I will pay the fine and shut my mouth and think about how many times that could have happened in the past.