I'm a 'padiddle'!

"Padiddle - alternatively spelled pediddle, perdiddle and kadiddle, is a Canadian and American slang term for a vehicle with a burnt-out headlight or brake light. It is also the name of a nighttime travel game involving spotting such vehicles.^[1][2] Cars with only one illuminated tail light are called pidadle in some areas of the country." - Wikipedia

Another creative speller!

Fun Sprints @ Titcomb Mountain

Amber came to watch with me! You could certainly tell who she was rooting for - she came unglued every time 'her' boy skied past us!!

Movie Time

How did that even happen?!

Late last night my younger son woke me up to tell me his foot was bleeding. Bleeding is an understatement. The hallway looked like a crime scene. He had jumped out of bed to use the bathroom, still half asleep, and stepped on the exposed corner of his bed frame. Talk about a freak accident!
Of course the power was out, so we had no way to clean his wound and the skin was gaping open enough to need stitches. So, off to the ER we went; sliding on slushy roads & dodging downed trees. The staff was wonderful and 10 stitches later we were headed for home again.
He's thrilled to be using crutches, (go figure?) but is seriously bummed to be missing the last races of the season. He was really close to qualifying for the Maine Ski Team this year, and was so looking forward to wearing that jacket. I hate to see my kiddos so disappointed and it's really hard to help them feel better about something like this that nobody could ever have expected to happen. He's handling it well though, and even went to school today! Nothing slows him down for very long!!  frown emoticon

Yes, the boys can sew too!

Deer at Dusk

When you open the front door in the morning and see this...

Happy Birthday Aunt M

He gets very excited about blowing out the candles on the cake, and was quite concerned about whether or not she was going to do it right! He is such a character and so expressive. We all laughed so hard at his antics that we had tears streaming down our faces!

Perfectly Coordinated

It's almost like I somehow knew what color the logo on my newest sweatshirt was going to be when I made this pendant a couple of weeks ago. They look great together, and I got so many compliments at yesterday's race!

Freestyle State Meet today and they did GREAT!

A lot of the racers used caution around this steep hairpin turn. Not my son - he saw his mother and step-sister sitting on the edge of the trail, picked an outside trajectory and dug deep into that turn with a shit-eating grin on his face because he was flying straight at us! It made for a wicked cool video and pictures! And that confidence and speed earned him another spot on the awards podium - this time for 6th place! Edited: he actually didn't know that it was me there, he just couldn't believe anyone would be foolish enough to stand where I was on that corner. He really wasn't surprised to find out afterwards that it was me though! And, he was mad at himself for misjudging that corner - he claims that it cost him several precious seconds and a better placing. I reminded him that every race is a learning experience!

This is where his younger brother dominates - hill climbs! He felt really good out there today and came in 37th against tough competition from all over the state!! I'm so proud of both of my boys. They're working hard and having a such a fantastic season! His times in the last few races should be good enough to earn him a spot on the Maine ski team and the ability to wear that coveted jacket.

Classical Nordic State Meet today!

What a great group of boys! It's so much fun to watch them race!!

Younger brother didn't race today, but older brother came in 9th!

My Office

Fused Glass Jewelry - After

You know you're in Nordic country when...

You see a sign like this! Nordic skiers maintain their fitness during the dryland season by running and roller skiing, which means that they are out on the highways. Hopefully these signs help to make sure that vehicles remains alert and watch out for them.

I recently bought my older son roller skis so that he can practice when there is no snow to ski on. I wonder how I can get our town to install these signs?

You didn't think we would just drive home, did you?!

Especially not after we found this brochure at the inn we stayed at in Van Buren...

Unfortunately, we had to skip the first step because the sun is located in the Science Museum at the University of Maine in Presque Isle, which is closed on Sunday mornings. We also missed Mercury because we miscalculated how close it would be to the campus! Oops. (We also missed Mars, which was a bummer since I was hoping to see them all. I guess that means we'll have to do this again!)

But, we did find the next one...here's Venus: 

I was able to get the boys out of the car to pose for a picture with Earth and its Moon, but that was the last time during our tour. 

Because this was the temperature, and that thermometer didn't factor in the gale-force winds that were blowing across the potato fields of Aroostook County! Brrrr...

 I am a determined photographer though, as you know. So, we carried on and captured Jupiter:

And, my favorite display - Saturn:

 You can see my wimpy boys waving to their crazy mother while I photographed Uranus at the Bridgewater Town Hall:

Neptune was hard to find, but we finally spotted it!

Last, but not least, (well, actually it might be!) is Pluto. It is located inside the Houlton Information Center, so that was much more pleasant and we had a wonderful conversation with a very knowledgeable lady who works there.

There are so many interesting things to see and do throughout our great state of Maine, if only you stop and look!

BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon

When we heard that the World Cup Biathlon was coming to Presque Isle, Maine, we knew we had to be there! How often does an international event of this caliber come so close to home? Only every 5 years or so. It was so fantastic to watch the talented athletes compete at the highest level of competition in the World. The boys soaked up all of it, and claimed that it was well worth the loooong drive (And we all know how much they hate car rides, so that's saying something!) and the bitter, bitter cold (5 degrees Farenheit & windy!). 

She's quite relaxed this evening...

KVAC Championship Pursuit @ Black Mountain

He placed 5th yesterday in the freestyle event, lost some ground in the classical race today, but still ended up in the top 10, tying for 8th place! Younger brother worked harder than he usually does in the classic, (It's not his favorite event.) which made me very proud. He finished the freestyle yesterday in 38th place (Good enough to qualify to race in the State Meet!) and only dropped 2 places to 40th today. That's some fast skiing!

Middle School Nordic State Meet Day #1

Show 'em how it's done girls!

We call her 'Olga'...

Nutritious Snack Choices

My stomach was telling me that lunch was a long time ago, but I have a long afternoon of meetings ahead of me still. So, I just grabbed these to munch on, with a big bottle of water to wash them down. The 'Cranberry Nut' mix has too many sugary (albeit yummy!) dried fruits in it, but the 'Hikers Mix' doesn't have enough, so I bought both bags and combined them. My tummy is much happier now and I'll be able to concentrate again!

Fused Glass Jewelry - Before

'Hopeful'

After the storm...

Senior Night

Happy 17th Birthday!

Wooden Shades

Mmmm...cake...

I love that my mom still makes me a birthday cake every year!