Life Is Good

There are lots of problems living on the side of a hill with water flow during thunderstorms in summer, snow and ice in winter, engineering issues, and so forth - but there's one big advantage: a constantly-changing view.My hard drive is clogged with sunset shots and they're all different. Just when I think I've captured it and start to go back inside, it changes and I shoot it again. Have to stop shooting though because my daughter Annie is coming through the back door with my new granddaughter - who is visiting us for the first time.It took a few minutes for her to adjust to the new surroundings.Grandparents and great-grandmother admire Claire Lowell, newest member of the clan.Working on an article for the Lovell Historical Society Newsletter and not writing a column this week. Last week's piece didn't run in the newspapers on Thursday because of Thanksgiving and will run this week instead. So, I'm posting some recent shots I like of my day-to-day life. Didn't finish with that this morning.

Noticed some frost on the beaver bog between Christian Hill and Shave Hill while driving to school.A few miles further on, the sun was rising over the Old Course of the Saco River.And another angle.Checking the properties on Kezar Lake after school.Another angle.Still another angle with 120-year-old white pines. I know because I've counted the rings on their recently-deceased sister trees. I'm very happy to have my 18-270 zoom lens back.Heading back home over Hatch's Hill Road.Life is good.

Domestication

My sister-in-law told me that once she got halfway through her pregnancy she couldnt stop cleaning her house. I said that that would never happen to me - anyone who knows me knows that i have an aversion to cleaning, or manic cleaning anyway. I'm happy to have my my house look " lived in " - not slovenly, but a few pairs of shoes by the front door and a pile of unfolded washing in the spare lounge chair dont faze me.

Well - not anymore. Its come as a slight suprise to me that in the past few weeks i've come across a nesting gene i didnt think i had. I dont think its because i'm pregnant though - i'm putting it down to trying to impress Mr Gil. Actually, i dont think that impress is the right word. Its just that we're living together as a couple and we're starting a family and i feel the need to keep the house tidier now. No, i'm not prescribing to feminine values of the 50's ( have his meal when he gets home ? Run him a bath ? Making sure the kids are seen and not heard ? Uh...nuh ) its just that its something i can do in the domestic partnership.

For eg - i cook most nights, so he does the dishes. If he puts a load of washing on, i hang it out. If he's outside mowing the lawn, i'll be inside cleaning the bathroom. Or whatever.

So there you have it - i've become domesticated. Like a dog. But not like a cat - thos bastards are malicious, evil little things....

Welcome to my Humble Abode....

Wow - the past few days have been muy hectic! I have finally moved into my first, non-rented home over the weekend, so i've spent the last week either:
A) Undercoating and painting;
B) Loading or unloading boxes and furniture; or
C) Unpacking and arranging said boxes and furniture.

I'm so glad i decided to take a week of annual leave to coincide with the move, because otherwise i'd have random boxes sitting around for weeks on end. Don't get me wrong, i still have a few odds and ends to sort through, but for the most part everything is in its new place. Mr Gil and I still have a second coat of paint to put on this weekend, and even though painting has proved to NOT be my favourite job in the world, its well worth it to cover up the colours the previous owners had going on. I'm all for colour, but just couldnt handle the Kermit the Frog hued green of the bathroom, or sunflower yellow of the lounge and dining room. Colour is gorgeous and effective when its splashed about - i'm thinking cushions, photo frames, knick knacks..... its more pyschedelic nightmare-ish when its everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere!!

I've also been to have a nuchal translucency test - which is, in laymans terms, an ultrasound and blood test to determine my risk of carrying a baby with Down Syndrome or similar chromosomal abnormalites. Its sounds a little scary, but its just your basic ultrasound. Its also the first time i've been able to see my little person looking like a baby, and not a frog. What relief to know i'm carrying a human and not an amphibian! To be serious, the dating scan at 8 weeks shows the baby at quite an early stage - Mr Gil and i nicknamed the baby Stumpy because of the tiny, stump like, froggy looking limbs it was sporting at the time. But this time around, at 12 weeks now, litte Stumpy is recognisably baby like - tiny little fingers and toes, crazy rapid heartbeat, and fully formed and functional organs. I also think Stumpy is practising baby yoga in there - i cant feel any movements for myself yet but waiting half an hour for him/her to get into the right position to have the nuchal photo taken was like watching a tiny, underwater ballet! At one point, he/she even mooned me, so i have half a mind to ground my child as soon as its born.... what a cheeky rat!

And thats been my week thus far - excluding sleep ins and mid afternoon naps. Its going to be tough going back to stupid work next week....