February 3 - Maine

Once again it is a chilly and windy day here in Maine. Of course the "chilly" is to be expected in February, anywhere in New England! Fortunately I have been able to go out and do a little shopping to fill in the wardrobe so it is more weather-appropriate. Heavy socks (a MUST up here), nice warm insulated gloves, thermal underclothes, a few heavy sweaters :)

I still want to get a few more items, but I have the basics. As mentioned a few posts back, it was a bit of a whirlwind the day I was able to go back to the apartment to pack what I would need for the winter. I had limited time, and a lot going on that day. Made the decisions I had to. Plus I had to pack up all my food and try to figure out what I would need in the way of cooking utensils, pots and pans, etc.

View out kitchen window

Without further ado, here are the rest of the interior photos I took up here in my little corner of the world. The first one is another random 'looking out the window' pic. There are only 5 (very small) windows here compared to the 17 extremely generous ones in my previous apartment. And - it is sunlight as of a bit.




Also a picture of the fire extinguisher I have here. The ones I have had before were the small wall-mounted type. Now this sucker is a SERIOUS fire extinguisher! I will definitely look into getting one in my next place. It makes me feel safe. And for some reason reminds me of being in school (e.g. - "break glass to use").

Now THIS is a fire extinguisher!

I have my desktop computer set up as well. Had to purchase a monitor, keyboard and mouse as I did not have time to grab what I had at the apartment.

Computer set up

Finally, my easel! When the insurance company brought my boxes up here they forgot to put my easel on the truck (even though it was listed as coming here). Fortunately some excellent friends came to the rescue, and near the end of December my sister and brother transported it to Portsmouth, NH, where we had lunch and loaded it into my car.

Easel (note small clearance!)

Having finally made the journey, it suffered a bit in moving. Some of the screws on the back side were missing which prevented me from setting it up. My sister's significant other remedied that for me. After a few moments of "wow will this fit after all of that?" - it IS a full-size easel - it did. Barely, as you can see, but it fit.

So I am set up and ready to paint! I did have to make a trip to Michael's (art store) for some basic, much needed supplies that I slapped myself in the head for not packing.

 


It is all good now :) If you do not believe me, then believe my napping kittles. They have settled in very nicely :)

Orion, Phoebe & Percy napping

Panda napping

Stay tuned!

January 31 - Maine

This afternoon I have pictures, my intrepid followers! I keep meaning to take my camera when I go out, as there is some beautiful scenery up here - and keep forgetting it. Next week I shall try to remember (or add it to one of my infamous lists!).

The weather has been pretty good up until today; I was able to go out and run some much-needed errands at the end of last week, and yesterday as well. Despite today's balmy high of about 28, I had to go out. I went to the pharmacy yesterday & the woman who rang up my purchases forgot to give me one of my bags. I thought everything was in one bag, but upon arriving back here discovered it was not.

As it was getting late in the day, I called and told them I would be back today for the forgotten items. So despite the chill I ventured out (and filled up the tank on the 'Stang as well). Fortunately it was not windy; being so close to the ocean makes a huge difference in what the temperature actually is versus how it feels.

Alberta Clipper scheduled to come in starting later tonight and running through tomorrow. Predictions are for 1-3" of snow. Not a lot, but after the plows have gone by a few times it makes a difference at the end of the driveway. One or two inches - I can drive through the "hump" the plows leave. Any more than that will not work with the 'Stang. Even with my awesome snow tires (it is partly ground clearance).

So I simply plan accordingly and take it as it comes. It will be cold the rest of the week, then warm up next week. But that changes rapidly up here! We shall see.

I promised pictures of where I was staying, and am including them in this post. Never having lived in a basement apartment, it is quite different. Not a lot of windows, and very low ceilings. I suppose they would call it a "garden apartment" in NYC, but not so much here :)

There are a few stairs to go up to get to the outside world, and here are a few pictures of my view looking out.

Stairs to outside

View looking out front room

View looking out front room

It is spacious enough for the winter, however, and has all the creature comforts. Easy to keep tidy! Here are a few pictures of the kitchen and associated space. Kitchen has a closet which houses a Hoover (I think circa 1950 but works very well) and holds my coats and boots.

Kitchen

Kitchen "pantry" area

Kitchen shelves

The oven is not working well currently (something inside needs to be cleaned so the gas works properly), so if I want to cook something in the oven I need to use the one upstairs. It is working out so far :) Usually when I cook something in the oven I make a batch, so it lasts me awhile.

Stove - cute thing!!

And here is the room I am using as a bedroom. The apartment is actually more spacious than an NYC garden apartment would be, as this has 2 bedrooms. I am using the front room as a working space where I have set up my easel and computer, and the back room as my sleeping space.

Bedroom

Bedroom closet

The apartment is actually larger than one might think, as you can see. I have a few more photos to post, and will do so later this week as there is a bit of a "story" behind them.

Stay warm, my friends!

January 24 - Maine

So - this is Maine.

I had intended to post earlier than this, but much has happened in this small corner of the world. My sister and her significant other came up over New Year's, as did my brother. It was great to spend the weekend with my siblings. Food, drink, and festivities abounded!

We partied a bit here, then went down to spend time with friends of my sister's, and wound up the evening here again. There were fireworks in between from the beach - spectacular. The whole evening was wonderful!

The day after I was not feeling well at all, and it was not "bottle flu". I had a fever, stomach and head pains. I was in bed, out for the count, for an entire week. Whatever germs were going around got to me big time unfortunately. Hideously. Not fun!

Fully recuperated now. The weather has been strange. Brutally cold for a few days, then temps rise into the 40s. I do not go outside when it is really cold (below 30). Way too hard to breathe.

It has snowed twice; second time the temps shot up the next day. I would say it snowed 3 times, but I really do not count last night. About an inch of snow, and then sleet (yuck). Finally warmed up to about 32 this afternoon and the sleet turned to rain. Although it will freeze over again tonight.

That sheet of ice currently covering my car should melt enough with the forecasted 40s for the rest of the week. Which is nice as I have errands I need and want to do. Otherwise I just start her up and let her run for about half an hour (evil grin) - that will take care of that.

In the meantime I have been dealing with computer issues (Time Warner is definitely not customer friendly), housekeeping, laundry (located an exceedingly clean laundromat that meets my standards), etc.

I am so ready to begin working on my oil painting again, but I need a trip to the local art store for supplies I did not bring. Hopefully tomorrow.

I had one day, one very frantic day, with 2 helpers, to pack for this winter. One helper was a bit lost & useless, the other was a whirling dervish. Figure I came out kind of on the up-side of that regardless :)

We are doing well, the kitties and I. Better than I expected. My breathing has been really good up here in the clear air - except for the days when it is SO brutally cold (like 25 or so).

My head, meaning my brain & all its weird / bizarre thoughts (other people's descriptions - not mine) finally wrapped itself around what happened and settled. Not even 2 months since the fire. Had to; life goes on.

What next? you ask. I am working on it. I am only here in this apartment for a short period of time, and as Hercule Poirot would say, "the little grey cells are working". Options....

So - Maine. Kind of getting used to it. It has started to get its hooks in.

And we (me and all my kittles) are well and doing fine :)

Stay tuned!