Thumbs, gums

J’s thumbs have been replaced. Except they put his left thumb on the right. Anyways, he is in pain and drugged up. I’m such a wonderful wife that I am leaving this weekend to visit with Shadow in NY. Can someone else check on him? Thanks!!! I gave McKinley explicit instructions, but he just looked…

The Telephone Game

I had a conversation with my mom the other day and for 15 whole minutes, we both were talking about different things and didn’t know it. Mind you, my mom was driving and talking on her cell phone. My sister can appreciate this, but when my mom is driving and talking on her cell phone,…

Baxter State Park

J & I returned from our trip to Baxter State Park in Maine and I feel like this could spread across multiple posts with all we did!For the ADHD type, here’s the short version of the trip—Moose sightings=1Miles hiked=20+Nights camped=3Days without shower=4Number of outhouse visits=14Mysterious bites on body=17Hail in the face while on top of…

What’s that foul stench?

We generally smell a skunk here and there during the summer, but this week has been particularly bad. It was actually waking me from my deep slumber. So yesterday, ShortShorts shot the culprit. Cheer! Anyone know a good recipe? KIDDING. We’re off to the backwoods of northern Maine for outdoor adventures! Tropical Storm Danny, please…

Crabfest, err, Meatfest

I think we need to rename our annual tradition of going down to the Chesapeake Bay area to meet up with J’s friends from the Prep. For one, the crabs were missing this year. Well, they weren’t missing, but we just didn’t bother to go crabbing. Funny thing, out of the 20+ people who come…

Destination New York

Today we drove to New York for a concert. Like they did 40 years ago. But it wasn’t Woodstock. Not even close. We hit 2 more Vermont breweries on the way. Maple Leaf Malt & Brewing Co. in Wilmington and Madison Brewing Co. in Bennington. Met a man who just opened a bakery, so we…

The Garden

More stories about ShortShorts, our infamous landlord, have been requested, so here’s one for you. Right now, he (in his short shorts) is out in the yard (which my office window faces) lighting fire to the pear and apple trees. Then tasting the fruit. A Hungarian ritual? Boy am I learning so much about gardening…

Jam-packed weekend

Hallmark4Ever & GoodEgg left the babe at home for a quick jaunt to NH. Friday night: cocktails and lobster. They were technically lobster virgins, so the thought of watching the live lobster cook caused them to be a little squeamish, but forgot all about it once they tasted the succulent meat of Mr. Lobster (still…

Before and After

J really pushed our limits this time with the food shopping thing. If it weren’t for our garden, oh I mean our landlord’s garden, we would have been living on mayo, ketchup and mustard. Thank God we have guests coming this weekend or else he probably would have pushed us until next week!

Bell mystery solved

I’ve talked about the bells on the church across the street from us and how they were driving us batty. Well, we went to Mass on Sunday and got some answers. Me: Um, Fr. [Eugene Levy], is there some sort of sequence to the bells on the church. We live across the street and have…

Like we need more toys …

Some people say Christmas is their favorite day of the year. Others say birthdays. Our favorite days come when there’s an REI garage sale. Training is intense and takes place over several months. It’s a mental and physical challenge. On Saturday, we awoke around 5am and headed to the Boston area to get on line.…

PR

I’ve had this particular post planned in my mind for some time because I’m just so proud. It’s about how J and I reached a PR. No, not a running personal record. But we’ve-lived-under-the-same-roof-for-more-than-two-years PR. We have lived here in the same NH barn/house for 2 years and 2 weeks. As in we haven’t had…

Great Scot! Great Brit!

This week is British Soccer Week in J’s town. J has 8 coaches (some who are pro) from various parts of England and Scotland in town coaching 120 kids. It’s a pretty awesome program and has grown every year since he’s been the Rec Director. Anyways, we went over to some good friends’ (we call…

Kayaking 101

We’ve been teaching a lot of beginner classes in outdoor adventure lately … hehe. Good practice for our future B&B, where we will offer all of that! Anyways, we visited J’s dad (MartiniShaker) and wife (GottaMove) on the coast of Mass this weekend and took MartiniShaker on his first kayak trip. He loved it and…

The Leaf

Before the invasion of the children this past weekend, J and I saw our favorite band, Carbon Leaf, in concert at Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry (it’s an awesome, intimate setting). One of my favorite songs is the namesake for this blog! Live a life less ordinary Live a life extraordinary with me Live a…

Camping/Hiking 101

In addition to the tourist attractions, my sister’s visit to NH included a little of what J and I do regularly … camping and hiking. I had taken my nephew Bones “camping” in his backyard once, but for everyone else, this was pretty much a first. Truth be told, J and I were more worried…