My Mom - The New Face of Maine Field Hockey

What a wonderful night! Tonight the Cony and Gardiner field hockey teams squared off in the annual rivalry game. This is the 2nd year they have used the big game to benefit cancer research, but this year was special for one tremendous reason: my mother was the honorary captain for Gardiner. Here she is with me, Jim, and Tut before the game:
There was a big crowd and I got to see lots of friends and family. Below are me, Jim, and Aunt Ann:

Ma with one of her best friends, Pat Folsom, who is the mom of my best friend growing up:

Ma getting ready to go out and participate in the coin toss:

Ma and sister Moe...Maine field hockey icon:

The coin toss was a little emotional for me. Here is what was read before the ref flipped the coin: The honorary captain for Gardiner is Dianne McNally Thurston, sister of Coach McNally, graduated from Gardiner High School in 1956 where she participated in all sports offered to girls. She has been married to Ernest Thurston since 1961, they have four children - Linda, Michael, James, and Suzanne, along with five grandchildren and two step grandchildren. Dianne taught elementary school in Augusta for many years. After retiring from teaching Dianne volunteered at Maine General Hospital as well as the Harold Alfond Cancer Center. When her illness was discovered she volunteered to be the first person in the world to participate in a cancer trial at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and her results have paved the way for 35 more people to enroll and benefit from the findings.

It was awesome. Below is Ma talking to the Gardiner girls at half-time:

I've been so proud of my mother's battle - and tonight lots of other folks from central Maine are also proud of her. I thank my great family(especially Tut, Jim, Ann, Pat, and Moe) the Gardiner athletic department, and the Alfond Center for making this such a special event for my courageous mother.

~MET

Back at It

Today was the first day of year 26 as a public school teacher. It was just an inservice day - but still very busy for me. The freshmen come tomorrow and then I'll teach my first classes on Wednesday. I LOVE the beginning of the school year and I'm really looking forward to all that lies ahead. This year will bring:

• Great classes
• New activities and assignments
• Added responsibilities for the NEA and MEA
• Advocating for our local members
• Some exciting new directions for our Faculty Leadership Team
• Leading the very best social studies department in America
• And much more

I simply have the best job in the world. Period.

~MET

Disc Golf & a Visit to the Lake

Just look at that form:
North Whitefield, Maine has yet another tourist attraction - the Finn Brook Disc Golf Course. Chris and I went today. The course is very pretty and well-maintained. With holes in the woods and by the Sheepscot River. Here, Chris plays one out of the rough:

We had a good time and Chris kicked my ass.

Later in the day we took Baxter to meet Jim at the lake house.

He also got to meet Murphy:

Murph was very polite, but in no mood to play with a spastic puppy.

Baxter is wonderful - but a constant handful. Today was fun...summer is really winding down fast.

~MET

Of Puppy & Peaches

I can't believe how well our peach tree is doing this year:
It bears fruit every three to five seasons - but this is the best crop by far. The tree has dozens of peaches. And, they taste fantastic.

Our days of late have been filled with puppy training. Baxter is absolutely nuts. We are slowly getting him used to his den:

But most of his days are all about playing with anything he can find. Like my camera strap:

Or one of his MANY toys:

Then he conks out for a while...and then looks for something else to explore and bite. He's quite the handful - but he's been great.

~MET

SPAMALOT ~ A Show to Remember...For Lots of Reasons!

An AMAZING final production for the season at the Maine State Music Theatre!! The music, sets, costumes, dancing, and acting were the best I've seen in Maine. Plus, it was laugh-out-loud hilarious. The fact that I was really looking forward to seeing it also helped. My dad being a ham in the above picture was fun and foreshadowing! At an important moment in the show the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur have finally found the whereabouts of the Holy Grail...and it was under my father's seat. They brought him on stage, and for 3-5 minutes he was the absolute hero of a great musical in front of a packed house! They even took a Polaroid for him:

It was a riot! I could see from my seat what was unfolding as the spotlight shone on my confused parents. They gave him this award:

And they kept repeating his name, saying things like because he had found the grail that the three names that would forever be synonymous with Brunswick history would be Joshua Chamberlain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Ernest Thurston. My folks have been season ticket holders for years - but this is the first time they have had a role on stage. King Arthur also said that because Tut had located the grail they could proceed with the rest of the show - which had a great finale. What a great time!

~MET

Monthly Meal ~ Taste of Chicago

Another delicious monthly meal for Ma & Dad - and tonight the Fabbricatore's joined us for the "Chicago" supper. Cindy is from Chi-town, so her presence made it all the more authentic. Plus, our boy Baxter got to meet their boy Rocco:

The starter was my attempt at pizza like that from Lou Malnati's:

It was ok, but not really like I had hoped. The main course included two Chicago mainstays. First, a windy city hot dog. It must be all beef, natural-casing, on a poppy-seed bun, and with all of these:

So it looks like this:

The toppings are VERY specific - it was awesome! I actually think the celery salt was what made it for me. Then we had beef and gravy sandwiches:

Also very good. After dinner we just watched Rocco.

And had a cheesecake sampler from Eli's (again, a Chicago business):

Ma had a great time with Rocco:

It was great to have the Fabs at this one - complete with Cubs hat, White Sox t-shirt, and Rocco's Bears jersey. As usual I ate way too much, but it was worth it.

~MET

Meet Baxter

Ok...so...we have a dog. A few days ago M-S and I had a very serious and frank discussion about perhaps getting another dog at some point. We both agreed that as much as we missed Burt - we also simply missed having a dog as part of our home.

We knew that we wanted another Brittany, so we made some calls to rescue organizations and checked dozens of web sites.

We came up empty,but agreed that there was no hurry. M-S picked up an Uncle Henry's yesterday and there was one add from a breeder in Minot. We called and expected that any puppies would be gone. There were two left and the breeder was keeping one, so Baxter was the last one available.

We drove to Minot and found a great home with three adult Brittanys who were obviously well taken care of - and the two puppies were awesome.

Baxter's parents are Yeager and Dakota, and he was born on June 9. The breeder uses them to hunt and Baxter's father (Yeager) comes from champion stock.

We expected that he would cry all night after being separated from his brother - but he settled down very quickly in his bed next to ours.

He has not gone to the bathroom inside yet, and eats his puppy food with no problem.

Owen is more than a little skeptical, but he's being a good cat and I'm trying to give him a little more attention than normal. Baxter did bark at him this morning in an effort to protect some toys, but Owen just finds his own space.

I think he'll be very happy here and he seems to be adjusting quickly. I think the chances are pretty good that we'll always have a Brittany.

~MET

Tea Party Wing Nuts. These are the Folks Who Would be Backing Paul LePage. Things That Make You Go, Hmmmmm.

The Fishing Was Slow...But What a Spot!

This has been the view from my campsite the past two evenings
Frost Pond is truly in the middle of nowhere. I caught two small (8-10 inches) brook trout, but I didn't even take them out of the water for fear the change in temperature would harm them. I had another one on that felt a little bigger, but he released himself.

The site was amazing:

I love eating outdoors - Sunday breakfast:

The site as I was coming in for lunch:

Mt. Katahdin from Abol Bridge:

I had to drive across Ripogenus Dam to get to Frost Pond:

Looking down from the dam - you can see the beginning of Ripogenus Gorge, which is famous from the heyday of Maine's timber industry:

It was a very relaxing couple of days. I saw a moose this morning, but she was in no mood for pictures. I like feeling like I am in the "real" wilderness, and the nearest town to me was 35 miles away. My kind of fun.

~MET