A Very Happy Easter

 This has been a very good day, as I got to climb to my first peak of the season. My dad has been in DC for a few days, so I've been feeding his cat. I went in early this morning but got this picture before I left:

 The bed has been a little crowded - we've been watching Bella while she is visiting Alex. We took them both for a brisk walk this morning.

 What a couple of spazzes. Later in the morning I went to climb Bald~Hope. Click on the pictures to make them bigger:

 Even the small mountains are not ready to give up on winter:

 There were a couple of pretty difficult icy spots:

 First peak of 2013:

 While climbing I put some beef jerky in my pocket, and even though it was all gone Bella could not stop looking for it:

She's not the brightest dingo on the outback. Tonight M-S made an awesome Easter dinner. A beautiful day with lots of time outside.
~MET

Meeting Up With Sarah

 We went to Portland to see Sarah's apartment, but her cat, Gus, kind of stole the show. He was pretty cool, and seems to have a great personality. We took Sarah out to dinner here:

 Its in a HUGE beautiful old church.

 The apartment is really nice, with lots of room and great hardwood floors.

 My favorite part is the great view of Hadlock Field outside of her dining room window:

 She'll be able to see the score of any game all the time.

 The food at Grace was delicious. Chese flight to start:

 I had Korean steak:

 M-S had gnudi:

Its their version of ravioli. We had a very good time, and Sarah told us all about her new job - which sounds both interesting and rewarding. Having grown-up kids who are doing well is awesome.
~MET

Busy Working Weekend

 Well...it wasn't all work. The picture above is of Tut on the snowy Hosta Trail at Viles Arboretum. After meetings were done today we went for a short walk there. Yesterday The MEA met all day and then we went to dinner at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta.  http://www.governorhillmansion.com/
The place is gorgeous, and we all had a great time.

 We were there to say goodbye to Jay, Claire, Mary Kay, and Joyce:

 They are termed out and have done a amazing job for our members. After another long meeting today I met up with Tut to go for a walk. The arboretum has added a lot of sculptures:

I think I'll be going back there more and more.
~MET

Birthday Dinner

 M-S took me to Lincolnville last night to have a birthday dinner at the Whale's Tooth Pub. This was the view from our table:

 We had clam fritters and calamari to start...and we took a lot of it home:

 To celebrate my Irish heritage I had really good corned beef and cabbage:

 M-S had stuffed haddock:

 We ended up taking most of our main courses home also, so brunch today is going to be spectacular! After dinner M-S surprised me by meeting up with Linda Mark, and the Hargroves in Belfast. This is the last place we celebrated:

 But we spent a lot of time laughing at our favorite brew-pub, 3 Tides:

Seriously good beer and great fun, and a very good way to begin a second half century.
~MET

The Next Three Days...

...will be pretty cool. After a long week of work I am looking forward to the weekend, and I'm also looking forward to Monday. Tomorrow I will be having coffee with some great educators at the MEA Professional Issues Conference, and then having coffee with my father. For the rest of Saturday I'll be hanging out with Baxter, and then M-S is taking me out to eat. She won't tell me where, but it is somewhere we have not been (which is absolutely our style). On Sunday I will start the day with a long walk with the dog and my wife, then I have some work that I have to complete. In the afternoon M-S and I will check out the big antique mall in Fairfield, then go out to eat again, and then celebrate St. Patrick's Day listening to some live music in Waterville. On Monday I will turn 50 years old. I'll celebrate that day by teaching and then rushing to the State House to give testimony before the Appropriations Committee about the governor's proposed budget. Honestly, I can't think of a better way to spend a birthday. I'll blog about all of these things over the next few days. I've been very sad of late, so its nice to look forward to these three days.
~MET

Finally...a Beautiful Day

 After what has seemed like weeks of dreary grey days today presented a wonderful change. M-S and I went to have brunch with Linda and Mark at the beautiful old farm in Fayette where Mark lives. The spread and the food were outstanding.

 After we ate we went on a long walk through the woods on a winding dirt road. Although as you can see by the back of M-S's legs, it was more of a muddy road:

 We walked for 5.5 miles and it was great to get some fresh air in our lungs. The old farm is really nice:

 We ended our visit with a delicious dessert:

It feels good to feel a little wind-burned and tired. Spring is definitely coming soon.
~MET