Our First Year in Maine

The picture above is of Main Street, Rockland, Maine at about the same time of year, around Christmas time. When the snow began to fall Nanci and I looked at each other and said, "Who's idea was it to move to Maine anyway?"

Immediately Nanci pointed her finger towards me. "We could have moved to Florida," she said.

"Well I was homesick" I said.

My sojourn South to Georgia lasted over 30 years and Nanci moved down from Philly 17 years ago. Neither one of us cared if we ever saw snow again. But there you go. I was homesick and yearned to be among familiar places, see familiar faces more often, to be with my family.

Circumstances arose to make it possible for us to have our own home again, having lost our former home to a flood. We were living in mega apartment complex hell and I wanted out. Nanci agreed and so the quest began.

Real Estate prices are much higher in the Atlanta area and Florida than they are in Maine; and my projected monies matched Maine better than the south. Ergo a search for a home in Maine. Again, we could have settled in Portland and places south of there, but as I said before, I was homesick.

I came to Maine and started my search. The areas I searched first had homes that were out of my range, in disrepair, or taken before I could get to them. I went back to Atlanta very discouraged.

However, one house I looked at in Warren seemed to be exactly what I wanted and negotiations progressed via my lawyer in Rockland. The deal finally set, we began to pack and we informed the complex we would be leaving at the end of our lease, October 31.

Before we left our friends in the South, we took some time off to enjoy what the area has to offer. We returned to see the Medieval Times show with the beautiful dancing horses. When everything was ready to go we got a friend to watch and feed Butchie for us and headed for Orlando and Universal to immerse ourselves in Harry Potter's world. We had a wonderful time and got to spend some time with a Florida friend. We had no idea Kim would be gone from us a few months later. We miss her.

Because of all of the above, it was November before we got on the road to our new home in Maine.

Along the way we visited her family in North Carolina and Morgantown, Pennsylvania. Oh, by the way, we got legally married before we left by a cute judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia, named Hillary.

Butchie did not enjoy the trip. After a while he resigned himself to being put in that darn cage and plunked down on top of the pile of stuff in the back of the HHR; only to be put into another strange place for the night. A strange bedroom; a cellar; another strange bedroom. Until he smelled familiar things in the new place I don't think he thought he'd ever have a real home again.

Guess what, when we got to Warren we couldn't even stay there for the night. The furniture didn't come till the next day anyway and besides we had to set flea bombs off throughout the house because the previous owner had three dogs. The vents all had to be cleaned of wet dog hair before we came also. The next day we had to leave Butchie again and go back and wash the floors with pine sol before we dared to let him in the house.

Oh, and the house smelled too, as our cleaning lady informed us while we were still in Georgia. But once the pine sol hit and cooking smells filled the house, we were fine.

As it happened, these problems were just the tip of the iceberg. Would you like to know what we've had to do since we moved in? Here's just a parcel list:

New vinyl siding because the original siding was not much more than pasteboard; a small deck out front and new steps. The old steps weren't even erected correctly to begin with. New supports under the house and especially under the deck around the back of the house. The beautiful sunporch we found was just sitting on the deck. Replacement of some of the boards of the garage. Removal of $700 worth of junk around the property. We've replaced the water heater, the oil barrel and had a radon bubbler installed because there was too much radon in our water. We also relocated the washer and dryer connections from the cellar to upstairs so I wouldn't have to carry laundry up and down stairs.

And the list goes on. Every time we think we have just a small project it turns out to be a bigger one because of the mess the previous owners left things in.

In spite of all these new homeowner woes, however, we still enjoy living here in the house in Warren near those who love us and among good people. Maine really is "what life should be."

We have no one living on top of us. We can stroll our property and not see another person. Yet we are close to things. Nanci has a job and the Subaru her mother wanted her to have. As I look out my office and watch the first real snow of the season fall on us, I count my blessings. I am home at last and I couldn't be happier. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Sonny's Sunshine Corner

February  17, 2015

Yes, I know it's been a long time since you heard from your favorite blogger, namely, me. At least I still hope I am your favorite blogger. Nanci and Butch and I have been busy settling into our new home here in Warren and coping with home improvements. We have a long ways to go yet, but I look forward to making this home our very own with our own ideas implemented.

We enjoyed the holidays with family. It's been a long time since I've been home at Thanksgiving and Christmas and I enjoyed it immensely. We hope to have many more opportunities to be with family and to invite them all here for a barbecue on our big deck this summer.

The winter in Maine hasn't been very bad so far. Nanci is learning how to drive in a snowstorm and does quite well with her new Subaru 4-wheel drive. All the drifts that were piled upon the deck just last week is now all gone with all the rain and wind we had yesterday. Such is life in winter in Maine.

Physically, I still have my problems as most people my age do. The doc said yesterday he didn't want to do an operation on my back at this point. That's fine with me. I am now dealing with some vascular problems and will get some compression stockings soon.

The right thumb is another question. As you remember, I had to curtail my typing because of problems with pain in that thumb. It will be x-rayed next week and I expect the doc will operate on it. I've been putting it off because when I had it done years ago it was a big nuisance to have my dominant hand unusable. I want to get it over with, however, so that I can finish the book I'm working on and go back to bringing you stories on this blog.

If you read the story I presented in December about the Millay house on Broadway, you know that at the present time it does have backing from a group, so things will progress on that front very soon I should expect. If you care about preserving Rockland's history, ask at the Historical Society located up at the Rockland Public Library about how you can help. I will try to get more involved myself soon, probably after the winter is over.

Cousin Mary Sue of the Hilton Homestead in Bremen, which I have written much about on this blog, visited yesterday so we could discuss her using her considerable artistic talent to paint a mural on two walls of my office. I miss the murals I painted myself on the walls of my office in Georgia. Of course she will do a much better job than I did.

Since I last communicated with you here, we have had an addition to our family with my great-great nephew. He is the son of my great-niece Danielle and her husband Haydn. The baby's name is Ezra Theodore Deal. The middle name is for my late brother Ted, whose column, "Fish and Chips" has appeared in this blog. We all miss him and agree that the newest baby has a wonderful name to live up to.

Nanci and I look forward to the spring and summer in Maine. It will be her first and I have so many favorite places in this area to show her.  We both look forward to it. Meanwhile we will cope with Maine's winter with the rest of you. I'll see you again soon I hope. Butchy says, "stay warm."

Flowers &

Books

The perfect gift for that special someone

Flower Goddess

Has moved

The Flower Goddess has  not gone out of business as previously reported here.

They have moved to the corner of Lindsey and Main streets in Rockland.    

Stop by the Flower Goddess to pick up a unique gift for those special people on your list who love the smell of flowers and also the smell of a new real book in their hands.

Laurie Tracy will be glad to help you pick out the perfect flowers. She also has my book, The South End  on hand to add a special touch to your gift of flowers.

 

 

Stop by today.

 

A Guy Who Knows a Guy

As many of you know I bought a house over here in Warren this fall. When I said I was moving to Maine I got expressions of disbelief from most everyone I talked to. “Are you crazy? Don’t you know how cold it gets up there…brrrr they get all that snow…etc. etc.”

Well it’s been over 30 years since I had to shovel snow so maybe I was being naïve, but darn it, I missed Maine and was becoming increasingly homesick for home and for my family and dear friends here.

So Nanci and I threw a bunch of stuff away we really didn’t need anymore; got in touch with the good folks at Mayflower; and after a marathon trek north with poor Butchie stuffed in a carrier day after day, here we are.

As soon as we arrived we began to get advice about who to hire to do the many things necessary to live out here in the semi-country of Warren. My old South End friend, Jane Ames Sylvester, who married into another branch of my family, has lived over this way for years. She knew who to contact locally in order to get our garbage picked up and get our driveway and path to the house plowed in the winter.

Just call these phone numbers she said. OK, that sounded easy. So here’s where the title of this story “A Guy Who Knows a Guy” begins.

She said to call either this number or the other one to get a plowman. Well the first number I called resulted in a no go as he didn’t have any more room for winter plowing customers. The second number I called involved called the granddaughter to relay the message to the guy who actually plowed. I couldn’t call him directly for some reason which I forget. “Well” he said, when he called, “I can’t handle any more plowing this winter…however, my son would love to get the job as he does other homes on that road already.” So that was the first…”I know a guy” instance. The son, “who would love to get the job” finally called me a week later and very enthusiastically accepted the job. Problem solved.

Jane’s suggestion for a garbage man was right on and very easy to set up. Evidently, Wayne is the man to call in Warren to handle your garbage. You just have to leave him the required money taped to the garbage pails every Friday when he picks up. By the way, do you know how fast a taped envelope with money in it would disappear if it was taped to anything outside your home or apartment in Atlanta?

With my plowing and garbage pickup taken care of I was on a roll and figured finding a carpenter, electrician, and plumber for jobs that needed to be done around the house before winter sets in would be a piece of cake. Right? Nope. Wrong.

Seems that the fall season is the very busiest one for these workmen. I began this quest by calling numbers I found in the ad section of The Courier Gazette where various people and companies who offer services can to be found. I was also given names by friends who “knew a guy” who did the work I needed done.

I made a long list of each category in which I needed work done: Electricians, Plumbers, and Contractors. I waited. I called others. Finally I was contacted by workmen for the various jobs I needed done. It seemed to take forever though.

All of the workmen I contacted had to come inspect the site before they would accept the job. And again, in some cases it was “I can’t take on another job right now…but…I know a guy…” Well you get the gist, right?

The plumber ended up “knowing a guy” who he worked with when his jobs needed electrical work also such as putting in a separate circuit for a dryer like I needed. I had semi-promised the job to another guy recommended by a friend, however, this guy was slow to respond, which is why I went with the “guy” the plumber knew.

I still have one of these workmen left who is working on my house. I will need to call back the wonderful electrician we had to reinstall some lighting when my contractor is finished with his job.

Might I say that “the guy who knew a guy” system we followed ended up being a pleasant experience in spite of the money I had to spend. I did find their pricing reasonable as well. I have found Maine workmen to be efficient, professional, and very dedicated to maintaining their reputation as a reputable person to call when you need work done.

I look forward to spreading the wealth among these dedicated Maine workmen in the future.