We've been busy!

It has been a busy fall for us! Mama Bear and Papa Bear learned to make a deep-dish apple pie (picture is of an early attempt, we now have a real deep-dish pie plate and a good process for creating the pie). Mama Bear took a course in Simple Italian Cooking from the Acadia Senior College. Mama Bear learned much, has used some of the techniques taught in the class but has yet to try any of the recipes - we lack a pasta machine and the recipes tend to create a LOT of one dish ... but she is thinking about trying one or two sometime soon. Mama Bear and Papa Bear attended two HD showings of operas performed by The Metropolitan Opera in NYC. We saw them at The Grand Theater in Ellsworth, Maine. We saw Satyagraha and Rodelina. Mama Bear loved them both, Papa Bear liked them both, though he liked Satyagraha better than Rodelina. (Mama Bear is hoping we will go to see Wagner's Gotterdammerung in February.) Mama Bear went to the Christmas Chorale in Bar Harbor. The performers had been rehearsing since August and they did a spectacular job! Mama Bear has been doing some volunteer work with the Westside Food Pantry and participating in worship on a regular basis. Mama Bear spent a week in West Virginia visiting her mom. And she cheered Baby Bear during Baby Bear's half-marathon in early October (Papa Bear was minding The Cat). Mama Bear and Papa Bear also spent a 10 days in Scotland in September, which were incredible - much to see and learn with a group of wonderful traveling companions. Mama Bear has done one hike with the Footloose Friends - it was great fun and was followed by a soup lunch. We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving weekend with Baby Bear and Boo Boo (they are such great fun and great cooks, too!) We have also been learning about late fall here. We had attended a "Home for Supper" meal with a group of people and also saw the Ellsworth Christmas Parade. We have been told that it is usually frozen here by now, but thus far we (and others here) are loving the mid-40's, low-50's days. We are watching preparations for winter and Christmas. We have learned that when it snows, you need to have cash or checks handy when you shop - some merchants use a satellite dish for their connection to the Internet, and it does not work when it snows.

The pictures are of fountains in Bar Harbor - the one on the left is at the Village Green and the one on the right is at Agamont Park by the harbor. The fountains are under the wooden teepees.

The lobster traps with the wreathes on them are at Trenton Lobster Pound - just before the bridge to Thomson Island and Mount Desert Island. What you do not see here (because of the angle of the sun) is that at the top, there is a picture of a lobster.

This Christmas tree sits on the end of a dock that is part of Southwest Harbor.

This Christmas tree is between the House on the Cove and Duck Cove. We found the solar-powered LED lights at the hardware store in Bar Harbor.

The wreath was made by women at the church Mama Bear attends.

We had an eight-inch drop from the back door to the ground, which made getting the generator in-and-out somewhat problematic. Mama Bear suggested a granite platform, Papa Bear suggest a wooden platform, and designed and built it. He made the frame in the basement, then he and Mama Bear carried the frame outside, where Papa Bear put the decking on it. The Cat did much of the supervision on the job, with Mama Bear helping Papa Bear when asked. The platform/large step looks good and will make getting the generator out (and back in) much easier. Have had no more encounters with Duckie (though there is another buoy snagged just off-shore: Mama Bear is awaiting wellies before she attempts to retrieve it.) We are discussing the possibility of a garage (we understand that if it snows a lot, we will want a garage as digging your car out can become tiresome.) A garage will be down-the-road a bit time-wise, if we do it. And we defogged Mama Bear's car headlights - Mama Bear bought a kit from our favorite Internet store and Papa Bear did a great job using the kit so that Mama Bear can now see at night without using her fog lights.