Christmas at the Coles

This year our whole family was able to get together for Christmas. The tree was beautiful, and the presents were piled high.

For three days we gathered and ate, visited and swapped gifts and stories. Here we share a few pictures of the good time we had.

 The season has ended and we have all returned to our normal lives again. Many thanks for the gifts, the company, and the wonderful family we have become.

Where did November go??

Life has been busy and the blog has been neglected. Perhaps it is because we have had such an incredibly warm fall, but the days fly by. We still have no snow, but the weather has become colder. Gary has spent some time decorating outside. He has a group of elves in front of the garage  that bear watching! Here are a couple of pictures of his work:

We can't wait to see the reaction of Bridget to the elves when she comes to visit for Christmas.

Louise is knitting up a storm getting ready for Christmas with hats, mittens, and socks piling up to be wrapped.

Shopping has been started, some of it on line. but much remains to be done before the holiday arrives.

 

Here we have a picture from Thanksgiving. Andy and Jess were our guests and the food was good.

Our thoughts are turning past Christmas to another long drive to Floria and the end of the month.

Catching up with October

It is hard to believe the time has flown by so fast. The leaves have fallen,  the trees are brown except for the tamaracks that are golden these days. The weather man has said that s--- word tonight for the first time this season. We have had a busy month since the last blog post, so this one will be a little catch up.

Bob, Gina and Bridget came to visit at the beginning of October. Here we have Bridget in a pumpkin hat knit by her grandmother.

 

Here we have Bridget exploring the flowers. It's amazing that her jacket just matches the geraniums.

While Bob was here we made a trip to King's Landing and to the Briggs and Little Woolen Mill.

We finally got a few days to spent at camp in October. The fall days were beautiful. We started with a Sunday that hit 82 degrees. Amazing for October! There were actually people at the beach, and in the water. Here we have Louise with her feet in the lake on that day, October 9.

Here we have the moon coming up on the lake.

A fall picture taken at the boat launch shows how quiet things are in the fall.

Another view of the lake in the fall:

Last Saturday we ended the camp season for this year. The leaves have been raked, the furniture stored, the water turned off, and things inside the camp have been put away for the winter. Today Gary finished putting the banking on the house and put away the lawn furniture. We are focusing our attention on a few things we want to get done in the house. The season is ending.

On our trip to Portage this weekend we found a giant pumpkin someone had spray painted and decorated on their lawn. Here we have Ryan visiting the giant spider.

A Visit to the Coast of Maine

We have been planning all summer to get away for a couple of days, and this week we finally did it. We went to Rockland and Warren visiting relatives, and then on to Bar Harbor for a day at Acadia. The weather was wonderful. The only problem encountered was Louise coming down with a cold and not feeling like a lot of activity today.

 On Sunday we started our journey with a trip to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland where an exhibit of many Wyeth works was on display.

We traveled on to Bucksport where we crossed the new Penobscot Narrows bridge.

The weather today was perfect to enjoy the scenery at Acadia.

Here we see Louise on top of Cadillac Mountain.

Here we have a gull that posed for us. The cruise ship, Jewel of the Seas, made the park and the town of Bar Harbor as busy as it would have been in mid-July.

Beautiful panoramas like this appeared at every turn.

This was the scene in Bar Harbor late this afternoon. Tomorrow we head back to the county.

Wharf Woes

After a very busy weekend, Gary and Louise went up to Portage late this afternoon and discovered that the wharf has moved itself next door. In the high water it has floated away and lodged itself on top of the neighbor's wharf. That will be a major undertaking this week. Matt's boat is probably the only on left on the lake and the back of it is in the water. The water is as high as we have ever seen it. Here are some photos of Portage Lake this afternoon.

This is the large piece of the wharf sitting out in the water on the next lot down from us.

Debris has gathered on the sections.

No beach anymore!

The lonely boat looks strange sitting out in the water by itself.

August Festival and Family

It has been a very busy week in Washburn and at the Cole house. The whole family was home for the festival. With Louise selling and signing books and Gary designing and making the historical society float, everyone was busy. Bob, Gina, Bridget, Meghan and Jessica were riding on the float in 19th century costumes.

Here is Ralph Cole posing with his truck and the float.

The crew on the float: Meghan Cole, Drew Cameron, Hailey Cameron, Jessica Cameron, Mackenzie St. John, Gina, Bridget, and Bob Cole.

Both Ryan and Meghan gave tours of the museum during the August Festival. Here is Ryan in the barn,
We also spent some family time at Portage. Here we have three photos of Bridget at the camp.

Isn't this smile priceless? Bridget also seemed to enjoy the water.

Today we went to the St. John Valley with Jon and Erin. First of all we encountered a tree across the road on the way to St. Agatha.

Finally we have a photo of the view from the Lakeview Restaurant where we had lunch.

The Book has come!

Monday the book arrived. This book is the sesquicentennial production for Washburn that has taken several months of work. Louise and Londa Brown worked for over two months putting this together. There was a lot of excitement about the town office as the truck from Office Max arrived!

There were two pallets of books unloaded.

Here are Londa andLouise getting ready to take a look at it.

And here it is!

Baxter State Park Anniversary

Today the Coles celebrated 45 years of marriage by spending the day in the woods. Driving down through the woods to Patten with a picnic lunch aboard, they entered Baxter State Park at the Mattagamon Gate. Here is a picture taken near there:

We spent three hours driving through the woods, stopping to picnic at the Ledges. Louise finished knitting a sock on the trip. With music from the 60s playing on CDs, it was a lovely day to drive through one of the loveliest spots in Maine. Here we have a collection of pictures taken today for you to enjoy.