Sandy's Visit/Sandyn vierailu

Wow, what a night! Such devastation in New York, New Jersey, and other areas. Very sad. We hope all you readers and your loved ones are safe. Scary. My sister and her family are perfectly fine, thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!

As the winds picked up even inland Maine last night, we sure were glad to be in our warm house, not in our tin can (aka Mothership). We lost power fairly early in the evening, but the generator kicked in, and is still humming along. We are among the many without power, still, as I type this.

We had gusts of wind over 60 mph, which was wild to listen to. Our vinyl screen windows on the porch kept being blown in, letting rain in. At first we tried to prop them closed, but soon realized it was not going to work. The Captain and our boys carried all furniture and rugs into our living room, and if/when the windows opened up, there was nothing to get ruined.

Just mopping to do this morning. And quite a jungle of furniture in our living room:)

Since the generator kept us supplied with coffee, water, heat, some electricity and even internet, we homeschooled on all morning.

As soon as the rain let up some, Little Miss and I decided to go out to assess any damage.



What we saw was quite amazing. Trees down left and right - yet none on our buildings or vehicles - thank you, God!!! And the trees were each facing different directions, perfectly away.



One tree had fallen on our neighbor's garage, but there doesn't appear to be any structural damage. Their power lines are down, also, but these neighbors have already left for the winter.



This big tree could have fallen the same direction as the one in the first picture, and if it had, it would have crushed one of our buildings. Instead, it fell sideways, hitting nothing, but other trees.



And this one on our neighbors' property could have hit our little cabin. We are so thankful it didn't.



We walked up our road, a little ways, and saw more damage. Such a mess in the woods, and a road nearby completely blocked by a tree. The tree was resting on power lines, which could explain the power outage.

Praying for all rescue workers and linemen as they work to restore our country. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning now here, and more promised for tomorrow.

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Tässä näitä myrskykuvia meidän nurkilta. Paljon puita kaatunut, mutta ihmeen kautta (kiitos, Jeesus!!!) yksikään ei kaatunut meidän rakennusten tai autojen päälle. Naapureilla yksi puu nojaa heidän autotalliaan vasten, muttei näytä olevan vahinkoja rakennuksessa. En tosin kovin läheltä käynyt katsomassa, koska heidän pihassa oli sähköverkkoa (johtoa?) maassa. Nämä naapurit ovat täällä vain kesällä, eli talo on tyhjillään. Sähköt meiltäkin meni poikki eilen illalla, ja edelleen ovat poikki. Generaattorin avulla saamme kahvia, lämmintä vettä ja tietokoneeseen sähköt, netin kanssa:)

Kuistin huonekalut piti tuoda eilen olohuoneeseen sisälle, kun muoviset ikkunat eivät kestäneet niin kovia tuulenpuuskia. Aamulla pitikin alkaa moppailemaan kuistin lattiaa, ja yrittää löytää 'kuja' olohuoneen läpi huonekalujen täyttäessä koko huoneen. Nyt illalla vielä huomasin, ettei uuniin tule kunnolla sähköt, mutta löytyi keinot mikron avulla saada iltaruoka pöytään:)

Hurjia kuvia muualta Usasta tämän hirmumyrskyn jäljiltä... Pientä kuitenkin nämä meidän 'harmit' täällä.

Waiting Out the Storm

Anyone in the path of Hurricane Sandy, we are thinking of you, and praying for safety! My very pregnant sister (39+ weeks now) and her family in Virginia are as prepared as they can, and still had power at noon today. (((Praying))) Be safe, everyone!!!

This is what our corner of Maine looks like today. The wind is picking up here, too, but I'm sure it is nothing compared to coastal areas south of us. We are happy to wait out the storm here, instead of on the road in our tin can... As the winds get stronger, we do need to figure out where to park the Mothership, we have quite a few half dead trees in our property.

Before the weather got here, Friday and Saturday were absolutely gorgeous! Mr. D took these photos below Saturday morning. I only edited them to straighten, cropped two the last ones a little, and added our watermark. Enjoy!

Oh, and did you notice how our beaver tree has now lost all the branches?
 


Odottelemme hirmumyrskyn ohi menemistä täällä Mainessä. Ensimmäinen kuva on otettu tänä aamuna, josta kyllä näkee, että meilläkin tuulee kovasti. Sadetta on myös luvattu. Enemmän täällä jännitetään kuinka Virginiassa pärjää siskoni, ja hänen perheensä, sisko on 39+ viikkoa raskaana, ja myrskyn reitin varrella. Vielä toimi sähköt tänään!

Kolme viimeistä kuvaa otti Mr. D lauantaiaamuna, kaunista ja tyyntä oli vielä silloin!

Turvallisia päiviä jokaiselle, etenkin täällä Usan itärannikolla!

On the Road/Tien päällä!**False Alarm:)

Our Mothership Adventures in on the move! I will try to blog as much as I can about our adventures, but you can also check for quick updates our Twitter feed and Facebook feed. Please join us on our adventures!

******** Edit. I thought I had unscheduled this scheduled post, but apparently something went wrong. We have postponed our departure date due to the storms threatening East Coast, and will wait it out here in Maine. Stay tuned as we try again next week!
Eli emme lähteneetkään vielä myrskyjen takia. Yritämme uudelleen ensi viikolla!

Mothership-asuntoauto on tien päällä jälleen! Yritän laittaa blogipostauksia niin usein, kun vaan pystyn, mutta pikaisia päivityksiä löytyy myös Twitter-sivultamme ja Facebook-sivultamme. Tervetuloa mukaan seikkailemaan!

Shock Treatment/Shokkihoitoa

The collage is made of pictures from two different morning swims this week. After our dock was removed we've been making a trek to our neighbor's boat house where the water isn't quite as shallow as at our own shore front. Less slippery rocks, too.

I woke up with a bad migraine this morning, which is always yucky, but this week just horrible timing. There's much to organize, clean and pack!

Anyway, since a gallon a few cups of coffee, breakfast and meds weren't enough to get me going this morning, I had to resort to shock treatment.

Which is swimming. (Let's not mention how I still have been dipping in every morning - I need shock treatment on a daily basis???)

Mr. D came with me. And since my first dip actually helped me feel better, I ended up going four times this morning. And diving in - I usually don't get my hair wet. Crazy. But I do feel better!

A cure for migraines??



Here's Mr. D taking a quick dip (the video is only 9 seconds long. You can view it larger by clicking on the arrows on bottom right corner). Folks - that is cold water!

Shock treatment!

Now back to work!

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Heräsin kamalaan migreeniin tänä aamuna, ja kun lääkkeet, kahvi ja aamupala eivät auttaneet, piti turvautua shokkihoitoon: kävin uimassa tänä aamuna, ja koska se auttoi, menin kolme kertaa uudestaan, jopa kastellen koko pääni - ja nyt on parempi olo! Mr. D tuli mukaan taas, ja kollaasin kuvat ovatkin kahdelta eri aamulta. Videossa Mr. D pulahtaa uimaan pikaisesti. (Videon saa isommaksi klikkaamalla nuolia oikeassa alakulmassa.) Nyt takaisin pakkaamaan ja siivoamaan!

Busy Beavers/Ahkerat majavat

Beavers Photo credit


We have been busy beavers here, at our Maine camp. After taking the summer off from our Mothership adventures (motorhome edition), we are almost ready and very excited to head south, again, in our Mothership. A lot to do, for sure before we can take off, which is this week!!



We've been preparing our camp for winter, as when we return, there will most likely be snow on the ground. Yard work is always a must at fall time in New England.

Wait. Did you see that? Something odd in the picture...

No, it's not the teens and their yard work methods.

Let's look closer.



Do you see that?



We are about to lose a tree! The local beaver does not seem to care about the shoreline zoning rules!

**** When we asked our local friends how to protect our trees from beavers, we got multiple people telling us we need to pee on our trees! What?! Apparently the beavers don't care for human urine. Their sense of smell is excellent.

So, any volunteers?



These pics were taken on October 10th, around the time we discovered the evidence.



So freshly cut there was sap everywhere, and flies buzzing around it. No sign of the beaver, but we would need to sneak up on him during the night, if we wanted to see him - no thanks.



We kept an eye on the tree, but not much seemed to be happening for a few days.

Until one day, we heard a crash, in the middle of the day! So Little Miss and I ran out to check (the teens seemed less enthusiastic about bundling up to see what was happening - they probably figured out they could just check the blog, tee hee.)




The tree was felled! Again, we kept peeking at the tree here and there, and it did look like the beaver kept coming back to work on the branches. I would see loose branches floating near the dock, too. But slow progress.

Today we checked again.



We realized the old stump looked like it was work of the beaver, also!



At first it didn't look like much had chanced, but when we took a look at the branches, there was a big difference.



Interesting how the beaver is chewing on a part, then seems to give up and move a few inches over?



Good thing their teeth grow continuously - that wood looks to be very tough!



Pretty neat homeschooling discovery, right in our own backyard! Little Miss and I have been learning more about beavers, thanks to this discovery. We really enjoyed this Kratt Brothers episode on beavers.



After we get back from our adventures on the road, I'm sure we'll be checking on our 'beaver tree', first thing. Will it be gone by then?

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Me olemme olleet ahkeria majavia täällä Mainen mökissämme. Tällä viikolla alkaa syksyn asuntoautoreissumme, ja paljon on vielä tekemistä.

Löysimme takapihalta majavan jyrsimisen merkkejä yhdestä puusta, ja sitä olemme nyt seuranneet parisen viikkoa. Yhtenä päivänä kuului iso rysäys, ja puu oli kaatunut.

Kuusi alinta kuvaa on otettu tänään, kun kävimme katsastamassa Pikkuneidin kanssa kuinka majava on jyrsinyt oksia isosta puusta. Yllättävän hitaasti on edennyt puuha, mutta sitä on ollut kiva seurata, ja Pikkuneidin kanssa olemme opiskelleet majavien elämää.

Saa nähdä onko puuta enää rannassa, kun tulemme reissulta takaisin?

Scriptures to Pray for the Upcoming Election

Scriptures To Pray For The Upcoming Election
              (From our Florida Homeschool email list - thank you!!)


Christians pray for the coming Presidential election. There is amazing power in united prayer. Pray with others whenever possible. The power of prayer can overcome any obstacle or ungodly influence.


II Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, will heal their land.

Acts 17:30 - Pray for repentance for yourself and for our nation.

Psalm 32:6-7 - Pray that Christians will be motivated to pray faithfully for this election and that the Lord would deliver us from the wrong leaders.

Proverbs 16:13 - Pray that our nation will listen to the truth and not be led astray.

Psalm 125 - Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken.

Psalm 86:14-17 - Pray that the Lord would defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.

II Kings 13:16 - Pray that the Lord would put His hands on the man of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.

Luke 12:54-57 – Pray that God's man and our nation will be discerning and do what is right.

Psalm 16:7-8 - Pray that the Lord would give wise counsel and guidance to His choice for president in this campaign.

Proverbs 1:5-6 - Pray that God's man will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign.

John 16:33 - Pray that the man of God's choice would be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.

Philippians 4:13 - Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have special strength and unusual ability from God.

Psalm 18:32-36 - Pray that the Lord would arm the man of His choice with strength; would guide him in battle (this election); and would sustain him and give him victory.

Hebrews 11:32-34 – Pray that God's man could, through faith, persevere and maintain his courage throughout this election.

2 Corinthians 12:9 – Pray that the Lord would empower and enable his man in any area of weakness.

Habakkuk 1:5 and 3:2 - Pray that the Lord would do something that would utterly amaze us and give His servant victory.

1st Grade Mornings/Ekaluokan aamuja

I have been pleased about our first grade homeschool this year. Little Miss is almost done with her first Hooked on Phonics program. (We have three more K/1st Grade books (kits) to go.)



She is so cute reading her little books, and we are all feeling so proud in her accomplishments!
 


Little Miss and I are also working on our Critical Thinking Company books. We finished one this week, but have a bunch more to work through. We still love these books!



We try to get our book work done every morning, but it doesn't always happen. And sometimes our book work is late in the afternoon, or even on a weekend. While I find structure helpful, the freedom and beauty in homeschooling allows creativity and flexibility. Which is really important in our crazy zany wild unpredictable spontaneous family. And we feel learning happens throughout the day, not just while we have our books open.



The first four pictures are from Wednesday morning, and the last one from yesterday. Little Miss did not have her heart in book work, so we only did a little bit of math. Instead, she spent a couple of hours with paper dolls. So much fun! Do kids still make their own paper dolls, and play with them? My sisters, cousins and I spent so many hours making paper dolls. Of course that was the time before computers at home, cell phones, iPads, and kids' programs on tv came on once a night.

Yesterday we also went to our local library for K-2 library club. Little Miss is slowly warming up to her peers, making friends and participating. Just as we are getting ready to get back on the road.. But we'll be back this winter!

Today we've done Hooked on Phonics and paper dolls, and now Little Miss is taking a break with Phineas and Ferb (keeping it real here), and after this one video we'll finish our book work for the day.

I honestly was a bit intimidated by teaching 1st grade (Kindergarten was mainly fun learning play here as Little Miss was not interested in school, and our older kids started homeschooling from grade 5), but I'm happy to report first grade has actually been very good so far. Little Miss is learning a lot, and we are still having fun!

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Ekaluokan kuulumisia pähkinänkuoressa: yritämme saada koulutehtävät tehtyä aamuisin, mutta joinain aamuina siitä ei vain tule mitään. Joko yritämme uudestaan iltapäivällä, illalla tai jopa viikonloppuna, mutta oppimistahan tapahtuu koko ajan joka paikassa. Eilen aamulla Pikkuneidille oli tärkeämpää luova oppiminen: paperinukkejen teko ja niillä leikkiminen. Oi sitä iloa!! Eilen olimme mukana myös kirjaston kerhossa.

Meillä isot lapset aloittivat kotikoulun vasta viidennellä luokalla, joten olin aika epävarma aloittaessamme ekaa luokkaa, mutta ihan hyvin on mennyt, ja kivaakin on oppimisen lomassa:)

Getting Ready/Valmistautumista

It snowed again yesterday morning, at our camp, also!

We heard. (And trembled in our boots, a little, because of this.)

But missed it, because we took a quick trip to Grandma and Grandpa's barn to go get the Mothership. Fortunately it stopped, no accumulation, and the roads were dry by the time we got back.

Very exciting. It is so neat to go in the Mothership, look at our minihome away from home camp, and realize how we all love our Mothership, and traveling in it, and when we don't - we miss it.

Sooo, two more weeks, and we'll be on the road again!

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Eilen satoi lunta, jopa meidän pihassa. Näin kuulimme, mutta missasimme lumen, koska olimme etelä-Mainessä hakemassa asuntoautoamme. (Lumi kyllä vähän pelästytti, viime vuotisen kokemuksen takia.) Odotamme jo kovasti lähtöä, aika pitkä aika ollut viime reissusta - ja Mothership-asuntoautomme on vaan niin ihana pikkuinen koti. Enää kaksi viikkoa, sitten tien päällä taas!

Cocoa Coconut Bits

A friend brought over these yummy cocoa coconut bits on Saturday, and shared her recipe with us. I think she told me her friend brought these over for her, and she got the recipe from her friend. Who probably got the recipe from her friend who brought... Anyway, as far as I know, the original recipe came from Sprouted Kitchen.

We got the recipe today, and Little Miss and I decided making these cookies was the perfect activity after our homeschool lessons. We measured, mixed and sampled together, and got all silly from the sugar high had a great time together.

This recipe definitely belongs to Our Mothership Adventures Recipe collection. Hey, we can even make these in the Mothership! Yay!

Cocoa Coconut Bits (modified from Sprouted Kitchen)
Makes 40

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 cup honey (next time I will try agave)
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract


In a mixing bowl combine the coconut, cocoa powder and rolled oats together. Stir in honey, coconut oil and vanilla. Mix to coat everything evenly. Set in the fridge for 20 minutes. (Or freezer for about 10 minutes if your fridge is as full as mine - after Sam's Club shopping on Friday.)

Preheat the oven to 215'.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a mini scooper or your hands, make 1 inch balls and set them on the baking tray (they don't spread, ample space between is not important). Bake them on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove to cool.

Or as the Sprouted Kitchen advised:

Because these are vegan, they can also be enjoyed raw. You can scoop them into balls, chill them for about an hour, and enjoy as such. I baked mine at a low heat, because it gives them a texture of somewhere between truffle and cookie and I really love that. A crisp crust and a soft center. Perfection.

We had these raw on Saturday, and I wasn't planning on baking them, but after reading the instructions from Sprouted Kitchen, I decided we'd eat bake half and eat have half raw.

And which ones are better?

The baked ones are better. No. The raw ones. No. The baked ones are better. No. The raw ones. No. The baked ones are better. No. The raw ones. No. Mmmm... I better go sample one more time so I can decide...

Snow, People, Snow/Lunta!

Yes, that is snow. Yes, that picture is from this year - yesterday, in fact. Yes, on October 7th, 2012 we got our first snow fall. It didn't snow at the lower altitudes, we only had frost at our camp, but still, that is snow.


Which reminds me of a fall twenty years ago. In October 1992, I packed my bags in Seinäjoki, Finland, and flew to New York, and so started a whole new chapter in my life. The night before flying out, it snowed in Finland, too. A bit early for Finland, as yesterday's snow here in Maine felt like too.


Good thing I enjoy winter. (Wink;)


But twenty years ago!!! How can that be??

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Eilen satoi ensilumi meidän kyläämme. Tosin vuorille vain, meillä oli vain kuura maassa. Kovin tuli mieleen syksy kaksikymmentä (!!!!) vuotta sitten, kun Seinäjoelle satoi ensilumi, ja minä seuraavana aamuna lensin laukkujeni kanssa New Yorkiin ensimmäistä kertaa. Niin alkoi uusi aika elämässäni.

Zip Lining/Vaijeriliukua

This time last year, our family visited Sugarloaf Ski Area in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. We had such white-knuckled fun time, we wanted to do the same thing this year. The picture above is from last year when I managed to snap a picture on my iPhone while hanging on to the lift bar with a death grip.



This year, however, our experience was even more terrifying. Notice the sign behind Mr. D? Yup, the scenic lift ride was closed. And by the title of this post and Mr. D's picture, you have already figured out what some of us did.



Something even scarier!! Zip lining!!!!! Today we were traveling with a mini family - only three kids, so this activity was a lot more affordable, especially when we found out Little Miss didn't meet the weight requirement of sixty pounds.



Mr. D and Mr. A were our lucky riders, and only a little bit nervous to try out this new activity.



It was about a fifteen minute hike up to where the first zip line started. The Sugarloaf zip line course is a series of about seven zip lines between wooden platforms (I think they just added two zip lines this week). This is what it says on their website:

Make a short hike to the top of the Skidway lift and zip your way over Gondi Brook and across the former path of the Sugarloaf Gondola, all while strapped in securely 20-30 feet above the ground!

Each tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and features five different lines up to 240 feet in length, with riders reaching top speeds of nearly 25 miles per hour.


Mamarazzi, paparazzi & Littlemissarazzi were able to follow along to a certain point, where the
riders landed on their second zip line, and then follow along for parts of the line. With our cameras and video recorders, of course.



And they survived their first two zip lines!! It was actually fun, they claimed! Look at those slightly relieved smiles:)



These two daredevils enjoyed scaring their momma, and even zipped along with feet up in the air and arms hanging down. Not their mother's sons, I tell you. I don't think I'd do this even if you paid me!!

But I sure am happy for these two. It was a very neat experience. And I have to say the staff was friendly, encouraging, helpful, and very safety conscious.



As you can see, the foliage was still gorgeous at Sugarloaf Mountain, so I will be working on a third foliage post. You can see Maine Foliage Part 1 and Part 2 posts here and here, if you missed them. Fall in New England has been breathtaking this year.



Here is a short 15 second video clip of Mr. D riding down one of the zip lines (not the fastest one). If you click the little arrows on the bottom right corner, you can see the video larger.


I am linking this post to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot. Head over there for more snapshots!

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Viime vuonna kävimme Sugarloaf-laskettelukeskuksen huipulla hiihtohissillä tähän aikaan vuodesta, ja niinpä lähdimme tänään aikomuksena toistaa sama kokemus, hurjan kivaa kun se oli (ihan ensimmäinen kuva on viime vuodelta).

Valitettavasti hissit eivät kulkeneet tänään, mutta ei hätää: vaijeriliukua pääsisi kokeilemaan! Siis mitä??? Kun meillä oli mukana vain kolme lastamme, ja Pikkuneiti oli liian kevyt vaijeriliukuun, pääsivät Mr. D ja Mr. A kokeilemaan ensimmäistä kertaa. Hui, mitä huvia!!

Kyllä poikia jännitti, näen sen kuvistakin, mutta voi sitä onnistumisen iloa, kun olivat laskeneet ekat kaksi reittiä! Tämä hiihtokeskuksen vaijeriliuku oli tehty seitsemästä liukureitistä, eli pojat laskivat pisteestä toiseen. Meidän ei liukujien piti jäädä odottamaan toisen pisteen taakse, mikä oli ihan hyvä idea. Äiti ja isä eivät voineet pelastaa, jos joku olisi muuttanut mielensä ennen ekaa reittiä:)

Tosi hauskaa heillä oli, minä tosin kauhulla katselin, kun välillä laskettiin pää alaspäin, ja/tai ilman käsiä. Eivät taida olla äitinsä poikia:-D Upea reissu meillä oli, ja yritän saada aikaiseksi kolmannen ruskapostauksen, tuolla alueella ruska vielä loisti kauniina - meilläpäin jo aika ruskeaa.