DAMNelsons

2010-10-28T07:14:00.000-04:00

Hey you! Over there! You lookin' for some DAMNelsons news? Well, you better wander on over to my other blog www.racinrick.blogspot.com instead. I'm much too lazy to keep two blogs going these days so you'll have to get your family fix over there. You will see copious amounts of spandex, gory wounds and maybe a nipple or two in addition to the wondrous Nelson news. Don't say I didn't warn you...

B's swingset

2010-05-07T09:30:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, Marcy put the finishing touches on B's swingset. The one Brynna was given by her grandfather over two years ago. And you were wondering why it's taking us so long to build our house???

last couple of boards (and marcy's new shades)

the first official use

2010-04-23T14:55:00.000-04:00

2010-04-19T07:33:00.002-04:00

Words and stuff. Just enjoy the video will ya???

It should be pointed out that she takes after me in no way what so ever. Yeah.

More Easter Pics

2010-04-14T07:24:00.003-04:00

Easter

2010-04-14T07:18:00.002-04:00

Yet another easter has come and gone in DamNelson's land. Side topic. Since we now no longer live in Damariscotta we're struggling with what to call ourselves. We live in Edgecomb now and EdgeNelsons just doesn't have the same ring. I mean, really, DamNelsons seems so natural. Like, if someone sees up walking up they'll mutter under their breath "here come those damnelsons". If anyone has any great ideas, we're open for suggestions.

Anyway, since we now have all of this glorious land at our disposal, we decided to do Brynna's Easter Egg hunt in the yard and woods. We've recently completed a new trail called Brynna's trail that loops around our lower lawn so the hunt included a bit of a nature hike. We've gotta foster a love of the outdoors with Brynna somehow. So what if she grows up to think that chocolate grows on trees?

Egg in a fairy house

More eggs down here!

see, chocolate does grow on trees!

Chillaxin'

2010-04-09T20:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry for being such a slacker...

2010-04-01T21:25:00.002-04:00

There has been a lot happening just not a lot of photo documentation. The biggest news: we received the notice for Kindergarten registration a couple of days ago. It's hard to believe the munchkin will be climbing aboard the big yellow school bus come September. She is more than ready. I, however, am NOT!

My girl has her own sense of style. Most of the time she can pull it off...I have my doubts here.

My man is so sexy!

2010-01-21T07:20:00.003-05:00

As mentioned in the past, Brynna is really into writing and drawing right now. Currently, B is coping with Marcy and I going to Vegas for a weekend by drawing pictures for us to take with us. She presented me with mine the other night: It was a princess based on this:Then she showed me the picture she made for Marcy:
and of course I thought:

It turns out those are crystals and not an artistic reenactment of when B saw me getting out of the shower a couple of weeks ago. Phew.

Ice Fishing

2010-01-11T07:01:00.002-05:00

Somehow, over the weekend, the damfam was convinced to head out for a bit of ice fishing. I used to go a bunch as a kid and remember having a great time so when the opportunity arose, we snatched it up, wrapped it in a hankie and tucked it gently in my pants pocket. That didn't make any sense what-so-ever.

Lilly holding the first big catch of the day. A pickerel or as Brynna called it, a pickel.

B keeping a safe distance from the gross stuff as she watched Jamie and Lilly deal with one of the many pickels we caught that day.

maintaining the safe distance

the kids getting ready to do stupid, kid type things, off of a very large rock. I see the evil in Brynna's and Wyatt's eyes.

more snowshoeing

2010-01-06T07:39:00.001-05:00

getting geared up. baby girl rode in the pack with me.

Brynna breaking trail. Shockingly, the tiny little wippet she tried to hold onto didn't help her stay up.

snow

2010-01-04T07:12:00.001-05:00

Let it snow!

2010-01-04T07:07:00.002-05:00

Finally, winter is really here. As most of you are probably well aware, Maine got dumped on over the weekend and our own little micro-climate got even more than tallies throughout most of the state. By my very unofficial "almost up to my knees" check we got nearly 16" of freshy fresh pow pow over the weekend. Just look at the wood pile below:

To celebrate the occasion the whole DamFam headed out on Sunday for a quick snowshoe adventure. The occasion would mark Brynna's very first time out on her own snowshoes. We didn't expect much considering how deep the snow was but were totally amazed at how quickly she took to it. As a matter of fact, she even broke trail for a bit.

breaking trail

Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T10:25:00.005-05:00

Not many pictures from Christmas this year. A certain munchkin has finally embraced the excitement of opening presents. It was all a blur for the camera. Christmas for the former DAMNelsons began at my Dad's house the Sunday before. Although there were four girls between the ages of 7 and 2 it was a generally relaxing time. The kids opened presents and played while the adults sat around in their post-meal comas.

B striking a pose in the hat Nana and Grampa had made for her.

The girls taking over Grampa's recliner.

Event number 2 took place at our new digs on Christmas Eve. B spent the entire day in her jammies - finally putting her dress on when she saw Uncle Rusty, Aunt Cara and Max coming down the driveway. Shorly after Mimi and Papa and Great Grammie Parker arrived. A small portion of a 16 pound rib roast was consumed (more on THAT later) followed by more present opening.

Cousins B and Max.

B and baby girl in their matching Bitty Baby jammies from Mimi and Papa. Two days later the spud finally took the nightie off so I could wash it!

On Christmas morning we welcomed the rest of the Nelson clan - Grammie and Grampie, Uncle Darren and Great Grammie Madeline. B-girl awoke at 5 a.m. ready to get things rolling. Thankfully she managed to find 4 hours of patience while waiting for everyone to arrive and finish breakfast. When she was finally unleashed there was no stopping her!

Playing in her new Tinker Bell tent with Uncle Rusty and Max.

Soon Daddy joined in...

and then Uncle Darren. The kids soon vacated (not sure if it was the smell or the fact that the tent was stifling hot) leaving three grown men in the Tinkerbell tent...

No Scaffolding

2009-12-14T12:55:00.000-05:00

Look Ma, no scaffolding!

the photos

2009-11-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

here are the siding photos promised the other day.

Perfect example of nelson scaffolding. If you ignore the bowing and wobbling it seems just fine.

Northwest corner

North/entry fascade.

Coming Soon

2009-11-23T05:34:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been extra motivated to get the siding on the house done. The prospect of another frigid winter working outdoors will do that to you. Happily, I can announce that as of this weekend, the shingling is about 70% complete and this whole fascade is done, soffits and all.

Of course, this is an older picture so you'll have to use your imagination. Since the staging/scaffolding is still up we haven't gotten any good pictures yet. This weekend for sure. The best news is that with the north side of the house done, I'll now be going to the south side where it is generally 10-15 degrees warmer. No more frozen bleecher butt from sitting on a frigid aluminum platform all day in the shade. Now I'll be sitting on a frigid aluminum platform while in the sun. Yay!

our little dancer

2009-11-11T07:47:00.003-05:00

we have a roof AND shingles

2009-11-10T06:50:00.001-05:00

Ok, so the roof still needs the ridge cap and the shingles are just started and will take at least a few weeks BUT we're getting really close. In fact, I suspect that at the rate we're currently making progress that we should easily be 100% complete by spring...2011.

Brynna's eye

2009-10-28T11:14:00.004-04:00

Since I seem to be finding precious little to blog about these days, I've decided to start a new theme based series of posts called "Brynna's Eye". Brynna, like most four year old's have a very unique vision of the world which comes out in her art (both in photo and drawn form) as well as humorous conversations.

To break you in slowly (and so that I have to provide as little actual thought as possible) I'm giving you a selection of some of B's recent personal photo collection.

enjoy

letsee, I call this play clothes in repose.

baby girl and scarf

fancy slipper

hamper

mischievous sock

auto insurance

baby and big fat toes

experimentation

we have a roof

2009-10-19T16:17:00.001-04:00

Well, almost. We began putting the metal roof on this weekend. We didn't quite get it finished but it was a huge step psychologically.

This is about as close as my mother got to working all day.

Dad and Marcy were the production crew. Darren and I stood on the roof and made snide remarks. Teamwork makes the process fun.

someone's into books

2009-10-16T06:42:00.000-04:00

books, books, books. These days, B is all about books. We've always read a couple of books to her before bed every night so it's no surprise that she enjoys stories but the way that she's recently taken to doing work books is pretty astounding. In fact, last Friday on a B and Me day, we sprinted down to Freeport to Plan and Learn to pick up a few new books from their freakin awesome collection. Literally 1000's of books in that joint. We'll go back sometime when I have a sleeping bag and a couple days worth of necessities. Anyway, we got a few books and B was so excited that I turned the interior light on for her and she worked in the book the whole way home. Thankfully, she balances out Marcy's nerdiness with some of my artyness (you should see the killer three legged cat she drew for me) and spends most night before dinner sketching in a picaso-esque style.

Touch my prime rib. I DARE YOU!

2009-10-12T08:20:00.000-04:00

brussel sprout club

2009-10-05T12:54:00.000-04:00

heyaa!!!

Rest In Peace Buddy

2009-10-04T03:15:00.006-04:00

Friday afternoon, after fighting cancer for over a year, Chance finally lost his battle. The day was inevitable, and in reality he held on for a lot longer than anyone expected. I had hoped to write more but I'm having a hard time finding the words (it's 4am two nights later and I still can't sleep) so insteat I've pulled a bunch of my favorite photos of Chance together to share again.

We'll miss you buddy. Love you.

I've got wood

2009-09-30T07:06:00.003-04:00

Our new heating system is unique in the fact that it uses wood and gives me wood. Revision Energy is putting the final touches on the system today (hopefully!) so we can have a toasty warm house by tonight. There was much to do in prep for the system going in. The biggest chore was preparing the firewood. We're a bit behind on that front since we've been working on the house so much but after a big push on Saturday with Papa Don and myself we now have somewhere between 3 & 4 cord of wood ready for winter. Another weekend of work and we should have plenty for this and next winter. I'm guessing that we've got enough wood from clearing for the house alone to last us a good three years. Good times.

The system itself relies on a super high efficiency wood boiler. It's so efficient that you need a place to store all of the heat (or else turn the house into a 24/7 sauna where fat guys with hairy bellies can sit around and fart and sweat all day) so Don and I built a 650 gallon water storage tank that the boiler will stuff all of the heat into which will then be taken from by both the heating and domestic system. Pretty cool stuff, once it's all up and running that is.

Here is a pic of the tank nearing completion. It included 4" of rigid insulation inside of a steel and plywood box. The whole thing gets lined with an epdm (rubber) membrane and then the hot water coils are added, it's filled with water and an insulated top is put on.

My own foil lined coffin.

The brains of the system. So many pretty yellow handles that I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what to do with.

Some of our wood prior to stacking.

B and I stacking the wood. Marcy was too busy taking pictures to be bothered with helping.

B actually helped pile for a solid 30-40 minutes. Trooper.

tardy

2009-09-29T07:53:00.000-04:00

Not many blog posts lately. Sorry about that but sometimes life gets in the way and you don't have good pictures to post. And really, what good is a damnelsons blog post without pictures??? You certainly don't come here to see my bastardization of the english language with multiple misplaced commas...

With the impending winter, we've been going gangbusters on the house's siding and heating system which has meant that I've had precious little time with the spud recently so whe I found out Marcy had a hair appointment after work of Friday I did what any american dad would do, B and I got take out sushi and went to a playground. I've got culture coming out of my ass.

B and I had a great time and it was nice to see B start to come out of her shell. She's always been an outgoing kid if she's around people she knows but clams right up if others are around. Well, four teenagers raising hell on the playground on Friday didn't stop her (for a change) and some of her timidness with heights seemed to vanish as well. Good times.

B-lated

2009-09-15T09:47:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I'm a bit late posting this stuff (about 11 days to be exact) but better late than never (Tania would argue that never is probably better).

the cake, artfully crafted by Marcy. Who says she has no talent???

B in her Fancy Nancy attire.

Waiting not so patiently for people to finish eating so she can open presents.

mob scene

cake 1 (brynna requested a blueberry cake)

cake 2 (yellow cake for those traditionalists -my dad-)

6 girls in the very pink room. I had to leave.

taking after daddy

2009-09-02T14:48:00.003-04:00

As I think I've mentioned before, B had lost interest in her two wheeled bike for a while this past year, always opting to ride her trike when the opportunity arose. Well, that all changed when we were at one of my bike races in Orono and then solidified when we made the trek up to Presque Isle for a weekend bike festival. For some reason, the bike thing suddenly clicked (maybe because she was literally surrounted by biking crazy folks)and B couldn't be kept away from her bike, tallying close to 10 hours of ride time in the 2 1/2 days we were in Presque Isle. And ever since then she talks about her bike and riding almost as much as I do and if you've spent any time with me you know that that is a LOT!

Anyway, this past weekend I had another mountain bike race so we asked B if she wanted to be in the kids race. She enthusiastically said YES! but both Marcy and I figured that when the time came she'd change her mind. That definitely wasn't the case and B was eager to throw down when race time came. There were only three kids in the race but B showed her killer instinct by taking the hole shot and leading from beginning to end (Marcy kept her hand on her back but did little in the way of pushing) and even sped up when the second place girl made a late race charge.

After kayaking

2009-08-25T07:11:00.000-04:00

B's first train ride

2009-08-25T07:05:00.000-04:00

and first time driving

kayaking

2009-08-21T10:21:00.000-04:00

A family that plays together, stays together. With the house construction, the DamFam hasn't played together enough this summer so this past sunday we took some time out to go for a nice kayak ride to feed the greenheads.

Marcy isn't as talented as I am at taking pictures over her head. Unless she was trying to identify her life jacket manufacturer.

Better shot.

Brynna takes the reins. after a bit she was pretty good at keeping the proper rowing cadence.

Long time no post

2009-08-19T07:53:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, the whole DamFam headed to Funtown/Splashtown for some water park fun. We wisely decided to go on a Monday since nobody ever goes to water parks on Monday's. Unfortunately, we forgot that we've had roughly 86 straight weeks of rain so everyone in the tri-state area seemed to have the idea and the place was MOBBED! Oh well, B is still too young for most of the slides anyway so we spent a bunch of time in the kiddie pools instead.

B with her whiter than white daddy.

B is afraid of putting her face under water but she tries to make up for it by putting water on her face. Someday she'll get there...

B practicing her strokes.

2009-08-05T13:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-05T12:58:00.000-04:00

This could take a while.

2009-08-05T07:17:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend the DamFam headed to Almost Canadia (Presque Isle) for some camping and bike related antics. We were joined by my buddy Kevin and his daughter (who is B's age). The girls had a blast riding bikes (Brynna did this for almost 10 hours over the two days), running around, swimming, shooting their first guns (you heard that right) and other general nonsense. There are far too many pictures for one post so I'll be dishing them out in helpings.

B and Calia at the campground in their matching hats.

Running.

Running some more.

Saddled up for some biking.

more concrete staining

2009-07-28T07:04:00.001-04:00

for those of you brave (stupid) enough to stain your own concrete floors, here is the step by step procedure.

Step 1. chose color desired and mix stain with water
Step 2. fret because you know that once you start to stain you can't turn back. there is nothing you can do but cover it up if you screw it up! No worries, in our case it would only mean thousands of dollars to put flooring down and hours to rework doors, stairs etc...
Step 3. apply stain with a hand pump

Step 4. see what concrete looks like immediately after coating!

Step 5. continue to fret
Step 6. fill in areas as needed with a squirt bottle laced with the acid
Step 7. fret
Step 8. clean floor many, many, many times to neutralize the acid and remove any residual stain

Step 9. wait for floor to dry and just for good measure, fret a bit more

getting there

2009-07-27T11:30:00.000-04:00

most of the concrete floors are now stained (the rest to be finished this week).

Brynna's new bed

2009-07-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago the whole DamFam made the trek to Ikea Stoughton to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out its about 4 hours to only see about 1/3 of the stuff that they offer. They have it figured out sort of vegas style too with no windows, clocks or easy exit to keep you there and half naked women so you wouldn't want to leave anyway. Most of that is true but you'll have to go see for youself to know for sure.

Anyway, we were on more of a scouting mission than anything (to see what the quality was like - say no toparticle board!) with no major purchases planned other than a bed for B. We found a good one, made entirely of wood and Ikea's sense of fashion. Well, this weekend, we finally got around to putting it together.

tah dah! drawers to be added when we're good and ready, tonight or tomorrow probably...

painting with mommy

2009-07-16T07:08:00.000-04:00

what the hell, she probably stays within the lines better than marcy anyway...

and the beach

2009-07-14T07:21:00.001-04:00

at the lagoon with baby girl. B is such a good mommy.

woops!

more photos, kayaking this time

2009-07-14T07:18:00.000-04:00

way behind

2009-07-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

I'm way behind on pics these days so over the next couple you're going to be bombarded with photo posts.

brynna and her bud rachel are bag ladies

parades are loud

First night in the new house

2009-06-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

If you happen to be the Edgecomb code enforcement officer, you can totally ignore this post. We definitely are NOT living in the house.

B in her new, pinker than pink room. She seems happy.

Our first dinner in the new house. Of course, it was at Brynna's table while in our bedroom but it still counts.

First bedtime story with mommy. I'm not sure if Marcy realized what she was wearing and that I'd most definitely be blogging it.

In the camper

2009-06-24T13:12:00.001-04:00

Life in the camper can be interesting, especially when it has rained for something like 482 straight days. Being cooped up like that can lead to some pretty interesting things. Like:

seeing if mommy's chin tastes like a lollipop.

apparently not

???

hey ma, nice cans!

In this month's issue of Maine Home and Design

2009-06-22T11:52:00.000-04:00

magazine website can be found here: Maine Home and Design

lights out

2009-06-22T10:17:00.000-04:00

lil update. uncle lancy-pants got most of the house electrified over the weekend so now we have lights AND stripey walls.

we also knocked off most of the second floor painting and trim over the weekend. good thing too since we have to move into the second floor this coming weekend. bathroom? we don't need no stinking bathroom!

papa, what's that between your legs?

marcy cutting in. brynna's room now looks like the inside of a pepto-bismol-aholic's stomach.

washer AND dryer are up and running. yippee!

doors and trim

2009-06-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

Another quick update. Over the weekend (while we wait for the drywall to be finshed!!!) we installed a bunch of the interior doors and some more of the exterior trim. Pretty exciting huh?

Papa Don modeling the latest fashion in flat panel doors.

Papa and Grampy working on exterior trim. This was Saturday when there was sun, they also did this on Sunday in the rain. Thankfully, I was on saw duty, doing the precision cutting (seriously, why would you think that is funny. wankers) so I got to stay in the nice, dry interior rocking out to some tunes.

quick lil house updated

2009-06-10T10:53:00.000-04:00

Well, it's finally happened, the drywall has begun!

Master bedroom:

Living room:

Guest room/kinda possible future child's if we decide to have one once people stop asking us room:

Brynna's room:

Tis the Season

2009-06-04T12:47:00.003-04:00

to get the spud out on her big girls bike. Usually B opts to ride her trike around (doing suprisingly fast laps around the basement last night) but sometimes she decides to roll with the big boyz. So on Sunday, after getting the request, we headed out to the pavement and gave 'er a rip.

she can ride totally on her own but likes my hand on her back.

stopping to find "round things"

found one.

we have a new camera

2009-06-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

and apparently I don't know how to use it yet...

ghosty

hazy

look out!

going for a hike

2009-05-27T07:40:00.001-04:00

On Monday, the fam headed up to beautiful, sunny Winslow to check out Uncle Darren's potential new property, 28(?) acres on Patte's Pond. It was a sweet spot and totally calling for miles of singletrack to be built. Good thing Darren is so devoted to cycling. Err, maybe not.

B in her LLBean approved hiking attire.

Marcy and B looking at ferns and spiders (big dead trees)

the ass end of said spider

B and uncle darren (note, that is a bug catcher I'm holding, not a giant glass of beer sadly)

too tired to blog

2009-05-26T09:06:00.000-04:00

entry roof

2009-05-19T11:24:00.002-04:00

In my constant quest to not have anything be straight and easy on the house, I decided that we should have a sloped and angled entry roof. Good thinking, until it took a total of about 6 man days to complete. Woopsie. Maybe that is why the guys in the field always LOVE working on my jobs. Nothing worth doing is easy. Or is it, nothing easy is worth doing (I can think of a couple of arguments here! :) ).

rafters going up

and up

hmmm, how we gonna cut this now???

tah dah!

Smelting

2009-05-10T06:42:00.001-04:00

Friday evening I needed to set a smelt net to fish the overnight incoming tide. Earlier in the day I had picked up a little bug catcher/nature observing kit for Brynna. It was a gorgeous day so I decided to pick B up from preschool and take her with me. What a blast! She loved hiking along the bank of the brook looking for bugs and frogs and anything else she could find. What would have been a 15 minute set turned into an hour and a half exploring expedition. B didn't even notice that we blew through dinner time AND bedtime.

The net all ready to fish. I love this brook. It is a beautiful, quiet (except for the rushing water) spot.

She wanted to show Daddy how much fun she was having.

Mommy and B and the nest she built out of leaves, rocks, acorns, etc.

A little time for exploring nature...

2009-05-10T06:37:00.004-04:00

A slug AND a smelt!

Checking out the smelt's mouth (no worries it was already dead when we found it). B is very observant - she had to count the fins and look the fish all over.

Putting him in the carrier (yep it was a male).

One of B's favorite finds - a HUGE blood sucker. I had to keep reminding her to not touch it (I had not salt on hand).

More exploring pics...

2009-05-10T06:31:00.001-04:00

"I want to see him jump."

Letting the frog go in a nice quiet pool

Chillin'

"Building a nest"

Insulation has begun!

2009-04-29T12:41:00.000-04:00

message received

2009-04-25T21:20:00.000-04:00

Mimi Jo will never make the mistake that mistake again! (you have to enlarge the first photo)

It's been a while

2009-04-22T20:22:00.000-04:00

It's been about a brazillion years since I've done a proper post over here and I apologize (or for some of you , you're welcome) but with everything going on I've had a hard time finding inspiration for a quality post and when I lack the ability for a good post I usually go the other way and just post pictures. Photo-blogging it in, if you will. Well, today really isn't any different, I've got crap to say but I'm freakin way overdue on a bunch of these photos. Speaking of crap, if I had a poo story to tell you about I'd be all over it. I can talk about poo all day. I've got hundreds of stories about poo in fact. I'm sort of the Bubba Blue of poo stories. Not poo recipes thankfully but now that I think of it, I do have a somewhat recent poo story to tell but I've already uploaded some adorable pics of B so, sadly, the poo will have to wait.

They're not poo but they'll do.

How God Sees Us

2009-04-21T07:37:00.000-04:00

Put the woman to work!

2009-04-19T21:21:00.000-04:00

sushi and pvc

2009-04-13T06:24:00.001-04:00

Work steadily continues on the house but not quite as fast as we need it to. I'd guess we have another month to month and a half before we can habitate (although it still won't be 100%) but we only have two weeks before we have to be out of our winter caretaking gig. We could move back into my office apartment but B didn't do well there so that is a last resort. Instead, we've arranged to have Marcy's father's camper to live in for a bit. Things will be a bit tight with two adults, one child, one large dog and a cat in a fifth wheel camper but at least we'll be on the property and able to work every day. Hey wait, nothing I just wrote was funny and I always try to keep this blog light. Hmmm, what to do?

Annnndddddd, you'll have to wait. Blogger is being a b-i-t-c-h this morning so I'll try again later.

My new hangout (get it, HANGOUT???)

2009-04-07T06:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the crappy pic but I was cruising by on my road bike when I snapped this. What is it? It's none other than the country's most famous coffee shop (for 15 minutes at least), the topless coffee shop in Vassalboro Maine. Yay for us, now Maine can be know for lobsters, potatoes AND coffee scalded boobies. Joy!

Now with 50% more slab!

2009-03-31T08:23:00.000-04:00

Last week, the house construction took a big step forward with the placement of the first floor radiant slab which will be acid stained. Below are a couple of pics of the slab during placement and after the control joints.

Eventually, she'll be a sparkling gem in the house that is toasty underfoot.

What's in a Picture

2009-03-30T06:43:00.002-04:00

The other day, while out for a trailer ride with B, I took a few pics of a giant fisherman statue that sits at the entrance of a coastal hotel just down the road from our current residence.

At first glance, everything seems pretty normal but as you drive/ride past things get a bit more interesting...

Didn't see it? Well, how 'bout now?

Now, before you start saying that I'm just a dirty perv (I am) and that no one other than me would see this, you should know that this was pointed out to me by a friend of ours, Jen (another dirty perv by the way). I've got to say, that was totally a ballsy (pun totally intended) move by the artist responsible for the statue.

Dancing machines

2009-03-26T20:50:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, the Russillo's came by for a visit. It would have been fun if a certain 3 1/2 year old didn't have love for the two boys in her eyes. As the father of a girl, I knew that at some point I'd have to accept the fact that she's interested in boys. I knew it would happen, but I just figured it wouldn't happen til she was in her early thirties. At some point during the night, B put the gooey eyes away long enough to dance with Michael and Enzo to Madagascar's "I like to move it move it".

For the record, those two boys enjoy dancing WAY too much to be straight. The father in me is just sayin'.

as visions of radiant tubing danced through his head

2009-03-25T06:51:00.003-04:00

A sure fire way to tell that I'm stressed is when the day's trials creep in and disrupt my sleep. I've always been a sleepwalker of sorts. I don't usually wander around the house at night but I do occasionally do weird shit (usually in the bedroom) in the middle of the night while I slowly come out of my dream state. Sometimes I figure it out on my own, sometimes Marcy snarls at me through gritted teeth to get back in bed. On a side note, never, ever wake your wife in the middle of the night. Not for anything. I don't care if the house is on fire, if you want to survive the ordeal, I suggest you carefully wrap her in a blanket and carry her out Fabio style. Anyway, I used to have my sleepwalking episodes much more often, like the time when I was a kid that my mother awoke one night to me peeing right next to her head. Or about 10 years ago when Marcy awoke to me crawling around on the floor, from window to window, searching for the person who was shooting at us.

Anyway, back to the story. Super stress seems to make me sleepwalk and yesterday was one of those days. I was frantically preparing for a client meeting to happen today and that, in and of itself, would typically be enough but I had the added "fun" of needing to prep the first floor radiant tubing for today's concrete pour. Before encasing radiant tubing it's important to pressure test it for leaks because no-one wants to cut into a concrete slab to find a pinhole leak. I had borrowed the fittings and tools that I needed to do the job. Unfortunately, once to the house I realized that the crimper that I had been given was the wrong size. Several frantic phone calls later I was able to find another to borrow from another mechanical contractor (it pays to run in those circles I guess) and was able to get the job done just as it was getting to dark to work.

Apparently, I took that stress with me to bed because on several occasions last night I awoke to find myself checking the tubing. Another side note here, how great of a pick up line would that be? "Hey baby, how would you like to come back to my place and pressure test my tubing?" That's a double slap, guaranteed. I may try it this weekend and find out.

________________________________________

Also, after re-reading monday's post I should revise something. Even though I took credit for laying the radiant tubing and gave Marcy none, the reality is that Marcy and my parents did the lions share of the tubing while I "kept myself busy" in the basement.

work continues

2009-03-23T06:34:00.001-04:00

Work chugs along at Sonne Ledge (that's our property's name, how hoity-toity) with rough-ins commencing. Over the weekend, Marcy's brother got the second floor and part of the first floor electrical roughed in while my parents and I prepped the first floor for the slab by laying all of the insulation and radiant tubing.

Radiant tubing, when chance scoots his butt across this floor it's going to be so soothing on his swollen ass glands.

To top it off, Don and I we able to get most of the "unfinished" basement walls framed. Hopefully, if all goes well, we'll be getting the first floor slab, well and power poles in this week. Fingers crossed.

I took a brief break from not working to snap this pic.

Holy shit

2009-03-23T06:32:00.001-04:00

Daddy gets to color for a living. J-E-A-L-O-U-S

now THAT'S an icicle!

2009-03-18T06:59:00.000-04:00

Windows Part Deux!

2009-03-10T10:03:00.004-04:00

Looking a little too comfortable on that lift - not for long...

Human scaffolding.

South corner of the livingroom.

The crew at the end of a looong day - minus Mimi back at the house with the spud.

Windows!!!

2009-03-10T09:59:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday we surprised ourselves and managed to install 18 window assemblies (~25 windows). We had a great 5 man and 2 woman crew and temps near 50. It was definitely a day of show. Seven of the assemblies averaged ~5 1/2 by 7 feet with the largest window coming in at 6' by 8'!

The first window!

Grampy being Grampy - it's strange to watch a snowball coming at you through a camera lens. I made sure they didn't forget how vulnerable they were on that lift...shakey shakey!

Letting them know whose boss...one of the upstairs bedroom window units.

North side of the house ... getting there!

More Snowshoeing

2009-03-10T09:53:00.002-04:00

Last Friday we decided to take the entire day off. With the constant demand of house construction, Marcy and I have had little opportunity to spend any time together. We decided to spend the morning snowshoeing at Sherman Marsh preserve - across the road from our future home. The windows were being delivered for the house in the afternoon.

No time for wit - just photos.

Climbing back up the steep slope after retrieving Chancey-pants who decided to make a detour to the water.

The "gradual" part of the slope and view of Sherman Marsh.

Woodpeckers?

A Visit with The Galvins

2009-03-10T09:28:00.004-04:00

A couple of weekends ago the Galvins made the trek up to Boothbay - Jeff to help Rick on the house and Alaina and Elsa to hang with B-girl and me. We had a great day. The dynamic between the girls was so cute - lots of hugs and giggling and chasing each other across the footbridge. FYI - trying to hug while on the run ends in a pile of toddler legs and, thankfully, laughter.

Brynna at times was right in her glory. With Elsa being a little over a year younger B's mothering tendencies kicked in. To Elsa's credit she has a keen ability to tune out the naggings of a 3-year old. She even patiently let Brynna dress her in her snowsuit for our walk/run across the footbridge.

The Mantra

2009-03-05T19:03:00.002-05:00

Throughout the course of the house construction there has been one underlying theme: either do the job right or else f' it up enough to make a good blog post. Last Sunday, my bro Darren did just that. While using the pneumatic framing nailer he managed to sink a nail 1/2" into the meaty flesh of his thumb. Mission complete Darren, mission complete.

I'm happy to report that while the whole episode was a bit scary, Darren is healing well and he'll be back to the PS2 soon enough.

for you mary poppins fans

2009-03-03T07:11:00.003-05:00

B's current obsession is the classic "Mary Poppins" it's actually a pretty good movie with lots of singing and dancing (which Brynna totally loves). She's seen the movie enough to have the dancing and choreography pretty much down pat as you can see in the video below.

this is what you get

2009-02-26T07:25:00.002-05:00

when you let a 3 year old dress herself.

more snowshoe pics

2009-02-25T06:20:00.001-05:00

Imagine that

2009-02-25T06:04:00.002-05:00

A DAMNelsons post that doesn't include pictures of the house. Go figure.

Last Friday the decision was made to take the whole day off and spend the morning getting some quality family time in. These days, more often than not, the construction of the new house dominates all leaving very little time to enjoy each others company. As much as we'd like to have a place to stay when we have to move out of our current place in May it seemed even more important to ensure that we'll still actually BE a family when that time comes, we can always sleep in a tent I guess. This has been a bumper year for snow (wouldn't you know it) and we've had no time to enjoy it so we decided to head out snowshoeing.

B is getting kind of big for her pack but I just consider it a bonus workout for me.

I she only knew where this tongue has been...

Whachu talkin' bout Willis?

house update

2009-02-23T07:48:00.002-05:00

Another week and another 2 1/2 days work on the house. We're nearly closed in with just a bit of wall and roof sheathing to complete before the windows can go in and then, mercifully, we'll be able to do some work inside on crappy days (of which, we've had MANY this winter).

Interior shot of the curved roof from the master bedroom.

out the m. bedroom window

looking south from the living room

looking through the dining room into the kitchen

stopping for lunch and Marcy's beefstew.

the look

2009-02-11T07:12:00.000-05:00

Just in case the fine craftsmanship you've witnessed in recent photos of the house construction has made you forget what our place will EVENTUALLY look like, here is a quick rendering I did yesterday for some promotional stuff here at the office.

House update

2009-02-10T07:15:00.003-05:00

Another fine weekend (ok, we haven't had many nice weekends) and more progress on the house. This past weekend was spent sheathing the curved roof (two layers of sheathing and one layer of rigid insulation, call it a roof sammich). It was a daunting task made much easier because I was able to yoink a lift from work for the weekend. Working for a large design build company has it's perks!

Materials up.

Notice the crisp, clean lines at the top of the curved wall? Well, that fine artisan was...

Grampy Nelson. That there is some fine craftsmanship!

Not sure what to say about this one. It's amazing that Darren can't find a woman...

Snow Day!

2009-01-30T09:07:00.005-05:00

More often than not snow days seem to slip away - we get up late, laze around, don't bother getting dressed, etc. etc. Not this time. Brynna and I were blessed with a snow day on Wednesday (at 33 I still look forward to them!) and we took full advantage. The day would have been perfect if Rick had been able to stay home too. We spent our morning baking blueberry banana muffins, snuggling while watching a little Mary Poppins and taking a two hour walk in the snow (even stopping for a chat with the mail lady). Brynna is without doubt a Maine girl - she has embraced winter and the cold weather. At one point during our walk she "wished she could stay out all day".

Heading out. We didn't want "baby girl" to miss out on the adventure.

"Come on Mom!" Heading across the bridge into the village.

This photo is a little blurry - within a few minutes of leaving the house the snow really started to come down. By the time we stopped for a snack at the coffee shop "baby girl" had a good inch of snow in her lap.

Continuing on after our snack break. Apparently B didn't get enough to eat.

I think you have a little something...right there.

Watching the "Squirrel Island" boat offloading and discussing the importance of bumpers.

The Chamois

2009-01-28T20:39:00.003-05:00

What could be more fun than dancing around in Daddy's nasty rank cycling chamois?

Maybe the stench finally got to her.

A Day with the Brownes

2009-01-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

Sunday Brynna and I had a great day hanging with Tina, Calia and Nolan while Kevin helped Rick on the house. Most weekends it is just B-girl and I chillin' so having company for the day was a welcome change. Brynna had so much fun that she completely melted after Calia left - lamenting that "Calia is never coming back!". Oh the drama.

At least Nolan looked.

B generally loathes having her picture taken these days. I usually have to say something ridiculous to get her to smile. I can't remember what I said here but I'm sure she is convinced I know NOTHING about princesses.

Dress-up was the theme of the day.

House update

2009-01-27T07:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday, we had a beautiful day with temps in the 30's. I was so psyched that I failed to take any pictures. Instead, Don and I put our heads down and plowed out a bunch of insulation and sheating. Sunday morning blessed us with -13degees when I got to the site. Holy frick! Thankfully, once the sun came up it warmed up to a balmy 20. Good times.

Begining of the day.

Staging set-up

Lower roof on!

Evening swim

2009-01-16T19:06:00.008-05:00

Thursday evening, after work and school, we decided to break from the typical evening of Rick working on the house and B and I hanging at home. Instead we took advantage of our close proximity to the local Y and headed in for some family swim time. We thought it would take a bit to reorient Brynna with the pool and the skills she learned last year at swim lessons. Boy were we wrong. Apparently all of her time "swimming" in the bathtub has paid off. Her excitement was contagious. As soon as the bubbles were on Brynna jumped right in - occasionally fogetting that she couldn't quite swim yet. By the end of the evening she was swimming with a semi-doggie paddle using us for balance only.

Another busy weekend

2009-01-12T12:24:00.005-05:00

The house construction is humming along right now. We're slightly behind where I hoped we'd be at this point but considering we've only hired out the foundation I think we're doing pretty damn well. Over the weekend we got the rafters up on the curved roof and started to sheath the exterior. They're both slow processes because the architect in me can't let anything be easy but in the end it'll all be worth in (if there ever is an end!).

Sunny day on Saturday.

Not so sunny on Sunday.

While Don and I worked on insulating and sheathing the exterior, Marcy shoveled the house and kept the dog entertained.

Now, THAT'S a smart lookin dog right there!

house update

2009-01-07T08:21:00.001-05:00

Things are happening on the house. Thanks to many helpful family member and friends we continue to make good progress on the house. Over the weekend we were able to get all of the second floor exterior walls up. Next up, roof rafters.

view from the kitchen into the living room

First wall up.

last wall up.

Don't worry, you're not still drunk for your new year's festivities, the roof IS curved.

What's in a picture

2009-01-07T07:56:00.000-05:00

At first glance, this picture appears to be like any other family sledding pic.

But upon further inspection (and a closer view) you can see that Chance is trying to forcefully remove my right ear mid-slide.

X-mas Nelson style

2009-01-05T10:31:00.007-05:00

It is tradition in my family that on Christmas (day or eve depending on when we can go up) to play a game of snow softball on my parents lawn. If you've ever seen their lawn you know that its more than a bit challenging with trees, steep slopes and ledges. Basically everything you need to have fun and hurt yourself in grand fashion.

This year, the softball game petered out quickly (mostly because we all suck now) and we decided to go for an even older Nelson tradition, demolition sledding. The premise is simple, get a sucker to head down the driveway first then come from behind and try to wipe out, flip, ram, dismember etc the sledder in front. If all goes well, you end up with a pile of twisted limbs, snow down the crack of your arse and someone hopping around going "ow, ow, ow". Oh, and did I mention that we have a dog who loves to chase us, grab us by the arm, head, taint, whatever is available and thrash us to death like a cute little woodland bunny? This year didn't disappoint.

As an added bonus, this year B decided that she was going to finally try sledding and thankfully she loved it. Before long she'll be piloting the toboggan of death.

face full of snow

Chance on the prowl (as you can see, he already took my father out)

Step 1, grab dad by the hood.

Step 2, pull him off the sled.

Step 3, drag him UP the driveway by his hood.

good advice

2009-01-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

Got this little gem in the office the other day. It could simply be helpful reminders about how to properly move materials around the construction site OR it could be some mighty fine dating advice. Be sure to click on the image to get the close up. My comments are in red.

cookies for santa

2009-01-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

Do you find this odd?

2009-01-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yeah, me neither.

Finally!

2008-12-29T05:27:00.003-05:00

We've been without internet access at our new place for over a week and my right eye was starting to develop a twitch. Theoretically the place has wi-fi but the reality is that it was freakin working no matter how many times I started the computer and willed it to. Thankfully, though an act of pure genius on my part, I asked my computer geek brother to figure it out; and he did. So over the next couple of days I'll be posting the brazillion pics we've taken recently. Enjoy.

Christmas Eve, daddy gives B a tool set hoping to counteract all the girly shit she'll be getting.

Black thumb nails aren't girly are they?

Horsing around with uncle Darren.

He went to Jared

2008-12-16T19:43:00.003-05:00

As if the constant dress ups, baby changing, pretend cooking and general irrational behavior wasn't enough proof that I do, indeed, have a daughter, B gave me the irrefutable proof this morning while I was watching the Today show. A Jared commercial came on, you know, the totally annoying one where everyone is impressed that he went to the totally overpriced jewelry store manned by storm troopers in ill-fitting suits (can you tell I had a bad experience in there once???)? Yeah, that stupid place. Anyway, during the commercial B turned to me and said "oooohhhh, jewelry". I'm screwed, totally screwed.

I'm a smidge behind..

2008-12-01T06:51:00.002-05:00

..on blogging recently and for good reason. We've been going gangbusters on the house build trying to beat the nastiest weather to the punch. A typical day for me recently has been up at 5, walk the dog, into work, work 9-ish hours, head to property to work for 3-4 hours, go home to have dinner and sleep. Did you notice that I didn't mention blog anywhere in there? Most aspects of our lives have suffered recently because of the push but that little aspect in each and everyone of us that likes to live inside helps us cope. Did that make any sense? I'm not sure and I refuse to re-read/re-write. Onto some pics (these are about a week behind).

me being all manly with a nail gun. no feet nailed to the house. yet...

first wall up. yeah!

Marcy getting her grind on.

view of the walk-out basement area.

It's a family affair...

2008-11-20T19:16:00.006-05:00

On Saturday Rick headed over to the property to get some things accomplished before the big push on Sunday (see below) while Brynna and I headed into her doc's for her flu shot. She was in such a great mood, even after the needle, that we decided to surprise Rick with some coffee and the offer of help. He was over there by himself and having a tough time getting things hoisted into place on his own. Grammie Nelson had the same idea...not wanting Rick working alone. I fully expected to be there only an hour or two before the munchkin was bored. Much to our surprise that kid played, in the rain, for 6 hours straight (even missing her nap)! The ladies were able to help out and we got the sill plates into place. Grampie showed up after hunting and we hung some more joists. Brynna entertained herself by "helping" - sweeping the slab, instructing us on the dangers of a drill...

Cleaning Daddy's "mess".

Pretending to be useful.

Putting Grammie to work - on rickety ladders no less!

???

B informing us she has filled the gas can with water.

2008-11-20T18:41:00.008-05:00

On Sunday we had a great crew to help hoist the center beams into place. Mimi Jo watched Brynna while Papa Don, Grammie and Grampie Nelson, Uncle Darren, Uncle Lance and Jim (or Yimmy - as Brynna calls him) provided the skill and grunt labor.

Testing the reach.

Uncle Lance working the magic with the excavator. Our initial plan was to muscle those puppies up. Lance saved many a back on Sunday.

Up we go.

Steady

Grampie had the great idea to build these temporary braces instead of us fighting with the heavy columns at the same time.

Giving Jim a helping hand. Considering all of the help he has given us - Rick is becoming a master at coercion - Jim is now part of the "family". Something he may regret.

For the ladies...