Endless Pastabilities

As the primary dinner-maker for the household, I'm always looking for new things to cook. There are only so many times you can make spaghetti, hamburgers, tacos, fish sticks and chicken strips without having a dietary revolt on your hands. So, once a week, I like to try something new to add to my under-stocked culinary arsenal. This week, that new thing was Lasagna.

I don't know why I chose Lasagna. Something just drew my hand to that particular cut of pasta in the grocery store, when I was instinctively reaching for angel hair. Anyway, the Lasagna noodles ended up in the cart and were destined for that night's dinner plate.

I followed the fairly simple recipe on the outside of the noodle box (thankfully, I managed to remember to grab all the required ingredients before leaving the store earlier in the day) and voila! At 5:35pm, on Monday February 8th, my first Lasagna was born. It came in at a whopping 5 1/2 pounds, had a beautiful golden topping, and was delicious!

The best part? I made enough to have two additional meals. One for later this week, and one (frozen) for another tight-on-time dinner in the future. Three meals for the effort of one. How awesome is that?

Gold Plated

I recently picked up some new license plates for one of our vehicles. Our first ever Maine plates! My daughter encouraged me to go with the Agriculture Specialty Plate because she liked the sunset as well as the Father and Daughter walking together.

The Agricultural Plate generates funds to be used for Agricultural education in Maine. The Maine Agriculture Education Fund receives $10.00 from each purchase and renewal fee. Training and materials for teachers, grants for agricultural programs in school and field trips are some programs these funds support. I like that. 

And, truth be told, I like the sunset too.

Church and State

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:

" no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, under the United States."

The modern concept of a wholly secular government is sometimes credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke, but the phrase "separation of church and state" in this context is generally traced to a January 1, 1802 letter by founding father Thomas Jefferson , addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper.

Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and state."

The good people of Ellsworth, Maine also believe in the separation of Church and State. Not by a wall, but by a distance of about 40 feet...

First Congregational Church - Ellsworth's Most Prominent

Ellsworth City Hall

Neighborhood Ride

I took advantage of the unusually warm weather last Thursday and jumped on my mountain bike to explore the neighborhoods around our house.

We live just south of downtown Ellsworth along Bayside Road. So I rode further south down Bayside until I hit the Trenton town line. Along the way down I hit every side street  (on the west side) that dead-ended at the River, then on the way back I hit every side street (on the east side) that dead-ended at the Ridge.

After two hours of this, it was me who ended up dead. But, at least I had fun fairly close to home and got to enjoy most of what my little neck of the woods has to offer.

 Take a look...

Birdsacre Amble

I had the opportunity this past week to spend an hour walking around the Birdsacre Wildlife Sanctuary right here in Ellsworth, Maine.

The 200 acre sanctuary is a charitable, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the home and vision of pioneer, ornithologist-photographer CORDELIA J. STANWOOD, as a living memorial to her achievements in Ornithology and life.

In the summer months, the sanctuary is home to the Stanwood Museum, where wildlife exhibitions are on display and educational talks are given. Woodland Gardens, where volunteers built a boardwalk to provide universal accessibility for visitors to the garden with opportunities to enjoy nature and to find solitude within the preserve. And, the Richmond Nature Center, where permanently injured birds, that are unable to survive in the wild, will always have a home.

There are approximately 6 miles of trails at Birdsacre - directly adjacent to the heart of Ellsworth's business district. But, when you're walking on them, it feels like your miles away. They meander through lush fern groves, under canopies of pine, around serene frog ponds, and past natural landmarks with names like: Egg Rock, Queen's Throne, Boiling Spring, Kettle Crater and Big Chief's Fireplace.

In short, a wonderful little garden paradise, right in our own backyard.

Legomania - Part 2

My 5-year old son and I have an interesting and complicated relationship. He's very bright and always eager to learn. But, at times, he's also a little devil who just loves pushing my buttons. Especially when we're playing Lego's. 

Lego building is currently his all-time favorite hobby. So much so that, now, Lego Masterbuilder has overtaken Fireman and Policeman at the top of his list of things he wants to be when he grows up. And, it's always the first activity he asks me to do with him when he gets home from school.

The problem is that he's also VERY particular when it comes to building with Legos. If the vehicle, or building, or monster we're working on is not exactly the way he wants it, he has absolutely no trouble letting me know.  At first it starts with a raised eyebrow, then a groan, and then (when I'm not looking) he removes the offending piece and replaces it with one that he prefers.

As an architect who prides himself on creativity, I like thinking outside the box when playing with Lego's. I don't use instructions and pretty much build whatever pops into my head in whatever way I'm inspired to build it. This, of course, does NOT fly with the boy. If what I'm building isn't "right", then I hear about it. Quite loudly, in fact.

Last week, he asked me to build two Star Wars themed Lego vehicles. An Imperial Star Destroyer and a Tie Fighter. Both projects pretty much went the same way. I started building and he fought me every step of the way. They were "wrong", "terrible", and "ugly". In short, he hated them. Both. And let me know it. Slammed doors, screaming, the works.

However, once he got a chance to spent some time with them, he decided that he, in fact, loved them. How do I know this?  Well, firstly, he didn't destroy them. Secondly, he put them on the "shelf of fame" in his bedroom. Thirdly, and probably more telling, was that he said to his Mom he thought they were "awesome". 

Something he couldn't bring himself to admit to me.

Now, I'm not sure exactly why this is. Maybe he felt bad for over-reacting in the first place. Maybe, he thinks it's uncool to show affection to your Dad. Or maybe, he just likes getting a rise out of me to see how I will react. Whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have my work cut out for me - raising this littlest Wade.

I just hope I survive the "terrible" phase and can move quickly to the "awesome/shelf of fame" phase before I get destroyed. 

Kebo Dorr Caddy

Last weekend I took advantage of the warmer weather (and the fact that my wife took the kids to Bangor for the afternoon) by booking it down to Acadia for some impromptu winter hiking.

The last time I did that was back in December, for a quick hike up and down Cadillac Mountain via the North Ridge Trail. It was very cold and mostly clear on that day, with just a few icy spots on the top. This time, it was a completely different experience.

Instead of temps in the 20's, it was almost 50 degrees outside. Instead of windy conditions, it was mostly still. Instead of dry trails, they were very wet and snowy. And, instead of an out and back on the ridge, I did a loop to include two new mountains (for me) Kebo and Dorr.

Just like last time, however, I pretty much had the place to myself. I made quick work of Kebo (a mere 407 feet high) then charged up Dorr (a healthier 1270 feet in elevation). Halfway up, the trail became more snowy and near the top I found myself skittering across snow covered ice. At least the views were nice and the trail was mostly flat by that point.

This was not the case on the traverse from Dorr to Cadillac. The half mile Gorge Path trail went straight down then straight back up some very steep, exposed, and slippery rock outcroppings. The fact that there were absolutely no footprints on the trail should have been my first inkling that this was not a popular (safe?) winter route. 45 heart-pounding and knee-scraping minutes later I was grateful to be standing on top of Cadillac. The highest point in the park - a "lofty" 1530 feet above sea level.

From there is was a quick "jog" down the North Ridge to complete the loop back to my car. A little over 6 miles in total with a trip time of a little under 2 1/2 hours. It was my longest event duration since the DNF at the Stonecat 50 Miler, in early November. A truly wonderful afternoon in the mountains!

The other good news is that the foot held up throughout. In fact, it felt so good the next day that I might even try running on it. Imagine that!

At a crossroad near the summit of Dorr