moving | just ponderin'

… on tucking in a house

May 31, 2017 by Lisa Dingle

It occurred to me yesterday, alone in the house I have mockingly referred to as ‘The Disposable Shack’… After the family packed itself into two cars, with two dogs and a pile of The Stuff… And after the movers finished up and drove down the driveway and away with more of The Stuff… It occurred to me, as I was going through the house, sweeping and gathering the minimal Stuff that remained (some quite cleverly hidden), that it was a little […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, family, Feel good stuff, home, just ponderin', musings, Uncategorized, unique observation • Tags: joy, just ponderin', moving, musings, photography, prose

… on dreams of sleeping with the enemy

February 26, 2017 by Lisa Dingle

Okay, here’s how it’s going. Let’s start with the fact that ‘The Disposable Shack’ is an ironic title. It only became ‘disposable’ once we decided we were moving to Maine and this house that we built and intended to live in for, like, the rest of our lives would most likely be sold while we were, indeed, alive. Also, it is not a shack.* Sigh. Nor is it small. So there are many places and spaces inside The Disposable Shack that I have […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, dogs, Dunstable, family, Feel good stuff, home, joy, just ponderin', Maine, memories, musings, secrets to happiness • Tags: empty nest, household organization, humor, joy, just ponderin', moving, musings, pantry organization, photography, secrets to happiness, Sleeping with the Enemy

… on a snowy morning gift

February 1, 2017 by Lisa Dingle

The Nearly Perfect Husband and I were home in chic and trendy Dunstable last week for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that we met with a very nice young couple who wanted to take a look at the Disposable Shack*. I know! Our plan was to put the house on the market this spring and be totally chill during the selling process (meaning: me mostly in Maine ignoring the entire process (a deal I made with […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, family, Feel good stuff, home, just ponderin', Maine, musings, secrets to happiness, the maine thing, unique observation • Tags: humor, joy, just ponderin', maine, midcoast maine, moving, musings, old yankee man, photography, southport maine, winter in maine

… on five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred… legos

January 26, 2017 by Lisa Dingle

Yesterday, the Nearly Perfect Husband (also known in these parts as ‘Daddy’ (Marshal), ‘Fah-sah’ (Gabe), ‘But Daaaaad’ (Mac), and – depending on what he is doing (or not doing) – several other monikers that shall remain under literary lock and key. Oh. I also call him JoHn. Anyway, JoHn and I were in the midst of cleaning out our closet yesterday. The one… in the bedroom. The one that we filled up – in 2004 when we moved here – […]

Categories: child rearing, Dunstable, family, Feel good stuff, home, joy, just ponderin', Love, memories, musings, my perfect cherubs, unique observation • Tags: 525, 600 minutes, empty nest, family, joy, just ponderin', kids, legos, moving, musings, Rent, Seasons of Love

… on memories of an old yankee man

April 29, 2016 by Lisa Dingle

Oh, the forbidden… How it draws us. Forbidden people. Forbidden activities. Forbidden… Garages. A little over a week ago, a large dumpster arrived on a truck, and was placed in our driveway by – as JoHn described him – ‘A grouchy old New England guy – just the kind you’d fall in love with.’ Ah, yes. I still miss my Old Yankee Man, and I know I always will. But I digress… The dumpster represents Phase 1 of ‘Disposing of the […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, family, just ponderin', memories, musings, Old Yankee Man • Tags: cleaning out garage, comedic writing, comedy, death of a grandfather, death of a parent, grandfather, humor, just ponderin', moving, old yankee man

… on changes and change… oh and changes

January 26, 2016 by Lisa Dingle

There were a lot of things we forgot to check out before we put an offer on our house in Maine in 2005. As a matter of fact, here are the things we did not see, or had not seen, by the time our realtor presented the offer to the owners (which was about three hours after we saw it for the first time): Boothbay Harbor (seriously, we had never been, and drove ‘around it’ to get to the island, so […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, home, just ponderin', Maine, memories, musings, Nearly Perfect Husband, the maine thing, Uncategorized, unique observation • Tags: comedic writing, humor, maine, moving, moving to maine, musings, old house restoration

… on a decade of cows and the sea

January 7, 2016 by Lisa Dingle

Down the driveway, down the road, around a small curve and over a rise are Mr. McGovern’s cows. I realized, as I was on my way back home the other day and passed them, cursing at myself as I gazed at my empty passenger seat that usually holds my camera, but didn’t… I realized that I have been gliding back and forth with the seasons, for a decade now, between ‘home’ and Maine. Between cows and the sea. Over the […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, Dunstable, home, just ponderin', Maine, musings • Tags: cows, cows and the sea, maine, mid coast maine, moving, musings, photography

… on ponderin’ a move

October 3, 2015 by Lisa Dingle

Last week it hit me. Moving. Like, for real. The idea has been, that when Self-Proclaimed Perfect Boy Gabe heads off to college, we will wait through the summer after his freshman year (you know, cuz he’ll want to come back and visit his friends back in the ‘hood) and then we will move to Maine. This decision was years in the making and involved a lot of contemplating, and also fake-shopping, for our dream empty-nest home. As I have previously described, […]

Categories: aspiring maine-iacs, Dunstable, family, home, just ponderin', Maine, memories, musings, the maine thing • Tags: humor, maine, memories, moving, musings, nostalgia

just ponderin'

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