Snail's Pace

So, when the internet first came into main stream use, was dial up as slow then as it is now? I don't seem to remember waiting so long for pages to load when I was in high school. Have I just gotten used to a faster internet speed or is dial up not effective for the astronomical software changes that have occurred since I was a student at MASD? Computer friends (Kenny...), any thoughts?

Well, after a 2 month absence I am back up and blogging! We recently got internet again and I am attempting to see if the "hi speed" (HA!) dial up will be compatible with my frequent desire to blog. (Note: outlook so far - gloomy. I wrote about three-fourths of this blog on paper while I waited for the new post form page to load.)

For a brief update, we have been in our new house, the Birches, since June1st! We are fully settled in by now and enjoying it. We are on 3 acres of beautifully shaded, mostly wooded land that is bordered by the 83 acre camp, a state forest, and our nearest neighbors, who are awesome Christodora supporters and previous owners of this house, a mile up the road.
Needless to say, we are remote! We are the last house on this part of the road, which is dirt and gravel. Our true neighbors are the song birds, owls, squirrels, black bears, bobcats, deer and beavers.

The house is amazing. Two bedrooms, the kids is on the first floor, ours in the second floor loft. A floor to ceiling whole wall rough stone fireplace with raised hearth in the living/dining room, a galley kitchen not at all made for short people with a dishwasher (Woo-hoo!), all hardwood and stone tile floors, a brand new washer and dryer in the bathroom and a small 7-windowed office. Not a huge house but a lovely just-enough-house with peaceful views of the surrounding birches and maples. No basement but a small outbuilding we have the termed the cottage since we had some guests sleep in it. This house was once a ramshackle hunting type cabin that was gutted (except the fireplace) and completely redone. There is a huge deck on the back and a trail in the back yard leading to Matt's 5 minute wooded commute to work. I will send pictures once I have more time (and patience) to wait for them to load.

It is home and we feel blessed to be here. The kids love it as well. We hike almost daily and they are becoming quite rugged tykes. They can take some pretty rough falls anymore and get up like its nothing, future Everest climbers? Or Fear Factor participants (Tristan has been sampling some caterpillars lately but that's another post :-)?

Manice is going well. We are almost halfway through the summer (crazy!). Matt has had his share of crisis and problems but he is learning, directing, and developing a very good understanding of what it takes to run this program well.

As I type I realize I am exhausted. The 5:30 am wake up is catching up with me and although I have much more to say, I think I will say it better with some more sleep. Good night!