Maine's Own Off-Topic Thread -- Pt.2 (Milo: for sale, houses, moving van)

[elston]

Originally Posted by jenkaye

I'm dying to know how it's going for Elston!

We are back in California after a wonderful and productive visit to Maine. We had a grand time and it felt so right. We absolutely loved Portland and the surrounding areas; loved visiting our family and catching up with them and making plans for "open houses" christmases and family pot lucks and pic nicks to come! Got lots of offers for perennial and house plant shoots and cuttings and clump divisions. Some of the plants (plumeria and hostas and angel wing begonia and pepperomia) from my NH house and garden that I gave to mainers, will be sending progeny to me.

We looked at and walked thru so many houses! We also did a fair amount of drive bys that ended up disqualifying themselves from futher consideration.....our top three choices off the internet were in that catagory. We also visited some homes that gave off bad karma....hard living had occured and seemingly unhappiness led to the house being on the market.But we found 3 houses that felt like home and not only adequate, but gracious and welcoming and in which we would feel that indefinable "pride of ownership". While the negotiating process is in play, I won't say more.......but over the last we closed on our California home.....identified 3 potential new homes....fell in love with our life in Maine....and started to feel our way around Portland and back and forth from Saco to Gorham and Cumberland and back again. We ate great sea food, and Italian, and sushi and udon.

We met a Lobster fisherman and oyster farmer, who lives on an island up the coast and heard his experiences of moving to Maine from NY to learn boat building but finding out his call wasn't to build them but to sail them. I love how people choose and come to live in Maine. Mainers without exception treated us well and were warm and friendly and more than helpful. We had a grand visit and can't wait to get back.

Over the next several weeks I expect to be very busy packing up our lives and wrapping our treasures in bubble wrap and filling boxes with dreams and crockery! Can't wait for all the loose ends to come together in a love knot. We are on the move!

To all my friends on this forum, thanks for the good wishes and advice and wise counsel.....and my best wishes for happily ever afters to those of you who are experiencing the storm and stresses of getting there.

[corgis]

Whoo-Hoo - You're on your way, I know you'll have Maine in your thoughts while filling each and every box. Hope to meet you at the ya-ya's get together in June.

[Fort Lauderdale mermaid]

Ya know... I had msina pegged as the *snow fairy* also! Now I'm really confused.

[Maine Writer]

I thought it was msina too.

I'm playing phone tag with Jj (starwalker). They're here! And I'm supposed to be there but I'm not. She sounds so happy! I left a message for her. We'll catch up eventually.

I was going to help unload but can't get the greenhouses and snow taken care of before it rains tomorrow and gets too heavy. Greenhouses are falling all over the state, we saw three Friday.

[Maine Writer]

It's good to see you Elston! I'm glad your trip went so well. I'm crossing my fingers on the houses you like.

[elston]

In my report I mentioned a plant and mixed up a early spring perrenial pulmanaria with a tropical sweet smelling shrub, plumeria. It is pulmanaria (or lung wort or trout plant) that is coming home to me from where I gave it some 5 years ago. It is one of my favorites!

[genmomto5]

Elston, I am so happy for you two. It sounds like a wonderful trip. Isn't it funny how easily those top internet picks slip out of the running?

[quiet walker]

Yes the snow fairy visited here too. I thought it was msina...

[BacktoNE]

Elston, I am so happy for you and glad that you had a safe and enjoyable trip.

Happy packing!!

[MEnME]

Happy for you Elston.