Happy Holidays from Maine!

Greetings from a snowy but beautiful Maine!

On behalf of Tim and myself, Happy Holidays! We hope this holiday season finds you all well and happy. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday and terrific new year! Best, Carla

I see from the many unopened emails in my inbox that I’m woefully behind in returning emails and other messages lately. My regrets for the delays, and it may be a while yet before I catch up, so thank you for your patience and understanding. Many of you—perhaps knowing my tendency to take on many projects simultaneously—have already presumed correctly that with the addition of LL Bean to my usual mix that I must be “flat out” (well put Nicole). What can I say except, you know me well!

This year our Christmas card will be of this email variety, so best wishes to you all for a wonderful holiday! Please see below for some general notes about what our “pack” has been up to lately, and please see our website (http://home.maine.rr.com/ctssyount/Index.html) or blog (http://ctssyount.blogspot.com/) for more photos and other anecdotes. (You are most welcome to forward this email to anyone else who might be interested. Thanks in advance). Again, all our best and Happy Holidays!

If you’ve been following our website and blog, then you know I’ve been working 1st shift as a seasonal employee during the “peak” at the LL Bean warehouse in nearby Freeport. Yesterday was my 20th day in a row nonstop (we added Saturdays in November, and then Sundays too at Thanksgiving, so it’s been quite the marathon). With the possible exception of our multi-day delivery of Sacajawea (sailboat) from BVI to Grenada, I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this tired (but in a “good tired” kind of way, you know?). Like most of us out there, I’ve often worked 7 days/week to meet a deadline or whatever, but for me that usually entailed working the weekends more at my own schedule and pace. So this is the first time I’ve pulled this many days in a row where I punch a clock between 5am and 7am for an 8-10 hour shift (and if we punch in at 5:03 we’re considered late). I haven’t punched a time clock since my days at Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort in Oregon, and I had forgotten what that was like; but you get used to it.

As noted in the blog, the physical demands of a picker’s job are notable since we walk 8-12 miles/day to cover the huge warehouse, and there is lots of lifting and climbing as well. I was looking for something physical…..and LL Bean has certainly not disappointed me! Add to that our typical Maine winter where going to work means shoveling out your car before and after work, and you start to see how living in a cold climate can add a more “physical” element to life. Thank goodness there have been some weeks when Tim’s schedule allowed him to be home, and bless his heart for those days when he was out there with me at 4:15am to help ensure I got to work on time. I’ve got to hand it to the regular employees at Bean who do this every year just so customers can receive gifts on time. But then, Mainers are known for being pretty hearty folks.

Tim is still working with JDSU as a business development manager and is still a road warrior, traveling well into 60-75 percent of the time. When he’s home he’s still taking Aikido and has become a pretty dedicated student – working toward his 4th kyu for those familiar with the process. I can certainly see the benefits because at 48 he’s probably in about as good shape as anyone I know. As you can see by the photos above of my first “skijoring” experience with Samantha and Kennedy, we stay outdoors quite a bit with our three dogs. Since all three of them have some Husky mix, they also seem to enjoy winter sports (Samantha especially is in her element, and when the snow flies sometimes we have difficulty getting her to come inside). So to those down South who ask why we don’t come down there and “thaw out” – I can only say you must have us confused with someone else, because we’re loving it! :>)

We’re both still actively involved in our local Portland community as volunteers, especially all things related to water. We recently completed additional seamanship training from the US Coast Guard; and this training, along with Carla’s involvement in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, is part of our longer-term plan to move more into marine oriented jobs over the next few years (stay tuned for more on this later as it evolves).

As noted above, you can always find the latest news from our "pack" anytime at our website: http://home.maine.rr.com/ctssyount/Index.html (To navigate within the site, click on the links within the text or any of the "navigation links" on the left). The blog address is: http://ctssyount.blogspot.com/ where you’ll find additional photos and anecdotes of all kinds. And please feel free to forward this email or the website/blog addresses to others if you like.

And as always, we look forward to staying in touch and hearing what your "pack" is up to also. Woof!
Cheers! Carla

"My goal in life is to be the person my dog thinks I am" unknown

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Mark Twain

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

"If we attempt to control what other people know or don't know, then we are attempting to control them."

"Family is the people in our lives who treat us with kindness and respect, and who also stand up for us when others are not treating us that way in our absence and we aren’t there to stand up for ourselves. If we don't fulfill these basic acts of human kindness for someone else, then we haven't earned the right to call someone our family -- we are merely their relatives.....and not very nice ones."

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew; And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."--Martin Niemöller