Colder It wasn't in the forecast, but a first sprinkling of snow happened this morning, just enough to hang out on the non-paved surfaces for a little while. Marcia's best friend and quilting co-consipirator LindaRose is on her way north from Maryland. She'll hang out for a few days and help sort through Marcia's fabrics, sewing machines, tools, and toys. Wish us luck.
Continue reading...Marcia's last fishing day Marcia made it out on our boat just one time in the summer just past. Bonus for her - she caught the first (and second) fishes that day. Not big, but first, which was a big deal for her, as I was usually the one to catch the first (and the most) fish in any given outing. Coming into summer, her health was already failing, and she didn't have a lot of balance or stamina, both of which mitigated against coming out on the water in a small boat. She managed a couple of other trips…
Continue reading...Marcia Lee Bilbrey (née Dykstra) passed away in Augusta, Maine, on October 15, 2025, at 7:20PM after a very short battle with infection and septic shock, with multiple prior health issues contributing. Marcia was born in Zeeland, Michigan to William and Clarice Dykstra on February 15, 1955. She lived and worked in the legal field as a commercial software contracts negotiator in several states across the USA, including Michigan, Texas, Ohio, California, and Maryland. In retirement, she took up machine quilting with a strong passion. In 2021, she moved north to Maine, for a quieter, more rural lifestyle. Over the…
Continue reading...New Phone I'm not one who needs the newest phone every year. I tend to go four to five years between refreshes. The improvements in hardware, and the software that takes advantage of that newer hardware have a much bigger impact over that time scale than the incremental speed/capability bumps that annual phone replacements bring. So this year I traded in my iPhone 13 for a 17. Not a pro, not a pro max, and certainly not an Air. But more storage and much more capable CPU as well as improved battery life make it a worthwhile update for me…
Continue reading...Meteorological Fall While tomorrow is the advent of astronomical Fall, meteorological Fall started on September 1 ... and overnight last night we had our first low temp in the 30's (F). That brings the temps in the house low enough that it was also the first night that our pellet stove kicked on in the wee hours - this is the primary heat source for the main floor of our house: We have backups in the form of baseboard heating driven by a fuel oil furnace, and a small mini-split heat pump mounted on the wall in the living room.
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