to portland

Thursday, Dan and I were about to go insane. If we stayed in this house one minute longer, I swear, I would have been taken away in a straight jacket.  I guess I can't really speak for Dan, but I know I was on the verge of insanity.  So, we decided to leave in the early afternoon and head to Portland/Cape Elizabeth for the night.  The guys who have been working on the roof said they were done, we felt we had reached a stopping point in our sanding and priming, so the stars seemed to align.

Right before we were about to leave (of course), I got a phone call from a restricted number.  It was a guy from the State, wanting to come in and do our health code inspection.  Right then! Ah! Panic! Since we weren't planning on using it for a few days, the kitchen had become a gathering spot for spackling equipment, paint brushes, sandpaper, etc.  Not exactly what you think of when you want food. Surely this guy could give me even a few minutes to pick up and get the place respectable looking.  But, the kitchen was inspected immediately.  And it passed!  Apparently, he was just checking to make sure we had the required equipment to sanitize (aka a dishwasher) and a sink with an area to wash our hands and a separate area to wash dishes (check).  So, we're good to go as far as the state and town are concerned.  Phew.

Dan and I left for Portland with a short stop in Freeport, of course.  Ah, Freeport.  After a brief/quasi bank-busting trip to J.Crew, I was feeling totally revived. Some things never change.

Friday, I searched for bedding and was relatively successful! I'm not sure that all of the stuff I bought will go together.  That's the problem when your favorite color is blue and all you ever want to buy is blue stuff.  You end up with about ten different shades of blue.  Whoops.  At least I could get over my indecisiveness and actually buy stuff.  For awhile, I was so overwhelmed by all the choices that I couldn't make any and was really afraid of going home empty handed and the trip being a bust.  Luckily, that wasn't the case.

After shopping, Dan and I went for a relaxing walk on the beach.  Dan had the great idea to gather shells and pebbles to use for decorating.  Dan took a bunch of pictures (I'll post them later) and we left with our pockets heavy, jingling with the sound of seashells.