What an afternoon at the auction!

I'm sharing just a few pictures (more will come tomorrow) including the boobie bowl, made by yours truly. The auction was not as well attended as I wanted and it scared me - I thought uh oh less people, no money. But we raised an amazing $1,440.50 for breast cancer research!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friend Dawn stepped in at the last minute, volunteering to be auctioneer, and my BFF Trudy played Vanna White, carring the bras around and semi-modeling some. Some of the stories with the bras were stunning....and moving....and inspiring. For more pictures, you can go to www.bras4thecause.org. Here's more:

These are retired badges from former girls scouts, submitted by a current GS leader on behalf of all her little girls who have yet to get their boobies.
Carolyn did this exquisite tiled bra....

And this one represents several: lots of frills, buttons, bows, jewels. Just plain fun!

The weekend with my friends - laughing, hugging - was just what I need to chase the blues away. And we are such a party crowd, there are TWO more gatherings this coming weekend: a birthday party and a wedding party - so I get to see them all again!!!

More pictures tomorrow - I'm still trying to catch up from being away all weekend. Stopped at Home Depot on the way home and bought eight gazillion floor tiles for my kitchen, a new kitchen sink and hardware, new blinds for the bedroom, new curtain rod for the kitchen and a new living room rug. And I still have $70 left on the gift card all my dear friends gave me when I moved away. Now I'll have a bit of each of them in nearly every room in my house!

I'm interviewing the head of the Down East Community Hospital today and a group that is expanding their processing ability to market organic blueberries - the market is growing rapidly. Work, work, work. Gotta admit, I love it.

The BRA Auction!!!!

Getting ready today for tomorrow's bra auction (www.bras4thecause.org) The works are amazing and the my spirit is high that we will raise a lot of money. Please go to the website and check them out....we have glass, metal, buttons and bows, quilting, painting, feathers and even one with little baby faces that plead: cure this before I get my breasts...

I'll be in court all morning - a bad man is pleading guilty to killing another man with his car, and then heading to Bangor for an editorial board meeting with some reps from a national farmers' organization (I am very suspicious about their intentions in Maine.....I'll keep you posted.)

Then I head to Pittsfield and right into the arms of the GODDESSES....boy I miss my peeps. I'm staying at dear BFF Donna's house and Miss Emma is staying in a new kennel for the first time (Cross your paws THAT goes well...)

Ta Tas for now - I can't wait to tell you all about the auction!!!

All I can say today is AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I found the most wonderful masseuse - a huge man who found all the nooks and crannies and squashed all my stress, tension and pain away.

He's worth is weight in gold and I will be heading back his way often.

This is my horrible day:

* Miss Emma woke me at 4 a.m. running and crying at every window in the house because there was a giant skunk, I mean a skunk on steroids, outside my bedroom window.

*They are building an addition on the house next door and they hammer, hammer, hammer ALL day. They are also renovating the house across the street. Ditto on the hammering.

*Thought I had to do two fairly uncomplicated stories this morning and ended up with four - two stressful ones. I still have to work tonight.

*My atm card won't work at the !@#$%@!! credit union here.

*Miss Emma peed on the spare room rug (she is having settling-in-at-the-new-home issues, I think.)

*When I went downtown, I forgot AGAIN to stop at the post office and file for my passport.

*I tripped over my own door sill and fell down getting into my own home. My knee hurts.

*I'm out of Ovaltine.

*A fun boat ride up the Pleasant River was canceled due to fog. I was counting on this to balance everything else out.

*I'm homesick. Really, really homesick. I miss my son Danny and his pregnant wife Amanda. I miss my Goddesses and I can't hear them laugh from here and I can't feel their hugs from here. I miss my cops and my firefighters. I miss the great chicken Ceasar salad at the Mill Pond Pizza joint. I miss sitting with the dog in Manson Park and watching the river flow by. I miss driving on roads that are as familiar to me as my children's voices.

This is a very, very sucky day. And now it is starting to rain. Again.

So I went to this public supper...

and they auctioned off all the desserts. There were cakes and cupcakes and fudge and a gazillion pies. The auctioneer was a beefy fellow, a fisherman wearing a well-worn red long john shirt, with glasses on the end of his nose and a great sense of humor. He knew every single person in that gymnasium.

"What we have here is a gen-you-ine deah meat mincemeat pie,'' he says.

"ooooooooo" goes the crowd.

"15, 15, am I bid 15?'' he begins.

There's a shout from the back of the room: "Does that mincement come from the neck a the deah?''

There's a quick check with the baker, who is busy in the nearby kitchen washing dishes.

"Yes it does, right from the neck,'' he assures the buyers.

The price begins to rise.
"20, 20, 20 dollars?'' the auctioneer asks.

"20 dollars and 62 cents,'' offers one woman, counting out her change on the table.

"22, 22?'' counters the auctioneer.

Another shout from the opposite side of the room: "That isn't road kill, is it?"
Lots of laughter this time.

"No, absolutely not,'' the auctioneer asserts. "I have it on good authority that this here deah was killed on Back Cove Road.''
More hearty laughter.

"25, 25, 25?'' he continues.

"Wait a minute here,'' another voice shouts out. "I need to know if it were a Chevy or a Ford that hit that poor deah!"

The room fills with hoots and hollers and a few men pound their hands on the tables and the pie goes for $40. And one of the cakes goes for $40. And even six little chocolate cupcakes bring $40.

People in this poor, small fishing village, spent $40 for a cake they could make for $3.50, all to help a neighbor who had lost his home to a fire.

My right hand to God, every word of this is true. And I am swelled with pride for these people and how they care for each other.

Paradise....that's what it is.

I worked this weekend. This is my view at one of the jobs. I still can't believe I get paid to work in Paradise.

Open Farm Day was Sunday - did you visit a local farmer? That's where I was - this is Tide Mill Farm, a ninth-generation family farm that grows organic meat, vegetables and milk. The farm is on Cobscook Bay in the tiny town of Edmunds. The farm is at the site of a tide-powered grist mill (now long gone - only the grinding wheel is left) that was built in 1765 by a Scottish immigrant who was shone the magical spot by a Passamaquoddy Indian. Today the farm is home to six families decended from that Scotman. The farm sits on 1600 acres of mostly forest with more than six miles of shoreline.

Spectacular.
That's all. Just spectacular.
I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring...

I'm finally making new friends here...These two came to visit today, along with the sun FINALLY!

My dear friend Sue was right - the finches came back as soon as the rain stopped. This little beauty stood sentinel while all his "women" filled up on thistle seed.

Of course the squirrel - whom I have named Harold - is stealing the bird food. But he's cute to watch too. He is really funny - he attacked a seed bell by hanging upside down and then dropped to the ground to get the little bits he spilled. He hasn't bothered the feeders - just the bell. It's nice to see him high and dry, though. Everytime I have seen him in the past month he has been soaking wet...poor little Harold.


Anyway, a new friend - actually I haven't even met her yet (only talked to her a few times on the phone) - has invited me to go to a benefit supper with her in Lubec. This is for a family who lost all to fire so it is a great cause.
Kind of fun to go on a "blind date" so to speak - I wonder if we'll hit it off? Will we dislike each other from the first moment? Will I want to toss her out of the car half way there? Or will she not like me so much that the entire return trip will be in silence?
We'll seeeeeeeee!

Kiley learned the words boo boo today. My poor daughter was bitten by her cat this morning and spent a couple of hours in the emergency room. The cat has been unwell for two weeks and doesn't seem to be getting better. He has an abscess on his belly and has been on some heavy duty drugs. She was cleaning today and went to pick him up and he bit her right hand. He locked his jaws and wouldn't let go. She - who loves her cats more than anything - was forced to hit the cat against the wall to release his bite! Her hand is mauled and such a mess, all swollen. The x-rays showed no broken bones but she'll be on antibiotics herself for days and I'm afraid it will get worse before it gets better. Cat bites are notorious for infection.

On Monday, I would expect the cat to "take a ride to a nice farm in the country" so to speak.

What's wrong with these pictures?

First here are my bird feeders - notice there are no birds. Notice the wet trees, wet grass, wet birdfeeders.

Notice my poor trike, abandoned in a puddle, drenched.

And notice there is a fire in my woodstove ON THE 24TH OF JULY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
IT WAS ONLY 58 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!

HELP HELP HELP HELP

There was a war here yesterday.

Not a lobster war, as in other places on the Maine coast.

It was a war between (and here you can pretend I'm talking low and loud into a microphone hanging from the ceiling) The Goldfinches in the left corner, and The Chickadees on the right.

It was a turf war. All fought over one little bird feeder. The Chickadees, I might add, were definitely here first - flying back and forth, enjoying the seeds - when this gang of Finches, wearing their colors - yellow and black - suddenly swooped in from the south. It was an all out attack and when the screaming and yelling and swooping and pecking was done, the Finches had claimed the bird feeder.

They swarmed over it and after about three seconds determined it didn't contain the kinds of seeds they like. They left as fast as they came. Leaving the poor little Chickadees defeated but with plenty of bragging rights.

So of course today I ran to four different stores (ha ha you didn't think we had FOUR stores in Machias, now did you?) and bought three more feeders, a double shepherd's crook and a thistle sock. They are all installed outside my window and although I've been here for hours, I haven't seem one damn bird. Not even a feather. Nothing. Nada.

So much for trying to orchestrate world piece.

I'm off to prison today.

But first, the obligatory Kiley picture - finally enough hair for a barrette - barely. She's 15 months old now and still no hair. Couldn't you just smooosh that sweet little face! Of course her mother reported that she kept it in for all of 15 seconds.

So I'm going to prison.
Not a good place for a claustrophobic.
Well, not actually a claustrophobic - I just have to be able to see the way out. Sometimes just a window will do or a shaft of light from an entrance. I'll be sweating bullets, you know I will.

I'm interviewing a young man who is addicted to prescription drugs - the drug of choice here in rural Washington County. It's for a series that three of us reporters are working on. It will examine the overall drug problems in Maine and then contrast rural vs. urban. There are some very scary statistics out there!

Think of me in my "cell" today - and you know I will head right for the beach - even though it is raining - just to clear my soul afterwards.

How can I compete with a tractor trailer???

So I meet this lovely man - born in South Africa so he has that beautiful lilting British accent - at a food co-op in town for an interview about his pet project.

He's fuming.

He has been stood up by a previous appointment (who, I might add, got my man to MOVE his interview with me) and he waited inside the co-op for two hours. This is not a good way to start an interview.

However, he suggests we go somewhere else as he is sick of sitting in this place and so we step outside.

And there we are presented with a lovely set of iron chairs and a table, gracing the sidewalk. A little lawn rolls off to the left and on the store are some extremely pretty window boxes with Gerber daisies in plum and poppy and carrot orange, offset by waterfalls of deep purple lobelia. Very lovely.

So he says, "Oh. Let's sit here." And we do.
And he begins to talk and not 300 feet behind him is U.S. Route 1.
Yes, THAT U.S. Route 1.
The one that goes from the border with Canada to the Keys of Florida.
Today, it is carrying every tractor trailer on the eastern seaboard and I can't hear a word this sweet man is saying.

Wonderful.

Finally the sun and a beach day for us all! We found stuff...

Kiley found the water! She is a beach rat and loves it - we were at Roque Bluffs, a wonderful state park right on the ocean, and surprisingly the water was warm...it was low tide and there was a wonderful sandbar where we played.

Then she found seaweed - the wind was blowing and she ran up and down the sand pretending it was a kite. "Go ! Go !" she shouted as she ran.

Then she found her sunglasses in her beach bag. This clearly helped her see the bunches of little rocks that she picked up and carried everywhere.

And of course there was the wildlife! She found a snail, pulled him off his rock and then put him back on - upside down. She saw crabs, clams, some little crayfish that might have been tiny shrimp, and of course, the sea gulls.

To see the ocean and beach through the eyes of a child is a wonder all over again. I think we might have to go back tomorrow afternoon!

Salmon, fog and extremely good company....

Went to Lubec today - driving in fog the whole way - to interview two amazing photographers - a husband and wife - who have collaborated on a new book about Venice. They live on Cobscook Bay in a beautiful house with weathered shingles and amazing gardens all around - not manicured city gardens. Winding paths, little benches, a bowl for water, birdhouses. Nearby was a lovely guest house for when visitors come. Two cats waited by the door: one the color of vanilla ice cream and the other a soft grey with lime green eyes. We had pate and wafer thin slices of smoked salmon and goat cheese and hearty bread and homemade potato salad and good red wine followed by lemon-soaked pound cake and tea.

They were beyond charming. His work has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and hers hangs in museums.
So, as we lingered at the lunch table, we talked about Venice and newspapers and John Glenn and raising sons and what a joy granddaughters are....I toured their home so they could show off their photographs of a church tent revival and wardens tagging a hibernating bear and a beached whale on a foggy beach and I almost swooned with envy because they have a real, honest to goddess DIVING SUIT hanging over their bed.

They call him Richard.

And then we began talking about their book and Venice.
What does that have to do with Maine? I asked them.
Everything, they said. Look out the window. The beauty, the fog, the history. It's all the same, they said .... well, I was thinking, not quite.
Look at today's picture, a picture I made nearby the photographer's beautiful coastal home.
What you see here is aa typical Down East yard: fog shrouded garage, lobster pots everywhere and a boat. A very large boat. On dry land.
No canals. No men in little striped shirts singing gondola songs wearing tiny little hats.
Not here, no - here we have hearty fishers in high rubber boots with yellow waterproof overalls and flannel shirts. With deeply tanned and lined faces and hair bleached blonde by the sun and salt of the sea. With arms the size of logs and deep laughs and boats in their front yard and colored ropes coiled by the back steps and piles and piles of brightly painted buoys by the driveway.

And this is the mystery for me, what I can't figure out in the month that I've been here: Why are all the boats in the front yards and not in the water?

It was skunk'n time last night!

Right at dusk I let Emma-the-dog-that-hates-water outside and expected her to hover right around the back door - she usually does. Instead she hot footed it around the corner of the house. I followed, calling her, when she suddenly came streaking back to me at 121 miles per hour, every hair on her back standing up straight.

I picked her up and that was when it hit me:
SKUNK !!!!!

TWO baths later and cream rinse for her, a full load of laundry for me (since I picked her up and it was all over me - a fact politely pointed out to me by my kids next door who sent me packing when they got a whiff), and a shower and shampoo in tomato juice for me, and I think we smelled a lot better. Of course, the scent of skunk hung so heavy in the air that I couldn't tell if it was me or the atmosphere. The "incident" happened just outside my bedroom window (of course) so the smell even woke me up several times in the night.

The perfume is still so heavy in the air this morning that I have scented candles burning everywhere. So now my house smells like: cider vanilla, juice of orange, creamsicle, clean linen, and eau de skunk.

Today I'm teaching Emma to use the potty.

wild blueberries - amazing!

I went to the wild blueberry field day today at Blueberry Hill, the University of Maine research center in Jonesboro, and among many other things scored some fabulous blueberry recipes. I was promised that this one was one of the best (I won't get to make it until Sunday) so I'm sharing it with you:

Chicken Sate with Wild Blueberry Peanut Butter Sauce

Sauce:
3 T. grated fresh ginger
1 shallot or 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 t. olive oil
6 oz. water
3 T. crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries
1 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt

Heat oil and briefly saute ginger and shallot. Add water and peanut butter over medium heat and whisk together. Add frozen berries. Mix small amount of water in the cornstarch and add to berry/nut sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for three minutes.

Sates:
2 double chicken breasts
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
wooden skewers

Cut the chicken breasts filets lengthwise into thin strips. Flavor with salt and pepper. Put the strips in an accordion manner onto a lightly oiled skewer. Heat oil in deep fry pan and cook the skewers on each side for three minutes or until done.

Serve with the blueberry sauce. Serves four.

More recipes can be found at www.wildblueberries.com

ENJOY! and if you try it, let me know how it was!

Fairpoint finally found me....sort of.

The man with the truck and the know-how arrived this afternoon. Took him 10 minutes and he had my two phone lines hooked up. But - and I love how half-assed this is - no Internet. He has to put in an order.

PUT IN AN ORDER ?!$%????!#&***@???????????

We put in an order six weeks ago............................................still have to pirate the signal from next door.

4:22 p.m. Fairpoint is lost. Their headquarters just called for directions.

This is the funny part: I told them the end of Water Street. Instead, they wanted the phone number of someone on my street. Do you suppose that helped?

4:02 p.m. No Fairpoint in sight.

2:28 p.m. Still no Fairpoint.

1:37 p.m. No Fairpoint yet.

Today I wait for Fairpoint...

It has been SIX weeks since the work order was first put in for a land line and Internet service here in my office at Sweet Pea Cabin. It is now 11:19 a.m. Let's just see how long it takes them to find me.....

The fabulous chairs project.....it was an overwhelming success!

There were 18 chairs in all - all either donated by Walpole Woodworkers or sold to sponsoring businesses at cost - What a generous, giving company, especially in this economy! This first chair was painted by Jim Hammond who patterned it after an Icelandic jacket that his late daughter had as a child. Jim's chair is displayed in front of the salon where his daughter worked.
This one is a lady going to the local Egg Festival by Pam Peltier Dickinson of Detroit. All the chairs gathered Friday night for wine and cheese and schmoozing. Many of the artists had not met each other so it was really a great time! Pam's chair is in front of the town office.
This is Connie LaGross's chair - which fittingly is at the town's library! so special...
Glass artist Alyssa Oxley did up this beautiful pastel chair - it's at Mill Pond Pizza.
This one is by Jill Schwartz, the art teacher at Maine Central Institute, our local high school. It is at Bud's Shop 'n Save.
My good buddy Hazel Mitchell's chair is none other than Humpty himself! It is also at Mill Pond Pizza.

Bonnie Mitchell took an old photograph of the original Peltoma Bridge and rendered it in black and white....what a history lesson. It is at the town office at the special request of the town manager.
And here is Russ Cox's creature - we put it at the library so the children could sit right in its mouth!
What a group of talented people, right?
I started this community art project as a goodbye gift to the people of Pittsfield after working there for 23 years as their reporter. The project is called "Get Comfortable In Pittsfield,'' which is just what I did and I hope people will use the chairs to also get comfy there! They were a gift to the town and in the fall, the council will hold a silent auction and the highest bidder for each chair gets to keep it - the proceeds will benefit the chair replacement fund at the community owned theater.

Aren't they spectacular....aren't I lucky to know or get to meet such creative, artistic and generous people??? This project turned out to be a real gift for me, to get to see the spirit of the town, the companies that sponsored the chairs and the artists that brought them to life.

One more day of rain....that's all I can stand.

This is my poor bird bath, getting pummeled by rain - big rain. Do you see the size of those drops???? And notice that the columbine has gone beserk with all the wetness and is trying to drown itself...Even a rock has thrown itself into the water in despair.

29 days of rain in June.
rain every day so far in July.
eye yi yi.

Everything here is so wet - the rugs are wet, the towels won't dry, what hasn't rotted in the garden is stunted from lack of sun and heat, the doors won't open and if you get them open, they won't close. There is mold in the shower - attacked daily but it grows back in minutes.
There was a murder of crows in my back yard this morning and they were brazenly walking and eating - a slug was every two inches, an entire yard for a buffet.
I washed a scatter rug and it took four days to dry on the clothesline and even then, I had to finish drying it over the back of a kitchen chair.
And if I hear one more joke about building an ark....

Last Saturday night a brilliant moon peeked out for six minutes. My friends that were visiting from P'field and I jumped in the car and drove 8 miles to the beach, hoping for a view of the sea by moonlight. By the time we got there, it was raining again and we had to settle for a peek by the light of Donna's mini-flashlight. (It amazes me how prepared for everything Donna is. Need a Band Aid? She pulls one out. How about hand sanitizer? Coming right up. A bologna sandwich or a refreshing beverage? No problem.)

Yesterday it was 52 degrees in Eastport and the wind was howling off the bay so hard that I thought it would blow the hairs off my head. I built a fire in my woodstove when I got home but nearly killed myself out getting some wood because my deck is so wet that it is now covered with a fine layer of mossy mold and has become a 24-foot Slip 'N Slide.

I have had it. I'm ready to do a sun dance naked on the top of Cadillac Mountain if it will only stop. And believe me, no one - including the sun - wants to see that. I think when the rain finally stops, thousands of Mainers are going to believe they have suddenly gone deaf...no drips on the metal air conditioner housing, no rumble through the gutter pipes, no hiss from the roadway traffic, no shhhhhhh from the leaves on the trees.

And then we will finally be able to hear it - it's coming closer, louder, nearly on top of us now:

The Drone of the Mosquitoes.

Finally I slept...

I have been having some sleep issues here in Paradise. Sweet Pea Cabin is dark and cozy at night, the window by my bed is always open and if it is not the sound of rain lulling me to sleep, it is the sound of the Machias River through the woods....sometimes I can hear night birds calling too.

So, it's not the setting and it is the setting. I think since the job is unchartered territory for me here, I'm being hypervigilant and I just can't shut it all off when I go to sleep. I think: did I call Calais today? Have I checked with the Machias cops? When is the next meeting...interview....call....story....

Yesterday, I awoke at 2:30 a.m. Wide awake. Of course it didn't help that the Coast Guard shouted out a bulletin about a disabled ship every 15 minutes.....I was so used to the sounds that my old scanner made that it never woke me unless it was important. My brain even filtered out the useless stuff and could kick in only when a dispatcher or cop's voice sounded a bit urgent. But here, it is all new: the voices, the sounds, the call numbers. And even though it is far less busy here, with lots of empty air time, that scanner is driving me cuckoo.

Washington County is the size of Delaware and Rhode Island put together. That is a lot of territory for one person.....I think I'm just going to have to accept that I can't do it all and just do the best I can. Knowing me, however, that is a lot easier said than done.

Last night, though, I really slept. I was sacked out by 10 and didn't wake until 6:30....a solid, hearty night of sleep. Thank goodness. Today the kids and baby leave for a little trip to Portland so I will really have a quiet night (no playing tag before bed, no splash fests at bath time, no more little feet coming to visit me in the office for the next five days) I'm also leaving on Friday - headed back to Pittsfield for a special project (pictures will follow soon!) and a much needed visit with friends. Dominoes, laughter and hugs all await!

Let's hope I can sleep in my son's guest room!

P.S. Yesterday I stopped in The Commons in Eastport (a don't miss for anyone traveling up there) and while I was looking around at the extraordinary art work for sale, I found two handmade bowls created by my dear friend Renata. It was like a hug from home - I could have cried. Sometimes those little touchstones in the midst of a lost day can really work...

What did I do when the interviewee lit up a cig and popped the top on a PBR?

I smiled.
I said, sure, it was okay. After all, it's your business.
And I took a shower as soon as I got home!
That was the bad part of the day.
But then I thought about where I was......see above and below. And I smiled for real this time.

I'm back! Did you miss me? Here's what I've been up to...

First - here is the anchor that I ran over in South Addison Harbor. Scraped up the fender. Tire okay. The entire anchor was 22 feet long - how did I miss that, anyway?????

Look! It's Janet, Marian and Donna at Quoddy Head Light - I had my first summer company this weekend. This intrepid trio came up late Saturday, we had a big dinner and a bit of a slumber party and then Sunday hit the road for Lubec. We did the lighthouse, visited some art galleries, watched children hold relay races carrying a 20 pound salmon (Could I make this stuff up?), walked on the beach and had a dinner out. We came back to Sweet Pea Cabin for blueberry pie and then they left......suddenly Sweet Pea is so very, very quiet!

This is the entrance to one of the beaches at Lubec - the Rugosa roses are all in bloom and the air is heavy with their scent.

Janet and Donna scanned the Lubec harbor for seals and eagles (or were they looking across the water for hot Canadian men???) while the remants of a dory and a lobster pot are trapped in the seaweed at low tide.

Yup - that's a dead old salmon in his arms. I told ya.

Good food, good laughter, good friends. Add a beach, a lighthouse, and the scent of wild roses.
It doesn't get much better, does it?

Unbloggable!!

Here are the bride, Cassie, and the groom, my nephew David. For their first dance they sang the love song from Moulin Rouge and she sang the girl's part to him and he sang the boy's part to her - as far as those two were concerned, there was no one else in the room. So romantic!! It was a fun, lovely wedding - lots of dancing, laughter and surprises. Cassie is a swim instructor at a huge YMCA in Connecticut, and Dave is a swimming and diving coach at Central Connecticut State College. They recently bought a home and have spent most of the winter and spring renovating and doing a spectacular job! They are just wonderful people!

For the past two days, Blogger wouldn't let me in to download these pics - sorry for the delay!

This is my daughter-in-law Amanda and my daughter Faye watching that incredible first dance at the wedding.
Isn't she just such a beautiful bride?

Things here are chaotic!! I relocated on Tuesday and have worked my arsky off every day since. Work had to come first so you can imagine the looks of the house - even though I'm working this weekend, it will be at a slower pace than the last three days so I should start putting things in order. My son-in-law is getting the washer/dryer/air conditioners out of my office today so I can start straightening there. This will be a much needed improvement! I don't know about you, but I need my work space neat and in place before I can work. If not, my thoughts are all jumbled!

I haven't had a chance to enjoy the coast because it has rained every day and today we are completely socked in by fog. Is this almost July??? I had to wear a jacket last night and this a.m. I have a sweatshirt on! I will say that all this dampness has my flowers positively exploding - for first year growth they are truly impressive! But inside the house, I can't open some doors and can't close others. The deck is so damp that moss has started to grow on it!

The other bad thing is that FAIRPOINT - the spawn of the devil - still can't find my house. I'm pirating the Internet from my son-in-law next door. I have no Internet, fax or land line for work. urg.... Let's hope next week brings the sun and the Fairpoint service man!

The good ( ?), the bad and the just plain ugly.....

My sons Russell and Daniel - now known as The Blue Brothers - think that my brother Christopher is the funniest person on earth. Apparently, from these expressions, he is. We had a great time at the wedding and I'm only sharing the worst pictures....The pretty ones will come tomorrow. No - there wasn't a two-for-one sale; Danny lives in Maine and Russ lives in New Jersey so the twin blue shirts was a pure coincidence.
This the Y of YMCA - too bad everyone forgot how to spell it after this.....
My daughter Faye was apparently suffering from a bit of gas...
And my little sister Robin, Mother of the Groom, was thoroughly disgusted that she forgot her breasts.
And here is the final bonus: My grandson James and the Amazing Tower Of Onion Rings. James - 0, Onion Rings - 1.

Today I leave my beloved Pittsfield.

Well, this is it...Today I leave for the family wedding in
Connecticut. At first I looked at this as if it were the worst of
timings - I finish today in Pittsfield (You should see my car -
I look like a homeless person who now lives in her
Chevrolet) and start work Tuesday in Machias. But now I am
hoping for a respite, four days to breathe. I'll get to hug
brothers and sisters, love my sons to bits and take my
grandsons to the movies.

It is also absolutely amazing that a mini-reunion has been
set up for Saturday in CT. During my pre and teenage years,
I was a member of the Windsor Locks Cavaliers, a color
guard extraordinaire!

We marched all summer with the drum and bugle corps, but
in the winter we competed on our own with dozens of other
color guard drill teams and we were good, really good - for
many years we were the reigning New England champions.

I started off at about 10 years old as a rifle. Was promoted
to flag (whipping them around took some strength!) and
eventually got my saber! I KNOW - you are quaking in your
boots at the thought of me whirling around a sword. You
should be, too.

Oh the stories from those days: mooning a car load of nuns
from the back of Joyce Asselin's father's station wagon;
learning to smoke from a very hot bugle player; stabbing
captain Terry O-Donnell just under her eye with my saber;
spinning that same saber but losing control until it flew
through a closed window on the second floor of the practice
hall and ended up spearing the lawn - just feet from the
sidewalk; being able to throw myself completely into an
activity that for just a while, enabled me to forget a
miserable home life. This was my teenage sanctuary.

Whenever I hear a song with a terrific beat (some of the
new hip hop stuff has actual snare drumming) I cannot help
but march around the house. I still remember the counts
from our last drill: 12 forward, turn right, eight
forward...and don't even get me started on the movie
"Drum Line."
Today this type of activity might be thought a bit nerdy. But back in the early 60s, we were the absolute coolest - walking the halls of the high school with our Cavaliers' jackets...we were hot!

Ten of us are meeting for lunch Saturday - can you imagine?
We have not seen each other in 40 years! I'll definitely be
posting pictures for you...

Between the wedding, the reunion and the move, posting
here may be sporadic for the next few days. Forgive me - I
will be having the time of my life crying and laughing all over the place!

Two new paintings are headed to their new homes.

The first is a pair - a journey from the owners' home (bottom left) in Pittsfield, to their camp on Unity pond. This one was lots of fun - the dancing trees and the oversized daisies give it plenty of movement and each of the buildings has special meaning for the owners. My patron is picking it up tomorrow - I hope she likes it too!
And then there is "Forget-Me-Not, Trudy,'' a gift of a bouquet of forget-me-nots for my BFF Trudy. I'll give it to her before I leave for my new home.....I KNOW she'll never forget me, silly, it's symbolic of course!

We had a "Not Going Away Party"

There was of course the most amazing food - plus veggies, meat on the grill and lots of good wine!
And the dearest friends anyone could have....
We gathered all evening, it wasn't maudlin. I made no speeches. No one cried - we would hug and say, not goodbye, but see you soon.
We ate and drank and had a delightful carrot cake baked by Karen (how fabulous!) I was given a Home Depot gift certificate to continue remodeling Sweet Pea Cabin. Midway through the evening I felt a hand on my shoulder and there stood Dustin! My BFF Trudy's son who has been in France this semester! What a surprise and a beautiful sight!
Nearly the last to leave was Trudy and we didn't want to let go of each other but we managed to keep it all together.
Four more days and then a family wedding and then I'm in Machias. This is getting kind of scary.

Thanks for all your kind words...Miss Emma is well.

Just like someone flipped a switch, all symptoms are gone. She's still a bit tired but recovery is here! When I got back to Pittsfield yesterday, I built a big fire in the fireplace and she curled up on her pillow and cooked herself well. Snored like a jet plane. Farted to beat the band. But didn't choke, didn't reverse sneeze and didn't chew her little feet. WAHOO! Crisis passed.

Thanks to all the kind words about my vet experience...I've decided to make an appointment with the vet once I'm settled in Machias, update her on Miss Emma's allergies and reactions, and tell her what happened when I sought treatment last week at HER clinic. I want a GUARANTEE from her that if I come running in with a dog in distress, that dog WILL be treated. I won't settle for anything less.

I really didn't need that mess on top of everything else. I'm like a split personality right now:
I have one foot in Machias and the other in Pittsfield - trying to think in two places. My brain is scrambled eggs and I feel like I'm not accomplishing much in either place. 12 more days and I'm permanently in Machias. I hope things settle down then. But of course you know the rub: that's just 12 more days of saying goodbye down here. Actually only 7, because I head out of state for a wedding before I make the final step to Machias. How about this for a schedule: next Thursday - I work in Pittsfield; Friday through Sunday - I visit family in Connecticut; Monday - I come back to Pittsfield; Tuesday - I leave for the last time for Machias. Who's on first? Who's on second? Where did I pack my underwear?

Meanwhile, the best thing that happened today was meeting my friend Hazel for lunch and having a great dish of shepherd's pie. I loves me some shepherd's pie. And I loves me Hazel too.

Hazel and I have made a swap: she's going to watch Emma while I go to my nephew's wedding, and in return I will stay at her house and watch her dogs and her horses when she and Mike want to get away. Isn't that a great deal? Maybe I'll make her a shepherd's pie and leave it in her refrig as a little surprise!

I am shocked at the treatment we didn't receive...

Miss Emma has been in the throes of an allergy attack for two days. I have been dosing her with children's Benadryl (per my vet's advice) but yesterday afternoon I felt this choking and breathing problem had gone on long enough.

I had my daughter call HER vet - since I'm up here in Machias and 2 1/2 hours away from my beloved vet - and she explained the situation and the breathing problems and how Emma should get a steroid shot asap. The vet's asst. said she needed to see the dog right away.

We drove lickety split to the vet and were told WE HAD NO APPOINTMENT!!!!
We said it was an emergency.
We said there was difficulty breathing.
We said the dog was clearly in distress.

Sorry, the vet tech said - with a smirk, I might add - you don't have an appointment.
Drive to Brewer, we were advised, which has an emergency clinic, because this vet had no time for non-appointees.
Brewer, by the way, is about two hours away.

If the dog had been hit by a car, would the treatment have been the same?
If she had STOPPED breathing, would the treatment have been the same?

To put your mind to ease, we dosed her with a higher level of benadryl and she seems to be breathing much better. (Since there is no other vet up here our options were limited. I will be home in Pittsfield tomorrow and take her to MY vet for a shot.)

You can see that since I am moving here, and this is the only vet for hours, I am beyond thrilled at this lack of care......what to do. what to do. I think I will be dropping the vet a note, explain what happened and ask if this is the kind of treatment I can expect for Miss Emma if I choose her as my vet....and I will still be exploring other options.

My heart is heavy today.

Sea Cup - Lili's amazing entry in the Bra Project

This certainly speaks for itself - inspired, inspiring and just plain gorgeous! This is Fearless Nesting's entry in the Bra Project. She titled it Sea Cup and added this little script:

Adrift and lost, amidst sea creatures and Mermaid tears,
I return,
washing up on shore at your feet.
You are the one that can help save me.
You are my cure.

Everything she used was found on the beach of her seaside home in Maine. Just superb.

Of carnivals and shadows and Lili by the sea -

The Amazing Kiley rode on a mini-train today at a small carnival in Machias with her friend Faye-bulous, and then got to go in the bouncy house and down a big puffy slide. But it was nothing compared to the joy she found when she discovered her shadow....At first she was a bit concerned that it kept following her, but she quickly decided she had found a new friend. She ran all over that parking lot, clapping her hands and squealing! Look at those turquoise socks....what a sense of style that girl has!

Yesterday, on the way to Machias, I stopped at Fearless Nester's (a faithful reader of my blog whom I had NEVER met before - please go visit her blog and see her amazing Raku pottery) to pick up her bra for the breast cancer auction. I'll post a picture tomorrow - you are going to be amazed and awed!
This sweet new FRIEND baked a banana cream pie (oh my goddess it was spectacular) and we toured her beautiful home and gardens by the sea. We talked and laughed and the visit was much too short so we are going to have to do it again really soon! It was so great to meet you Lili - and thanks a million for the tip on the antique shop in Dexter!

I spent much of today gardening (I planted a bleeding heart given to me by my dear friend Sue - "every liberal needs one,'' she said) and put a whole bunch of lobster compost and cow manure around the gardens. All that rain last week has everything looking so lush - there are 42 blooms on my begonia - all peachy and beautiful. I was going to say there were 27 blooms but I thought maybe I was exaggerating (who me?) and so I just got up and went outside and counted them. 42...so so pretty.
I also spent a bunch of time getting my office in order. It is all set - just waiting now for Fairpoint to get off their .....es and hook up my phones and Internet. Luckily I can pirate a wireless signal for a while from my daughter's house next door....

My desk(another gift from the Stunning Sue) is right in front of two large windows that look out into the woods. There is a small section of lawn right under the window and I plan on making this a bird station with bird houses, bird feeders, bird baths, bird carnivals....whatever will attract them and make them happy. Wait! Wait! How about a bird spa for the ladies and a bird dude ranch for the gentlemen...or space camp. I could even create a mini-McDonalds, complete with a fly-through window for their Egg McMuffin in the morning. (OH MY GODDESS!!! EGG McMuffin??? What was I thinking?)

Any ideas for bird feeders or feeding suggestions will be much appreciated!! Right now I have just one feeder, in the back yard, and although the chickadees came last fall, the only thing I seem to consistently attract is crows!

I never could keep those boys from climbing on things.

It's my beautiful Eric - standing proudly atop one of his helicopters in Afghanistan. I mean, really, couldn't he have just stood by the door or posed in front of the nose or even peeked out from underneath?
Considering all the crazy stunts he pulled in the past (canoeing the Allagash in APRIL???? at just 17??!) I'm surprised he didn't tether himself to one of the propellers and go for a spin.

Ooops. I may have just given him a new idea.
Prayers and love, my sweet Eric. Stay safe and Christmas cannot come fast enough!

The move is official!

I will be leaving The Mansion and heading Downeast to my Sweet Pea Cabin before the end of the month!

I am replacing the Calais, Maine, reporter, who is retiring, and starting a Washington County Bureau in Machias - all for the same paper that I have worked for these past 23 years - the Bangor Daily News.

I'll be working right from my home...just think, if a winter storm rumbles in, I can report the news in my pajamas. Miss Emma can sleep at my feet as I work and the Amazing Kiley can toddle over for a pb&j! And before I have to write about mischief and mayhem, I can take a pit stop on the beach and sit for a while.......heaven....

We are moving the office itself this Friday and I will be up there getting acquainted with officials and meeting with my new editor on Tuesday. Then I head back to Pittsfield, work for the next two weeks, cry my way through a good-bye party (which my friends are calling the "I'm not saying goodbye" party, and go to Connecticut for my nephew (the superior swimming/diving coach) and his beloved Cassie's wedding.

My last day of work in Pittsfield will be the 18th and by the 23rd, I'll be writing from Machias. I'll be a bit schizophrenic for a while since I will be covering some things in Pittsfield via phone and email until they replace me.

I am so excited: how challenging is this to explore new territory, meet so many new people and gather such new stories. All with my family next door!! It will be invigorating and I'm sure it will shake me out of my comfort zone...Sweet Pea Cabin here I come!

The downside is saying goodbye: the fire department in Pittsfield recently invited me to their annual supper and gave me a plaque and a standing ovation for chasing them around for more than 20 years. I told them it was my HONOR and they are my HEROES, and I meant it. The work goodbyes are hard - these are some of the finest people to work with. They have opened their homes, their offices and their hearts to me. So I'm saying goodbye to them:

"For the past 23 years, I have served as your local reporter
for the Bangor Daily News. As I prepare to relocate to
Machias and new writing and life adventures there, I want to
thank the thousands of people that I encountered while
here.

To the troopers, police officers, deputies, firefighters, EMTs
and rescue personnel: my admiration for the heroic work
you do knows know bounds. For the many times you let me
tromp through fire scenes, get too close at accidents and
provided me with critical information, I thank you.

To the town managers, council and select persons, state
legislators and town clerks: I could not have done my job
well without your cooperation and assistance. For the
unselfish dedication you have shown while serving your
fellow citizens, I thank you.

To the farmers and others in Maine's agriculture community
who have let me wander through your barns, welcomed me
into your kitchens and walked me through your fields, I
thank you. You are the heart and soul of Maine and your
work often goes unnoticed and unrewarded.

To all the artisans, craftspeople, business leaders, and just
plain people next door, I am so grateful that you let me into
your lives and allowed me to share your joys, your sorrows,
your successes and your work. It has been my pleasure to
tell your stories.

To all of you that called with information, tips and story
ideas, you were my backbone and I thank you.

It has been my great honor to have written the history of
Central Maine for the past two decades and tell the
remarkable stories of the people who live and pass through
here. I hope I have treated you fairly and have adequately
represented the amazing people that live here. There will
always been a large part of my heart running up and down
the back roads of Pittsfield, Detroit, Burnham, Skowhegan,
Newport, St. Albans, Hartland, Canaan, Corinna, Plymouth
and Palmyra - and beyond. I will sincerely miss working side
by side with many of you.''

But the goodbyes to all my friends - my dear ones - I cannot put that into words.

Just tears. Lots of tears.