Yesterday, we went over to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and had breakfast and took a walk. Sophie and Lucy were with us for the day as we had to be eyes on Sophie. She has managed to acquire a little infection in one of her incisions, silly girl.We've been giving her warm soaks and hydrogen peroxide and she is really suffering from  all of the attention. Not!
Check her out here with Stacy Nightingale and attendant, Pat:

Check her out; she's got them wrapped!

Tomorrow we will go to the vet for staples and stitches out and I CAN'T WAIT!

My former husband is in town. I don't like that. I feel that by his actions, he has given up the right to be in this beautiful place and that his presence here diminishes it. And that when he drives through the toll, they should stop him right there at the border and say, you are not allowed in the great state of Maine, you are not worthy.   (I'm sure it's just another this too shall pass issue, right?) Ironically, here is what Eckhart Tolle has to say to me today:
Through forgiveness, which essentially means recognizing the insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as it is, the miracle of transformation happens not only within but also without. I'll get there one day, I know I will. But today is not that day! Ha!
So, anyhoo, on a much happier note, my good friends Stacy and Pat are visiting me for the long weekend. We started out our visit by going to the Alewives Festival. Yes, it is that time of year and the alewives are running. V. cool and if you have not seen them before, you must come out. There is nothing so sweet as small town Maine throwing a party.

Here are Pat and Stacy next to a section of the fish ladder. The fish ladder was originally constructed in 1807 and for the past 5 or so years, there have been lots of fundraising activities to help fund its restoration.  

Food, music, games and alewives

 Here are the alewives, attempting to ascend the 40+ feet from the Great Salt Bay up the fish ladder to Damariscotta Lake, back to their place of birth, now to spawn.

And here is their ultimate goal. Unbeknownst to them though, there are some very large bass waiting to gobble some of them up when they arrive. Ah, nature, red in tooth and claw . . . well I guess that isn't quite apropos of a fish but you get my meaning and it fits with

this guy! How awesome is this? Stacy and Lizzie carried away by the ginormous osprey!

So, I am experiencing a sort of I-am-woman-hear-me-roar moment this morning. I needed more shelf space in my bathroom so yesterday, I bought some L-brackets at the hardware store, got out my drill, found some screws and two pieces of orphan wood and this morning, voila!
Before:

After:

Yay for me!

Apparently a family of squirrels decided the lead flashing around my chimney would be a yummy treat this winter. I'm surprised I haven't seen their little corpses strewn about since I got home. It caused my chimney to leak all winter so I had a nice pile of soaking wet ashes when I got back and a rusty fireplace screen. The chimney guy was up on the roof all morning (to the tune of $650-oy vey) and because he had to plug in his saw, the back door stayed open. Such a gorgeous sunny day. Every time I turned around, Miss Sophie had snuck out. . .

 I caught her ankle deep in the creek once but other than that, she was content to bask. 4 more days 'til her stitches come out.

 Here is sunset from my house on beautiful Damariscotta Lake.

And, because I have been neglecting Miss Lucy lately, here she is in all her glory. Little old lady having a snooze.

This calls for a celebration!

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!

Sophie got a clean bill of health today!!!!

Her fabulous surgeon, Dr. Guille, called today with the pathology report. Clean margins. She got it all! No chemo; just vigilance. Stitches and staples out in one week.

Thanks, everybody for your good wishes, your positive thoughts, and for caring about Sophie.

I can breathe.......

Hard to believe just one week ago, I was sitting in King Eider's Pub having lunch with proprietors, Sarah and Todd, listening to three guys jamming in the corner, making some really wonderful music. It reminded me of being in Ireland when people show up in the pub with their instruments and just start playing over by the window or in a corner of the bar. Represent! King Eider's - yeah! Unfortunately, there won't be a repeat of that today.
Anyhoo,
it was great to get out yesterday for a few hours. And what a difference a few days make. For one thing, the leaves were out! I was like WOOOAAAHH when I got to the top of my road. Wow. Pale springtime green as far as the eye could see. Here are some shots of my garden this morning. Everything pushing up out of the cold ground, looking for the elusive sun (and let me tell you, we haven't seen a lot of it since I got here.)

Sophie Update:

Doing well, as you can see. We might take a ride in the car today. She is sleeping 'til 6am now which I appreciate. Yesterday, my friend Sue came over for lunch and Sophie blasted through the screen door and ran to her car. I think she was a bit surprised at herself but that is progress when you compare it to a few days ago. 

Sitting at my window this morning, looking out at thick fog on the lake. Three old geezers in a skiff came ghosting in a few minutes ago, casting all around my dock, waving up at me and then back to the fierce concentration on their lines. Off they went. Next, two canadian geese paddled by, one in the front, one aft, a dozen babies between them, all in a line.
I've been living in a microcosm these last four days; nothing exists but Lucy and me and the sick little dog child, enveloped in mist and fog. I am not saying that in a negative way. It is quite cozy in our little cottage. We have our radio to keep us company. Oatmeal for breakfast, soup for lunch, flannel sheets. Lovely.
Having said that, I am looking forward to getting out of the house this morning for a few hours. And I mean reeeeaaaally looking forward to it. Critter Sitters is coming to watch Sophie while I go out for my annual boat inspection training (I volunteer at the boat ramp on the Lake in the summer), the grocery store and the bookstore. Woohoo!!
Update:
So, here is my girl this morning. She is doing well. She is able to walk on all fours now, for which my back is thankful. Her wounds look good although I had to soak the one on her neck last night. She is determined to get to that one. TMI? Sorry.

She is subdued but cheerful and getting that wicked look in her eye again which means that pretty soon I am going to have trouble keeping her quiet.

This is a picture I took of myself in my bug net a week or so ago. Yes, it is that time of year. I got my first black fly bite yesterday. Oooo, I detest them. And, speaking of bugs, I have seen these huge bugs looking kind of like mosquitoes and it took me a few days to realize, Oh! They ARE mosquitoes. Compared to the tiny ones in Florida, I didn't even recognize them. There is a reason the mosquito is the Maine State Bird!

And one last picture. Here is the lonely oreo. Those of you in the know, know what it is. It is just waiting for the summer and it's playmates to arrive.