Yesterday was the first sunny day in a week and let me tell you, when I went into town for groceries, everybody and I mean EVERYBODY was out mowing their lawn. So of course, not to be outdone, I came home and mowed mine, such as it is. It was still cold and how crazy is this: it snowed in some places in Maine. And frost last night. Not here at the coast but we have only had one day that hit 70 degrees since I got here. Still don't have my dock in. Someone told me it is going to be in the 80's this weekend and so now the locals are all complaining about that. Zoiks, what a crazy spring. But hey, check out my ginormous bleeding hearts!

So, I wanted to tell you about this fabu dinner I made the other night. George (Foreman) grilled up some chicken and I shredded it and tossed it with cilantro, green onions, some crushed peanuts, chile sauce, and chopped cabbage and carrots. Then, I made a dressing with sweet vinegar, olive oil and a little peanut butter. Man, was that mmm mmm good! Kind of a Thai chopped salad. Oh, almost forgot - the juice of about 6 key limes. That's what started the whole thing. Saw the key limes in the grocery store.

Just uploaded this picture and it looks kind of gross but trust me . . . 

And, I finally perfected a brush roll design. And if you're like me, you're saying a what?? Well, it's for make-up brushes and About Face asked me to come up with it for the salon. (Yours truly has exactly one brush, which I dug out to model my brush rolls here.) I've been working like mad on these and I'll deliver them tomorrow. Cool, right? 

love the animal print oilcloth

the upper flaps are like a little color surprise when you open the roll

Lastly but not least, I wanted to tell you about my sister-friend niece-in-law, Sarah, who ran her first marathon yesterday and ran a fantastic race, beating even her expectations and I think she is just so AMAZING and she did it even though she and the three kids have been sick! Now, that is impressive. 

you go Sarah girl!

Lest we forget

and

Josh

My beautiful nephew, Josh, graduates from high school today and I am SO PROUD of him. I've spent the dark dreary, rainy morning looking at pictures and thinking about him and remembering the past and loving on him from afar.
I can't be at his graduation because of my former husband and the haters who decided they don't love me anymore either. They get to go and I don't. (Bitter! Who me?)  But in all fairness, I guess blood is thicker than water as the saying goes, plus I'd rather set myself on fire than see any of those bastards.
Anyhoo, here is a little retrospective of my beloved nephew.

s'mores 

with Sophie

channeling his inner Matt Damon

And I say HOORAY! Congratulations, Josh! I love you and I'm so proud of you! 

Maine apparently did not get the memo that this is not April, it is MAY. It has been raining for six days and is forecast to rain for 3 more. Then, we'll see.

the view from my window this morning

I was misguided enough to get my kayak out shortly after I got here - silly me! Check out the little meandering creek next to my house, turning into quite the raging river.

Princess and the pea

Well, it has not warmed up much here in the frigid north. They are still getting frost at night away from the coast! Today is forecast to be only in the 50's again. I have to say I am enjoying it but the locals are Not Happy. I don't even have my dock in the water yet. Latest ever, I think. The girls and I were just about to go out for a walk this morning when the skies opened up and it is pouring out there. So, I'll show you the pictures I took in between rain showers yesterday afternoon while I wait for a break in the rain.  Happily, in spite of the cool temps, spring marches on.

my front garden

A gift from Brynne and Bo - not sure who is living in there

iris on it's way up, under watchful eyes

newest gahden aht in the dooryard

My neighbors call the driveway the "dooryard" which makes sense I guess so I have decided to adopt the term.

Outside my little studio

Lulu poses on the front porch

Yesterday was my first day back at the Botanical Gardens and FYI, TripAdviser rates us #1 of the Top Ten U.S. Gardens- yeah! CMBG! represent! It was such a beautiful day, people were out in droves and I was driving the droves. So busy, I barely had time to take these two pictures. The tulips out front were so amazing, they didn't look real.

This is the view of the rhododendron garden from my shuttle. A little color but it won't be peak for another week or two. Just gorgeous.

And, I've just got to sew the lining in these cute little bags. Getting ready for the Strawberry Festival next month.

And, three things I'm loving this morning:

1. Flannel sheets and a down comforter on a Sunday morning

2. Strawberry-rhubarb smoothie from Swallowtail Farm

3. Going for a walk with Marques Toliver playing on my ipod

It finally got up to 70 degrees yesterday - woohoo! Couldn't stay indoors so managed to get another 3 black fly bites. (arrghgh visualize face turning red, steam coming out of ears and fists clenched)
My perennials are coming along - with a little rain you can practically hear them pushing up through the earth. The bleeding hearts are blooming.

I had to go to the big city (Rockland - haha) for supplies and took the long way home, getting a bit lost meandering down country roads. Said hello to these girls out in their  pasture.

Belted Galloways (otherwise known as oreo cows)

pretty stand of birches

blueberry fields

Beautiful Maine. I am so grateful to be living in this wonderful place, black flies and all. 

willawallets

I've been working in the garden in the mornings before the black flies get too bad, and sewing in the afternoons which has been heavenly; trying to build up my inventory. One more week before I go back to my j.o.b. so next week I'll work on some of my art quilts and get into that creative mindless mode that I crave.
I'm still detoxing from the antidepressants and it has been a bit rough. I've got about another five days worth of pills, down to a half every other day, so I trust I'll be mostly over the ugly side effects by the time I run out.

Finished up a bunch of Willawallets yesterday as part of a commission for a shop in Maryland. So bright and pretty.

If you want one, they're only $25! plus shipping, of course.

How creepy is this!

Oh oh oh, I am so cracking myself up this morning. There is a website called Petswitch.com where you can upload pictures of yourself and your dog(s) and it puts your face on your pet. voila!

(never realized how crooked my teeth are - hmmmm)

It's been a year since I came back from Bali. I stayed up late last night looking at the pictures on my blog and reliving the trip. It really was the trip of a lifetime and I am  changed by it - in a good way - a subtle little shift in my being, the ability to feel gratitude a little more deeply, a new appreciation for the beauty within us all. I love that I can transport myself there every time I hold one of my batiks, smelling the incense, feeling the humid warmth, all the colors brighter for an instant. Ok, just a little self indulgent moment there.

Now, moving on . . .
Yesterday, somebody wrapped their car around a light pole up on the road and I lost power for hours. The quiet was so intense in my little cottage, all I could do was sit and listen for a while. The girls lay in their beds doing the same, ears on the alert.

Then, it started getting cold so I built up the fire in the fireplace and we had a nice roaring fire until it was almost too warm inside. I cut out some bags in the light from the windows while I waited; then went up to Moody's Diner for coffee and pie and when I got home, power on! More gratitude from yours truly!

 And, I know I know, I post pix of my view ad nauseam but I just can't help myself. Seriously, will you look at this? This is what it looked like from my window last night as the rain moved out and the cold air came in.

Just one more:  My newest bag, and I am loving this mexican oilcloth - fabulous!

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful mother!

Love you, Mom!

I loved sewing this XL Genevieve Bag on a dreary gray morning. I especially love the pink dingleberries (or whatever they're called). So much fun - it practically shrieks SUMMER!

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without alcohol,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

Then You Are Probably the Family Dog!

Yesterday I woke up to the soft sound of rain on the roof and it was a deluge by the time the girls and I were ready to go out, then cleared just in time for a walk. Sure enough, the rain brought out the leaves.

 Here is what keeps the chill away when the rain and fog lurk just outside. Sweet!

so true . . .

* * * * 

Early on I decided not to make any major decisions and to go easy on myself until two years post-divorce so now I am once again trying to wean myself from the antidepressants. It's going pretty good but can I just ask, is it appropriate to cry during Call the Midwife?

Addendum:  My sister-friend Sarah wrote to me and said for the record:  I cried during almost every episode of call the midwife. 

Well, that's a relief.

Apologizing to Road Kill

So, I was thinking that if I were ever to write a book, I'd call it, "Apologizing to Road Kill" because A. you need a catchy title and B. I really do that. Apologize to road kill that is. Not because I feel guilty but because I feel sorry.  So when I pass some dead critter on the road, my thinking goes, sorry you poor little thing that you are dead and hope you didn't suffer. That's all.  Just ruminating after I passed a dead porcupine on the highway this morning.
In other news . . .
I've been working like mad in the lawn and garden in the early hours before the sun is fully up so as to avoid the black flies. And can I just say, what the heck is the point of having these little bastards on the planet? Oh, I despise them. My elbow is swollen to three times its normal size from a bite. And here's the thing, when they bite you they inject their toxic saliva into you, which is why it hurts and itches so much. How gross is that?
So, when they chase me inside, I've been cutting out and sewing some oilcloth bags which I'll share with you later on AND working on my newest garden art thingys. Here's the latest:

It's supposed to rain in the next few days (finally) so I'll find out how waterproof the stuff I've been using for glue is. And, it should make the leaves pop out and my perennials take over. Spring has sprung in my garden, the lawn is starting to green  up and I have jumped the gun and planted most of my planters. Don't you just feel better when there are flowers around?

 Look at this fabulous fuscia - gorgeous!