Ok I know I know, but I've been a busy bee. So first off, here is the little knitting needle case I made for Susan - all done but the binding.

My next task was going to be another Wounded Warriors quilt and I had packed my reds, whites and blues to that end. However, when I got to Michigan I received my Florida Keys Quilters newsletter and it said, We have enough red, white and blue. Make bright colors. oy vey So I shelved that and instead, bought MORE fabric, of course, to make my mum a little homecoming surprise for her antique sewing machine. A cute new cover.

Before:  nasty plastic cover

After:  ta da - pretty quilt-y cover

So, I said good-bye to Daddy and Rose and hopped the little rust bucket of a Delta plane back to Maine. I even had the same seat and I'm pretty sure it was the same plane except now there was a coffee spatter above my seat. And, I don't even want to think about why that was there. Turbulence, anyone?

Florence met me at the airport and we shared a couple of slices from the Public Market at Monument Square. . .

. . . before heading off to a much anticipated visit to Soakology. Yay! Shout out to the fabulous staff there! We both chose the Tea Tree, Rosemary and Seaweed pain relief soak with the 20-min massage. Oh, I highly recommend you visit if you ever find yourself in Portland, Maine.

Ok, so then we headed off home to a reunion with my girls on the loveliest day with Barbie Dreamboat waiting for us.

there she is!

the colors came out while I was gone

Florence and I had a whirlwind of activity before she left. We visited Fiore in Rockland for an olive oil fix.

Florence gets educated

We attended the Pemaquid Oyster Festival.

Look at these shuckers go!

clean plate (shell) club

We took an aquaculture cruise on the Damariscotta River and learned about oyster habitat. 

Teciani, an old navy boat

oyster hatchery, basically baskets strung together in the water

coming back toward town

So all of that, a sunset cruise on Barbie Dreamboat and a lobster dinner, then late to bed, early to rise and off to the airport again this morning and now you're all caught up with me. 

So, what's new with you? 

YES!!!!!

Marissa Alexander Granted New Trial

Alexander was sentenced to 20 years for firing 'warning shots' at abusive husband

So here I am with Daddy for a few days and I find myself driving a minivan in traffic with loads of stoplights. Horrible. I'm missing my girls and my quiet little town but it's nice to be with my Da. And Miss Rose, of course.

the man and his queen

I'm spending my days working on a little knitting needle case for my friend, Susan, and I have to say, how on earth did the cave women do it? This primitive machine is a testament to their true grit and determination to sew a straight seam! 

Note the scotch tape and binder clips. There are no pins in this house. Hello, Mom?

No answer from my mummy because she is on a state visit to Putin. Here she is in front of her hovel in Lithuania, I mean hotel. (photo courtesy of my lil sis Becky)

cross off another trip on mom's bucket list - you go!

Safely ensconced with my Dad and Rose. She had surgery on her ear and has the whole right side of her head shaved. But she can carry it off. Here she is in her E-collar looking lovely as always.

Greetings from the Motor City

So, I just arrived in Detroit for a little visit with my Daddy. Waiting for my Mom to pick me up in a few minutes.


I came on a beat up little piece of crap Delta flight with peeling paint whose engines wouldn't even start when I got on in Portland. They had to bring out an independent power source and got one of the engines started and decided to go in hopes the other one would engage.

Now, why the hell do they tell you this stuff? I would have felt much better if they'd said, sorry for the delay but we had to go back for some hot towels that the masseuse will hand out later with the champagne and biscuits. jeez

Delta's motto is "Keep Climbing." I think the pilots scream it in the cockpit on takeoff:  Pleeeeeeeze keep climbing, pleeeeeeeze! OMG KEEP CLIMBING!!

It was a bumpy flight but mercifully quick and my luggage made it and I'm still alive so can't complain too much I guess. And, they served me a glass of water.

Here is how the day dawned . . .

and then we were off to the fair.

thru the woods to the Fair

The Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine. It is like no other; run by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Organization (MOFGA), it is a celebration of rural life.

enrapt

Not your usual fair food either. They have pizza but it is whole grain with organic tomatoes. They have fried dough but it is actually baked whole wheat with toppings of maple sugar or blueberries and strawberries. They have hamburgers but they are from organic, grass fed cows.  We went for the Indian curry at Bombay Mahal, and the lamb shish kebab, and then whole belly clams . . . well you get the idea. We basically grazed our way around the fair.

making naan in a clay pot

Fair participant

Did I mention that Florence is in town? Well she is and her timing couldn't have been better, just in time for the fair. We shared a 2-holer on the way out through the woods. You "flush" it by depositing a scoop of sawdust.

Mission accomplished!

sledding

lettuce! looks just like my garden - ha!

Check out the zucchini on steroids

Mini farmers discussing wheat futures

Lu and Tom stopped by for a few days and it has been lovely, as always. We've spent our time talking and playing and eating and more eating. Went out to the Grill last night in Damariscotta and it was fab-u-lous! And can I just say about my front porch:  LOVE!

We put Barbie Dream Boat on the dock yesterday, after a tour of the Lake, in anticipation of a ride with our coffee this morning. Isn't she just as cute as a button?

shame!

Actually, I think both of them ate the toothfairy but Lucy was unwilling to pose for the picture.

sorry Genevieve

Happy Birthday, Sue!

71 years young.

Sue and I went to the open house at Cottonweeds in Freeport (bought a few fabulous batiks-couldn't help it), made a pit stop at LL Bean and had lunch at Azure to celebrate her birthday. They brought her a mimosa with a candle stuck in the orange slice. Sweet. 

Then, we went to Leapin Lizards for a reading with psychic, Barbara Balkin. We both thought she was right on the money. I can count the number of readings I've had on one hand but she was by far the most intuitive and supportive. She not only gave me validation and positive suggestions for continuing to move forward away from my divorce issues but also a few tools to conquer the obstacle that continues to elude me: forgiveness. What is amazing to me is that she did all those things without any information from me. 

Anyhoo, a good time was had by all and we stopped at Starbucks for a pumpkin latte on the way home which was just, well, icing on the birthday cake! 

So, after 3 days of this

today dawned bright and beautiful and just after daybreak the girls and I took a little walk up our road and next door

to where I have Barbie Dream Boat on a mooring, looking lovely in the morning sunshine.

Permission to come aboard?

We had a little ride in the quiet of the morning, before the wind was even a ripple on the water. Heaven.

my little cottage from the water

I felt quite joyful out on the water this morning. I think it stems from confronting my fears and facing them down successfully. I lived in fear for most of the years I was with my husband. I guess maybe he did me a favor when he walked away. His loss. My gain. I win. Yay for me!

Hearing Carole King in my head this morning

You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
Then people gonna treat you better
You're gonna find, yes, you will
That you're beautiful as you feel

Hot and humid today after weeks of cool fall weather. Perfect for Barbie Dream Boat to take me and the girls out. I felt much more confident today. Practiced docking solo and had some sort of muscle memory that had me with the motor idling, bowline in one hand and stepping off onto the dock to tie up. Felt good. Got some lines and fenders on her, put a cleat in on my dock. Yeah!

 Princess Lucy went right to her seat - overjoyed to be back on a boat after these last few years. Sophie was not so sure but this is one boat she cannot jump off of (as is her wont) so she was pretty good. She liked it better when I let her take her toy with her. Gave her something to irritate me with while I tried to drive.

As you can see, it was a gorgeous day to be on the water and Barbie Dream Boat behaved like the Barbie she is. Started right up and showed us a fabulous time.

Guess what I got?

My very own little boat. I call her the Barbie Dream Boat because that's what she looks like. Cute as can be.
So Labor Day weekend, I drove two hours south to Little Sebago Lake for a test drive, fell in love with her and I brought her home on Saturday.

Hired a kid to fill her gas tanks and tow her up here because LaToya may be built like a brick you-know-what house but honey, LaToya don't tow. It was almost dark by the time she got here so she's been sitting next door in my neighbor's dooryard for a few days until said kid could come back to put us in the water.

I thought I'd be able launch next door at my neighbor's house but the water wasn't deep enough so off we went up to the head of the Lake where there is a ramp of sorts into Davis Stream. Well, Barbie Dream Boat started up right away and I was so excited I was sort of shrieking WOOHOO! So, I told the kid ok, let go of the line and he left to go back and leave her trailer at my cottage.
I took this picture off the net so you could see what it looked like from my perspective as I headed out toward the open water of the Lake (except it wasn't sunny). Once I got to the top of the Lake, the wind started up, kind of whipping up whitecaps and I have to admit I was a bit nonplussed.

Suddenly, Barbie Dream Boat's motor died. Holy crapoli. I mean HOLY CRAPOLI. I could barely get a cough out of the motor. Used the choke, tried gunning it. Checked the tanks - full. Meanwhile, the wind started blowing me sideways back down the creek and into some weeds and lilypads so I raised the motor. And, you might ask, did you have a paddle or an oar with you? Because you know you should ALWAYS have a paddle just in case. Well, the answer to that would be no. Why you might ask? Because I am a bonce. I was literally up a creek without a paddle!
I could not believe this turn of events. I swear I was willing the boat towards the side of the creek that had docks on it. Practically throwing my body toward that side to get out of the weeds. I got up in the bow where I had the wherewithal earlier to tie a bowline (miracle) and managed to snag the outboard of a skiff on a dock and that stopped me. I tied off and went to look at the motor.
I lowered the motor somewhat to get the prop under so I could try to start it again. Barely had enough depth. Looked at the gas can which still read full. gave the line from the motor to the gas can a tug and . . . . wait for it . . . . it came off in my hand.
Seriously, the gas line from the motor was not connected to the gas. So, I made it up the creek (without a paddle) on whatever gas was already in the line. I must admit at this point to 1. wanting to throttle the freaking kid who filled the tank and, 2. wanting to pat myself on the back for figuring it out.
So, I squeezed the ball running from the gas can to the motor and waited a bit then hit the choke and tried to start her. She ran like a dream, a Barbie Dream Boat. I cast off and did a few circles in the creek and then motored up to the top of the Lake. By now, I had some good sized waves coming at me but was I deterred? NO WAY. NO FEAR!  I charged out onto the Lake and opened her up. Made it home safe and sound.

Tonight Barbie Dream Boat sits on my neighbor's mooring. Wind died. Supposed to be warm and sunny tomorrow. Can't wait!