Addie Looking Grown Up!

What a beautiful little charmer in her new pink sparkle shoes and Tigger backpack we got her for her birthday. She's only 2 but looks 4. She walked all around the condo with her new shoes on and her backpack packed and ready for action :) What a cutie pie!

Fun with Grammie and Grandpa

Headed out! I'm a little unsure or maybe tired but I know
the day will be fun!

Look at Hank, the finger puppet guy Grammie bought me at the
Saturday Market!

At the park!

Eating Hebert's scallops! Yum!

The backpack Grammie made me for my birthday!
I love it cause I love pink and I love Tiger!

Isn't it lovely?

Painting a little birdhouse...I am artistic, don't you think?

Hank the Finger Puppet

So, how cute is this little handmade finger puppet. There were adorable "girl" puppets with long curly blonde hair, cute little "girl" puppets with lush, long hair and Hank, the lone male. It was her choice! Hank the finger puppet guy....she loved him!

Batman to the Rescue

Who knew there were so many different types of bats. In New Hampshire, where our rental unit sits, there are 7 different varieties. Turns out they are are shy little creatures. As our Batman told me, they think of humans as grizzly bears...something to avoid. They are helpful to the environment, eating a lot of insects on their nightly forays into the wild or suburbia, depending where they roost. Why do I know so much about bats? Well, picture this, husband on a much-needed 4 day vacation, ocean kayaking way up in Maine. I get a phone call Saturday. "Ah...sorry to bother you, but this is one of your tenants." "Yes," I respond, wondering why I'm getting this call. "Ah....we have 4 bats in our house." OK...this was my husband's project before he left for his trip and I was hoping he had solved the problem but, alas, not. So, who to call when husband is unreachable on an island in the Atlantic Ocean? Whatever Batman will answer the phone on a Saturday afternoon! Turns out, David, our Batman to the Rescue, was a wonderful man, providing advice via the phone as to how to get the bats that are now hiding in the rental (somewhere in the kitchen the tenant thinks!), out. You open a window 1/2 way, make sure the screen is up. Set up a fan 5 feet away, blowing directly to the window. Wait overnight. In the morning bats will be hanging from the window, awaiting escape. Apparently, wind currents are how bats find their way in and out of a space. And, did you know a hole the diameter of a pencil is big enough for bats to squeeze through? Tonight David, the Batman, will assure tenants that all holes are filled so they'll be no more bat flybys in the wee hours of the morning, scaring the giant cat that jumps on the bed and awakens the tenants who scramble. So glad husband will be home shortly....he can take it from here! And, from here is how to manage removing the bats roosting in the attic (one-way doors I am told)..... Life, always interesting :)

Sea Smoke at Sunset

This evening I took Olivia out for a walk but we didn't make it very far.

We stepped out the back door and moved no further....
watching the sea smoke moving slowly on down the river.

Pretty cool!

The Peace of Wild Things...Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Charlotte's Webs

This morning when I let Olivia out to pee,
the fog was thick up and down the river.
The air was damp and heavy.
And as I yawned and looked around...
Spectacular and intricate spider webs
Were everywhere
The invisible made visible....
Alive in the morning dew!
Just outside my door.

New Found Me!

Newfound Lake, New Hampshire. Heard of it? It's right up there in the New Hampshire lakes region. The only bigger lake in the state is Lake Winnipesaukee, just around the corner. My dear and very generous friend asked if anybody wanted to come spend time with her at this fabulous little lake-front cabin she rented for pretty much the month of July. I immediately said, "Yes!" And now I say, "Bless you..." I tried kayaking for the second time in my life...first time was tandem...definitely not the same thing as floating along under your own paddle power. Seriously wonderful fun :) Can you say, "Hey that lake looks like glass!"

56

So hard to believe but I am 56. 56. My husband tells me as we ride home from the airport on the eve of my birthday Tuesday night, we are 4 years away from 60....yikes. There is no denying I am getting older.

I waved good-bye to my 85-year old father on Tuesday morning as we pulled out of the driveway and headed to the airport. He is healthy but....85. He has a hard time walking, has nearly lost the sight in one eye, needs hearing aids so that he can tune into the noisy world around him. But, he is a model of how taking care of your body keeps your body alive and free from major disease. I hope I am on my way with that by working out, eating healthy and managing stress and emotion in my life.

My dad is also a world traveler. He has driven with his brother through the green hills of Ireland, rode a camel through the dusty Egyptian desert, been in a car accident in Iran! He has traveled the world and at 85 has many great stories and memories. Listening to him last week as I visited him in Idaho, I vow to travel, with my husband, to one unique and amazing destination that we haven't been to before, once a year from now on. We plan on doing this when we retire in our mid-60s. But after visiting my dad and hearing about a colleague's husband who died unexpectedly at 60, I am reminded, once again, that I should not wait to live my life.

I begin my 56th year with plans for the next 30 years (God willing) and those plans include continued work on my health, plans for travel (love to travel with my brother again!), and living a creative life full of love and laughter, friends and family with my wonderful husband. My life is what I choose to make it.

Tilly

OK, this deserves a little explanation. My brother, Mike, came to visit me in Maine, same time last year. We had, of course, a fabulous time. But, he didn't come alone to that giant party we held last July....he came with Hermie. Hermie is his beloved travel mascot. Sadly, Hermie stayed in NYC last week (through no choice of his own!) and didn't accompany us on our Western adventure. Happily, however, as we were wandering through a skanky little shop, the basement, no less, in Edmonds, WA, Matilda, aka, Tilly, caught my eye. Of course, she she had to become our new travel mascot. She's one happy-go-lucky gal with magnetized hands and all...you should see her swing from a metal table! In upcoming blogs I may write more about her and her Wild West antics. Cute little sock monkey, don't you think?

Pike Place Public Market

One stop on my big adventure with my brother out West was the beloved Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is full of life, color, energy. We bought some dark chocolate-covered cherries that were delicious but mostly we just walked around remembering the market and enjoying the amazing feel of the place. There was a time "they" were going to tear down the market, however it thrives today because of loyal Seattelites. An amazing place to revisit and linger.....

Family

Last night as I sat out on our deck watching the glorious sunset with my loving husband and his two wonderful sisters I thought about family. I thought about how amazing it is to sit next to somebody you have so much history with. Somebody who looks like you. Somebody who has seen you at your best (winning swimming championships in high school) and your worst (recovering from a painful divorce in your 40s). In New England the only blood family I have is my brother who I don't see much. Although we are pretty much in constant contact by phone, e-mail, Facebook, it really doesn't replace sitting next to him on the dock and being able to smile at his nose which looks just like my dad's nose, admire his thick hair which is just like my sister's hair, and feel our mom's energy and sense of humor as he laughs and talks about his life. I love my life and wouldn't trade a thing except, maybe, the opportunity to spend more face time with people who are my blood relatives.

No having much family here, although I so love the one I married into, is a loneliness that I find hard to deal with sometimes. Happily I will be able to look into my brother's delightful, handsome and loving face on Friday and enjoy all my Idaho relatives (father, sister, her kids and their kids) by mid-next week. I will cherish those times and enjoy every moment.