A Maine Connection

How long have I been reading Cheryl's Thinking About Home? Not sure. It feels like not too long, yet time slips away. I don't remember when Cheryl began visiting me either. What I do know is that we clicked; we are like-minded in many ways. 

When I heard that Cheryl had a "Maine connection," I began wondering about the possibility of a meeting sometime in our future. I learned last fall that a trip was being planned from their home in Maryland and that Cheryl hoped that a meeting was possible. Talk about Anticipation! In fact, by meeting Cheryl and her daughter Kati, I met two bloggers at the same time because Kati blogs at Kati's Little Corner of the World.

Sure enough, our meeting happened nearly a week ago on the one gorgeous day of spring thus far. You think I jest? No. I was so blinded by the light that all my photos came out terrible so I'm stealing Cheryl's  Kati's and calling it my own. 

~"My" Photography Skills are Improving~

Isn't that gorgeous? For more beautiful photographs, click over, look around, say hello. I am inordinately proud of Maine's beauty and the photos that Cheryl, Kati, and others in the family took are faBulOuS. If you are planning a trip to Maine, it'll inspire you! (You can find Cheryl's account of our meeting there, too.)

~~~

We met at a stopping place just off I-95. Travelers need to stay close to the highway in places that are not too busy for bloggers who only wish to gab and gab and gab some more. (Some may enjoy eating.) We have to pack a lot into the time that we have, which is always limited when folks are traveling.

The waitress showed us to "The Hollow" and somehow we six jostled ourselves into a booth. A booth?! Good heavens! Should have said that it was not going to be acceptable, but perhaps God wanted us to be cozy. Ha!

We got down to chatting right away and John and I had a fantastic time. At one point, Cheryl's husband Ron said, "I'm just so enjoying this!" And we could tell that he really was. Perhaps Ron had been a titch concerned when their son had questioned the wisdom of meeting people from the WWW. It is true that I often tell John to grab the hatchet just before we leave for one of these meetings. Be warned, future meet bloggers! ☺

Anyway, longsuffering husbands of bloggers often take the hit in these sorts of meetings. I didn't get that sense at all with these two. They really enjoyed their chat. 

~Longsuffering Husbands~

Now, in no particular order...

Ron leading the way up the hill to the picnic area where we exchanged gifts. See the light? Doesn't the color quality remind you of a child's reader circa 1951?

~Cheryl and Ron~

~Their beautiful daughters: Bekah and Kati~

A million photos or more later, and we knew that we had to wind things up. 

Speaking of longsuffering, look at those sweet faces! 

These were my delightful gifts... the cutest felted strawberries, yummy strawberry jam, and a book of poetry by Amy Carmichael. Cheryl has been reading this blog very closely!

Thank you, Cheryl, for even wanting to meet John and me. (Let's do it again!)  Thank you for sharing your precious family with us. We enjoyed Ron, Kati, Bekah and you so much.  And thank you for sharing your heart and home at Thinking About Home with all of us. 

ツ