Running Late

If I don't get crackin,' it'll be September and I have only one post for August. Unacceptable. I'm taking this opportunity to thank those bloggers who are blogging regularly and those of you who are blogging nearly every day deserve a gold star.

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The most excitement I've had lately was heading to the coast to visit Abby a couple of weeks ago. She was given a last minute yelp and responded with a "sure." Amazing how quickly things can come together if everyone is willing. My sister Kim suggested the day, I agreed, and Abby did as well.

 It was great to see Abby again after all these months, eight to be exact. I was feeling so bad the last time I saw her that I felt as if it might be our final visit. Just keeping it real. This time, I was feeling ever so much better. God is good all the time, no matter how I'm feeling.

left to right: me, Kim, Abby

Abby gifted us with the masks. I wore mine because I wanted to eat and I wanted ice cream. ☺ I didn't want the extra drama of going rogue and making everyone nervous. I am almost to the place where I am not going to be wearing them anymore. I don't know why I have allowed myself to play the game in the first place. My sister, a nurse, told me from the beginning that masks wouldn't work. Now that that has been proven, I don't see the point of them anymore. I don't fault those who feel better wearing a mask, but already.oxygen. deprived.me feels better without one. Further, Sunday's news reveals the new CDC information rolled out quietly. I'm not here to connect dots so will leave it at that. I am not saying that covid isn't real, it is; I am saying that Ignorance made us all respond in excessive ways. We just didn't know. 

On our way home, we stopped by Kim's daughter's because how can one drive right by without a quick visit? 

Anneke tested out the sweet dress that Abby sent for her. It is so cute! Anneke really liked it. 

They live on a lake...wonderful spot to grow up. That's Pencil the cat. 

Here she is peeking in the window. In my world, that's an automatic win. 

Pencil likes to play fetch. Hopefully, blooger will allow me to upload a video proving it.

Enjoy this final day of August! I'm going to let you scoot. Comments are closed today...feeling lazy and tired of dealing with bad comments.

On the Carrabassett

  I don't know exactly when Laurel (my daughter) told me that she had lost her job. It was definitely after Christmas and the explanation was that I had enough on my plate without fretting over the loss of a job. Her company gave her a generous severance package so she wisely used the time to finish work on her degree. 

She graduated this spring with a Bachelor's degree in Operations Management. I am very proud of all her hard work through the years as she always worked full time while fitting in a half load of classes. She received the job loss as a gift, which it turned out to be in more ways than one: she was able to finish her classes without distractions and she left behind a toxic environment with lots of chemicals.

She hit the deck running looking for good employment. She found it in mid-spring. The only problem was that it is two hours north. This meant lots of of commuting time, about four hours a day total. Needless to say, that wasn't going to work long-term.

She closed on her second home a few weeks ago and, week before last, I was invited up to see her new digs or her half-time digs. She spends her working days there and her days off back at her custom-made home, which is just 30 minutes away from me. Those are the days I like best. ッ

Anyway, without further ado, here are some of the photos I took of the drive and her wee, adorable camp on the Carrabassett River. (It looks as if the Maine Cabin Masters could have been at work on her home away from home.)

Heading north...Love a Rock Wall 

Laurel did all the driving 

Looks like Maine to me

The front of the cabin faces the river


We found Charlie and Charlotte in the Loft

Laurel found a package waiting and set about to assemble her new grill while I sat watching from the porch and then went exploring a bit.

My corner on the porch

The River

The Guest House (No, I didn't stay there.)

An Outside Shower 😳

Lots of Christmas Trees...Laurel is getting rid of them; Adam already has his selected

Only Neighbors...what great quintessential New England architecture!

There are lots of flowers about...Laurel is not impressed with them as she has zero time for gardening

side view

all done

Goodness, blogging with Blooger has become a pain. All I wanted to say is that that's the kitchen above and below is the loft with Laurel and Charlie having a moment. (Not allowed at this moment to caption.)

It was lovely to see Laurel's new situation. I hope that she is not there for much longer than a couple of years. It's the end of the world...17 miles from a grocery store. But, it is just 15 minutes from her employment so that is a good thing. Long commutes are revolting.

Sweet yellow watering can...guess she's taking care of flowers after all


The cats have commutes these days, too. That isn't always going very well so Laurel has a plan for them that includes staying by themselves for her short work weeks and joining her wherever she is for long weeks.



There, there, Charlie. It will all be okay.

Thank you for reading. I don't think I can face another post the way this one behaved so it will be awhile until the powers that be get their act together. Take care!

Good Advice from C.S. Lewis

Source

This is an essay written by C.S. Lewis in 1948. He was discussing the "new normal" of living with the hovering threat of the atomic bomb. For those of my generation, we remember it well because "they" scared us to death with that threat every week of our school year with bomb warnings and drills. Under the desk, under the windows, to the halls, covered with coats, curled up in balls...

But enough of that. See if you think, as I do, that this could also relate to our current circumstances with Covid-19. 

In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. 'How are we to live in an atomic age?' I am tempted to reply: Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds...

— “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948) in Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays

Comments are closed. Busy week; Enjoy yours! 

Secret Ingredient

Outside

I try to begin all posts with an attractive average photo. Sometimes blogger has messed with my plan and tossed in one of their own choosing. That's not all they're messing with. My disposition is another.

Inside on a Sunny Summer Day

There is not a whole lot going on around here so I keep busy watching what is going on beyond my windows. 

You may imagine my surprise when, one day as I was waltzing through the house in my nightshirt, this dude was right outside my window by the fence. 

I watched him like a hawk as the top of his head bobbed along my fence and down to the end of my property. He did a lot of hand signals to some invisible someone over in the forest. He seemed to be taking measurements, but I didn't request any surveying. Oh well. He better not come back because, if I'm dressed, I'm going to march right out there and ask him what he's doing. 

There's been excitement during the very stormy days we've had in the past month. My neighbor's ancient trees are falling apart so every storm has meant more limbs down. The last time it thunder stormed, the entire tree came down. I have been telling folks that this is doing my heart a lot of good...all that jumpstarting for free. I was actually using my camera to video a bird on the deck railing when the first part of the tree came down with a thwump. It startled me so much that I dropped my camera and then, like a pro, picked it back up and continued to film. I staggered to the window like Carol Burnett in a Mrs. Wiggins' skit to see what had happened: tree down in a wind storm. 

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Let me rescue this post (hey, I never promised to be fascinating) by sharing a secret I learned while watching Kent Rollins on his You Tube channel. Egg salad sandwiches are among my favorite things in all the world to eat so when he mentioned a secret ingredient that would add the perfect extra something to deviled eggs, I decided to try it for my egg salad sandwich. Yessum. It isn't necessarily pretty, but it sure is tasty. Just a tablespoon or two will be enough. Now here's a question for you: do you make your egg salad sandwich with mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?

Double screen cap

Kent doing his dance while Beag steals a deviled egg

Hahahahahaha...


If you visit Kent's channel, you will find that there are many videos from which to choose with lots of secret ingredients and fun ideas. I really enjoy them.

And that's it you'll be so happy to know. Thanks for reading!

Independence Day 2020

Before more time slips away, I wanted to share my Independence Day. I had thought that, since my daughter would be working and my son and his family would be up Bangor way, I would spend my day alone. Nope! I spent the day with my sister and part of her family.

A 4th of July Welcome

 One niece spent her time hiking. Hiking? Who hikes on the 4th of July?

The rest of us were far more sensible and stayed home eating and holding the baby.

This little girl was the center of attention. She's two months old now and staying awake longer and longer.

First Cousins Once Removed


Laurel was on her way to work an overnight shift and had just enough time to hold the baby.

I really like the photo above and below. The one above shows my sister looking on all smiles and the photo below shows where her lips usually are when she's holding her grandgirlie. ☺

I did not snag a picture of my brother-in-law Steve (who did all the grilling) nor of Anneke's big brother. That I will remedy by popping in a video of him meeting and greeting a turtle, shared by his mom. I have never seen a turtle run so fast!

It was a wonderful, enjoyable day. God is good. 

Twelve years ago today, John and I eloped. He was one of the best decisions I ever made. After he passed away, after only such a short time, I questioned myself. Today, I can smile and thank God for allowing John to be a part of my life. He was a love and so very good to me.

Thank you for your visit.

Day Trip

Found myself wondering just now, if I dated the photos, whether you could figure out the post all by yourselves. ツ I wouldn't be at all surprised! 

We are having a few rainy days, which is fabulous because the lawns have been getting crunchy. It began raining not long after I finished mowing the lawn Sunday and is still going.

Both the photo above and the photo below were taken on Monday, June 29, 2020.

The photo above and the two below were taken on Thursday, June 25, 2020. That was the day my daughter's car wasn't ready from the repair shop so she decided to take my car home to her house with me in it. Her campfire roses have grown into a lovely hedge just as she hoped when she planted them two years ago. They are such beauties and a photo doesn't do them justice.

I don't know what kind of roses these are, but they are also doing well this year. I bought a swimming suit this year just to use at the pool. It was a pleasant hour floating about. After that, we had our supper right there on the lower deck. 

A few cuddles with Charlie in the evening... Charlotte was under the bed. She did arrive in my bedroom late in the night to give me a wee kiss on the lips. I appreciated that. 

The next morning, Laurel said, "Day Trip! Call Aunt Kim and ask if she wants to go."

6-26-20

She did! And off we went. What a glorious day it was. Blue skies and very warm weather.

Our goal was to find the new Cabin Masters Store in Manchester. Not too difficult at all.  

Edited to Add: I had no idea so many were watching Maine Cabin Masters. Silly me! In that case, you might be interested to revisit the episode where this building was featured:

A Home for the Cabin Masters

Just a few of their wares. I can't reveal all because there's a birthday coming up. 

There were lots of tourists there. This is a bit of a problem because they are supposed to quarantine for two weeks. A number of them said that they didn't have time for that as their vacation is only two weeks long.

We went out for lunch to an old-fashioned diner where the waitress arrives at the vehicle if its lights are on. We all ordered old-fashioned red hot dogs. I don't remember the last time I had one. So good. 

After that, we visited my niece and her kiddles. No pictures! I can hardly believe it. We left my sister with her daughter and grands as time was growing short and Laurel wanted to be sure to get her car before the shop closed. The day went by much too fast. 

This tomato tart was prettier than it tasted, though it did taste pretty good. What else can one do on a rainy day besides bake and put up a blog post? 

Tomatoes on the Windowsill

It s unlikely that I'll be back in time to wish you holiday greetings so...

🇺🇸Happy Independence Day!🇺🇸