FIMBY

My parents left this morning after a 3 day visit at our house. They came mostly so that my dad could help us install new vinyl replacement windows in our living room and learning room (used to be a formal dining room). The possibility now exists that I won't totally freeze all winter. Well maybe a little because our kitchen is poorly insulated and I spend half my life there but when I sit down with the kids or work at my desk I just might stay warm. Thanks Dad!

My parents are work hard, play hard kind of folks. So although the main purpose of the weekend was window installation we squeezed in a lot of activity. Mom helped me finish the fall garden chores and would of sewed new curtains if I'd let her. In addition to the Halloween festivities and eating too much sugar we drank coffee (never too much) at local cafes, took a trip to a glass art gallery and hiked yesterday at the Bates - Morse Mountain Conservation Area and Seawall Beachin Midcoast Maine - gosh, that's a mouthful!

Seawall Beach with Papa

The hike through the woods and time on the beach were fantastic. The natural world restores me. And it's always such a privilege when you share this with the people you love most.

Yesterday, the very air I breathed seemed to clean out my funk and set me upright again.

But then Monday morning came - hard. The house is messy from the weekend work and fun (who has time to clean with so much going on). The kids are missing their grandparents and detoxing from a weekend sugar-high. Ouch!

What's a mama to do? Read Poetry!

I am so grateful I picked up these books last week from the library. The time we spent cuddled on the couch this morning with rhyme, rhythm and verse calmed my frazzled Monday morning nerves.

With Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems we recalled our time spent camping this summer, hiking mountains, zipped up snug in our sleeping bags. We were lulled by A Child's Calendar to relive the months, each in their splendor.

And we sat content
right here
at the edge of November
together on the couch.

New England Aster

Sunset over Seattle area

We left Damien's parent's house yesterday afternoon, arriving at the airport 2 hours early to ensure enough time for check-in, customs and security. From there our journey home included 3 flights (through evening, nighttime and morning hours), 2 long lay overs and 4 time changes. We finally arrived at our house this afternoon, almost 24 hours later.

Sunrise at the Atlanta airport

I'm exhausted and just really want to get my life back to normal. But first I'm going to bed.

Our trip feels kind of like this Alberta countryside photo, whizzing by way too fast.

Post-It note seen in outdoor/travel store:

We went to the Common Ground Country Fair this past weekend. This was our first year of taking in all three days. Even so, there was so much more to see and do than we could possibly manage with three kids in tow. We even missed the family contra dance on Sunday afternoon (bummer), not to mention the hundreds of talks, demonstrations and entertainment that were on-going.

Our kiddo's favorite activity was perusing and shopping in the Youth Enterprise Zone. A tent of young vendors, mostly homeschoolers, selling their crafts and creations. Very inspiring for my young artists.

Other favorites were sliding down the grassy amphitheater knoll on cardboard sleds (Common Ground's "midway" entertainment), creating with clay, watching the always popular sheep dog demonstration, observing a blacksmith at work, and of course eating. Lots of eating. All organic, whole grain, sugar free, mostly Maine farm grown food. Local food heaven. I would go to the fair just for the food but it's so much more than that.

(if you are reading this post in a reader please see blog for slideshow below)

What I loved most about the fair were the people. Meeting random friends and acquaintances and realizing that after 6 years of living in Maine and still feeling like newcomers we actually have a history here. Talking with the ball cap wearing spinner about her fuzzy bunny "fur" sweater. Meeting the outdoorsman who was tanning his own leather and teaches primitive living skills.

Admiring the handiwork of many Maine artisans & craftspeople, coming away inspired by their talents and challenged to pursue our own. The mama who sews cloth diapers, the man who makes knives, the teenager (homeschooled of course) who makes glass blown jewelery. Listening to the musicians roving the grounds and standing on stages playing fiddles, banjos, bagpipes, accordions, washboards and whistles (you name it).

And that's just the fair! Since we went all 3 days we stayed close by at an organic farm where we got to meet more interesting people. The farmer who built a cave underneath his dairy barn to make authentic Camembert cheese and laid out a spread of farm-made cheeses for his camping guests. The fiddlers who played tunes around the Saturday night bonfire. The New Brunswick outdoor guide (check out Northwoods Survival) and his organic farmer wife with whom I had an instant connection since he is originally from Alberta and she is from Nova Scotia. The chef and designer tenting next door who just moved from New York City and are working on an organic farming learning how to harvest vegetables year round.

What place in your "backyard" have you recently visited or discovered and what interesting people have you met?

It's been a little over 2 weeks since we last hiked. We were anxious to get into the woods. It was a perfect late summer day with blue sky, gentle breezes and the air sweet with warm pine.

This was our first hike with the new camera. I was so excited and then disappointed as I fought (and lost) with the sun directly overhead to get beautiful shots of my family doing something we love. I gave up and looked elsewhere for pretty photos.

Three of these dragonflies were zipping all over the summit. Kind of baffling, I thought dragonflies belonged to pond ecosystems.

These sunflowers were growing at a farm on the drive to the mountains. If these photos don't say late summer in Maine I don't know what does.

I should be doing laundry right now but I'm still in vacation mode, very relaxed and taking it easy on a Monday morning - nice. I've posted a few more artsy camping photos at Flickr.

Suppose I should try to get motivated to do... something.

(anyone remember the proclaimers song "i'm on my wey from misery to happiness todaey, uh huh, uh huh", man I love that song)

Somewhere up the Aziscohos mountain trail, or maybe looking out over Mooselookmegunticook or Umbagog Lake (I am not making these names up) I lost the self-pity, intense disappointment and guilt of the first day of my vacation.

That second day as we hiked up the mountain we talked about how we could connive to afford Nikon's basic entry level slr and a 50mm f/1.4 lens, if we sold some stuff we own (we actually like downsizing) and saved all my birthday, Christmas and personal "weekly allowance" cash.

That gave me some hope that sooner than later I could start down the path to better photography. And, in all honesty I was a happy camper. How could I complain when this was the view.

The week progressed and we pitched our tent in a different northern Maine campground close to another area of lakes, mountains and rivers. But unfortunately also close to ATV's and RV's, lots of them. Camera issues were mostly forgotten as we dealt with camping issues. Specifically answering the question: What should a vacation look like?

I prefer lazy activities, like beaches and strolls and think there is nothing better than buying fresh vegetables from local organic farmers and cooking up a gourmet supper back at camp. Damien is an active guy who prefers mountain streams and hikes and is content with previously prepared, dehydrated and camp reconstituted (but uber healthy) trail backpacking type food. Since Damien did all the camping prep (he's a keeper) food tended to his tastes but we worked on compromises and we'll continue to work that out in the future. But we both agree - next time round we will try to find campgrounds that don't cater to RV's. Satellites, in-house showers and refrigerators, that just ain't camping.

We worked through our issues in time for our vacation finale, camping with my parents for the weekend. They drove from their home in Nova Scotia to meet us near the coast of Maine. The weekend included a lovely beach, nearby free folk festival, starry night skies, wonderful food (where do you think I get my taste for gourmet from?), campfires and conversations with my folks.

The time with my parents was lovely. They are new to tenting but are troopers and eager to share in our family's outdoor adventures. This particular weekend they blessed us with their friendship, wonderful grandparenting, and an unexpected generous financial gift. Funny thing is they had planned their gift a long time prior to finding out about my camera despair. The timing of the gift was just kind of "coincidental".

What can I say, our camping vacation was great. I'm glad I was able to change my attitude from despair to "we'll work it out" early on in the trip. But the unexpected gift was truly icing on the cake of a wonderful week with my family. Thanks Mom & Dad. Looks like I will be getting that fancy pants camera afterall - sweet.

Wrote this post, journal style, 3 days ago on our first day of vacation. Today we have wi-fi access at our campground, in the Maine woods no less. Don't despair, subsequent days improved...

Miserable, am I allowed to feel this way when camping? What about selfish? Miserable and selfish, and this is supposed to be my vacation. Think I'll eat another marshmallow...

I'm an expectation person. Day to day life often doesn't disappoint me but an expectation unfulfilled can frustrate and in this case deeply disappoint.

Up until 3 months ago I hadn't expected to upgrade my camera for another year or so. And even then I wasn't expecting much. Let's see we're a family of five with one modest income (I haven't earned a cent
for 9 years), kids who eat like caterpillars, car repair bills, immigration lawyer fees and a house that's freezing cold 6 months of the year. Oh, and all our family lives in another country. You don't want to know how much international plane tickets cost these days.

Then the government announced it's economic stimulus package. We did the math, 2000 bucks. Wowsers! Maybe we could get those replacement windows afteral so I wouldn't freeze through yet another Maine winter. But then my thoughtful husband suggested we get a new camera, and a nice one, sooner than later. My artist self easily convinced my cold winter self to wear more layers.

Prior to this I had no expectation for photographic greatness anytime soon. And it's that expectation and the subsequent months of camera researching that made today's discovery so heartbreaking. Because Damien has a work visa and I have a dependant visa and therefore no social security number (I will when we're permanent residents) we don't qualify for the stimulus check. Not even Damien and the kids qualify since we file taxes jointly. Of course Damien is a tax paying resident just like any other. Go figure.

All those months of planning, pining and drooling over a beautiful camera that would soon be mine. And dreaming about all the images I could capture and share - gone.

And when do I find this dream shattering news out? 30 minutes before we leave the house for our much anticipated week long summer camping trip. When I decided to investigate why our check still hadn't arrived after yet another week of waiting. We'd expected it would be late because we filed taxes late, but we didn't expect it would be never. Better late than never, ain't that the truth.

Now to add injury to insult I'm beating myself up for being upset. "Yessh, you're so selfish girl. Lots of people in this country, especially this state, can't afford their winter heating bills and you're boohooing about a fancy pants camera. And on top of that this is your vacation, you "should " be enjoying yourself and being a peppy mother, your kids depend on you." Yada, yada.....

Bitter diappointment with a generous serving of guilt. I can think of better ways to start a vacation.

Today I'm tired, very tired. But I'm also thankful for the sun finally shining on our little corner of the world. The first day nice enough this month, August 13th for pete's sake, to go to the beach.

So, I'm sitting at the beach with one eye on my fish and the other on this notebook*. In the warm sunshine, listening to the splashing and laughter I'm able to forget the mess I left behind at home.

We've just had an intense 2 nights and one day visit with three Appalachian Trail thru hikers. A visit that included a potluck supper last night opened up to coworkers, homeschoolers, friends and pretty much any ol' stranger that wanted to come.

This morning Damien drove our new friends back to the trail in the mountains about 1.5 hours from our home. I was left to face my own "mountain" of clean up. Three disheveled guest beds (I'd like to point out we don't actually have a guest room so these beds are located here, there and everywhere in the house), a front porch full of trail debris left behind by smelly backpacks and mounds of dishes and food littered floors from hosting 20 people, half of them rugrats 9 & under, for supper last night. Faced with this daunting reality I did the only sensible thing to do. Left it all and came to the beach.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have hosted and met the three hikers who left this morning, they had trail names (an AT thru hikers tradition) so this is what I'll use to describe them.

(Sm)ellie, the quiet, well prepared and easy going woman from Georgia. On her way to grad school (2nd time around) to further her studies in the interconnectedness of anthropology, bio-medicine and computer science(!). Philly, the storytelling cartoonist from Virginia and Kentucky. Also on his way back to school to pursue a playwright and acting career. And of course Vagabond, also known as Daren Wendell, the man walking around the world on the Earth Expedition to raise awareness and funds for the Blood:Water Mission in Africa. A guy who literally owns only the what he is carrying on his back (Myke you would of loved meeting this guy).

What an awesome experience and privilege to host these folks in our home. If you ever have a chance to put up AT thru hikers in your home - do it! I'd do it again in an instant once the fridge was re-stocked and the sheets washed. People who have been hiking 15-20 miles a day for months, sleeping in the rainy woods and eating ramen noodles and potato flakes for days are pleased as punch with whatever hospitality you have to offer. Just make sure to have lots of food on hand. Hot water and laundry soap doesn't hurt either.

Someday when our family is trekking through North American mountains, backpacking across Europe or doing mission work in Costa Rica, carrying our beds and shelter on our backs I hope we'll be able to crash on someone's floor and get a fresh meal. Afterall, as our guests told us "on the trail, hikers take care of hikers". We're all on a journey, a trek through life. Too bad more people don't live by the creed "travelers on this journey of life take care of fellow travelers". What a nicer world that would be.

Show hospitality, share your table and your garden veggies, make up a bed on your floor. Although you'll be providing rest to the weary you'll be the one enriched. Let's take care of fellow pilgrims on this journey of life.

*post written yesterday in my notebook while at the beach.

Ack! I haven't blogged for 3 days. I'm starting to twitch.

It's been a busy weekend. The sun shone (hallelujah!) and once the flood waters in the backyard receded I tried to rescue the beans and staked leggy perennials. We had a supper around the firepit with friends and watched an outdoor movie at a riverfront park in our community. Ah... summer.

But mainly we started to pack and plan for camping later this month. My contribution was to spend 5 hours yesterday, our anniversary, at the laundromat washing and drying our down sleeping bags. Which take like, forever to dry. But are oh so warm, fluffy and light so I guess are worth the extra time and expense of cleaning them.

At least I didn't just sit there mindlessly watching the tube. In between swiping my "laundromat debit card" a gazallion times (coin-less technology but alas no wi-fi) I finished putting together the kid's portfolios for their yearly homeschool review which takes place this week.

An evening out with friends at our favorite restaurant in the Old Port redeemed "the anniversary" aspect of the day. Wonderful Japanese food, with lots of laughs and these lovely gladiolus given as an anniversary gift.

As if that wasn't enough activity for the weekend we also prepared to host Daren Wendell of Earth Expedition, for a couple days this week.

My best friend Damien (my date yesterday night) has been following this guy's trek for months and invited him to stay at our house on his way through Maine. We weren't exactly sure when he'd be here, sometime in August. When you're walking around the world it's kind of hard to pinpoint these things exactly.

Well, we now know exactly when he will be here. In a couple hours. Damien's picking Daren up right now, along with 2 extras. Apparently, when you find friends on the trail you stick together.

I'm so excited. Finally we're having some strangers stay, something I've wanted for years. To host travelers and pilgrims, practicing real Christian hospitality.

We're also planning a potluck supper for tomorrow night. If you're reading this you're invited. Daren's not just hiking the world for fun. He's doing it to help raise awareness for Blood:Water Mission. And we're hosting a potluck, hopefully the RSVP list will outgrow our home, to help him spread the Blood:Water Mission message, "to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa".

So, we're all really jazzed around here. To have someone stay in our home who's hiked the Appalachian Trail (something my crazy family aspires to), who's walking around the world, and who's raising awareness for something we believe but haven't done much about. Lets face it, "life" easily gets in the way of all our convictions to fight poverty, injustice and oppression..

Woo-Wee. There is some serious fun happening in my back yard...

PS. If you want to come to the potluck you have to RSVP for directions and such. Contact me here.