The Bride - finished

I actually finished this last week, but didn't upload the photos till today. My cousin's bridal shower was Sunday and my aunt was nice enough to bring it down for me, so I didn't have to risk it getting beat up in the mail!

I was so happy to find the glass topped box frame (the lid is on hinges). It was the only thing resembling a shadow box that I could find (I went to 4 stores) and it was the only one left. It was too perfect! Then I found this poem by Susan Polis Schutz.
I whipped together a little fake flower bridal bouquet and it all just came together perfectly!
I wish I could have been there to see her open it, but maybe someone took pictures.

Getting Abused by the Starbucks Oracle...

Thanks to Marni for posting the link to this...it cracked me up!
My "4 Bucks" drink: Venti Chai Tea Latte

What the Oracle revealed:

Personality type: Pseudo-intellectual

You're liberal and consider yourself to be laid back and open minded. Everyone else just thinks you're clueless. Your friends hate you because you always email them virus warnings and chain letters "just in case it's true." All people who drink Venti Chai Tea Latte are potheads.

Also drinks: Sparkling water
Can also be found at: Designer grocery stores

God, I love it!

Quiet Friday Joy

“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”

~Chinese Proverb

Tales from Ambajejus Lake - Sunset

And so ends another relaxing time on Ambajejus Lake

This was a bittersweet trip...you see, this is my office's last year together. My boss is termed out and will go back to her other job; our Chief of Staff, our policy analyst and our communications director will probably go on to new jobs in the private sector; our secretary will no doubt stay (new leadership would be foolish to ever get rid of her - she's been in her position for more than 20 years. She's a wealth of knowledge!) and who knows what office I will be in...if I'm lucky! Once the elections are over and new leadership is chosen, it will be a whole new ball game.

It makes me very sad; I've never worked with such a close-knit group before! We enjoy working together in the office, but we also enjoy doing things together outside of work. There was never any animosity, no one ever got snappy when stressed, even when things were difficult and chaotic! And everyone is generally interested in what's going on in the others lives. Our relationship as an office isn't just a work relationship...it's a friendship!

We've decided to continue with our yearly trek to Ambajejus Lake, but instead of a Staff Retreat, it will be a reunion. :^)

Tales from Ambajejus Lake - Baxter State Park

From a short trail walk into Baxter with the express purpose of moose watching...not a one graced us with their presence. :^(

We had our own personal bird expert with us, calling birds in.

The Cedar Wax Wings were spectacular, though! They put on quite the show.

Tales from Ambajejus Lake - around the fire

Once again, my office took the 150+ mile trek up to Millinocket, Maine for our Staff Retreat on Ambajejus Lake. On the drive up, Deb and I saw a fox and a turtle crossing the road (not together). And that first night, when Marcia and I were heading down the Golden Road toward town, a moose crossed the road in front of us! That was only the 3rd time that I've seen a moose that close (despite having lived in this state all my life).

Here are some great picts from around the campfire...

Stay tuned, more pictures to come!

The Forks

I meant to post the details from the trip to The Forks last week, but time got away from me.

We didn't get to go rafting. Both the Kennebec and the Dead were running too fast and too high. My sister's friend said that we'd end up spending our trip down the river bailing (his raft wasn't a self-bailer) and because there was sooooo much water (they were releasing 10,600 cubic feet of water on the Kennebec), we wouldn't have much in the way of rapids.
Many of the rafting companies were still taking people down and I did get to watch this group launch on Sunday morning.

We did get to go on a hike into Grand Falls (45 minutes down a logging road, then a mile hike into the woods)
And that was well worth the trip!

Check out the video below...

Grand Falls, The Forks, Maine

Live from Grand Falls!
Originally uploaded by faerytreecreations

Quiet Friday Joy

"Morning Dew" - photo by Cathy Leonard

~:: Aurora musis amica ::~
(dawn is friend of the muses)

(happy day of 8's)

Upta Camp

Guess who gets to go rafting for the first time in her life?

My sister's friends are rafting guides and she invited me to go with them. I've always wanted to do this (and skydive - which is ironic since I have a fear of falling). We'll be going somewhere up near The Forks.

Can't wait can't wait can't wait!

Today's business report brought to you by Faery Tree Creations...

I know I've said it before, but I am a firm believer that everything that happens, happens for a reason. Like how I buy books years before I ever get around to reading them because obviously, my subconscious knows I need this book even if I'm not ready for it...someday, I will be.

I also believe that until you are meant to do something, the Universe will prevent you from actually doing it...then suddenly *poof* it's time to do that something and there are absolutely no obstacles in your way and you wonder, "Why didn't I do this before?" - uh...'cause you weren't supposed to.

I know you've seen these guys before:

but I've always wanted to sell them at craft shows...like the big ones put on by the United Craftsmen of Maine - such as this weekend's 39th Annual Cumberland Arts & Crafts Show (which I will be missing, unfortunately). Only you have be a member of UCM and in order to do that you have to have a state tax ID number. So I looked into this a few years ago and how to start a business in Maine and can I tell you, I was in CONFUSION CENTRAL! I didn't know what flippin' form to use? I didn't understand what some of the terminology meant and I didn't have the patience to deal with people at Maine Revenue. So I tried selling these guys on Etsy and Ebay and at one rinky dink craft show that was poorly attended. And now I know why there seemed to be so many obstacles in my way...because it wasn't time. I wasn't ready.

Yesterday, I filed for an EIN with the federal gov't...ONLINE! Easy-peasy! And then, I found all the answers to my questions about filing for a state tax ID number...AND FAXED THAT OUT! Now I just have to wait for the State to send me back my info and I'll be sending in my membership application to the United Maine Craftsmen, so that next year, I can rent my space at the various craft shows and get some creations out there!

So Faery Tree Creations will be a real business entity very very soon! How cool is that? And if anyone is saying, "I can't believe you didn't know how to do this earlier" - hush your face, I get frustrated easily! Me and patience...we have a tendency to be like oil and water.

"Luck Be A Lady Tonight..."

"Call it dumb, call it clever

Ah, but you can get odds forever

That the guy's only doing it for some doll"

Yesterday, Mum and I went to see the Lincoln County Community Theater's version of "Guys and Dolls". We decided to make an afternoon of it and hit the Salt Bay Cafe for lunch beforehand - I love this little cafe, but it gets mixed reviews, because they're a small restaurant and they get busy very quickly. Yes, service can be a bit slow at times, but the food is worth the wait. I had pecan encrusted chicken salad - a whole chicken breast, encrusted with pecans on top of a garden salad with their house dressing, which I am currently in love with (it's just a combo of lemon juice, lime juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper...very yummy, esp. with the chicken!!).

I was delightfully surprised at how good the play was! Don Carrigan (a local tv reporter) was a fantastic Nathan Detriot and his co-star Nancy Durgin, who played Ms. Adelaide, was a riot! The kid playing Sky Masterson was adorable and the kid playing Benny the Bookie Southstreet was superb (his write-up said that he would be majoring in musical theater in college...and he should, he was excellent!)

The theater itself is huge on the inside, but tiny out in the concession/ticket area. Thankfully they allowed food and drink in the theatre, which is a nice change from some of the other small theater's I've been to, so I didn't have to endure the press of a full house in the concession area (all at once) at intermission for very long.

Well, until tomorrow, when I have business news to report!

Quiet Friday Joy on a Saturday

Reality is not what your eyes show your mind, but what your mind creates for your eyes to see. ~ The Universe

Hail August, Keeper of the Sun

"August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a matchflame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away."
~ Elizabeth Maua Taylor

It's only the 1st and I'm already feeling like the days are piling up, so much is happening, so much is planned and there's no time to take a breath, to just sit and enjoy.

I know there is time and I know that I have had many moments of sitting and enjoying this summer, but it's August now. Suddenly there is so much to do; there are trips to be made to camps and shower gifts to be finished and plays to attend and...and there's still so much on that summer wish list!

I still want to steal a Friday and wander around Portland with Juli, I still want to make summery treats and go to the beach just once and create that fire pit in the yard that I probably won't use until fall and really get that backyard in shape (though my brother is all over that - he's done so much out there. I'll have to take some pictures!)...oh and I want to fix the screens on my porch so I can sleep out there on those unbearably hot August nights (I'm terribly jealous of Cathy and my boss & her husband with their outdoor/porch beds).

Here's to making time to do all those things I want to do, spending time with friends and really enjoying myself. I want to look back at this summer and say, "Wow - what a great summer", not "Oh, I wish I'd done this or this or that."

Happy weekend, all!